The Viking's Highland Lass (7 page)

His thoughts wouldn't shut down though, and in case Brina hadn't fallen asleep, he asked, “Do you have any idea where we are?” He thought Brina must if she knew anything about her lands. She had said she did know how to get around out here. Surely she had not just blindly left the castle with no real inkling.

“I have no earthly idea,” she said, so softly, he thought she must have drifted off to sleep, and he'd woken her.

He couldn't believe she didn't know where they were. Not when she had said she knew her way around. “You did not recognize the Roman tower ruin? Have you any notion where it is located?”

Her only response was a whispered warm breath against his neck as she breathed out softly. He thought about how he had to ensure she stayed with the MacNeill clan once he safely escorted her there. She would find a home with them like he had, he thought. Except in her case, she was truly one of their kin, even if her mother might have had a bit of a tarnished reputation.

He tried to sleep as he half listened to the sounds of the wind whipping the snow into a fury all around the outside of their private little tower. And he thought he'd managed to sleep for a while when he heard a whimpering and then a tiny howl sound outside the tower. His horse instantly neighed and began to move in the small confines of the tower walls.

Gunnolf jumped up to control the horse before he trampled them to death.

D
arkness cloaked
the ruined tower and everything around them, including Brina, as Gunnolf had a devil of a time getting hold of his horse's reins. He hoped he and his horse didn't accidentally step on Brina while he tried to quiet him.

“Whoa, Beast.” Gunnolf spoke soothingly to him, his hand stroking the frightened horse's neck.

He thought Brina was still sound asleep when she whispered from the floor of the keep, “What is wrong?”

“A wolf howled, spooking Beast.”

“They willna hurt us,” she said with conviction.

“
Ja.
I agree. It was a wolf pup, I should say.”

“Where?” She suddenly stood, her soft body bumping into him.

His loins instantly stirred. He told himself it was only because she was a beautiful lassie, and he hadn't been with one for a very long time. That any lassie would do. But it wasn't true. Something about her humor and her determination, not to mention she had come to his aid as a lad when she had to know he was her father's enemy, made him see her as something more. “The wolf is somewhere outside the tower.”

She didn't hesitate to say, “Go get it then and bring it here.”

Amused at her insistent tone as she commanded him, Gunnolf still frowned at her. He loved animals and had often cared for the weak and injured, but the pup could be real trouble. “You must be jesting. The pup most likely has a mother. And a father. And aunts and uncles. And other siblings, lass.”

“Are you afraid of taking care of him?”

He wanted to laugh, but he smiled at the sweet lass. She'd obviously lived a sheltered life at her keep.

“I thought you said you could fight six men at once. That you had fought more than that before.”

“'Tis different, Brina. I would not want to separate a wolf pup from his pack.” And that was the truth of the matter. Though other considerations were important also. The lass's safety, most significantly. Taking a wolf pup with them could put them all in danger.

“What if he has lost his family and he needs our help? Maybe it is a she and she is the one you were sent to aid.”

He chuckled, drew Brina into his arms, and held her tight. “Wynne was not talking about a wolf pup. She was talking about a woman. You, I am fairly certain. When it is light out, I will see if I can find it, but you will stay here with Beast.”

“That is the name of your horse?” she asked, sounding surprised.

“
Ja.
”

“He was a wild one?”

“The wildest when he was young. You should have seen how hard it was for me to break him.”

“Truly? You had to treat him cruelly to get him to yield?” She sounded genuinely upset to hear of it.

She seemed to have a kind heart as far as animals were concerned. “Nay, lass.” He encouraged her to lie down with him again and then pulled her tight against him and buried them in the furs. “I have a gift when it comes to animals. They all love me, whether I wish to be loved by them or not.”

“Do you have the same way with women?”

He smiled, but did not answer her. It was true the lasses all seemed to like him and vied to get his attention, several of them wishing he'd marry them. But he hadn't been interested enough in any lass to settle down.

He sighed. What was he to do about the wolf pup? They couldn't take it with them, even if he did discover the wild wolf had lost its pack. Yet, he couldn't leave the pup behind to die either.

