Forbidden, The Bittersweet Vampire Chronicles, Book 1

  Chapter 6

  “You missed again, Philip!” Ariel whispered in amazement, slanting a curious look at her bemused half-brother, the middle son of Lord MacDonnel. His blue-eyes, dark blonde hair and square jaw were so similar to Kaid’s that it often times made her smile when she looked at him. Philip was tall, but he didn’t have his older brother’s great shoulder breadth yet, nor his overpowering presence. “I love hunting with you,” she teased him cheekily, her sharp eyes glancing through the deep canopy of trees that hung above them in the forest, searching for her next prey.

  Although Ariel could still hear the echoes of small gateway portals to Heaven opening wider above her hunting party, she had pushed it out of her mind, trying to enjoy her day despite the nervousness that she felt growing inside of her. Thankfully, her mind was somewhat more at ease now. Before the hunting parties had left this morning, she’d quietly gone to every one of the younger boys who were supposed to be in her group, and given them some excuse or another of why it was necessary that they go with one of the other three groups. Some had grumbled more than others but—when the day was over—Ariel knew that every one of them would be immensely grateful for their different group assignments.

  His confidence unscathed by her teasing words, Philip MacDonnel chuckled as he eyed his lovely younger sister with amusement. Since childhood, Kaid had fiercely guarded Ariel, dragging the cheerful little girl to and fro, inevitably training her in every skill a warrior would learn. Whatever their future warlord was practicing, Ariel had been right next to him, happily honing those same skills, as well. Inevitably, Ariel was an expert with the crossbow. Try as he might, Phillip was losing to her fair and square. Not that he would ever admit it, of course.

  “I take it that Kaid still doesn’t let you win very often,” he mused drolly. “Sometimes, when we were children, I’d forget how competitive he could be and get jealous that he never wanted to train with me like he did with you and Bran. “ Philip snorted and shook his head.

  Ariel blinked in surprise at his admission. “I remember you training with us on several occasions.”

  Philip muffled a chuckle. “Yes…and it only took being around the three of you for a few moments before my jealousy would completely evaporate and I’d remember why I didn’t train with your small group to begin with. Kaid and Bran are so highly competitive that it’s almost frightening at times. Kaid is obviously the worst, but at least you know how to handle him when he’s being difficult. If I had to see that casual, smug look come over his face after he bested me every day, I would’ve probably snuck into his room one night and put a pillow over his face long ago,” he admitted wryly.

  “Kaid never lets anyone best him at anything,” Ariel clarified wryly, pushing back her pale hair, which cascaded to her waist in a wild mass. “I’ve only beaten him once and that was merely because his bow broke and I wouldn’t let him use mine.” Her sparkling, impish smile indicated just how much that memory still pleased her.

  Philip quirked one eyebrow and virtuously mocked, “Refusing to let Kaid share your bow does not sound like a ‘favorite sister’ type thing to do.”

  Ariel laughed, and then clamped a hand over her mouth as several birds squawked, startled from their treetop perches. There was the sound of wings rustling against leaves, quickly followed by repetitive swishing sounds, as a dozen arrows were immediately dispensed into the air by her surrounding clansmen. As she lifted her own bow, she heard a few grumblings from the men who could already tell they had missed their intended target. Again, Ariel's aim was remarkably accurate. She sighed, almost out of arrows. She would need to collect some more in a moment. Turning back to her brother, she noticed that he was now looking a little smug. His aim had been accurate, as well.

  “Nice shot,” she praised before returning to their previous conversation as some of the men collected the fallen arrows and birds. “So you’re saying that if you were in the same situation, you would’ve let Kaid borrow your bow?”

  Philip’s eyes twinkled. “Heavens, no!” he scoffed. “Kaid is frustratingly lucky! However, there is one thing I would have done differently,” he began. Leaning closer, he admitted, “I would have been extremely mature as I skipped all the way to the blacksmith.” He moved his first two fingers in a skipping motion. “Then I would have instructed him to engrave that victory on my headstone when I die.” His hands went up in front of him as he visualized aloud, “PHILIP WON AGAINST KAID, written in bold letters for everybody to see!”

