Chapter 9: Ready to Run

Beware of the wolves. . .

~

Piles of food covered the table, too much for me alone to eat, but alone I was. While it smelled good, none of it appealed to my twisting stomach. I felt trapped in the rooms that made up Torian's chamber.

Outside, the sky was streaked in brilliant purples and pinks as it darkened with the setting sun but I found no joy in watching it as I usually did. I'd been left in this strange place with only a white nightgown which hindred my ability to look for around. My things had yet to be brought up which made me think something was happening downstairs that I didn't know about.

I poked at the meat on my plate and frowned. The meat to fruit and veg ratio on the table was oddly one sided not at all like the vibrant colours I was used to seeing at dinner. Yet I was in no mood to eat, I just wanted to curl up with a book and sleep. But the bed wasn't mine and it felt like intruding to think about being in it when Torian wasn't here...yet the thought of sharing the bed with him made me even more uncomfortable.

When the door creaked open, I perked up, hoping to see the face of Torian or his mother but it was a servant girl who walked in. I slumped, watching her walk carefully with her hand cupped around a candle.

"I've come to light the candles for you m'lady," she chirped, curtseying low with her neck bared to me, "It's not meant to get too cold tonight but I can light the fire as well if you like?"

I gave her a tight smile and nodded, "Please do, I always get rather cold at night."

She laughed and touched her candle to the one closest to her by the door before moving on around the room. Her plain dress swished across the stone floor and long, flowing blonde hair bounced with each of her steps.

"My little sister is always cold no matter the weather! She wishes to visit a pack in Spain for a while, she says it's to find a husband but I know it's just so she can be warm. But if that doesn't work then I worry she'll travel yet further south until she finally finds an environment she's happy with," she rattled on, long blonde hair flying behind her as she moved.

I didn't have time to ask about what she meant by pack before she was babbling on again. It was awfully strange how familiar she was with me but I'd already noted that the Lyall family seemed to be close to their servants.

"I myself quite like the weather here. I am a lover of the snow! I'll run around in it all day until I make myself sick! Are you finished eating, I can take it all down with me if you're done. Unless of course you might get peckish in the night, my father is forever getting up to eat and my mother hates it. Especially if he eats something that was meant for the next day" she continued.

"I um...no, I'm done," I stammered, unsure of how to handle such a hyper person, "Forgive me but where is my husband?"

She stilled where she crouched by the fire with flint in hand, "He will return soon. It has been a while since he has been home so he is greeting our people."

Frowning, I stood and wrapped an overcoat around me. I didn't quite believe what she said but she let enough slip that I could come to my own conclusion. Suddenly I knew why he had not been sharing our bed and why he had not come to see me, he had another woman here. It was silly of me to feel so broken hearted when I wasn't even sure if I liked Torian. Now I liked him far less but I had been warned that my husband may seek comfort in the arms of other women by the ladies who raised me after my mother's death.

Slumping back into the nearest seat, my gaze locked onto the window. The skies were darkening, clouds getting heavier with the need to rain. The servants presence still hovered and I took a deep breath.

"You may go,"

I heard the rustle of her skirts as she curtsied and the click of the door as she left without a word. Perhaps she knew she had upset me.

My jaw clenched, anger bubbling up at the though of Torian sharing his bed with another woman. I didn't want to be here, in his room, waiting for him to decide he needed legitimate heirs. I was embarrassed too, humiliated even. Angrily, I stood and despite the fact that it would soon be pitch black and a part of me was wary of the stories that Margaret had told me of wolves howling through the glens, I began to search for my riding gear.

Pulling the hood of my cloak up, my heels clicked loudly as I snuck through the halls. Candle light only added to my fear as it created beastly shadows that stretched and rose up the cold stone walls. A draft from somewhere stroked along my cheek like icy fingers and for a moment, as my stomach twisted and fears adrenaline rushed through me, I thought about turning back. Until I heard loud and angry voices from down the stairs.

Keeping on my tiptoes, I crept down the stairs, keeping close the wall. Across the hall, light spilled out from a partially closed door. I could only just make out the back of Torian's mother standing by the fire place.

"How can this girl marry our future leader. She's not one of us, not really. She should have married Artair if you were so keen on having her here, she isn't strong enough-" a male ranted his voice a deep growl.

"Enough!" Torian yelled back, "When we mate, her wolf should awaken."

I could pick his voice out easily, the sound so full of power it sent a shiver from me. His mother shifted until I could no longer see her but her voice rang clearly through the halls, "It might take more than being your mate to wake her wolf. It might take a situation that only her wolf can protect her from to draw it out."

"I'm not going to put her in harm's way just to awaken her wolf. If she remains mostly human as she is now, then I will keep her as she is. I don't care about that. I know she is strong enough to stand by my side, I've seen it, and so has father or he wouldn't have condoned this in the first place," Torian replied firmly.

The conversation made me frown in confusion. Perhaps they were mad, all of them, but for some reason all I could see in my minds eye was the massive dogs I had seen in the courtyard of the castle a few days before. I held my breath, waiting to hear more.

"We can not have a human as our Alpha Female, if anybody challenged her, she would lose. If you want to keep her safe then you need to mate with her now to see if that'll help," another voice I didn't recognise, a female younger than his mother.

Torian growled and the entire world shook with his rage, "Nobody will dare challenge her, or me, I will tear them down before they can lay a hand on her. She's my mate, she will be treated like it, and one day she will carry my pup."

