Camden yelled and wrenched his head away. I was expecting his slap this time, and it only fueled my anger. I opened my mouth to scream, but the sound was cut off by his hand.
"Now, we'll have none of that," he said menacingly. "Ye should have run faster."
Taking hold of the front of my dress, he wrenched it at the seam, tearing open the front and exposing one of my breasts. I bucked wildly, and the blood pounding in my ears was all that I could hear. This couldn't possibly be happening to me.
"Come on now, love," he snarled. "I'm not trying to take anything that you haven't already freely given that beast MacGregor. If you'll let a devil like that spread your dimpled knees, what's one more, aye?"
With a surge of strength I tore one of my hands free and punched him in the nose as hard as possible. There was a sickening crunch and blood began to pour from it.
He yelled and released me, his hands flying to his face. With a mighty shove I toppled him off of me and I ran for the chamber door. Holding the torn ends of my dress to my chest, I ran down the empty hallway. My slippered feet echoed softly in the dark, with my light footsteps soon followed by his heavier ones.
I pulled on a door only to find it locked, and continued running. The second door I tried opened under the force of my hand and I dashed inside, slammed it closed behind me and barred it. A hard thud came a moment later and I jumped, then backed away slowly, never taking my eyes from the door.
"Let me in, Glenna!" he shouted, and a moment later he pounded again. "Let me in, ye stupid wee whore!" There was a heavier thud from lower down where he must have been kicking the door but it held fast.
After that I heard nothing as the long minutes crawled by. I crept closer to the door, trying to not make a sound as I listened for movement on the other side.
"I will find ye, Glenna." Camden's voice was a low, menacing hiss. "I will find ye and I will kill ye. MacGregor will die. Everyone in this castle will die. And I will find out the names of every friend ye have and I will kill them just as I killed your precious Iona."
My hands flew to my mouth as I tried to hold back a gasp, and my body shook violently, but I continued to walk toward the door until I was standing a hair's breadth from it.
"Riding into town and killing her really was the perfect way to spend the afternoon after that lovely picnic ye and I shared. We are coming for ye and we will wipe every demon-spawned mutt born to this clan from the land," he spat.
He punched the door, the blow of it landing right where my face was, and I jumped back as if freed from a trance. A moment later I heard his heavy footfalls as he ran away from the door.
I rushed to the far corner of the room and crouched down in the corner, my face buried in my knees, too afraid to leave.
CHAPTER 9
I don't know how long I sat there in the dark, too scared to leave the room for fear that Camden was still lurking outside the door. His words echoed over and over again in my head. Somehow he knew—he knew about the curse of the wolf on clan MacGregor, and he wasn't alone.
Eventually I heard the muffled sound of footsteps outside the door and I froze, afraid that it was Camden come back again. The voices slowly became more clear, among them a low, rumbling voice filled with worry that I recognized as Alastair's.
"Have ye not seen her at all then, Donald? She didn't mention that she was leaving?"
"She's not left the keep, Alastair. Someone would have seen her go."
I unfolded myself from the corner and stood on shaky, weak legs. "Alastair." My voice was tight and raw and came out barely above a whisper. I stumbled toward the door and hurried to unbar it. "Alastair," I said again, louder this time as I fell into the hallway.
"Glenna?" He and Donald were already some distance down the hall, and he turned to look back.
Clutching the torn ends of my dress to my chest I ran to him, tears streaming down my face. As I got closer I could see him taking in my appearance. The expression on his face grew from confused to murderous.
"Oh, Alastair!" I threw myself against him and he wrapped me in his arms.
"Glenna, what's happened to ye?" he demanded.
"It was Camden," I told him, my voice filled with shame and simmering anger. "He deceived me." I shook my head and looked up at him. "He told me that he loved me, that he wanted me to run away with him. And when I refused him, he changed. He said the most awful things and he... he tried to force himself on me." I whispered the last, still feeling the greasy shame of the encounter.
Alastair stood very still as if struck from stone. "Donald?" he said, his voice dripping with ice.
"Yes, sir?" said Donald, who stood shaking beside him, hands clenched at his sides.
"Gather the men. Tell them we are going hunting."
"Right away," said Donald. The older man turned and left us standing in the hall.
"This way, Glenna," Alastair said.
"Alastair, wait. There is more," I said as he led me away.
"It can wait, love. Let's get you seen to first."
He hurried me through the castle. Very few people were wandering the halls, most of them already gone to their beds. But Alastair blocked me from what few eyes were around to see me in my state of undress and shame.
When we got to my bedchamber I turned to him and slapped a hand to his chest to stop him. Rage had been growing in him the entire way there and I needed him to hear what I had to say.
"Alastair, please stop. I need you to listen to me."
"I should have been here to protect ye," he growled. "I should have sensed the type of man he was. I should never have let him anywhere near ye."
"Alastair, what happened to me wasn't your fault. And I'm fine. I got away."
"But he laid hands on ye!" Alastair exploded. "He tried to force himself on ye! And he bruised ye..." He reached out and touched my face lightly and I winced away from his touch. The skin on my face was more tender than I had realized. "I'll kill him." He turned to head for the door.
