Page 9 of Her Scot of Bygones (MacLeod Dragons #2)

–Hazel–

WHERE ANY TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY woman in her right mind would marvel at the medieval Scottish castle that appeared on a cliff backdropped by a turbulent ocean, I felt like I was in a fog of despair as we approached. How could Lucas have taken me when he knew my sister Aspen was in such a delicate condition? While I knew he thought he had my best interests in mind, I saw a vein of selfishness in his actions that I didn’t much care for.

More than that, I felt betrayed.

Betrayed when I barely knew him, yet the feeling was so intense it was as if I did. So intense, one would think we were close, and I had known him for years. But then, my knowing that tunnel would lead us to his secret lair seemed to hint that we were familiar with each other.

Where my surroundings should have enraptured me, I was only vaguely aware of going over the drawbridge and beneath portcullises before arriving in a courtyard with a bustling medieval community. Only vaguely aware of their period clothing, and Broderick helping me down from his horse.

I was fully aware, however, of Aspen embracing me and grounding me because everything came into sharp focus when she held me at arm’s length, looked me in the eyes, and asked if I was okay. More into focus still when I saw her dragon eyes flare for the first time, seeming to prompt mine to do the same, because I suddenly saw her in a new light. Felt her in a whole new way.

“You’re so beautiful,”

I marveled, not frightened when I saw her purple dragon flash in my mind.

“I had no idea…”

It seemed she didn’t need to ask what I meant because she smiled.

“Neither of us could have imagined we were truly dragons, never mind how gorgeous they could be. I can’t wait to see yours once she surfaces.”

Before I could respond with God knows what because the idea of shifting both terrified and intrigued me, Aspen slipped her arm in mine, and we headed up the stairs to a sizable wooden door flanked by torches.

“Don’t give it too much thought right now, sis. One thing at a time.”

Aspen lived and breathed adventure, so I suspected shifting for the first time had been exciting for her, but it was hard for me to imagine, so I did my best not to and focused on her instead.

“How are you feeling?”

I eyed her, glad to see she looked well. Really well, for that matter. Her long ebony hair was as silky as ever, and her skin had a glow about it that was new, either because she was pregnant or perhaps because of the way she and Broderick looked at each other. It was clear, despite how short a time, they were deeply in love.

“I feel amazing,”

she confessed, still smiling as if she couldn’t help herself, resting her hand over her womb.

“They do too.”

She looked at me with reassurance.

“Everything’s good.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

I gave her a pointed look.

“But I’d still like to make you some special tea.”

Sensing in a way only I could what would suit her and the babies best, I was already sifting through ingredients in my mind.

“And I’d like you to keep drinking it through your entire pregnancy. Sort of a prenatal vitamin type thing, considering I doubt they have those here.”

I was about to go on, but the words died on my tongue when we entered a monstrous great hall with multiple fires crackling on sizable hearths. My gaze rose to the huge floor-to-ceiling tapestries full of dragons flying over dark, dangerous seas or into a blazing sunset.

“This is incredible,”

I whispered, way beyond awed as I took it all in. Somehow, this was my fairytale castle, when truth be told, normally it would not be. If anything, I had always been drawn to a more classic, elegant castle, yet somehow this spoke to me. Spoke to me in a way I barely understood, yet only grew stronger when Aspen led me upstairs.

“No,”

I murmured when she tried to take me one way, but I was compelled to go another, much like I had been in the tunnel earlier.

“This is the direction I need to go.”

“Okay,”

she said, not asking why when most would have, given I was new to this castle, and I sensed she had a chamber ready for me in the opposite direction.

“Lead the way, sis.”

I steered us down several arched torchlit corridors lined with medieval furniture carved with dragons before I headed upstairs, and then down another corridor before heading up another flight of stairs again.

“You seem to know exactly where you’re going,”

she commented.

“I do, don’t I,”

I said softly, my heart leaping into my throat as I approached a door. I hesitated with my hand on the latch, swearing I had done this before, and looked from her back to the door.

“Am I allowed to go in here?”

A small smile curled her mouth.

“Is there really any stopping you?”

“I don’t think so,”

I replied, pushing the door open only for the air to rush out of me as my gaze swept over the chamber, taking in the sizable fur-clad bed to the small, intimate balcony overlooking the darkening sea. When a gust of chilly salt-ridden wind blew my hair back, my eyes slid shut, and I inhaled deeply, pulling in not just the scent of the wild beyond but an all too familiar masculine scent I couldn’t get enough of.

“This is Lucas’s chamber, isn’t it?”

I murmured, not needing her to answer. I opened my eyes and drifted inside like I had done it hundreds of times before.

“It is,”

Aspen confirmed.

“Though he doesn’t spend much time here these days.”

I was about to respond, but the setting sun cast a purplish twilight over the sea, bringing back a stark reminder of the forest awash in purple. Renewed frustration spiked through me, dulling my desire to be in his chamber, so I turned around and asked Aspen if she could lead me to the chamber she’d prepared for me after all.

