by Sky Winters
Sadie said nothing as she contemplated his strange story. Instead of acknowledging his question, she just tilted her head at him. He took this as a sign of acknowledgment and grinned, and they continued marching on toward his castle as the cold air blew against her face. How much of this legend was true? And how much of it had James known?
Chapter 23
“Lord James, are you all right?"
Gail cradled his head in her arms and peered down at him with her friendly concerned face.
“I heard you roar and knew that you didn't go along with the rest of them. They're heading further east, I can tell. I feel it. That’s why you came back west, wasn’t it? You felt Sadie this way. That must be where Sadie really is. I have to help you, but first I need to know if you can stand up. I gave you some herbs to help with the pain. Can you move?”
James groaned quietly as he got to his feet. Gail dusted off his shoulders and offered him a small cloth bag. He pulled his favorite kilt out of it and grinned at her, slipping it on.
“Right. Now that you're all good and proper, maybe we should try moving now.”
James nodded and they began walking further toward the area where Sadie's scent was coming more strongly. James collapsed against a tree, and Gail rushed to his side.
“James, do you need help?” she asked, frowning.
Before James had a chance to reply, she was transforming into her bear form and nuzzling his shoulder. He knew that she wanted him to climb onto her so that they could move through the forest more quickly. He did as she wanted, knowing that it was just his childhood friend suggesting it and not somebody who would hold it over his head later.
“So, are you happy to be a father?" Gail asked him. The bear kind could speak to each other without words, which was good for James because he was lacking in energy.
“I would rather not think about that until I have Sadie and my unborn child back,” he said.
“Understandable," Gail said.
“I'm worried though. What if something has already happened to her?"
“You would already know," Gail said. “In your heart. You know, when my father was killed, my mother just knew something was wrong. I think that the same thing would happen with you and Sadie. She has been captured yes, and she could be in terrible danger, that's true. But she’s still here. And I'll help you see to it that she gets back home safe and sound.”
“Thank you, Gail," James said, laying his head against her. And with that, they bounded along as quickly as Gail could carry him, into the uncertainty of the forest ahead.
***
When the darkness fell around them, Gail paused in her tracks.
“You know, I'm beginning to think that Lord Lachlan and his men don't know this forest very well,” Gail chuckled.
James was about to agree when suddenly he perked up, distracted. “Gail, do you smell that?”
“I do! It's the remains of a fire. They've been here. We're on the right track.”
Gail was about to start running again when James jumped down and put his hand on her shoulder.
“I smell her,” he whispered.
Gail gazed at him as he walked up to a tree, smelling it and contorting his face with fury.
“He had her tied up here. He wanted to...he wanted to do terrible things to her, but he kept it inside for the time. He's going to take her to his dungeon, I know it. We have to get there. Now!”
Gail roared ferociously as James shifted into his bear form. They both began to growl and roar, as loudly as they could, alerting the rest of the clan to their plight. Their angry growls shook the forest and rippled throughout it, causing birds to fly away and deer to flee. Now that they knew for sure where Sadie was, everybody had to be on high alert and should head toward the castle. Lord Lachlan had Sadie, and it was time to show him what they were made of. Every man, woman, and child was invited to storm the castle and guarantee the survival of their clan.
Chapter 24
Sadie could see the silhouette of the castle coming up in the distance. The sun was beginning to set, and the sky was lit with bright colors. Suddenly, the horses began to whinny nervously. Lachlan and his men looked around in confusion, trying to figure out why their steeds were making such a commotion, but suddenly a very distinct sound reached their ears.
Sadie, who had been feeling pessimistic as the castle began to draw nearer, suddenly felt hopeful. She knew that sound anywhere. It was James. And he was furious. They could hear his roars throughout the entire forest, and as Lachlan's men finally emerged from the trees and headed out toward the clearing where Lord Lachlan's castle was, the sound became even more ferocious and intimidating. Sadie couldn't blame the poor horses for being afraid, especially not when they remembered what had happened the last time they encountered one of the mighty bear shifters.
“Get the horses into the stables quickly," Lachlan said, jumping off his own horse and gripping Sadie by the waist. He pulled her down with him and they stood squarely on the ground. “Make sure they are locked out. We lost too many in the last encounter. I will not let that happen again. We need to get the girl into the dungeon before any of the bear shifters show up. We need to be ready for them. Tell the guards at the castle to man their positions and begin preparing flaming arrows. This is going to be a massacre, and I'm going to enjoy every second of it.”
Sadie glowered at him as he forced her to run alongside him toward the castle. The horses were too spoked to move, and so it was up to their own willpower to get inside. And Sadie didn't particularly want to get inside. She did her best to take her time until Lord Lachlan pulled the sword from his sheath and pushed it against her firmly.
“You are going to keep up, or you are going to die right here and right now," Lord Lachlan said to her in a seething voice. His pockmarked face was dark and angry, and Sadie swallowed. She didn't want to die now, not when she could hear James so close to her. He was so near to rescuing her from this tyrant.
