A Howl for a Highlander

Page 47

Shelley woke to the sound of something clanging in the distance and realized that it was already late afternoon—and she’d slept for some hours. She rolled off the high mattress—thinking that if she ever got pregnant, she’d never manage by herself—and looked out the arrow slit of a window. She saw a group of men sword fighting, and boys nearby practicing their skills. Everyone was decked out in kilts, no shirts or sashes, just muscled backs and chests and arms as they swung their swords at each other. Her heart did a few triple beats.
She threw on a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, and tennis shoes, and then rushed through the hall and down the stairs. She didn’t want Duncan to give her any lessons in sword training while everyone was in the courtyard, but she did want to get a front-row view of Duncan battling with his clan. How long would they be at it?
She was afraid she’d make it to the inner bailey in time to see them quit for the day. They might not practice all that often.
She flew through the great hall where Ian’s mate, the werewolf romance writer Julia Wildthorn, was speaking with Duncan’s cousin Heather. Shelley had met Heather briefly when she first arrived—so sleepy that she had barely greeted anyone, though they were all smiles and welcoming her to the family. There was talk of a great feast and celebration, a Highland wedding, though werewolves didn’t get married, and the return of their money had everyone in high spirits. Except for Shelley, who’d barely been able to smile and nod before she fell asleep on her feet.
They both looked over at her a little in surprise because of her abrupt appearance as she dashed through the room, not bothering to wish them good morning or anything.
She bolted through the door as she heard Julia say, “She’s worried about Duncan’s training.”
No, not worried. She just wanted to see him fight with men who knew how to wield a sword better than the pirates had on their afternoon cruise in the Caribbean. Well, maybe she was a little anxious, too.
She stalked across the inner bailey, trying not to distract anyone and hoping to observe them unobtrusively. Being wolves and wary of their surroundings, several turned to see her approach and smiled.
Her whole body instantly warmed. She wasn’t used to being around a whole pack of male and female wolves. Even though she was already mated to Duncan, several seemed to appreciate having another female wolf in the pack.
Duncan was fighting Ian farther away, concentrating so hard that neither of them noticed her. Cearnach sauntered over to have a word with her. Guthrie stopped in his fight with another man and watched Cearnach approach her, a small smile on his face. She loved how Duncan’s family had taken her in as if she were one of their own.
“The only one who fights better against Ian is me, lass,” Cearnach said, wiping the sweat off his face with the back of his arm. “Duncan will be all right.”
She’d loved how he had come to Duncan’s and her uncle’s aid on Grand Cayman Island, instead of waiting at the airport for them. She swore he’d worn a small smirk ever since he’d caught sight of her at Sal’s house. She’d been a distraction in Duncan’s mission to return their money, but she had aided him by leading the other wolves off until Duncan and her uncle could kill off the first two wolves.
“He showed me a little of his skill fighting pirates in the Caribbean,” she said, wincing when Ian swung so hard that she could see the shudder of the impact race up Duncan’s arms.
“Pirates of the Caribbean, eh?” Cearnach said, watching his brothers battle it out. “He never said anything about it to any of us.”
“He won. I have to admit when he was fighting four at once, he was a bit outnumbered.”
Cearnach raised a brow as he continued to observe Duncan and Ian. “He’s a warrior at heart,” he admitted. “We couldn’t have been more surprised to hear that he was not only planning to bring home the clan’s money, but also a mate—who he swears is not all wolf.”
She glanced at Cearnach, wondering just what he meant by that. Certainly she was all wolf. A royal. Barely any human roots at all.
He smiled in a way that would have had all the women he encountered swooning at his feet.
“He said you were part mermaid.” Cearnach let his gaze drift over her. “He made us all curious about what made him think so.”
She smiled and looked back at Duncan and realized he’d become aware of her talking to Cearnach. Duncan looked ready to take Cearnach on next and stalked toward them.
Cearnach only grinned. “I believe my younger brother wishes a rematch.” With that last comment, Cearnach went to join Duncan in battle.
Ian and Guthrie came to stand on either side of Shelley as if in protective big-brother mode. She really found it endearing. Ian said, “Cearnach is just being Cearnach, but Duncan is too enamored with you to see that he means nothing by his flirtations.”
Shelley sighed. “Duncan has my heart, no other.”