"Alastair, stop!" I shouted.
So very rarely did I raise my voice at him that he turned and looked back at me in surprise. The last time it had happened we had been fighting in his study over whether or not he would meet my father and his men on the battlefield in war. I had been decidedly against it.
"Alastair, you will stop right there and listen to what I have to say," I demanded.
"What is it?" he asked impatiently. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides as though eager to feel Camden's neck against their palms.
"He knows, Alastair," I said.
"Knows what?"
"He knows about you, the wolves, all of it. He knows of the curse."
"How is that possible?" He strode back to me, alarmed. "What did he say?"
I closed my eyes, remembering. "He said that he would kill all of us. You, me, everyone. That your people were evil. Demons. He said that he wasn't working alone and that they were coming to destroy us. Oh, Alastair, he said that he killed Iona."
"He will pay for it, Glenna. I will make sure that he drowns in his own blood."
"No," I told him.
"Don't be ridiculous. What do you mean, no?" he scowled.
"You heard me. Do not kill him. I want you to bring him back here. Bring him to me, Alastair," I told him firmly.
"I am not letting him anywhere near ye. He will never see your face or speak your name again!" he shouted.
I looked up at him and squared my shoulders. His eyes were deep green and flashed with rage. I knew that he was willing to do whatever it took to protect me, but I needed this. I needed to see Camden again.
"You will bring him to me, Alastair, and you will bring him to me alive. After what he's done... I was so scared. I need to face him. I have to. I cannot let his face be the one that haunts my nightmares. Please, Alastair, do this for me."
He reached out and pulled me to him and kissed me fiercely. I melted into his touch, the feel of him banishing the last wisps of fear that had kept their grip on me.
"I will do this, if this is what it will take for you to be free of him."
"Thank you. Now give me a moment to change."
"I must go, Glenna. We are running out of time."
I ran to the wardrobe and discarded the torn gown on the floor before pulling out the first gown I set my hand on. When I pulled it out it happened to be a deep crimson red. The color felt very fitting. I dressed as quickly as possible.
"All right, I'm ready," I told him, and we rushed out the door.
When we got to the courtyard, about twenty men were standing there waiting for Alastair and many of them seemed surprised to see me. I recognized most of their faces not only from seeing them around the keep but also because most of these men had been there in the woods when my uncle had traded me to Alastair in the middle of the night, a few short months ago.
These men had seen me when I was at my most terrified and humiliated. It was almost a relief that they were the ones to stand before me now.
Alastair stepped forward holding a sheet that he had stopped to tear off the bed Camden had been sleeping in. He tossed it out to his men, who caught it eagerly.
"What you're smelling is Camden Holme," he shouted loudly as they passed the sheet among them, burying their faces in the fabric so that they could inhale the scent.
The air felt full, like just before a storm, and the hair on my arms stood on end.
"That man came into our home under a false guise. Took advantage of our hospitality. Murdered our people. And attacked the woman who would be my wife!" he roared. "Hunt him! Find him! But bring him back alive!"
The tension in the yard was palpable as the men began stripping down, tearing off their clothes with little regard for my presence. I watched as they, to a man, stood naked before me. Their bodies started to shift and contort. Then their limbs began to elongate and the nails on their hands grew into long, vicious-looking claws.
Soon the men were gone and in their place were giant wolves. I reached out and stroked the familiar soft black coat of the beast that was Alastair. Just like when he was a man, he was larger than the rest of the wolves before him.
The pack threw back their heads and howled as one at the moon. The sound of it poured over my skin, crashing over me like a wave. Camden would never make it out of the area alive. Of that I had no doubt. They would find him, and they would bring him pain.
I watched as the wolves took off into the trees and disappeared like shadows. A peace settled over me as they disappeared one by one. There was nothing for me to do now but wait.
***
I paced back and forth in Alastair's study for the better part of three hours before I heard a loud commotion in the hallway. It wasn't long before the door to the study burst open and Alastair strode forward. His plaid was in disarray, betraying how hastily he had redressed himself after shifting back to human form. Behind him, Camden Holme was being dragged between Donald and Gregory.
Alastair stood beside me and together we watched as the men threw Camden down on the floor in front of them. I thought that I would feel something at the sight of him. Fear, anger, or disgust. Instead, I found myself devoid of all emotion. I examined him with cool disinterest. He had obviously been beaten very badly. His lip was newly split, and someone had re-bloodied his nose. There was no doubt now that it was broken. Kneeling before me, he cradled his hand to his chest and blood trickled through his fingers.
"What is wrong with his hand?" I asked.
"One of the men took two of his fingers," said Donald smugly.
I raised my eyebrow at this, but Donald simply shrugged and said nothing more.
"Well, you wanted him alive, Glenna. He's alive. Ye said nothing about him being whole," said Alastair gruffly.
"Oh, I don't mind," I told him, my voice flat and emotionless. "I was merely curious."
Camden eyed me and chuckled. "Look at ye now, Glenna. So brave. Ye weren't nearly this calm when I had ye on your whore back. I see you're much stronger with the MacGregor at your side."
I took a step forward, but Donald beat me to him and kicked him swiftly in the ribs.
