Carried Off

by Raven Willow

  Her mate froze in his tracks, eyes bulging and chest heaving. She could see his emotions pass over his face all at once as the thoughts that entered his head penetrated her own.

  How Riona wished she could rush to her mate and comfort him.

  “Oh... he never told you about his bastard. Well, why would he? I was a stain on his reign he chose to ignore. Lysander thought by thrusting me into your guardianship that I would forget him and my poor mother could go on with her life.” He spat his blood and began to shift.

  “What you or anyone never knew was that he never did complete their mating. He never offered her his life or his bite. Just one night that destroyed her for the rest of her life and left her with me, a fatherless pup who learned nothing and earned no love from the one man who was supposed to provide it.”

  “You lie!” Alistair roared and got on all fours. Lysander would not be disgraced.

  “Mate...” Riona whimpered. “He speaks the truth...”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Alistair whipped his head to his female. Saliva dripped from his teeth that ached to bite down on something. Ceardach’s throat with his still beating jugular vein would be a start.

  It could not be true... Lysander was fair and just. He doted on him as a child, never sparing a moment to take him on his hunts and coach him.

  But looking back, Lysander never chose a female. Never fathered pups. Alistair did ask once, he recalled.

  “Never mind such things, boy, it is your future you should concern yourself with. I have... my own reasons.”

  On that occasion in particular, he noticed a glance at young Ceardach, who watched from afar with a look of longing.

  No... it can’t be...

  “He poisons your mind, like he has with so many others. End him, Alpha!” Elspeth kept her protective hold of Riona.

  “Yes, end me, Alistair! Then see what your pack thinks of you after you let outsiders infiltrate the pack and cause harm, murder your beta, and get your sweet mate killed.”

  Alistair had had enough, pouncing on Ceardach with a deafening growl and biting down on his throat. Ceardach was too fast, shifting just in time for his hide to deflect his alpha’s teeth. Elspeth ran toward the fighting wolves, her large white wolf contrasting with the darkness of the castle.

  “Run, Riona! Get out of here!” she hollered back to Riona as her blonde hair melded with her fur.

  “I won’t leave you!”

  “Do as she says!” Alistair hollered back while Elspeth leapt on top of Ceardach, who had Alistair pinned. He could make out her terrified gasps as he took hold of Ceardach’s snout with one paw and his throat with the other. When a small voice echoed in his mind, he snarled.

  “It has to be now... If I don’t do something, we will all perish!”

  Riona would likely ignore the argument he communicated back, but when his body collided with the crumbling wall, the entire structure shook. She was right.

  Alistair climbed the wall, perching himself above the tussle, preparing himself for impact.

  “Elspeth told you to run. I need you to. Now!”

  He looked down at her in desperation, blood beginning to drip from wounds inflicted from Ceardach. Riona tearfully shook her head.

  Elspeth stood at full height, placing Ceardach in her chokehold as she struggled to keep him still.

  “Enough!”

  Her scream rang in Alistair’s ears. Alistair gave up begging, and waited until Elspeth had him perfectly positioned in her chokehold. A wound from that speed would take him down long enough to finish the damned job.

  Ceardach began to go limp as his breath came in short gasps. He could only watch as Alistair jumped from his peak and sent him flying into the ground as soon as Elspeth let him go.

  He delivered several good punches to the traitor’s face before lifting him high in the air.

  “For thinking you could betray me!” Alistair body-slammed Ceardach to the ground.

  “For stealing my mate and harming her and my children!” His hair-covered fist pressed against his throat. The rage surged through him while he caught a flash of Riona from the corner of his eye.

  “And for the blood of every pack member you had killed that is on your hands.” Alistair delivered one final assault on Ceardach, which he could see Riona turn away from.

  A feeling of pain and anxiety rushed through his body, similar to what he felt right before a shift. But Alistair’s wolf was free. Only Riona’s was not.

