Warrior's Moon

Caelis crossed his arms and leaned against the door, “Be reasonable,” he ordered, being anything but. “We have much to settle and not much time to do it in.”

Shona crossed her own arms, the long velvet sleeves rustling as she did so. “That may be. I have only your word for the urgency of time, but this I tell you: I will speak with my dear friend before you and I have our discussion. She has been with me these past five years while you have not. The very least you can give us is a moment of privacy.”

She thought Caelis would continue to argue, but he did not, his expression going from angry to sad to determined to stoic so quickly that each emotion passed almost before she could mark it.

Finally, the big wolf shifter grimaced and nodded, stepping away from the door without another word.

Vegar opened his mouth, as if to dispute the other man’s decision.

But Caelis nudged the Balmoral soldier none too gently with his shoulder, his scowl and the firm shake of his head shutting the other warrior up.

Audrey added her own glare and Vegar relented. “Fine. We will go now. It is about time to practice our sparring anyway.”

Shona and Audrey didn’t respond to that bit of posturing. According to Abigail, the man’s plans for the morning had included hunting, not sparring.

Honestly, Shona simply did not care in that moment. She just needed time away from both brooding warriors and their demands.

Caelis and Vegar turned in unison and left the bedchamber with no further argument. Though the look Caelis gave Shona as he walked out the door made her think he was hoping for her to change her mind and ask him to stay.

She didn’t.

Chapter 12

The Faol were not created to exist alone. To share one’s nature with a wolf increases the need for companionship.

—FAOL ORAL TRADITIONS

Once they were gone and the door had been shut firmly, Shona turned to face Audrey.

The Englishwoman busied herself putting the room to rights, folding Thomas’s bedroll and tucking it under the bed. “It is quiet surprising this Scottish laird has actual beds in his guest rooms.”

“’Tis not common,” Shona agreed, no more eager than Audrey to attack the subject at hand. “Mayhap it is the influence of his English wife?”

“Perhaps. Though even in England, only the most wealthy have multiple rooms reserved.”

“They are not ornate,” Shona observed.

Like the furniture in the great hall, the pieces in bedchambers were simple and functional. It was quite likely that against all expectations, the laird and his lady had guests far more frequently than the usual Highland keep. Audrey’s surprise, however, that there was furniture at all was more than understandable.

“The keep itself is more formidable than I expected of the Highlands,” Audrey added.

“I, as well.”

Suddenly, Audrey’s face crumpled and tears showed in her eyes. “Is this how it will be now? Stilted between us?”

“Saints above, I hope not.”

Audrey laughed, the sound a bit watery. “I did not intend to hurt you. Or betray you.”

“Would you have told me of my own son’s nature?”

“In truth, I hoped to discover more Chrechte and seek the counsel of others. I did not like to think my mother’s perspective the most enlightened.”

“Why not seek out the counsel of your kind in England?” Though if the only Chrechte she had known of was her mother’s pack, then mayhap it was just as well Audrey had not.

“The Chrechte live mostly in the Highlands, or so my mother said. Her small pack went south generations ago, though I do not know why. Perhaps because of the Fearghall among them.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure.” Again Audrey looked pained, but not, Shona thought, because of her this time. “I know so little of our kind. I did not realize that not all Chrechte think as my mother did until we came here.”

“Your world has been as usurped as my own,” Shona observed pensively.

“It has, but I am glad. I have always wanted to know others of my kind…find my mate.” The tears spilled over.

Shona could stand it no longer and she pulled her dear friend into her arms. “Come, all is not lost. He clearly wishes to…” Her voice trailed off as she realized she did not have words.

“The term is mate, but I’ll not take him to mate if he thinks I have no value because of the country of my birth.” Audrey’s expression turned mutinous. “That is no different than the Fearghall.”

“You are right.”

“And he cannot say any different.” The militant gleam in Audrey’s eyes was actually quite amusing.

Though Shona would never let her know so. “No, he cannot.”

“He said he is Ean.” Audrey sounded awed by that fact.

“What does that mean?”

“He shifts into a bird.”

Shona remembered something like that being said. “What kind?”

“I don’t know…” Audrey’s voice trailed off and then her eyes lit with certainty. “The eagle this morn. It was him. His animal at least showed his approval for me.”

“He saw you naked!” Shona exclaimed, not sure what she thought of a world where animals were not as simple as she’d always believed. She pulled the other woman so that they sat side by side on the edge of the bed. “Caelis said there are few Chrechte, but I feel as if they are all around me.”

Audrey laughed. It was a small sound, but definitely an amused one. “That is very understandable. But only think, in your husband’s keep and the others around us, there were none other of our kind.”

“How do you know?”

“We would have smelled them.”

“So you can tell?”

“Yes, the scent of animal is very subtle, but it is there. Mother claimed some of the strongest could mask their scent.”

What an intriguing claim. “I wondered if you could identify each other.”

Audrey nodded her expression turning confused. “You told Caelis you did not want to talk about the Chrechte.”

“In truth, I wanted time away from looming and brooding warriors. And an opportunity to work out the issues between us.”

“Yes?” the blonde asked hopefully.

“Yes. You are the sister of my heart. Besides, I do not wish to discuss the laws he mentioned. He was quick enough to dismiss them.”

“Doing so would have cost him a great deal…he must have been truly convinced you were not his sacred mate.” The younger woman bit her lip, looking at Shona with a mixture of worry and earnestness.

“Our laird lied to him. Uven told Caelis that as his leader, he could tell if I was sacred mate to Caelis and that I was not.”