WolfeStrike (De Wolfe Pack Generations #2) - Kathryn Le Veque Page 0,62

Haltwhistle, Isalyn wondered if Tor had reconsidered his invitation in the time they’d been apart. Once he reached home and realized she was a handful of trouble. Regardless, they were accepting the invitation so the sooner they went to Blackpool, the better. Perhaps there was some way she could prove to him that she wasn’t all mayhem, all the time.

But that was essentially what he’d seen from her.

She was eager to change that perception.

Still, that fight had opened her eyes in many ways. She had never seen a fight before, at least not a fight with a real battle-experienced knight in the middle of it. Having spent most of her time in London, the atmosphere there was different than it was up north. The people there were different, and although she saw knights frequently in the street, guarding lords or moving in packs as they headed to Westminster, it wasn’t like she saw them on a regular basis and she most certainly never saw them fight on a regular basis.

But here in the north, the land was wild and the people were wild, and the knights seemed to be stronger and tougher. Fighting, and life and death, seemed to be far more of a reality here than in London. Certainly, there was a comparable share of life and death in London, but it seemed to her that it was a different type of life and death. Life in London was hard-fought and death came easily with thieves and robbers and disease. But here in the north, death seemed to have a more brutal and unexpected flavor.

There was something abrupt about it.

It was strange, really. When she realized those soldiers meant to harm her, she hadn’t been given the time to be afraid. All she could think of was getting through the situation alive. She hadn’t known what she was getting into and, fortunately, she never had to experience what could have been a deadly end result because Tor had saved her life before it could get out of hand.

When she had seen him flying into the center of the fight like an avenging angel, it had been something to witness. He had been enormous and strong and skilled, and he had used his sword as if it weighed no more than a feather. She knew for a fact that sword was very heavy, and it was almost as tall as she was, so it was a heavy weapon meant for a skilled warrior.

And what a warrior he was.

Even when Tor had been battling three men, Isalyn had never felt true fear. There was something about him that just seemed immortal and invincible, and there had never been a doubt in her mind that he was going to emerge the victor. It had been fascinating to witness it and, in a sense, a privilege as well.

For someone who wrote plays and often watched them from the shadows, Isalyn knew when she saw talent. Of course, actors upon the stage for a different kind of talent, but Tor had shown her a talent that she never knew to exist and it was far more impressive than anything she had ever witnessed before. Like a well-choreographed dance, he’d slain the soldiers with grace and movements where there had been no wasted effort. Every action had a reaction. That kind of skill took years of training and hard work, and she admired that greatly.

Somehow, during that violent mix, Tor had become much more than a provincial knight.

He had become a hero.

Perhaps he didn’t live in London and didn’t give grand parties, nor did he have learned friends or immerse himself in culture and philosophy, but he had something else that was more impressive. Qualities in a man that she once thought were so important, like dramatic talent or a highly educated scholar, didn’t seem to be that important any longer.

Tor de Wolfe opened her eyes to a great many things.

Therefore, she was more than willing to accept his invitation – immediately – but she was surprised her father had been so eager, too. Gilbert had even brought a wagon that not only carried their trunks of clothing and personal possessions, but there were other trunks that he told her were gifts for Tor.

His reasoning was because the man had been helpful in finding Isalyn in Haltwhistle, but Isalyn thought it seemed like an excessive amount of gifts for simply hunting her down. Perhaps it was really just to ingratiate the family to Tor, and