Mackenzie's Fate

by Bonnie Burrows

  MACKENZIE'S

  FATE

  A PARANORMAL HIGHLANDER ROMANCE

  BONNIE BURROWS

  Copyright ©2015 by Bonnie Burrows

  All rights reserved.

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  About This Book

  A Paranormal Highlander Romance...

  Mackenzie's fate was always set in stone. She was always going to be forced to marry a man who had no interest in her and she was always meant to just accept it.

  But Mackenzie had always wanted better for herself and she was willing do anything to get out of this unfortunate arrangement.

  However, to do this she was going to need help. She was going to need someone or something to save her from this terrible fate.

  And in a wolf named Thor she might have found exactly what she is looking for...

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER ONE

  Mackenzie sighed as she took in the misty morning landscape. The crags and yellow grass dotted the distance all the way up to Revenaugh's Ravine, the no man's land that marked the northern border of her father’s clan's land. It was a cold spring morning and the rain was only falling slightly sideways. The sunlight stretched from the east crawling up her skin and shone through her hair, illuminating her blond locks like fire.

  “Mack, you’re going to catch your death, cover up at least,” said Deirdre. Mackenzie frowned. The world seemed to dim with the intrusion of reality. She coughed in the cold air but refused to pull her cloak up. Deirdre was just a year younger than her but that year seemed like a world apart. They had been friends since they were toddlers. Mackenzie couldn’t remember a time when Deirdre wasn’t by her side. But lately, her heart longed for more.

  “Come on, my father’s going to be furious if I’m late, the pigs need to be fed,” she affected a more rigid stance and held her finger out in front of her, “e’ry morn at sunrise,” she said with a stern voice.

  “Okay, okay, have it yer way,” Mackenzie said, and with one last look to the rising sun, the two girls set out for the farm. Mackenzie in no way had to help Deirdre with her chores, but she did out of kindness and out of duty. Deirdre’s father had been crippled in the last hunt for the great boar Revenaugh. Mackenzie’s father felt responsible, so two times a week, she set off before dawn to help the girl with her chores. It got Mackenzie away from her father’s home and her awful stepmother.

  “I swear that woman wants me dead Deirdre. The other day I spied her putting something in me soup,” she said to her friend.

  “Was it white and salty tasting?”

  “Yes, how did you know?”

  “Cause it’s salt,” Deirdre said with a laugh that was soon joined by Mackenzie.

  “I know it's probably just me imagination, but she’s not me mother. And that bothers me; I wish I had known me real mother. How beautiful she must have been,” Mackenzie said with a long sigh and sorrow in her heart.

  “At least your da is a good man, always helping the clan, trying to do what’s right by us,” Deirdre pointed out.

  “Aye, I’ve got no complaint there,” she replied.

  The two girls skirted the northern forest on their way to Deirdre’s farm. It lay an hour to the west. Deirdre was only there because she got up before dawn to head into town to get fresh eggs and cuts of sheep and ham. With the sack laden down with today’s meal, she met her friend on the north road and together they set off. The tall trees of the north cast long shadows to the west as they walked. Knee high bushes crowded around the base of each tree like worshipers.

  “Why do we have to come this way, Mackenzie? You know this wood is haunted.”

  “There’s nothing to fear here but a bit of tall tales, nothing but Revenaugh lives this far north and he’s not about right now, see, no birds in the air. That beast couldn’t sneak up on a deaf man,” Mackenzie said to reassure her frightened friend.

  “What about wolves?” Deirdre asked.

  “No wolves, they’re not stupid to come this far…” Mackenzie froze.

  “You were saying,” whispered Deirdre.

  Just to the side of the road, not twenty feet in front of her, was the largest, blackest wolf Mackenzie had ever seen. Its large, yellowish eyes pierced her like an arrow from a bow. She could feel her friend’s fear, and indeed her own heart pounded so loud she couldn’t hear the birds singing or Deirdre’s whispers.

  “What?” she said to her.

  “Run,” Deirdre said again.

  “No.” Mackenzie’s hand shot out and grabbed the younger girls wrist. “If ye run it has to chase you.”

  For truth, Mackenzie wasn’t sure what to do. Most the time, the wolves ran when they encountered people, but there was something familiar about this wolf. Without thinking, she dug into Deirdre’s pack and took out a slab of salted pork.

  Deirdre was too scared to stop her. Mackenzie moved forward, one step at a time, the salted pork held out before her. The wolf peered at her as she came near, its tongue occasionally slipping out of its mouth to lick its lips, forcing its large yellow canines to be seen.

  “Mackenzie,” Deirdre whispered as loud as she dared, “are ye mad?”

  Mackenzie’s heart pounded in her chest. She could barely breath. She felt a pull to this deadly animal, a pull she couldn’t resist. After what seemed like forever, she was as close as she dared. The wolf was huge, easily as big as her, perhaps bigger. She knelt down and placed the ham in front of her.

  “Here boy,” she said as friendly as she could.

