A Highland Werewolf Wedding - By Terry Spear Page 0,39
hurt yourself? Was it from the near-accident with my son?”
Ah, the bruise on her face. She didn’t think the woman would appreciate that she’d stepped in front of her son to protect him from Vardon McKinley. She-wolves didn’t have to defend an armed alpha male wolf, after all.
“Well, speak up, young lady,” the woman snapped.
Elaine wondered how the other women could put up with her. She straightened her back. “Vardon McKinley did it.”
Everyone stared at her with wide eyes. The mother’s brows drew together. “Because you were with Cearnach at the church?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes. But not on purpose. I tried to stop the fight headed his way.”
Julia and Shelley grinned. Aunt Agnes’s eyes widened. His mother just stared at her.
Okay, which way was this going to go? His mother would hate her for trying to protect her son, or love her or… well, something in between.
The mother tapped her finger on the arm of the chair. “What will Cearnach say about this?”
She didn’t believe Elaine? What did she think? That another version of the story existed?
“He will probably say he was pissed off that I moved in front of him to…”
“Protect him?” Aunt Agnes asked, speculation in her gray eyes. “Do you always rescue alpha males from others who are ready to rip their throats out, or was today somehow special?”
Oh… my… God. Elaine was being attacked by two female wolves at once? She thought the mother had exclusive rights to the exercise.
“Okay, listen,” Elaine said, her hackles raised. She could fight the most capable of she-wolves any day, and she wasn’t about to be intimidated by these two old women. “Cearnach nearly hit me head-on. He was speeding, and if he hadn’t been going so fast, we could have easily maneuvered around each other. As it was, we didn’t. Then, he forced me to take him to the church. But wait, he wouldn’t let me drive my own car because he didn’t think I could get us there in one piece.”
His mother smiled a little at that.
Elaine paused, waiting for his mother to object or contradict or something, but all eyes were upon Elaine and everyone kept quiet, waiting to hear the whole story.
“Okay, so we get to the church and go inside. I’m not about to be told where I’m to sit. I wasn’t a guest and I was annoyed with Cearnach so I sat on the groom’s side since he was sitting on the bride’s side.”
A gasp from the aunt made Elaine stop. When nobody said anything, Elaine continued. “The Kilpatrick brothers boxed me in, but I didn’t know they were my distant cousins.”
“Distant cousins?” His mother managed to sound shocked and angry at the same time.
Uh-oh. She’d thought his mother had already received the bad news.
“Yes. But I didn’t know it at the time. Cearnach made me move to the bride’s side.”
Aunt Agnes said, “Did Cearnach know you were related to that family?”
“No.” Elaine waited for her to ask something else, but the woman just nodded.
“Then two of Baird’s brothers decided to show us out of the church. Only one, Vardon, was really angry. I figured it would come to blows. I wanted to stop it because I didn’t want Cearnach and Vardon fighting in the church, upsetting Calla’s wedding. She seemed like a lovely girl. I tried to get between Cearnach and Vardon to diffuse the situation, but Vardon threw a punch and hit me.”
When no one said a word, Elaine shrugged like it was no big deal.
Julia sat down as if she couldn’t take any more. Shelley looked worried, her brow deeply furrowed.
“Well, what else?” his mother asked.
“We left. We discovered Cearnach’s minivan was destroyed.”
His mother growled.
“They stole…”
“They?” Aunt Agnes asked.
“The Kilpatricks and McKinleys,” Elaine clarified. “They stole my car and our clothes. We had to run as wolves to get here.”
No one said anything. Then, her face tight with anger, Cearnach’s mother rose from her chair. “You caused all kinds of trouble here today. That won’t be the end of it.”
Chapter 10
Elaine gave an abrupt laugh of disbelief when she heard Cearnach’s mother’s condemnation. Somehow she knew Cearnach’s accident, the church incident, the destroying of Cearnach’s minivan, and the stealing of her rental car would become her fault.
“Of course. I flew all the way to Scotland just to meet up with Cearnach on that road and cause all of these problems for your clan.”
His mother actually offered a small sour smile—of amusement or conjecture, Elaine wasn’t sure.