  Ariel suppressed a smile as she dead-panned, “What makes you think I didn’t?” He let out an unexpected snort of laughter and, trying not to scare the birds, they both muffled their amusement, thoroughly enjoying the rare, carefree fun of this beautiful day in the Highlands.

  The amused clansman fondly smiled at the witty pair.

  “Ariel, you know that Kaid will have to triumph over you at least a thousand more times to make up for your one victory against him.”

  “The bow incident occurred last year,” cut in a charming blond warrior from behind them. “I think that victory is a little worn and tattered from being overly flaunted.”

  Ariel flicked a look over her shoulder and softly smiled in acknowledgment of the warriors words. “Yes, and that’s why Kaid won’t let me win again,” Ariel chimed. “He knows I would enjoy it far too much.”

  Philip sighed long-sufferingly. “Then perhaps I will be generous and let you bring in the most birds today.”

  “She is fairing far better than any of the men in our group,” the blond warrior complimented.

  “Nay,” Ariel corrected with an amused glint in her violet eyes. “My dear brother, Philip, is letting me win. There’s a big difference, you know,” she teased, sending her brother a warm, sideways smile.

  “Perhaps I will let you win, as well,” the warrior proposed, gently nudging his horse up to stand next to hers, while smiling down at her appreciatively.

  A low, warning growl from right next to her, had the handsome, young man subtly pulling the reins to allow more space between he and Ariel. That unpleasant sound had come from Godwin, who was protectively placed near the chieftain’s daughter. Godwin was a giant, hardened warrior known for his silent ferocity and loyalty to Kaid.

  Philip chuckled. “I wonder how Bran and Kaid’s group are performing on their hunt. Surely we are beating them in this competition for the most birds.”

  One of the men spoke up. “Brandos and Kaid are two of the top archers in the clan. And Brandos really wanted to beat Ariel, so I’m sure their group is being very focused.”

  That caused a surge of knowing chuckles.

  “Aye, Brandos has been working for months on those arrows. His are some of the finest arrows I’ve ever seen. He tested out every one of them over and over again for accuracy.”

  There were murmurs of agreement from the men around them.

  Ariel smirked and slid the men a slightly mischievous smile. Admitting to a bit of foul play to amuse them, she began, “Well, this morning, when I was coming back from a short walk into the woods with Kaid, I noticed Bran’s young helper over by my supplies. He was taking the big mass of arrows that I had already laid out next to my bow and switching them out with different ones from Bran’s extra bag.”

  She heard outraged gasps and someone indignantly demanded, “Did you stop him?”

  With a delicate shrug, she announced, “Considering the fact that those were my collection of warped arrows, which he then walked over and emptied into Bran’s good arrow bag, I figured there was no harm in letting the boy proceed.”

  The men all gasped and gaped at Ariel as if she had just taken leave of her senses. If Brandos ever found out that she’d managed to trick him at his own game, she would immediately insight the fierce warrior’s wrath. Disbelieving chuckles and hoots of laughter filled the air, as all were visibly enjoying the anticipation of what would happen when the antagonistic warrior eventually found out the young chieftain’s daughter had duped him. br />
  “He will surely try to kill you for this, Lady Ariel,” drawled an amused warrior near her.

  “It was his fault for trying to take my good arrows!” Ariel charged, stating the obvious even though Bran wouldn’t care one whit whose fault it was. He would come after her in the aggressive manner in which he did almost everything. She couldn’t prevent the little shiver of excited anticipation that tingled up her spine at the thought.

  “I can imagine that there is steam coming out of his ears right now as he pilfers through all of those arrows, looking for ones that will actually shoot straight,” she giggled, not feeling sorry for Brandos in the least.

  “You had better hide well,” a gruff male voice called out, his tone full of amusement.

  Ariel tipped her head in a nod of agreement. “I already have my hiding spot picked out,” she boasted with a self-satisfied smile.

  “Are you going to hide behind Godwin, Bran’s dad, or your father?” someone inquired laughingly, knowing that those were basically the only truly safe spots. Ariel rarely looked to Kaid for protection from Bran, preferring not to pit the two best friends against each other.

