Alban #2
Anyroad, instead of standing to greet me, she turned a cool gaze to Magnus.
“The females from my village aren’t livestock.
They’re gentle she-wolves. And we’re lucky they agreed to travel here to save Faoiltiarn from dying out due to inbreeding.
So, let’s use respectful language when we reference them. ”
Magnus would have torn any of us a new one if we dared to speak to him like that. But he capitulated immediately to the mate who couldn’t even be bothered to stand for the Kingdom Defender. “Of course, of course, mo banrigh!”
Then, he turned back to me and said, “I’m glad you came to talk with us about a potential bride, Cousin. You’ve been alone too long. And I can tell you from personal experience that the love of a good she-wolf is nothing short of life-changing.”
He shot his queen a fond look before asking me, “Now which one of our much-appreciated new arrivals have caught your eye, then?”
“The alone bit’s why I’m here.”
Since the Faoiltiarn Book of Law had obviously been tossed out one of those newly-installed insulated windows, I didn’t bother to cushion my words in a polite tone. Just informed the both of them, “I’m leaving.”
Magnus stared at me, open-mouthed. Then shifted uncomfortably, as if those traditional deer skin moccasins he was wearing on his feet were a wee bit too small.
“So, you’ve heard about Gail’s return, then?”
His question rubbed at my skin like sandpaper. I clasped my still-fisted hands behind my back. “Place is too noisy now with all the newcomers.”
Magnus shot me a look rife with disbelief and, even worse, pity. And, suddenly, Queen Tara wasn’t so intent on ignoring me anymore.
“Who’s Gail?” she asked.
“I meant to tell you myself mate,” Magnus said, ignoring his mate’s question. “But I got busy with my last rugby season and all the preparations for the big day …”
“Who’s Gail?” Tara asked again. She leaned as far forward as a she-wolf could get with a belly full of royal twins.
“Nobody,” I answered at the same time Magnus promised, “I’ll tell you later, mo leann.”
But of course, she couldn’t let it go. “Gail …wait a minute. Isn’t that the name of the she-wolf who’s moving back here from Glasgow to teach at the village school this week? But she has a husband. What does she have to do with Al—”
“I’ll be residing at the Brother’s Cottage from now on,” I said to Magnus, cutting her off.
“You mean that shed on Ben Faol?” Magnus asked. “Nobody’s been near that place since your da …”
He trailed off. Our fathers going insane after being left by our mothers was the one thing other than blood that Magnus and I had in common. But it wasn’t something we ever talked about.
And I wasn’t about to break with that tradition.
I didn’t bother to explain that I’d already spent months fixing up the place. Even built a reinforced stable to go along with the chicken coop my father had built during his time there.
Instead, I asked our new banrigh, “When are those solar panels due to arrive, then?”
“On Friday,” she answered with a careful tone. Her eyes darted between my cousin and me. I could imagine all the questions she was sending over her telepathic mate bond with Magnus.
“I’ll be back on Saturday morning to install them, then,” I assured her. True, I hated all the BUCs. But a promise was a promise and I never broke mine.
Tara narrowed her eyes at me. “Installing the solar panels is the only reason you’ll be coming back on Saturday?”
Alright, well, no idea why she was speaking to me in such a disbelieving tone. But I said what I came to say. That meant it was time to leave.
I turned and headed back toward the castle doors without another word.
“You can’t run off to live in the mountains!” Magnus called out behind me. “You’re the Kingdom Defender. What if Faoiltiarn needs you?”
That question stopped me cold. I did take my duties as Kingdom Defender seriously. Just as my father had when he’d been named to the role under our former righ, Lachlan, his older brother, and Magnus’s father.
At least he’d taken it seriously until the loss of my mother had driven him to the Brother's Cottage.
But it wasn’t as if this kingdom or the Scotswolf throne actually needed defending.
The rest of Faoiltiarn was ecstatic to have a new queen and royal twins on the way. And I'd never been of real service to Magnus anyway. I'd been more of a hunting dog for him than anything else, doing the work too dirty for his royal hands. Like kidnapping his future queen.
Besides ...
“That’s what the bell system is for,” I reminded both Magnus and myself as I continued toward the doors. “I can hear them, even as far as the cottage.”
“But what if I need you …” Magnus called out, this time without the same commanding tone in his voice. “You ken, you’re my best friend, right? At least you used to be before you came back from the desert. How about if I need to talk with you before Saturday?”
His questions didn’t even slow my steps this time.
Magnus didn’t need me. Not anymore.
He was a happy alpha now that he’d found his queen. With Tara’s agreement to live in Faoiltiarn, he’d gotten everything he’d ever wanted with a bonus heir on top.
A green ache pierced my chest. He was the opposite of Gail and me.
And he was only right about one thing. I was no longer the male I’d been before “the desert” as he called my time in the Middle East.
“Four rings of the church bells if it’s important," I bit out before reaching for the throne room’s door handles.
Then I pretended I didn’t hear Magnus, calling out behind me, “Alban … Alban. Come back. We can sort out the Gail business. Stay and talk to us …”
I refused to stay. I’d already used more words in one meeting than I usually employed in an entire week. I didn’t need to waste anymore.
Alone. That was all I wanted to be. Now and forever.