Claimed by the Highland Wolf

by Stephanie Marks

  His free arm came around my waist, holding me tight to him, his fingers splayed over the base of my spine, pressing me in to him. I raised my hands to his chest, my fingers curled, grasping tightly to the fabric of his shirt.

  I opened my mouth, a soft sigh escaping my lips, and he deepened the kiss, pressing me back against the shelf as his tongue dipped eagerly into my mouth. I kissed him back hungrily, my arms snaking up to wrap around his neck, pulling him closer as desire flared within me.

  Alastair lifted me off my feet and carried me to the couch, laid me back on the cushions and covered me with his body. My breath caught in my throat as his hand ran up my bodice to cup my breast and my back arched, pressing me harder against his palm.

  I pulled my mouth away from his as I gasped for breath, but his lips never left my body. I groaned as they roamed over my jaw and down my throat, leaving my skin burning in their wake as his tongue dipped into the hollow of my collarbone. I craved more even though the last sane part of myself told me that we must stop.

  “I can’t… I can’t breathe,” I gasped. “I can’t think.”

  “Then don’t think,” he growled into my ear before his demanding lips found mine again.

  I opened my mouth, eagerly accepting him, silencing the nagging voice in my mind as our tongues dueled. This was surely the road to ruin but I did not care. If this was what ruin felt like, I would accept it gladly.

  Through the fog in my mind I thought I heard a door opening, and was brought fully back to myself by the sound of a loud gasp.

  Alastair and I sat up quickly to find Allina staring at us in shock. Her eyes were wide above the hand that covered her mouth, watching as I hurriedly tried to smooth my gown before she turned and fled from the room.

  “Oh God in heaven, what are we going to do?” I asked him, clutching his sleeve. “She is bound to tell someone.”

  “No.” Alastair shook his head. “She willna.” He turned to me and cupped my cheek. “And even though I hate that we were interrupted, the lass probably did us a favor.”

  I closed my eyes and turned my face into his palm.

  “You’re right,” I sighed. “We let things get much too out of hand.”

  He stood and held out his hand to me, helped me to my feet, then kissed me softly. I could sense his barely restrained hunger and I felt for him as the same need echoed inside me.

  “I’ll walk you back to your chamber.”

  “No,” I said quickly, then laughed, stepping away from him. “I mean, it would probably be best if I went back by myself. One close call is more than enough for one night.”

  I kissed him on the cheek and walked quickly to the door before I could change my mind.

  “Will ye be down for breakfast tomorrow?” he asked before I could disappear around the corner.

  I didn’t reply. I simply smiled before I walked away.

  I couldn’t keep from grinning the entire way back to my room, marveling at the strange turn of events.

  As I reached my door a shiver went down my spine, accompanied by the strange sensation that I was being watched. I looked back down the hallway in the direction I had just come from, but could see no movements in the shadows. Shivering, I quickly opened my door and hurried inside, shutting it quickly once I was inside.

  Once I was alone the feeling was gone and I chided myself for my silliness. It was most likely nothing more than my overactive imagination.

  CHAPTER 10

  A week had gone by since Allina had walked in on us in the library, and it looked like Alastair had been right after all. There hadn’t been so much as a whisper of our indiscretion floating around the castle. I was grateful to Allina for her silence, even though I was sure that she hadn’t held her tongue for my benefit.

  I looked up at the bright blue sky and smiled. It was a beautiful day outside as I walked around the grounds. One of the grooms smiled and waved at me as he led a horse past me and I lifted my hand in greeting. I had been to the great hall for every meal for the past week and the castle’s inhabitants had started to become accustomed to my presence.

  Alastair had made the official announcement of my arrival the morning after our interlude in the library. I was to be treated as a special guest of the MacGregor and shown every courtesy. Only those who had been there the first night were aware of how I had actually come to be at the castle. As far as anyone else in the clan was concerned I was simply the daughter of a clan chief come to visit for an unspecified amount of time.

  I was sure that everyone had their own thoughts and speculations but it no longer mattered to me. I was welcome now, and Alastair’s announcement ensured that I was met with no hostility.

  I paused and bit my lip, looking up at the great castle. I had not seen Allina since that night and I wasn’t ashamed to say that I was grateful for her absence. I knew that if I were to run into her it would be hard to mask my embarrassment over what she had seen. The one thing that continued to nag at me, though, was the fact that I still didn’t know why she had been in Alastair’s library at that time. Had she heard us from the hallway and come to investigate?

  What did it matter? Speculating about it would do me no good.

  I wandered out to the stables and waved to one of the young grooms. “Good morning, Ian. How are you today?”

  “Very well, thank you, miss. Were you hoping to ride today?”

  “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble for you to get a horse saddled for me.”

  “Not at all, miss. It won’t take a moment.”

  I waited patiently as Ian saddled my horse, a beautiful and spirited chestnut mare. I was eager to ride back to the lake the wolf had taken me to and spend some time by the water.

  The ride out to the lake was peaceful. It took me a while to find my way but I was able to locate the clear blue waters before too long.