Getting the lass safely to the MacNeill lands was the only difficulty he wished to think about right now. If Seamus and his men caught up with them, Gunnolf would have to prove he could fight six men and win the battle—this time.

G
unnolf was still sleeping
when Brina heard the wolf pup whimpering outside the tower wall. She quickly found dry socks in her pouch and hurried to pull them on. Then she hastily yanked on her boots and tied them on. She fastened her brat about her shoulders and braced herself for the cold outside the tower. Amazed at how the thick tower walls had blocked the chilly breeze and kept their small sleeping quarters so much warmer, she walked through the doorway and out into the inner bailey where some of the curtain walls stood, some crumbling, some still resembling a protective wall. She shivered and walked as far away from the tower as she could, keeping it in sight in the low-light as the sun was attempting to ascend into the heavens.

A fog was also moving into the area, and she could not see much off in the distance but more fog.

She needed to relieve herself, but kept a watchful eye out for the wolf, when she saw the gray pup. She'd raised one until he had gone off to find a mate, never learning what had happened to the rest of his family, though she had looked, thinking she might find more pups.

She spoke softly to the pup, then pulled a bannock out of her pouch, tore off a piece, and offered it to him.

He stuck his nose at the food, sniffed it, then took it from her, and chewed on it. “Stay,” she said, as if he'd know what she meant for him to do. She observed the partial stone walls standing against the snowy backdrop and considered the keep again, standing on top of a hill. She hadn't realized the horse had climbed it last night. She looked around at the fog-cloaked mountains and forests surrounding them, the river and a loch nearby. She was disappointed to realize she had no idea where they were.

She crunched through the crusty snow, sinking into it until she reached a partial outer wall, found a place by a cairn that afforded her privacy from the tower, and relieved herself. Then she turned to head back to the tower when she saw the pup had followed her.

“You were supposed to have stayed,” she scolded, already loving him because she knew he had followed her as if she were his mother wolf, taking care of him until he was old enough to provide for himself. She held out her hand to him, encouraging him to come to her, talking to him like a mother would her baby, soft and high and reassuring.

He inched closer, then stuck out his nose and sniffed her hand, then licked it. She smiled. “Come.” She clapped her thigh to urge him to come with her. But the pup just sat on the snow and watched her. She returned to him, gathered him up in her arms, and headed back to the tower.

She had barely reached what would have been the inner bailey when Gunnolf stalked out of the tower, his face grim, his blue eyes widening at the sight of her.

“I found the wolf pup. You didna need to.” Then she wondered if he had worried she had run away from him in the middle of the night. “I am going home with you, Norseman. Dinna concern yourself. I had to take care of personal matters.”

“And the wolf?” Gunnolf eyed the pup cradled in her arms.

“He is alone. We will take him with us. You are good with animals, so you say. And you have convinced me to go with you as well. You can handle him and take care of me at the same time.” She gave him a wee smile.

He shook his head. “I still say he might have a pack.”

“Aye, and if they chase after us, you can put the pup down, and we will be on our way. Or we can stay here to see if the pack comes for him.” She knew they couldn't wait around. The pup had lost his family somehow, and he was all alone in this world. Which was the way she felt right now.

“We cannot stay. ‘Tis light enough to travel and the snow is no longer falling. Though the fog is so thick I cannot make out the mountains. We must go. I will be right back.” He stalked off in the direction she had walked, and she wished he'd gone another way. It was embarrassing to think he would find the place where she had relieved herself.

While he was busy, she hurried to pack up his blankets. Then she searched through his pouch and found more bannocks, smoked fish, and cheese. She took out a piece of cheese and ate some of it, then offered a bite of it to the wolf pup, hoping Gunnolf wouldn't catch her at it.

The pup sniffed at it like she was trying to poison it. She frowned, annoyed with him, but understood his reluctance too. “Hurry and eat it or we will both be in trouble.”

