Moon Awakening

water was my brother Talorc.' Oblivious to Emily's tormented thoughts, Cait continued in an urgent tone that pleaded for belief. And even though she knew it was all fantasy, Emily almost did believe, Cait was so earnest. 'Some wolves cannot control the change like that until they are mated, but he has been able to since his first full moon in wolf form. I have, too. Our mother was a white wolf and she passed the ability on to us.'

'White wolves can control their change?' she asked for lack of anything better to say while her mind tumbled with thoughts of how to react to Cait's words.

'Yes.'

'I see.'

Cait clenched her hands into fists, her face contorted with despair. 'You don't believe me, do you?'

Emily's eyes filled with tears as she shook her head. 'How can I? You are talking about children's fairy tales, not reality. Please, Cait, stop and think. What you are saying is impossible.'

Cait shook her head. 'It isn't. Please, don't cry, Emily. I have proof.'

'Proof?'

'Yes. I can't make the change right now because I'm pregnant, but I want you to think about some things.'

'All right.'

'Remember in the forest yesterday, when I heard things you couldn't and how Lachlan heard the approaching soldier earlier today when you couldn't?'

'Yes.'

'That is a werewolf trait.'

'Superior hearing?' No, it couldn't be, but in both cases they had heard things she hadn't and she knew her hearing was good.

Only, was she trying to believe the unfathomable because the alternative, that her friend had gone daft, was too untenable to accept?

'That isn't all,' Cait said sincerely. 'We are stronger and faster than humans, too.'

Without warning, Cait surged from the bed. Emily blinked, saw a blur of movement, and then the other woman was on the far side of the room.

'Do you see?' Cait demanded.

Emily shook her head. It couldn't be true, but hadn't Lachlan played this trick, too? And according to both Lachlan and Cait, he was Chrechte. It was too much to take in. Perhaps she was the one going daft.

Cait did it again and she was in front of the entrance to the garderobe without Emily seeing how she got there excerpt for a blur of color shifting across the room. She rubbed her eyes.

Cait laughed, the sound lacking any real amusement. 'You are not seeing things. We move that quickly. I'm not supposed to be running like this right now. It upsets Drustan. He thinks I could hurt the babe if I fell.'

'Could you?' Emily asked stupidly, her mind refusing to take in the evidence of what her eyes had seen.

'Yes, I suppose. If I fell, but I don't plan to fall.' Cait came back over to Emily and sat down again, taking Emily's arm in a near bruising grip. 'You've got to believe me. That wolf we saw was Talorc. Didn't you see him shake his head when I told him Lachlan wanted an apology? He didn't like hearing that. But he heard everything else we said, too. He heard about Lachlan's plan to take you swimming in the morning. Alone. You can't go, Emily. Talorc will challenge Lachlan and then one of them will end up dead.'

'How can Talorc be on the island without Lachlan knowing?'

'He swam over in his wolf form and he's good at masking his scent. Far better than I ever suspected and much better than I am at it.'

'This is impossible,' she said again, but part of her was starting to believe. No matter how unlikely it all seemed, she had seen or heard so many inexplicable things since coming to the Highlands and these strange claims Cait made would explain most of them.

'I know it seems that way, but it's not. Chrechte have been around as long as every other race of humanity, but we have always kept ourselves hidden.'

'Why? And how could MacAlpin have betrayed the Picts… Chrechte I mean, if they are stronger than normal humans?'

'Strength isn't everything. MacAlpin was of the Chrechte, but not a shape-changer. It happens sometimes when a human mates with a shape-changer. His mother was a femwolf, but his father was a Scott. He had the animal cunning, but not all the other traits of the Chrechte. He also had werewolves on his side, those that were willing to betray their people for the power he represented. For hundreds of years, war was the only life we knew, but it took its toll on our numbers. MacAlpin's betrayal decimated what was left of the Chrechte. When we became part of the Celtic clans, we were protecting the future of our people. It was our only hope.'

'But you're saying not all the clans have werewolves among them?'

'No. Not even close. Our numbers have risen, but less than one in ten clansmen are Chrechte. When a pack does exist within a clan, you can be assured the laird is Chrechte. We do not tolerate being led by any other.'

'This is all so fantastic.' But the sheer scope of Cait's story made it more credible somehow.

'You've got to believe me.' Cait dropped to her knees in front of Emily, that Chrechte pride she'd spoken of earlier humbled and that was as convincing to Emily as anything Cait had said so far. 'I'm begging you. You have to keep the Balmoral away from the lake tomorrow.'

'I can't,' Emily whispered, feeling like the worst friend in the world. 'I tried today and he wouldn't take no for an answer. He's incredibly arrogant and very good at getting his own way.'

'But you must.' Cait pounded the thresh-covered floor with her fist. 'I know you can do it, Emily. He wants you. He staked his claim on you. That has to mean something. He'll listen to you. He has to,' she said frantically.

'Come, sit back on the bed. This upset cannot be good for the baby,' Emily said, tugging Cait off of her knees. 'You must regain your composure.'

'I know you are right, but I'm so frightened, Emily. I love my brother. I do not want war between my new clan and my birth clan.'

'Neither do I.' Emily bit her lip, trying to think, but it was hard with so many new ideas vying for attention in her mind. 'You said Lachlan staked his claim. What did you mean?'

'He did it at the nooning meal. He growled. You couldn't hear it. The pitch was set for the werewolves of the pack. For Angus because you were touching him. And then Lachlan insisted you sit beside him at the table. You cannot think that is normal for a captive and a laird.'

'I thought it was a Highland idiosyncrasy,' Emily admitted. She'd dismissed many things as unique to Highlanders when in fact they might well be related to the fantastical tale Cait had told her.

Cait shook her head.

'I don't understand this claiming. He ignored me all the way through the meal.'

'I do not think he is happy about wanting you, but he has made it clear no other wolf is to have you.'

'Because I'm promised to Talorc?'

'That wouldn't matter if he meant to keep you.'

'But he doesn't.'

'No. I don't think he does.'

Emily knew he didn't. 'He promised that no other soldier could keep me. Maybe this growling business was his way of making sure the others knew that.'

Cait shook her head. 'All he would have to do is to decree it and none of his soldiers would dare defy him. A clan chief stays chief by being stronger than all the other warriors and they know it.'

'I don't understand.'

'I don't either entirely,' Cait said, sounding calm for the first time since they'd seen the wolf across the lake. 'The Balmoral pack does things differently than what I am used to. For example, a physical mating does not bring with it a lifetime commitment unless pregnancy results.'

'Can I get pregnant by him?'

'If you are true-mated, yes.'

'What does that mean?'