Although Aspen looked at me tentatively, she seemed to understand, or perhaps she read my thoughts, because she didn’t question me but showed me to my chamber. One, as it turned out, that wasn’t far from Lucas’s. Then, she helped me into a deep purple linen dress, wrapped a black and red plaid over my shoulder, tucking it here and there, and explained how when Lucas told Broderick everything her dragon had caught his thoughts.

“Something happened here, too,”

she revealed, telling me about a letter that had been delivered and what it said, sending a strange feeling through me I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“It seemed Lucas and Evan Sutherland were good friends until things went wrong.”

“Because of a girl,”

I said softly, yet again certain without knowing why.

“So it seems.”

Aspen shook her head.

“I don’t know the details, but I guess it ended their friendship.”

“Do you think it was me?”

Nothing was more unsettling than thinking I had broken up a friendship that existed six hundred years in my past, and had no memory of it.

“God, I hope not.”

“Like I said,”

Aspen said gently, eyeing my boots.

“One thing at a time.”

She crouched and looked them over before commenting.

“Lucas did a good job with these.”

She stood and met my eyes.

“How’d that go anyway?”

She said it so casually, you would never know I used to be sensitive about my handicap. I overcame it relatively young, but there had been a few rocky years, mostly because it wasn’t easy being different. Granted, mine was a minor issue compared to what others suffered, but still. Kids could be cruel.

“Fine,”

I said a little tightly, not about to forgive Lucas that easily because he fashioned a comfortable pair of boots for me without making a big deal out of it.

Aspen considered me for a moment, as if trying to navigate how to handle things, before gesturing at a pitcher and two wooden cups resting on a small table.

“Would you like to try some authentic medieval mead before we go down to dinner?”

She winked at me.

“You can even weaken it if you like, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Sure,”

I said, having every intention of weakening it.

Aspen poured a cup and handed it to me, evidently having decided how she wanted to handle my frustration with Lucas. Or so I assumed based on her revelation.

“I’ll admit I was furious at Lucas when he first took you,”

she began.

“but once we got the letter and I started sensing him through Broderick, I was relieved, and you should be too.”

When I frowned at her in confusion and sipped the mead, liking it more than I expected, she went on, clearly speaking for her and Broderick.

“We were relieved because he got to you before Evan did,”

she explained.

“Despite the letter implying you and Lucas would connect first, Evan could have found his way to you before that happened. We were even more relieved when we felt how protective Lucas’s dragon already was of you. How taken by both your human and inner beast, however repressed she might be right now.”

She cocked her head.

“Surely, you feel it too?”

Her eyes narrowed a little as if she sensed something.

“In fact, I have a feeling your dragon is just as taken with him, and I think knowing your way to his chamber proves it.”

“I’m not sure what it proves.”

I sighed.

“All I know is I took it to heart when I realized he’d taken me when he knew you were experiencing a risky pregnancy and didn’t seem to care that you would get so upset.”

Yet again, I was surprised by the harsh wave of emotion that rolled through me.

“You could have lost your babies, Aspen.”

I shook my head, more than a little worried.

“Broderick told me everything, so I know you should be taking it easy and not getting upset.”

“First of all, dragon shifter babies are a lot different than human babies,”

she revealed, sounding sure of herself.

“They’re stronger, so you don’t need to worry about them.”

The corner of her mouth curled up.

“Seriously. My sons will sense it and take full advantage of their Aunt Hazel once they're born.”

She rested a comforting hand on my arm.

“As to Lucas, the last thing he meant to do was stress me out or risk the health of my babies. He might be impulsive and not always think things through, but he’s got a good heart.”

She gave me a gentle squeeze before continuing.

“Not just that, but now we’ve received the letter, and with everything that’s happened to you since traveling back in time, I think it’s pretty clear his inner dragon had no choice. Not when I’m almost certain you’re his fated mate.”

Her eyebrow swept up, and her look became all-knowing.

“I think the word bygones suits this situation well, don’t you, given everything worked out the way it was supposed to?”

Something about the way she said it and the flicker of her inner dragon in her eyes helped me see past my hurt to sound reason. Could Lucas truly be my hero? My Scot of Bygones personified? My fated mate? Things were pointing more and more in that direction. If that were the case, then his behavior would make sense if what I’d heard about that sort of connection between dragons was true.

“I suppose you’re right,”

I granted, somehow not surprised to see the purplish twilight that had been cast over the ocean gone and a nearly full moon rising.

“So what’s next?”

I frowned.

“Because I can’t say I’m crazy about being caught between Lucas and some guy I don’t even remember.”

“From what I gathered from that letter, I think what happens next will be determined entirely by you.”

Aspen gestured at the door.

“Meanwhile, why don’t we go eat so you can meet everyone?”

I nodded and was about to respond, surprisingly eager to see Lucas again despite how hurt I’d felt minutes before, but for a split second, I felt like I stood in his chamber again, and something out over the sea caught my attention.

Something that made it crystal clear where I was supposed to go next.