faster than my ears work. Are you saying you no longer wish to return
to your own plane?”
Meg nodded. “Yes. I am going to give this marriage thing another
shot. Apparently, if it doesn’t work out, murder is always an option.
Beck promised me.”
“Well, that throws a different light on the thing, then,” the red
man muttered.
“What?” Meg asked, not sure she had caught that last part.
His face was jovial as he looked up, as though all the
consternation had just floated away. “Nothing, dear, nothing at all. I
think it’s marvelous that you’ve decided to give the king another
chance. Love is more important than any other consideration. I know
just how to get you back to your husband, dearie.”
He started down the path again. Meg followed eagerly. She hoped
she could get back before Beck realized she was gone. She would get
back to camp and throw off her clothes. When Beck showed up, she
would tempt him back into bed where she intended to prove to him
they were perfect together.
“How do you know all this stuff?” She hadn’t mentioned that her
husband was the King. Meg followed the red man off the path. She
could hear water flowing. It made her feel good. They had followed a
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river last night to get to their campsite by the lake. She must be
getting close.
“I know everything, dearie,” the man stated plainly. “It’s all a part
of who I am.”
Before Meg could continue the line of questioning, she was halted
by a sight so beautiful it took her breath away.
They had crested a small hill and the river came into view. There
was an early morning mist floating off the river giving everything a
hazy, soft feel. Standing gracefully in the shallow water was the most
elegant horse Meg had ever seen. It was pure white and gave off a
sheen of sweetness and innocence as it leaned down and drank.
“It’s so beautiful.” Meg spoke in hushed tones, not wanting to
scare it off.
“She’s magic, dear,” the red man explained. “She roams the forest
and aids travelers in getting to their destination.”
Meg searched her brain, trying to remember the one class she had
taken in lore. It had mostly been about the Greek and Roman gods,
but there had been a small section on Irish folklore. She might have
skipped that day. Her penchant for urban fantasy and romance novels
were the only reason she knew what a sidhe was. Now she wished
Laurell K. Hamilton had covered faery horses in her books.
“She’ll take me to Beck?”
There was an odd light in the red man’s eyes. “Yes, dearie. She’ll
take you to your husband.” He noted her hesitation and shrugged. “Or
you can walk aimlessly through the woods and never find him. These
woods are enchanted. If you don’t know your way around them, you
could be lost forever. Your husband will wander the woods, seeking
you. It happens all the time.”
The red man looked like he couldn’t care less what she did. Meg
frowned. Time was running out. She had decided to take a chance on
Beck, so it only followed she could take another. “All right. How do I
get back to him?”
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The red man was already retreating. “She will tell you.” Meg
turned, and the red man was completely gone. His voice still echoed
through the trees. “Just let her lead you home.”
A shiver passed through Meg. She started toward the river
anyway. The horse turned her head toward the interloper, and for a
moment Meg worried that she would startle it away. Then the gentle
eyes looked right through her, and Meg felt as if the horse could see
to her soul. Now that she was close, Meg could see that there were
flowers woven into the mare’s mane. She had obviously been
swimming in the river because the mane was dripping with pure river
water.
Feeling more comfortable, Meg stepped closer. The horse’s eyes
seemed luminous in the early morning light. It felt like a magical
moment when she held her hand out and gently brushed the horse.
She was surprised to find the skin cold. There was no warmth in the
flesh, but perhaps she was being fanciful. Of course, if the horse had
been wading through the river, it followed that her skin would be
cold.
The horse snickered. It was a sweet sound. She shook her head
and gracefully leaned down, as though inviting Meg to mount her.
“Okay, but I gotta warn you, I’m not very good at this.” The horse
shook her mane. Suddenly, Meg knew the horse wanted her to haul
herself up this way. “I hope this doesn’t hurt.”
Meg wrapped her fingers in the mane, noting the flowers seemed
to be attached to weeds in some places. She managed to get her leg
over the horse’s back and was pleased when she got into an upright
position.
“Piece of cake,” she muttered to herself. Her hands were shaking
as she tried to pull them out of the mane to get a better hold. “Take
me back to my husband.”
Her hands seemed stuck in the coarse hairs. Meg pulled, but they
didn’t budge. She tried to shift her legs. They held fast to the horse’s
flesh.
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The horse snickered. This time it sounded less gentle, more
triumphant, and not in a good way. The horse’s eyes narrowed and
became somewhat cruel.
“Oh, shit,” Meg cursed, knowing something had gone very wrong.
