The Highlander's Taken Bride (Scottish Highlander Romance)

by Kaley McCormick

IV

  The next morning Allia was confronted by a few angry highlander and human hecklers—though they didn’t actually seem to know any tomfoolery that happened the night before.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” said the highlander sister Baere. “The ransom price has been denied.”

  “Aye,” a human warrior said. “The Lord MacAlister has said that in the event of a dropped ransom, she becomes ours to do whatever we wish.

  “Stupid girl,” said a female highlander. “You should have taken your chances in the wilderness.”

  She finally spoke, confident of her new protector. “I’ll have you know that Gerard himself told me that I have a rightful place here.”

  “No way. You’re making stories up, lass.”

  “You wait and see! When he comes here he will tell you the truth.”

  They did wait patiently for Gerard to come back from hunting. But none of the lot were quite sure of what to make of Gerard’s statements on the matter when returned.

  “Miss Allia deserves a second chance. She can escape to the wilderness whenever she sees fit. And I won’t have any of you chasing after her as punishment. It’s not what we do.”

  “But-!”

  “How can we let these barbaric people leave?”

  “Because I know for a fact Allia isn’t like the rest of her family.”

  “You’ve grown soft, brother,” said one.

  “How can you spare her this way? You promised her to us when you were through negotiating.”

  Meanwhile, Allia looked at Gerard with soulful eyes, wondering what terrible thing had gone wrong. Did they not share a night of passion just hours ago? Yet he was already in full denial of what took place. Didn’t he understand that this bargain was a negotiation for her protection? Or did she completely misunderstand everything?

  She finally caught up to Gerard in private, away from the critical heckling of his clan.

  “What happened? I thought we had a deal.”

  “We have no deal,” he said cautiously. “I thought I explained to you why we cannot be together.”

  “You’re really doing it? You’re going to marry someone in your own family rather than trust a human being whom you know?”

  “You don’t understand,” he said regretfully. “This is entirely political. I like you as a person. But politically, in terms of preventing war, no good can come of this.”

  “They’ll listen to you,” she counseled him. “You know they’d have to. But you don’t want to lift a finger to protect me. I’m just a quick fuck to you before dying?”

  “That’s not what’s happening here. I just need…time.”

  “Time? They want to cast me off into the wilderness where there is certain death!”

  “I never told you that you were my wife, woman!”

  He stared her down until she cowered and turned away.

  “No, I guess you didn’t. It was foolish of me to think that I had any chance for survival, wasn’t it?”

  “You know I’ll do everything I can to ensure your release and protection.”

  “Except risk yourself and your position, you mean.”

  “You don’t understand,” he said with an angry stare.

  “Wait a minute…how do you know you didn’t give me a baby, anyway?”

  “You? Produce a highlander offspring?” he said in disbelief. “You don’t even know what you ask for, woman.”

  “I might already be carrying one.”

  “No, you aren’t. The fact is, we can decide when our genes shall be passed down and when to shut the farm down.”

  “You mean…you use immortal magic to stop from…”

  “Yes. I would never treat you so poorly so as to give you a baby you cannot handle.”

  “How dare you,” Allia said. “I am more than qualified to be your queen and you know it.”

  “What about love then? Is that so meaningless?”

  The sentiment hurt Allia who then shut her eyes and lowered her head in dread. “You are correct, Sire,” she said, barely able to look at him. “It was all my mistake. I was foolish to think someone like you could ever love someone as worthless as me.”

  She walked away from him and returned to the public view in the campsite on the clan.

  “Wait…that’s not what I…”

  He held his own head down in regret, as he watched her walk away and leave him. Sex, though a beautiful form of art, was hardly worth the chaos of the mind now, was it?

  Late at night, Allia received a rather rude awakening from a familiar face.

  As she came to and opened her eyes she saw the heinous site of an angry human warrior and a highlander woman, neither too happy to see her.

  “You! What is it?” she said quickly backing away and eventually falling out of the guest tent.

  “Your lease has expired,” the warrior said. The default condition of the ransom was made clear. You become property of us. You have already forfeited the right to run away. And now…you will pay for your sins against humanity.”

  “Very well.”

  The others looked surprised and had to inquire. “Has despair truly kicked in for you, woman?”

  “Look, the truth is I know that my family were and are rotten people. They’re the kind of wonderful folk that don’t even pay a ransom for my life because of the high value placed on my safe return. And besides, no one’s shaming you for taking out the males of my village that committed war crimes.”

  She shut her eyes in tired frustration. “I also know that I was a fool for thinking that I was ever going to be a queen. The truth is that all these titles are meaningless. And it was foolish of me to think that such a great being as your rightful king and protector would ever love me. The truth is he owed me nothing.”

  She looked at her two foes in surrender and with no joy left in her eyes. “Just take me and treat me as a slave. I only ask that you kill me quickly and not prolong my torture.”

  The clan looked at each other, wondering what they might do. What would be the moral thing to do, and how important was it to be forgiving?

