Loved By a Warrior

by Donna Fletcher

  His answer came just in time, and he smiled with pride.

  Tara stepped around him, her shoulders thrown back, her chin up, and her eyes glowing deep purple. “I will wed Reeve of the MacAlpin clan.”

  “You wed the king,” Carnoth shouted at her.

  She threw her chin up higher. “I will not. Once before you gave me a choice to wed Reeve. I foolishly refused. I correct my foolishness right now. I will wed Reeve.”

  “That was before, this is now,” Carnoth argued. “You will wed the king.”

  “I will not wed another man when I could possibly be carrying Reeve’s child.”

  That had Mara running over to her, and, like a battling ram, she pushed Carnoth out of the way and hooked her arm with Tara’s. “She’s right. If she carries a MacAlpin babe, she has the right to wed the father.”

  Carnoth glared at both women. “Fine, wed the fool, right now. He will be dead shortly afterwards and then you will honor my agreement with the king.”

  Chapter 31

  Mara had everyone in place in no time, whispering to Reeve and Tara that they would have a proper exchange of vows and celebration another time. For now this would do.

  Reeve couldn’t have agreed more. He wanted vows exchanged right now, before anything else interfered. Unfortunately, the next interference came from his family.

  Willow flew off the steps and into the great hall yelling, “Trey is awake.”

  “Let him wait,” Carnoth yelled angrily. “I want this done.”

  Tara turned on her father. “If as you claim, Reeve will be dead shortly after our vows are exchanged, then I insist that he be given the chance to speak with his brother one last time.”

  Reeve grinned. “Your daughter has a point, Carnoth.”

  The man mumbled beneath his breath before waving them away. “Be quick about it.”

  MacAlpin warriors roamed the great hall, their presence a warning to Carnoth and a relief to the parents and brothers as they hurried up the stairs.

  Mara was the first one in the room, but then everyone moved out of her way, including her husband, who followed on her heels. Tears filled her eyes, seeing her son lying back against a mound of pillows instead of lying prone as if in death.

  “Welcome back,” she said with glee and tearful eyes. “You are feeling all right?” She reached out and checked his brow for herself.

  “I hurt, but that is good, for it means I am alive,” Trey said with a stronger voice than any of them had expected.

  “You gave us quite a scare,” Mercy said, standing beside her husband, his arm around her.

  “That you did,” Duncan said. “It is good to have you back.”

  “Damn good,” Bryce added.

  “Pleased that you’re finally among the living,” Reeve teased.

  Carmag simply placed a firm hand on his son’s shoulder.

  Mara started her fussing. “You’ll need some food, and I’ll get you a shirt and—”

  Trey grabbed hold of his mother’s hand and Mara stilled, her tears of relief ready to fall. “Your stitching saved my life.”

  “I wish my hands had been skilled enough to have saved you. But it was Tara who stitched you up and gave you a chance to live.”

  Reeve tugged Tara from behind Duncan, where she was attempting to hide, and he knew why. When Trey had woken briefly and his eyes had caught hers, he had pointed at her, and said, “death.” Since she had just faced her father, who had reminded her that she was a death bride, she hadn’t needed another reminder. Not that he believed it would cause her to renege on her decision though he believed it would play on her fear.

  “My about-to-be-wife,” Reeve said and, with a firm arm around her waist, approached his brother.

  Trey’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “You can’t wed her. She will bring death.”

  Reeve was quick to defend her. “Tara is a good woman. What nonsense do you speak?”

  “Before the soldiers attacked me—”

  “The king’s soldiers did this to you?” Bryce asked angrily, as if repeating it would confirm it.

  “I thought I had been cautious, farmers at the crofts where I stopped warned me that soldiers were in the area and in the foulest of moods. They believed it had to do with a mission for the king that was not going well.”

  “How many?” Reeve asked.

