Eria paled and stepped closer to Wolf.
Raven turned but not before she saw Eria tuck herself against Wolf, while his dark eyes looked as though he was ready to kill her. “Where’s Iver?” she called out to George and Fyn.
“In the woods,” Fyn said.
“Don’t you dare go in the woods, Raven,” Wolf warned.
“Take care of Eria. She needs you, I don’t,” Raven said and walked in the direction of the woods.
Chapter 10
Raven had not seen her husband since she had left him with Eria earlier and she braced herself before entering the longhouse to face him. To her surprise and annoyance, he wasn’t there. No one was there, though a servant hurried forward when she spotted Raven.
“I can serve you when you’re ready, my lady.”
Raven recalled her husband calling the young woman… “Ida, where’s my husband?”
“He won’t be long,” Ida said.
“That’s not what I asked, Ida. Where is my husband?”
“He’ll return soon,” Ida said with a smile that faltered.
“Did he order you not to tell me where he was?”
“I do what Lord Wolf tells me, my lady,” Ida said, her hands clenched tightly in front of her.
She’d had enough of the title. “I’m not my lady or Lady Raven. You are to call me Raven.”
“I do what Lord Wolf tells me,” Ida repeated.
Raven was glad she didn’t bother to address her either way, and she understood the lass’s loyalty to Wolf.
“Let me get you supper, my lady,” Ida said.
Annoyed the servant addressed her that way again, her tongue turned snappish. “I’m not hungry. You’re dismissed.”
Ida didn’t move.
Raven shook her head. “What other orders did my husband give you in regards to me?”
“Lord Wolf instructed me to remain with you and see that you had whatever you needed.”
Raven didn’t say what she thought, that it sounded like he wouldn’t return until late. She didn’t bother with any more questions since Ida wouldn’t answer them anyway. She turned and walked to the door.
“Where do you go, my lady?” Ida called out.
“That doesn’t concern you, Ida,” Raven said and left the longhouse. Once outside, she hurried to the one end and ducked around the side, staying in the shadows. The snow had turned heavier and covered her tracks behind her.
She didn’t have to wait long. Ida hurried out the door, whipping on her cloak, and looked one way and then the other. Frantic at not spotting Raven, Ida hurried off, and Raven followed. She stopped by the end of a cottage when Ida continued on toward the keep.
So her husband was at the keep.
Doing what?
Raven made the climb up the steep slope, staying in the night shadows so as not to be seen. She was close enough when Ida opened the door to hear loud laughter, and Lars’s voice ring out.
“It’s good to be reunited with family.”
So that was why she wasn’t invited to feast with them—she wasn’t family. At that moment, she ached to be with her own family, her brothers, their wives, and her da. But she also had another family right here with her—her men—and that was where she headed when she turned and began her trek back down the slope, anger gnawing at her.
Raven had taken only a few steps when someone grabbed her from behind and she cursed her own foolishness for not staying alert. The man was about her height and from what she could feel of him being plastered back against him, he was thin in the chest, but his grip was strong.
She threw her head back hard and heard the crack to his nose and his arms loosened enough for her to slip out of them, but his fist connected with the side of her head and it stunned her enough for him to deliver another blow, catching her jaw and sending her tumbling to the ground.
He was on her before she could respond and his fist came down at her again, but she managed to block it with, thankfully, her uninjured arm. He was quick, a sharp slap catching the other side of her face. She caught his broken nose with her fist and he screamed in pain, but his hands were quick again and this time they were at her throat, squeezing.
She had to do something fast or she’d soon lose all breath and strength. She went for his eyes, but he managed to block her efforts.
Your small blade.
She heard the voice in her head and blessed the old man for reminding her. She clawed at his hands with one hand so he didn’t see her struggle to get her other hand to her blade. She fought with every ounce of strength she had to keep from losing consciousness. Finally, her hand wrapped around the handle of her knife and as she pulled it from its sheath, the man was suddenly ripped off her as a mighty, bone-chilling roar filled the air.
Raven grabbed at her neck, choking to regain her breath as she watched her husband bounce the man off the ground, then grab him around the neck with one hand to hoist him up and leave his feet dangling above it.
“I’m going to enjoy making you suffer before I kill you slowly,” Wolf said and the man’s eyes bulged with fear.
By then they were surrounded. People had poured out of the keep and her men, along with others in the village, came running up the slope. Raven struggled to get to her feet, still trying to regain her breath.
Her men hurried to her, but Wolf threw the man at Lars to subdue, which he did with his meaty hand clamped around his arm and a knife to his throat, while he went to his wife.
“Out of my way,” Wolf ordered and Raven’s men stepped aside.
Wolf hunched down in front of her, his eyes bright with fury as he looked upon her face blooming with bruises and a touch of blood. He didn’t say a word, he scooped her up in his arms and looked to Lars. “See him tethered good and keep guards on him until I return.” His eyes turned to the crowd and he called, “Gorm.” The man appeared. “See to the sentinels. Make sure they are all accounted for, then post more.”
