A Highland Werewolf Wedding - By Terry Spear Page 0,101
love. I wanted you. Desperately, I wanted you. Your father would not agree.”
Her lips parted in surprise. Her father had tried to protect her?
“If you wanted me so badly, you wouldn’t have waited that long to come for me,” she growled.
He let out a heavy sigh of exasperation. “You’re right. You always were a canny lass. I was shipwrecked on that blasted island. And then I didn’t remember who I was for over a century. I didn’t recall that I had a mate, or that I was the captain of a fleet of pirate ships, or that my bloodthirsty crew had thrown me overboard to fend for myself.
“I didn’t even remember I was born in Ireland, but everyone said I had an Irish accent, and I had to be from there. So when I was able, I returned to Ireland. I recalled having been a sailor, so I began to work aboard ships again. Then the memories came flooding back. All of them at once. You. My men. The treasure. The mutiny. I had to make things right. First, the men had to go.” He stalked toward her again.
Her heart beat frantically. She had to keep her head. If he struck her, he could knock her out. He’d done it before. One blow to the head.
She would be defenseless against him. What did he plan to do? He couldn’t spirit her away from here. Not like he was now, naked, not with the castle defended by the MacNeill clan, who would fight him to the death.
The dogs in the kennel were still barking wildly about the commotion outside, though a few were quiet, watching her through the gates of their kennel rooms. No one but the dogs would even hear her scream.
Would she have enough time to turn and unlock the door, or could she catch him off guard and knee him where it would hurt most?
“Your solicitor told Robert you mated a MacNeill. You can’t have another mate. If you come quietly with me, I won’t have him killed like I did the others who dared approach you with the notion of mating. Wolf law, Elaine. I was first. The others who wanted you are all dead. In this case, I have every right to take my pound of flesh. Remember that.”
Unless you are dead.
“He’s not the only reason you should leave here, Elaine, sweeting. You remember Calla? The pretty wolf whose wedding you attended?”
Elaine’s stomach fell and Rafferty smirked. “Aye. Lady MacNeill called her to arrange your wedding to her son, and she was on her way here when I… stopped her. The she-wolf is conveniently tied up. I don’t care anything about her, so if you’ll leave with me, I’ll release her unharmed. The time to make a decision is running out.”
The bastard could be lying. Then again, what if he wasn’t?
“They won’t let me leave,” she said.
“Make a run for it, dearest. Unlock the door. The car’s in the inner bailey. Jump into it and drive off. It’s the only chance you’ll have at getting away from them. You know you can’t have the MacNeill bastard who wants you. Cearnach? Is that his name?”
She couldn’t stay here. Not with Cearnach when she was still mated to Rafferty. She had to leave Argent Castle. She had to get away. Away from Rafferty. Away from this new home that she couldn’t have.
But Robert had her ID, her money, everything.
No, it was in the car. If she could disable Rafferty and get to her rental car and all her personal items, she could escape. But Calla. What if he really had Calla?
If he wanted Elaine to run, that wasn’t a good thing. He needed her beyond the castle walls.
She couldn’t just kill Rafferty, either, or she’d be just like him. Not that she had anything she could use to kill him with. Unless she shifted. And only if he remained in his human form. She knew he wouldn’t let her strip off her clothes, shift into the wolf, and tear into him.
An odd mist formed behind Rafferty. She stared past him, just as a hefty, younger man appeared, wearing what looked like an ancient plaid and a pirate’s kind of shirt.
“Flynn, my lady,” he said to her in greeting, bowing slightly.
“You’re…” Her mouth gaped. She glanced back at Rafferty, but he didn’t seem to see the apparition.
Flynn looked as real to her as Rafferty did.
“Why are you here?” she asked Flynn, feeling foolish for even speaking to a specter.