  “Not nearly enough to be a threat to you, but enough of a serious threat to me. With little choice left to me, I defended myself the best I could. I landed solid blows to a couple, but one large fellow struck me a blow that took me down fast and hard, and that was the end. I heard one say, “Let the animals feast on him.” I thought I was doomed, the pain too great to move.”

  He scrunched his brow. “I believe I lost consciousness for a while and then I thought someone approached, knelt beside me, and whispered for me to hold on, help was on the way.” He shook his head. “I must have imagined it. The next thing I knew I was here; other times I thought it a dream; and still other times I felt as if I was burning in the depths of hell.”

  “You’ll be revenged,” Bryce said.

  “The day the true king takes the throne will be revenge enough,” Trey said.

  “With that settled, tell me why you believe Tara brings death,” Reeve said wanting this done with here and now.

  “In my travels, an old woman approached me in one of the villages. She told me to beware of a woman with hair the color of raven feathers and eyes the color of heather, that she would bring death to my family.”

  “Why would you believe a stranger who babbled nonsense in search of coins?” Reeve asked.

  “I didn’t,” Trey said, closing his eyes briefly. “And she asked for no coins. She had also told me that I would suffer great wounds, and when I finally woke, a beautiful woman would be sitting beside me and that she would be my future wife.” Trey searched the room. “I thought I had seen a fair-haired woman here when I opened my eyes, but I don’t see her now.”

  “Bliss,” Mara said.

  Trey looked to Mercy. “The Pict woman who helped heal you?”

  “She helped heal you as well,” Mercy said.

  “Where is she?” Trey asked.

  “That doesn’t matter now,” Reeve said, growing impatient. “At the moment, it is important that Tara and I wed, or she will face death herself.”

  Trey looked at him confused.

  “There’s no time to explain it to you now,” Reeve said. “I’m about to wed.”

  “Wait,” Tara said, slipping from Reeve’s grasp. “This old woman who warned you about me, what did she look like?”

  “What difference does it matter?” Trey asked.

  “Many years ago a woman my father believed a witch cast a curse on me. There are only two ways for me to be rid of it. One is to find the person who placed the curse on me and have her remove it.”

  “It could be her,” Reeve said, realizing what Tara was implying.

  She turned to him. “She described me as if she knew me. It has to be her.”

  A servant lass appeared at the open door. “Sorry to disturb, but King Carnoth grows restless.”

  Reeve grabbed her hand. “We go wed.”

  “We should find her first,” Tara said.

  “There isn’t time to search for her. We wed first and then we search for her,” Reeve insisted, wrapping his arm around her waist. “There is no other way. We wed, or your father has his way.”

  Mara tucked the blanket around Trey. “You rest. We have a wedding to attend.”

  They all marched out of the room before Reeve and Tara.

  Trey called out to Reeve just as the couple reached the door. Reeve nodded to Tara to wait in the hall, then he turned and walked over to his brother.

  “I know nothing about what is going on with you and Tara. I just want to know that you’re sure about this,” Trey said.

  “As sure as I am that the true king will claim the throne of Scotland.”

  Trey stuck his hand out
. “Then let me be the first to congratulate you.”

  Reeve took his hand with a firm grip. “That means a lot to me.”

  “We’ll talk later. Go get married.”

  Reeve was out the door and hurrying Tara down the stairs. Her father was pacing around the tables and looked ready to explode when he caught sight of them.

  “Let’s be done with this now,” Carnoth said.

  Mara once again hurried everyone into place, and Reeve reached out and took hold of Tara’s hand and smiled. She bravely forced a smile, though fear dulled her lavender-colored eyes.

  There was no point trying to reassure her. She would see for herself soon enough that nothing would happen to him. The cleric started with a rush of words and finished with a hasty blessing, then stepped aside as if he feared something would happen if he remained too close to Reeve.

  It seemed that everyone waited, staring at him with apprehension. He ignored them all and took Tara in his arms and kissed her. It took a moment for her to return the kiss, but she did. When it finished, she glared at him, her hand patting his cheeks.

  “I’m still alive,” Reeve said, grinning.

