Chapter 1
Sophie wasn't quite expecting company that night.
One minute she was huddled on her narrow bed, lost in the depths of her silent misery, and the next she was staring wide-eyed at the giant of a man looming over her.
He was broad-shouldered, riddled with scars and staring down at her with a shadow over his face.
Fear gripped Sophie's heart with its cold dark claws, fearful green meeting cold amber in an intense stare.
Now, as his large hand clamped over her mouth, she felt true fear for the first time since her imprisonment began.
The stranger's eyes, amber and intense, bore into hers. "Hush, lass," he whispered, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down her spine. "I mean ye nay harm."
Sophie didn't believe him. Not for a moment. Her brother had taught her well the cruelty of men. She thrashed against his grip, but it was like fighting against iron bands. Her heart pounded so fiercely she thought it might burst from her chest.
The man's face was shadowed in the dim moonlight filtering through the narrow window, but Sophie could make out the sharp angles of his jaw, the stern set of his mouth.
He was handsome, she realized with a start, in a rugged, dangerous sort of way.
The kind of man her brother would have sneered at, calling him a brute, a rival chieftain not worthy of their ancient bloodline.
Though they were all children of the Highlands, this man appeared to be cut from a rougher cloth than the Allens.
His face, weathered by wind and battle, bore the marks of a man who led from the front, not from behind castle walls.
Eyes the color of steel glinted beneath a furrowed brow, sharp enough to cut through pretense and fierce enough to rally clan loyalty.
His broad shoulders and scarred hands spoke of man who wasn't afraid to work, whether in field or fray.
It was in that moment of stillness that Sophie heard the soft creak of the door. Her eyes darted to the sound, widening as she saw a familiar figure slip into the room.
Colette.
"Sophie, darlin', it's alright," her stepmother's soothing voice cut through the tension. "This man is a friend. We're here to help ye."
The stranger slowly removed his hand from Sophie's mouth. She remained silent, her vow holding even in the face of this midnight madness. Her eyes, large and questioning, darted between Colette and the man who still stood too close for comfort.
Colette moved to sit on the edge of the bed, taking Sophie's trembling hand in her own. "I couldnae bear to see ye sufferin' any longer," she explained, her voice thick with emotion. "Yer brother... Mason threatened to flog ye if ye dinnae start talkin' again. I couldnae let that happen."
Sophie's chest tightened at the mention of her cruel brother. For a year, he'd kept her imprisoned in this very room, her only crime being the audacity to stand up for their clan members. She'd taken her vow of silence as a final act of defiance, but it had only served to infuriate Mason further.
Now, as Colette's warm hand clasped hers, Sophie felt a flicker of something she'd thought long extinguished. Hope.
"We're goin' to get ye out of here," Colette continued, squeezing Sophie's hand. "Tonight. But only if ye want to go. Do ye want to leave, Sophie?"
For a moment, Sophie hesitated. This room, this keep, had been her prison for so long. But it had also been her home for all of her twenty years. To leave was to step into a world of unknowns, of potential dangers far greater than those she faced here.
Yet to stay... to stay was to wither, to die a slow death of the spirit if not the body.
Slowly, deliberately, she nodded.
Relief flooded Colette's face. She stood and retrieved a large satchel from near the door. "I've packed some of yer things," she said, setting the bag on the bed. "Is there anythin' else ye want to take with ye? Ye willnae be comin' back here."
Sophie's hand flew to her wrist, fingers brushing against the cool metal of her mother's bracelet. The familiar touch calmed her racing heart, grounding her in the midst of this surreal night.
She slid out of bed, acutely aware of the stranger's gaze following her movements as she crossed to her writing desk. With practiced ease, she found the secret compartment built into the drawer and retrieved the sheaf of papers within – her stories, her one escape during her long confinement.
As she turned back, clutching the papers to her chest, she found Colette watching her with a mixture of pride and sadness. "Ye always did have a way with words," she murmured. "Even when ye chose nae to speak them aloud."
Sophie allowed a small smile to touch her lips, the first in what felt like an eternity. Her stories had been her lifeline, her way of escaping the confines of her room even when her body remained trapped.
"This man," Colette said, gesturing to the tall stranger who had remained a silent, imposing presence throughout their exchange, "is goin' to take ye somewhere safe. Somewhere yer brother cannae reach ye."
Sophie nodded, relief washing over her. But Colette wasn't finished.
"He's also agreed to help find ye a good husband."
Sophie's eyes widened in shock. Marriage?
The thought had never crossed her mind during her imprisonment.
She'd been too focused on survival, on maintaining that last shred of defiance against her brother's tyranny.
Now, faced with the prospect of a husband – a stranger – her stomach churned with a mixture of fear and uncertainty.
Colette must have seen the panic in her eyes, for she quickly added, "Ye'll have a choice, Sophie. Ken has promised to introduce ye to several suitable men. Ye willnae be forced into anythin'."
Ken. So, the tall stranger had a name. Sophie's gaze flickered to him, taking in his broad shoulders, the way he held himself with quiet confidence. There was cold sternness in his eyes, she realized, along with something else she couldn't quite name. Determination, perhaps?
Without a word, Ken stepped forward and picked up Sophie's satchel, slinging it over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing. Sophie marveled at his strength, wondering what kind of man he was to involve himself in such a rescue.
"We need to go," Colette urged, her voice hushed. "I've given the guards at the gate somethin' to help them sleep, but we daenae have much time."
Sophie's heart began to race again as the reality of what they were about to do sank in. They were going to escape. To flee in the dead of night like thieves. If they were caught...
She pushed the thought away. She couldn't afford to think of the consequences now. This was her one chance at freedom, and she had to seize it with both hands.
They made their way through the silent corridors of the keep, until they reached the courtyard.
A horse stood waiting, saddled and ready.
Sophie hesitated, suddenly overwhelmed by the enormity of what she was about to do.
She turned to Colette, a question in her eyes as she gestured between her stepmother and the horse.
Colette smiled, understanding as always. "I'm nae comin' with ye, nae yet," she explained. "I'll leave right after ye, stay with a friend for a week, then join ye at the Laird's castle."
Laird? Sophie's gaze snapped to Ken, reassessing him. He was more than just a friend of Colette's, then. A man of power and influence. The realization sent a shiver down her spine, though whether from fear or excitement, she couldn't say.
Before Sophie could ponder it further, strong hands gripped her waist. She gasped silently as Ken lifted her onto the horse with ease, as if she weighed no more than a feather. She felt the heat of his touch even through the fabric of her nightdress, and a strange warmth bloomed in her chest.
As Ken swung up behind her, his body a solid presence at her back, Sophie's mind whirled with the enormity of what was happening.
In the span of a few short minutes, her entire world had been turned upside down.
She was leaving the only home she'd ever known, fleeing in the dead of night with a man she'd just met.
As the horse began to move, Sophie cast one last look at the keep that had been both her home and her prison.
In the shadows of the stable, Colette raised a hand in farewell, a bittersweet smile on her face.
Then they were through the gate and out onto the moor, the keep rapidly shrinking behind them.
Sophie leaned back slightly, feeling the solid warmth of Ken's chest against her back.
In one night, this man had changed the course of her life.
For better or worse remained to be seen, but as the cool night air whipped past them and the stars glittered overhead, Sophie felt something she hadn't experienced in far too long.
There was fear and hope and the undeniable, wild, terrifying thrill of the unknown. Fear. Hope.
She felt Ken's breath stir the hair close to her ear, sending a shiver down her spine, "I've got ye, lass. Ye're under me protection now."