by J. E. Taylor
He disappeared into the woods and came back a few minutes later dressed in pants, boots, and a half-buttoned shirt. As disappointed as I was that he had covered his nakedness, I had to admit how good he looked in his rugged clothes.
“My father thinks you are either daft or have a death wish,” I said as he approached.
A dimple appeared in his cheek. “What say you on the matter?”
“I haven’t the foggiest idea. I am still trying to reconcile the bear with the man.” I waved the arrow in his direction and then slid it back into my quiver. I shouldered my bow and cocked my head at him. “My father also said you come from a cursed clan.”
Aiden laughed and the rich sound of it tickled my fancy. “Did your father also happen to tell you who cursed our family?”
I shook my head and followed him as he stepped onto a beaten path in the woods.
“His ancestors had a witch at their disposal and not only did they mark the MacMahon name forevermore, they had that witch curse the entire lineage. I have yet to see the sun rise or set. I am cursed to bear the symbol of our name during the daylight and wander as man while the moon crosses the sky. This is why I did not make it to the throne room in time, and I suspect it is why the king never has evening viewings, so I cannot challenge his authority.”
Venom filled his voice and his glare caused shivers across my skin. I slowed, putting a little distance between us.
He stopped and turned towards me. “You are afraid?”
My heartbeat thrummed in my ears, but I wasn’t willing to admit I was afraid. I shook my head.
He stepped closer and leaned in, inhaling through flared nostrils. “Your scent says otherwise.”
I pressed my lips together against the nervous energy in my stomach. “Well, can you blame me?” I had seen a lot of strange, unexplained things in my twenty years on this earth, but seeing a bear turn into a man, sexy or otherwise, had me a little scatterbrained. Especially one who blamed my family for his dire circumstances. “How do I know you are not leading me deep into the woods where you plan on eating me?”
He stared down at me with a wicked grin. The light dancing in his eyes matched the salaciousness of his smile. “There’s an idea,” he whispered with a sexy growl and pulled me against his hard body. “But I’m sure if I did something so sinful, you would have my head on a platter.”
I blinked at him as his words sank in. He wasn’t talking about having me for dinner. Heat filled my entire form, exploding in my cheeks as I pushed him away.
“If you had been able to stand in front of my father yesterday, what is it you would have said?” I asked, changing the subject. I started to walk on the path, letting him follow me this time.
He didn’t answer me right away. Instead, he walked at my side with his thumbs latched on the edge of his pockets. A crease appeared between his eyes as if in deep thought.
“Whatever I had the mind to say changed the minute I laid eyes on you.” He sighed and glanced sideways at me.
“How so?”
“One does not challenge the king to a duel for the right to keep his name on the eve where the king’s only daughter is to claim her life partner. Especially when the sight of her melts all one’s resolve, replacing it with a need so strong that namesake or curses no longer matter.”
I digested his words. “So, you do have a death wish,” I said, meeting his intense gaze.
He stopped and cocked his head, narrowing his eyes at me. The flare of red in his cheeks preceded his swagger down the path in front of me.
A smirk toyed on my lips, and any fear that had been at the edges of my mind dispersed. Aiden had felt the connection as acutely as I had the prior evening. And he did not refer to my dilemma as having to choose a prince or a betrothal. He’d said the magic word. Partner.
I slammed into his back.
“What...”
He partially turned with his finger on his lips, telling me to shush.
I didn’t move. He smelled of honey and the deep woods. I closed my eyes, getting lost in his unique scent.
“Hand me your bow and an arrow, quietly,” he whispered.
I placed the bow in his waiting hand, pulled an arrow out of my quiver, and handed it to him over his shoulder. The woods were too dark to see what had him spooked.
“Please have another arrow ready once this one flies,” he said and pulled the bow back.
A low rumbling growl came from the blackness in front of us and it took me a moment to place that sound. Aiden exhaled, and the twang of the bow as he let the arrow go drowned out the growls. Before he ripped the next arrow from my hand, a howl of pain filled the darkness.
