Page 12 of Wolf Heir
She wished she and Coinneach could destroy the Vikings and their ship, but they would have needed more help to accomplish it.
She nuzzled Coinneach’s face and returned to the forest where she had left her clothes. He stayed by her side, then she shifted and dressed. She grabbed her bag of herbs and followed him to where he had ditched his clothes. Once he was dressed, they dug up the Viking’s weapons and carried them to Coinneach’s home.
He howled to let the others, both the crofters and the castle guards, know the danger had passed.
Soon, Coinneach’s parents and his brother were running beside them as wolves.
“You’ll stay with us the night,” Coinneach said to Aisling, his voice firm, protective of her.
“If ‘tis no’ an inconvenience.”
“Nay. You can have my pallet.”
She smiled at Coinneach. He was so sweet. She howled to let her mother know she was okay; otherwise, her mother would worry about Aisling being beyond the castle walls that night.
When they reached the croft, Coinneach’s family shifted, then dressed.
“You can sleep with me on the pallet,” Aisling said to Coinneach, not wanting him to give up his bed when he would have to work hard in the morning like she had to and would need a good night’s sleep.
He smiled at her, a little evilly, and she smiled back. She was serious. She had never slept with a male wolf before, but with him, she was ready. Though they had just met, he was someone special, and she wanted him in her life.
His mom and dad were smiling as they climbed onto their pallet. Tamhas’s mouth was gaping while he waited to see what Coinneach would say.
“I’ll be comfortable on the floor if I wear my wolf coat.”
She took hold of Coinneach’s hand and pulled him to his pallet. “I’m tired. Let’s sleep.”
Coinneach smiled. “Your wish is my command. Oh, and, Tamhas, I have a short sword for you.”
Tamhas’s eyes grew round, and his mouth gaped again as he took the sword and turned it in his hands. “You took this off a Viking?”
“Aye, ‘tis yours now.”
“Thank you, brother.”
“You should…” Coinneach started to say.
“Get some good use out of it.” Aisling cast Coinneach a warning glance. She didn’t want Coinneach to tell anyone she had killed the Viking herself in the event they would think less of her.
Coinneach seemed to get her message. “Aye, to help you stay safe when you’re no’ in your wolf coat.”
Then he joined her on his pallet. Tamhas took the short sword with him to bed.
As the moonlight gently filtered through the small, dust-laden window, Coinneach and Aisling drew closer together on the narrow confines of his modest pallet. The old frame beneath them creaked softly, almost as if it were a living thing, attempting to accommodate the two bodies nestled against each other.
Coinneach pulled a wool blanket over them. Their limbs tangled naturally, as if they had always been together in this way, entwined in an embrace forged from equal parts passion and solace.
She rested her head lightly on his chest, rising and falling with each steady breath he took. His heartbeat was a rhythm both comforting and constant beneath her ear—a reminder that this moment was real, not some fleeting dream to be scattered by morning light after what they’d been through.
She cherished this time with him. He gently nuzzled her ear with his lips and kissed her. She returned the kiss with equal passion. Everything felt so perfect with him. It would have been even better if they’d had more privacy, but she was glad to end the day in this way.
He wrapped his arm protectively around her, pulling her even closer until there was no space left between them. As he did so, she marveled at how seamlessly he fit against her.
Just as they were surrendering fully to this peaceful proximity, allowing their eyes to flutter closed in mutual surrender to sleep’s gentle pull, a soft sigh escaped from her. She was as close to heaven as she would ever come.
Then she realized that her mother would smell him on her and be all upset again.
The next morning,Aisling smiled at Coinneach, not wanting to leave the pallet. Everyone was stirring, and she got up and said to Elspeth, “I’ll help you make breakfast before I return to the castle. I canna be late to the kitchen where I’ll be helping to prepare the meal.”
