Page 20

–Aspen–

I MIGHT APPRECIATE a good adventure, but not this kind. Not the sort that led me into the heart of enemy territory in the medieval period, destined for my fated mate’s rival. Give me a sheer drop off Everest any day of the week. At least then, I would feel like I had some semblance of control.

Right now, I felt the opposite because, yay me, I was in heat apparently and heading toward a slew of shifters and virile male dragons with nothing but Dugal, of all people, standing between them and me. And the last person I wanted in that position was the man who intended to make me his mistress.

Sure, he had promised the king he wouldn’t do anything without my permission, but still. He had a sleazy way about him, which made me wonder how honorable he would be in the end, especially now I was so fertile. There was no need to ask Broderick if that was really true, given I was on birth control because I felt it, never mind saw it in his eyes the night before. He had desired me before, but this was a whole new level of lust, and I felt the same for him.

What was that all about, anyway? Why would this happen at such an inopportune time? Unfortunately, considering my last life seemed to be seeping into this one, all I could think was maybe history was trying to repeat itself. As it were, I had become pregnant by the enemy in another life, only to end up losing both our lives in the end.

If things weren’t crappy enough, I lost telepathic communication with Broderick once we were on Sutherland land, and I was surprised by how much that affected me. I had become so used to having his presence in my mind that it was profound not feeling him there anymore, lending me strength. Neither I nor my inner beast liked it one damn bit.

My only glimmer of hope came when I pulled bread out of the satchel Chara had given me, only to find a small, simple blade tucked inside. The same shade of brown as the satchel, it had been hidden in a secret pocket, so it was difficult to see. When Flame sniffed inside and met my eyes, I realized it was Broderick’s Viking sword. How I knew that by looking into a wolf pup’s eyes was beyond me, but it was true, and it gave me a level of comfort I hadn’t had before.

One much needed given what lay ahead.

It turned out the Sutherland’s castle was different from the MacLeods. Surrounded by woodland, it didn’t sit on a cliff but was relatively close to one. Not surprisingly, I had the same strange sense of déjà vu I’d had at MacLeod Castle, only this time, there was a strong sense of dread associated with it, similar to the dread I’d felt the first time I saw Dugal.

The structure was less rugged than MacLeod Castle and more circular, with several towers built higher than the treetops. Like MacLeod Castle, it had been designed to give dragons a better view of the countryside around them.

People eyed us curiously as we made our way into the courtyard. Like Broderick’s clan, they appeared to be a thriving community, though, for whatever reason, I expected the opposite. When I saw how Dugal interacted with his people after he swung down from his horse and announced my arrival, I understood the dynamics of his leadership. Unlike Broderick, he wasn’t a friend to them but appeared to rule with an iron fist as he barked orders, and warriors jumped to do his bidding.

I couldn’t tell if people feared or respected him, but I imagined it would become clear soon enough. Meanwhile, he tried to help me off my horse, but I did it myself, keeping the wolf in hand. Flame seemed to take everything in with a wiser eye than I would have expected, given he was only a pup. Then again, like Broderick had implied, he was clearly powerful in his own right if Dugal hadn’t sensed the dragon magic clinging to him.

“M’lady?”

Dugal said, holding out his elbow to me. He might sound chivalrous, but I didn’t miss the dark gleam of anticipation in his eyes.

“Might I escort ye into yer new home?”

Though tempted to deny him because this best not end up being my home, something about his tone told me I better play nice for now, so I set Flame down and took his arm. It was the first time I had made physical contact with him, and I knew whatever he might think, I would never be drawn to him like he wanted me to be.

Never be drawn to him like I was to Broderick.

Unlike the MacLeod’s great hall, the Sutherland's had fewer dragon tapestries and more pictures of people and woodland versus ocean scapes. Interestingly, I wasn’t as drawn to them. They didn’t make my blood rush like the turbulent skies in the MacLeod tapestries, offering nowhere near the same sense of excitement or adventure.

Most lowered their heads to Dugal, acknowledging his return, except the women standing before one of two great hearths at either end of the room. One was older with silver hair pulled back into a tight bun and sharp, obsidian eyes, and the other was around my age and very pretty in an earthy way with light brown hair, softly rounded cheeks, and thickly lashed deep olive-green eyes.

Dugal introduced them as his mother, Elspet, and his wife, Lilias. Neither seemed surprised to see me. If anything, they had anticipated me. Worse yet, where his mother was properly dislikable with her arrogant bearing and spooky vibe, Lilias came across far warmer, offering me a smile I noticed she did not give her husband. Instead, the look she shot him seemed more nervous, if not a little frightened, despite how hard she tried not to show it.

“My daughter-by-marriage will give ye a tour of the castle and show ye to yer chamber,”

Elspet said, assessing me in a way I didn’t much like. It was almost as if she were sizing me up.

“Once ye are settled, we will dine privately and discuss how things are to move forward.”

