Page 94 of Wedded to the Heartless Highlander
The memory of that night flashed through his mind—Erica in his arms, the moonlight casting the most delicious shadows on her skin, her soft gasps as he thrust into her. And then he remembered that she had said she thought someone was watching them.
Hunter balled his fists at his sides. “Defiled,” he spat out. “He watched us and then stalked us back to the castle. He will pay for it.”
As he neared the stables, his men were already preparing for the ride.
Calvin handed him the reins of his horse, his expression grim but resolute. “Their mounts are still here. They didnae take them out,” he said, eliminating that scenario before Hunter could even think about it.
“We’re ready, Me Laird. After ye,” Alaric called.
Hunter nodded, his gaze hard. “Aye, let’s go,” he said as he mounted his horse.
The weight of Kara’s confession and the venom in James’s words drove him forward.
I’m comin’.
The night air was cold, and it seeped through Hunter’s tunic as he paused for a heartbeat, staring at the faint trail that led away from the lake and deeper into the woods. His chest heaved, not from exertion, but from the rage and fear that roiled inside him.
Erica’s words echoed in his mind. “She traded herself for us.”
The thought was unbearable. His fists clenched at his sides, his nails digging into his palms as if the pain could somehow ground him. Her recklessness and self-sacrifice complex infuriated him even more. Her heart was as bold as it was stubborn. She, of course, would do anything to protect Lily and the boy—anything.
“Are ye Kara’s braither?” Hunter asked the boy whose arms were wrapped tightly around Lily.
The shed they were in did very little to keep out the cold, and they were both shivering. It looked like the young boy even gave Lily his overcoat, for he was just in his tunic.
“Aye,” the boy said quickly, his face puffy but fierce. “Who are ye?”
“That’s me uncle Hunter,” Lily said through chattering teeth.
“Good, ye have some fight in ye. Ye will be needin’ it tonight, laddie,” Hunter said as Cavin’s hand rested on the boy’s shoulder. “Alaric, Calvin, take them back to the castle. Make sure they’re fed and warmed.”
“Aye,” the men responded, lifting both children off the ground with ease and hoisting them up onto their horses.
Calvin hesitated, his expression a mix of concern and defiance. “If Morris?—”
Hunter cut him off with a sharp glare. “I’ll nae risk her safety again. I only trust ye two. Get them back to safety.”
Calvin’s jaw tightened, but he gave a curt nod. “Aye, Me Laird. I’m leavin’ Angus and Ewan with ye.”
Lily tilted up her tear-stained face to meet her uncle’s gaze. Her small hand gripped the boy’s tightly, her knuckles white with fear. “Ye will save Aunt Erica, right, Uncle Hunter?” shewhispered, her voice quivering. “Even though ye were mad at her before?”
Hunter went to her, his large hands resting gently on her back. “I will, lass. I swear it. Now, go with Calvin. Be brave for me, just like yer faither would have been.”
Lily nodded, her lower lip trembling as Calvin and Alaric led the horses away.
With one final nod, Hunter watched his men ride back to the castle.
The change in him was imperceptible to the naked eye. His shoulders rose to his ears and tensed up, his torso hardened, his ears perked up to catch the slightest sound, and his pupils dilated to see clearer. The wooded lake fell silent.
Ewan and Angus didn’t dare move or even breathe too loud as they watched their Laird take in his surroundings like a predator. The hunt was on.
Hunter pictured Erica’s face—the fire in her deep green eyes, the stubborn set of her jaw.
“Ye will come for me. I trust ye.”
“Damn,” he mouthed.
A sound broke through his thoughts just then—a faint rustle up ahead. Hunter froze, and then all three men turned to the sound, lowering themselves into a predatory crouch. His hand felt for the hilt of his blade, the cold steel reassuring against his palm. He scanned the darkness, his keen eyes adjusting to the shadows.