  I was lying on my back with my skirts spread out around me, watching the clouds float by, when I heard a shuffling in the trees behind me followed by a low growl.

  I sat up quickly and looked around while the mare continued to nibble at the lush grass. Was I hearing things?

  The growl came again, louder this time, and I scrambled to my feet and hurried over to the horse.

  “I think that’s more than enough nature for one day,” I said to myself.

  I pulled myself into the saddle as a huge wolf stepped out of the trees and into the clearing. I knew instantly that it was not Alastair. Its coat was a light brown, not his deep black. It stalked toward me, head low to the ground, with its sharp teeth bared menacingly.

  “I don’t know who you are,” I said to it, my voice shaking, “but I know what you are. And I will tell you now that if you attack me, you will find yourself in grave trouble.”

  The wolf snapped its jaws at me and the horse whinnied, finally recognizing the danger. It only made sense that the horse would not have been afraid of the wolf at first. All of the horses owned by the MacGregors would have had to be trained to be accustomed to the wolves so that they did not lose control every time their masters shifted between their wolf and human forms.

  “Please don’t do this,” I pleaded to the wolf as my grip tightened on the reins.

  The wolf lunged at me and I screamed, digging my heels into the horse’s flank.

  The horse shot forward and crashed through the trees as we raced back toward the castle. I looked back over my shoulder to see the wolf following close behind, snapping at our heels.

  “Faster,” I cried to the horse. “Please, please go faster.”

  A low branch slapped me in the face and I could feel a sharp stinging just below my eye.

  I jerked in my saddle as the wolf caught up with us and brought the horse down beneath me. My scream mingled with the horse’s as we landed hard on the forest floor, the weight of the horse crushing my leg.

  When the mare struggled to get back on her feet I was able to pull my leg free, but cried out at the pain in my ankle. I must have twisted it when the horse lande
d on me.

  I pulled myself backwards on my elbows, watching in horror as the wolf sank its teeth into the horse’s neck, savagely cutting off her cries.

  “No!” I screamed as it lunged toward me, throwing my arm across my face.

  My body tensed in anticipation of feeling its teeth tear into my flesh, but that never came. Instead I heard a loud thump and a sickening crunch. I looked up to see a second wolf rolling with the first, this one with a glossy black pelt.

  The wolves tangled together and rolled, snapping at each other.

  “Alastair!” I screamed as the brown wolf closed its jaws around one of the black wolf’s front legs.

  I looked around frantically, looking for something, anything that I could use as a weapon. Reaching up above me, I grabbed hold of one of the thicker branches and bent it back as far as I could, moving it back and forth until it snapped off in my hand, the broken end sharp and jagged.

  I ran toward the fighting wolves as they battled for the upper hand. When I got closer I could see a streak of blood through Alastair’s black fur and a blinding rage flared within me. Before I could think I ran toward the giant beasts, the thick branch held high in my hands, and I plunged the sharp end of the stick into the brown wolf’s side, driving it in as far as it would go.

  The wolf howled and turned on me. I stumbled backwards to get out of the way, and as it reached for me it made the fatal mistake of exposing its neck to Alastair. Just like the brown wolf had with the mare, Alastair’s giant jaws wrapped around the brown wolf’s neck and bit down before he pulled his head away, tearing apart the brown wolf’s neck. I whimpered as a warm spray of blood hit my face and coated the front of my dress.

  Once the brown wolf lay unmoving in the grass, the wolf I knew to be Alastair limped over to me and collapsed with his large head in my lap, resting a moment before nuzzling my face. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his warm coat as my body began to shake.

  The wolf stood and started to limp away from me, so I wound my fingers in his fur and followed, wincing internally with every painful-looking step I saw him take.

  After a few minutes I understood where he was taking me when I saw the bright splash of red tartan lying across a bush. He must have torn it off and shifted when he heard my cries. I let him go and turned around in order to offer him some privacy as he shifted back into his human form, and I could soon hear the swishing of fabric behind me as he got dressed.

  “Glenna, lass.” His voice was rough with worry, and I ran limping to him and threw myself into his arms.

  One of his arms came around me to hold me tightly as I burst into tears.

  “Are ye all right?” he asked me frantically. “Are ye injured? Did it bite ye?”

  I shook my head no and continued to sob. I couldn’t seem to stop. Whatever clarity had been driving me was now gone and in its absence it had left me a weak, shaken mess.

  “I’m sorry,” I gasped. “I’m sorry. I will be all right in just a moment.”

  He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and held me close.

  “It will be all right now,” he promised me. “You’re safe now, lass. You’re safe now. He can never hurt ye again.”

  My shoulders shook harder as I clutched at him, my mind trying to make sense of the close call I had just escaped.

  “Come now,” he said softly. “We must head back to the castle.”

  “Oh, Alastair, your arm!” I looked down at the angry-looking wound. Blood dripped from where the skin was torn open. “We must get you help.”

  “Donnae fash yourself about it. Come, now.”

  When we got back to the castle, the men gaped and the women hid their faces in horror at my appearance. I could not blame them as I passed by, soaked in fresh blood. I must have looked like some demon creature out of their darkest nightmares come to carry them away.

