The Warrior's wager

by Mia Pride

  Leaving the warmth beneath her wool dress, he came up for air and gave her a smug smile. He felt like a cat who had just drank a bowl of warm satisfying milk. Just before he pulled his trousers down and sought his own release between her legs, the look on her face shifted from satiation to curiosity, as if she had a question for him that she was unsure of asking.

  “Is something wrong, Lin?” he asked running his hands up and down her calves.

  She wrinkled up her nose in thought and then asked a question he had never thought to hear his wife ask. “Who is Elwynna?”

  Alastar stiffened. How had Aislin heard of Elwynna? “Why do you ask?” he replied carefully.

  Now it was her turn to stiffen. She pushed her body up onto her elbows and pulled down her disheveled skirt. “Daniel found me in the lake bathing. He told me—”

  “What?” Alastar roared and bounded off the bed. “That bastard dared to come near you? While bathing? Did he see you disrobe?” Fury, raw and uncontrollable, took over his mind. He was ready to storm out of this house and pummel Daniel until he begged for mercy.

  She swallowed hard and frowned. “Aye, I believe so. He was hiding in the trees. I believe he has been following me.”

  “I will kill him. He is dead.” Storming over to his sword propped up against the wall of his home, he gripped it by the hilt and swiftly opened the door.

  “Wait!” she hollered, running after him and grabbing his wrist before he could make it out the door. “I have questions for you.”

  “They can wait until I murder Daniel Mac Simon,” he growled and jerked away from her.

  “Nay, they cannot! He only came to warn me!”

  Alastar turned on his heels, gripped his sword’s hilt more firmly and scowled at his wife. Why was she not taking this as seriously as he was? The man was foul and dangerous to her. “Warn you about what, Aislin?” He was shouting at her now, but he could not help it. He was not angry at her, but he was frustrated, aye. Why did she not tell him of this right away? Does she not see the threat in a man who would stalk the night, watch her undress and corner her while vulnerable in the lake? Was she mad?

  “He warned me about you,” she sighed, dropping her shoulders and putting out her hands to placate him. There would be no placating.

  “What?” he roared again. He was so angry he could not think or speak straight. He had dealt with Daniel, or so he had thought. Aye, he and Daniel went back to the days of Elim’s war camp. He was the cousin of Elwynna and nephew to Mal Mac Rochride, who was now stirring up trouble all over Ériu for Tuathal Techtmar. But Daniel, though Alastar had never known him well, had always seemed harmless enough. In truth, Alastar still did not see the man as a threat to him, but to his wife, on the other hand? The man was becoming bolder and Alastar would bloody the bastard before he gave him a chance to violate his wife. Aislin was a strong lass, but she could not fight off a grown man. She was much too small.

  “He told me you were in love with his cousin, Elwynna. That you promised her marriage and cried on her shoulder, telling her of the loss of your family.” She stopped and swallowed hard. He saw the flash of hurt in her eyes. He saw her trying very hard to trust in him and yet, he had told her that he had never considered a commitment to any other lass. So naturally, she was believing him a bloody liar right now.

  “Daniel is a fool.”

  “But he is not wrong?” she asked. “He told me you would use me until you got what you wanted and then leave my heart in pieces, as you did to his cousin. I do not wish to believe it. I do not believe it,” she emphasized. “Only…”

  “Lin,” his voice hardened, and he strode toward her, doing his best to not lose his patience with the only person in the world who mattered to him. He did not want the first time he said this to her to be this way, under duress, but he needed her to know how fiercely he cared for her. Then, he was going to kill Daniel. Then he would come back and explain everything about Elwynna to her. He was innocent of all accusations. Elwynna knew of his family’s demise because she had been there when it happened. And aye, Elwynna mayhap hoped to wed with him, but he had never made such a promise, nor had he ever loved her in that way. Not in the way he loved his wife who stared at him now, trying so very hard to believe that he was the honest man she wished him to be. “I love you, Lin.”