  He looked up to see her fallen to her knees. The hairs on her body stood, visible to Alistair’s wolf’s eyes. A growl escaped her lips, which now had to accommodate expressing teeth.

  His muscles began to tingle as hers did. A warm feeling spread across his limbs and he could hear her wolf calling out to him.

  Riona called for Alistair, but her voice dropped as her throat would have momentarily tightened.

  He could see their children squirm inside her as her torso elongated and her feet cracked and popped until they burst from her boots. The back of Riona’s dress began to rip and long perfect claws began to scratch against the stone. Her mortal mind was temporarily blocked, and she was now consumed by instinct.

  “Mate... needs... help...”

  Elspeth raised her head at the new scent, becoming alarmed when she noticed Riona in mid-shift. Ceardach ceased his fight when he became aware of the new presence, seeming to ignore his injuries.

  “So she does shift? Quite a pretty she-wolf. She will make a fine addition to my harem after you’re gone and—”

  Alistair picked up his failure of a beta and tossed him to Elspeth, who held him in place to prepare his body for another assault on their part.

  “She is stronger than you will ever know!”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  As Riona continued to shift and watch the scene unfold, another piece of the stone fell to the ground below. She counted the seconds it took to impact, and then had an idea.

  She mustered the strength and limped to a rusted bell that hung loosely against the tower. It would have been used to warn of enemies approaching. In this case, she would use it to lure hers.

  Riona made it to the bell, climbing high enough to reach it and tugged on the rope.

  “Over here! Come get me!” Her deep tone frightened even her. With every second that went by, her body accepted the wolf that was swiftly coming through.

  Ceardach’s head popped up from the pile of wolves fighting and grinned.

  “There you are, you little bitch.”

  He head-butted Elspeth and wriggled from her grasp. Alistair froze as he stared at Riona in both awe and fear.

  “You want me? I’m right here!” Riona challenged him as she held on to anything her claws would allow.

  “Oh, I will get you. Today, tomorrow, it does not matter. I will pick off every last wolf on this earth if I have to to get you.”

  “Then do it!” Riona braced herself as Ceardach ran full speed ahead toward her. For what, she would find out when her wolf bubbled to the surface.

  That’s it... just a little further.

  Closer now, he gained momentum to pounce into her.

  Come on, I’m right here, you evil bastard.

  She put Alistair’s look of terror from her mind as she squeezed her eyes tight and prepared herself, but it never came.

  The castle did indeed shake as though he ran to her, but she still stood by the bell. She opened her eyes to find only herself and Alistair still standing. No sign of Ceardach or Elspeth.

  “Riona...” His shaky voice alerted her.

  She didn’t want to dare think it, but her head forced its way behind her shoulder, to find Elspeth’s and Ceardach’s bodies below.

  No

  No, no, not Elspeth.

  How could this be? Riona still clung to the bell, unable and unwilling to move.

  “Riona... come down from there...”

  She looked up at her mate who cautiously approached her. She no longer feared how h
is appearance would frighten her, and took his hands to fall into his embrace. When he pried her down from where she stood, she realized her claws had retracted and no longer felt her teeth. How long had she been frozen in fear?

  “Don’t let it be true... please don’t...”

  “Shhh, come here.” He gently collected her into his arms.

  “Don’t let him get away... don’t let him, mate.”

  She grabbed onto his fur and sobbed into his chest, finally letting her emotions pour.

  “He isn’t going anywhere, my little one. Not anymore.” She could sense Alistair’s wolf demanding the scent of her and his pups to calm. He hugged her tight as he carefully and quickly scaled down the ruins of the castle.

  “Is he—?”

  “Yes. He is dead.”

  Riona forced herself to look over Alistair’s shoulder where Ceardach’s mangled body lay sprawled some meters from Elspeth. She bit back tears as the white of her fur stood out in the darkness.

  But the white fur of her chest began to rise and fall, her extremities twitching.