He let the second arrow fly. “Another!”
The urgency in his voice sparked me into action. The moment I slammed the arrow into the palm of his hand, another pain-filled howl sounded. Moments after the third arrow took flight, that same high-pitched whine shocked my ears.
“They are getting much bolder these days,” Aiden muttered under his breath as he handed me the bow and sauntered off into the darkness.
By the time I caught up to him, he had three scrawny wolves hauled over his shoulder and a small pup held by the scruff of its neck in front of him.
“Don’t hurt it,” I said, hurrying to his side. I reached for the wolf pup.
Aiden hesitantly handed it over. The little thing mewed in my arms, crying for a mother that was now just a wolf pelt over Aiden’s shoulder.
“If they had stayed in the shadows and left us alone, that pup might still have a mother.” He started walking again and glanced over his shoulder. “What are you going to do with that thing?”
“I’m going to keep him and name him...Shadow.”
“Are you sure that is going to fly with mommy and daddy?” he asked, mocking my exuberance over the small life I held in my arms.
“Well considering I haven’t planted an arrow in your heart like the law states I should, I wouldn’t worry too much about what my parent’s think about a wolf pup. I would worry more about what they will do to you if you show your face in the castle again.”
He slowed and kept pace next to me.
I glanced at him. “What would you have offered my father for my hand?’’
He chuckled. “I have nothing of monetary value to offer, Princess. Besides, bartering for a lady’s hand is an archaic practice. A heart should be won, not traded for goods.”
It was as if this man had been inside my head.
We walked in silence, the wolf pup cradled in my arms, sleeping peacefully. Aiden held the bow loosely in one hand and had his other wrapped around the three wolves hanging over his shoulder. Carrying three adult wolves did not seem to be a burden to Aiden. My heart fluttered as I watched his easy stride.
There had to be a way to convince my father that Aiden MacMahon was the right man for me.
Chapter 3
“Who goes there?” a guard at the gate asked as we approached.
“Tis I, Princess May,” I answered, taking the position in front of Aiden. “Stay close,” I whispered over my shoulder.”
“The king has been looking for you.” He raised the gate for us to enter and gave Aiden a sideways glance.
“This nice gentleman found me in the woods and helped me find my way back.” I kept going as if all was normal.
It was a gamble bringing Aiden into the castle, especially with all that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours, but I needed to show my father that the law was ludicrous. Only he had the power to change it.
As for the curse, I would have to look into that further once things settled down. My mind was made up. I would do whatever it took to make sure Aiden was pardoned for the sins of his ancestors, and reverse the damn curse that turned him into a beast by day.
“Stop that man!”
I jumped at the sound of my father’s voice. We were halfway across the courtyard, and guards came out of the woodwork, all brandishing swords.
Aiden handed me my b
ow and laid the wolves on the ground before him. He raised his hands, showing he was not going to fight. The guardsmen, however, approached as if he were fully armed for battle.
I stepped close to Aiden out of a need to protect him. “He saved me from these wolves.” I pointed to the pile on the ground. “And spared the pup in my arms. He is not a danger.”
“He is a MacMahon,” my father growled, stepping into the moonlight. “And as such, is sentenced to death.”
“Is there no mercy for the man who saved your daughter’s life? A man who insisted on accompanying me to safety without so much as a thought for his own?”
My father’s lips pressed together, and his hands clenched into fists. The way his face pinched, I knew my words were puncturing his resolve.
“The law of the land...” he started.
“Can be changed,” I interjected. “He is not his ancestors. He is not the ones who terrorized the nobles and stormed the castle over a hundred years ago. Why should he be crucified for his ancestor’s sins?” I stood my ground, challenging my father in front of his guardsmen. My palms sweat under the heat of the puppy still in my arms. My stomach clenched at my own audacity, and nerves bit at the surface of my skin. My heart pounded as I prayed I had not just taken away any chance for Aidan’s survival.
