Page 56 of Saved By the Highland Beast
The hairs on her arms prickled and sent waves through her body at the way the laird fiercely fought to defend her honor.
Luke’s eyes suddenly widened with fear as Dean’s blade bore down on him with such force that it sent him reeling back into the snow. He fell on his back, bringing his blade up just in time to stop the sword just inches away from his face.
“Sophia is mine,” Dean hissed through clenched teeth as he put the full force of his weight behind the blow. “She chose me of her own free will.”
“Never!” Luke suddenly yelled as he used his legs as leverage to gain the upper hand and kick Dean off.
Sophia gasped and brought her hands to her face as Dean stumbled back on his feet and nearly fell into a heap of snow.
“She is mine! She always has been!” Luke yelled at the top of his lungs, running forward and bringing his blade down with a wild look in his eyes.
Dean quickly stepped to the side and dodged the blow with expert precision before using the butt of his sword to land a blow on the back of his assailant’s head. A dull thud filled the air.
Luke went sprawling head-first into a nearby oak tree, where he once again received a blow that knocked him unconscious, as was evident by the way his body flopped to the ground. He lay motionless, almost covered in snow that fell from the branches.
Walking over, Dean hurriedly kicked the sword from Luke’s hand, bringing his own blade above his head while sneering down at his unconscious form.
“Wait!” Sophia yelled as she ran forward and placed her hand on Dean’s arm. “Don’t kill him, Dean, please.”
The laird clenched his jaw and looked at her in confusion, lowering his arms slightly but keeping the sword in the air. “Sophia, the man isnae in his right mind. He’s a danger to ye as long as he lives.”
“I don’t believe he is bad. I truly believe that he thought he loved me.” Her eyes pleaded with him as she gently squeezed his arm. “Please, Dean. Luke is a very misguided man, and he needs to be locked up where he can’t harm anyone ever again, but I don’t believe he deserves to die.”
Dean looked at her face and back at Luke before lowering his sword entirely and letting his arms fall to the side.
“Thank you.” She breathed a sigh of relief and flung her arms around his neck once again. “Thank you so much, Dean. I knew you weren’t a heartless man.” She kissed his cheek as his arms came around her waist and drew her closer to his body.
“I was so scared I would lose ye,” he breathed into her hair before kissing her neck. “I just never want to lose ye, lass. I’d kill any man that came in the way of me lovin’ ye.”
“You won’t,” she said as she drew back and held his face in her hands. “You could never lose me, Dean. I am yours. I love you endlessly, with all of my mind, body, and soul.” She frowned as his body suddenly jerked forward, his eyes filling with pain. “What’s the matter?” she hurriedly asked as she bore the weight of his body in her arms.
“You haven’t gotten the best of me just yet,” Luke groggily hissed as he stumbled on his feet, holding the back of his head with one hand and his sword in the other.
Dean shut his eyes and tightened his grip on Sophia as they almost fell forward. “Bastard,” he hissed and whipped around.
Sophia quickly stepped back and leaned against a tree as the men once again engaged in battle, swinging their swords and lunging with an animalistic ferocity that made her recoil.
“Do you see now? She chose me! She doesn’t want me to die!” Luke yelled mockingly. “She won’t let you take my life because she needs me around.”
“She took pity on ye like a wounded animal!” Dean said breathlessly as he swung his sword again and blocked a blow. “Me wife would spare the life of the lowliest of creatures if she had the choice!”
Sophia placed her hands on the tree behind her back and shimmied to the side as they came a little closer, nearly stumbling against her.
Luke cried out in pain as Dean slashed his arm, and a trail of crimson blood gushed from his wound. “Ye will pay for that, you common dog!” He wailed in pain and came at Dean with his sword aimed at his heart.
Dean used his own blade to send Luke’s sword flying into the air with a single blow before lunging forward.
They tangled in a flurry of arms and legs as steel flashed through the air like a bolt of lightning.
Time stood still for Sophia as the men fell forward and disappeared through a thicket of overgrown heather that was covered in snow. “Dean!” she yelled through a sob.
Rushing forward she beat the bushes out of the way and looked to see what had happened. Her heart stopped beating as she spotted the men lying on their backs in the bottom of a ditch, both still and lifeless. A single trail of blood ran down the embankment along with the tracks they had left in the snow. Their blood-covered swords lay between their bodies.
“Please no,” she gasped as she climbed then stumbled down the steep incline that led to the bottom, nearly falling on the bodies. “Please no, please no,” she continued to whisper frantically as she made her way to Dean’s side. “My love, please answer me,” she begged through her tears as she lifted his still head in her hands.
The patch of blood spread between the men and colored the snow a bright red, making it impossible to see where and whom the blood was coming from.
A metallic smell filled her nostrils as her body turned to ice. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered in defeat when Dean lay still in her arms. “I should have let you kill him.” She wept. “I choose you. It’s always been you. From the moment I saw you on top of your horse, there has never been and will never be another man for me.” She buried her face in his neck and cried until her tears of anguish echoed through the woods.