  “Well, I have to save Godwin for…”Ariel’s voice suddenly faded away.

  After curiously tilting an ear up in the air, she suddenly went very still.

  Deathly still.

  With her enhanced senses, Ariel could hear the far-off sound of approaching horses. Considering her overwhelming worries for today, she did not wait a moment to appear more normal like she usually would have, but spoke up right then.

  Raising her hand in the air, and then fisting it in the sign their clan used in order to get everyone’s full attention, she quickly alerted, “We have visitors. They are coming in very fast on horseback.”

  There was a murmur of discussion before the men quieted down to listen.

  “Hundreds of horses…” she elaborated quietly, but with much feeling.

  “I can hear them,” one warrior said after a long moment. However, no one seemed to be too terribly worried about the situation as they waited to see who was approaching.

  Their own small group had split up to cover even more area and the other men were somewhere nearby.

  When Ariel heard the first yells and unmistakable sounds of clashing swords violently ring out in the distance, she gasped out in surprise, “They’re fighting with us!”

  “Well, they will soon regret picking a fight with our clansmen!” One aggressive warrior boasted confidently. At that the other men rallied, making loud noises of agreement as they began turning their horses around in order to help their battling clansmen.

  Even though Ariel had known that trouble was brewing, she felt as if a thunderbolt had struck her body when she heard a MacDonnel warrior in combat strangle out one lone word of warning. Ariel gasped in horror at what he’d said, completely thrown by this new turn of events. Casting an apprehensive glance over the gathering of warriors who were hastily preparing their battle weapons of choice, her voice was rough with emotion as she repeated the information, “Vampires…”

  The group of men all paused, several of them visibly swallowing as they lifted serious gazes to her, no doubt hoping they’d heard her incorrectly. Sounds of astonishment immediately went up from the group, followed by murmurs of disbelief.

  “Fraser’s…?” Phillip clarified incredulously, clearly shocked. “But we have no issues with their malicious clan. Why would they want to attack any of us?”

  “Lady Ariel, you must hide before they get any closer!” One of the elders of their clan ordered gruffly. Although his eyes gave away his worry, his tone was serious and focused as he boldly threatened, “And, if you even think about coming out early, I will ensure that your father gives you a fine beating!”

  Ariel shook her head a little frantically. “I cannot just hide and do nothing! Someone give me more arrows! I can shoot them from a perch in the trees!” she suggested with a note of desperation in her tone.

  “Ariel, get off your horse and hide in the bushes now!” Philip ordered fiercely. “Hurry! Women are not safe in the heat of battle. If they see you, you will be taken.”

  Distress creased her brow. “But I need arrows! Give me some of yours!” Two warriors willingly moved closer and handed her their bundles of arrows before heading away.

  Philip also handed his half-sister some of the ones he’d collected from the birds earlier. Then he added a dose of guilt to insure that she would stay hidden since he knew her stubborn streak could rival even Kaid’s. “Their stronghold is rumored to be impenetrable, Ariel. Many lives would be lost in a battle for your return because Kaid would never give up on rescuing you. And neither would the other warriors. Plus, we will need you afterwards to help with healing. Don’t come out for anything and don’t draw too much attention to your hiding spot with those arrows. Promise me?” he demanded with an impressive tone of authority.

  That threat had the desired effect. Ariel’s face paled, expression turning stricken. It was true. If she were captured, Kaid would stop at nothing, short of death, to bring her home. “I promise,” she swore solemnly, squelching down her inner rebellion. She should be helping them more but she knew better than to disobey her brother. He needed all his concentration focused on the battle ahead. She could feel her own heart pounding wildly as she quickly slid off of her white stallion. Branches tore at her tunic and boy pants, scratching at her arms and face as she crawled through an animal’s well-worn entrance into a broad, thick-leaved bush and fervently started to pray for her clansmen. Swarms of Fraser warriors almost immediately overtook the MacDonnel’s small number of men, outnumbering them by a gruesome number. Trembling, Ariel used up all of her arrows, firing them through the limbs when the enemy clan was farther off. Luckily she hit her target each time but there were so many of them and they just kept pouring into the clearing.