Move forward? When I frowned at Dugal, he seemed nonplussed. No, wrong word. More like he agreed based on the approving way he looked at his mother, telling me who ruled the roost, and it wasn’t the laird of the castle. It looked like the bad guy in my Fairytale Gone Wrong was a mama’s boy.

“As to that mangy mutt,”

Elspet went on with a sneer, scowling at Flame, who—still playing the part of a timid pup—whined and tucked himself between my legs at her sinister glare.

“he belongs outside or roasted over a fire.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Preferably dragon fire.”

Super. It looked like his mother was the witch out of Hansel and Gretel. This was definitely not an adventure I wanted to be on.

“Unfortunately, the king wishes for the wolf to remain by Aspen’s side,”

Dugal divulged, looking at Flame with equal disgust.

“At least for now.”

“I am sure he will stay out of the way,”

Lilias said gently, issuing Flame a warm smile before it dropped under Dugal’s stern look. She cleared her throat and curtsied to the other two before she urged me and my pup to join her.

“My apologies for my mother-by-marriage and husband’s poor behavior,”

she said softly once we were out of earshot and making our way up a set of stairs that ran along the back wall to the next level.

“’Tis bound to improve if things go well.”

Seriously? This was proving to be a strange day all the way around. Maybe she didn’t know what Dugal intended for me? She wasn’t half dragon, after all. While some might be inclined to keep it from her, I wasn’t that sort. She deserved to have her facts up front, so I told her.

I was meant to be her husband's mistress.

“Aye,”

she said, her voice still soft as she steered me down a torchlit hallway that was narrower than the ones at MacLeod Castle.

“I know all about the pact and what it might mean.”

Was it me, or did she sound relieved.

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“It cannae,”

she replied dutifully, shaking her head.

“Not for the sake of the clan.”

How big of her. Then again, despite seeming otherwise with a pleasant smile as she shared Dugal’s accomplishments, I sensed she was no fan of his. If anything, she was relieved I was here to distract him, either for obvious reasons or because he was half dragon, and she wasn’t. She was, however, as I soon learned, something else. Flame had been trotting alongside us when she suddenly crouched, cocked her head as if listening to him, scratched him behind the ear right where he liked it, and her smile turned genuine.

“You’re a witch,”

I realized, crouching as well.

“Aren’t you?”

Oddly, I couldn’t sense her magic, but I could sense her kind spirit. Not just that, but I caught her hope that, in the end, I’d be returned to my fated mate unscathed. Not because she was jealous but because she felt no one should suffer Dugal’s touch.

“Aye, I’m a witch of a sort,”

she murmured, her smile remaining as she and Flame gazed at each other.

“I’ve a gift with animals and their ilk.”

“Their ilk?”

I wondered.

“Aye,”

she murmured. Her gaze rose to mine and lingered for a moment.

“Ilk such as ye and my husband.”

Ah. I guess dragon shifters weren’t quite considered animals.

Before I could ask more questions, she stood abruptly and continued talking reverently about Dugal as if we hadn’t just had that conversation. Although tempted to ask her more, my inner beast warned against it, and I listened. It might be new to me, but I trusted it every bit as much as I trusted Broderick’s dragon, though I had yet to see it beyond its cat-like fire reflected in his human eyes. Lilias grew quiet as she led me up circular stairs, wrapping around a thick stone pillar before opening the door at the top.

“This will be yer chamber for now.”

She entered before me.

“I hope ‘twill be to yer liking. The breeze is always verra nice up here.”

Never mind a breeze. It felt like the wind was knocked out of me when I entered a circular room with two windows that looked out over the forest and ocean in what appeared to be the backside of one of the lower towers. In fact, I knew it was because I had been here before. Or should I say, based on the flash I saw of the chamber decorated differently, my incarnate had.

And she, I, had not liked it at all.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I managed a nod, grateful when Flame seemed to sense I was having trouble putting one foot in front of the other and led me inside, heading for the window furthest back as if it would be best for me to go there first. So I did, trusting him, grateful my legs held me up long enough to reach it.

“My God,”

I whispered, shocked by what I saw. My window was at the perfect angle, so the lowering sun glowed golden beyond a woodland path lined by red autumn leaves that led to an all-too-familiar aspen tree in the distance.

“Mayhap ye’d like to see it up close?”

Lilias wondered, joining me at the window.

“’Tis a truly lovely tree, is it not?”

I swallowed heavily again and nodded, curious because of the wisdom in Lilias's eyes as she took it in, then offered me what almost seemed a knowing smile.

“Then let us make haste before the sun sets, and ye must ready yerself for the eve ahead.”

More than willing to leave the chamber because it had felt like a prison cell in my last life, Flame and I followed her back down, only to continue along a hallway I thought was a dead end, but turned out to have two smaller corridors stemming off it.

Somehow I knew which direction we would go as if I had walked this way before, so I followed her when she turned right, only to stop dead at what I saw in front of me.

More so, who, and it shocked me to the core.