Claimed by the Highland Wolf

by Stephanie Marks

  “I’ll take what you’ve offered. And I may or may not leave your lands and your people in peace. I make ye no promises. But ye have my word that I’ll let ye leave our camp alive if ye go now and do not look back. That’s my offer. The girl for your life. Take it or leave it.”

  “I want your word, MacGregor, that you’ll not savage our land,” Dougal said, enraged, his face going bright red.

  “The only word you’ll have from me is for my men to separate your head from your shoulders if ye do not leave this place at once,” the MacGregor said coolly.

  My uncle looked at him with naked fury in his eyes. He opened his mouth then closed it again, apparently thinking better about what he had been about to say, and turned his back on us without a single glance in my direction.

  “Uncle, you cannot do this to me. Please, please don’t do this,” I begged him, hot tears running down my face.

  But he did not come back for me. Abandoned and surrounded by the men of clan MacGregor, I wept hot tears, terrified of the fate that lay ahead of me.

  CHAPTER 4

  “Watch her,” MacGregor told his men, “and do something to quiet her. I don’t want to have to listen to her weeping the entire night while I’m trying to sleep.”

  Taking hold of my elbow, they pulled me toward the fire, then shoved me down onto one of the logs they had placed there to sit on.

  “Now keep quiet,” one of them growled at me. “Unless ye want your noise to be bringing the MacGregor over here to quiet ye down himself.”

  “Who knows,” the other one said with a sneer. “Maybe she would.”

  They sat down on either side of me, laughing at their distasteful joke, then proceeded to ignore me completely. All of the men went back to their drinking and conversation as if the interruption had never happened.

  I shifted uncomfortably on the log and my stomach let out a loud rumble. My face flushed warmly as every set of eyes turned to look at me. How could they all have possibly heard the noise I had made from so far away?

  The eyes of the men across from me shifted to look over my shoulder and I heard heavy footsteps coming up behind me. I did not need to turn around to know who it was. I could sense the MacGregor’s eyes on the back of my head and I tensed up in fear.

  A large hand reached over my shoulder and dropped a large hunk of bread in my lap.

  “Eat.” The MacGregor’s command was simple. I hesitated for a moment, unsure if it was some sort of cruel joke, then snatched up the food and took a large bite before he had the chance to take it away from me again.

  I ate the bread quickly, not knowing when the next time they chose to feed me would be. The clansman to my right shifted and bumped into me, causing me to swallow wrong, and I began to choke.

  I coughed and struggled to swallow it down, but it was lodged too thickly. I doubled over, trying to loosen it, but the piece would not move.

  “What’s wrong with her?” someone asked.

  I grabbed the shoulder of the man to my right, clutching at his shirtsleeve.

  “Christ, she’s choking!” he shouted, then turned me away from him and pounded me on the back.

  The chunk of bread dislodged itself from my throat and I spat it out into the fire then fell backward off the log into the dirt, gasping for breath as I curled myself up into a ball.

  “Is she all right?”

  “Jesus, she’s pale.”

  “Look at her hands. Her fingers are turning blue.”

  Out of the confusion of voices around me one voice rang clear. His.

  “I told ye to watch her, not kill or cripple her,” the MacGregor said.

  I felt the rope around my wrists slacken then give way. I lay completely still, then peeked through my semi-closed eyes to see that only one man was bending over me now. Moving quickly, I grabbed a fair-sized rock and swung for him, hitting him with it as hard as I could on the side of the head. I scrambled to my feet, taking advantage of the momentary confusion, and ran for the trees as fast as I could.

  I heard the shouts of the men behind me, but it only helped to spur me on. I didn’t look back to see how many of them were following me; I couldn’t risk wasting the precious seconds that it would take.

  It took me a long while to realize that no one was chasing me. I heard no shouting, no footsteps, nothing but the sound of my own ragged breathing in my ears.

  I slowed, then came to a complete stop. Something wasn’t right. Why would they just let me escape?

  Then I heard it. A snapping in the trees. I spun around in a circle, trying to find the direction it was coming from. A low growl reached me and I took a step back, my heart pounding loudly in my chest.

  The howl of a wolf went up in the night and I took off blindly, deeper into the woods. The sound of crashing came from behind me and I cried out, my lungs burning from the exertion.

  The hem of my gown got caught on a bush and I went crashing to the ground. I hissed at the burning on the palms of my hands as they got scratched up on the twigs and rocks that littered the forest floor.

  I shook with terror, listening to the sound of breaking branches. It took all of my courage to bring myself to turn around and face whatever it was that was stalking me. My nightmare came rushing back to me in a blinding flash. The blood-covered snow. The bright amber eyes.

  I pulled myself up and looked over my shoulder to face the largest, most terrifying beast I had ever laid my eyes on.

  I couldn’t even scream, I was so petrified with fear. The giant wolf stalked toward me, head low to the ground, with its large golden eyes fixed on mine.

  I knew all too well the stories told about the demon wolves that Alastair MacGregor called forth to do his bidding. I had never fully believed them, sure that they were just the stories told by the scared and confused survivors of his bloodthirsty raids. But I could not deny what I was seeing with my own eyes.