  “Alistair! Look!” Riona jumped from his arms the second their feet touched the ground.

  “Elspeth! Elspeth, oh, Gods!”

  Riona wailed over her friend, alive but wounded. Her delicate features slowly returned until only the woman remained. But it revealed Ceardach’s blade protruding from her side. The blue of her eyes no longer looked as bright. Blood trickled from her mouth as she attempted to catch her breath.

  “No... no, Elspeth, no!” Riona’s tears fell as she tried to piece the events of what just occurred together.

  He must have grabbed his blade before Elspeth stood in his path, sending her friend and her enemy straight through the wall of the castle and into the fields below.

  She had taken his blade to save the alpha mate’s life.

  “Why did you do that? Why?”

  Elspeth coughed and slowly raised a large hand.

  “Shhhhh... dear one. Do not trouble for me—” More coughs interrupted.

  Riona cringed when her ears picked up the sound of the weapon being moved inside her with each sputter.

  “Easy, easy. We have to take you back home! We can heal you!” Riona squeezed her hands. They were turning cold.

  “I think it is too late for that, sweet one.” She struggled to bring a hand to Riona’s warm cheek.

  “No! Alistair, help me! We have to take her back...”

  Alistair leaned over Elspeth, the wolf whimpering.

  “I won’t let you die! I won’t!” Riona’s tears fell, mixing with the rivulets of blood pouring from Elspeth’s wound.

  Elspeth began to wheeze between coughs, but mustered enough strength.

  “Riona, listen to me.” She looked down at her friend, her eyes stinging from the mixture of the rubble and her crying.

  “I have lived my fullest and best life. If I leave this world now, by protecting my closest and dearest friends, then it is an honor.” The words faded into a whisper toward the end as she clutched Riona’s hand.

  “We can fix it! Ailith can help us fix it!”

  Elspeth sweetly smiled through the pain.

  “No, love, I think even my strongest cannot fix this...” She looked to her wound, placing her other hand on Riona’s that was preparing to remove the blade.

  “It is my time...”

  Riona looked to Alistair in desperation. He shook his wolf head and used his snout to encourage Elspeth to touch him. She would die among friends with honor.

  “Please... don’t go.”

  “Do not... worry yourself... for me...” Her voice trailed off in a whisper. “I have... every reason... to be content.”

  Alistair’s ears drooped as he bowed his head in respect for his friend. If Riona weren’t mistaken, she could hear the echo of a prayer in his thoughts.

  Elspeth’s cold hand found its way to Riona’s belly, comforting the pups she only wished Elspeth could help bring into the world.

  “Give them... oceans of love...”

  Riona squeezed her fingers as a strangled gasp escaped her pack sister’s lips.

  “From me...”

  Elspeth took one final struggling breath in while the muscles in her body began to relax and her hand slowly slipped from Riona’s.

  A single tear fell from Alistair’s nose while Riona was overcome with wailing. She could no longer help but throw herself over her friend, wishing her tears could bring her back to life.

  “I promise...”

  The last sigh left Elspeth’s body, as well as the spirit and kindness that Riona grew to love.

  Riona cried over Elspeth’s chest until she felt Alistair raise a hand to her shoulder. His gaze told her all she had to hear.

  With help, Alistair helped Riona lift their friend onto his back and trotted away. Riona held her close, not letting even the smallest branch touch her.

  As if the forest somehow knew of the loss, no wildlife passed. Not even the sound of a bird or the scamper of a family of deer. The atmosphere grew somber while the sun came up. It was supposed to be the start of a brand new day. Instead it was one pack member short.

  * * *

  Hours could have passed, but Riona remained unmoving with Elspeth in her arms. She said not one word to Alistair, nor he to her. Words didn’t need to be said anymore. Riona could now close her eyes and feel what he felt, which matched her own thoughts.

  Sadness, despair, and guilt.