“Aye, and in time, Duncan will know that he has nothing to worry about where you are concerned.” Ian offered her a knowing smile. “Worrying about you will keep him on his toes.”
Guthrie laughed. “Duncan’s temper will keep Cearnach on his toes. He fought vigorously against you, Ian, wanting to best you as always. Now that he knows his mate is watching and Cearnach had the audacity to speak with her alone, he’s fighting more aggressively than I’ve seen him do in a good long while, especially after having been out here for an hour in training already.”
Maybe Duncan could show her some moves once everyone finished their training, if he could demonstrate some private place where she could practice a little. She really would like to see what it felt like.
“We want to thank you for helping Duncan to have our money returned,” Ian remarked. “This was the first time we were able to pinpoint where Sal had ended up, and when he learned we were after our money—well, we couldn’t have done it without you. We understand that your mother and other uncles will be here within the month and are looking forward to their arrival.”
“Thanks, my laird.”
It seemed odd to call him that, and Ian quickly said, “You’re family. Call me Ian, please.”
“Thanks,” she said, but she still couldn’t call him Ian, not when so many referred to him as their laird. “I’m sure they’ll love it here and I will, too.”
Ian and Guthrie cast her knowing smiles.
Shelley sighed deeply, grateful that everything had worked out all right.
Her gaze was riveted on Duncan and Cearnach’s swordplay.
Cearnach wouldn’t give an inch as he swung his sword at Duncan, just as stubborn at putting on a good show as his brother. He finally motioned that he’d had enough and said, “I concede, Duncan, but only this once because your ladylove is waiting expectantly for you.”
She was, too.
“Duncan was lucky to find such a resourceful young woman to be his mate,” Ian said.
She smiled. “He proved to be a handy roommate, despite promising he’d be no trouble at all.”
Ian and Guthrie laughed.
Duncan bowed slightly with good grace to Cearnach, then jogged over to join Shelley and his other brothers. His whole body was red with exertion, his muscles glistening with sweat, his eyes and lips smiling at her with joy because she’d come to watch him battle with his clansmen.
He didn’t say anything but handed his sword to Guthrie and motioned to two male teens to give up their practice swords to him. Shelley opened her mouth to object. She was not going to fight here in front of everyone.
He grinned at her, as if he knew she was ready to protest, and said to his brothers, “We’ll be in the gardens if you need me.” His tone was more like—Don’t even think of interrupting us.
That made her wonder just what he had in mind.
Heather ran out to join them and handed Ian a piece of paper with a smile and a wink at Shelley. “By the way, Cousin,” she said to Duncan, “we just saw you had your own screen appearance.”
Duncan frowned at her.
Heather smiled and waved a phone at him. “YouTube—Highlander fights pirates on the Jolly Roger. We’ll have to use it as a training video.”
He groaned.
Shelley laughed. She couldn’t wait to get to know Heather and Julia better. Duncan tucked the paper into his sporran. Then taking Shelley’s hand in his, he hurried her to the garden gate.
“Where are we going?” she asked, as he moved her so quickly that she nearly had to run to keep up with his lengthy stride.
She heard men’s laughter and a couple of ribald comments about just what Duncan planned to do with her. Heat crept over every inch of her skin all over again. Back home in Texas, no one would notice her much. Here in Duncan’s clan, she felt she was the center of attention.
“We are going to the heart of the gardens, lass,” Duncan said, not missing a step.
Having just awakened at Argent Castle, this was the first time that she and Duncan managed to slip away to see the gardens, or anything else for that matter.
She quickly realized that he wasn’t letting her stop to see any of it. “Oh,” she said, spying heather and wanting to take pictures of it and everything else blooming in the garden. If only she’d brought her camera with her, but it was back in his room.
“Later,” he said, sounding amused and pulling her through a hedge maze where benches were secreted away and hidden fountains flowed.
He pulled open a gate where the yew hedge rose over the top in a full arch. On the other side, he bolted the wooden gate.
Bolted it to keep everyone else out. To sword fight in a Garden of Eden. Or, maybe not.
“We’ll have the wedding in the kirk or here, whatever you prefer, lass.”
“Wolves don’t have weddings,” Shelley said, surprised.
“Titled wolves—or wolves that could someday be the recipient of a title—wed. We’ll have a nice Highland wedding here as soon as the rest of your family arrives.”
“A Highland wedding,” she said.