Read Online Taken By The Highland Wolf (The Clan MacGregor Book 2) by Stephanie Marks - Free Book Online Page B

or not he would meet my father and his men on the battlefield in war. I had been decidedly against it.
    "Alastair, you will stop right there and listen to what I have to say," I demanded.
    "What is it?" he asked impatiently. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides as though eager to feel Camden's neck against their palms.
    "He knows, Alastair," I said.
    "Knows what?"
    "He knows about you, the wolves, all of it. He knows of the curse."
    "How is that possible?" He strode back to me, alarmed. "What did he say?"
    I closed my eyes, remembering. "He said that he would kill all of us. You, me, everyone. That your people were evil. Demons. He said that he wasn't working alone and that they were coming to destroy us. Oh, Alastair, he said that he killed Iona."
    "He will pay for it, Glenna. I will make sure that he drowns in his own blood."
    "No," I told him.
    "Don't be ridiculous. What do you mean, no?" he scowled.
    "You heard me. Do not kill him. I want you to bring him back here. Bring him to me, Alastair," I told him firmly.
    "I am not letting him anywhere near ye. He will never see your face or speak your name again!" he shouted.
    I looked up at him and squared my shoulders. His eyes were deep green and flashed with rage. I knew that he was willing to do whatever it took to protect me, but I needed this. I needed to see Camden again.
    "You will bring him to me, Alastair, and you will bring him to me alive. After what he's done... I was so scared. I need to face him. I have to. I cannot let his face be the one that haunts my nightmares. Please, Alastair, do this for me."
    He reached out and pulled me to him and kissed me fiercely. I melted into his touch, the feel of him banishing the last wisps of fear that had kept their grip on me.
    "I will do this, if this is what it will take for you to be free of him."
    "Thank you. Now give me a moment to change."
    "I must go, Glenna. We are running out of time."
    I ran to the wardrobe and discarded the torn gown on the floor before pulling out the first gown I set my hand on. When I pulled it out it happened to be a deep crimson red. The color felt very fitting. I dressed as quickly as possible.
    "All right, I'm ready," I told him, and we rushed out the door.
    When we got to the courtyard, about twenty men were standing there waiting for Alastair and many of them seemed surprised to see me. I recognized most of their faces not only from seeing them around the keep but also because most of these men had been there in the woods when my uncle had traded me to Alastair in the middle of the night, a few short months ago.
    These men had seen me when I was at my most terrified and humiliated. It was almost a relief that they were the ones to stand before me now.
    Alastair stepped forward holding a sheet that he had stopped to tear off the bed Camden had been sleeping in. He tossed it out to his men, who caught it eagerly.
    "What you're smelling is Camden Holme," he shouted loudly as they passed the sheet among them, burying their faces in the fabric so that they could inhale the scent.
    The air felt full, like just before a storm, and the hair on my arms stood on end.
    "That man came into our home under a false guise. Took advantage of our hospitality. Murdered our people. And attacked the woman who would be my wife!" he roared. "Hunt him! Find him! But bring him back alive!"
    The tension in the yard was palpable as the men began stripping down, tearing off their clothes with little regard for my presence. I watched as they, to a man, stood naked before me. Their bodies started to shift and contort. Then their limbs began to elongate and the nails on their hands grew into long, vicious-looking claws.
    Soon the men were gone and in their place were giant wolves. I reached out and stroked the familiar soft black coat of the beast that was Alastair. Just like when he was a man, he was larger than the rest of the wolves before him.
    The pack threw back their heads and howled as one at the moon.