  She smiled at his confession, but did not look shocked to hear it. “I love you so much that it frightens me. I never thought to love a woman the way I love you but now that I do, I have nay intention of ever losing you or betraying you. I swear to you that I have answers for all your questions. But now, I have a man to kill.” Before she could argue, respond, or try to stop him, he kissed her hard and fiercely, then spun on his heels with his sword in hand and ran out of the house and into the darkness as fast as he could, feeling the rush of a well-deserved fight thrumming through his veins. He could hear Aislin yelling at him to come back but he ran so fast, her voice faded away as the distance between them grew further and further.

  Chapter Ten

  Daniel was a dead man. No man followed his wife, hid behind trees, and watched her disrobe. Alastar’s blood boiled and his stomach clenched. He did not even care that Daniel had told Aislin about Elwynna. She was far in his past and, though he had cared about her more than he had other lassies at the time, at no point had he considered it love or desired marriage with her. As much as it pained him to remember how badly he had hurt her heart, it had never been his intention, and he had been quite clear from the first that he had no intensions toward her aside from companionship and physical lust. If he ever saw the lass again, he would apologize for hurting her, but he knew he would never see her, especially since her father was now the man trying to start a war with Tuathal.

  But Aislin was his wife. She was the woman he vowed to protect and had grown to love very much. He would slay any man who threatened her safety or disrespected her honor. Daniel had done both of those, along with his subtle threats in the past and his apparent need to try to form a wedge between them.

  The cold night wind whipped him in the face and he only just realized that he had left the house without a tunic, but he was much too heated to let the chill affect him. It also did nothing to cool his temper. He had always been an amicable man, seeking peace and companionship before war and violence, but sometimes a man had to what a man had to do.

  The gathering hall came into view. Alastar truly had no idea where to find Daniel, but this was as good of a place as any to look. Daniel tended to stick close to his fellow hunters, even though many of them were warriors and he was not. He could hear the loud voices coming from the rectangular building and, as an inebriated man being carried out by two men on either side of him stumbled through the door, he saw the bright lights spill onto the muddy ground, shimmering off a rather large mud puddle just to the left of the entrance.

  “Al!” the drunken man slurred, and he realized it was one of his fellow warriors. While normally he would laugh at the fool and say something witty to honor the occasion, the only thing on his mind at the moment was justice for the wrong done to his wee wife.

  “Is Daniel inside?” he came closer to his companion and asked. The man was covered in ale and it had run down his now soaked red tunic. His blond hair stood on end, also soaked with ale that had dried and it created a rather unsightly nest of hair on the man’s head.

  “Who ish Dan... yell?” the man murmured.

  Alastar was too annoyed to be patient. “Och, man. He is that strange hunter with the long dark hair.”

  One of the two men holding up his mate nodded and struggled to hold on to the warrior’s dead weight. “Aye, he is in there. I warn you. He has been running his mouth about you. Saying you are undeserving of Aislin and that he would find a way to have her. I do not like what I have heard.”

  “I am here to kill him,” Alastar growled and began to push his way through the crowd.

  “Truly? Och, I need to see this!” The two men dropped the warrior in the very same mu
d puddle Alastar had only just noticed, causing his mate to curse at his friends.

  Alastar stormed inside the hall, banging the door against the wall so that it splintered down the middle with a loud cracking sound. The voices and laughter died as all eyes turned toward him, but he only sought out one man.

  “Daniel Mac Simon!” Alastar roared so loud he swore the thatched roof would fall around him. “Where is the bastard?”

  The entire room separated to create a walkway for him as he searched the hall for one man amongst scores. “Come out, you coward! Face me like a man and prepare to die!”

  A few lassies gasped and scrambled behind benches or large men as he gripped his sword even tighter in his hand.

  “What goes on here, Mac Murray?” He knew the deep voice of his High King. He heard that very same voice for hours a day in the fields as they practiced.

  Continuing to scan the room, he answered his king. “That bastard Mac Simon has been harassing my wife!” he roared. “He follows her when she is unknowing. He hid in the forest today and watched her disrobe before bathing in the lake! Then he cornered her while she was naked and vulnerable, filling her ears with vile lies!” Turning to look his king in the eyes, he continued, “I care not if he tries to turn my wife against me. We are stronger than his lies. I do care that he has violated her privacy and dishonors her! I vowed to protect Aislin and that I will.”

