Page 66 of Wolf Heir
Coinneach tore the wolf’s skin at his shoulder. He attempted to bite Coinneach’s neck. He darted out of the wolf’s snapping canines and rounded on him again. This time, he managed to grab him by the back of the neck and held on for dear life as the wolf tried to shake him loose.
Then Coinneach bit hard, severing the wolf’s spinal column, and the wolf collapsed, no longer a threat. Immediately, the dead wolf turned into his human form.
Coinneach ran into the nearby lake and cleaned off his bloody fur. Aisling hurried after him to see how he fared.
Tamhas and their da loaded the naked, bloody bodies into a cart. Their da asked, “Do we return them to the castle and explain what happened here?”
Coinneach shifted, and Aisling immediately hugged him. “Nay. If Rupert, Osmond, or Morag sent them, they will twist the story and say we killed them for whatever reason. Take them to the bog. They can wonder what happened to the men.”
“Come, let me take care of your wounds,” Aisling said. “How will you serve guard duty looking like this? How will you explain that you were in a fight and with whom?”
Coinneach smiled. “Come, sweeting. Take care of them, and we’ll return to the castle to sleep. By morning, most of my wounds will be fading.”
Once Aisling and his mother had bandaged Coinneach, he put on some of his spare clothes that Tamhas hadn’t packed.
“I’ll walk with you back to the castle,” Tamhas said. “In case anyone attempts to ambush you again.”
Coinneach inclined his head.
Nelly looked thrilled that Tamhas was going with them, even if it was just to protect them on the trip back to the castle. Perhaps it was because he wanted to spend more time with Nelly.
When they reached the castle gates, Nelly gave Tamhas a quick kiss, and he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her more soundly.
Beaming, she asked, “Do you want me to wait for you, Aisling?”
“Nay. Go to bed. I’ll be there shortly.”
Looking on top of the world, Tamhas bid them good night and headed off for home.
In the inner bailey, Aodhan quickly joined Aisling and Coinneach, eyeing him with concern. “What the hell happened to you?”
14
Aisling should have known Aodhan would catch them when they arrived at the castle, and be concerned at once about Coinneach’s wounds. Out of everyone’s hearing, Coinneach explained to Aodhan what had happened.
“I would kill the son-of-a-two-headed beast, if we could prove Osmond sent his men to eliminate you and Aisling,” Aodhan said.
But Aodhan would not terminate Rupert, whom the chief believed to be his son. Aisling suspected Aodhan wouldn’t go that far.
Before changing topics, Aodhan let out his breath. “You are no’ letting this keep you from a mating this eve, are you?”
Coinneach smiled. “Nay. I need to grab a couple of things from the barracks. Will you watch over Aisling in the meantime?”
“Aye, you know I will, with my life.”
Aisling couldn’t believe Coinneach would have brought up the mating to Aodhan, but she was glad Coinneach felt well enough to go through with it and not delay it.
Coinneach quickly left the barracks with blankets in hand, being obvious about what they were up to in case anyone noticed. Smiling, she shook her head.
“Do you want me to guard you and Aisling while you, uh, get on with business?” Aodhan asked.
“Nay. We’ll be fine.” Coinneach patted his sword.
Aisling realized that beneath the blankets, Coinneach was well armed, and she was glad for it.
“I will return.”
“See you later then.” Aodhan reached over to slap him on the back, then appearing to think better of it because he didn’t know where all Coinneach’s injuries were hidden under his shirt, he dropped his hand and smiled.