  My father had always told me that it was men that had killed my mother. Killed her, but had left me alive. That my nightmare was just my child’s mind turning the men into monsters. But now I knew the truth. The wolf had been real.

  The giant wolf circled me. I watched it carefully, afraid that it would lunge and attack me at any moment, but it did not. Instead it moved closer, bringing its circles ever so slowly tighter until it was so close that I could have reached out my hand and touched it if I had been so bold.

  It moved behind me, and I felt the great beast press its muzzle against my back and nudge me. I jumped and let out a whimper but did not move, just sat shaking with fright. It nudged at my back again, more firmly this time, and I jumped to my feet, moving quickly to get away from it.

  It stepped toward me and I moved a few feet back, then stopped. The wolf stepped toward me again and I knew I had no choice but to turn around and walk back to the MacGregor camp. The wolf was to be my escort.

  It was no wonder none of the men had bothered to chase me themselves. They knew that I would be found and brought back to them in time.

  The wolf followed closely behind me, its inky black coat melting in and out of the shadows, but never moved to attack. The MacGregor really was some sort of devil if he had such command over a beast of this kind. It was the only way to explain how a wolf of this size had never been spotted anywhere but at the call of the MacGregor clan.

  It was not just the current clan chief who was said to have the power over the demon wolves, but all of the chiefs for as far back as anyone could remember. There had always been stories, legends, about the clan’s protectors.

  The light from the fire pit was soon within view and I stopped walking. Maybe it was because I had been in the presence of one of these great beasts twice now and survived, but after my experience in the woods and the hike back in the company of the giant wolf, I was more afraid of the men than I was of the beast.

  The wolf stopped beside me and turned to look at me, piercing me with its golden gaze, then looked back at the camp through the trees.

  “I cannot,” I wh
ispered, my voice shaking with fear and anger. “I cannot go back there to be beaten or face whatever punishment the devil MacGregor has in store for me for trying to escape.” I faced the wolf and lifted my head, squaring my shoulders. “You may as well tear my throat out now.”

  I don’t know what made me think that the beast would be able to understand me, but I could not keep my feelings inside.

  “Please, please, don’t make me go,” I begged.

  The beast shoved me toward the camp with its great head, and I balled my hands into fists. Of course it couldn’t understand me. And even if it could, why would I think that my pleading would do me any kind of good?

  Well, I was no coward. I was the daughter of Cameron Gordon, and I would meet my fate with the dignity of my rank.

  The wolf melted back into the trees, but I was not so foolish as to think that I was being allowed a chance to escape. No, if anything the beast most likely sensed my resignation.

  I stepped out of the trees into the light of the campfire and the voices hushed at my approach.

  With great dignity I walked over to the fire, looking each and every man dead in the eye before taking up a position close to the flames.

  The MacGregor was not among those I saw there, but I knew that I would be seeing him soon enough. And then I would have to accept my punishment. I was determined that no matter what he did to me, he would not see a single tear or hear one whimper. I would not give him the satisfaction.

  A few minutes later I looked up to see the MacGregor walking out of the trees. Our eyes met across the fire and I clenched my hands in the folds of my dress to keep them from shaking.

  “Callum,” he called to one of the men, his eyes never leaving mine. “You’re next on watch.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I could see a young man who looked no older than sixteen stand up and head off into the woods.

  Once he was gone, the MacGregor pulled his gaze from mine and turned and walked away.

  I sat there in confusion. Was I not to be punished after all, or was I to be punished later?

  “Come on, then, lass,” said the clansman next to me.

  The man was older than my father. His barrel chest made him look broad and strong even though his dark, wiry hair and thick, bushy beard were generously streaked with gray.

  “It’s getting late and we’ve an early start tomorrow. It’s best ye get some sleep.”

  I looked around and noticed that everyone was starting to bed down for the night.

  “Lay yourself down. You’ve had more than enough adventure for one day.”

  “I don’t think I could sleep at all tonight,” I whispered.

  “Ye feel that way now, but close your eyes and I’d be surprised if ye were still awake after five minutes.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms over my chest. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

  “Because ye look like you could use it, lass,” he told me, then wrapped himself in his plaid, lay down on the ground and closed his eyes.

  I stared at him for a moment, caught off guard by his show of kindness, then decided to take his advice.

  The ground was hard but warm, being so close to the fire. Curling myself into a tight ball, I closed my eyes and quickly fell asleep.

  CHAPTER 5

  Large hands shook me roughly awake by my shoulders. It took a moment for the memory of where I was to come back to me in the low light of the morning. My exhaustion had put me into a deep, dreamless sleep, and my mind fought against leaving that peaceful world.

  A man came over and doused the fire that the sentries had kept burning throughout the night, and I watched as a thick cloud of smoke curled up toward the sky.

  I had been gone for four nights. And while I wanted to believe that my father and his men were out looking for me at that very moment, I knew that my uncle would have found some way to keep my father pacified during my absence. Some sort of explanation that would keep him from coming to look for me before my uncle could get back to our land and whisper some sort of clever lie in his ear.

