by Terry Spear
Once she’d declared she was mating Timothy, Enrick wished he could have stopped the whole dating process at the beginning. Every time he’d seen Timothy with her, Enrick had regretted it. She might be a wild spirit, but Timothy had demons he’d refused to face. Now he was dead, and she’d been left with the collateral damage.
“I was about to call you. We’re having a meeting in the conference room as soon as you return,” Grant said to Enrick.
“Sure, I’m on my way home now. Be there in twenty minutes.” He was going to ask what the meeting was about when Grant spoke again.
“I’ve got to go. See you in a few minutes.”
The line clicked dead. Since Enrick was being called into a meeting in the conference room, he was certain something important was happening.
When he arrived at the castle, he carried the pie into the kitchen and said to a couple of the ladies making lunch, “It’s for Colleen. Don’t ask.” Then he hoofed it to the conference room where portraits of kilted family members past and present hung on the walls, along with the swords and shields of some of their fallen heroes. And portraits of wolves from the early years to today.
A sitting area was situated on one side of the room, and an oak conference table with seating for twelve took up another area.
Since this appeared to be an informal meeting between family members, Grant and Colleen were sitting on a tapestry love seat, and Enrick’s younger triplet brother, Lachlan, had taken a seat on one of the leather chairs across from them in the sitting area.
Glass patio doors that looked out on the patio and gardens were open, letting in a warm breeze and sunlight. It was a beautiful day, perfect to be outside, and Enrick would be as soon as he got another chance.
He took a seat next to Lachlan. “What’s the trouble now?” Some of the men in their pack had squabbled with McKinley wolf-pack members at a pub this past week. He would have hoped in this day and age they were beyond that. The problem was that wolf shifters all lived such long lives that old battles between clans were hard to forget. And the recent issues their friends the MacNeills had had with the McKinleys hadn’t helped. Not to mention that Patrick Kilpatrick had killed one of the MacQuarries’ men.
Enrick noticed Colleen was smiling, so he assumed the issue to be discussed wasn’t anything troublesome, though the American lass was always coming up with new projects, like making the seawall more secure so kids—and foolhardy adults—couldn’t go beyond it, risking being washed out to sea. He figured she had a new plan in mind that impacted all of them.
“We have signed a contract to have a Highland time-travel film made here,” Grant said.
Enrick’s jaw dropped. He was surprised his brother hadn’t told him and Lachlan about it already. He supposed since Grant was mated to Colleen, the pack leaders now made the rules. Or maybe they thought Grant’s brothers wouldn’t go along with the idea. Enrick was certain it would wreak havoc with their daily schedules, but he knew the MacNeill wolf clan had made a lot of money off having a film staged at their castle, and many of their men and women had fun playing as extras. So he was all for it.
“I ran off two of the Kilpatricks, Robert and Patrick, at the MacNeills’ pie shop. They were trying to learn from Heather where a fantasy film was going to be set,” Enrick said. “Is this the same one? How did they know about it when we didn’t?”
“The location manager of the film checked out the McKinleys’ castle, too, but the company chose ours,” Colleen said. “We’ve been in negotiations with them for some time, and we didn’t want to say anything to either of you until it was a sure deal. Grant knew you would be on board if we got the contract. I’m sure the McKinleys weren’t happy about losing the contract—they were just told today—but they’ll be even angrier when they learn the film will be shot at an enemy’s clan holdings.”
Enrick stifled a groan. Colleen was right. They would be fuming about it. And they would want to get even, despite the MacQuarries having nothing to do with the ultimate selection of the site for the film.
“Wait, the MacNeills had agreed to have the first movie filmed on location at their castle because they were having financial difficulty,” Enrick said, worried. “Are we?”
He thought about all the expensive but necessary repairs and improvements Colleen had made to the castle and grounds since she’d arrived and mated his older triplet brother. She had wanted to fortify the stone walls and the towers and the keep, major work and expense, but well worth it in the long run.
Everyone loved her for that and a million other reasons. She’d even trained the Irish wolfhounds to behave and taught pack members how to work with them. Grant and his brothers had been afraid she would get homesick and want to return to America, but she loved the castle and their lands and the pack, and she seemed happy to be here and hadn’t said anything about returning there even for a visit. They were glad about that.
“No, we’re doing fine,” Colleen said. “We’ve made sure we have a say in who is hired as extras, learning from the MacNeill clan’s mistakes. We don’t want our enemies showing up to fight us. The Kilpatricks you saw at the shop don’t stand a chance of being cast.” She frowned. “Did you happen to get me a Scotch pie?”
Enrick smiled. “Of course.”
Lachlan laughed. “I was going to get one for Colleen tomorrow afternoon.”
Colleen smiled. “Thanks. As soon as we’re done here, I’ll see if it’s as good as Grant says it is.”
“It is,” Grant said.
“Good. I can’t wait to eat it. Okay, back to business,” Colleen said. “The extras casting director said they normally would provide authentic-looking period dress, but we’ve got it already. The director was thrilled that our outfits are really authentic, based on the original weave patterns. Well, the rest of you have authentic costumes. I don’t.”
