Page 21 of Wolf Pack

Isobel had to dash her spirits and shake her head. “We were unsuccessful.”

Conall and Isobel climbed out of the ship.

“Isobel is going to climb the cliff and scout around.” Conall looked at Elene. “What are you going to do?”

Isobel hadn’t asked the question of Elene, hoping she would stay with them, but she could understand if she wanted to try and make her way home to see if she could find any of her family that might still be alive.

Isobel felt it was her obligation to make sure she got there safely. Even though Isobel and her family would be at risk for doing so, Elene wouldn’t be safe traveling alone either. Not as a lone, young woman.

“If you allow me to, I’ll stay with you for now.” Elene probably felt like part of Isobel’s family because she was a wolflike them. And she didn’t know how she would be treated when she returned to what was left of her clan.

“I’m glad you will.” Isobel was sincere about it. She liked the woman who was always quiet, though that might have been because she’d been a slave.

Now that Elene was home, Isobel wondered if she would act differently. So far, she hadn’t. Would she feel more sure of herself if she found some of her family? Isobel suspected it would be so.

Elene sighed. “You were the only ones who were kind to me when the others in your clan were no’.”

“That’s because we weren’t members of the clan,” Conall said, sounding angry. “And you are a wolf like us. That makes us family, dinna you think?” He ran his hands through his tangled blond hair. “I should have helped our da when he fought the chieftain.”

“We would have all been dead,” Isobel said. “He never told us his plans. And it all happened so quickly. The men supposed to help him overthrow Funi didn’t side with your da as they had pledged.”

That had angered her. Not that they would have been successful if they hadn’t turned on him, but she hated them for backing out on her uncle.

“I’m going now,” Isobel said. At least, as wolves, they could see in the dark, so they had the advantage. She just had to go early enough to reach the top of the cliff without being seen. If it was clear and there were no settlements nearby, she could howl to her kin and Elene, and they would know it was safe to come up.

She figured that for now, they would leave their belongings in the cave and only take what they needed to eat—when they found more to eat—and weapons to protect themselves, of course.

“We need to wear the clothes of my people,” Elene said.

Isobel and her kin had been speaking Gaelic the whole time they’d been on the ocean to improve their use of it, but they still had accents that set them apart from the Scots.

“Ja,” Isobel said. “Aye.”

“We could steal them if we find a croft,” Conall said.

Isobel hated to steal from people who probably couldn’t afford to have many clothes. But they needed to disguise themselves the best they could. Elene was right. It could mean the difference between life and death.

“Are you sure you dinna want me to climb the cliffs first?” Elene asked. “My Gaelic is much better than yours.”

“It is, but, nay, you’re still dressed like us.”

“I…I canna say enough of how grateful I am to you that you freed me.” Elene sighed. “I didna think I would ever get out of there, or even that I would meet you and your family and have so much in common.”

“Aye. I wanted, in the worst way, to free you once we had met you. It killed me to see the way they treated you,” Isobel said.

“The chieftain didna like that all of you were kind to me. It would have been worse if you had left me behind.”

“We would never have left you behind,” Isobel said. Even though sneaking her out had put them more at risk because she was a wolf like them, they’d had to free her no matter what.

Libby snuggled up next to Isobel, and she wrapped her arms around her cousin. For now, they were safe. But how long would that last? She feared they would soon find out they weren’t safe.

Isobel and the rest of her companions took turns stripping and shifting and doing their business near the cliffs as wolves. If anyone saw them, they wouldn’t believe wolves could be on the shore when they wouldn’t have any way to climb down the cliffs to get there in the first place.

But they wouldn’t suspect they were anything other than wolves or maybe even wild dogs. Not Vikings.

Then they returned to the cave, and once Isobel had shifted and dressed, she said, “Conall, you’re in charge of your sister and brother. Stay in the cave until I return and tell you it’s safe. Elene, you’re a free woman. I hope you stay with them, but it’s your choice.”

Elene smiled. “I’ll stay with them.”

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