by Sky Winters
“Again,” she said.
“No, lass, that’s enough for today.”
“Again!”
“You’ve collected enough bruises already. We must bend and remold the body, but we mustnae—”
Alisa attacked at full force. She caught drew off guard and managed to drop the sword from his hand with one swift blow. Grinning, she drove her sword into the ground and heaved an exhausted sigh.
“I cannae help my father if I cannae fight,” she said.
“You’ll learn to fight,” said Drew. “You’ve got to give the training time. Now do me a favor and rest a while.”
His eyes locked with something over her shoulder and he grinned. Alisa turned and spotted Logan leaning against the house with his arms folded. He was smiling at her, though he still looked pale and weak. Honestly, as close as he’d come to death, it was surprising he’d managed to get out of bed.
“Logan,” Alisa said.
“Ye look good with a sword,” he said. “Ye’d have made a fierce shield maiden.”
Alisa blushed.
“Good to see ye up and about, lad,” said Drew. “If young Miss MacGregor hadn’t been there, ye’d be singing with the angels.”
Logan nodded. “I know. The healer told me everything. I think I owe you my life, Alisa.”
Despite herself, she giggled. “Think nothing of it. You did the same for me.”
The two men exchanged a glance, and then Drew cleared his throat and stooped to pick up their shields and practice swords.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” he said. “Think the missus may be needing me at home.”
As he passed Logan, he clapped the younger man on the shoulder and began whistling an old chanter tune. When he’d gone, Logan gestured to see Alisa’s sword and she brought it over. Taking it from her, he swung it a few times to feel it’s heft.
“It’s a fine blade,” he said.
“Aye.”
“Do you mean to help your father?”
“I do.”
“Alisa, ye cannae—”
“Don’t try to talk me out of it,” she said. “I’ve made up my mind and I’m learning to fight just like one of your warriors.”
“And what if they find you first? What if they’re still looking for you?”
She folded her arms and frowned. “You said you covered our tracks.”
“I did. But Clan Campbell are no fools, and neither are the men they pay to track people down. They have spies everywhere. Someone may have seen you. You need to stay indoors and keep to yourself. Try not to attract attention.”
“You think someone in this village is working for them?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “And until I do, I don’t—”
He clutched his shoulder and doubled over. Grunting from the pain, he leaned against the Pete house. Alisa touched his side and did her best to help hold his weight. The feel of his muscles under his shirt made her quiver in sudden excitement. Logan seemed to sense a certain electricity as well, because he lifted his head and locked eyes with her. There was a beauty there in that deep blue gaze, a kind of natural warmth and intensity that caused her body to respond. And there it was again, that sweet, musky scent. She’d noticed it on some of the other villagers as well, but for some reason, the way this man smelled attracted Alisa deeply and profoundly.
“Lass,” he said, “ye know all about me now. All about us. There’s something I haven’t told you.”
He moaned and fell to his knees.
“Logan, you’re still not recovered,” she said.
“No, it’s all right. I just need to rest. Lass, if ye could help me back to bed.”
She supported him as he climbed to his feet. Allowing him to drape his arm over her shoulders, she bore his weight and walked him back inside.
“You’re a good woman. A good woman,” he said.
She helped him into bed and poured a fresh cup of water from the pitcher on the small cupboard by the fire pit. He drank deeply and closed his eyes a few moments, telling her he felt better and urging her to sit.
“Lass,” he said, “my people are noble and strange. When we form relationships with others, they often last a very long time, and the bond that can form is often strong and difficult to break.”
“Why are ye trying to tell me, Logan?” she asked.
He hesitated, put a hand over hers. The touch was electrifying. She felt hot all over and found herself gazing into his eyes.
“Lass,” Logan said, “have ye noticed anything different about me? About the way I…?”
“Smell?”
He nodded. “So it’s true. We’re bonded.”
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“A shifter, when he meets his bond-mate, the soul he’s meant to spend the rest of his life with, there’s often a kind of unexplained spiritual attraction that manifests itself as...”
She drew a hand to her mouth. “The smell.”
He sat up with effort, leaned in and gently placed his hand on her cheek. “It’s the way we Artos folk can draw to us the purest of spirits. It’s means you’re a good human being, Alisa MacGreggor, an eternal soul that’s lived a hundred lives of worth and honest deeds. Yer meant to be mine, lass, and I am meant to be yours.”
She wanted to argue, to deny what he was telling her. Nobody had ever spoken to her like this before, said the things he was saying. Yet though his words seemed strange they felt true, and in an instant of dawning clarity she realized her spirit was far older and wiser than the eighteen years she’d lived on earth. The deeper things, those unspoken truths, they dawned on her, and she understood Logan Allaway was the man she’d been waiting for her entire life.
He said nothing to her as he leaned in for a kiss. Love and heat flooded her being, and her body awoke to the possibilities of his touch. He pulled her into bed with him, and as they cradled each other and continued to kiss, it seemed to her she’d known him her entire life. He grinned at her and slipped his hand up her thigh, under her dress, pressing his skilled fingers lightly against her, rubbing gently and filling her with a hot, urgent longing. She could feel it as his arousal began to take root, and he rubbed the length of himself against her as he stripped her dress off, kissing her wildly, passionately. She tried to be careful of his arm, but she had wanted him for so long that they were losing all sense of propriety.