  Covering her ears, she then tried to block out the clamor and commotion of men in agony. Brave MacDonnel warriors, her friends, were being killed and her promise to stay hidden had rendered her unable to help. Their screams of pain were horrific. Unfortunately, she couldn’t bear to close her eyes and she continued to look through the thick clusters of leaves, her trembling increasing. She had never seen the ravages of war first hand. Through the concealing branches that speckled her fair hair with sunlight, she watched, covering her mouth with her hand to prevent a scream of frustration and terror from escaping. From one end of the forest to the other, the Fraser warriors devoured her clansmen with sword and fang.

  Shuddering, she watched, mesmerized, as her stout brother fought one Fraser warrior after another. When the last small part of their MacDonnel hunting party rode up to join the battle, Ariel sighed with relief, but soon realized that it wasn’t helping, either. The MacDonnel men were slain and trampled, falling quickly beneath the outnumbering onslaught of the vicious Fraser clan.

  Suddenly her thoughts turned even more chaotic, nauseating fear a pulsing fist in her throat. What if Brandos started to become uneasy and brought Kaid’s group back early? They would be slaughtered right along with the others. That thought brought about a sudden, paralyzing anxiety.

  No! She could not let that happen.

  Squeezing her eyes shut, Ariel focused on Bran, hoping to send him a message as she’d done several times when she was younger, when she’d just spoken in her head to him and he’d actually heard her. It didn’t seem to work every time but it was worth a try. Ariel knew his thoughts would probably be on her a lot today.

  [Ariel- Earlier that morning…]

  Ariel had seen the increasing unease in Bran’s expression this morning when their group had been preparing to depart. Then she’d seen a stubbornness set into his face and had known he was about to protest the fact that she was going in a separate group. Ariel had casually been sitting with Kaid on his horse, chatting with him before it was time to leave. She felt quite at ease in her boy pants with her knees pulled up in front of her, leaning back against Kaid
’s solid form in a familiar, relaxed way. Kaid’s chin had been gently resting on top of her head, his arm casually looped around her waist in protection. Kaid's mount had been slightly set apart from the other warriors when Bran rode up almost next to them, his mount facing Kaid’s.

  Knowing that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say, she smiled impishly and tilted her head back to ask Kaid, “Can I show you the new trick I learned?”

  Kaid smiled indulgently, affectionately kissing the top of her head. “Sure.”

  “It’s actually not very new. Watch the trees over there,” she told them quietly, negligently pointing to her right but not looking in that direction.

  Both men turned their heads, interest peaking as they waited for something to happen. The only movement they saw was a small bird that emerged from the trees and was now flying towards them. As it got closer, it seemed to be heading straight for Brandos. Suddenly, a small plopping sound was heard right before it passed over Bran’s head.

  “You missed,” Brandos said blandly, trying very hard not to look impressed as Kaid chuckled softly, obviously amused.

  Ariel tilted her head to look down. “It looks like he had berries today and since those tend to stain tunics I didn’t think you’d want me to actually hit you.” She lifted one eyebrow in challenge, a double meaning in her next words as she told him, “But if you want to…argue…about anything, I can show you the definition of the word accuracy,” she purred.

  Bran’s eyes narrowed and he growled really low under his breath. “I know how hard it is to get those berry stains out because birds have pooped on me several times in the last few months…so much, in fact, that the other warriors warn me when they see birds flying too close to me.”

  Kaid chuckled. “And sometimes they yell out a false warning just to see how fast he can duck down.”

  Bran’s expression indicated that he wasn’t finding this the least bit amusing.

  “But Ariel wasn’t anywhere near you during the other occurrences,” Kaid pointed out. “She was never even outside.”

  Ariel smiled smugly. “He’s right. I was never anywhere around you when those other birds decided that you looked worthy of their offerings.”

  “Kaid…” Bran murmured. His tone indicated that Kaid needed to do something about his sister before Bran strangled her.

  Ariel was still smiling, relieved that she’d managed to anger Bran to the point where he had forgotten about trying to switch around the groups.

  Kaid’s deep voice was filled with worry and regret as he told her, “Well, we’d better be on our way.”

