Page 79 of Wolf Pack

Conall, Drummond, Leif, and Hans were behind them, heading through the tall bracken. Elene had disappeared ahead of them.

Before they were halfway to the castle, the sound of horses’ hooves galloping toward them caught their attention. They had to be friends, not foes.

Alasdair howled. Someone from the direction of the horses howled back. Isobel didn’t recognize the howl, but Alasdair smiled. “Lorne is bringing the horses.”

It didn’t take long before Lorne had enough horses for all of them to ride.

“What about the men you were after?” Alasdair asked, going to help Isobel onto her saddle, but she beat him to it—like usual.

Leif was smiling at her. Then he climbed onto another horse.

“They are vanquished, dead. They willna come again.” Lorne glanced at Elene. “How did you manage to leave the castle?”

“She was a great wolf warrior. We left some of the dead Vikings by the croft,” Alasdair said.

“And one inside the croft,” Isobel added.

“We’ll take care of it.” Lorne motioned to some of his men to go with him. “The rest of you escort the lady and our chief back to the castle.”

“When you return, we’ll celebrate,” Alasdair said.

“For vanquishing the raiders?” Lorne said.

“And because I have taken Isobel as my mate.”

Lorne smiled. “Here, I thought as she pulled guard duty, I would eventually win her over.”

“It was too late for that the moment I saw her eliminate the Viking guard on the beach,” Alasdair said.

Then they parted ways, and Isobel and the rest of the party traveled the rest of the way to the castle. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused your people because of coming here.”

Alasdair raised his brows. “They came last year, and it wasna because of you. They will always have a reason to raid our villages. None of this was your fault.”

Hans said, “Bessetta will be thrilled that you, Elene, and your family are safe from harm. We have every reason to celebrate the occasion.”

“I wish I could have been more help,” Dawy said. “Agnes is all right, isna she?”

“Aye. At the castle where Elene was supposed to be, though Agnes also wanted to come and help rescue you,” Isobel said.

Dawy smiled. “Aye, she would. Maybe not this old man, but the children? Aye.”

Isobel smiled. “She wouldna forsake you for anything, Dawy.”

As they arrived at the castle, several clan members tended to the injured men, though none were major wounds and would heal in a week or less. Still, some maids fawned over them as the injured warriors basked in all the attention they were getting.

In the meantime, Elene raced into the castle to shift and dress.

The staff hurried to heat water in the kitchen to prepare a warm bath for Isobel and Alasdair, and they retired to his bedchamber. Isobel was relieved this dangerous situation with her former clan was finally over.

Once the staff left them alone in the bedchamber, Isobel began to remove her belt, but Alasdair beat her to it. She hadn’t anticipated that he would remove her weapons and then undress her, kissing her lips, cheeks, chin, and throat in a sensuous pass. Then he helped her into the bath, took a cloth, and began to wash her.

She sank into the hot water, realizing how exhausted she was after fighting so many brigands. She’d never imagined having a mate who would treat her like a queen. His touch was gentle but was already making her want him in carnally pleasurable ways. She had to remember her family and the pack, who, after they cleaned up, would be looking forward to a celebration.

He slid the cloth down her arms and then caressed her breasts with the cloth. Holding her hand in his, he washed it with an incredibly tender touch, leaning over to kiss her washed cheek. When he reached down between her legs, she couldn’t experience any more of his sexual overtures without taking this all the way.

She wrapped her wet arms around his neck, and he kissed her mouth in a long, lingering lips-to-lips kiss. Then tonguesintertwined, sliding, touching, teasing. His hands cupped her breasts, and he caressed her nipples with his thumbs.

“Switch places,” she said, her voice husky with need.

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