“Aren't we supposed to wait for-”
“Shhh,” Logan said, pressing his hot mouth over hers and maneuvering himself between her legs, pressing tantalizingly against her middle.
She moaned as he kissed her breasts, and gasped when he pushed his cock deep inside of her. She buckled against his strong body, as her entire being was filled with pleasure. He was still somewhat weak, and his love brought a tenderness to their lovemaking that sent pulses of heat all through her. He trailed his tongue against her neck as he pushed fully inside of her and groaned when she sighed, her hair falling in front of her face. He brushed it away and they kissed as he stuffed himself in and out of her gently, until she was so overwhelmed that she closed her eyes and felt herself coming against him.
Her climax milked a sweet, hot explosion from deep in his loins, and he gripped her hard as they came together, their bodies in unison.
They made love so intensely, that rather than hurting the man, Alisa knew she’d performed an act of incredible healing.
Chapter Six
The alarm went up in the middle of the night. The clanging of a heavy bell woke Alisa from her deep slumber, and she felt Logan shift beside her in the darkness.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Attack. Get yer clothes on. And fetch yer sword while you’re at it.”
They scrambled from bed and Alisa slipped into her dress. Hefting her sword from the dirt floor, she felt around for Logan and followed him to the door.
“Quietly,” he said and then opened the door a crack to peer out. The bell suddenly cut out, and a stifled cry could be heard. Silence for
a few moments, then a battle cry went up and clashing steel rent the night. Logan closed the door and uttered a curse.
“It’s Campbell. They must’ve tracked you, just like I feared,” he said.
“What do we do?”
“I’m no good for a fight, not in this condition. And you—”
“I can handle myself.”
He was reluctant to responds, but he must’ve realized she stood more chance against Campbell’s assassins than he did.
“I cannae tell how many there are,” he said. “Knowing these bastards, they brought every last man. We’ve thirty warriors, but they might have twice that number.”
“But your men can shift.”
“Aye. And if I’m not too much mistaken…”
A deep, terrifying roar filled the night. Someone screamed, and the clashing sounds of battle intensified.
“Let me go out there, Logan,” Alisa said. “I’ve learned so much. I’ve got to be able to hold my own against Clan Campbell. Too much is at stake.”
Logan hesitated.
“This is something I have to do, man, get out of the way!” she said.
Logan laughed at her, but nevertheless stepped aside. As she opened the door and stepped out, he gripped her shoulder and looked her in the eye, the pale moonlight glinting in his caring, gorgeous eyes.
“Be careful, Alisa. You’ve become … special to me. I know we’ve not know each other long, but I think you understand just as I do, that you and I…”
“Are meant to be together.”
He nodded.
“I … I do, Logan. I dinnae know how, but somehow it seems I must’ve always known. I’ll be careful. This is something I have to do.”
He nodded. “You need to protect yer own. It’s what makes you the incredible soul you are.”
He leaned in and kissed her, and then he told her to go defend the village. She sprinted from the peat house and headed for the sounds of battle. Rounding a livestock pen, she spotted the Artos warriors clashing with a number of soldiers and assassins more numerous than Logan had anticipated. Drew was at the fore of it, his broadsword flashing against a backdrop of burning fires and fallen men. He was surrounded by Artos warriors, all of whom had shifted and were swiping and snarling at their foes. The bear men were not as large as Logan, though they were nevertheless fearsome and terrible to behold. Many of Clan Campbell’s men fled as claws and teeth ripped through cartilage and tore flesh from bone. But the rest seemed eager for the fight, and if Alisa didn’t know better, she’d say they had the training and discipline of royal soldiers.
Drew and his bear men were holding their own, but they were wildly outnumbered, and Alisa knew if she was going to help she had better do it soon. Taking a deep breath, squaring her shoulders, she let out as fierce a battle cry as she was capable of and stormed into the thick of battle.
One of the assassins spotted her instantly, and he rounded on her with a blunt axe. Alisa shifted to the left and allowed his swing to pass beside her, then she set her feet and struck at his flank. The assassin swiped the blow away and brought the axe down, angling for her head. She panicked for a moment, then remembered Drew’s admonishments and allowed her feet to sink into the grass and bear her weight as she brought her sword up to block. The blow sent shockwaves of pain through her hands and up her arms, but her block held, and the assassin was momentarily caught off guard. She saw her opening and quickly drove her sword through his chest. He screamed and dropped to the ground.
Alisa stared at him, attempting to comprehend what it was she’d just done. She felt cold and numb, but also relieved and alive. In an instant of dawning clarity, she recognized her own power and knew as long as she lived, her family and Clan must be kept safe.
She glanced at Drew and his bear men. Clan Campbell had managed to push them back, which meant they were perhaps only minutes away from being completely overwhelmed. Why had they thrown so many men at this small village? Had they really expected it to be so difficult getting to her?
She headed for their flank and snuck in at their rear. When Drew noticed she was standing amongst them, sword angled for the coming attack, he finished off the soldier he’d engaged with a furry of strikes and gashes, and then he bellowed, “What in the unholy tortures of hell are ye doing here, lass?”