  If she concentrated hard enough, she could hear the echo of his apologies in her mind. But he had nothing to be sorry for. It was no one’s fault, he communicated. No one but Ceardach’s.

  Riona silently cursed him, hoping wherever he was, he was suffering.

  She looked up and noticed the entryway to home, where relieved members of the pack began to flock to them. Only when they got closer did they see that there was nothing to celebrate now.

  Riona clutched Elspeth tighter, wishing she didn’t feel like this was all her fault. Wishing she fought Ceardach off harder and wishing she didn’t put everyone in danger.

  Ailith broke through the crowd, already red-faced and crying as she realized whose body Riona held. The children all at once seemed to begin sniffling.

  Riona prepared herself for a barrage of insults; for blame to be thrown at her, or even to be cast out. Alistair kneeled down to gently let her off. Without thinking about it, she found herself effortlessly carrying Elspeth’s body through the path cleared for them. Instead of hurtful words or shame, anyone who could simply reached out and touched her shoulder, whispering how sorry they were. How proud they were of their alpha’s mate for enduring what she did. Murdock offered to take Elspeth from her, but Riona shook her head.

  “Build her funeral pyre.”

  * * *

  Hours later, the entirety of the pack looked on in silence, holding flowers and candles and whispering their prayers to the goddess for a safe journey to the summerland. Alistair and Riona stood front and center holding hands and comforting each other while they watched the fire slowly overtake their beloved friend’s body.

  Riona noticed how inconsolable Ailith seemed, and held out her hand. Together, they cried until there were no more tears to shed, and the flames slowly began to die out.

  Alistair kissed her head, where she could feel him inhale her scent again. Comfort flooded her with the warmth of his embrace.

  “You’re home now.”

  Riona looked up to him, wanting to smile but still wishing Elspeth was there to share their soon to be growing family.

  “I am home, right where I belong.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  It began to rain, putting out the fire and signaling everyone to go back to their homes and mourn in their own ways. Riona laid in the softness of the furs, relishing the feel. She had feared never being able to have them again. Lightning struck, followed by the boom of thunder.

  She remembered fearing when storms came. Mama would lie beside her and comfort her, tell
ing her that the gods were battling, and that was the sound of thunder. But in the morning when the sun came out and the skies went back to their beautiful blue, it meant they were no longer fighting. Riona smiled and held her belly. She couldn’t wait until her pups arrived.

  Alistair stood by the window, anxiously gripping the sheer curtains. She had counted dozens of times how he alternated between looking at her then back out the window, then back to her again. He would need time to readjust after... the events.

  “Please come to bed, mate,” Riona whimpered, aching to be held and kissed and caressed and touched in all the ways her body cried out.

  He grunted as she noticed his body hanging in a balance between wolf and man. Riona would appeal to both.

  “Mate.” She sat up and firmly spoke.

  He looked to her, finally letting go of the curtains.

  “I need you.”

  “I have to keep watch.”

  “No.” She stood and made sure he watched her body in the sheer material of the gown. The way her hips swayed and how it emphasized her belly. It would draw his attention to her and bring him back to his mate as a rational man.

  “I need you with me. In bed. Together.” She reached for his arm and his muscles contracted before slowly relaxing again. The wolf fought him for control in the need to protect. He could come out again, but right now she needed the man to comfort and be with her.

  “I failed.”

  “No! You did not fail!” She allowed herself to hug him from behind, pressing herself against his back and wrapping her arms around his waist.

  “I am supposed to protect you. That is my job as alpha and mate. I protect no matter the cost!”

  “But you did protect me.”

  “No, he got his hands on you and was about to do vile unspeakable things to the woman I love! If I had only seen this from the beginning...”

  He sat his hand on top of hers resting below his navel. All she wanted was to be close to him.

  “Nobody knew. How could we have?” Riona knew it would be difficult to convince Alistair that the blame was not his. Until then she knew she would do everything in her power to make him feel safe and secure, as she knew he would do the same for her.