Highlander Hunted: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander In Time Book 8)

by Rebecca Preston

  It had been a strange ride home. After the confrontation with Anne, Brendan and Helena had carefully laid her body down by the cave wall, determined to return for her once they'd freed the children. The cage was easy enough to destroy, and thankfully all three children had been safe and well, though very shaken. Little Mary, resourceful as always, had gotten hold of the canteen of water that Baldric had managed to toss through to them, and had been carefully rationing it between the three of them since she'd gotten her hands on it. The little boy taken from Weatherby's estate was shaken to his bones, but grateful to be rescued — and Jamie, for all that he'd clearly been shaken by the kidnapping, wouldn't stop talking about how fascinating the transformation of the Black Annis had been. He was planning to write a book of his own about the experience.

  "Mind you tell everyone it's fiction," Brendan said with a shrug, mussing the boy's hair. "Otherwise we'll have more witch hunters up here." Helena could tell how relieved he was that the boy was safe. They'd all gathered together, making sure the little children were well enough to walk, and then started the long trek out of the cave. It was still dark outside, and freezing cold — thankfully, though, the guards were waiting by the passageway, and were able to help the children into the cart while Brendan and Helena had returned for Anne's body.

  They wrapped it carefully in cloth and lay it in the cart, far away from where the three children had sat. Brendan checked little Mary and Tom over for injuries, finding none despite the Black Annis' long sharp talons.

  "She wanted to take care of us," Mary said brightly. "She tried to give us food… but it was raw meat, so we said no."

  Helena shuddered a little, imagining the kind of meal the creature must have tried to give its charges. Thank God for Mary's pluck — she'd kept the other boy safe and sound. It was funny — though Tom was the son of one of Weatherby's servants, she couldn't help but notice what a striking resemblance he bore to the pompous English Lord. There'd be a few questions about that someday, she thought with amusement, wondering who Tom's mother was — and whether Lord Weatherby was married.

  To her surprise, dawn broke not long after they left the cliffside. The sun was just creeping above the horizon when they reached Mary's home — the little girl went scampering inside as soon as she realized where she was, and Brendan laughed as he ran to the door with her. Waiting by the cart, Helena saw Oliver come to the door half-dressed — and smiled at the look of shock and relief on his face as he swept his little daughter into his arms. She wriggled and laughed as Brendan spoke to Oliver — clearly telling an abbreviated version of the story, she thought with amusement. Then he was heading back up to the cart, and they were away again, this time driving Tom back to his home.

  Tom's mother was a handsome woman with a mane of long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes — the resemblance to Lord Weatherby grew even more suspicious. She almost fainted with relief when she saw Tom, kneeling to pull him into her arms as she thanked Brendan over and over again. They stopped by the manor, too, where Baldric greeted them, having heard the commotion down in the cottages as the servants all woke up to discover the child had been returned.

  "You have our deepest gratitude," Baldric said firmly, shaking Brendan and then Helena by the hand. "For saving the boy… and ensuring the safety of this land. If ever you have need of Lord Weatherby, you call on us. On me," he added with a brief roll of his eyes. "I'll make sure the message gets to him."

  It was pretty clear where the power lay in that particular manor, she thought with a giddy smile that she just couldn't banish. It felt so good to think that the trouble was over. The Black Annis would plague them no longer… and though she felt grief stirring when she looked at Anne's body, wrapped softly in cloth in the cart, she knew that the woman was at peace. And what was more, the children — and, for that matter, the sheep — of the surrounding area were now safe.

  They were a few miles from the castle when Helena cast a sneaky look back over her shoulder. Jamie was fast asleep in the back of the cart, having helped himself to the basket of goodies Mary had packed — Helena had been amused to realize it was almost all sweets. Not exactly the healthiest meal for the children… but definitely something to lift their spirits after a horrible few days. The soldiers had dropped back and were talking and laughing amongst themselves, tired but glad that the fight was over, clearly ready to share the stories with the other guards back at the castle. She and Brendan were riding up ahead, and effectively all alone in the cool morning air.

  "Brendan? Before we get back to the castle..."

  "I'm sorry," he said, his expression drawn. "If what Anne said made you uncomfortable… I just wanted to go along with it to ease her last few moments, you know? It would have been hard to explain everything to her…"

  "No, no. That was all fine," she said, laughing a little. "I'm glad you were there. I'm glad we could give her some peace, at the end." She smiled, her heart beating a little faster. "I just wanted to tell you… before we get back and everything gets crazy… What you said last night. When you said you loved me."

  For the first time, she saw Brendan blush. "Aye, I think I did say that," he said gruffly, his accent suddenly considerably more Scottish than English.

  "Did you mean it?"

  The blush deepened, and he looked straight ahead. "Yes," he managed.

  "Good," she said softly, smiling at him. "Because I love you, too."

  If they'd been riding any faster, she might have been worried for his safety — his head jerked around to her so quickly that his horse flicked its ears in surprise, disturbed by the sudden motion. "What?"