The horse reared up and took off at a gallop. Meg flew with her
and then screamed as the horse plunged them both into the deepest
part of the river. She felt the horse stiffen as something hit it, but it didn’t matter.
Meg’s scream was cut off as water began to fill her lungs.
* * * *
Beck panicked when he realized she had run. She had done it. She
had left him. His heart started to pound. The anger would come later.
Now he was overcome with fear. These woods were dangerous. What
had he been thinking, bringing her through here without a proper
escort? But then, he couldn’t afford a proper escort. Damn him, he
shouldn’t have purchased a wife he couldn’t properly take care of.
She was going to die here, and then he would lie down beside his
brother and allow himself to fade. Maybe that was what he should
have done in the first place.
Stop it. This was no time for doubt or pity. If he was going to save his wayward wife, he needed to think clearly. Find her trail.
It wasn’t hard. His woman didn’t have any idea how to hide it.
Her boot prints were plain in the dirt path. Beck tossed his bow and
quiver over his shoulder. He was fully armed. He had the sword on
his back and some knives placed in various sheaths across his body.
He tossed aside the two rabbits he’d killed for breakfast. His appetite
was completely gone. All that mattered was finding Meg before
something else found her.
As Beck began to jog down the trail, his eyes watched for signs of
he
r, but his mind was caught in a punishing trap.
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She had run because he had been too rough with her. She had
given him a second chance after he’d treated her horribly in the arena,
and what had he done? He’d spread her legs painfully wide and
shoved into her as hard and long as he could. He’d covered her with
his heavy body and forced her to take all of him. She was so small,
yet he’d pushed himself in, all the way to his balls. It had probably
hurt. She’d said she liked it, but he knew the truth.
He’d known that his compulsions were perverse since he was
sixteen years old. He’d had a strong, overwhelming sex drive from the
moment he hit manhood. He had tried to hide it from everyone except
his brother, who matched him. Cian didn’t seem to need the same
things he did, though. Cian could be gentle and sweet with a woman.
Beck needed to bend her to his will. It was his obsession. He thought
he had found a good match in one of his mother’s handmaids. She
was a woman in her early twenties. She didn’t seem to mind when he
ordered her to take his cock in her mouth or spread her legs so he
could look at her pussy. She seemed to like it. His father had found
them just as Beck was discovering the joys of shoving his cock up her
tight little ass. His father had beaten the crap out of him. Then he sat
Beck down to explain a few things to him.
The maid had gone along with him because he was a prince. He
had power over her, and she feared him. Women were fragile
creatures. They required gentleness. Anything else was monstrous. If
they said they liked his rough ways, they were lying to gain his favor.
His father had explained that if he treated his bondmate this way, she
would leave both him and Cian, and he would bring great shame to
his family.
Beck had been very solemn and careful around Maris. There had
been no sex at all with her, and sexual contact wouldn’t be allowed
until they had bonded. He vowed to treat her with honor, and to never
let her know about the beast inside him.
Why couldn’t he do the same with Meggie? His heart was sick.
He loved her. He’d seen deep to her soul. He knew that he could
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never have cared for Maris the way he did Meg. No matter what
anyone said, bondmates weren’t interchangeable.
Meggie was soft and vulnerable, despite that tart tongue of hers.
She wanted to please him. He had to be a man and show her that she
didn’t need to. She hadn’t been born into Fae society. She didn’t
know about the sacred contract between a bondmate and her husband.
It would be easy to take what she was offering. She would never
know the difference, but it wouldn’t be honorable.
She’d left the trail here. He could easily see that she had almost
walked a complete circle. Maybe she was back at camp, having
learned that the woods were tricky. Maybe she was waiting for him.
He would be gentle with her. He wouldn’t let his rage at her
defiance show. He damn sure wouldn’t do what he wanted to. He
wanted to pull those pants down, spank her bare ass red, and then fuck
her until she begged him to stop. He wanted to imprint himself on her
so strongly she would never run from him again.
He had almost made it to the hill above the river when he felt her.
He felt her terror before he heard the scream. It flooded his body,
causing his heart to pound and his soul to ache. She was so scared,
and she instinctively reached across the distance to find him. The bow
was in his hand as he crested the hill. In one smooth move, he pulled
and notched an arrow. He was aiming before he even knew what
threatened her.
A kelpie, he realized, horrified at the sight. She was on the
kelpie’s back, and it was already taking off. Her scream echoed
through the forest. Beck knew it would haunt him. He let the arrow
fly, hoping to hit the heart before the horse got away with his wife.
