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Page 4 of Her Scot of Bygones (MacLeod Dragons #2)

–Lucas–

IT WAS HARD to believe I called Hazel by any other name, let alone Willow. Yet, it was clear upon discovering her real name and finally feeling it on my tongue, it was a name I had voiced many times before. One I’d cherished every bit as much as I cherished gazing into her big, round, thickly lashed emerald-green eyes.

“Do you not remember our many dreams together?”

I wondered, certain I had seen her countless times at various ages, however elusive the entirety of those dreams was.

“Do you not remember me at all, Hazel?”

Shocked by my sense of familiarity with her, she stared at me for a long, drawn-out moment before shaking her head slowly.

“I’m sorry, but no.”

I sensed her confusion with someone like me being drawn to her, and it baffled me. More than that, it spoke ill of the men from her era because she was the loveliest creature I had ever seen. Overly kind, too, I suspected, so it made little sense. Yet I was relieved because she belonged to me, whether she realized it yet or not. Surely, it was only a matter of time until she remembered our shared dreams. Only a matter of time before she recalled I was her fated mate because nothing had ever been more apparent.

“Please take me home, Lucas,”

she went on, shaking her head and pleading with her eyes in a way I didn’t much like because it made me feel like a monster.

“You know I don’t remember you, so please take me back, please, I’m begging you, or you can take me to Aspen.”

I noticed she still hadn’t touched the water I’d provided, and it bothered me because I knew she was thirsty. But I didn’t know how to get her to trust me enough to drink it.

“I cannae take you home and risk the Sutherlands breaking their word and seeking you out.”

I gestured at the water.

“ I will consider bringing you home to MacLeod Castle and Aspen. However, I need you to drink first. You’ve had too much whisky.”

“Home is twenty-first-century New Hampshire,”

she clarified and frowned.

“And I didn’t drink too much whisky.”

“You might think you didnae drink too much, but your inner beast thinks otherwise because is your thirst not growing stronger by the moment?”

Sensing her dragon was trying to get her human half to trust me, I went on.

“Either way, I suspect you can adjust the water accordingly with magic, if need be, so dinnae hesitate.”

I shook my head.

“I willnae be offended.”

I rested a small blade beside her.

“Keep this at the ready if you like.”

“Assuming it would do any good against you,”

she murmured, her wary eyes taking in the weapons I had set aside, including the Viking blade.

“How foolish do you think I am?”

“I dinnae think you’re foolish at all,”

I assured, because I didn’t. If anything, I sensed her intelligence more by the moment as well as her survival instincts, however raw and unused.

“I think you are frightened, and I’m sorry for that. Truly. But ‘twill wane the longer you’re with me because I willnae let anything happen to you, lass.”

I shook my head.

“Not ever.”

I meant it, too. Mere days ago, I could not have imagined saying such a thing, but I knew better now. I knew from the moment I met Aspen that someone who meant a great deal to her was drawing me ever closer. I wasn’t sure which sister it was back then, but now I knew without question because I recognized Hazel’s brilliant eyes from dreams gone by and still remember her name on my lips.

“If you truly mean to protect me,”

Hazel said, using her lovely eyes in a way that made my heart swell with the need to give her anything she desired.

“then take me to Aspen, then back to the twenty-first century. Protect me where I feel safe.”

Her gaze swept over my lair.

“Just not here.”

“This is my dragon lair,”

I said before I could stop myself, but my inner beast was taken aback that its fated mate wouldn’t adore it. I did my best to keep my dragon eyes from flaring again like they had when she awoke, but it wasn't easy.

“A place no one can enter unless I allow it, so you are truly safe here, Hazel. Yet if you drink the water, I will risk taking you to Aspen, though I think ‘tis unwise.”

“Do I have your word?”

“Of course.”

“And how do I know your word can be trusted?”

How to answer that? I suppose by proving I wasn’t lying about dreaming of her.

“You had a wee bit o’ a limp when you were a bairn,”

I said softly, my concern for her coming back to me as flashes of a dream scattered through my mind.

“It made it hard for you to run properly, yet you ran regardless because you enjoyed it so much.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the joy I felt from that.

“You didnae let anything take away your happiness.”

“How could you possibly,”

she whispered, glancing at where her feet were tucked beneath my fur, before her gaze whipped back to me and she narrowed her eyes.

“Your dragon must have sensed the discrepancy in my legs and your spinning tales to suit your narrative.”

“And what about the rest of it?”

I wondered, not caring in the least that she suffered from a condition that made one leg slightly longer than the other, creating a gait if she didn’t wear the proper footwear. She hadn’t let it get the best of her, and that’s what mattered.

“Am I wrong?”

“It’s hard to know what you are,”

she murmured, swallowing hard and shaking her head, yet I couldn’t help but notice she finally picked up the water.

“I also know you would do anything to protect those you love,”

I said, feeling her incredible need to return to those she cared about, not to protect herself but them.

“So I can promise you this, Hazel. Once I know you are safe, I will protect those you care about every bit as much as I will protect you. Again, you have my word.”

I wasn’t sure whether she finally believed me or her thirst just got the better of her, but she drank, and her pleasure at the cool water trickling down her throat was unmistakable as she went from sipping to swallowing it down entirely.