  "You heard me," she said softly, smiling.

  That moment burned in her memory… throughout the chaos of the day, their triumphant ride home, the tearful reunion of a sleepy Jamie with his relieved mother and father, she just kept glancing over at Brendan, pleased by the secret they shared. And when the day was finally done, the news of the Black Annis' defeat spread through the castle, and the argument about where to bury Anne finally resolved… even after the burial, with Brendan saying a few words about the woman they'd lost… they finally made their way up the stairs, utterly exhausted.

  They fell into bed together that night, wrapped in each other's arms. And though it had been an unbelievably long day, and the pair of them were completely drained… somehow, they still managed to find the energy reserves to stay up just a little bit longer, to consummate and celebrate their declaration of love.

  After that, the weeks had gone by quickly, not so weighed down by the crushing knowledge of the monster out there. After some discussion, Helena moved permanently into Brendan's quarters, both of them agreeing that it was ridiculous for her to maintain quarters when she was only using them to store her clothing… every night she spent in Brendan's bed was one more night that she knew she never wanted to sleep alone again. In his arms, she didn't have any bad dreams… but whether that was because of Brendan or because the Black Annis was finally at peace, she wasn't quite sure.

  Fiona and Marianne had been keenly interested to hear what had happened down in the sandstone caves, but they respectfully waited a few days before interrogating her over the midday meal. Sequestered away from everyone else, she'd told the full story in as much detail as she could, including everything from the way the caves had seemed to have been scraped out by the woman's terrifyingly metallic talons, to the look of acute relief that had been on her face when she'd finally breathed her last.

  "Babe, you did so good," Fiona said softly, her eyes full of wonder. "I can't believe how perfect that was."

  "You sure you're not a witch yet?" Marianne said playfully. The story had moved the woman considerably — Helena could see the tears standing in her eyes, and she smiled as she dashed them away, a little embarrassed clearly by the show of emotion. "Because that's… that's magical."

  "It was kind of like I knew what to do," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'd never met her before, but some part of me just… knew how to ta
lk to her, knew what to say to help her see that it was all okay." Her eyes widened a little. "Is that — is that Brigid? Like… magically passing the message down?"

  "Maybe," Marianne said, nodding to herself. "I had a similar experience with my own ancestor… she was a powerful witch herself. Delilah, too, from what I remember. Witches have a way of making their power known, even after they're gone."

  "That's spooky," Helena said thoughtfully. "But I suppose… Brigid wasn't really a witch, not really. Though Brendan said she had some pretty cool witchy abilities. Guessing when people were sick, that kind of thing."

  "Come train with us," Fiona said with a smile. "See if you inherited any of it."

  She shivered. "Maybe in a while," she said. "At the moment I'm still a little bit… spooked, when it comes to magic. Seeing what it can do when it gets out of control like that, you know?"

  "I understand," Fiona said, squeezing her hand. "You did so well, Helena. Seriously."

  "Can't believe you thought you couldn't handle this place," Marianne said with a grin. "You're doing amazing. You'll be running the castle by the time spring gets here."

  "Hey, that's my job, thank you very much," Fiona put in with a laugh.

  Helena laughed, she didn't want to run the castle. All she wanted was to potter around, getting familiar with the passageways and the history of the place, and spending as much time as she possibly could with Brendan. They took to going to Brendan's lessons with Jamie together, Helena acting as a kind of teaching assistant — and learning a fair bit herself about the local herbs and their properties. She picked up a few things here and there — she learned how to make a very effective herbal headache remedy, much to Audrina's amusement.

  "A witch? In my castle?" she asked one day when she came to pick up Jamie from his lesson, her eyes twinkling when Helena explained what she'd learned. "I'm shocked and appalled."

  "Call the witch hunters," Brendan joked, coming up behind Helena and putting an arm around her waist.

  He was joking more and more these days — there was a lightness in him that was becoming more and more apparent as time passed and the trauma of the loss of Brigid faded further and further into the past. It was as though he'd been waiting for Anne to be put to rest before he really started to heal… as though that particular piece of closure was enabling him to cope better with everything else that had happened. He'd always miss Brigid, his wife, his first love, she knew that… but she could deal with that just fine. She trusted him to the moon and back… trusted that he loved her just as much as he'd ever loved Brigid. Just as much as she'd ever need.

  "Should we tell her?" he asked now, tilting his head with a playful smile dancing across his face. She raised her eyebrow, humming to herself as Audrina's eyes lit up with the promise of a secret.

  "Gossip? Exclusive gossip? Whatever could it be?"

  "We've decided on a date," Helena said with a grin, and was rewarded with a shriek of glee that Audrina quickly muffled, covering her mouth and shooting a look up and down the hallway.

  "You have?"

  "Spring, we think," Brendan explained with a broad smile. "Once the snow clears and the world is new again."