  He was seething inside now. Where was that bastard? Too cowardly to pay the price for his dirty deeds? “I want his blood! He will fight me to the death!”

  Tuathal nodded and glowered, an audible growl escaping his throat. Aislin was his cousin by marriage and Alastar knew Tuathal took the protection of all his people very seriously. “Mac Simon!” If Alastar had thought his roar would bring the roof down, Tuathal’s nearly split the walls in twain.

  One man pushed Daniel out into the center of the room to face his king. Daniel looked respectful enough when he faced Tuathal but when his gaze shifted to Alastar, he saw pure hatred gleaming in the man’s eyes. The feeling was mutual, and Alastar bared his teeth and growled, lunging forward to bring himself face to face with the man he desperately wished to tear to pieces. Daniel was smart enough to take a step back.

  “It this true, Mac Simon?” Tuathal asked calmly. “Have you been following my cousin around? Causing her trouble and spying on her?” The disgust was apparent in the king’s voice and Daniel put his head down. “Is… it… true?”

  Daniel lifted his head and pointed an accusatory finger in Alastar’s direction. “I loved her first! I was trying to court her and Alastar just took her away, just like he does with all the lassies! He will only break her heart in the end! I would have been good to her!”

  “By disrespecting her privacy while she bathes?” Alastar shouted in the man’s face, causing him to flinch.

  Tuathal stepped forward and placed a hand on Alastar’s shoulder to hold him back. “It matters not if you loved her first. She chose Mac Murray and is wed to him.”

  “Tis only a handfast,” Daniel spat in response. The look Tuathal sent him was enough to shut up any man. If Daniel was a hound, his tail would be between his legs.

  “Did you follow Aislin?” Tuathal continued as if Daniel had not spoken.

  “Aye.”’

  “Did you hide in the trees while she disrobed, then approach her while she was in the lake?”

  “Aye.”

  Hearing the man admit as much made Alastar’s rage double, if it were possible. The need to destroy this man who lusted after his wife was stronger than ever. Daniel had always been a shy, quiet man but now Alastar knew he was capable of more than he let on.

  “Then ‘tis Alastar’s right as her husband to seek his revenge and to honor his wife. You know this Mac Simon,” Tuathal shouted.

  “Outside. Now!” Alastar pushed the man toward the door. When Daniel tried to run, several men surrounded him and guided him toward the entrance.

  Just then the familiar lilt of his wife’s voice drifted over the shouts of bloodthirsty men. “Al!” He saw her run through the door of the hall, heaving with exertion and holding onto her sides. “Wait!”

  Suddenly distracted by her plea and beautiful face, he turned from Daniel and walked toward her, scooping her tangled red hair away from her face. Her cheeks were flushed, and her nose was nipped red from the snow starting to fall outside again. She must have run the entire way here. “I need to do this, mo chroí.” That was the first time he had ever called her his “love” before, but she truly was, and he needed her to know it.

  She nodded and swallowed hard, bending over to catch her breath. “Aye. I know. At least I know there is nothing I can say to prevent you from doing what is your right as my husband.” He nodded at her and stared down into her warm green eyes.

  “I just wanted to tell you… needed to tell you… to be careful,” she whispered, looking nervous and worried. His heart fluttered to see her concerned for his well-being. “And also, I love you too.”

  He grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her to his lips, kissing her hard, savagely, letting his love, lust, pride, and need to honor her shine through with every slide of his tongue around hers. He tore himself away and struggled to catch his breath. “Gods, I love you, lass.” The crowd started hooting and whistling, stomping their feet and shouting out crude jests as Aislin turned a beautiful shade of pink. “’Tis time, Lin. I must do this.”

  She frowned, but nodded and backed away. He knew she understood. Sometimes, a man had to fight for the woman he loved. And he loved her more than he loved anyone in his entire life.

  “Someone give Mac Simon a sword,” he growled and turned back around just in time to watch the man turn ashen. Mayhap he had only just realized that he was likely to die, but he should have thought of that before dishonoring Alastar’s wife.

