Page 41 of Wolf Alliance

“Will you let us know when you return?” Johnne asked.

“Aye, I will. I will kiss each of you, but I willna wake you. Dinna wait up for me to do so.” She didn’t think they would. They looked drifty-eyed, Johnne rubbing his eyes and Thorfinn yawning, Hendrie following suit. She was glad they had several exciting adventures—though battling brigands was another story. “Get your rest.” She hoped they would be all right sleeping with their nannies for tonight after what they’d been through.

“What did you do to Beathag?” Thorfinn asked.

She hesitated to answer. Then she figured they might as well know. “I told her she wouldna cause me grief any longer.”

“You didna push her on the floor because she ran into you in a mean way?” Hendrie asked.

“Nay. I didna need to.”

“You told her you would send her to the dungeon,” Johnne said.

She smiled. “Why, I should have thought of that.”

“She only tellsusshe’s sending us to the dungeon,” Thorfinn said, sounding a little cross.

“If she bothers me any further, that might be the next thing I say,” Accalia said, amused that the boys wanted to know how she’d handled the woman.

“What are we going to do on the morrow?” Thorfinn asked, trying to get her to stay a while longer.

She had used that tactic when she was a young lass and hadn’t wanted to sleep yet, no matter how tired she’d been. “We’ll see when the sun comes up.” Then she glanced at the nannies waiting to take over.

They inclined their heads to her. She was glad that the boys were behaving better now for their sake. She gave each of the boys a hug and then left the room.

In her bedchamber, she removed her shawl, belt, gown, and shoes, and then shifted into her wolf. She dashed out the door but ran into a wolf she didn’t recognize in her wolf form, but she knew her scent—Beathag. She never visited this part of the tower that Accalia had seen.

Accalia suspected Beathag planned to give her issue. Maybe Beathag had thought to attack when Accalia was still in her human form, but she’d stripped and shifted too fast and now Beathag was facing a wolf. A wolf bite could cause serious damage. But Accalia knew how to fight as a wolf, which gave her the advantage.

For a moment, she eyed Beathag, waiting for the wolf to make her play. Accalia wasn’t going to attack her without provocation. That wasn’t a good way to take charge of the staff. The wolf jumped at Accalia, snarling and growling. Accalia immediately attacked, taking the wolf by the throat and pinning her to the floor. Every time Beathag tried to fight Accalia to free herself, Accalia tightened her grip and growled.

The boys and nannies raced out of the bedchamber. They gasped, but no one tried to stop Accalia. She had no plan to hurt the she-wolf, only to make a point.

Accalia finally eased up on Beathag, intending to release her, but if Beathag bit at her, she would bite her back to prove a point—like she would if Beathag was an unruly pup.

Accalia released her. Their hearts beating hard, Beathag stood. Her fierce gaze was on Accalia. Likewise, Accalia waited for the she-wolf’s attack. She could predict with certainty it was coming. The woman didn’t know when to take her losses and leave.

Beathag lunged at her, going for Accalia’s throat this time as if she thought she could manage the same move that Accalia had made against her.

Accalia swiftly tackled Beathag’s leg, bringing her down, not breaking it, though she could have easily done so. It would have healed in about three weeks, but Accalia didn’t want to take it that far. Beathag fell on her side and yelped in pain. As soon as she swung her head around and tried to bite back, Accalia tightened her hold on her leg. Beathag yelped again and dropped her head on the floor.

Then Accalia saw a wolf running to join her—Erik. She hoped he didn’t think she was being mean to Beathag. She released Beathag’s leg.

Erik licked Accalia’s face in greeting, which delighted her.

He barked at Beathag to leave.

The woman feigned she had been terribly injured. Erik growled at her to move along. She finally got up and walked on three legs. Accalia had not injured her. Maybe she’d hurt Beathag’s pride, but Accalia hadn’t even drawn blood.

He nudged her to let her know he was saying good night to his sons, and she smiled at him, loving that he had taken her words to heart. He herded them into the bedchamber and licked each of the boys’ faces, who were fending him off with scrunched-up expressions and laughter. She loved it. Then she and he left the room, descended the stairs, and loped to the inner bailey where men on horseback and wolves loitered, waiting on them.

The whole party moved into the outer bailey and outside through the gates. The gate guards shut and locked the portcullis after the party was outside.

She was glad she and Erik could run together as wolves without the boys. She wanted to see if he would play with her in a courtship wolf-shifter way, or if he would be all solemn—for fear the brigands would return. She would understand if he treated the run furtively, considering what had happened to her and the boys earlier. But she still wondered what would happen with the issue of Beathag and how Erik viewed it.

They smelled the woods for signs of other wolves, but all they caught were whiffs of the scent of pine, rabbits, red deer, and a wild cat. They loped to a loch that she hadn’t seen before and she enjoyed the vision of it, the full moon reflected in the still, dark waters, the trees surrounding it, likewise appearing as though they were part of the water.

With Erik again in the lead, he took her to a cliff. They climbed the path up through the rocks and stopped on a ledge to look over a glen filled with heather and green grass. The view was amazing. Way off in the distance, clouds were forming, and she was mesmerized by the forks of lightning spearing the forests far away. Was it coming in this direction? Or moving another way?

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