  “Time to wake up now, lass,” said the older man who’d been kind to me the night before. He stood up and took hold of the reins of the horse he had led over. “We’re heading out and you’re to be riding with the MacGregor. Best not to keep him waiting.”

  He held out his hand to me and I accepted it graciously, allowing him to pull me to my feet.

  “I don’t suppose I have time to…” I trailed off, blushing, and looked into the woods.

  “Aye, come along, then. It will be a long ride once we get going. Best ye go now.”

  He stood watch with his back turned while I relieved myself in the trees, then walked me back to the camp.

  “Where are we going?” I asked him.

  “We’re just off to do a wee bit o’ reiving, that’s all. Nothing for you to fash yourself about.”

  I didn’t know how he could think that being stuck with them while they stole livestock in the middle of the night wouldn’t frighten me. Reiving was common practice in the highlands, and in a few years even Fin would be getting his first taste of it along with the other young men. But it was one thing to know it was happening, and another altogether to be dragged into the middle of it against your will.

  In the full light of day the MacGregor looked just as fearsome as he had the night before. He stood unsmiling alongside his great black mount with annoyance in his eyes. He had obviously been waiting for me and I picked up my pace to reach him.

  “Donald, did you not tell the lass that we have not got all day?” he asked the older man.

  “Aye, I did. And she’s here now, so ye can quit your grumbling,” Donald told him.

  I looked agape at the older man, amazed that he would dare take such a tone with his chief, especially one with such a reputation.

  The MacGregor simply grunted and held out his hand to me, then helped me up into the saddle, leaving Donald to watch me while he oversaw the last details before it was time to move out. The thought of attempting to escape now that I sat a horse passed through my mind, but the thought was fleeting. I doubted I would get very far, or that the MacGregor would be as forgiving a second time.

  It wasn’t long before every man was packed up and mounted, ready to set off, and the MacGregor swung himself up into the saddle behind me in one smooth motion. Settling himself, he took up the reins in one hand and held me firmly with the other, his strong arm wrapped tightly around my waist.

  We rode all day, with the men talking and laughing amongst themselves. Ribald jokes were tossed back and forth between them and I found it hard to reconcile the thought of the men around me being capable of all the monstrous things I had heard about in the stories. Was it really so easy for them to go from singing and laughter to destroying lives as if they were nothing?

  The MacGregor shifted in the saddle behind me and I was once again pulled from my thoughts. I had not been able to keep my mind focused for more that a few scant minutes at a time all day. Too easily I would find my awareness drawn back to the feel of his hard, broad chest against my back, or the feel of his long, muscular thighs as they pressed up alongside my own.

  But the worst, the very worst, was when his hand would move slightly and slide along my abdomen as if in a caress. Every time it happened I could feel a heat begin to pool in the very center of me and it would take all of my determination not to close my eyes and lean back against him.

  How wanton I must truly be to crave the touch of such a man. The knowledge of my desire shamed me to my very core and I rode in silence, only opening my mouth to eat the food that was shared with me on our journey.

  ***

  It was full night by the time we had reached our destination. The air of the group had changed from lighthearted fun to a more serious tone the closer we got to the impending rieving.

  The band of men kept their horses in a tight circle as we waited for the scout to come back. The MacGregor had sent young Callum ahead of us to
scout the land.

  “Where are we?” I whispered to Donald, too curious to keep quiet any longer. We had ridden all day and I was eager to finally have a moment to stretch my legs.

  “We’ve passed into Boyle lands. It won’t be long now,” he told me.

  He was right. About fifteen minutes later, Callum came back creeping through the trees and headed straight for the MacGregor to give him the report.

  “There is a small cluster of homes just down the hill. A bit of livestock. A couple of horses, a few cows, the usual chickens. Not much to pick from,” Callum told him, loud enough for the rest of us to hear.

  “That’ll be serving our purposes just fine. Ye all know the plan. Get in, get out.”

  I watched as a few of the men ran into the trees in different directions and disappeared.

  “Donald,” he called, beckoning him over.

  “Aye.” Donald nodded to me and we walked over to the MacGregor.

  I kept my head down and tried to partially shield myself with Donald’s frame but he held on to me tightly and kept me firmly in view. I tried not to be resentful as the man had shown me nothing but kindness, but I still found myself annoyed that he would put me back in the line of the MacGregor’s attentions. These last few minutes with some distance between us had been the first time all day where I had felt like I could take a breath without being consumed by the scent and feel of him.

  “Keep to the edge of the trees and watch for us. I want ye to stay back this time and keep an eye on the lass. I’m counting on ye to mind her. The last thing we need is her getting free and having to fetch her back again.”

  Even if I had been thinking of using this time to try to make my escape, the reminder of what he would send to collect me would have been more than enough to ensure I stayed put.

  “Not to worry,” Donald told him. “I don’t think she plans on giving us any trouble, do ye, lass?”

  I kept my eyes averted and shook my head.

  The MacGregor reached out and took my face in his hands, raising it so that I had to look him in the eye.