And she realized gradually that she wasn't just hearing James either. Sadie and the soldiers could hear other bear shifters on the horizon, growling and roaring as loudly as they could. It sounded like the entire clan had come to rescue her, and she knew that she had to do her duty and stay alive until they could pull off their rescue mission. She had to live to see James again. And so, she moved alongside Lord Lachlan, who was so out of shape that it didn't take much effort to keep up with him. In fact, it was a rather easy and slow pace. As long as she did her best, she would stay alive.
“It's too late," Lord Lachlan said, as if he could hear her hopeful thoughts. “You are going into my dungeon, and my men are going to take care of the rest of the meddling bear shifters. We have poison arrows and fire arrows and everything else that could be a bear's worst nightmare. And the funniest part about it is that they're so angry that they won't even think about walking right into a trap. We have the whole area full of traps, and they're all going to die. It's going to be your fault, and I'm going to really love watching you suffer.”
“They're not going to die, but I think you are," Sadie said, turning her fiery green eyes onto Lord Lachlan. He growled in anger at her belligerence and pushed her hard ahead of him. She stumbled but righted herself, straightening as proudly as she possibly could as they continued along toward his castle.
***
“Wait,” James said. “Everybody be quiet. I hear something. I need you all to listen carefully with me."
Everybody paused and listened carefully into the distance. Suddenly, a tiny voice came to them, and James nearly fainted. He knew it was the voice of his unborn child, speaking psychically to him through his mother. The shifters could speak without words, and now, his child was doing the same, both to him and to the other bear shifters who were heading toward the castle.
There had been many legends about the bear shifters communicating with their unborn children, learning all the secrets of the world before birth. But James had thought that they were stories and had dismissed them
most of the time, thinking of it as ways to get everybody to behave. But his tiny son was warning him now, telling him that danger was ahead and that they needed to look where they were stepping or else their rescue mission would be a failure and he would die along with his mother.
The rest of the clan was quiet and hushed with awe as they listened to the tiny voices of the infants Wait, infants? There were two voices. A boy and a girl, both speaking softly but urgently, warning of arrows laced with fire and poison, and traps at their feet much like the one that had gotten James stuck in the dungeon in the first place. The bear clan was afraid to make another move until James acknowledged that he heard the child. They might all have thought they were going crazy.
James gave a sudden powerful roar and turned his thoughts back to his men. They all had heard what they had to do and were ready and willing to get out there and do it. It might very well have been the most important thing they had ever done in their lives, and the future of their entire clan depended on it.
“We are going to have to go around to the back of the castle and enter in toward the dungeon entrance, back where I escaped from originally. All of the guards are going to expect us to emerge from the forest, but nothing about what we do should be what they expect. My wife and children are on the line, so we must do this right. Without them, our clan will be wiped off the face of the earth forever. No bear shifters will exist after our generation has gone on to the next realm. We need to do this right, so everybody follow my lead.”
He turned to Gail. “I need you to stay here, Gail, so that they think that we are going to come from this side. I want you to roar and continue approaching, but be careful. I want someone to volunteer to stay with you so that you can stay safe. Keep your eyes on the ground for barbs and tricks; these traps can take us down in an instant. Step over them and stay quiet, except for Gail and Dodd.”
Everybody agreed on the instructions, and began to approach. James led them quietly around to the back of the castle, helping them to avoid stepping into traps and triggering them so that they did not get into trouble. He could smell Sadie and knew that she was both fearful and relieved. He tried to will his voice to reach her, but because she was not part bear, he knew that it would not work. So instead, he willed his voice to his unborn children, telling them that he was on his way and would do everything he could to bring them safely into this world.
Chapter 25
“I want to have your wedding dress on for this," Lord Lachlan said with a seedy smile as he pushed Sadie into the entrance of the castle. He summoned the servant, the same one she had seen the first time she opened her eyes in this new world of the past, and told her to fetch the wedding dress. The woman gave Sadie a fretful look, but disappeared up the spiraling staircase to retrieve the dress.
“Nobody humiliates me like you and lives to tell about it," Lord Lachlan said, running his finger along the polished wooden table. "Then again, few people are as beautiful as you are, so it's almost funny to me to be shamed in this way. I almost like it. Almost."
Sadie said nothing, just glared at him as they waited for the servant to bring down the wedding gown. When she finally arrived, she gave the wedding dress to Lord Lachlan and retreated. However, she cast her eyes upon Sadie, fixing on her a worried but caring look, and disappeared up the stairs again, peeking over the railing to watch what became of the wisp of the Highlands.
“Put it on,” Lord Lachlan ordered.
Sadie stared at the dress, her nose crinkled in disgust. Although the gown was beautiful, she did not want to humor this sick man in that way. She refused, and Lord Lachlan instantly grew furious. He was used to everybody doing exactly what he said the first time he said it. That was what he thought obedience should be.