  “You’ll be dead by morning,” Carnoth spat. “And then I’ll be taking my daughter with me.”

  “You acknowledge that Tara is my wife?” Reeve asked.

  “I stood here and watched you exchange vows, you fool.”

  “You may have watched, but you’re the fool if you didn’t realize that once she wed me, she became part of the MacAlpin clan. If anything should happen to me before morning, Tara remains with the clan; she no longer belongs to you. She is and shall remain a MacAlpin. So take your men and leave. You are no longer welcome here.”

  Carnoth’s face flushed bright red, and he sputtered when he spoke. “Tara is my daughter.”

  Reeve stepped right up to within inches of his glowing red face. “Tara may be your daughter, but she is now my wife, part of my clan. You no longer have a say in her life.”

  “I thought your clan fought for the true king to take the throne,” Carnoth said. “If you had but let her wed the fool king, he would be dead by now.”

  “Are you telling me that you arranged for Tara to wed the king in hopes that he would die?” Reeve asked, his anger rising.

  “The selfish bastard is bleeding me dry,” Carnoth yelled.

  “Watch your mouth in my home,” Mara scolded harshly.

  Carnoth was so livid, he looked as if he would snort smoke from his nostrils. “King Kenneth demands more and more of my money. I thought my daughter could be the solution to many problems.”

  “He planned to kill her,” Reeve said, disgusted.

  “The consequence of battle,” Carnoth said without an ounce of regret.

  His callous remark infuriated Reeve, but what drove him over the edge was turning to see tears in his wife’s eyes. She had suspected as much, but hearing her father announce that he knowingly and without regret had planned to send her to her death must have torn at her heart.

  Reeve threw his arms out from his sides, fisted his hands, leaned his head back, and let loose with such a spine-chilling roar that everyone in the room took a step back. He reached out and grabbed Carnoth by the throat, dragging him across a table, sending tankards and food flying. He slammed him down atop another table, the wood groaning and Carnoth’s head cracking a pitcher of ale. Reeve roared again and, with two hands, grabbed the man and sent him flying over the last table in the long row. He then hurried over to grab him off the floor and start the process all over again.

  No one interfered, not even Carnoth’s men, but that was because MacAlpin warriors prevented any of them from moving. Finally, Reeve slapped the man down on a table, his body bouncing from the force, and pressed his nose to Carnoth’s.

  “Bother my wife, come near her, make her cry, make her sad, speak to her as if you own her, and I will see you gutted and strung from the highest tree.” He tossed the man to the floor like a piece of garbage and walked over to Tara. As he stepped behind her, he wrapped his arm possessively across her chest and pulled her back against him, so there could be no mistake that she belonged to him.

  Carmag stepped forward. “I suggest you leave. All has been settled.”

  Carnoth stood, his hand going to his throat, Reeve having left a sizeable imprint on it, and choked as he spoke. “This is not over.”

  “Yes, it is,” Carmag said. “As Reeve said, Tara is now a MacAlpin. Our warriors will escort you off our land.”

  Carnoth glared at his daughter. “You have brought disgrace to our clan. And have caused nothing but problems for me, so it is glad I am to be rid of you. As far as I’m concerned, I have no daughter.” He turned his back on her, snapped his fingers, and his warriors followed him out of the hall, MacAlpin warriors right on their heels.

  Reeve could feel the tremor that rumbled through Tara. While Carnoth was never a good father, he was still Tara’s father, and to hear him admit, before all, that he purposely sent his daughter to her death had to have caused her immeasurable pain.

  “It’s over,” he whispered in her ear. “You belong to me now, and as you can see, I’m still here.” He wanted her to understand that she had a home and was safe, and that he wasn’t going anywhere.

  Her tremors continued, and she didn’t respond. He knew something was amiss when he saw his mother’s eyes turn wide when she glanced upon Tara.

  Reeve coaxed Tara around in his arms as Mara approached. Her face was as white as freshly fallen snow. And tears trickled one by one down her cheeks.