“Easily remedied,” Grant said, squeezing Colleen’s hand.
She smiled at him. “When the MacNeills were dealing with the film production, a weapons trainer was sent to teach the clan how to fight.”
The brothers shook their heads.
“We sent them video of our training/fighting sessions and they’ll send someone. He’ll watch to see if he can give us any tips to improve the fighting on-screen, but otherwise he’ll just observe.”
Lachlan and Enrick scoffed.
“As if we need any guidance from someone who has never fought a battle in his life. At least not with a claymore,” Lachlan said.
Enrick folded his arms across his chest. “Too bad we can’t tell him we’ve been doing this for eons.”
Grant agreed. “Since we can’t, we’ll humor the guy.”
“We told them you’ve had masters teach you the art of sword fighting. The director’s staff still don’t believe men in our modern age can do it without their guidance and make it look real, but they’ll see,” Colleen said. “When I first saw all of you in training, no shirts, muscles gleaming, I was totally won over.”
Grant laughed, since he’d done the whole fighting scene in the inner bailey to scare Colleen off, not make her a fan.
Enrick knew she’d won the guys over from the beginning because Grant hadn’t intimidated her like he thought he would.
Colleen began again. “They want actors in their twenties to forties fighting the battles, though in the real old days they could have been much younger and older. For the women, we’ll have a mix of ages. We’ll have some children doing chores—young boys sword fighting in the inner bailey with wooden swords or hauling wood in for the fires and young girls helping with washing linens or other chores. Since none of us are in an actors’ union, we’ll each be paid between $85 and $100 per day.
“They’ll be redecorating the castle to an extent and shooting in certain areas that still appear more authentic to the period. They’ll also be shooting on the ruins south of the castle, doing a mock settin
g of before and after. We’ll need to keep our people occupied or give them time off while all of that’s happening so they’ll be out of the way of all the activity. Once the company has the scenes set up the way they want, they’ll start shooting.”
“No enemy clan will be allowed to be in the film,” Grant said, confirming Colleen’s earlier comment. “We don’t have enough extras for the film, so the MacNeills will send us more men and women.”
Immediately, Enrick thought of Heather. Would she have a role in the film? He would have to keep an eye on her if she did. He couldn’t shake the need to protect her from any of the male human actors or staff who might want to have a good time with her. Why he was feeling so protective and possessive of her, he didn’t know.
At least he would bump into her whenever he could—so it wouldn’t look like anything more than a casual encounter—to learn what she was up to as the shooting progressed. Then again, she was so busy with her new shop, he wasn’t sure she would have time for anything but that.
“They also want to have trained wolves. They’re having difficulty bringing some here, and a local guy can’t give them a price they can live with, so Grant said we would beat the other guy’s offer and throw in a couple of extra wolves. That’s seven in all. We told them we keep them off-site. Their wolf handler wanted to see the wolves, but we told them we have our own wolf handlers,” Colleen said. “In the movie, they will be kind of like the Game of Thrones wolves, only ours are really shifters.”
“Wolves? I hope the script doesn’t have them eating people. We need to provide an image that portrays us as the good guys.” Enrick hated films where they portrayed evil wolves out to get the good humans as if it were truly the way wolves lived. No wonder wolves had such a bad name.
“They’re with the good guys, so they’ll only be taking down bad guys,” Colleen said.
“I can live with that. So who are the wolves going to be?” Enrick wanted to wield a sword.
“Two will be my cousins. They’re big male wolves, a black and a gray. We just need five more volunteers.”
“Your cousins are American,” Enrick said.
“Exactly, which is why they want to take part as wolves. No Scottish accent required. Though as extras, you won’t really have to speak.”
“In battle, some Gaelic curses are a necessity,” Enrick said.
Colleen smiled. “I’m sure that would lend to the authenticity of the battle scenes then. My cousins still haven’t quite gotten the knack of sword fighting, not like you all have mastered the skill. And they’d rather wear jeans than kilts, so their wolf coats will be perfect for an assignment like this. And they are eager to have a role in the movie.”
“We’ll get their sword-fighting skills up to par before long,” Lachlan said. “And somehow we’ll convince them that manly men wear kilts.”
Colleen chuckled. “I sure think so.” She patted Grant’s thigh, smiling at him.
“What about you, Colleen?” Enrick asked, assuming she’d have a part in this.
“I’ll be watching over many of the activities of the crew setting up the scenes and the women in our clan who will take part. Grant is continuing to oversee the rest of the castle and our people but will lend a hand whenever we need his help.”
A knock at the doorjamb had everyone turning to see who it was.
Heather MacNeill. What was she doing here at a private MacQuarrie wolf-pack meeting?
“Hi, sorry I’m late. Ian was giving me last-minute instructions before I left.” Heather took a seat near Lachlan. “What did I miss?”
Hell, she already knew about the film deal when she’d said she didn’t? Or maybe she hadn’t already known about it when she was at the shop. Then he recalled she’d said something about the leaders maybe not wanting to tell anyone about the deal right off.