“I’ve come to help. I’m your soldier now.”
“You aren’t anything, girlie, not while I have anything to—”
An assassin, larger and faster than the others, broke through their defenses and attacked Drew at full force. A shifter snapped his jaws over his leg, but the man bore it and brought a mighty blow down on the shifter’s head. The great bear howled in agony, and then he roll over and began shifting back into a man. The assassin redoubled his efforts and slammed into Drew with enough force to knock him off his feet. Without hesitation, Alisa bounded in and got between them. She swung her sword and hit the man at his flank. He twisted away and escaped the worst of it, but he screamed and stumbled and touched himself to see she’d drawn blood.
The assassin snarled at her.
“You bitch!” he shouted.
He drew a second smaller blade from his belt, flipped it up and caught it in an underhanded grip.
“You’ll pay for that, lass. By gods, ye will,” he said, and screamed in on her like a vicious beast.
Alisa brought up her block, but she moved too slow and his heavy, bone-shattering strike flung the sword from her hand. Drew roared a challenge. He attacked with everything he had, but the assassin had gone mad with rage, and he knocked the old warrior aside and plunged his sword through his heart.
“No!” Alisa screamed.
Drew screamed as the sword slid in, and again when it slid out. The strangest look of confusion came over him for a moment, then his face relaxed as the life left his body. Alisa leapt for her sword. She threw up a block just as the assassin’s blade came down on her. The sheer, stinging force of it nearly nocked it from her hands again, but her grip held and she spun and struck out for the back of his leg. He pivoted and let her blade pass beside him. The assassin kneed her in the chest and sent her onto her back. He cackled like a madman, then he drew his sword behind his head and made ready to deliver the killing blow.
A mighty roar caught him off guard and he looked up only moments before a massive black bear with huge claws came down on top of him. Logan tore into him with a kind of fervent, mindless abandon that terrified Alisa and shook her to the core. Her attacker did not die well, yet even in victory, Logan had clearly pushed himself too far, and he slumped to the side and his massive furred body shrunk and molted, leaving him trembling in a pile of fur as the sounds of battle lessened and became a call for retreat.
Somehow, the Artos Clan had fought them off. It must’ve been the sight of poor drew falling to his death, or maybe even the desperate and courageous attack Logan had managed to mount. Clan Campbell scrambled from the village, but few actually managed to escape. The Artos warriors chased after them. Alisa rushed to Logan’s side and lifted him into her arms.
“Are you all right, love?” she said. “Ye didnae have to rescue me.”
He smiled at her. “Like hell I didn’t. You’re nothing but trouble, Alisa MacGregor.”
She cradled him to her chest and gave him a grin. “Would ye have it another other way, my dear?”
“Cannae say for sure yet. I’ve still not gotten to know ye as well as I’d like. But there’s time for that, isn’t there?”
“Aye, there is.”
“I’m sorry ye had to see that side of me, lass,” Logan said. “There were so many of them. They must’ve known what we can do.”
A few feet away, one of the fallen assassins chortled and drew breath in a harsh and ragged manner.
“Everyone knows now, demon,” he said. “You and your kind will never be safe again.”
Red hot, bilious anger flooded and twisted her insides, and she gently lay Logan on his back and crawled over to the fallen assassin. She set h
er knee to the large wound in his stomach and pressed. The assassin howled in agony.
“How did you know?” she said. “Tell me and I will make it quick.”
“Your little adventure with the wolves!” he spat. “You were ne alone in the woods that day!”
“Someone saw?”
“They’d been tracking you for miles. Ye didn’t really think ye’d escape so easily, did ye? None of you is safe. We will pick you off one by one!”
Alisa put more weight on his wound, but she’d lied when she said she’d kill him. The assassin screamed, but then his face went pale and he passed out from the pain. Alisa crawled back over to Logan.
“Did ye hear that, love?” she asked.
“Aye. We weren’t as careful as we needed to be. You know what this means.”
Alisa nodded. It was time to go back home.
* * * * *
She and the entirety of Clan Artos arrived at Castle MacGregor three days after setting out from the villiage. The shifters had left behind all of their possessions, though the majority of them had opted to burn everything before they left. The castle’s portcullis raised as they streamed over the draw bridge, the October sun high above bright and warm. Alisa’s father greeted them with a cadre of soldiers, and so overjoyed was he to see her alive he broke into sobbing tears and hugged her tightly.
“Daughter! Oh lord above, it’s a miracle!” he wept.
“No miracle, father. Just these fine people. And Logan.”
He pulled away and spotted Logan helping a family of three with their overladen cart.
“Allaway,” the chieftain said. “So you know about Clan Artos. You know what they can do.”
“Aye, father, I do.”
“And tell me, dear,” he said with a twinkle in his eye, “is he half as dashing as they say?”
Alisa blushed and her father pulled her in for another hug. How was it fathers always knew? Far from feeling embarrassed, though, the warmth and love of home filled her spirit and nearly brought her to tears. She’s thought she’d never see any of them again. How pleasantly surprising to have been wrong.