A choking sound left me and when the room fell silent, I worried that they'd heard me. My body froze, pressing as close to the stone wall and into the shadows as I could. I only relaxed she nobody came out to check.

"She won't be able to carry your pup like this, my son...it'd kill her. This is why I advised you keep your distance for now, until we know for sure what to do," his mother said softly, and I knew she was trying to dispel the tension in the room.

"Or it'd awaken her wolf..." the female added with a sigh, "If she does then at least you'll have your heir."

My heart skipped a beat and my eyes began to sting with unshed tears. I may not have understood all of the conversation but I understood enough to be scared.

"I will not impregnate her now. She my mate, and I will protect her with my life. We will find a way, and if we don't, you will all submit to my will as future Alpha. Do you understand?" Torian's voice had dropped dangerously low and something in me demanded I bow to the strength it exuded.

The room mumbled their halfhearted agreement and all fell silent once more. Fear kept me stuck to spot but I knew I needed to move. The longer I stood here, the more chance someone would find me.

"Is she settling in well?"

"Well enough, Jane said she seemed a little of when she went up to light candles and hadn't eaten,"

"We'll make sure she has breakfast in the morning,"

Now that the conversation had shifted to much more mundane topics, I finally managed to turn. I ran up the stairs feeling like the jaws of snarling wolves were snapping at my heels in the dark. I slammed the bedroom door shut behind me, pressing my weight against it. The candles still shone their light but the comfort of the fire did little to settle the unease in my soul.

My hands shook as I took my cloak off and threw it on the nearest chair. Pouring myself some water, I tried to calm my racing heart.

"They're mad. They're all mad," I muttered to myself, "My father's married me off to madmen."

I needed to get out of here and quickly. Breò-chlach was fast, he could outrun anyone they sent after me and I knew I could survive in the wild until I found somewhere, my mother had made sure of that. But to leave now, in the dark, when I didn't know the land? That wasn't safe. I'd need to wait. At first light, I would leave and I wouldn't look back.

The echo of footsteps had me jumping to attention and I made a run for the door that led to the bedchamber. I panicked once inside, looking down at my riding dress in horror. When the door that led to Torian's rooms clicked shut, I began to shake again. I didn't want to be in the same room as him. While nothing he'd done had ever gave me the impression that he would cause me harm, how could I be sure after what I had heard? He was obviously insane.

Footsteps grew louder until I could see a flickering shadow in the gap beneath the door. Somehow I knew it was Torian. Had he finally come to bed me? There was no time to panic further when the door finally opened and my husband walked in.

He looked surprised when he saw me standing in the middle of the room, and slowly wide eyes creased into a frown of concern.

"You look pale, wife. Are you ill?" he asked, stepping closer.

I stumbled back against the foot of the bed and his frown deepened. Swallowing the lump of fear, I tried to keep my voice steady, "I am not ill."

He nodded slowly and tilted his head up before inhaling deeply. His head cocked to the side, that frown still in place. When he took another step forward, there was no where left for me to go unless I wanted to dart for the other side of the room. I could feel my heart beating against my ribcage, and I was sure he would be able to see it too.

"Did something frighten you? You aren't dressed for bed..."

"I was going to go for a ride, I enjoy doing so in the evening but once I got dressed I realised how tired I was," I replied, hoping he'd believe me.

My words were honest at least, even if I was omitting some of the truth. I had gotten dressed to go for a ride, and now I was feeling just how exhausted I was. Hazel eyes that were more brown in the dark studied me closely, searching my face. I tipped my chin up, daring him to call me liar.

He seemed to believe my words and walked over to the fire, throwing on a few more logs that caused it to crackle loudly, sparks flying. I flinched.

"I um...are you glad to be home, my lord?" I wavered uncertainly.

He chuckled, dusting his hands as he stood and looked around the room. "I am, very glad. I do not like to be away for long."

That was something I understood. My heart ached to be in the familiar halls of my home, even if it meant the scorn of my father. Tears stung my eyes but I refused to let them fall, not in front of him at least.

"It is late, wife, and the rest of my family will want to meet you tomorrow. They can be quite overwhelming so I suggest you get your rest. I'm sure my sister will want to give you a tour of the house and the surrounding land," he said, walking back towards the door as if he intended to leave me here in his bed alone.

Nodding dumbly, all I could do was stare. I wanted to ask where he was going, but I feared his answer, or his lack of an answer. Just before he left, he turned to look at me with Steen gaze, "And Máili, as your husband I must order you to stay inside the house after dark. It isn't safe for a young girl to be wandering the glens alone."

Indignation rose up at being referred to as a 'young girl' but he'd closed the door behind him before I could say anything. Fists clenched by my sides, my jaw clenching in silent defiance. Then I remembered that it didn't matter what he demanded of me, because I would not be around for him to call his. I wasn't scared of ghost stories, nor was I frightened by wolves.

Undressing, my frustration with a world that seemed to benefit only men grew as I struggled with the laces. Women who disobeyed their husbands were condemned and punished, for we were meant to be weak and submissive. I wondered what my punishment would be if Torian caught me but it didn't bear thinking about. His hands were much stronger than my father's and I was sure the pain they could give would be far worse too.

Was I a coward now too? I wondered. I couldn't be. I wouldn't allow myself to be a frightened prisoner here. I'd have to be awake before everyone else, before even the servants. Just before the sun rose, that would be my moment. Instead of sleeping, I sat by the window, my eyes on the horizon despite feeling heavy with exhaustion.