  Unfortunately, compassion for the “spoils” was non-existent amongst the highlander clans. It didn’t take them five minutes to strip the heiress of all her clothes and put her in a tow-piece whore’s uniform, wearing heavy shackles for her sins.

  Lena, the highlander clan’s eldest sister announced her humiliation publicly, declaring her a slave and as recompense for the death of their warriors at the hands of Fonnelly Village and their dynasty.

  However, it didn’t take long for Gerard to hear the commotion from all the noise Lena was making with her profane pronouncements.

  Gerard looked appalled the moment he saw his “bride” shackled in chains. What grave humiliation could this be?

  “What have you done?” he asked in agony. “This is the respect you show to what is mine?”

  “She is not our kind!” Lena said. “And you said she would become our slave…”

  “I said we would negotiate with her family for her life. I never spoke of this. And you all should know that until I officially say otherwise, she is my bride and no one shall defile my name and honor this way.”

  “Just let them ridicule me,” Allia said to Gerard in coldness. “I have no right to be with you or expect anything from you. I’m not being difficult. I merely agree with you. Love is far too precious a thing for one to equate it with business, promise and need. I’m sorry I put you in that position. Marry whomever you want. Love, above all else, must exist. Or else why do we even live?”

  Gerard seemed unsatisfied. Allia walked away despite his impassioned rejections of “Wait!”, “Please!” and “Stop!” In Allia’s mind there was nothing left to say. He had chosen, and she had gambled and lost everything. One thing was for sure, the old medicine man Angus was certainly right about “not running” from this spectacle. They were all doomed. They had all been doomed for a long time now, thanks to this crooked dynasty of looters and thieves.

&nbs
p; On the other hand, Gerard was fuming with anger. “You are barbarians,” he said to the humans. “In return for my sparing your life, this is what you show me? Shouldn’t the unity of your own people be strong? Something worth fighting for? This is how you would treat your own kind, rather than plead on her behalf?”

  He slanted his eyes and got face to face with his human warrior slave. “I release you from your bondage. You are no longer a slave.”

  “But… I liked working for you, master.”

  “And you have proven yourself unworthy in your treachery. The same punishment you would have given the Queen give to yourself. You are in exile. Leave our clan and make a living for yourself, free of our luxuries and protection.

  He looked at Lena in disdain. “And you…I am not marrying you or any other highlander in this clan. I declare myself through with the likes of your kind.”

  “What? You can’t break with tradition!”

  But that’s precisely what Gerard wanted: to break with tradition. The honest truth was that he was still infatuated with Allia’s body and mind. He would be a fool to deny what he felt. But there was still one misunderstanding.

  He ran up to Allia who was running away in shame, still wearing shackles of disgrace.

  “Stop! Listen to me.”

  “No. We have nothing to say. I accept what happened. My negotiation failed.”

  “I want you as my wife. Queen, whatever you wish to call it.”

  “You don’t mean it…”

  “Allia…of course I am attracted to you. We shared a great night together. But what I want for you most of all is for you to have the chance to rule your kingdom once again. You will become the heiress you deserve to be. And then it will be your choice to fall in love with whomever you want.”

  Allia listened in heartache. “But don’t you understand? I have nothing left…”

  “What if you did?”

  “Then I know, Gerard, that I am never going to find another man as kind as you. Not in this world. It’s pointless to even look. Any woman would be a fool to let you go. And it’s not because you’re immortal or a sorcerer. She’d be a fool because you’d make a great husband. And that’s a fact.”

  Gerard could think of nothing to say, nothing to merit her kind words and her beautiful face. All the immortal could think to do was kiss her, reach into her lips and take her by the arms, planting an epic kiss without holding back.

  This time he followed his heart. He wanted her for no other reason except that to live is human. To take a chance is human. And this one, this love, the humans had right.

  Gerard lifted Allia into the air and took her against an adobe wall on the border of the camp. She was already quite the sight to behold in her two-piece suit, but the insult of the dress was still glaring at him. He ripped the piece off and made her stand naked—the true, artful state and the most naturally beautiful body of the highlander queen. He also tore the shackles off and cleaned up her grimy face with a whiff of magic, counteracting the cruelty of his clan, which was bound to fall apart at the seams.

  But he didn’t care. He ripped off his own pants and belt and sent them down, grabbing his large erection and pointing it upwards, for the perfect slanted fit. He lifted Allia high up in to the air and penetrated her deeply. This time they held nothing back. They cried, bellowed, grunted and panted like wild animals. No inhibitions or regrets. Just complete trust and surrender. He entered her hard and fast this time, pounding her pussy with a warrior’s own vengeance.

  His cock was hard throbbing and filled Allia up with as many inches as would fit in the tight squeeze. He grinded his cock deeper into her pussy as he held her high and kept her legs wrapped around his back. She loved the feeling of letting go and letting him protect her, lift her up and fight for her.

  He inhaled and exhaled on her neck and shoulders, as he held her by the hands and spread her arms out on the surrounding wall. This was the hardest raw passion encounter he had ever experienced with any being, let alone a non-immortal. But even at this point he could tell that their genetics were compatible. She craved his body and his powerful mind. She was docile enough to learn the ways of the immortal and to carry on the legacy.