“I said put on the dress!” he shouted. He pressed the tip of his sword against her throat.
Sadie's hands shook as she picked up the dress. She was about to pull her clothes off when a huge banging noise startled them both. They turned to find the cause of the commotion and were met with a loud, malicious roar. It was James, and he had come to rescue her just in time.
“James!” she exclaimed, running toward him. He gave her a gentle nuzzle and pushed her behind him with a large paw. James wasn't alone. Lord Lachlan was left staring at a huge circle of warriors, who had surrounded him within his own home. Most of them recognized him and had stories of vast personal loss associated with him, and so tearing this man apart limb from limb was actually some kind of closure for them. She stared at them with wide eyes, and Lachlan held his sword in his quaking hand as if he could somehow prevent the inevitable from happening.
Soon, the bears advanced upon him, and Sadie could hear his screams shrieking from in between the giant bear forms devouring him. Finally, one last gargle escaped his lips, and a snap cracked through the air crisply. With that, the vicious tyrant Lord Lachlan was gone.
Chapter 26
James motioned for Sadie to get onto his back. She climbed up on him gently, worried that he might have been wounded in the battle. However, he seemed to be fine, although he moved slowly across the yard. The guards had wisely avoided attacking the massive group of bears, knowing that they were vastly outnumbered and would have been slaughtered if they had tried anything stupid. James carried Sadie to the point where he had left Gail and Dodd, and Sadie ran to Gail, who was covered only in a scrap of tartan cloth, and embraced her. Dodd remained in his bear form, ever alert to the danger.
“Are you all right, lass?" Gail exclaimed, looking Sadie up and down. “I can't believe we almost lost you and your precious ones."
“My what?” Sadie asked, looking at Gail and confusion.
Gail clasped her hands over her mouth and exclaimed, “Oh, I'm so sorry. You didn't know yet, did you?”
“What's she talking about, James?" Sadie asked, turning to James. He was no longer in his bear form, instead in his striking, muscular human form, naked in all his glory and glimmering silver in the moonlight.
“I even heard them, it was unbelievable," James exclaimed, looking up to the sky in reverence. "You're pregnant, lass, you're having my twins. I didn't know that it would happen so soon, but it has. That was how we could avoid danger. They warned us of the traps. They heard Lachlan talking to you and did their best to give us a warning.”
Sadie gazed at James in disbelief; he had to be joking with her. But Gail was looking at her with a bright smile and nodding enthusiastically. She couldn't help but believe what they were saying.
“I know, it seems crazy. And about the babes speaking in the womb, using their bear voices...I just thought that it was old ridiculous rumors, but they truly could talk to us when it mattered the most. It must have taken a tremendous amount of energy, so I doubt they would try it again, but they were able to this once. It was amazing." James picked up Sadie and twirled her around in the dark, both of them laughing in disbelief. She was going to have his babies. And they had saved their lives.
Chapter 27
James and the rest of the clan were very tired after their battle with Lord Lachlan and his men. It had taken a lot out of them to arrive in such a short amount of time, and so as they approached their camp, they decided to take a long rest by the river. Sadie and James camped a little ways apart from the rest of the group, knowing that having each other back finally would be a cause for celebration. They had a lot to talk about and wanted some privacy. Gail understood and did her best to keep everybody from protesting their camping separately.
“You know young love,” she said, although she wasn't very old herself. The rest of the clan begrudgingly agreed and allowed them to have their privacy.
James lay on the ground naked, his muscles rippling handsomely in the moonlight. Sadie ran her hand down his chest as they spoke, letting her palm roam the firm, warm curves of his body. He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight, and pulled her on top of him. She nestled there, instantly aroused by the feeling of his bare groin pressing against her middle. She b
uckled against him and he grinned at her, knowing what was on her mind, squeezing her ass in both his hands.
He thrust against her, his rod growing hard as it pressed between her legs, and she sighed softly, feeling the bulge of the tip of his penis as it massaged her clit, sending tendrils of pleasure winding throughout her entire body. He sighed as she squirmed out of her clothes, pressing her naked body on top of him. Her hot breasts trailed along his cool body, the hard mounds of her nipples arousing him uncontrollably, making him groan as he grew hard to the point of bursting. She nestled on top of him, her hot loins enveloping him. He slid fully inside of her, eliciting a groan from both of them.
Her groan turned to a cry of pleasure as he thrust hard inside of her, going as deep as he could go, burying himself in her and pumping again and again. She moaned with pleasure as he made love to her, their bodies entwined on the ground. James brought her nipples to his mouth, his strong, skilled hands roaming her body expertly and lovingly, resting gently on the mound of his unborn children for a moment before finally he bent her over and began pounding her in earnest, until she gripped the grass in her hands and cried out, pushing her mouth into the crook of her arm to muffle the sounds of her intense orgasm.