  To her utter amazement, the wolf crept forward, paw after paw as it sniffed the air for danger. It stopped in front of her, its muzzle not six inches from her face. With a sudden move that made Mackenzie flinch it bent down and snatched up the side of ham and trotted away.

  “My god, girl,” Deirdre said.

  “What would you’ve had me do? It worked didn’t it?” Mackenzie asked, eyes still tracking the black wolf as it disappeared into the forest.

  “Let's go, Da’s going to be worried and he’s never going to believe we lost dinner to a wolf.”

  They ran as fast as they could for a good long while. When the forest was nothing but a dark shadow behind them, Mackenzie called a halt. “We’re safe, I think,” she said between huffs of breath.

  “Look, Cesan.” Deirdre broke out in a smile at the sight of the older boy. Her face flushed and she jumped up in excitement. Mackenzie smiled knowingly; it didn’t escape her either. She was only sixteen, and Deirdre fifteen, but the tall boy with the thick arms that could hold her so tight she couldn’t breath, made them both light in the head and tingly in the belly.

  Deirdre ran off to meet him, leaving Mackenzie on the side of the road. She picked some sticks out of her clothes, and ran her hand through her hair. It wasn’t till recently that she was even having these thoug
hts about him. And now that she was, she didn’t want to look a mess around him. It was no use though, her hem was covered in dirt, twigs and burs stuck to her dress and she wasn’t even dressed nice to begin with.

  It’s nae like he’ll notice ye girl, the boy’s head is as thick as his arms.

  Cesan waved and smiled as he saw them. Deirdre was already telling him the story of the wolf by the time Mackenzie caught up. He had a disapproving scowl on his face. “Ye know better than that, lass, you don’t go poking the bear, if your father knew, he’d tan your hide for a week,” Cesan said. Mackenzie wasn’t sure which father he was referring to, but his presumption annoyed her.

  “Listen here, Cesan MacBride, yer not our kin, or our Da, you don’t need to be telling us what we already know, now stop your squawking and take Deirdre’s bag.” Mackenzie wasn’t nearly as tall as the boy, but she seemed to loom over him with her strong words.

  He nodded, his cheeks turned a little red, and he took Deirdre’s bag from her. “I’m just worried about the two of you, facing off a wolf like that, you could be eaten and we’d never know.”

  Mackenzie felt a moment of regret; she hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings but there were times he would take their friendship for granted and that couldn’t be allowed. If she were ever to marry the lad, he would have to know she was in charge, and that started now. Though the way Deirdre clung to him, it seemed her friend had other ideas.

  With Deirdre holding on to one arm, and the bag of food in the other, Cesan made his way toward the little farm. He gave Mackenzie a sheepish nod and a smile. She smiled back, happy to follow behind, for now.

  ***

  “You know, lass, you can leave it, you should be heading home soon,” Cesan said. Mackenzie smiled and leaned the shovel against the wall.

  “There you go again, you big lummox, trying to be me da,” she said with a smile.

  “I’m just trying to look out for you, lass, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  Mackenzie felt a tingle go up her spine, and her skin tighten as goosebumps erupted over her arms and back. “Ye misunderstand Cesan, I don’t want you to be me da,” she moved closer to him as she spoke, close enough for her to put her hands flat on his muscled chest, “you see I had other things in mind for you to be,” she said with a sly smile.

  “Oh,” he said, “ohhh, well then, why didn’t you say so.” He leaned down and kissed her hard on the mouth. She wasn’t quite ready for it but she was sure she wanted it. She tilted her head up to meet his and opened her mouth to let his tongue in. Her heart pounded in her ears and she couldn’t think, for the rush of feelings flooding her mind.

  His arms closed around her and lifted her off the ground. She could feel them moving but she didn’t care, her whole experience was her lips, the fire in her belly and the tingle in her loins. She opened her eyes and they were on the grass, his hand roamed up her leg sending heat to her cheeks and her body quivered with a need she didn’t understand.

  She kissed him again, her own hands roaming his chest and arms, something deep in her luxuriating in the safety of his embrace, knowing that nothing could hurt her with him to protect her. His hand brushed her thighs and she melted, a long moan escaped her lips. He moved on top of her, spreading her legs with his and resting between them. She felt his manhood press against her leg: it was long and hard. A spark came as the realization that this was it, this moment he would take her and they would be married shortly after.

  Is this what I want? To be married to a farmer, to sludge in the mud every day? What else can you do lass? Can you leave the dun? Leave your father? Travel to Argyle, or even to Saxony? Why even have these thoughts, you know this is yer fate.

  Cesan sensed her sudden lack of responsiveness and stopped cold, he rolled to her side and rested his head on his elbow, his other hand resting on her bare belly where her tunic was open, her white, creamy skin visible.

  “You're beautiful Mackenzie. I think so everyday, what fine children you would bear me, but I can wait, if you need me to,” he said softly. Mackenzie could see the desire building in his eyes that mirrored her own feelings. She desperately wanted something, she didn’t know what, but she needed something between her legs and she knew he was it. But she also knew once they committed to that, there was no going back.