“May, this is my battle, not yours,” Aiden said softly.
I glanced at him and swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Take him to the dungeon,” my father growled, glaring at me in a way that promised an epic lecture about his dignity in front of his men.
The order was a concession, but it didn’t mean Aiden was out of danger.
“Don’t hurt him,” I said as the guards grabbed Aiden and shoved him forward. They were not known for their patience or their gentleness with prisoners, and while I knew Aiden would live until my father saw fit to pass his sentence, I didn’t know if it would be without bruises or broken bones.
As soon as Aiden was out of sight, my father stormed over to where I stood. He glanced down at the dead wolves and then the puppy in my arms. His jaw clenched tight and his glare was as deadly as I had ever seen it.
“I should lock you up in your room until your wedding day.”
“You are the one who dictated I make a choice.” I glared back at him. My voice was low and full of the same venom his words held. “And if you see fit to execute Aiden, I will never agree to marry anyone you decide is worthy. If you try to force it on me, you will not like my reaction.”
“Do not threaten me, girl.” He stepped closer, towering over me.
“It’s not a threat, Father. It is a promise.”
A small growl came from my arms. The little wolf pup was about as pleased with my father as I was. I scratched behind the wolf’s ear and the growl faded, but its sharp little eyes never left my father.
“I should have beaten this obstinance out of you the first time you showed it.”
“Mother wouldn’t have allowed that.”
He pressed his lips together. “Go to your room. Now.”
Instead of instigating him further, I turned and trudged inside with Shadow still in my arms. My father ordered someone to bring him the pelts of the wolves once they were cleaned, and I shuddered, clasping my wolf pup a little tighter.
“Sheri, can you please get me a bowl of milk?” I asked my lady-in-waiting as I entered my room.
“Right away, my lady.” She scuttled out of the room and returned with a bowl of milk a few minutes later.
I took the milk and put it under Shadow’s nose. The pup nearly dove into the bowl. Both paws and his snout dipped into the white liquid as if it were made of gold. His tongue lapped the liquid as fast as possible, splattering it all over the front of his fine grey coat. I smiled at my little treasure.
But my smile disappeared as my mother stormed into my bedroom, her face as red as her hair.
She stopped halfway across the room, planting her hands on her hips as she stared down at me. “What have you done?”
My eyebrows rose in response and the little ball of fur in my lap started that low growl. The hair on the back of Shadow’s neck bristled. I slowly ran my fingers down behind his ears, scratching to distract him. My mother wasn’t one to take being challenged lightly, and the sternness in her expression matched that of her demanding tone.
She turned and started pacing the length of the room. Red bloomed in her cheeks, and she chewed on her lower lip.
“Why are you so upset?” I finally asked when the pacing didn’t cease.
She stopped and turned, facing me. “Bringing him here was not wise,” she finally said with eyes so full of fear that I gulped whatever words had been waiting to come out.
“Shadow?” I asked, holding my wolf a little tighter.
My mother rolled her eyes. “No. MacMahon.”
“He wasn’t willing to let me cross the fields alone. Not after the wolves attacked us in the woods.”
“You should have insisted!”
I leaned back away from the panic pulsing out of my mother. “Why?”
“Because...” She clamped her lips closed and shut her eyes. When she opened them, I swore there were unshed tears before she blinked them away. “Because he wants your blood.”
I cocked my head. “If he wanted my blood, why in the world wouldn’t he have taken it in the forest?” Her logic did not sit right with him protecting me the way he’d done. “He had plenty of opportunity to kill me, Mother. And he did just the opposite. He protected me.”
“Of course he protected you. If you die, the curse becomes permanent.”
I stared at her, trying to comprehend what exactly she was telling me. “What?” The word came out in barely a whisper.
“You are his key to reversing the curse, but if you die before the ritual is complete, he will become the bear for all time.”
