by Abby Gordon
Wearing heavy cloaks, Lord Wulfgar and his future father-in-law strode from the door. Behind them, Amanda and Bettina, arms around each other for support and warmth, watched. Mounting quickly, the two men looked back at the women. Taking a deep breath, Amanda lifted her chin and smiled.
“Stay warm, my love,” she told him.
“Always,” he replied, sending her the image of the two of them that first night.
With a wink at her, he turned his horse and spurred him forward.
“Come inside,” Bettina urged, pulling Amanda back into the hall. “We need to get things prepared for the boy.” She looked at Mrs. Anders. “Where would be the best place to put an injured boy?”
“The library first,” Amanda spoke. “That way he’s not moved so far before we tend to his leg.”
Bettina nodded.
“I’ll get bandages and a splint,” Mrs. Anders suggested, leaving the hall.
Amanda pulled Bettina into the library.
“Bettina, what did you and my father discuss?”
Bettina turned a fiery red and shook her head. “Oh, no,” she demurred. “That is between my husband and myself.”
Turning red herself, Amanda pressed the matter.
“Not what you did, but what you said.”
Bettina gave her a mild look.
“And just what have you and our host been doing in our absence?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Considering what your father and I saw when we entered…”
“Don’t think badly of my lord,” Amanda shook her head. She grimaced. “If anything, you should take me to task for my behavior.”
“Amanda!”
“My lord Wulfgar was more controlled than I. He is determined that we wait for Father Wenceslas to return from town to say our vows before him.” Amanda curled up in the leather chair favored by the manor’s master. Bettina smiled as she sat on the loveseat. “He reminded me that we cannot stay from society at the manor but be a part of court life when he attends the king. My lord Wulfgar is concerned that gossip mongers would do me harm.”
“At least he’s thinking clearly.” Bettina nodded approvingly.
Amanda sent her a disgruntled look. Bettina blushed and they both laughed.
“Are you happy?” Amanda asked her.
“Yes,” she replied with a smile. “I thought I was happiest getting my own way and that, in following my mother’s words, I would have my way.” She shook her head. “But that is neither what I wanted nor needed.” A soft smile crossed her lips. “I want to be a good wife to my husband, whatever he wants of me. Heinrich has made that clear and I am indeed quite contented.”
Amanda studied her a moment before sighing.
“And I have to wait for the priest’s return,” she complained.
“Oh, but some things are worth waiting for,” murmured Bettina with a satisfied smile.
Anders came to the door.
“Miss? The man, Dugan, is here with his injured son.”
The two women stood as the farmer appeared, carrying the boy in his arms. Mrs. Anders bustled in behind them with the bandages. Amanda felt her heart melt at the sight of the small child. She and Bettina set to their task, working as if they’d always tended to wounded children together.
They were nearly done when there was a commotion in the grand hall.
“I’ll see to that,” Anders stated, frowning at the noise.
He reached the door the same time as gunfire rang out. Amanda turned toward the door as Anders was felled by a man who replaced him in the opening. She could feel her blood congeal as he entered the room.
“Hello, Amanda,” he smiled evilly.
****
Lord Wulfgar and Heinrich passed Dugan with Wilhelm and continued on to the cottages. A whistle brought the pack to their sides. Bane caught Wilhelm’s scent and whined.
“He’ll be tended to by my soon-to-be mate,” the lord told him. “He’ll be fine.”
At the cottages, the grooms went to work helping the farmers, many of them relatives, clear the damage. Wulfgar and Heinrich dismounted to help, draping their cloaks over the saddles as the work warmed them.
Wulfgar! Amanda’s fearful cry rang in his head and he reacted instinctively.
“Bane!” He raced to Dervish. Protect Amanda.
The wolf growled and took off, the rest of the pack at his heels.
“What is it?” Heinrich shouted from across the small square as he too swung his leg over the saddle.
Wulfgar didn’t waste time answering but spurred his stallion after the wolves.
