Highlander's Desire (The Matheson Brothers Book 1)

by Joanne Wadsworth

  Both his brothers fell into a heap on the ground.

  Iain eyed her as he breathed deep. “I miss you.”

  “I miss you too.”

  Finlay and Kirk jumped back to their feet and returned to the fight.

  All around Iain the other men partnered together battled hard. Some had shucked their shirts and their chests glistened with sweat as gravel dust rose and clouded the air. They wielded their swords in a battle of strength against one another, a stunning sight to see.

  “We can go closer if you wish?” Megan touched her arm. “Once one has bonded, the desire to be near each other grows from strength to strength. I know the best place where Iain will be able to keep an eye on you without his ability to battle being affected, not that it appears that way at the moment. He’s holding his own.”

  “Thank you. I’d like that.” She walked with Megan around the perimeter of the courtyard toward the curtain wall closest to Iain and sat beside Megan as she perched on a wooden slatted bench just out of reach of the dappled shade of a large elm tree.

  “I’m glad you’ve had the past two weeks alone with him.” Megan crossed her legs as she rested back on the bench. “He’ll be at far more peace now having had the chance to strengthen your bond before the daily grind of business takes over again.”

  “I’m aware your clan takes on government contracted cases similar to ours.”

  “Aye, Daniel, when he visited two weeks ago, mentioned the similarities as well, although your clansmen utilize your fae skills to their best advantage while our clansmen must rely on their increased shifter strength alone.”

  “Did Daniel show you his ability?”

  “No, what skill does he hold?”

  “Telekinesis. He can immobilize a threat by levitation. It’s rather interesting to watch him hang a man upside down in midair, and depending on his mood, spin him around.”

  “Oh, how intriguing.” She clapped and giggled. “He’ll have to show me the next time he visits. I’m most fascinated by your ability to compel. The guardsman you slipped past when you first left couldn’t even recall having met you.”

  “I compelled that request of him. Ordinarily though, I don’t use my skill against my own kin, other than for training purposes. One of my father’s rules and we all try to adhere to it.” A rule she’d apply here at her new home too.

  “Tell me more about your father. I’m aware you lost your mother not long after you were born. Daniel mentioned it, and that you’re very close to your father.”

  “Dad did the most amazing job raising me, although I’ve never been without female guidance. Our clan is tight and I consider many of the older women strong motherly figures.” She rolled her shoulders and rested back as Megan had done. “Dad definitely still suffers from her death though, and now I’m mated, I can truly understand why.” If she lost Iain it would kill her. That she knew to the depths of her soul. Across the courtyard, he fought hard, his sculpted chest and honed muscles rippling under the thin white cotton of his billowy shirt. “I want to roll around in bed with you, like right now.”

  He stumbled, righted himself and slammed his blade into Finlay’s. “Give me ten more minutes and I’m there. I have to at least shake some of this restlessness out of my brothers.”

  “Ten minutes, and I’m holding you to that. I have some restlessness you need to shake out of me too.”

  Megan straightened one of the pleats in her ankle-length blue skirt. “Those who wish to survive following their mate’s passing must have strong kinship bonds in place to hold them to the here and now. We’ll ensure your father never loses you.”

  “Losing him has always been one of my greatest fears. Iain’s promised me I can return home as often as I need to and I’m very grateful for that.”

  Finlay and Kirk growled as they swung at each other, their strikes becoming harder and fiercer with each blow. Megan eyed her sons and frowned. “Something is truly up with those two. I’ve never seen Finlay and Kirk so aggressive. Both have had to shift twice today already, their bears riding them hard.”

  “Iain told me their search for their mates seems otherworldly. They follow their senses, yet no matter if they’re standing in the very spot where their women should be, there’s no one about.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “I mentioned the details to my father while we were at the cabin, but I haven’t heard back if he’s had any visions surrounding them yet. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll call him and check in.” Cell phone in hand, she wandered underneath the tree, rested back against the trunk and jabbed in Dad’s number. Iain watched her as he trained, his golden gaze firm on hers.

  “Isla.” Dad’s voice reverberated down the line. “How are things?”

