Page 54 of Wolf Pack

“Aye,” Hans said. “It will be done.”

“No’ everyone will like that you are no’ punishing them further,” Rory said. “What do we say about it?”

“Naught about it at all. My decision stands. They were going to Libby’s rescue. Anyone under similar circumstances would have done the same thing. Why are you not abed?” Then he went to his chamber and shut the door. The woman would be his undoing.

Early the next morn,Alasdair arrived at the great hall and saw his people bustling to get food on the trestle tables. Everyone there grew quiet when he walked in. He first looked for Isobel.

He couldn’t help himself. The woman fascinated him to no end, and he hoped his people wouldn’t give her or her cousin grief for her actions last night. To his surprise, Cleary and Baine sat between her and her cousin Conall.

The men were silent when Alasdair’s brothers joined him at the high table.

“Did Cleary and Baine shift at all?” Alasdair asked.

Hans cleared his throat before he spoke. “Aye, for a short while. We had opened the portcullis for morning trade, and they sneaked out before anyone knew it.”

“God’s wounds.” Alasdair couldn’t believe the brothers had gone after Isobel and her kin again if they had when Cleary and Baine were supposed to be always watched!

“As soon as we learned of it, a party of a dozen men, five wearing wolf coats, took off after them, smelling their scents. The brothers headed straight for the croft where Isobel and her kin stayed. They just stared at the croft, pawed at the ground a bit, circled it a couple of times, but they didna seem aggressive as in they wanted to kill Isobel or her cousin for turning them.”

Furious that the brothers could have hurt Isobel and her cousins, Alasdair frowned. “Why did no one already mention that to me?”

“You had gotten in so late, we didna want to disturb you so early in the morn. We finally turned them around and herded them back to the barracks where they slept and woke in their human skin this morn,” Hans said. “Believe me, I gave the men on watch the devil for it. The brothers should never have been able to run on their own.”

“Did you speak with them or Lorne about visiting the croft?” Alasdair asked, still concerned that the brothers wished to harm Isobel and her kin.

“I asked them why they had gone to the croft that morn. They said they couldna help themselves. They didna know why. I dinna know if they were lying or truly dinna know why they did it. Turning into wolves will be a big adjustment in their lives.”

“Aye,” Alasdair said.

“Of course, we talked to them about everything after they turned. Several of us went running with them to make sure they didna do anything they shouldna—like kill our livestock or threaten anyone or even just run away.”

“All right. We’ll have to watch them for any behavior that seems dangerous.” Then Alasdair and his people ate their mealbefore leaving to do their duties, but he still was irritated that his men, who should have been watching the brothers, hadn’t.

He admired Isobel for doing what he’d told her she had to do. However, he hadn’t expected to see her eating with them at the lower table. Everyone could have watched them then.

He wondered if she had smelled the brothers’ scents around the croft this morning and how she would feel about it. She was most likely angry that the men were not being supervised and potentially putting her and her kin at risk—again.

Before he left the keep, though, he was dying to know what Isobel had been talking to the two men about. They had been listening to her with rapt interest, but they had never said anything in response.

But then Isobel was pulling guard duty on the undamaged walls, looking out to the woods and pastureland for any signs of trouble after the meal. Rory had put Cleary and Baine on the section of the wall that needed to be repaired. Conall was also out there helping with the wall.

While Alasdair was in the inner bailey taking stock of things, Bessetta came out to see him and asked, “Do you know what Isobel was saying to Cleary and Baine?”

“Nay. I did see that they were no’ saying anything in return.” However, Alasdair couldn’t help but be curious about what was said.

“Cleary said that Isobel told them if they came to the croft again as wolves before sunrise, to howl, and she would see to them.”

“See to them?” Alasdair was at once concerned that she meant to tear into them. Though wolves sometimes had to set boundaries with other wolves. It didn’t mean she meant to kill them.

“Aye. I dinna know what she meant. Greet them? Fight them? I thought you should know so you can speak to Isobeland make sure she doesna get herself into any further trouble.” Bessetta smiled at him. “She’s up on the wall walk. No one else is around. Mayhap now would be a good time. Eh?”

“Aye. Do you no’ have any work today?” He knew Bessetta had and didn’t have to remind her of it, but he didn’t want her to watch him when he spoke with Isobel.

“Och, too much work to do,” Bessetta said cheerily, brushing a stray hair out of her face, smiled again, turned on her heel, and entered the keep.

Bessetta was not known for spreading rumors, but she seemed to have taken a liking to Isobel and wanted to make sure she didn't do anything that would anger him or his group. He appreciated her concern as he climbed the spiral stairs in the western tower.

Once on the wall walk, he walked towards where Isobel stood, gazing out at the surrounding land. Isobel stood tall and regal, her posture straight and confident. She turned to face him when she heard his footsteps or caught a whiff of his scent.

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