“Four of you stay here,” Heinrich ordered the footmen before racing after the younger man.
As if sensing the urgency, the black horse galloped toward the manor, his rider low against his neck. Dervish slid to a stop as Wulfgar leapt from the saddle. Barely touching the snow-swept stone steps, he raced into the manor and through the grand hall. Chaos met his eyes as he searched for Amanda. The wolves roamed the rooms, sniffing each person to ascertain if they belonged.
At the library door, Anders was unconscious and being attended to by Mrs. Anders and a maid. The butler’s shoulder was bandaged but the blood was seeping through. A sobbing Wilhelm was cradled in his father’s arms. In the middle of the chaos stood Bettina, directing an injured though mobile footman as to her needs to care for the more seriously wounded—four footmen, Georg, and two kitchen assistants. She was wounded, with a bruise appearing on her forehead. One sleeve was ripped from her gown and the skirt had been half torn from her bodice. The Lord of Socton stared at the carnage and felt rage beyond anything he’d experienced in battle. Silently, Bane returned to his side and snarled, his ruff standing on end.
No! the beast inside him snarled. She’s not here.
“Where is Amanda?”
Every mouth stilled and every eye turned toward him. Bettina rushed forward, agony in her expression. Wulfgar caught her trembling hands and felt dread chill his blood.
“Bettina, what happened here?”
“Seven men forced their way in, my lord. They tried to protect us and were shot. Amanda…they took her. They…” Bettina broke down in sobs, shoulders shaking. “Dear God, they took her. They said Aaron offered her to them when…” Her mouth trembled and tears rolled down her cheeks. “He gambled heavily and lost.”
“Horse or wagon?”
A nearby footman looked up from where a maid cradled his head on her lap.
“I didn’t hear any wagons, my lord. Just horses.”
Nodding, Wulfgar looked at Bane.
“Get their scent.” He glanced at the nearest maid. “Pistols, quickly.”
The wolves spread out through the hall, intent on determining their enemy. The young woman ran to the sideboard where he kept pistols loaded for just such events.
“Milord,” the nearest footman whispered, lifting his arm. He gripped a pistol. Another lay on the floor beside him. “I wounded one in the stomach.”
“Well done, Stephens,” Wulfgar told him quietly.
He picked up the pistols as the maid hurried back with the other four and the powder horns. The baron began reloading, his eyes repeatedly straying to the wolves. Bane growled from the library and returned to the lord’s side. Padding silently, the six wolves rejoined him.
“Have one stay to protect.” Bane turned and indicated one with his muzzle. Wulfgar nodded as he tucked the pistols into his belt. The maid brought him a device of his own creation—a shoulder strap that held four. Bane had selected his own mate. “Maari, if you don’t know them, kill them.” The female nodded her silver-blue muzzle. Wulfgar’s gaze swept the hall, taking in his injured people. He felt the cold calm he’d felt before going into battle years ago. “Bane, hunt them down. Find my mate.” For this battle, his beast would be released with no regrets. He felt the blood stirring as the wildness coiled and prepared. “Save the leader for me.”
With a howl, Bane bounded from the hall, five wolves close behind. Wulfgar strode from the hall as
Heinrich and six grooms pulled up their horses outside.
“Amanda’s been taken,” Wulfgar told him shortly, swinging back up into the saddle. “Friends of Aaron’s followed you from the capital.”
“Bettina?” The fear in the man’s voice told Wulfgar that their time alone had settled many things.
“Bruised but she has matters in hand. Stay and protect my people. More weapons are in the parlor to the left.”
Heinrich nodded, his expression showing his torn emotions to stay with his wife or to go with Wulfgar to find his daughter.
“I’ll protect them.”
“Jordan and Sinclair, come with me.” Wulfgar gave each of them a pair of pistols and the horns. “The rest of you stay and defend the manor.”
The men obeyed him, spurring their mounts after him or dismounting to follow Heinrich inside.
“Close and bar the door,” Heinrich shouted. “Where are the weapons?”