  Alastair’s men descended on us as the word spread, but he waved them away.

  “I will be with you after I see to Miss Gordon,” he told them, hurrying me through the halls and up to my bedchamber.

  “You,” he said to one of the castle maids as we passed. “Fetch us enough hot water to fill a bath, and be quick abut it.”

  “Right away, sir,” she said quickly before running off.

  My bedchamber seemed eerily quiet after the commotion downstairs. My fingers shook as I tugged at my dress, trying to remove it.

  “Glenna, wait,” said Alastair, grabbing at my hands.

  “No.” I shook my head. “Get it off me. I have to get it off me. There’s so much blood. Please.”

  Nodding, the MacGregor released my hands and helped me out of my dress, averting his eyes as I stood before him in my thin shift.

  “There is a dressing gown in the wardrobe,” I told him.

  He brought it back to me and held it open for me to slide into, then gathered me up and set me down on the bed.

  “Are ye sure you’re not hurt?” he asked me again, his eyes darting back and forth as he examined me.

  “I’m sure. I was not bit. Just a twisted ankle.”

  “We’ll get it seen to.”

  “We need to get your arm seen to,” I told him. “It will have to be stitched up.”

  He opened his mouth to say something, but a knock at the door cut him off.

  When he opened the door four maids walked in, each holding a very large bucket of water in each hand. They kept their eyes down as they filled the large washbasin up with warm water.

  “I’ve sent for Mrs. Fletcher to see to your arm, sir,” said one of the maids. “She said that she would see to ye in your chambers shortly. Would you like me to stay here and help Miss Gordon?”

  Alastair shook his head silently and the girl left.

  Taking my hand, he led me to the tub that was separated from the rest of the room by a painted screen. He stood on one side of the screen while I slipped out of my clothes on the other. I sank slowly into the warm water, sighing as it chased away the chill that had settled within me. Taking the washcloth, I went to work scrubbing the blood away from my skin. It had long since dried and caked onto my face and came away in flecks. I watched as my bath water slowly became tinged with a faint red. When I thought of how much blood had soaked my dress I knew that there would be no saving it. Not that I would have been able to wear it ever again even if it could be saved. I never wanted to see it again.

  I unplaited my hair and dragged my fingers through it, making sure to scrub every last trace of the wolf’s blood from my locks. By the time I was sure all the blood was gone, the water was starting to cool, so I stepped out of it and wrapped the large bath sheet the maids had left around my body.

  “I’m coming around,” I told him.

  I came out from behind the screen and chose a fresh shift from the wardrobe while he kept his eyes discreetly averted, then crawled into bed.

  “Would ye like me to stay with ye?” he asked once I was finally settled.

  “No, but thank you. I feel much better now that I’ve had my bath and all the blood is gone. You should go get your arm seen to.”

  “But if ye need me…”

  “I will come find you.”

  “I will find out who did this to ye and why, lass. I promise ye that.”

  “I know you will.”

  He crossed the room to me and pressed a fierce kiss to my lips. “Try to get some sleep now,” he said, brushing back my damp hair. “I’ll look in on ye later.”

  Once he had left I fell back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. Would it never end? Was I doomed to spend the rest of my life in this castle, constantly trapped in this room, living under the threat of drowning in my own tears?

  ***

  I rolled over in bed and slowly opened my eyes to find the chair next to the bed occupied.

  “I’m sorry, lass, did I wake ye?” Alastair asked.

  “No, it was simply time for me to wake,” I told him, reaching out my hand to him. He took it and raised it to
his lips and pressed a kiss to my palm. “Have you been here long?”

  “I dinnae know. It was like time stopped when I entered your chamber. I sat down to watch over ye for a short while, but I’m not sure how long I’ve actually been sitting here for.”

  My heart swelled at his words and I squeezed his hand tightly.

  “How is your arm?” I asked. His left forearm was wrapped tightly in a white bandage. I was glad that he had gotten it properly seen to. “Does it hurt?”

  “Not at all now. It will be little more than a scratch by morning.”

  I snorted lightly but said no more about it. I knew that it would do me no good. Men were constantly downplaying the severity of their injuries.

  “And what of the wolf that attacked me? Were you able to discover anything about it?”

  Alastair shifted uncomfortably and averted his eyes. “That’s not something ye need to worry yourself about just yet. Why don’t ye lie back and rest some more?”

  I sat up and narrowed my eyes at him, sure that there was something he wasn’t telling me. But I would not be coddled. I had already had enough of that for one day. Now that the shock had passed, I wanted the facts.

  “I have rested quite enough. Now, what are you not telling me? Don’t you think I deserve to know who it was that would have taken my life?”

  His jaw clenched and he sighed, giving in. “All right, then. We discovered that it was a man from the village. He had fallen on hard times over the last few months and he had turned to drink…” He trailed off.

  “What is it?” I prodded. “What else did you find?”

  “When we searched the man’s home we came across some money. Enough money to give us all pause.”

  I struggled for breath as the importance of his words hit me. “You don’t think that someone paid the man to have me killed, do you?” I asked him.