“How am I the key?”
She bit her lower lip again. “You are the only female descendent of the witch who placed the curse on the MacMahon’s. That is why that heathen came to the palace.”
“I still don’t understand how I am the key.” I ignored the fact I was a descendent of a witch. I would deal with that once I understood how I factored into Aiden’s cure.
“In order to reverse the curse, the last descendant of the MacMahon clan must drink a qist of fresh blood from the last descendant of the witch Marigold within the confines of the great stones when the mid-day hour becomes as dark as night. If Marigold’s descendant lives despite the loss of blood, it will cure the curse. But if Marigold’s descendant dies before the sun takes over the sky once again, then the last MacMahon will die with her, and only the beast will remain.”
My mind raced just as fast as my heart. “So, my blood and being at Stonehenge during an eclipse will cure Aiden?”
My mother paled and reached for the bedside table to steady herself. Her slow nod of acknowledgement created a pressure inside my chest.
“What if the last descendant of Marigold and MacMahon were to wed?”
“It is forbidden.” She looked at the pup in my lap. “Just as it is forbidden to have wolves as pets.”
I cocked an eyebrow at her. “Shadow isn’t going anywhere.” I bit my tongue before I added anything about Aiden. I had to have a conversation with the man before I stuck my neck out for him again.
Had his attentions all been a ruse?
LONG AFTER THE CASTLE quieted, I slipped out of my room and down to the dungeons, sneaking by the dozing watch guard. I snatched the keys off the table next to him. As stealthily as possible, I tried each key in the door to the vault until the click of the lock echoed. I stiffened.
The guard mumbled and shifted, but didn’t wake. Finally, I exhaled the breath I had been holding and slipped through the door, closing it behind me. I lit the lantern and kept it on low as I tiptoed down the hall, glancing into each cell.
I stopped when the light shone on Aiden.
“Why have you come?” Aiden asked from h
is prone position on the bare cot. He didn’t even lift his head to look at me.
“I was going to ask you the same thing.” I turned up the lantern and glanced at the door to the castle proper. If the guard woke, I would be in a great deal of trouble. I inspected the keys in my hand until I found one that looked like the lock on the door, slid the metal inside, and turned it. At first it didn’t budge, but a moment later, a satisfying click sounded. I opened the door and stood in the entrance to the cell.
His eyes opened, and he sat up, meeting my gaze. A dimple made a quick appearance before it disappeared. “I have a dilemma,” he said and sighed, glancing down at the floor. “I want a whole life.” He stood and crossed to the bars. Fire burned in his eyes, and the next few words came out between clenched teeth. “I wanted it bad enough to believe the sacrifice was worth it.”
His intense stare froze me in place. When his hand snaked out and tangled in my hair, his touch zapped me with enough sizzle to create steam between us. He pulled me closer. The metal of the lamp handle bit into my hand as I gripped it tighter, and my breath caught in my throat.
“And then I saw you.” He leaned his head against mine. His dark bangs tickled my forehead as his thumb caressed my cheek. “That was as bad as a kick in the balls.”
“Why?” My voice barely registered.
He met my gaze and it was as if the room ignited. His lips covered mine as he swung me around and pressed me against the bars. I gasped. His tongue slipped into my mouth in a delicious dance, exploring, twirling, teasing. One of his hands caressed my breast through my nightshirt before he pulled away.
“What I wouldn’t do to hear you calling my name in ecstasy...” His lips touched mine, and then he was gone.
The cell clanged shut leaving me in the grungy accommodations as he slipped out the door.
He glanced over his shoulder before he disappeared into the dark, like a soldier looking at his loved ones just before he was shipped off to battle.
“Damn you,” I muttered under my breath and pushed on the gate. It didn’t budge. I hadn’t even noticed him taking the lamp or the keys out of my grasp. I was too lost in the sweetness of his mouth and the gentleness of his hand cupping my breast.