Page 69 of Craved By a Highland Beast

They will hear me. They will ken we are here.

But then no one came to find them. The footsteps faded away as the guards went the other way and Bonnie slumped against Evan, her legs barely holding her.

“We’re alright,” Evan assured her in a whisper, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I promised ye, did I nae? I promised ye I would keep ye safe.”

Once again, he tugged her along, out of the alcove and towards the back of the castle, where she could only assume there was an exit that was not as heavily guarded as the front gates. Then again, wouldn’t Ruthven place more guards that night around the castle to ensure neither she nor Evan escaped? Or would he think it was impossible?

Evan’s footsteps quickened as they got closer and closer to their freedom. But then, just as they rounded one more corner, Evan came to an abrupt stop, Bonnie slamming into him in her hurry.

In front of them stood Ruthven with a small group of his men, who all drew their swords upon seeing Evan, pushing Ruthven behind the protective wall they formed for their laird. Bonnie had to choke back a sob. They had been caught. Evan was as good as dead, and she wished it was the same for her, knowing the fate that awaited her.

“Will ye fight all me men?” Ruthven asked with a cruel laugh.

“If I must,” said Evan, his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword.

“Yer both foolish,” Ruthven said. “I see now . . . I cannae even wait until the morrow. Well, I suppose it doesnae matter. We will wake the priest an’ he shall wed us tonight, Miss MacLaren. Since I cannae trust yer word, I will take what I want by force.”

The first line of solders advanced towards them, eager to rid themselves of Evan’s threat. They had only taken a few steps, though, before a bell rang throughout the entire castle, loud and jarring, the kind of bell that signaled an attack to everyone who was there to hear it.

Evan laughed, the sound sweet and clear over the sudden chaos that erupted around them. Outside, Bonnie heard the first sounds of battle—men screaming orders, others screaming in pain, the gates obliterated under the force of an unstoppable army.

“It seems I’m nae alone,” Evan said.

Just behind Ruthven, men poured into the castle through the main doors. Suddenly, his men’s job wasn’t to protect him from Evan, but rather to protect him from the hordes of soldiers who had broken in through their defenses and were now heading for their leader. In the chaos of the battle, some of them pulled Ruthven away to protect him while others scattered, trying to defend their castle from within.

And Bonnie was in the middle of it all, not knowing what to do.

“Evan, what?—”

She didn’t finish her sentence, stopping dead in her tracks when she turned to look at Evan and found that he was not there. In the few moments of indecision, during which she had remained there, frozen, the battle had pulled Evan away from her. Bonnie saw him in the distance, blood and sweat dripping off hisforehead as he fought one of Ruthven’s men. He seemed not only exhausted, but distracted as well as he looked around as though in search of something—or someone. It was only when his gaze fell on Bonnie through the thrashing crowd that he regained his focus, gaining a new determination as he struck his opponent down and began to make his way towards her.

He only made it a few steps before another soldier stepped in his way, stopping him. Bonnie would never be reunited with him like this, she realized, not if she didn’t try to reach him, too.

Around her, the floor was covered in bodies, the stench of spilled blood thick in the air. Once again, her stomach churned at the thought of all this violence, all this senseless death. So many lives had been lost, all because of one man’s greed.

Bonnie refused to be one of those dead bodies. Grabbing the first sword she found discarded on the floor, she decided to reach Evan in the middle, no matter what it took. The sword was a solid weight in her hands, but lighter than the ones her tutors had used to train her, and Bonnie wielded it with confidence, even if it wasn’t her weapon of choice.

There were no bows around. The sword would have to do.

The first man to attack her was one Bonnie had never seen before—a young guard who seemed built for battle. Bonnie tried to parry the first blow, but when their swords clashed, she couldn’t hold him back, her strength no match for his. His blade inched closer and closer, threatening to slice her throat.

She should have seen it coming. She should have relied on her speed instead.

“Ye fool!” another man called and this time, it was a guard Bonnie recognized—one of those who had dragged her to her chambers. “Ye cannae kill her!”

Both Bonnie and her opponent froze. That was right, she thought. No one could kill her unless Ruthven gave the order, and Ruthven was too busy defending himself and his castle. Even if he wanted her dead now, his men didn’t know it.

Grinning up at the man, Bonnie shoved his sword away from her but before she could run away, he grabbed her arm to stop her.

“I cannae kill ye, but I can stop ye,” he said, his voice a malicious growl in her ear. “Our laird doesnae need all o’ ye, does he? Only the parts that will make him an heir.”

Rage coursed like fire through Bonnie. She had had enough of people treating her like an object, like nothing more than a means to an end, and any inhibitions she had about taking another life vanished in an instant. With a cry of rage, she put all the force she could muster behind a kick to the man’s knee, knocking him off-balance. He collapsed on the floor with a pained moan, and Bonnie hesitated for only a brief moment before she sliced through his stomach with her blade, silencing him forever.

Afterwards, watching him, she didn’t tremble. She wasn’t even sickened by the sight.

But then, before she could try to find Evan again, another blade flew just by her head, and the only thing that saved her were her quick reflexes as she jumped back from its reach—and right into a wall.

She was cornered; there was no way out for her other than fighting.

---