by C. A. Szarek
“Duncan, be reasonable,” their father, Iain, said.
“Ask fer her hand,” Duncan demanded.
“Oh, geeze,” Claire said. She grabbed the sides of the chair and awkwardly made it to her feet.
“Do it. Now!” Duncan yelled.
Alex threw his hands up in the air and stepped forward to pull his twin off Xander.
To her supposed-husband’s credit, his face remained placid while one brother ranted and raved and the other chided them both. Good thing Alex was older than Duncan by several minutes and therefore the laird. Duncan had always been the hotheaded one, and Alex reasonable.
Neither was pleasant to deal with if provoked, but in Janet’s experience, that was just the plight of the MacLeod male.
“Duncan.” Her brother ignored her. “Duncan MacLeod!” Janet’s shout still went unheeded as the men discussed her as if she wasn’t in the room.
“The lass is trying to speak,” their father said.
Both twins quieted but Duncan looked tense.
Xander stood between them, as tall and broad as her six-and-a-half foot tall siblings. Janet could feel his heart beat in time with hers. When their eyes met, awareness darted all over her body and something tugged at her—almost physically. She swallowed.
Magic.
She couldn’t see it, but there was no doubt she felt it. It would take a while to get used to.
“He doesna’ have to offer for me,” Janet said.
“The hell he doesna’,” Duncan barked. He turned to Xander again, but didn’t touch him—yet. “Ye took liberties with my sister. Ye will marry her.” Duncan got in the Fae man’s face.
Liberties? What did he tell them?
Janet’s stomach fluttered.
“I’ve no issue with such things.” Xander’s tone was calm.
“Guys, relax.” Both males ignored Claire. She rested her hand on her husband’s arm, and only then did Janet’s brother take a step back.
As before, the former Fae Warrior appeared unruffled.
“Such things?” Janet snapped. “I shall not have my future referred to—” Her cheeks still burned from Duncan’s declaration.
“The lass has a point,” Alex said. His arms were crossed over his broad chest, and he leaned into the wall of the solar. “Marriage shouldna be considered a formality.”
Janet didn’t relax, despite her brother’s statement.
Angus watched, silently standing next to his father.
“This is about more than what they wish,” Alana said. Her voice was firm but low, and all eyes of her overbearing family settled on the princess. “This is about fate.”
“Destiny,” Xander said.
“Nay!” Janet shouted. “It’s abou’ magic.” She shook her head when two violet gazes zoned in on her.
Alana’s smile was kind when she took a step toward Janet. “No, sister. The ring is but a method. It does not control the outcome.” She shot a meaningful look to the males in the room. “As I would’ve explained to you, given the chance.”
“The…outcome of what?”
The former Fae princess shot a look at her son. “Angus, out. This conversation isna’ for you, my love.”
The lad made a face.
“Ye heard yer mother.” Alex pushed off the wall. “Out with ye, laddie. Seek Mairi an’ see if she needs help in the hall.”
Angus’s frown deepened, but he didn’t argue with his father.
Alex rested his hands on his son’s shoulders and guided him to the door.
Alana blew him a kiss and Angus dashed from the room.
If Janet knew her nephew, he wouldn’t go far. He’d obey, but he’d offer to clean the walls in the corridor so he could overhear the conversation even though the solar door was shut.
Xander cleared his throat and Duncan glared his way.
Claire tugged her husband another step away from the Fae man.
Janet’s heart sped up even before her supposed mate’s—husband—gaze reached her. He looked at Alana before those violet eyes settled on her again. She tried not to fidget.
“As I understand it, the spell is to find my perfect mate. If you were not she, the magic would not have reacted.”
“Aye,” Alana whispered.
Janet’s neck and cheeks seared. He said it as if their kiss did not matter. Had meant nothing.
It doesn’t matter.
If that was so, why did his words—his expression—make her chest ache?