  Ariel’s eyes filled with fear and she quickly snapped them closed before she gingerly turned in her spot and wrapped her arms around Kaid’s neck, squeezing extra hard with emotion before planting a dozen kisses on his cheek. This had him chuckling in approval, his hug for her, just as tight.

  After she climbed down off of Kaid’s horse, anger was no longer coming off of Bran in waves. He was smart. There was no doubt about that. He’d already realized that she had been trying to distract him.

  Surprising both men, she quickly walked the few steps to Brandos, went up on tip-toe, and clutched his waist in a very brief hug as he sat astride his horse. Without looking up, she murmured, “Goodbye, Bran. Don’t let anything happen to Kaid or I’ll put a target on your head that will bring forth every bird in the area to pay you a special visit.”

  Bran ignored her bird comment but grated in feigned annoyance, “We don’t say ‘goodbye’, Ariel. We say, ‘I’ll see you again soon.’”

  Feeling a bit livelier, Ariel commented, “Well, you won’t actually see me again soon.” She stretched her arms out in front of her as if she were carrying a load of firewood. “I’ll be carrying too many birds.”

  “More like you’ll be covered in feathers from having to help clean them!” Kaid taunted her because the team that brought in the least birds had the fun-filled duty of de-feathering and preparing the birds for the evening meal.

  Ariel snorted and gave them both withering looks before she turned towards her own horse.

  [Ariel-currently in bush.]

  Refocusing her attention on her current situation in the green, leafy surroundings, Ariel pictured Bran in her mind. He was likely deep in the heavily forested highlands, miles away… one warrior among a whole line of men in the quiet forest, carefully pulling their bow strings back with an arrow and aiming with precision…

  “Bran!” She slowly yelled aloud in her head. “Bran! Do not come back towards camp early! We are under attack by vampires! Save…your…group! There are vampires here! Stay away! I’m hiding. Philip made me promise to stay inside a bush. Do not come back early! It’s bad, Bran! I’m sending birds your way now as a distraction. Keep Kaid safe!”

  Ariel repeated the message to Bran one more time in her head and then shifted her focus to sending as much distraction towards Kaid’s hunting party as she could.

  Outside of her bushes, a growing sound suddenly met the ears of the fighting men…a muffled, roaring noise that started to build and crescendo as birds from the whole surrounding area left their tree perches in one giant simulated whoosh. The force of will that sent them was so great that even small, woodland animals felt compelled to leave their hidden homes, darting in a continuous stream of small, furry masses across the feet of the fighting soldiers.

  The oddly mystical sight gave both the Fraser and the MacDonnel men a start. A wave of paranoid wariness joined their other emotions, as they wondered what evil could be approaching that would scare off such a large number of animals.

  As Ariel opened her eyes, once more focusing on the inside of her shelter of green leaves, she noticed that the dark haired Fraser, whose lower face was bathed in blood, momentarily paused, looking around the area before he lifted his sword, resuming his seemingly tireless fight.

  Unfortunately, he was currently fighting her middle brother, Philip, and their sparing was moving ever closer to the large overgrowth of bushes where she was hiding.

  Muffling a cry of anguish, Ariel watched as the huge man ran a sword through Philip’s stomach, causing her brother’s wide shoulders to slump over and his tall, muscular body to collapse on the ground a few feet from her, his hand clutching the grievous wound to his gut.

  Her heart flooding with loathing, Ariel moved her head, desperate for a better look at the enemy warrior’s face before he walked away from the mortally wounded MacDonnel, but tight clusters of leaves were blocking her full view.

  Once the Fraser turned away, leaving Philip to die, Ariel reached out, grabbing her brother’s lower legs. Then, with a strength born of anger, terror and her own supernatural abilities, she easily pulled him all the way into the animal’s din, concealing his body in her hiding spot.

  “Please, God, no!” she whispered tremulously, leaning over the beloved warrior.

  “Ariel…” he whispered hoarsely, his blue eyes, so much like Kaid’s, gazing at her through a mist of pain.

