Page 31 of Her Scot of Bygones
Lucas gathered me close as we watched me as a child slide the boots on and walk comfortably for the first time, marveling at the sensation. I still had a slight limp, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before.
“That’s how we found ye,” Evan exclaimed, resting a comforting hand on my shoulder as the memory faded. “Ye were tromping around in the snow with a big smile on your face, so verra happy.”
“Oh, you have no idea.” I chuckled and wiped away my tears, happy as swiftly as I’d become sad. “Walking with a gait hadn’t been easy, never mind getting teased.” I turned my smile Lucas’s way. “You made me more shoes and boots fashioned after those as I grew older.”
“Aye.” He met my smile. “And will until our dying day.”
I bit back a fresh wave of emotion, praying it happened because I couldn’t imagine it any other way. Refused to. Yet I was acutely aware of Evan by my side and the role he might play in my life if things didn’t go as hoped.
“Which is something we need to discuss,” Evan murmured, clearly disliking bringing up the subject, but he was right to do so. “Let us return to the fire so we might speak of such difficult things because they cannae be avoided, and we all know it.”
To be expected, our spirits weren’t quite the same when we sat again, and Evan eyed us gravely, sharing what he thought should happen next. Whathadto happen.
“I will return home to Sutherland Castle this evening, so too long an absence isnae noted,” he said. “Then I will wait until the morrow after next before coming forward and showing Dugal and Elspet my tattoo. This will give ye two some time here before returning to MacLeod Castle. When ye do ye’ll let yer clan know what happened here and ‘tis highly recommended they escort ye to Sutherland Castle so all might witness Hazel shifting for the first time, confirming whether or not she’s the lass meant to fulfill the pact.”
“Or you both can hide your tattoos, and all of this can be avoided,” Lucas countered, frowning.
“We both know that can’t happen.” I wrapped my hand with his again, showing him the strength he needed to see. “Eventually it will be discovered, it’s inevitable, and it won’t go well for us if we don’t come forward, given the MacLeods and Sutherlands alike swore on their honor to see the pact through.” I shook my head. “If war breaks out between your clans, just think what that will do to the stability of your country, especially with the ongoing skirmishes with England. And if that happens, it could very well alter Scotland’s history.”
Lucas’s heart was in his eyes as they lingered on mine, his pain and turmoil right there to see. “So I’m to give ye to my rival clan for what might be the rest of our lives?” He clenched his jaw, fighting emotion. “Give our future bairns to one of my closest friends because of a pact we had nothing to do with?”
“Both clans swore an oath to King Robert. One, I know you will not break. Deep inside, you know it, too. You’ll do what's right for the king and country you love because that’s who you are,” I said softly, refusing to tear up because that’s not what he needed to see right now. “And you’re supposed to trust that we’ll find our way back to each other.” I nodded once. “I have absolute faith in that, and you need to as well.” I pressed my hand over his heart and gazed at him with all the confidence I felt. “Wewillbe together in the end.Alwaystogether.”
He gazed at me for a stretch, fighting his emotions and his spontaneous nature, as he wanted to steal me away then and there, may the Sutherlands never find me. But instead, being my Scot of Bygones when I needed him most, he nodded once in return and remained tried and true. Dependable and steadfast when I needed him to be.
“Aye, then, lass,” he replied, much to my relief. “We will do what we must for king and country, then be together at last as the fated mates I know we are.”
Never so relieved yet sad at the same time, we continued discussing the details of how things should go before Evan finally stood, swung his fur cloak around his shoulders, and said it was due time he left.
Evan embraced me first, murmuring in my ear that no matter what, it would be okay. He would keep me safe during my first shift, and if my dragon did have the gem over its heart, we would take things slowly, and he wouldnevermake me do anything I didn't want to do.
After he embraced me, he held out his hand to Lucas, understanding how difficult this moment was. “Ye are entrusting me with your greatest gift, and Iwillnaelet ye down. Ye have my word, old friend.”
Lucas eyed him for a long, strained moment before he, at last, clasped his arm hand to elbow in the way of the Scots, hisdragon eyes meeting Evan’s. Where I thought he would threaten to kill him if he didn’t, because I knew it was on the tip of his tongue, Lucas again showed me the man I needed him to be.
“I know ye will, Evan,” he replied, a flicker of emotion in his gaze not just for me and our situation but for Evan. “Because yeareand always will be one of my closest friends, may we find what we lost after all of this is behind us.”
“I would like nothing more,” Evan said, meeting our eyes one last time before he vanished into the snowy night.
The next time I saw him, things would be much different. We would pretend not to know each other and could only assume our inner beasts would keep that secret, as it seemed they always had, but then, dragons were good like that when they were as close as we three were. And somehow we knew, or at least hoped, we would remain each other’s secret no matter whose fated mate I was.
Until then, I had an inner beast to soothe because I felt her unease writhing inside me. Felt her more by the moment, the longer I was in this place with the men who meant so much to me. I looked at Lucas. The man who meant the most.
“Do you remember our spot here?” I asked softly, giving him a look he couldn’t mistake. “The place I finally gave myself to you because it wasn’t at our lair. That was too risky.”
It turned out he did.
More than that, he remembered what he had done next and did it again.
CHAPTER TWENTY
–Lucas–
EAGER TO RELIVE the first time I lay with Hazel so long ago, I did what I had done back then and swept her up into my arms. Remembering the way, I ducked into a small tunnel beside the one we had been sitting in with Evan and made my way until we came to a cozy little alcove with a fire pit.
“How could I have ever forgotten this place?” she said, emotion in her voice. “We loved coming here even as kids because it was so unique…so comforting to me.”
“Aye, ‘twas,” I agreed, surprised I had forgotten it too. Even though it provided no view, it was situated close enough to the ocean that we could hear the water rushing into a cave on the other side. It swooshed and lapped, sometimes crashing against the rock wall, creating all sorts of strange yet soothing sounds.
