Dare, Lydia - Tall, Dark and Wolfish

The major picked at a string on the leg of his trousers. "Did Elspeth tell you that?"

The ax struck wood. "No."

"But that's what you believe?"

"It's what I know." He slung the ax again.

"I'm not going to talk to you about my daughter."

Ben moved to interrupt. He really didn't want to

discuss Elspeth at that moment anyway. But the major held up two hands to stop him. "So I want to tell you about the love of my life. If you're of a mind to listen, that is."

Ben sighed and tried not to grumble as he laid the ax on the ground.

"Thank you."

"It's getting dark." Maybe he'd leave if he realized night was approaching.

The major just smiled. "I can run into the forest as quickly as you can."

"At your age?"

The major chuckled. "At least you still have your sense of humor."

"I have a lot of things. Just not my wife. You said you had a story?"

"Aye. You know I've only had one love in my life. Rosewyth. Elspeth's mother. She was my one and only."

"And why does this involve me?"

The major frowned at him. And Ben felt as though he'd been picked up by the scruff of his neck and shaken, like any bad dog should.

"I'm sorry. Continue. Please." Ben took a seat across from him.

"I just need to tell you that when it's right, it's really right."

Ben just stared at him. That was his story? Forster could use a little practice in telling a decent tale.

"A Lycan has one true mate. If you're with that person, even under the light of a full moon, it can be beautiful."

"But not safe."

"Do you doubt Elspeth is the other half that can make you whole?"

"It's not that," Ben started.

But the major raised a hand and stopped him again.

"It

is

that."

Ben nearly hung his head in defeat.

"I have regrets, Ben. And I don't want you, when you're old and grey, to

wish

you had done things differently."

Forty-nine

Elspeth walked slowly through the woods on the well-worn trail away from Caitrin's house. She had never been as lonesome as she'd been the last few days without Ben. She'd spent plenty of time alone before, but never had she

ached

for someone. Not just someone—

her

someone.

Caitrin had been quiet the whole day. She had avoided having any conversation at all. She usually avoided talking with people if she'd had visions about them. She preferred to let people live their own lives and have their own surprises. The things she did reveal were for fun. Or to help someone through a bad time.

Blaire had offered to enchant Ben with a potion so that he wouldn't be able to resist the love Elspeth had for him. But Elspeth preferred Ben coming to her on his own.

Rhiannon and Sorcha wanted to tie him up with vines again and make him listen to reason. She smiled at the thought.

As Elspeth topped the hill, she heard a low growl from within the bushes. She stilled completely. That wasn't Ben. It was too menacing and too scary. She froze. After a few minutes, the bushes rustled and a dark animal skittered from them and down the hill. Elspeth took two tentative steps forward.

From her vantage point she could see her way to the bottom of the hill. A solitary wolf stood there, as though standing sentinel over its pups. The growl sounded again from close by. This wolf was slightly larger than the one at the bottom of the hill. The smaller was probably the female, and Elspeth imagined that she was guarding her den. And the male kept a watchful eye on Elspeth.

A cloud moved across the sky and finally uncovered the full moon. The male wolf looked up at it in a pose very similar to the one on her combs. He raised his snout to the air and howled.

"I'll no' hurt yer pups," she whispered.

The male wolf still stood, his body rigid and ready to move if Elspeth took even one hesitant step toward his family. But then the mother wolf ran to him, licked his face, and nipped his ear. The male turned to her. She licked the ear she'd just nipped, as though to soothe him. He growled and playfully nipped her back.

That was when Elspeth knew what she had to do. If Ben wouldn't come to her, she'd have to go to him. The female wolf in a pair held a noticeable place of power. Now it was time for Elspeth to display some of that power herself.

She smiled the whole way back to her cottage.

Ben ran through the forest in his Lycan form, feeling the freedom that came with the change, but this time there was a sadness with it as well. It was a gnawing feeling that chewed at his very soul. He wanted Elspeth. He wanted her more with every step he took.

Ben's ears perked up as he heard the cry of a wolf. It wasn't Will—he'd heard that howl since adolescence. And he doubted it was the major—it seemed a bit more feral than what he'd expect from the softened old soldier. Then he remembered the wolf with pups that he'd seen. Of course, both those wolves would be out, basking in the rays of the moon as well.

Ben clenched his eyes shut tightly. It was almost painful to think of the pair of wolves. He would never be part of a pair.

He walked a bit farther and stopped. Then he felt it. It hit him harder than the carriage that had broken his arm. It hit him harder than an anvil thrown from a great height.

Elspeth had stroked her mark.

Ben gritted his teeth as lust swamped him. He fought the urge to run to her. Perhaps she'd simply grazed it when she was bathing. But that brought him to thoughts of her naked in the tub, and he ground his teeth together again.

His front legs shook with a desire to run. His whole body quivered. Then two minutes later, she stroked her mark again. He lifted his snout and cried out. It was the longest and darkest howl of his life. If any of his kind heard it, they would surely think he was dying from pain.

Stop, Elspeth!

She touched him again. He could no longer fight it. He tore through the forest as fast as he could to her cottage. He brushed through brambles and briers, thanking his heavy coat for keeping him safe from them or he would be a bloody mess by the time he reached her.

He ran toward the cottage, but the windows were dark. He stood up on his hind legs and looked through the bedroom window. Thankfully, he had never installed those shutters. She wasn't home? Where would she be in the middle of the night?

Then she stroked him again. His flesh quivered. It felt as though her hands dug deeply through his fur to reach his skin, where she scratched her fingernails against him. He stood still and tried to absorb it. He wasn't able to fight it. Not anymore.

Where are you, Elspeth?

Then the wind shifted and he picked up her scent. The beautiful scent of magnolia met him, and he ran in her direction. He finally saw her, in the clearing where they'd made love for the first time. She lay in the middle of the area, on her plaid, completely and totally naked.

The moonlight glinted off her alabaster skin, making her shine. Her breasts were full and crowned with rose-colored nipples. Even from where he stood, he could see that they were erect. He wanted to cup them in his hands and bring his mouth down to taste her. But he couldn't. Not in this form. He stood and watched her.

"I ken ye're there," she called. "Come out and let me see ye."

Elspeth knew she was taking a chance. It could be disastrous for them both. If he hurt her, he'd never forgive himself. But she had faith in his love for her.

He stepped into the clearing. Her breath caught as she sat up to look at him. He was beautiful. There were no more adequate words to say. The moonlight glinted off his shiny brown fur. She nearly ached to touch it.