Just as the pup grabbed it from her fingers and barely chewed it before he swallowed it, Gunnolf stormed around the partial curtain wall, and she knew he was upset with her.

“They are coming, lass.”

Then she realized he was not angry with her, but worried about the men who were after her. Her heart began to pound with fear.

“My clansmen?” She hated that she sounded scared, but she knew they'd kill Gunnolf without question, and probably the wolf pup. She didn't even want to think of what would happen when Seamus got hold of her.

“Most likely.” Gunnolf paused inside the tower when he saw she had packed everything already. “You ride behind me again. If we are drawn into a fight, I will set you on the ground and unsheathe my sword.”

“The wolf.” She knew that in their situation the pup should not have been a concern, but she couldn't help it. He was defenseless in the cold, unable to hunt for himself yet. He would need to be cared for if he were to survive.

Gunnolf hurried to get the pup, handed it to her, then climbed onto Beast. He pulled her up behind him, and then eased out of the tower.

“Will they see us?” She realized this was going to be difficult to manage as she wanted to hold onto the pup, but had to snuggle close to Gunnolf.

“Here, give me the pup.”

“We canna leave him behind.” Her voice was furious. She would stay, though she knew if she did, the men would catch up to her, and they'd kill the wolf anyway.

Gunnolf said, “Woman, I willna leave him behind, but we may have to ride hard, and you need to hold onto me, tight.”

“How can you manage—“

He took the pup from her and slipped him inside his tunic, then seized her arm and wrapped it around him. Then he rode out of the tower and around the remnants of the castle walls. He continued to walk the horse through the snow and kept moving, though she had no idea which direction he was headed.

She should have been annoyed at his tone with her, but she knew he was worried for their safety. “Do you know where you are going?” she whispered, snuggled against his back, her arms wrapped around him, and she could feel the pup snuggled inside his tunic. She smiled to think of how others would see him, a Viking warrior, the Fighting Wolf, keeping a little wolf pup warm in his tunic. She thought the world of him for doing so.

“I am moving us away from the tower. They will see it and investigate to learn if you have been there. Hopefully, they will not see us if we can get beyond that ben. They will see that we camped in the tower last night.”

“They willna know it was me. I didna have a horse the last they knew. Nor a companion.”

“
Ja
, nor did you have a wolf. The wolf pup's, horse's, and my own tracks will help to confuse them. Though they will see your small foot prints. I tried to walk in as many of yours as I could to disguise your foot prints, but when I heard the men approaching, I did not have time enough to do much more. As to the pup, they will not know that it is a wolf, but most likely will think it is a dog's paw prints.”

That was why he was going in the same direction as she had gone. She had been fortunate to come across him. He truly was a clever man. She let out her breath with relief. “Then rescuing the pup will be a good thing.”

“Did you hear him howl any more last night?”

“Aye. Just think of this. No one would expect me to be traveling with you and a wolf pup. If he howls when we are traveling or settling down for the night, they will think he is just part of the wilderness calling to his pack.”

“
Ja
. Now that ‘tis dawn, can you tell me which way is north of your border? Or where we are in relation to your castle?”

“I… I have no' traveled much beyond my castle walls since my da took over the clan,” she hated to admit, and disliking that she couldn't help them more.

“No wonder he was concerned about you leaving the castle. Mayhap also because of your mother running off from her own people?” he asked.

She'd never considered that. Perhaps her da had worried she would be like her mother and run off from her clan. And then Brina would be captured by some Highlander and forced to marry him like her mother had been. Although she had run off from her clan, and now was with a man she didn't know, it certainly wasn't for the same reasons her mother had left her clan. But Brina also believed her da's strictness had something to do with her finding the wounded Viking warrior lad when her da had been herding the sheep far from their shieling before they moved to the castle.

“Aye, you may be right. But remember how I found you? My da was sorely angry that a Viking would be discovered so close to the shieling, and I had planned to save him. Once my da took over as clan chief, he wouldna allow me to venture far from the castle, and I was always guarded.”

For a long moment, Gunnolf didn't say anything, then finally made the comment, “Then he cared for you.”