****
Wulfgar tried to find Amanda’s mind and felt the full force of the shadowy fear from his long ago dream. Desperation filled him. She had brought him peace and forgotten hope, while need and lust returned wholeheartedly. The glow of her eyes, her gentle smile, the sweet taste of her mouth, and the softness of her curves were his, promised by destiny. He wouldn’t lose her. Whether or not the priest returned, he would make Amanda his that night, he vowed. She was his.
Feeling his rider’s emotion, Dervish flew after the wolves. Far ahead, in the depths of the forest, Bane howled again. Without direction, the stallion plunged into the darkness toward the wolf who called. Wulfgar bent low over Dervish’s neck as the branches snagged his cloak.
Now do you release me? Now can I fight freely?
Yes. Now, I unleash the beast.
He lifted his head and howled.
Chapter Eight
Amanda groaned and opened her eyes. Blinking, she realized that the odd object she first saw was a man’s boot. Memory returned and she forced her body to stay still. It was difficult as she was draped over her abductor’s lap. Motionless, she was relieved that they hadn’t thought to bind her. All she had to do was find a way to get off the horse without injuring herself. Casting an anxious eye as she bounced upside down, she resolved not to go headfirst. Breaking her neck or knocking herself unconscious again was not what she had in mind. But neither, she realized, could she risk sliding off the other side and being trampled. With a scowl, she realized that the rider she was with had his hand on her bottom. As if sensing she was awake, he began caressing her.
“Nice and soft,” he murmured. “Are you still a virgin as your brother promised? Or did that greedy nobleman take what was pledged to me?”
Unable to stand his touch or his words, she struggled to free herself and drove her elbow into his middle.
“Unhand me,” she screamed and slid to the ground.
She promptly found herself surrounded by all nine on horseback. One moved slower as blood seeped from his shoulder and a second held his hand to his stomach.
“She’s a feisty one,” one chortled.
She spun about as they rode around her. She heard the first howl, quickly followed by others moving closer. Her dream. Her love was coming, along with his beasts. She had to move toward them or they would be too late.
“I like ’em feisty,” one leered, dismounting. “More fun to break ’em in.”
“Don’t touch me.” She glared at them as four more left their horses. With her mind, she sought her love. Wulfgar!
“Hallo, there.”
A black-garbed man on a placid grey gelding appeared. As all her abductors swore and looked at him, she darted between them and pushed through the brush. She longed to follow the path they’d broken through the snow but, while it would at first be quicker, it would simply make it easier for them to catch her.
“Amanda,” Wulfgar’s voice rang through the forest.
A wolf howled.
“Wulfgar!”
She sobbed in relief as the wolf howl came closer.
“There she is.”
Amanda struggled in the snow. The terror of her nightmare came back. Tears of fear made it difficult to see, but she fought to make her way through the snow. From the shouts, she knew the men were closer. Wulfgar wouldn’t reach her before they did. One man against nine would be long odds normally, she knew, but she had no doubt that Wulfgar would defend her. The wolf howled again and she lifted her head in hope.
“Bane!”
Her scream echoed through the trees.
Bane, find her.
She heard the crashing behind her. Sparing a glance over her shoulder, she found a man in the clearing with her.
Wulfgar. She felt him in her mind and another presence with him. She trembled as she sensed the beast within him for the first time.
Kill, Bane.
Her heart skipped a beat at the order as a large meaty hand grabbed her arm and spun her around.
“Not so fast, pretty girl,” he sneered.
His hand grabbed the neck of her dress and ripped the material from her body.
“No,” she snarled, fists striking out at him.
The wolf struck silently from Amanda’s right. The man screamed, releasing her. Tumbling with the man, Bane attacked, going for the man’s throat. She fell back into a snow bank, clutching the shredded material to her breasts.
At the edge of the thicket, the four men on foot stared at the torn throat of the man. Two started to edge away as the two still mounted appeared stunned, halting their horses.
“Shoot it,” one hollered, raising his gun.