  “Hey, Dad. Things are good. We’re back at Ivanson Castle and I just met Iain’s mother. I have a question.” The breeze rose and the leaves on the elm tree rustled. One drifted free and swirled toward her. She plucked it out of the air and fingered the golden-tinged leaf.

  “One moment. Let me find a quiet place to speak to you.” His footsteps echoed down the line. A door closed then the familiar sound of his black leather chair creaked as it welcomed his weight.

  “Are you in your solar?”

  “I am. Shoot me your question.”

  “It’s about Finlay and Kirk’s search for their mates. Have you seen anything yet? Do you have even an inkling about what’s going on?”

  “Iain and his brothers have one of the strongest bonds I’ve ever seen between siblings, and regarding their mates, it shall be you and not me who ultimately guides them in the right direction.” He cleared his throat. “Isla, there’s something I must say before it becomes too late.”

  “Too late for what?”

  “You mustn’t fight the pull.”

  “Have you been talking to Daniel?”

  “I must warn you. You’ll soon be gone and I’ll have no way of reaching you for some time. Just know that I love you and we’ll see each other again soon. It’s time for the ‘power of three’ to be—”

  “Dad?” Her phone beeped and she tapped it, her connection with him gone. Stupid signal.

  She called his number, the wind rising and whipping her hair about her face.

  Across the bailey, Iain sheathed his sword and sprinted toward her. He yelled something to his brothers over his shoulder and something lashed at her and tore her merged link with him away. A mist rose and lights shimmered all around. It was as if the stars themselves had escaped the sky and blazed above.

  Clutching her belly, she fell away into a dark abyss. “No!” Her scream reverberated through the dense fog, ringing in her own ears.

  Chapter 10

  Thunder boomed and lightning slashed within the pitch black. The wind shoved and twirled Isla around. She searched frantically for her link to Iain but got nothing. Dad had said he’d have no way of reaching her until she returned. Heart pounding, she screamed for her mate. “Iain!”

  Hands grabbed at her, hauled her up against a hard male body. “I’ve got you.”

  She shoved her hair out of her face and stared into her man’s beautiful golden eyes then sank into his mind and clung to him. “What’s happening?”

  “All I saw was a tunnel of wind churning around you then you were gone. I dived into the vortex that sucked you away.”

  Finlay and Kirk flew toward them and each one clasped Iain’s arms. They surrounded her, covering her back and keeping her in the middle of the three of them.

  “Are you all right?” Finlay yelled over the rush of wind to her.

  “I am now you’re all here. Dad said I’d soon be gone and he’d have no way of reaching me until I returned. He said it’s time for the ‘power of three’ to be unveiled, or at least he almost got that all out.”

  “Hey, we’re slowing down.” Kirk stared through the dark, dense fog. Lights once again flickered then an unearthly force sucked them apart and they plummeted into the frigid depths of a loch. Icy water c
losed over her head and she kicked upward through the murkiness and broke the surface. White-capped waves, lit a silvery hue by the moon high above, broke over her.

  She gulped in great drafts of air as Finlay and Kirk surfaced. “Iain, I’m on the surface.”

  “Almost there. Don’t move.”

  Dizziness overwhelmed her and she grabbed her head. Everything went dark and wavered before her eyes. “Need you, now.”

  * * * *

  Iain emerged from the loch’s dark depths in a fizz of bubbles. Waves sloshed into Isla and she slumped forward into Finlay. His brother seized her waist and held her up.

  “Isla!” He powered toward her, hauled her into his arms and lifted one hand to her mouth. Her breath whispered gently in and out and warmed his palm. “She’s breathing. I need to get her to land.”

  “We appear to be close.” Finlay pointed over Iain’s shoulder. “Behind you.”

  Across the choppy moonlight waves, a castle rose like a sentinel in the dark, its massive gray stone turrets and towering walls topped with battlements and guardsmen roaming the ramparts. From the multitude of square windows, candlelight flickered as it did in the days of old. “Where the hell are we?”