“Grant and I have told you most of this already.” Colleen smiled at her. “Heather is in charge of the MacNeill women who will be extras and the actual scenes they’ll be in. We’ll need more fighting men for some of the scenes. Heather will coordinate with Enrick, since you will be responsible for all the fighters in the film who are extras.”
Enrick’s jaw dropped. Again. He could see being in charge of the fighters, but he hadn’t expected Heather to be put in charge of the MacNeill extras. Then he straightened. He could still watch out for her, if her brothers or his weren’t there to do so.
“Don’t tell me I’m a wolf handler.” Lachlan’s eyes were filled with mirth. He didn’t appear to be unhappy about it in the least.
Though Enrick knew Lachlan loved to fight, the idea of being a wolf handler would appeal just as much to his younger brother.
“We have to have someone in charge who they’ll mind,” Grant said.
“Here are the plans for the scenes they intend to shoot at the castle.” Colleen passed copies of the scenes to the brothers and Heather. “They’ll have their own people running things, but they can’t be responsible for the wolves. They’ll tell you what they want the wolves to do, and you’ll make it magically happen.”
“Our people will get a kick out of that,” Enrick said.
Everyone agreed.
“A Twist in Time?” Enrick said. “We heard Hollywood was planning the film about two years ago.”
“Right, and they planned the film shoots after that. Which means they’re about ready to do the shoots here,” Grant said.
“Are they’re starting the shooting here in the present and then time traveling to the past?” Lachlan asked.
“They’re already shooting scenes in New York City. That’s where the story begins in the present. Missy Buchanan, the woman who plays the heroine in the story, inherits a Scottish claymore and is instructed to hand it over to a Scottish lord here at our castle,” Colleen said.
“Sounds like the Scottish lord is a usurper,” Enrick said, “taking Grant’s place.”
Everyone laughed.
“And he took over with nary a fight,” Lachlan said. “You know in the real old days, he would never have lived that long.”
“I don’t know,” Colleen said. “Guy McNab played a gladiator in another film, and he looks perfectly ripped.”
Grant and Lachlan smiled and glanced in Enrick’s direction to see how he viewed the news.
“Ah hell.” No way did Enrick want to see his clone here at the castle.
“And he had to learn how to fight with a sword.” Heather showed his picture on her cell phone off to everyone.
“In mock battles,” Grant said. “Not in a live-or-die situation.”
“Not him.” Enrick couldn’t believe his bad luck. The actor had been the bane of his existence since he’d made it in Hollywood with his last gladiator film and then a hit Viking film.
Enrick looked like his spitting image. The same long, curly blond hair, though Enrick was certain he was more ripped than Guy, and he had very similar facial features: square jaw, prominent nose, wide-set eyes, bushy brows, and a mouth meant to kiss the lassies. Sure, Enrick looked similar to his brothers—they were fraternal triplets, after all. But his features made him look even more like the actor than his brothers did.
“He’s not a wolf, so that makes a difference,” Enrick said. “And he’s not Scottish.”
“He’s American, true, but his ancestors were from Scotland,” Colleen said. That was similar to her situation.
Enrick was certain most everyone in his clan would rib him about it mercilessly, way beyond the short time it took to film the scenes before the film crew was out of there. For years, he suspected.
“Are there any dragons in the story?” Heather asked, changing the subject.
“No, but they do have a wizard,” Colleen said. “Just read through the scenes so you have some idea of what our part in all of this will be, and hopefully everything will work out just fine. We have practice sessions sched
uled in two days’ time, just to prepare our people.
“I need a list of those who want to participate as extras and background actors—women, men, kids, and wolves—by tomorrow afternoon at the latest so I can give the list to Sherry Bright, the extras casting director. Everyone needs to be on time for a shoot. No one leaves a shoot until it’s wrapped. In other words, the scene is finished, and the extras are released from shooting that day. The director said it helps to think of this as if you are part of the whole story, playing your important role, just like the main actors are. The same thing for our practice sessions. Whatever job the extras normally have to do during the day will have to be done before or after practice sessions.”
“Thinking of ourselves truly playing the role will be easy for all of us to do. We’ve lived these scenes,” Enrick said. “All we have to do is remember what it was like for us back then. But also we know how to fight each other because of all the practice we’ve had over the years, so unless someone is careless, we shouldn’t have any injuries.”
“That’s what I want to hear,” Grant said. “Even though it’s a fantasy film and none of this is for real, we don’t want anyone to come to harm while playing in the film. The same with the animals. Our wolfhounds are staying with the MacNeills. We’re moving our Highland cows to pasture with the MacNeills’ for safety reasons, except for three of them they want in a pastoral setting for some shoots. Some of our other livestock also will be moved, though the swans and ducks will remain at the pond. The film director is going to have a scene between the Scottish lord and the time traveler there. Oh, and no one shifts into their wolf, except for those playing wolves, until the shooting is done and we’re sure there’s no chance of anyone seeing our wolves shift. Those who are playing wolves will be staying at the MacNeill castle and transported here as wolves before the scenes are shot for their role in the story. We don’t want to have to turn any humans who happened to see something they shouldn’t.”