  Mara reached them before he could do anything and yanked her out of Reeve’s hands, though she nodded for him to follow. Mercy hurried ahead of Mara, rushing to grab one of the wool cloaks that hung on a peg by the keep’s double doors.

  “It’s the fire’s warmth and a hot strong drink you need,” Mara said.

  Reeve then realized that Tara’s father had actually chilled her to the bone in shock. He took the cloak from Mercy and wrapped it around his wife then sat her at the table closest to the fire’s heat and joined her on the bench, his arm going to her back to rub warmth into her.

  Mara filled a tankard with hot cider and added more than a splash of acqua vitae. She then filled enough tankards with ale for them all and raised hers high.

  “Blessings to Reeve and Tara.”

  They each in turn offered their own congratulations and, with acknowledging nods, drifted off, leaving the couple alone.

  He was relieved when she turned and finally spoke to him. “I thought my father might have planned it this way, but I didn’t want to believe it, and even now hearing it—” She shook her head, and a few more tears fell. “How could he? I’m his daughter.” She shook her head again. “He never loved me. My father never loved me.”

  Reeve tried to ease her into his arms, but she pushed him away and stood.

  “I’ve been nothing but a burden to him, an annoyance he wanted out of his life, and he thought to be rid of me along with another annoyance, the king.”

  Reeve remained silent, letting her spew out her anger and hurt.

  Her shoulders slumped, and, again, she shook her head. “My second wedding ceremony, and again it is filled with heartache.”

  “And in a sense, death, which takes care of the curse,” Reeve said.

  Tara turned wide eyes on him. “With my father’s shocking rant, I forgot all about the curse.”

  Reeve silently cursed himself for having reminded her. “You must admit that your father’s departure is very much a death.”

  She sighed, another tear dropping. “It is, isn’t it?”

  “So the curse has been fed, and we have no need to worry,” he said, hoping she would see it his way.

  “I wish it was that simple.”

  “I’m still here,” Reeve said, throwing out his arms to her. She didn’t run into them, and he didn’t like that.

  “We need to talk with your brother about the witch.”

  “There’s tim
e for that.” Since she wouldn’t come to him, he walked toward her.

  She raised her hand to ward off his advance, and he stopped, his eyes narrowing and his brow knitting in a frown.

  “We must find this witch and have the curse removed before we take our vows any further,” she said.

  He didn’t like what he was hearing. “Define take our vows any further?”

  With some hesitancy, Tara said, “It’s best if we not consummate our vows—”

  “We’ve already consummated,” he said.

  She shook her head adamantly. “We weren’t wed at the time.”

  “What difference does it make? We coupled, and I lived.” He thumped his chest. “And we wed, and death has not claimed me. You can’t believe that by consummating our vows as a married couple that death will take me.”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t want to take a chance that death still stalks you. With finding the witch who placed the curse on me now a strong possibility, I feel that is what we should do before anything else.”

  “Like making love or me telling you that I—”

  Tara raised her hands to her ears. “Stop! Don’t dare say it. If there is the slimmest chance that the witch might help then we must find her.”

  “And not consummate our vows until we do?”

  Her hands dropped to her sides, and she gave a firm nod. “Yes.”

  Reeve grinned and shook his head. “That’s not going to happen.”

  Chapter 32

  “I’m trying to protect you,” Tara said, stepping back as Reeve advanced on her much too fast.

  “I don’t need protection,” he said, reaching out and wrapping a strong arm around her waist. “What I need is me on top of you, or beneath you, or whichever way you want.”

  “Be sensible,” she scolded.

  “I am,” he said, yanking her against him and teasing her lips with a rough nibble and a forceful kiss.

  It took her a moment to get her breath and calm her senses when the kiss ended. Damn him for igniting her desire, though who was she fooling? As soon as he mentioned being on top of her, she had grown wet. She wondered if perhaps there was something wrong with her that it took so little for her to desire him. He had only to touch her, a simple touch, or suggest with wicked words, and she found her body tingling.