  Her violet eyes, glassy with wetness, reflected that agony. This was a fatal injury, Ariel knew, blanching as she saw all the blood seeping from his stomach. “Oh, Philip, it’s...it’s not so bad,” she replied softly after a shocked silence.

  “Do not talk. They will hear you,” he ordered hoarsely, his voice pained.

  Inhaling a deep breath, a surge of determination and power filled her body, strengthening her. He was not going to die! Not if she could help it!

  “Close your eyes, Philip,” she ordered quickly, her vision blurred by tears of futile rage. She could not let him see what she was about to do. “I have some ointment with me,” she lied. “I will put it on your wound,” Ariel soothed in the same confident tone she used on all her patients in the castle. A known healer, bit by bit, Ariel’s secret “ointment” always healed the sick.

  His eyes remained open as he groaned, “I’m afraid it will take more than your ointment this time, Ari. You must keep yourself safe,” he insisted weakly. To he
r relief, he closed his eyes but continued speaking, easing a serious moment with jesting. “No doubt Kaid will bring me back to life and then kill me all over again for letting such danger come anywhere near you today. He made me promise him, over and over again, that I would keep you safe.”

  “You have kept me safe,” she stated with absolute conviction, wanting to give him peace of mind. “You forced me to hide in this bush and that kept me from danger.”

  Forcing herself to block out his next words, Ariel gently placed her hands right below his rib cage. They immediately became covered with his blood. Letting her own lashes fall shut, she began to focus with chilling intensity, on the warmth moving through her body and into her hands.

  Her brother’s sudden intake of breath had her eyes snapping open to look at his handsome face. His blue eyes were wide open, his voice filled with wonder and awe. “Something is glowing!” Then almost to himself, he whispered, “Is my vision already filling with the Glory of Heaven?”

  “Please, Philip, shut your eyes for a bit longer this time and concentrate on taking deep breathes,” she insisted firmly, not wanting him to know how different she was from him.

  As if he had just become aware of the fact that his time on Earth was short, he ignored her request and quickly murmured, “You know I love you, Ariel, don’t you? I still remember the day Father brought you home. You were such a wee little thing, waddling around, smiling and laughing at everything. You were a blessing to our castle and everybody adored you. Well, except our new step-mother, of course,” he groaned with a laugh and then tried to smile at her but it looked more like a grimace. His voice was diminishing and behind his blue gaze, normally so filled with life and laughter, the emotions were becoming indiscernible.

  “I love you, too, Philip,” she whispered achingly, her violet eyes were both furious and sad at the same time. As her own lashes quickly fell shut again, Ariel returned her focus to her hands, which were still over his wound. She was unable to hold back any longer and all of the power and emotion poured out of her palms in a soft, healing light, almost jolting his body with its force. In the past, she had normally utilized her power in small increments at a time, to make it appear as if a wound was healing gradually. She had rarely let it surge out of her in such volume because it made her sleep for days.

  When Ariel tentatively opened her eyes and looked down, she gasped at Philip’s appearance. Her heightened emotions had clearly added more power to her healing because Philip’s skin was now softly glowing, making him appear almost ethereal in his sleeping state.

  “Philip?” she whispered, gently shaking his arm. “Philip?” she tried again, her tone indicating her rising sense of despair at his lack of response. Why was he not moving? Fatigue was almost overwhelming her from the amount of healing energy she’d released.

  Managing to rip a much larger opening in his tunic where the sword had first gone thru, she saw that his wound was cleanly healed without even a scar. Ariel’s eyes widened. In fact, two more large scars from previous scuffles he’d had as a boy were no longer visible on his upper chest, either.

  How odd.

  Ariel lifted her worried violet gaze to his face. He was so still and his radiance was already fading away. Oh, dear God, had she been too late?

  “Brother!” she appealed in a hoarse whisper, shaking his arm in an attempt to awaken him. Ariel’s efforts to rouse Philip appeared to be futile and her body suddenly felt so heavy, as if she’d been awake for a week and someone had just placed a heavy sack of flour on top of her back. There continued to be no response or movement. Terror raced through her.

  “No!” she whispered brokenly, leaning over him. “No! No! No! I cannot bear it!”