  He also uncovered his shirt and dropped it to the ground just to feel her chest and his mashing together and feeling so raw. Gerard rammed his cock deep into her hard squeezing lips and began bucking from the high pressure. He grunted her name as he felt the throbbing in his cock, which was well matched to the racing heart of his lover. This time they could fuck as loud as they wanted to because they had the power—the power to move on, change and improve the gene pool. The power to live for love and not tradition. To take a chance on something greater.

  None of this would bode well with his clan, but their approval never mattered. Whatever they were, their hearts were hardened, but the heiress’s heart remained pure.

  Gerard was fucking her so furiously he couldn’t help but grip onto her hair and ready her for the huge slap of his cum. She opened her mouth wide as she felt him entering in and out with a screaming passion. Just as he began to tremble, she gyrated against his fast-pounding cock and created an even stronger sensation. All this sucking and fucking on his most sensitive weapon was too much to bear.

  He grunted deep and slow, as he held her tight with his muscular arms and fought the feeling of losing control for a good two minutes of continual thrusting, before finally releasing a gush of semen. They were both wet and in each other’s arms and it felt perfectly right.

  But there was something else this time: the strange surging feeling when his cum had dropped and pressed on through to the other side of her internal organs. She felt sick almost immediately after the sex concluded, not to mention a rush of dizziness and seeing psychedelic stars.

  He dropped her on the ground but still held her in a tight embrace as they continued putting light lip pecks all over each other’s faces.

  “Now this time…” he said with a grin, “I’m going to make sure we stay by each other’s side forever…or at least as long as forever means for people gifted like us.”

  “Wait…you mean…”

  “The only way I can ensure that your heritage is protected and that our unique species’ genes are crossed, against the will of my family, is to give you a child now.”

  “Oh my God…I’m pregnant.”

  “And with the baby of monster.”

  “No…” she said, as she smiled and rubbed her tummy, already feeling an otherworldly echo inside her body as the chemistry exploded, creating something wonderful. “Not a monster. You’re a wonderful group of immortals, warriors beyond all our capacity. And yet you choose to be kind. Our child will be a great king one day…”

  And nothing could stop them now, since their destiny together was forever sealed with a kiss and an internal emission of magic power that led to the greatest conception in three generations. A great and portentous day indeed, and a ransom plot turned into a love story for the ages. In the end, she may have been his captive, but she was the one who captivated his heart.

  THE END

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  Surrendering to the Scots

  A Scottish Romance

  By: Kaley McCormick

  Seized by the Highlander

  Chapter One

  Elizabeth’s crinoline skirts rustled as they swept against the blades of grass that peeked through the cobblestone path. The shops seemed more crowded than normal as she made her way from one to the next. It was her maidservant’s day off but there were still things that the household needed. Her husband, Henry, would not be pleased if his whiskey was not available at the end of the day, and the cook needed a few things for dinner. Elizabeth would not want to be home if Henry were deprived of his food or his beverage. Her cheek still smarted from upsetting him the night before, by not refilling his mug quickly enough.

  She smiled at the shopkeeper as he wrapped up the cheese, pickles and sweet jam. Ap
parently Henry’s reputation preceded him, and with a small nod, the shopkeeper also added a bottle of whiskey to the brown paper package before tying up the white twine.

  He offered to add the purchases to the family’s shop credit and she agreed. Henry never allowed her to carry any money and the shops all seemed to place good faith on his abilities to pay the bills.

  With the package tucked into the wicker basket she carried in the crook of her elbow, she wrapped her shawl around her shoulders and headed back into the streets. The summer was waning and the air carried the autumn chill. She welcomed the relief from the heat of the earlier months, but knew she should start preparing the house for winter.

  She made a mental list of tasks as she made her way back to the estate. The wind tickled at the nape of her neck and tried to steal loose tendrils from her coifed blonde curls. The walk was not short, but she enjoyed the chance to get out of her drafty old stone estate. It seemed to trap the heat in July and the cold in January, and never felt quite comfortable at any time of year. And while the shopping could have been done by the servants, she liked having an excuse to wander about town. She knew better than to spend too much money at any of the stores, but it was a pleasant afternoon to window shop. Henry constantly chided her for not taking the carriage into town, but she almost always took the trip by foot.

  Henry was well-known in the area as the region’s largest landowner so most of the shopkeepers were overly attentive to her needs. They would fetch her a cup of tea, provide her a chair to rest, and even wrap packages extra carefully when she did decide to buy something.

  When she arrived home, the cook whisked the package away from her and set a pot of tea on the stove to heat.

  “Would you like something to eat ma’am?” the cook offered.

  “Yes, Olivia, that would be lovely. I know that dinner is not far off, but I’m not certain I will make it that long.” She smiled gently at the older woman and settled into a chair at the servants’ table in the kitchen. Her blue eyes twinkled since she knew that she would shortly be enjoying some of the sharp cheddar cheese that she had just purchased.