Iver spoke when Wolf stood and turned to him, knowing what he would ask. “The snow would have covered any tracks that mapped his journey here. I can try in the morning if the snow has stopped, but if the snow falls heavily all night it will be impossible to track anything.” He stepped closer to Raven, her other men doing the same. “Are you all right?”
“I am good.” She smiled. “Not so my pride.”
They laughed, her humorous response and smile letting them know all was good.
“Do you need me, sir,” Greta called out.
“No, Greta. I can see to my wife. Return to the feast and enjoy,” Wolf said and she walked off as he turned a nod on Raven’s men. “Go and enjoy with them and help calm the women and children.”
They looked to Raven for her approval. “Go, enjoy, and offer help any way you can.”
Everyone dispersed, though several warriors followed Wolf as he carried her to the longhouse.
“You need not carry me. I can walk and there is no reason for you to miss the feast. My wounds are nothing. I can tend to them myself,” she said, though it wasn’t what she truly wanted. She wanted to stay in the comfort and peace of his arms, though she didn’t understand why.
“I had no intentions of remaining at the feast. I had supper prepared for us at the longhouse so we would have time to talk alone.”
“Why didn’t you tell Ida to have me wait there for you?” she asked.
“And would you have waited?”
“You’re getting to know me.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about you when it comes to me.”
He didn’t think she knew him. Was he right? She knew about him, but that wasn’t truly knowing him.
“Did he hurt you?” Wolf asked when he placed her on her feet in their bedchamber.
“I got my own punches in,” she said proudly.
“That’s not what I asked,” Wolf said, his dark eyes intent on her.
Raven understood. “He intended to kill me, no more than that. And understand one thing, husband, I
would let no man take me by force.”
Wolf’s eyes sparked with fury, his nostrils flared, and an angry growl rumbled in his chest. “I would tear any man’s heart out of his chest if he attempted to do so.”
The sincerity and fierceness of his words stunned her and what he did next stunned her even more. His hand gripped the back of her neck and his lips came down on hers. She responded to his hungry kiss without hesitation, not realizing she needed it just as much as he did. It was a deep, binding kiss drawing them closer together, not in body but in something much deeper that Raven had no explanation for and yet accepted without question. Never had she a wont or felt a need to kiss a man, but she realized she had a wont and need for Wolf’s kisses.
Wolf rested his brow to hers after ending the kiss. “I grow angry at the taste of your blood on my lips. This should not have happened to you. I failed to keep you safe.”
“You didn’t fail,” she assured him. “You reached me just in time.”
“You placate me, wife. I saw the knife in your hand when I yanked him off you. You were about to give him what he deserved.”
“And who then would we have to question?” she asked, her hand going to spread along his neck and jaw, feeling his taut annoyance locked there.
A woman’s hand was a familiar touch to Wolf, but none had affected him the way Raven’s touch did. It sent a spiraling shot of passion racing through him that poked at his heart and his shaft. How could this obstinate, challenging woman do that to him? How was it that he desired her so fiercely that she was forever on his mind? And when he saw the man on top of her, he’d felt a rage like he’d never felt. It had ripped at his gut and twisted at his heart until he thought he’d explode in a fury nothing could stop.
“You can’t die on me, Raven. You committed to this union and I will hold you to your word,” he said and brushed his lips across hers.
The light shiver tingled her senseless. “And I will honor my word, husband.”
He fought against kissing her again, not trusting himself. He had a need for her that he couldn’t explain. It had started with their first kiss and had grown, and kissing her again only ignited that need that had lingered and tormented him.
“Your lips need tending and your bruises deepen,” he said and heard her stomach rumble. “And you are hungry.”
Raven held her tongue, though there were things she was eager to ask him, but she didn’t want to spoil this moment where peace existed between them.
His touch was gentle as he wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, after he sat on the bed beside her. Then he ran his hand down along her neck and across her throat, left slightly bruised from her attacker’s hands. His anger had calmed, though seeing her bruises growing ever deeper wouldn’t let it fully abate. His urge to kill the culprit grew, but first he had to get information from him. And that was something that couldn’t wait.
“I can tell you’re anxious to speak to the culprit who attacked me. So am I. Let’s go.” She stood.
“Can you tell that’s my thought or is it what you would do?” he asked.
“What difference does it make? If you ask me if it’s what I wish to do, I would tell you no. I would prefer we remain here and talk as you had planned for us. But that’s not a wise choice. It is more important the prisoner be questioned.” She shook her head. “It troubles me that the darkness may hold more surprises. The night doesn’t allow those in the battlements to see anyone approach.”
“So more men may lay in wait,” Wolf said, admiring his wife’s sharp mind. “Which is why you will remain here in the safety of the longhouse while I see to this.”
“You don’t really think I’m going to do that, do you?” Her confident smile said it all.
He stood, shaking his head.
She gasped, caught unaware by his arm that sneaked around her waist to yank her against him.
“One day you will learn to obey me, wife.”
“How boring that would be,” she said and surprised herself when she stretched her head up to kiss his lips with a strength she hadn’t intended.