  When no man came forward to aid Daniel, Tuathal slipped his own sword from its sheath and handed it to Daniel. Alastar nodded at his King and cousin by marriage, then proceeded to walk silently outside into the falling snow, knowing every person inside the hall silently followed.

  When he turned, he saw Daniel standing there, awkwardly holding the sword. A slight niggle of doubt shook his conscience. Daniel Mac Simon was no warrior. Aye, the man was a fair hunter and had better aim with a bow than most men, but when it came to the use of a sword, it was clear the man had never been properly trained. The fight was necessary, but Alastar decided to go as easy on the man as possible. He could gut him with one swipe of his blade, but in truth, killing was never something Alastar had ever enjoyed. Nor was it something he had ever had to do outside of a battleground. But, he had never been a married man before, never had a woman to defend. If he showed the man mercy now, as he had over three moons ago at their marriage celebration, Daniel would only continue to harass Aislin and cause trouble. He may even cross a line and violate her. In fact, he had already violated her simply by watching her.

  “You ready?” He watched Daniel squat low and lift the sword. Alastar would not take the first swing. It seemed only fair to give the man a reasonable chance. He signaled Daniel with his hand to swing first. “Come at me, Mac Simon!” he roared. “Or are you too much of a coward to pay for your wrongdoing? Only brave enough to harass an innocent woman?”

  His words were getting to Daniel, just as he hoped they would. Sometimes the verbal spar was just as effective as the physical one. Daniel began to shake and look around as if seeking an ally. But nobody in the tuath would come between a husband and his rightful vengeance.

  Just when Alastar was readying himself to start another round of verbal abuse, Daniel threw the sword down into the dirt and bolted from the fight, pushing through the ring of stunned onlookers. “Where are you going, Mac Simon?” Tuathal roared as he scooped his precious sword out of the thin layer of snow now covering the ground. “After him!”

  A handful of warriors trailed after Daniel, but he was quick and knew those woods as well as Aislin did. The hunters
had that advantage over the warriors and there was any number of places the man could hide once he reached the thick wall of trees where the snow could not fall and create tracks for the warriors to follow. Alastar watched in anger and disappointment as the biggest threat to his wife’s safety vanished into the tree lines. The warriors were far behind him and Alastar knew they would not give up easily, but they would likely not be successful.

  “Cursed coward!” he shouted, throwing his sword down into the snow. “I should have just killed him!”

  “Nay.” Aislin stepped forward and placed her forehead against his, her breath coming out in cold wisps against his lips. “I know what you did. You saw he could not handle his weapon and had mercy on him. You are a good man, Alastar and I love you more for it.” She kissed him softly and he felt some of his anger melt.

  “I will find him, Lin. I cannot allow him to hurt you. Someday, he might.”

  “I can protect myself,” she argued. “If he ever tried to touch me, I could handle him.”

  “I won’t allow that to happen, my love. Not while I am your husband... which shall be until the day I die. I hope you have nay more plans to rid yourself of me, for I will never allow it.”

  She smiled, and he felt himself calm a little more. Aye, he had let his instinct for kindness guide him just enough to allow the man the first swing. He should have come at him and skewered him for his offenses, but nay, he had shown mercy and now the bastard was gone.

  “He is nay longer welcome here, so he will either be found and face the consequences another day, or he will flee into the wilderness and die a coward’s death,” Tuathal grunted.

  There was another option, a likely one at that, and Alastar knew he needed to make his king aware of the facts. “’Tis likely he will flee to his Uncle’s camp. He is the nephew of Mal Mac Rochride. He grew up with me at Elim’s camp and his father was Elim’s best fighter.”

  Tuathal frowned. “I know who his kin are. I promised all my people sanctuary when I defeated Elim. He was a tyrant and people feared him. With the threat of death or harm to their families, people will do aught asked of them. I offered an opportunity to choose one’s path here in Ráth Mór. Nobody was forced to be here. We fight with honor, live with honor.” His king’s deep voice grew sad at the thought of one of his own defecting and he ran a hand through his shoulder length dark hair, blue eyes blazing. “We know not what he plans. He may seek his uncle simply for safety now that he is unwelcome here.”