  “We’re certainly no longer at Ivanson Castle.” Kirk treaded water next to him. “There’re so many birlinns moored in the bay. Boats haven’t been made like that in a very long time.”

  At least half a dozen birlinns were roped to the sea-gate landing and bobbed with the incoming tide.

  Isla moaned and stirred in his arms. “Iain?”

  “I’m here.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Wake up, love.”

  She blinked her eyes open then clutched his shirtfront. “You need to stop disappearing.”

  “You’re the one who disappeared.”

  “Where are—” She gasped as she stared toward land. “It’s Matheson Castle.”

  “Your home?”

  “Aye, although it’s so very different. I’ve seen old sketches depicting it like this. Dad has one hanging in his solar that he drew from a vision he’d had.” She glanced at Finlay and Kirk, their dark hair plastered to their faces and necks. “I’m home, or at least as my home appeared in the past. This is the ancient House of Clan Matheson.”

  “You’re saying we’ve traveled through time?” Finlay shook his head. “Incredible.”

  “In the future the sea-gate is farther to the right where the water is deeper.” She swung her gaze toward a village nestled along the land where it jutted to a point within the inland channel. Smoke curled into the air from several thatch-roofed houses. Cloistered tightly together, they were surrounded by a stone wall. “The village stands. It burnt to the ground in the twelve-hundreds when the MacKenzies landed on our shores and attempted to take the waterways between us and the Isle of Skye. That place is sacrosanct and remains bare except for a commemorative stone laid in honor of all those who lost their lives during the great feud of that time.”

  “The MacKenzies are an allied clan of Matheson. Why would they burn the village down?” Never once during Iain’s travels on the night of a full moon had his senses ever led him here. So too his ancestor had never once spoken of the place he’d called home. The location had been kept a secret due to the prophecy.

  “I can assure you we weren’t allies with the MacKenzies during the early twelve-hundreds when they attempted to take what was ours.”

  “I’ve never heard of this war.”

  “The Chief of MacKenzie wanted to rule these waterways. Our land sits in the prime position on the tip of Loch Alsh between the mainland and the MacDonald of Sleat’s land on the Isle of Skye. The MacKenzie chief wanted to take it all, and he attacked at the heart of our clan to do so. At the time, the MacDonalds joined forces with us to hold the MacKenzies at bay, but the additional number made no difference when they struck. The blackest day in our history was on June the eleventh, twelve-hundred and ten. That’s the day we lost the village and so many of our fae skilled people in the fires that burned.”

  “Tell me all that you can about the village.”

  “In the nine-hundreds, the faerie king’s youngest son visited the village along the loch and fell in love with the chief’s daughter.”

  “I’m aware of that. He wed the lass and their offspring were gifted in the way of the faerie folk.”

  “Aye, and during Gilleoin’s time, after he was bestowed by The Most High One with the ability to shift, he sought out his mate and was led by the full moon to the village. He claimed Sorcha as his, Nessa’s daughter, the seer who spoke the prophecy. Sorcha held the skill of aura reading and could perceive another’s true intentions. They completed the bond and formed a link of the mind.” Isla shivered as she eyed the shoreline. “We’ll need to head in. We’ve no other choice.”

  “I agree. Let’s go.” Finlay struck out first. “We’re kin and that should count for something.”

  Kirk fell in on the other side of Isla and together they swam in a close group. As a large wave crested, they rode it in and at knee-depth, slogged through the water into shore.

  A warrior wearing a thick brown leather vest studded with bits of steel and a massive claymore holstered across his back marched toward them, several of his men at his flank. He halted and eyed him. “Ye wear the Matheson plaid. I’ll have your names.”

  The warrior’s brogue was far thicker than his. He’d have to take care with his words. Easing in front of Isla, water sluicing to his booted feet, Iain palmed the hilt of his belted sword. “I’m Iain Matheson, the Chief of Matheson’s eldest son, and we come in peace.” He motioned to his brothers who stood either side of him. “This is Finlay and Kirk.”

  “Ah, I see.” He nodded with a smile. “I was informed of your impending arrival, that you’re here to aid us in our coming battle against the MacKenzies. My name is Kenneth and I am the firstborn son of Gilleoin.” The warrior turned his gaze on Isla. “And who is the lass ye protect?”