Wolf rested his cheek next to hers after the kiss ended and whispered in her ear, “Be careful, wife, you might find something you like in this marriage.”
She assumed he meant their kisses, but she asked anyway. “And what might that be, husband?”
“Me,” he whispered, then left her side and went to the door. “Hurry, if you’re coming with me.” She hurried over to him and he stilled her with a hand to her shoulder. “You would tell me if you suffered more injuries than I see?”
“Aye,” she said softly. “I have suffered far worse and still fought.”
His hand went to her face, his finger faintly running over her bruised cheek. “You need not do that any longer. That is for me to see to.”
He took her hand and led her through the longhouse. He grabbed a fur cloak from a pile on a chest near the door to drape over her shoulders before collecting his own cloak and slipping it on.
“What makes you think I would like you?” She couldn’t help but ask, his remark having lingered in her mind.
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“I can think of many reasons.”
“That once may have been valid, but are they now? Do they truly serve either of us any purpose?” he asked.
“I can think of some that still do.”
“Then we will discuss them and see them finished,” he ordered.
“There is one that will never be finished,” she said, stepping away from him to open the door. “Your love for Eria.” She was out the door before he could say a word, not sure if she wanted to hear his response, yet disappointed when he hurried outside to walk alongside her in silence.
He took the lead, taking her hand and directing her to a shed not far from the longhouse. Several guards circled it and they parted as Wolf approached, then closed the circle once he stepped past them.
Lars waited inside with the prisoner. The thin man was secured to a wood pole secured in the ground in the center of the shed. Blood was caked around his nose and mouth and bruising was already deepening under both eyes.
“You’re a strong woman to witness the torture your husband will inflict on this man,” Lars said.
“Do what you will to me. I won’t say a word, since you will kill me anyway,” the man said and spat on the ground near Wolf.
“You’re right I intend to kill you, but the choice is yours whether you suffer or not,” Wolf said. “And believe me when I tell you I can make you suffer greatly. Tell me who sent you and I’ll spare you the suffering.”
Tears filled the man’s eyes. “I’m ready to die.”
“No need for him to die. I know who sent him,” Raven said with a confidence that had Lars and Wolf turning raised brows on her. She walked closer to the prisoner. “There would be only one reason for you to suffer torture at Wolf’s hands. You’re more frightened of betraying the man who sent you than the man who holds you prisoner. That means Brynjar sent you.”
The man couldn’t stop his eyes from turning wide.
Raven smiled. “You just confirmed it.”
“Then kill me fast. Please, I beg you. They will know I failed again and come for me if they learn I live. Please. Please. Kill me and be done with it.”
Raven went to her husband. “You can’t kill him now. He can tell us much.”
“That he can,” Wolf agreed and turned a scowl on the man. “Why does Brynjar want my wife dead?”
“I don’t know. I and a few others were given the task to kill her and were told if we failed or betrayed him we’d suffer at his hands. Not his warriors’ hands but his hands.” The man shuddered. “He takes great pleasure in inflicting endless pain. I’ve heard the screams of men begging to die. I will answer all your questions, but please kill me fast when you are done with me.”
“How did you come to join Brynjar’s group?” Raven asked.
“He raided my tribe in the far north and took some of the
men prisoners. I and some others were lucky enough to hide our families just in time. I haven’t seen my wife and son in seven years. I dare not try to escape and return to them for fear what Brynjar will do. I am better off dead.”
“That’s not true,” Raven said. “Your wife and son wait and pray for your return.”
“You can’t believe his tale,” Wolf said. “Brynjar warriors have been taught to lie, to do anything necessary to accomplish a mission for him.”
“I tell the truth,” the man pleaded, “though there are some with me I wouldn’t trust and one from a neighboring tribe.”
“Whether you lie or not, I don’t care. You attempted to kill my wife twice and for that you will die,” Wolf said, condemning the man.
“I have a better idea,” Raven said.
“Of course you do,” Wolf said, shaking his head. “Tell me and be done with it.”
Raven smiled and proceeded to detail it.
Chapter 11
Wolf sat atop his stallion, riding alongside his wife, and shaking his head the next morning. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this or that I let you join me.”
“You realized the wisdom of my words and as for letting me join you,” —Raven laughed— “that wasn’t an option.”
“You do know he could be leading us into a trap,” Wolf warned.
“Sten, his name is Sten,” Raven corrected. “And I don’t believe Sten will do that.”
“And what makes you think that?”
“I offered him something no one else has given him.”
That fired Wolf’s blood. “And what exactly did you offer him?”
“Hope,” Raven said.
Wolf caught the sudden sadness in her eyes that faded quickly. He had learned how adept she was at hiding her hurt or any pain she suffered and it troubled him. She had her family and her men who kept watch over her and yet he got the feeling that she felt herself alone.
“How did you give him hope?” he asked.
“I told him that you would see him reunited with his wife and son if he helped us capture the other men with him. He did ask that Toke, a friend from a neighboring tribe who had been taken captive with him and was on this mission, be reunited with his family as well. I assured him it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Highlander Oath Of The Beast Page 10