“There,”

she said softly, setting the cup aside and giving me a level look, though I could tell she still had concerns about the water.

“Now, please honor your word and take me back to Aspen and MacLeod Castle, where you know I’ll be safe.”

“Of course,”

I assured her, intending to do that very thing, however long it took.

“If you like, we can leave straight away.”

“Please.”

I felt her hesitation when she swung her legs over the side of the bed, because her shoes had been left behind.

“Yet ‘tis easy enough to remedy,”

I said gently, manifesting sturdy walking boots that would suit her as well as the pair of shoes that had been resting on the floor next to where she slept in the colonial. One had a thicker heel than the other.

“Thanks,”

she murmured, her cheeks pinkening as she slid them on.

I sensed she was about to explain her condition, but thought better of it because she didn’t want to appear weak or apologize for something she had no control over. Rather, her jaw tightened in determination, revealing the strong, dependable woman that lay beneath the surface. The steadfast, level-headed woman who was so accustomed to being strong for others, I couldn’t help but wonder if she had ever allowed herself to be anything but.

Although tempted to reach out and offer a supportive arm when she stood and tested her boots, I refrained because I knew it might offend her. She had long learned to stand on her own two feet, and that was clear in the notch of her chin as she steadied herself and nodded.

“Lead the way.”

So I did.

Just not in the quickest direction.

Rather, even though I had asked her to trust me, I wasn’t being entirely truthful. I could take her to MacLeod Castle in no time if I led her down the tunnel to my left, but I chose a different one that would detour us for a bit. Long enough, I hoped, for her to come to her senses and realize she was safer with me. To give our dragons time to connect as they should, effectively keeping her out of the Sutherland’s lecherous hands.

Not just that, but it was an easier route to walk despite seeing she was sure on her feet, and her slightly stunted gait was hardly noticeable. Although she remained quiet and on guard as we traveled, I caught her wariness warring with curiosity, not only about her surroundings but about me. I felt my dragon being cautious about what thoughts she caught flittering through my mind because he wanted her to communicate with us. Know us. Draw her out rather than let her silently come to her own conclusions.

With that in mind, and based on other lasses I had pursued, I figured the best way to begin was to ask about her passions, which I could only assume was cooking, given she’d yet to remove her apron. Yet even as I noted that, I sensed it was more of a safety net between us despite her keeping my blade well in hand. To her mind, the more clothing she wore, the more protected she was from my gaze.

“So what do you like to cook, Hazel?”

I wondered, glad there was enough space in this part of the tunnel so we could walk beside one another. This way, I could see her expression by the torch I carried to light the way, because I was certain she didn’t know how to use her dragon sight yet.

She glanced at me with uncertainty, as if wondering how much she should share with someone she considered a stranger.

“I enjoy cooking anything that suits the moment,”

she said vaguely.

“Whatever makes people happy.”

“And what makes you happy?”

I asked.

“What foods do you enjoy cooking the most, and which do you enjoy eating?

I would assume meat, given she was half dragon and a carnivore, but then, her beast had been repressed, so perhaps not.

“I like everything,”

she replied almost dutifully.

“Whatever’s available.”

She shrugged.

“And I enjoy cooking whatever makes people happy.”

Granted, I didn’t recall much of my dreams yet, but I didn’t remember her coming across nearly this reserved and careful. Or had she at first? Because there was something that seemed familiar. Something I hadn’t felt in some time, but I knew it was there. A fleeting sensation of worrying about her, but I couldn’t recall why.

“Do you truly like everything?”

I wondered, speaking before I could stop myself, yet I was glad I did because I doubted there wasn’t something she loved more, a tart, honey, whatever it may be, and it bothered me that she wouldn’t be forthright about something so simple. Even worse, I sensed she might not be honest with anyone when asked that question, but I couldn’t quite figure out why.

“’Twould be rare, indeed, to like everything.”

The corners of her mouth tugged down before she smoothed her expression.

“Yet I do.”

Clearly deflecting, she turned the question on me. “And you?”

“Primarily meat and sometimes fish,”

I replied easily enough.

“I am half dragon, though, so ‘tis logical.”

“I suppose,”

she murmured, eyeing me warily again, as if I might shift into my dragon here and now and somehow prove it.

“I would hope that doesn’t include…”

She cleared her throat.

“Anything else…along those lines.”

Not catching her meaning, I tilted my head in curiosity.

“Anything else?”

“You know,”

she prompted, putting more space between us, again, however limited it may be.

“Anything or perhaps anyone your dragon might not like.”

“Och, I’m not a cannibal, lass,”

I muttered, surprised by how deeply her dragon actually was repressed because it should surely know better.

“I dinnae eat humans or dragons and ye’d be hard pressed to find a shifter in these parts that does save mayhap the bloody Sutherlands.”

I shrugged.

“Who knows what they are capable of these days?”

I probably should not have said it, but truth be told, the more frightened of that lot she was, the better, so she’d stay away no matter what. Unfortunately, my words of warning only made matters worse.

“Then dragon shifters are capable of eating their own,”

she exclaimed as if it made perfect sense, before she stopped, scowled at me, and said the last thing I wanted to hear.

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