has only been a few weeks, but it feels like the world has turned on its head since I last saw Brandon.
But they bring with them troubling news.
And those wild dreams and forbidden thoughts that still fill my mind at night are now unceremoniously quashed.
Warriors from the Lyon clan—Gage’s clan—have been caught trying to snatch a Halket lass.
The tentative alliance is over. Gage and his clan are no longer welcome here.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Brandon
TEMPERS HAVE BEEN flared ever since our return. The Halket clan do not like us well after our mischief with Gwen and Eric. Now we may also be on the verge of war with the Lyon clan after we caught and stopped four of their warriors from snatching a Halket lass.
Before Fen and I left, there were rumors that the Lyon clan had taken a Halket lass. Supposedly, it was her choice. Now with this second attempt, everything is in doubt. They hold no respect for other clans nor the women they try to take by force.
Jack hates the Lyon clan. Their leader, Rend is a bloodthirsty heathen who rules his people with fear.
As if this were not enough to contend with, Jack has gotten himself a mate.
A mate he is now sharing with Fen.
I am in a state of wonder at Fen’s sudden dive into mated life. But I have my own problems to deal with. I did a lot of thinking while we were scouting, and I’m determined to woo Jessa at any cost. A task made worse since news of what happened with Gwen has spread throughout the clan.
Groveling is going to be required.
But before such plans can be put in place, I see Jessa returning from the forest, a basket in her arms.
She has been out in the forest again.
Jessa
I have had a pleasant morning with Hazel, and I am returning home with a basket full of berries when an arm shoots out to block my path.
“Where have you been, Jessa?”
As I look up into Brandon’s handsome face, my tummy ties in knots even as my eyes narrow. A tic thumps in his jaw. He is a little furry, as he often is when he has been traveling.
I want to pet the scruff on his jaw.
I also want to slap his face.
“None of your business, Brandon,” I say, looking away like I am bored.
“Jessa.”
There is a warning in his voice, and it brings a sense of thrill.
“Brandon,” I say, sending a fake smile his way.
“What has gotten into you lately?” he says, frowning. “You are not a reckless lass.”
“Maybe it is time I started being more reckless. Why do you care anyway? Don’t you have a Halket lass to rut?” I can’t believe I just said that, but I won’t take it back.
Brandon’s cheeks take on a ruddy glow. “I’m sorry,” he says.
That just makes me madder, and my temper spills out. “You spanked me, Brandon,” I hiss. “You said all those things to me like you cared. Only you didn’t care.”
“I did. I do! Fuck! Your pa threatened to thump me if I so much as looked at you again.”
“Well, I suppose that is that then. You always do what my pa says.”
“Jessa!”
He sounds exasperated now, but I don’t care about that either. I thought I had reconciled myself to what happened, but seeing him has brought forth all the hurt.
“Don’t tell me where to walk, Brandon,” I say, poking him in the chest. “I’m of age now. You are not the only lad who has ever caught my eye. And to think, my papa was going to talk to yours.”
He growls, a low, rumbly sound that is part fury and part hurt. “I was stupid. I didn’t think I had a chance with you.”
My finger still touches his chest. It shakes. Vision blurred with tears, I don’t notice his hand has moved until I feel it enclose mine. By then, I am lost in the tentative connection that makes my fool heart sing.
“Jessa, I’d like to court you,” he says.
I huff out a breath.
“Please, if I came, would you walk with me this evening?”
I don’t pull my hand away.
Brandon’s head lowers as he stares at my hand clasped within his larger ones.
There is intimacy in the gentle touch. I want him. But I am also a little wounded inside.
“If I came?” he persists.
“I don’t know,” I say. As my mother said, there was no agreement made between us. Yet, it still hurts more than I expected.
“That is not a no,” he says.
When I