  "Perfect time for a wedding," Audrina said with a broad smile. "I'll see to a few preparations… but your secret's safe with me," she added with a grin. "I love being in on secrets."

  "Should we have told her? I feel like the rest of the time-lost women are going to know within days," Helena said now, turning to look at Brendan.

  They'd told Audrina a couple of days prior — and though nobody had openly mentioned their wedding date, she was getting a lot of knowing smirks from people who shouldn't have anything to knowingly smirk about. Brendan smiled at her. He was kneeling by the grave, tending to the little patch of flowers they'd planted on it the day after Anne had been buried — lilies, her favorite, according to Brendan.

  "I don't mind if they know," he said with a soft smile. "I'm just glad I'm marrying you. I'd be happy for the whole world to know, so long as I get to spend the rest of my life with you."

  "Do you think…" She paused, looking out over the clan graveyard. It was a beautiful little place — a few miles south of the castle, tucked away behind an ancient old church that didn't see much use any more. The headstones climbed up the hill, each one belonging to a beloved MacClaran clan member. The amount of history in this place was immense… and Helena couldn't help but feel a sense of pride to have been taken in by this family. A sense of belonging that she'd never really felt, back in the place that she'd used to call home. Now, this was home. Scotland, its wild weather, its windswept moors… she'd never felt more like she belonged than she did right now.

  "Do I think what?" Brendan had risen to his feet, and the two of them linked arms and walked back up through the graveyard in the late afternoon sunlight, heading for where they'd tethered their horses on the rise. Helena had been giving a lot more attention to her riding lessons — she could confidently walk and trot now, and Marianne promised that she'd get the hang of the canter sooner or later.

  "Sorry. Do you think…" She hesitated again, looking out over the MacClaran clan graveyard. There was an empty grave here somewhere for Brigid, close to where Anne had been buried. It felt strange, to think of her ancestor being here somewhere. It felt more like she was with her, every step she took. "Do you think Brigid would have been happy that we're engaged?"

  It felt like a strange question to ask. But Brendan only smiled, pulling her into his arms. "I think she'd have been delighted," he said softly, his eyes twinkling. "I can hear her now, telling me what good taste I have, to fall in love with a woman who looks just like her."

  Helena threw her head back and laughed, the sound echoing from the hills as they continued up the rise together. "I think she'd be happy," she said softly, looking up at him as they reached their horses.

  He looked down at her, a thoughtful expression on his face. They didn't often talk about Brigid… even after all this time, it was still a bit of a touchy subject for both of them. It always would be, she suspected. Brigid cast a long shadow… but she trusted Brendan, the love of her life. Trusted him absolutely.

  "And I think Anne would be happy, too, wherever she is."

  "Aye, I think so too," Brendan said softly, drawing her close and kissing her.

  As they rode back toward the castle as night gathered, Helena marveled at how far she'd come in just a few short months. From a deeply frightened woman who could barely ride a horse… to a woman who felt confident on horseback, who was surrounded by dear friends, engaged to be married to the love of her life. Overall, she thought with a smile, though the transition to this strange way of life had been a little rough, she wouldn't have changed a thing. She finally understood what the other women had meant when they said they wouldn't choose to go back, even if they could have.

  No, Helena thought as Brendan rode up ahead of her, smiling back at her in the sun. A door to the future could open up in this path right now, and she'd steer her horse around it without a second thought. Every happiness in the world was waiting for her right here, right now.

  If you liked this story, then definitely make sure to sign up to get notified for what happens next with my next book! Click here to sign up!

  In the meantime, check out Rescued By The Highlander, which is book 1 of my other series called Highlander Forever. You can get it here!

  About Rebecca Preston

  Rebecca lives in New York City with her dog. She loves sweet love stories with great characters. She loves traveling the world and experiencing new cities and cultures. Jane Austen is her favorite author.

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  Also by Rebecca Preston

  Highlander Of Time Series

  Highlander Found - Book 1

  Highlander Warrior - Book 2

  Highlander Protected
- Book 3

  Highlander Smitten - Book 4

  Highlander Fallen - Book 5

  Highlander Cursed - Book 6

  Highlander Avenged - Book 7

  Highlander Hunted - Book 8

  Highlander Returned - Book 9

  Highlander Forever Series

  Rescued By The Highlander - Book 1

  Stranded By The Highlander - Book 2

  Swept By The Highlander - Book 3

  Distracted By The Highlander - Book 4

  Needed By The Highlander - Book 5

  Troubled By The Highlander - Book 6

  A Highlander Across Time Series:

  Love A Highlander - Book 1

  Kiss A Highlander - Book 2

  Jane Austen Fan Fiction

  Arranged To Darcy

  A White Darcy Christmas

  A Convenient Darcy Marriage

  Married To Darcy

  Elizabeth And Darcy

  Saving Mr. Darcy

  Mr. Darcy Forgotten

  Mr. Darcy’s Pride