  “Isla, the eldest daughter of Murdock Matheson, the chief of her clan. And who exactly informed you of our arrival?”

  “My grandmother, Nessa. She is the seer of our clan. Come, you’ve naught to fear from any of us. I’m well aware of where you’re from. Nessa and Gilleoin also await your presence in the chief’s solar.” The warrior led the way across the pebbly beach toward the grassy path winding upward to the castle, his men stepping aside and allowing them safe passage through.

  “Well, this is a rather interesting turn of events.” Isla rubbed her arms and Iain tucked her under his shoulder as they trekked up the rise, protecting her from the brisk sea breeze as best as he could.

  “Nessa did first speak the prophecy.” He walked through the arched gates and past flickering torches mounted against the bailey’s stone walls.

  Isla’s gaze darted around the inner courtyard and she smiled at him. “Wow. This is amazing to see the castle as it first was. It’s also wonderful to have finally brought you home.”

  “Perhaps you missed the part about which century this is.”

  “I minor technicality.” She wiped her face with her wet shirtsleeve. Her jeans clung to her legs, outlining every delectable inch. Swiftly, he hauled his white shirt over his head and drew it over hers. The hem dangled around her knees. Better, much better. “Thanks.” She squeezed his fingers. “Dad saw that this was about to happen, us traveling through time. I know he did.”

  “He should have given us more warning. He and I will have a long talk the moment we return.” His boots squelched with water as he entered the great hall with its vaulted ceilings and high wooden beamed rafters. The walls were covered with large tapestries, of hunting and landscape scenes, and the trestle tables had been pushed to one side and dozens of sleeping pallets laid down before the roaring fire. Warriors bedded down for the night, those wearing both Matheson and MacDonald clan plaids.

  Kenneth led them toward a side room and opened the door. “Chief, our guests have arrived.” He motioned toward Iain. “This is Ia
in, the Chief of Matheson’s eldest son, and the lass is Isla, the eldest daughter of Murdock Matheson, the chief of her clan.”

  Before a chunky wooden desk, a middle-aged man eased out of his chair and stood in tan pants and a thick fur vest, a sword sheathed at his side. He walked around his desk, plucked a tartan blanket from the corner chair next to the blazing fire and passed it to Iain. “For the lass.”

  “She is no’ just a lass, Gilleoin, but his chosen one.” An older woman standing before the narrow window overlooking the courtyard, her red hair wisped with gray and coiled high atop her head, crossed to them in an elegant olive gown with lacy white sleeves fluttering over her wrists. “You’ve traveled far this day, and I take it, rather unexpectedly. I’m Nessa.”

  “Iain, and these are my brothers, Finlay and Kirk.” Draping the tartan over Isla’s shoulders, he gestured toward them with a tip of his head. “I’m glad you’re aware of where we’ve come from. Having to explain how we arrived would have been interesting.”

  “Aye, I’ve informed Gilleoin and Kenneth that you’ve crossed time in order to fulfill the prophecy, the foretelling I decreed at the birth of Gilleoin’s sons.” She smiled at Isla, her hands folded in front of her. “I’ve ‘seen’ your skill to compel, and that your father is the seer, Murdock. ’Tis a rare skill you hold amongst those with fae blood. The last man within the village who held it passed away five and twenty years ago.”

  “I’m the only compeller in my time too. My great grandmother held the skill before me.” Swamped in the plaid, Isla wriggled one hand free and threaded her fingers through his. “Can you tell us why we’re here, Nessa?”

  “In completing the bond with your mate, you fulfilled the prophecy. ‘Gilleoin’s sons will separate when they come of age and rule their own clans, yet there will come a time far in the future when a mated bond forms between the two clans. Only then must Gilleoin’s descendants once again merge, and the ‘power of three’ be unveiled.’” Her dark blue eyes swirled with such wisdom within.

  “What exactly is the ‘power of three?’” Isla stroked the inside of his palm with her thumb. “That’s never been made clear within the prophecy.”