Iain whistled, but Janet couldn’t look at her father. “Fae blood, I tell ye all, the Fae blood.”
“Da.” Alex groaned.
“He’s right.” Alana’s affirmative made the throb of Janet’s pulse in her temples thud harder.
“It’s been generations.” The statement came out cracked and Janet grabbed the back of the chair in front of her so she wouldn’t fall over.
“Aye, but—” this time Duncan spoke. “I believe we have Fae blood.”
Duncan believes?
Janet’s head spun as her brother continued to speak.
“The seer needed my help to open the Faery Stones. It worked because we are Fae, no matter how slight.”
“Aye.” Xander nodded.
He didn’t sound surprised at Duncan’s reference to his adventure six months before into the Fae Realm to retrieve Alana and their brother.
Aye? Just like that? Why is Xander so accepting of this? Of…me?
Sweat broke out on her forehead. Janet’s knuckles whitened until her fingers ached as she clutched the chair. The walls started to waver as if they were dancing. Then…as she watched, they slowly started to creep closer. Appearing as if they were actually moving, crushing the room. Her chest ached. She forced air into her body. Tremors chased each other down her spine and her legs trembled.
She needed to get away.
Flee.
Run, far away from the people in the room, smothering her.
Janet couldn’t take Alana’s imploring violet eyes.
She couldn’t take both her brothers hovering over her, or Duncan’s threats to pound Xander if he didn’t ask for her to be his wife.
Couldn’t take Claire’s wide, watching green eyes.
And she definitely couldn’t take her father’s pleased expression.
How could the man be smug he’d been right about their Fae blood? The legend had been around for hundreds of years.
“I—”
Silence fell and they all looked at her.
Xander stared, his lips parted. As if he was about to say something but couldn’t form the words.
Janet could feel the magic pulsing between them again. She couldn’t see it anymore, but she could suddenly feel the rope-like magic like she had when they’d been on the beach. She felt its weight at her hips, in her chest, as if Xander’s hands were in both places.
Her heartbeat went from gallop to canter. She fought the fuzziness in her head when her limbs warmed.
Without another word, Janet dashed from the room as Angus had before. She heard surprised exclamations from various family members.
Janet ignored them all.
She ran. Down the stairs. Across the great hall. Down the corridor and out the entrance to Dunvegan. Didn’t even breathe until she was past the bailey and beyond the gates.
Poor cousin Cormac called after her again, but Janet didn’t stop for him either.
This will not be chosen for me.
Chapter Five
“Jesu. Now look what ye did.” Duncan dragged his hand down his beardless face, then shoved his long dark hair over one shoulder.
Xander tried to ignore the tug of the magic between him and Janet.
He needed to go after her.
His heart pounded, and he yet there he stood by the laird and his brother, striving to act normal.
“Duncan, this isn’t his fault.” Claire frowned.
“Aye, but tis.” The man, equal to Xander in breadth and height, looked down at his fair-haired wife. “If the Fa
e had kept his hands to himself, the lass wouldn’t be in this predicament.”
“Janet being revealed as mine isn’t a predicament.” Xander kept his words even, trying to ignore everyone’s thoughts as the chaos of feelings and blame sped through his mind. Every emotion was a shout. Accusation, hostility, even the old laird’s amusement and pleasure with the situation. Statements that made him dizzy. He winced.
“Yers?” Duncan spat the word as if a curse. “Isna’ the blame to lie with ye? My sister fled. That speaks to how she feels for ye.” He whirled around, stepping toward Xander again. The man got in his face; they were chest to chest, nearly touching.
“Brother, back up.” Alex came closer, Alana on his heels.
Their father hovered near the door, looking amused instead of alarmed.
Alana reached for Xander, settling her hand on his forearm.
Blessed silence settled over his mind. It was quiet. He was alone in his own head, like when he’d been on the beach with the lass.
Considering the tension in the room, Xander couldn’t chide his cousin for her unsolicited magical gift. “Thank you, cousin,” he whispered.