“No,” protested Amanda, frantically searching for something to use as a weapon.
Her seeking eyes found pinecones that she grabbed and launched across the thicket. Bane sprang at the man who’d spoken while she distracted the others with a barrage of cones and sticks. One tried to aim at her but Bane, finished with the second man, was on him. The scent of the wolf had the two horses rearing up, throwing their riders, then they took off through the trees. The black-robed man on his horse arrived and gasped.
“Bane,” he cried, bringing his small derringer up.
A shot rang out and a fourth man jerked and fell forward as a hole appeared in his forehead. There were five men left, all on foot. They stood between the young woman and the priest who was frantically reloading his gun.
“Bane,” Amanda called.
Bane turned and retraced his path to her. Amanda sobbed in relief as the wolf reached her. Sinking to her knees, she hugged his neck.
A howl came from the forest that froze everyone. A huge black stallion charged into the middle of the thicket and its rider flew toward the three men aiming at the wolf. He somersaulted in the air, landing on his feet. The others moved quickly. She gasped, terrified to see Wulfgar surrounded by all five men. The stallion quickly backed to the edge of the trees.
“She was promised to us.”
“She is mine,” Wulfgar told him.
“Who are you?”
“The Beast of Socton Manor.”
“That’s nothin’ but a fairy tale to scare children,” one man scoffed.
Amanda tightened her arms around Bane as he whined.
“Shh,” she crooned.
“I’m no fairy tale,” the baron taunted. “But are you children?”
The man aimed his gun at her head.
Raising his arm, the forgotten stranger stepped forward and brought the butt of his gun down on the man’s head. Panicking, the other men leaped at Wulfgar. Amanda muffled a scream as he was swarmed. Bane bared his teeth and crouched.
Then the growl came again. One of the men screamed in pain and flew in the air.
Amanda gasped, her hand covering her mouth as her eyes widened in shock.
A large beast that looked like a wolf but was more than twice the size tore into the remaining two outlaws. She saw the flash of silver as one man drew his blade. But the beast easily knocked it away and finished the pair.
Trembling, Amanda watched the dark-furred form collapse in the blood-soaked snow amidst the bodies. In the time it had taken her to draw three breaths, the battle was over.
Bane whined in her grasp, trying to go to the… Amanda trembled, struggling to reconcile what she’d just witnessed with what he had told her in the library.
“Wulfgar?” she whispered.
Beloved.
The heavy head turned toward her and ice-blue eyes tried to focus on her. Grabbing her skirt, she leveraged up enough to get her feet under her and stumbled over to where the man she loved was recovering his human form. As the last of his claws, fangs, and fur faded, she fell to her knees besides him, sobbing, arms going around his body.
Slowly, he sat up and pulled her to him, rocking gently as he realized she was safe.
“Wulfgar, Wulfgar,” she murmured, burrowing against his chest.
“My lord,” Jordan rode into the thicket, dismounted, and removed his cloak, handing it to his baron.
“Thank you, Jordan,” he breathed, taking the cloak and quickly wrapping her in its warmth. “Beloved,” he whispered in her ear. “I didn’t think I’d reach you in time.”
“Bane saved me. He…he saved me.”
The wolf butted his head against her back. Amanda lifted her head and met the gold eyes so like her own.
“He appears to like you,” Wulfgar observed with humor. “He likes people who fight back the way you did.”
“All I did was throw pinecones and sticks.”
Bane’s mouth opened slightly. Wulfgar looked around and saw the dark-cloaked man.
“Father Wenceslas, your return was perfectly timed.”
The man’s gaze took in his liege and the young lady huddled in his embrace. “Lord Socton, just what has happened in my absence during the storm?”
Wulfgar looked down at Amanda’s pale face. Already a bruise colored her right temple.
“I found my destiny, Father.”
A gust of wind left Amanda trembling as snowflakes drifted down.
“Another storm, milord,” Jordan observed.
With his beloved in his arms, Wulfgar stood and mounted Dervish.