Page 67 of Wolf Alliance

She had assumed he would try to let on that he was the toughest of the triplets.

Hendrie and Johnne agreed.

“Nay,” Erik said. “We need to get a good day’s ride in today, and we’ll be there tomorrow."

“Tomorrow? Aye!” Johnne said.

Accalia suspected it would be later in the day, unlike when they had arrived at Whitehaven because they hadn’t had to stop as much as they had with the boys. She had hoped they would get in early, partly because she worried about the boys and Isobel.

Isobel, Alasdair, and their pack would have to return to their castle after the celebration, which would mean another couple of days of travel. Accalia assumed if Isobel hadn’t been carrying twins, she could have ridden forever without any trouble.

Halfway along the way, the boys were already drifting off, unable to stay awake. But this time, Logan had some other men carry them on their saddles while he watched the lasses to make sure they would make it fine until the next break. Which they appreciated.

At one point, they saw some men take off into the woods. Accalia was on high alert then. Isobel had readied her bow, and Accalia was amazed that she could ride and shoot, simultaneously. Accalia couldn’t do that. She had only practiced shooting at a stationary target. But she suspected Isobel assumed there was trouble, not that the men had gone on a hunt for the next meal.

Bessetta glanced at Isobel. “Do you think there is trouble?”

“Aye. The men wouldna have taken off like they did.”

Erik stayed with the women, boys, and most other men, but when the scouting party returned, he called for everyone to take a break. Some men took care of the horses, while the boys woke and, Thorfinn asked, “Are we eating soon?”

Erik laughed. “You have been sleeping half of the journey today.”

“You woke me too early this morn.”

Smiling, Erik shook his head.

“What happened when the scouting party took off through the woods?” Accalia asked.

“A couple of the men thought they had seen something in the woods, but when they looked, they couldna find anyone. ‘Twas a good thing.” Erik offered Accalia a slice of his bread.

“Thank you.” Accalia took the bread, amused that he offered it to her even while they were journeying to her castle. “They would have smelled someone if men or wolves had followed us.”

“Aye.” Erik glanced at his sons. “Can you stay on your horses until we stop for the night?”

“Aye,” the boys all said, looking a little sheepish that they had fallen asleep so early on their journey.

But Accalia would watch them so they didn’t fall asleep again.

Then they ate dried fish and bread, without campfires this time. They would have them this eve when they stopped for the night.

Once the horses had enough of a break and everyone had had their fill of food, they continued their journey, the boys riding on their horses again.

Logan stayed nearby, but only a short while into their journey, Isobel said she had to take a break. Once Alasdair helped her down from her horse, which was a first that Accalia had witnessed, she couldn’t keep down the meal that she had eaten earlier.

“Are you all right?” Accalia asked her, rubbing her back gently.

“Aye, ‘tis the bairns in my belly giving me issue.” Then Isobel smiled. “I feel better. Let’s ride.”

Alasdair looked worried about her, but she patted his chest. “I’m fine. I wish to travel as far as we can the rest of the day so tomorrow will be a much shorter journey.”

That’s what Accalia had hoped for, and a nice rest at her family’s castle when they arrived on the morrow before they began celebrating again. She had envisioned only one marriage would have been celebrated—at Hillshire Castle—when she was mated to a wolf.

Never that she would have two celebrations at two different castles. She figured that if she and Erik had married at her castle first, he would have wanted to do the same at his castle with his pack afterward.

The boys seemed well-rested for the journey, though Accalia, Bessetta, and Isobel were worn out. By the time they stopped to camp, Accalia was ready for Erik to help her down from her horse. Some of the men took care of the boys, and Rory lifted his sister from her saddle and set her on the ground.

“Alasdair told you it would be a long journey,” Rory said.

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