She nodded, meeting his eyes, before looking up at her husband and brother-by-marriage. “I need to speak with my cousin. Alone.”
Duncan frowned, but Claire nodded.
Alex squared his shoulders. “All right, mò chridhe.” He caressed Alana’s cheek and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Xander tried not to watch, or at least be detached, but he couldn’t. He stared at the tenderness the laird displayed for Alana, and couldn’t erase Janet’s blue eyes from his mind.
He’d touched her. Knew how her skin felt beneath his fingertips. Remembered her taste and how it was to have her up against his chest, in his arms. Xander had to swallow hard.
Duncan leaned in, sticking one thick finger in his face. Sapphire eyes—matching his sister’s—narrowed. “Ye will make this right.”
“Duncan.” Claire’s sharp admonition was ignored, but the man did back away.
He threw his arm around his pregnant wife’s shoulders. “Ye need ta rest, mò gradh.” His tone was gentle, as if he’d not been ferocious moments before.
“Yeah, I was.” Claire rolled her eyes.
Alex chuckled as he followed them out of the room. “Come, Da.” He gestured to his father. “We’ve a meetin’ with the steward. We’ve already kep’ him waiting.”
Iain nodded.
When the door closed, Xander tried to avoid his cousin’s gaze, but couldn’t. She might be diminutive in stature, but he’d never been able to look away when she commanded his attention.
One of the few situations Alana used her former rank to her advantage.
No matter where they were now, he couldn’t discard how he’d been raised to treat her. Respect was ingrained. It just so happened affection for his cousin was, as well.
“I’d ask what you were thinking, but I don’t think you were. As unusual as that is…” Alana kept her voice low, but Xander heard slight amusement, too.
He sighed and shook his head. “Nay. Magic drove me. I didn’t recognize what was happening until it was too late.”
Alana laughed.
“What is amusing, cousin?”
She took a seat and motioned for him to sit beside her. Both chairs rested in front of the fireplace.
Peat tickled his nose. Fresh and earthy, making the room smell as if they were outside. He glanced at the welcoming fire, burning low and hot as it consumed the block of moss.
So different from home.
It wasn’t unpleasant, but Fae burned scented woods grown from special trees. They were sweet, filling the air with the scents akin to sugary confections baking. The fires were also colored, depending on what wood was being used.
“Nothing is truly amusing, Xander. Your tone speaks of dread.”
“I cannot deny that.”
She took his hand and squeezed. “She is for you.”
He couldn’t find his voice, so he just closed his eyes, giving in to a reluctant nod.
A human mate?
Alana laughed again. His cousin wore a charming smirk when their gazes met again. “My human mate is more than enough.”
He’d spoken aloud?
Bollocks.
Xander had no rebuttal as he tried not to look into Alana’s violet eyes.
“Xander, please.” Alana’s voice dropped. “Don’t fight this, cousin. ‘Twill only make you ill.”
She was right, but he wasn’t going to admit it aloud. The legend of rings like his—Janet’s now—was that it found your perfect mate—a soul-mate, humans would say. He’d had it so long, Xander didn’t remember much, but he did recall his grandmother’s words as she’d pressed it into his young palm.
The couple has to do the rest.
The problem was, the magic expected both parties to comply. Illness—or worse—could result if either fought the mating bond.
The bond itself had little to do with magic itself. Only those truly meant to be together could form the golden rope linking them. Rare among the Fae. But to bond with a human? Xander hadn’t known it was possible until that morning.
A new mating bond needed to be solidified by physical consummation. It would never go away, even if it wasn’t, but their lives—if they both survived—would be unpleasant, to say in the least. Full of pain and yearning.
He’d always carried the ring with him, but he’d never believed in its magic. At least, Xander had never expected there was a match for his soul.
Especially away from the Realm of the Fae.
