Page 78 of Wolf Alliance

More than anything, Erik hoped that Accalia and her aunt would be safe at the camp soon.

Baldur shifted. “Freigard’s men will be manning the wall walk. If we can slip up through the eastern and northern towers, we could take out the three on the east and north wall walks. Then we can move across the wall walk along the west side, remove the three there, and then on the south side and terminate the other three.

“Some are guarding the great hall. Some guard the stables to guarantee no one steals a horse and leaves. I suspect my fighting men are locked in the dungeon.”

“We’ll take out the men on the wall walks first,” Erik agreed. If they did, they couldn’t shout a warning if a friend showed up. But they still had the problem with the guard’s relief at Baldur’s chamber.

Baldur shifted and led them to the north tower first. Alasdair and some of his men went up that way. Then Baldur escorted Erik and his men to the east tower, ready to do battle—silently, quickly, and without alerting the enemy. At least that was the plan.

Accalia wantedto get her aunt to the camp where she would be safer and inform the men guarding them that they had trouble. That Freigard had sent some men to Whitehaven. Before Freigard’s men got too far away and could cause problems for Erik’s pack, she wanted to eliminate them. She didn’t know if her aunt could manage a battle with the brigands.

They had traveled for a long time, smelling the scents of the men—men that Accalia recognized—four of them having been loyal to her da, and the one, Horse, Dunbar’s friend. The other two men were unknown to her and had to be Freigard’s men. They only had to get rid of three of the men, and hopefully, once they began to fight them, her people would help them eliminate the brigands.

She and her aunt were getting closer to the men heading for Whitehaven, their scents growing stronger. She and Davina continued running until they heard the men close by. Peering out from the woods, she saw the men stop to give their horses a break. This was the time to act. She glanced at her aunt. She inclined her head to her.

Who should they go after first? And would the men who had been loyal to her da help them? She noticed none of them were armed. She assumed that was because Freigard feared they would turn on their guard. Only Horse and Freigard’s men were wearing swords andsgian dubhs.

Horse crouched down on the creek bed, filling his flask.

Freigard’s men were drinking ale while keeping an eye on their four hostages, the horses all tied to trees nearby.

If she could take down one of the guards or Horse, her da’s men might be able to grab their weapons and help her. She didn’t expect much assistance from her aunt—though she was a good-sized wolf, but she was Accalia’s da’s age. Yet, her aunt surprised her when she tore after Horse, who was alone, leaning over the creek and now splashing water on his face. Her aunt bit into his neck and pushed his head into the water.

He thrashed around and Accalia rushed to help her aunt. By the time Accalia pounced on him, he was no longer moving.

Accalia whipped around and raced toward one of Freigard’s men before he saw her and could react. They only had the two men to eliminate, but they still could lose the battle.

Before she attacked him, two of her da’s people saw her, their eyes widening in recognition. They would know her as a wolf anywhere and she had to have shocked them to the core when they saw her coming to fight their guards.

The guard she was going after was sitting on a stone, drinking from a flask of ale when she leaped and tore into his neck. She wanted to be quiet about it, as quiet as her aunt had been when she took down Horse—no growling, no barking, no noise at all. But Accalia had never playfought with a wolf where she did it silently.

Growling was a natural part of wolf behavior. She didn’t growl as vigorously or loudly as she would when playfighting, but she was not as quiet as her aunt. She so admired Davina.

Cursing at her, the other guard ran in her direction, his sword drawn. She shook the dead man, making sure he was truly deceased. Before the other guard reached her, she knew she had to run off or be killed. But then, as if the men loyal to her da had woken up from the nightmare they were living, they raced to grab the sword and thesgian dubhoff the dead guard and ran after the remaining guard.

He turned to fight the man holding the sword, another holding the guard’ssgian dubh.When he did, Accalia leaped forward and bit Freigard’s man in the back of his calf.

He screamed out in pain and felt to his knees. She wanted to ensure he couldn’t injure any of her people. Between the man wielding the sword from the dead guard, and the other man with the dead guard’ssgian dubh, they quickly dispatched him with a stab to his shoulder and heart.

“Lady Accalia,” the man with the sword said, bending down on his knee in reverence.

The other men joined him, showing their reverence to her and her aunt. She shifted. One of the men took his cloak and wrapped it around her.

“My mate, Erik, has taken men to the castle and freed my da and cousin. Baldur killed my uncle, the traitor. Davina and I learned you were headed to Whitehaven with a guard force and came to your aid.”

“We need to return to the castle then,” one of the men said, removing the belt from one of the guards, fastening it around his waist, and then sheathing the sword.

Two of the other men went to retrieve Horse’s weapons and the other guard’s.

“What has become of you must remain a secret. Off to the west is a camp where you can reinforce the guard. Then I’ll take some of the men who came with Erik and Alasdair to help Erik with his mission.”

Accalia’s aunt shook her head.

“I must. If I dinna and those men die, all will be lost,” Accalia said.

“Aye, we will do as you bid,” the man said.

“Good. If anyone comes looking for your party, I suggest we dump these brigands in a bog no’ far from here.” Accalia shifted and the man took his cloak back. She was the only one who knew where the camp was and had to lead them to it.

---