  Ariel felt so powerless, unable to believe that he could really be dead. So many of her clansmen were now gone, the enormity of her family’s loss was devastating.

  Pressing her cheek to Philips, she held him close, as deep despair and swamping fatigue finally overwhelmed her own body. Slowly going limp above him, Ariel allowed the darkness to pull her under into its comforting depths, her body protectively shielding her beloved middle brother, even in rest.

  A moment later the top of the large bush silently parted and piercing golden eyes curiously glanced down into the bushes interior. The fiery gaze blinked in surprise at the sight of such a delicate looking young female. Unfortunately, a great deal of blood covered the two pale figures who both rested as still as death.

  [Ariel…one year later.]

  “No!” came Ariel’s choked whimper, as she thrashed about in bed.

  Strong hands suddenly grasped her shoulders, firmly shaking her.

  But, as if she were still in her forest bush, and the surrounding woods were littered with her dead and dying clansmen while hundreds and hundreds of enemy warriors swarmed around the area like bees, searching for more MacDonnel’s to torture and kill, her voice was an eerily quiet whisper as she pleaded, “Philip…please don’t leave me! Please don’t die, too!”

  Her trembling body was suddenly clutched against a solid wall of muscle, covered in a thin, soft tunic. “Shh…it’s alright. You’re safe, now,” Kaid’s deep voice soothed, his tone rich with concern as his large hands splayed against her spine, rubbing up and down in a comforting motion. “It’s only a nightmare, little one. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Ariel. Shh…”

  Ariel felt Kaid’s muscles flexing beneath her as she suddenly moved, desperately clinging to his strength as she tried to suppress the sobs that racked through her, their intensity almost tearing her in two.

  Since that gruesome day, almost a year ago, when the Fraser’s had made their first unprovoked attack, Ariel’s sleep had become constantly plagued with nightmares. The parts that she hated re-living the most were the truly terrified screams of her brave clansmen. The high-pitched ‘final’ scream was horrifying…because it would turn to wet gurgles when the warrior’s throat was abruptly ripped out.

  All of her dreams were filled with the horrible echoes of men dying, as the demonic, dark-haired vampire seemed to take an enormous amount of angry satisfaction in bathing himself in MacDonnel blood.

  Finally, after several deep, calming breathes, Ariel sighed and laid her cheek against Kaid’s chest, the violent tremors coursing through her body starting to ease. The memories that had seemed so real only a moment ago, slowly faded back into the recesses of her mind.

  Seeing that she had sufficiently calmed down, Kaid smoothly swept Ariel up into his arms and carried her across the room to the window. Pulling the tapestry back to let in a startlingly cool blast of fresh air, he gently set his beloved friend on her feet, then took the pitcher and poured her a drink.

  With trembling hands, Ariel took the water from him and tilted the tankard back, obediently drinking every drop. As she let out a soft, little sigh of relief, Ariel felt Kaid’s appraising eye on her. Setting the cup down, she sheepishly smiled up at him, ignoring the worry in his gaze as he soothingly praised, “Good girl.”

  Knowing the routine, Ariel automatically lifted up on tip-toes, loosely wrapping her arms around Kaid’s neck in readiness for him to slide one burly arm under her knees. It was silly, and she could just as easily have walked, of course, but this was how he’d always coddled her when she was upset after waking up from a night terror.

  Effortlessly lifting her into his arms, Kaid moved back across the room. Trying to lighten her mood, he paused on the smooth stone floor next to the huge canopied bed that he’d shared with her since he was six years old. With very little effort, he tossed her up into the air like a sack of potatoes, adding a slight twisting motion. Her squeak of surprise was cut short when she landed face down on the big bed with a soft grunt, followed by a cascade of giggles.

  Ariel felt Kaid’s heavy sense of worry steadily being replaced with the soothing coolness of relief. With a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, he pivoted, crossing the room to add more logs to the fireplace.