“I don’t want to fight it.” The words surprised him, but they were true. “I would just prefer she wanted the pairing as well.” Also true. Xander swallowed hard.
“Give her time, love.” Alana’s shoulders relaxed and she offered a small smile. “This is a shock to you both. To the whole family, actually.”
His cousin considered him family, of course. Now…he was also family to Clan MacLeod.
Family.
Love.
The endearment from Alana wasn’t wholly unusual, but why did Janet’s smile pop into his mind?
Alana laughed and Xander arched an eyebrow.
“Oh, Xander, I’m so happy you want to be loved.” The princess’s magic included empathic magic. One more power that wasn’t diminished for her in the Human Realm. “Janet is beautiful, inside and out. Perfect for you.”
His heart skipped a beat and he tried to frown. “Suddenly I know what it is to have my mind invaded.”
She flashed an unrepentant grin. “I cannot help it when you think so loudly, but it’s a relief.”
“To have my greatest fears and desires voiced? I think not.”
The princess giggled like a child and threw her arms around him.
Xander felt a chuckle break from his lips and he gathered his cousin close. She’d always been free with her love for him, much to the chagrin of their Fae Elders.
“I’ve been so worried about you since we’ve come here.” Alana’s words muffled against his chest.
“I know.” Xander locked his jaw to keep unwanted emotion at bay.
“Thank you for coming here. You gave up everything for me.”
He pulled back and tilted her face up. Xander thumbed a tear away as it trickled down her cheek. “Nay. Don’t weep for me. Never that.”
Alana’s mouth curved in a watery smile. “Tis the bairn. She makes my emotions wild.” Her expression slid into radiant as she straightened, resting a hand on her stomach.
“She? You know already?”
His cousin nodded. “Aye. I’ve told Alex just this morning. We’re going to call her Alexandria.”
Xander smiled. “A great honor to be named after her father. He is a good man. A good husband and father, as well as leader to his people.”
She gripped his hands and squeezed. “I love him, Xander. More than life. And my bairns. He’s given me a strong beautiful lad, and my daughter will be
the same, I’ve no doubt. I feel her magic inside me already. Angus and my daughter-to-be are the best of both worlds. I want this for you. You’ve always been more like a brother to me than protector or cousin. Please…”
A lump formed in his throat at the plea in her violet eyes. Alana was hurting for him and it stole him breath. He wanted to promise her that it would all be fine. That he and his reluctant mate would find the love she and the laird shared.
Xander couldn’t.
He wouldn’t force the lass to be with him, despite what was supposed to be their destiny. “I will not fight this. That is the only vow I can make to you right now.”
Alana beamed.
“This pleases you, cousin?”
She nodded. “The rest will be as it should.”
He studied her. Xander didn’t need to be an empath to sense her confidence, satisfaction. “I couldn’t give you the words you wanted.”
“But you did. Above all, you’ve always been an honest man. And I have faith in you.”
Xander shook his head, but didn’t fight his smile. If only Janet would agree, and not fight their infant bond. His stomach fluttered at the thought of her getting sick or dying because of him.
He reached mentally for the magic between them. Xander sensed her down on the beach, but he couldn’t feel what she was feeling. He’d been told most bonded mates—as rare as they were in the Fae Realm—could not only read each other’s minds, but had empathic abilities where their mate was concerned.
Thinking and feeling as one.
Could he hope for that deep of a connection with a human lass?
Xander rose and strode to one of the many windows in the warm bright room. His cousin let him go. No doubt she could sense that he needed some space between them.
The MacLeod soldiers and men-at-arms were once again sparring in the bailey.
Gods know Duncan MacLeod needs it.
Especially if Xander was to remain unscathed.
He would’ve let the man hit him if it’d come to that. Xander would never lift his hand to his cousin’s family.
My family now.
Duncan and Alex were his brothers-by-marriage already by Fae standards. If Janet wished a wedding as Alana had, they’d be family by human customs as well.