  She put her hand on his and squeezed it. “Thank ye Cesan, I think we should, I still have to talk to me da about us, and maybe it can wait one or two more seasons, I know it will be right when we do, I’ve loved you for so very long.”

  Without a word he bent down to kiss her, his hand moving up to cup her breast, her small nipples hardened and Mackenzie lost her mind in the sensations of his flesh on hers.

  ***

  As the sun fell on Dun Weir, the village quieted and torches were lit outside the mead hall. The guards changed shifts at the small hill fort that was home to the Clan leader, leaving their posts to go enjoy a night's drinking and singing.

  Mackenzie, weary from a hard day's labor on the Marr farm, and from her hour of lying with Cesan, made her way down the main road that led to the dun. Her arms ached and she was covered in dirt. But that didn’t matter, it’d been a whole day out of the fort, no stepmother to boss her around, no studies to attend to, just her work and her friends and her glorious time with Cesan.

  She had lots to think about. Normally, a woman in her position, and she felt like a woman today, would have no options. She would be a burden on her family, one more mouth to feed, but Mackenzie was her da’s only child. If she were to leave the dun then she would not be… she didn’t know what she would not be, and that bothered her.

  Who was she? Was she the daughter of the Clan Chief or was she Mackenzie the farmer?

  She didn’t know, and she felt that was a question she had to answer before she could marry Cesan.

  The village was lively as she approached. More torches than usual were lit, and there seemed to be a large gathering at the mead hall, not that it wasn’t normal for a great deal of people to be there. Clan Weir had one of the finest halls in all of the Highlands, something her father was very proud of.

  Several men, and quite a few women, spoke angrily outside the mead hall. Her father was there, on a small log trying to quiet the people down. Her curiosity peaked, Mackenzie made her way to the fringe of the crowd. She pulled up her hood to hide her locks, since she was the only blond girl in the village; she didn’t want her Da to know she was out late, he might ask why, and she didn’t want to lie to him.

  “What’s it mean Chief?” someone in the crowd asked. They were obviously upset and her Da was trying to calm them down.

  “Listen, it means the day after tomorrow, Clan Tiegan and their Chief Kirkpatrick, want us to meet on the south field to discuss terms, that’s all it means,” he said in his deep voice. Her Da was a bear of a man, barrel chested, with a huge beard that was once black as night but had long since gone gray.

  “Will there be a battle?” someone shouted. Worried cries exploded as everyone tried to talk at once.

  Mackenzie tried to remember what exactly Clan Tiegan had. She knew that they were large, and they held the territory south of her clan borders all the way to the end of the Highlands where the Argyle's territory started. Surely, they didn’t want to expand north. The only thing worth having up here was the haunted forest, and with the exception of the wolf they saw this morning, no sane man would want that wood; if not for the ghosts, then for the Revenaugh.

  “I don’t know, we will talk is all I can say. But just in case, spread the word. I want every fine man here tomorrow morning for drills. We can at least put on a good show for the bastards,” he said with a shout.

  The village erupted in cheers.

  Mackenzie wasn’t feeling cheerful. She wanted to shout at her da for even thinking of marching to battle. It had been years since the clan marched to war; they couldn’t hope to fight Clan Tiegan. She turned from the crowd and made her way around to see the message. It was a carving
on bark, nothing more than Tiegan’s Tartan, and a crude drawing of the field a half days walk to the south. She didn’t hear her da move behind her but she did feel his presence.

  “Hi Da,” she said sweetly.

  “Don’t ‘hi Da’ me, lass, you were supposed to be back at the un hours ago, were you with that MacBride boy?”

  “We were helping out Deirdre's Da on the farm, that’s all,” she tried to sound as innocent as possible.

  “You act as if I was never a boy.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m just looking out for you, lass, but I suppose you're getting old enough to do that yourself. Now, off to the dun with you, we’ll talk later.”

  Mackenzie gave him a quick peck on the cheek and turned to leave. “Da,” she said, “does he want a battle?”

  Mackenzie’s da shook his head, “I don’t know, lass, but I fear he does.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Mackenzie awoke with a start the next morning; her skin was soaked in sweat and her hair was matted to her scalp.

  What was that?

  She’d dreamed that the dun was on fire, that the people were fleeing as the army of Kirkpatrick laid waste to everything her family had built over the last hundred years.

  It’s just a dream, right?

  Mackenzie shook off the bad dream and got out from under her sheepskin blanket to stoke the fire in her room. It was always cold in the morning and it kept her in perpetual shivers until the fire warmed up the room.

  It only took her a half hour to bathe in cold water, brush out her matted hair and get dressed. She wore a simple green pleated skirt with her father’s tartan on it, a white top and black vest. She spent a little extra time braiding her curly blond hair in to an elaborate swirl around her scalp. She looked her best and she knew her father liked it when she did.