  “Such a demanding piece of
baggage you are!” he muttered a moment later, climbing into bed next to her and pulling the warm blankets over both of them. “Will I ever get a full night’s sleep again?” he continued gruffly, contradicting his grumblings by firmly tucking her against his side and affectionately brushing a hand over her pale locks as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  “I’m sorry for being such a burden.” She gazed at him guiltily, but his blue eyes merely twinkled back at her in a conspiratorial fashion “Thank you for putting up with me, Kaid.”

  “Your nightmares seem to be getting better. Less frequent. You must keep reminding yourself that you’re safe now, Ariel,” he whispered reassuringly, wanting to put her tormented mind and heart at ease.

  Ariel inwardly sighed, fearing that her best friend was woefully misguided. No one was safe from the Frasers.

  As always, Ariel felt a wave of guilt coming from Kaid because he hadn’t been there during the attacks to protect her or his fellow clansmen. No matter what she said to try and relieve him of that guilt, it never seemed to help.

  [Ariel~past]

  From what Bran had told her, hours after the attack, he and Kaid’s hunting party--who had been far to the north of theirs--had received a message from one of the other groups, reporting what had happened to Ariel’s group. The anxious messenger had not been able to tell Kaid that Ariel was safe or that he’d even seen her.

  Kaid’s group had thundered back across the wild, rough terrain to help aide them. And while the well-trained warriors had quickly started to help tend to the slain and injured MacDonnel clan members, Kaid and Brandos’ desperate search of the area had produced no Ariel or Philip.

  The surviving clansmen had sworn that she and Philip hadn’t been taken. Kaid, Bran, and any other warriors who were not busy helping the wounded, had anxiously combed the thick woods, calling out their names.

  Despite Laird MacDonnel’s lifelong rule that none of his people were to ever set foot on Fraser land, when their search for Ariel proved unsuccessful, Kaid had stubbornly gone against his father’s restrictions. Riding as if the Devil himself were nipping at his heels, Kaid had traveled alone to the vampire stronghold to demand her return. By the time he’d almost reached the gate, he’d accrued a small horde of solemn Fraser warriors as his escort. Although the guards had not been friendly in the least, they had been wary of Kaid’s massive build and that crazy, determined look in his eyes when he declared he had to speak to their leader. Plus, he’d quickly made an example of any warriors along the way who had wanted to challenge him in front of their friends. He hadn’t killed the foolish few, but he’d dispatched even the strongest looking ones to the ground with humiliating quickness before remounting his horse and continuing on his path to the gate without so much as look back. Few words had been spoken between he and his collection of followers after each one had denied seeing any prisoners brought into the compound.

  To his surprise, right when the gate came into view, a large, eerily-still vampire had appeared on top of the tall perimeter wall. The creature’s nose had been lifted, as if scenting the air. Then the intimidating male had immediately leaped down and landed right in front of Kaid’s horse, as graceful as you please. His signal for the other men to give them privacy had been obeyed with such an impressive swiftness by the Fraser warriors that it had left no doubt in Kaid’s mind of the vampire’s cruel and powerful influence.

  Although Kaid had refused to tell Ariel anything more, she had overheard bits and pieces. Like when he later told Brandos that the vampire’s fiery eyes had actually seemed to flame brighter with intensity when Kaid had climbed down off his horse and told him the situation and that his sister was missing. Kaid had claimed that, if he hadn’t been so worked up himself, he would have been unnerved by the vampire and all the demanding questions that had followed.

  [Ariel~present]

  Inhaling a deep breath, Ariel slowly let it out, her mind veering to her own plans. Soon this horrible reoccurring nightmare would end. She had sworn an oath to herself when so many of her beloved clansmen had been murdered, vowing that she would avenge their unjustified death someday.

  In two days, Kaid and half their clansmen would ride out on their annual end-of-the-summer hunting trip, a trip she’d always lived for. But this year, she would unexpectedly be too sick to go. In three days, she would be living with the Frasers under false identity. But in this encounter with the brutal clan, she intended to be the victor.

  Ariel shivered. Just the thought of what Kaid would do to her if he ever found out that she’d gone to the Fraser stronghold made her chest tighten with unease, and her hands grow clammy. She knew her loyal maidservant, Mary, would cover for her while she was gone, but other than Mary, Ariel would never dare tell another soul about her secret trip. Never.