Donna Grant: Forbidden Highlander

Hayden swore beneath his breath, and Larena felt the tears threaten again.

“I’m sorry. I should have told everyone, but I had taken an oath that I would never speak of it.”

Ramsey reached for the Scroll and held it reverently between his hands. “There’s no need for you to apologize, Larena. You can trust us.”

“Just make sure our scroll is authentic enough to fool Deirdre. We need to get Quinn back. Fallon needs him.”

“We won’t let it out of our sight,” Hayden promised. “You have our word.”

She blinked her eyes to stop the seemingly constant tears and hurried from the castle. Every instinct within her told her not to trust Ramsey and Hayden, but she had to learn to do just that.

By the time she reached the cottage where Malcolm was, she had dried her tears and gotten her emotions under control.

Larena opened the door to find Cara sitting next to Malcolm’s bed with her sewing in her lap. The Druid looked up and beamed. The smile faded as she looked into Larena’s face.

“Is everything all right?” Cara asked as she rose to her feet.

Larena forced a grin she didn’t feel. Cara had always been so kind. Larena didn’t wish to burden her with problems that weren’t hers. “Everything is as it should be. I will sit with my cousin now.”

Cara watched her for a few tense moments before she gathered her sewing. She paused as she opened the door. “If you ever need to talk to someone, Larena, I’m here for you.”

The hated tears pricked her eyes. Larena hadn’t intended to speak, but suddenly words poured out of her mouth. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a friend. Thank you, Cara.”

“It is I who should thank you. You’ve helped Fallon in ways Lucan and I could never dream. I don’t know what happened between you and Fallon while in Edinburgh, but he came back a changed man. Lucan says he’s the man he was before their god was unbound.”

Larena sank into the chair, her breath lodged in her throat. Had she helped Fallon? She didn’t think so. Fallon would have become that man again without her. “I wish I could take credit, but Fallon has always been that man. He just needed to see that he could do it. He’s a natural leader.”

“You care for him a great deal, don’t you?”

“I’m afraid it’s much more than that.”

Cara closed the door and hurried to her. She dropped down on her knees and took Larena’s hands in her own. “You love him?”

“Aye, and I fear I’ve lost him.”

Cara smiled gently, her dark brown eyes full of genuine warmth. “The MacLeod brothers are unusual, I’ll give you that, but they are good men. Fallon cares for you, that much is obvious. You didn’t see the look on his face when he arrived here with you in his arms. He had thought you were gone. He was like a madman, Larena. I’ve never seen such desolation before.”

“Really?”

“He stayed with you the entire time Sonya healed you. His hand never left yours.”

Larena glanced at the ceiling, praying Cara was telling her the truth. “He wasn’t there when I woke. I thought…”

“There is something I’m going to tell you, something that Fallon doesn’t want you to know. If Lucan knows I told you, he’ll be very angry with me.”

“What is it?” Larena had to know now. “I won’t tell them.”

Cara stood and blew out a breath. “Do you remember us telling you that you needed blood?”

“Aye.”

“Fallon is the one that gave it to you. He wouldn’t allow Lucan or any of the other Warriors to give you their blood. He wanted only his in your veins.”

Larena’s composure crumbled. Cara’s image swam with the tears that filled Larena’s eyes, and the agony of exactly what she had lost. “I’ve been such a fool. Why didn’t he tell me?”

Cara reached down and ran a finger over the milky-white stone on Larena’s hand. “Because of this. He was hurt deeply that you hadn’t told him.”

“I told him today. I had no idea he already knew, but I had made a vow, Cara.”

“He understood that.”

Larena blew out a breath. “I cannot lose him now that I’ve just found him.”

“If I know anything about the MacLeod brothers it’s that they will come around. Give Fallon a little time.”

Larena rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around Cara. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I didn’t know just how lonely I was until Fallon brought me to his castle and gave me a family.”

“You won’t ever be alone here, Larena.” Cara stepped back and wiped away the tears from Larena’s cheeks. “Regardless of what happens, I will always be your friend and sister.”

Larena smiled as Cara left, but her chest still felt as if her heart had been ripped from her. She reached over and took Malcolm’s hand, needing his strength. She wished she could heal him as Sonya had done, but all she could do was sit and pray.

She studied the arm that had been broken so severely and ripped from the socket. Malcolm had made her think he was as strong as she was, but she should have known better. Leaving him hadn’t been the answer. She should never have allowed him to associate with her in the first place.

“Don’t.”

Her gaze jerked to his face to find his blue eyes staring at her. “You can open both eyes now,” she said with a smile.

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t think it was your fault this happened to me.”

She sighed and dropped all pretenses. Malcolm had always gotten to the heart of any matter. It was what made him the man he was. “You nearly died because you’ve been seen helping me.”

“Because I wanted to.”

She smoothed away the hair from his forehead, thankful there was no fever. “I cannot wait to tell you everything. There are Druids here, Malcolm. One of them healed you. She’s wonderful and amazing.”

A shadow of a grin lifted the corner of his lips. “Indeed.”

“And Warriors. Besides Fallon and his brother Lucan, there are five other Warriors here, including Camdyn.”

“So he made it.”

She nodded. “He did. Everyone has been here to see you. Are you still in pain?”

“A little. It’s manageable. Tell me. Are you really in love with Fallon?”

“You were awake, I take it?”

“I was.”

She sat back in the chair and clasped her hands in her lap. “I don’t want to be, but it appears that Fallon has captured my heart. And the trust I never thought I would be able to give again.”

“He’s a good match for you, Larena.”

She smiled despite the pain still in her chest. “Is he?”

“You couldn’t have a better man at your side.”

Larena wholeheartedly agreed. She was about to ask him about the attack he had endured when his eyes shut. With a wry grin, she let him drift back to sleep. There would be plenty of time to talk later. For now, he needed to get well.

She shouldn’t have been as surprised as she was to see how rapidly he recovered. Whatever Sonya and Cara had done was, indeed, magical. It was the only explanation.

As for Malcolm’s arm, Larena could only hope for the best.

She settled herself in the chair and leaned her head back. Her eyes closed as she let her mind wander to Fallon and the affection he had freely given her. She thought of the future, really thought about it, and pictured Fallon by her side.

There would be happiness with him, and love unlike anything she could dream of. But first, they would have to deal with Deirdre before they could have that future.

Yet, Lucan and Cara were doing it. There was no reason she and Fallon couldn’t either.

Fallon came awake with a start. Something had moved near him, something that wasn’t a part of nature. He kept perfectly still in the dark and listened. He had no idea where he was, and he’d been in such a rage, he hadn’t paid attention to his surroundings.