Warrior's Moon

He’d survived the last six years holding her promises of eternal love inside where none could see, question or condemn. He’d known he didn’t deserve her love after letting her down as he had, but he’d been without choices.

Though she did not know it, he’d taken the blame on himself. He hadn’t wanted to add to her resentment of their laird, realizing too late what a mistake that had been. Not least because when her parents decided to move away from the clan, showing no hesitation, Shona had gone with them.

Caelis had never considered she might leave their people, or him. He’d thought he would have time to change his alpha’s mind about the mating, to make up to Shona the hurt he’d caused her.

Caelis had believed in their future even as he told her they had none. Her father’s leaving the clan had been an unforeseen circumstance. The fact that Shona went with him had shocked Caelis to the core. She had a life among her clan, friends if no family left.

The clan was her family. It was what they’d been taught since infancy.

And Caelis had believed her love stronger than even his alpha’s will.

There was no love in her pretty green eyes now when they fell on Caelis. At worst they swam with pain filled fury, at best with distrust so sharp it cut him to the core of his soul.

Not even the briefest flicker of joy had shown in the emerald depths since he’d first spied her in the courtyard, none of the relief or happiness he felt at this chance reunion. She did not share his delight that they had made a child together.

She would deny Eadan’s paternity if she could. Caelis had seen it in her eyes, but the boy looked too much like Caelis to be mistaken for anything but his own.

In Shona, Caelis could sense only resentment toward him.

While it might be well-earned, he hated it—almost as much as he had loathed every moment of their time apart.

He had spent six years craving nothing more than to be reunited with her. She had spent those same years despising him completely.

Even when he’d believed his laird that she was not his true mate and the later lies (when word had come of her death, which he’d later come to question but could never be certain about), Caelis had never stopped aching for her.

Not one day had gone by in six years that he had not wished to have the mate of his heart by his side.

But ’twas clear she’d rather be in the presence of a diseased rat than him.

She trusted the two English wolves and even Niall more than she did Caelis.

Shona worried that he would take their son away. His promise to the contrary had had no impact on her at all. She denigrated his vows as of having less value than the border treaties signed by an English king.

But he was not the only one who had broken promises.

She had sworn she would never stop loving him and that she would always belong to him.

Mayhap he had no reason or right to expect her to keep such a promise, but he and his wolf shared a sense of betrayal that would not simply be shaken away.

’Twas clear that Shona did not understand Caelis’s determination to make them all a family, either.

His duty to his people would prevent them being together for a time. But now that he knew where she was, that she was indeed his true mate, nothing would keep them apart permanently.

Caelis had begun to doubt his laird’s claim that Uven alone could identify a pack member’s true mate within a year of Shona leaving their clan. Caelis’s wolf had grown increasingly difficult to control after she left and only Caelis’s dedication to his pack and his duty kept him among the MacLeod instead of chasing after her.

But Caelis had believed Uven, laird of the MacLeod and pack alpha, to be a great man. Caelis had accepted the other man’s words as truth when they’d been nothing more than vicious lies.

It had been hard to admit he was so wrong about the other man and too easy to doubt himself after the laird told him Shona had died.

His wolf was not so easily swayed, though it submitted to the more powerful (at that time) alpha wolf without question.

Still, the beast longed for the woman that was no longer in their life. The longing never abated and the wolf refused the touch of any other female, no matter how lovely the Faol Uven had paraded before him. Despite Caelis having believed for a time that Shona was dead, he wouldn’t even try to mate another.

He’d only begun to doubt that lie in the last year, when he’d started to question far more about his laird than his clear predisposition toward Chrechte-only matings.

That stupid, prejudiced man had cost Caelis five years of his son’s life. Even if duty did not dictate Caelis returning to the clan and challenging Uven for leadership, knowledge of what the man’s lies had cost him personally would make the challenge necessary.

“Nice man,” Marjory said for the second time that day, patting Caelis face. “No be sad.”

He smiled at the wee one. “All will be well, mo breagha.”

She giggled. “I’m not beautiful.”

“You look just like your mama.” Though Marjory’s curly red hair was more a halo of fine baby curls and her mother’s fell in long ringlets down her back. “You are beautiful indeed.”

“My dreams say we are a family,” Eadan said from near his hip. “But I do not think Mum wants to be one.”

Caelis dropped to his haunches, careful to keep Marjory secure in his arms, and met his son’s blue gaze. “We will have to convince her then, won’t we, my son?”

His voice nearly broke on the word son, but he was a warrior and he would not show such weakness. Bad enough he’d fainted down in the bailey like a woman at court.

“We can try,” Eadan said doubtfully. “Mum doesn’t change her mind easy.”

“I remember that about her.” Though her stubborn tendencies hadn’t often shown with him, he saw them in the way she related to others all too frequently.

“She didn’t want to be with Percy. We runned away instead. I don’t like Percy, either.”

“Who is Percy?” Niall asked.

“My not-brother.”

“Percival.” Shona had mentioned him, Caelis remembered. “The new baron?”

Eadan nodded. “He has a wife but no children. He wanted Mum to be his lemon and give him children. But she wouldn’t let him have us.”

“Lehman, he wanted to make her his lehman.” Percival would have made Shona, his former stepmother, his mistress with all the responsibilities and none of the privileges of his wife.

It was monstrous and disgusting, and no more than he expected of an English baron, though he’d never tell Abigail that.

Fury filled Caelis, but he did his best not to let it bleed through his countenance and scare the children.

“In my dreams, men turn into wolves sometimes but women never turn into lemons.”

He didn’t correct his son’s pronunciation, but he did wonder at it.

“What is a lemon?” Niall asked, however.

Eadan’s brow furrowed like he was surprised by the question. “It’s a yellow fruit. Sour. Mum read to me about it from a book written by one of the priests in Italy. My lord was ever so fond of the writings of the Church.”

“I see.” Caelis made no attempt to hide his smile. “Percy isn’t turning your mother into his lemon, or anything else.”

Eadan nodded in complete agreement. “Mum won’t let him.”

“Neither will I.”

“Good. Mum isn’t as big as she thinks she is.”

Niall laughed. “She seems plenty big to me.”

“Mama is tiny but strong,” Eadan replied staunchly. “I’ll be taller ’n her soon enough. She always says so.”

“Aye.” Emotion threatened to choke Caelis.

This child standing before him with blue eyes the same gentian shade and oval shape as his own was