"The only reason we didn't tear ye limb from limb when we found ye is because Miss Gordon wished it," Donald said.
Camden chuckled again and winced as he came to his knees. "Sounds as if sweet Glenna is more fond of me than she would care to admit."
Alastair stepped forward but I put a hand on his arm to stop him. I still needed Camden alive.
"How did you find out about us?" I asked the man I had once called friend.
"Ye have enemies who know your secret. They were more than willing to share it with those they thought would have the best chance of bringing ye down."
"I have always had enemies," Alastair told him. But none among them would have known about our curse to tell.
Camden shook his head and smirked. "No, not you, MacGregor. Her," he said, nodding in my direction. "Our sweet Glenna has made someone very, very angry. So angry, in fact, that they are determined to destroy the entire MacGregor clan and all ye hold dear. After that it didn't take much for them to find people to help bring ye MacGregors down. Your people haven't made many friends over the last few centuries, have ye?"
"Who would do this?" I asked. "Who would hate me so much that they would do this to us? I have harmed no one!"
"Are ye sure about that, now, lass? Because Allina wanted me to pass on the message that she looks forward to seeing ye again very soon."
The blood froze in my veins. There was no way what he was saying could be true.
"Allina is dead," I told him. "I saw her killed with my own eyes."
"Did ye stop to check? Because she's obviously not so dead as ye might think. That little lass is holding quite the grudge against ye."
"She would destroy her own people out of petty jealously?" I hissed, not believing what it was I was hearing.
He shrugged as casually as possible while wincing in pain. "I dinna care what it was that drove her to do what she did. All that matters to me is that my people now have what we need to hunt ye down and wipe your cursed existence off the face of the earth. Your days are numbered, MacGregor. We're coming for ye."
"We are not afraid of ye," Alastair told him. "If your people bring war to mine, they will be crushed."
"I seriously doubt that your true name is Holme," I said. "Who are you, really?"
"Ye expect me to tell ye that? No, you'll find out soon enough," he said.
"Give me your dirk," I said to Alastair, holding out my hand.
"Glenna..." he said, his voice unsure.
I said nothing, but simply kept my hand extended until he placed the hilt of his long knife against my palm.
The two clansmen hauled Camden upright and held his head by his hair so that he was forced to look me in the eye.
"Are ye going to kill me, then, Glenna? I don't think ye have it in ye. Little angel, you're much too sweet."
I pressed the long dagger against his throat and applied some pressure. Doubt flickered in his eyes and I leaned closer to whisper in his ear.
"You should have run faster."
I took the knife from his throat and plunged it into his gut. Leaning away, I kept hold of the knife and watched as the life drained from his eyes. I did not remove it until I was sure I had heard the last breath leave his body. Then I stepped back and stood up straight.
"Get him out of my sight," I told Alastair's men.
Donald nodded, and the two men picked up the body of the man I had once known as Camden Holme and carried it out the door.
CHAPTER 10
"Are ye all right?" Alastair asked me. He placed his hand on my shoulder and turned me to face him.
"I think..." I paused to consider for a moment and took a shaky breath. "I think I am. I'm tired of being weak. I want to be able to defend myself and the people I love. I want to be able to defend your people. Our people."
"Glenna, I've never thought of ye as weak. You've always had a fire in ye tha
t I admire."
"I want you to bite me," I told him.
He took his hand from my shoulder and took a step back. "No. Ye don't know what you're asking."
"I do know, and I'm not asking you lightly. I want us to be together. Properly, as man and wife. I want to stand beside you and bear your children and help you to protect these lands from whoever is coming our way."
"Glenna, I could not do that to ye."
"Why not? We could finally be together. Completely. We would no longer have to fight to be together. We could be wed." I took his hand in mine and brought it to my lips. "We could be one."
"Glenna, love, when you're bit the change is painful. It is very, very painful. I would not put ye through that. And more than that, not every one who's bit completes the change. Not everyone makes it through to the other side. Sometimes people go mad. Their minds canna handle it. Or they simply die from the pain of it."
"I am strong enough for it, Alastair, I know that I am," I pleaded with him. "Do not deny me this chance to be with you. Whatever the pain. I will endure it if it means that we can be together."
Alastair's face was awash in conflicting emotions, and I prayed for him to agree to my request. I knew that he wanted nothing more than to keep me safe, but this was what I wanted. And I wanted it more than anything I had ever desired before in my life.
He lifted my hand and kissed its palm, then reached out with his free hand and caressed my cheek.
"Glenna Gordon, I've loved ye from the first moment I saw ye. You're the most loving, brave and beautiful woman I know. I would be honored to spend the rest of my life with ye, lass. And if turning ye is what it takes and you're certain that it's what ye wish, then that's what we shall do. So what do ye say? Will ye marry me, Glenna, and spend the rest of your days with the dreaded MacGregor? Will ye be my wife and mate?"
My heart swelled with love for him and I launched myself into his arms, bursting with joy. "Aye!" I shouted with laughter. "Aye, Alastair, I will marry you and I will love you until the end of my days and beyond."
Taken By The Highland Wolf (The Clan MacGregor Book 2) Page 6