Beck heard the thud of the arrow striking flesh, but it didn’t slow the
damn thing down. The horse plunged into the icy river and his wife
disappeared.
Beck felt her panic. He did the only thing he could do. He
forcefully cut the connection between them. He couldn’t do what he
needed to do if he was overwhelmed with her fear. Beck rushed out
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into the river, cursing the cold. He took three deep, long breaths to fill his lungs, pulled out a cold iron knife and dove after them.
The river was clear, and the early morning light illuminated the
scene. The kelpie had gone deep. She was sitting patiently at the
bottom of the river among the thick reeds that swayed with the
current. It would be a peaceful scene except for the woman struggling
to survive. She couldn’t. The horse would hold her in place until the
river took her life. When she was dead, the kelpie would release her
and devour her. If Beck hadn’t found her, all he would have been left
with was her heart. The kelpies never ate the hearts.
Meg was still struggling, but he could tell she was losing. Her
eyes flared as she saw him swimming toward her. She tried so hard to
push her body towards his, as though in her last moments, she needed
to get as close to him as possible. He swam straight to her and took
her head in his hands. He kissed her, forcing the air he’d held in his
mouth down to her lungs. It wasn’t much, but he needed every minute
if he was going to save her.
Why the hell had she climbed on a kelpie’s back, he wondered as
he tried to saw through the thick hairs holding her down. The horse
was having none of that. She kicked out, trying to catch him with her
powerful legs. He didn’t dare touch the mane with his own hands, lest
he get as trapped as his wife.
The horse caught him in the chest. He flew back in the water, all
the air blowing from his lungs. He floated helplessly back up to the
surface. His mouth opened instinctively. He dragged air into his chest.
The knife was still in his hands. He’d managed to hold onto it.
How long had she been under? How long could a human go
without breath in her body?
She wasn’t Fae. Her small body was more fragile. Goddess, he
was going to lose her. Beck breathed in one last time and dove again.
This time Meg was slumped over. She moved as the current
moved, and her beautiful hair swayed with the reeds. Beck refused to
give up. He went straight for the monster who was trying to take his
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woman. Beck avoided the strong, kicking legs of the kelpie and
savagely went straight for its throat. He didn’t even try to keep his
hands clear. He forcefully planted his left hand in the horse’s mane. It
stuck immediately. He couldn’t move it, but it served as an anchor. If
he couldn’t kill the fucker, he would go down with her. He would die
as close to his mate as possible.
With a sort of savage glee, Beck shoved the blade he held in his
right hand deeply into the hors
e’s throat. The kelpie, unable to kick
him at this angle, tried to use her teeth to bite him. Beck dodged her
mouth. He used every bit of strength he had left to drag the blade
through the kelpie’s thick flesh. As the water around him clouded
with blood, Beck knew he would kill the monster, but realized it was
too late. He felt his consciousness begin to fade. They would die
down here. Cian would never know what happened. They were too far
from each other. Cian would fade, never knowing why his brother
hadn’t returned.
Then his hand was free, and he felt himself beginning to float.
He shook his head as his lungs started to burn. He forced himself
to move. He had to get a hand on Meg. He pulled at her shirt and
started to swim for the surface. He kicked his legs, even though he felt
so weary. He used every bit of his will to propel himself and Meg to
the air above.
The sun was warm on his skin when he reached the surface and
was finally able to breathe in sweet, clean air. Meg was a dead weight
in his arms. He knew he had to get her to land before he could try
anything. He swam as fast as his legs would take him. Seeing her skin
so blue sparked an adrenaline rush that powered him through the
water. When he could touch the bottom, he pulled her small frame
into his arms and raced to the shore.
“Please come back,” he muttered as he laid her down. He filled
his lungs and then opened her mouth. He covered her lips with his,
sealing them together and then pushed the air into her lungs.
Nothing.
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He tried again, his heart racing. She couldn’t be dead. He would
have felt it. He was sure he would have known. But then he’d thrown
up barriers. He’d felt like he had to. But if she died alone, he would
never forgive himself. She would have died reaching out to him, and
he’d coldly closed their bond.
He tried a third time. Suddenly her eyes fluttered, and her whole
body convulsed. He quickly turned her over as she threw up the water
in her lungs. Her body shook as he pulled her close. He freely opened
the connection, letting her feel the relief flooding his body. She
started to cry and turned over to clutch at him. Her arms wound