Chapter 18
It was the second time that Liam had heard Jean scream in the forest, and it was no less terrifying. Especially when it wasn’t followed by a warrior bellow from Alistair.
Turning, he raced toward the sound. He’d deliberately taken the path nearest to Jean and Alistair because he feared the spy wouldn’t protect Jean, and when he reached Jean, she was alone.
And a creature was poised over her prone body.
There was no mistaking what it was. The wolf’s eyes gleamed as he raised a paw and brought the razor claws down on her.
Liam swallowed a shout as he dropped his sword and grabbed his bow.
He’d barely gotten the arrow lined up when the wolf opened its mouth.
Only then did he give himself away by shouting.
The wolf raised its head, and the arrow flew, hitting him in the sound. With a painful grunt, the wolf fell over and another figure leapt out with a sword. Alistair.
As he delivered the fatal blow to the wolf, Liam raced to Jean’s side. “Is she alive?” Alistair asked quietly.
“Aye.” Her chest rose rhythmically, but there was blood caking her hair and her side. “What the bloody hell happened? She was supposed to be with ye.”
“She said she was going to go back. I thought she meant the village. This isnae the way to the village.”
“Ye should have escorted her! She was seconds from death!”
Alistair didn’t say anything, not that it mattered. There was no excuse the man could come up with that Liam would understand. Instead, he lifted Jean’s head and used his canteen to try and wash away some of the blood. She moaned, a sound that lifted his hopes, and blinked open her eyes. “Liam?”
“Aye, I am here. Ye have a gash on yer head. Ye must have slipped and fallen, and the wolf attacked ye.”
“Wolf.” Her eyes bore into his. “Ye saw it.”
“Aye. ‘Tis dead.”
She blinked again and frowned. “I didnae fall. I saw the wolf, and I was hit from behind. Someone is here, Liam.”
“If that is true, then they are long gone. We need to get ye back. Yer side is bleeding.” Easily, like she weighed no more than a sack of potatoes, he lifted her up. With a painful hiss, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Her body trembled, and Liam had to swallow the growl rising in his throat. She could have died, but she didn’t need his anger. “I have ye. Hold on, Jean.”
Others who had heard her screams joined them. The Sinclair guards offered to carry her, but Liam wouldn’t hand her over. Instead, he ordered the carcass of the wolf to be carried back to the village and sent someone ahead to warn Mara that her hands might be needed.
“She cannae do much with a needle and thread,” Jean whispered. “I will have to try and talk her through it.”
Her voice was getting weak again. Too weak. “Dinnae worry. I will take care of ye. Try and stay awake.”
“Aye,” Jean whispered. “I cannae fall prey to the cold.”
“Just a little further. Talk to me. Tell me how angry you are at me for not telling ye about Alistair.” He knew she had plenty to say to him.
Her fury was in her eyes every time he looked at her.
He’d snuck glances at her all through dinner just so he could see her smile again, all the while fearing that she would never smile for him again.
She was silent for a moment, and he feared that she’d fallen unconscious again, but then her head moved against his neck.
“I knew ye were angry that I had followed ye. I thought I had proven myself, that I had convinced ye to let me come with ye. Instead, ye only let me come because ye knew someone else would be coming to retrieve me. Ye should have told me. I would still have been hurt, but I would have conducted myself differently here. Spent time training Mara. Instead, I have been running around with ye, like a fool, thinking we were partners.”
“Ye were never a fool, Jean,” Liam told her quietly. “I am sorry that I didnae tell ye. Ye have been an important asset here.”
“I found yer wolf,” she said faintly. “‘Tis not my fault that I didnae get a chance to kill it. I felt like I was being followed. Men are often more dangerous than beasts. I should have remembered that.”
She was still so certain that she’d been attacked. Liam’s stomach clenched. Someone was sabotaging the village. That much was clear, but Liam had thought it was in the past. That someone had tried to scare the villagers into leaving but was gone.
They reached the clearing, and Mara rushed up to them. “Jean, what have ye done?” She asked lightly although her eyes held nothing but worry.
“Found the wolf,” Jean whispered again. “‘Twas not my fault I couldnae kill it.”
Then she passed out again in Liam’s arms.
Mara and several other women from the territory gathered in Mara’s small home while Liam slowly and painstakingly cleaned Jean’s wounds.
They all watched on anxiously to make certain Liam didn’t do anything untoward.
Under different circumstances, it would have annoyed him that they had so little trust, but he appreciated them banding together to protect someone they’d come to think of as their own. Even if it was Jean.
Even if it was against him.
While all of them could sew, none of them had experience sewing up wounds. Liam did, and although his stitches were atrocious, it was better than her slowly bleeding to death. Mara cut up Jean’s shirt and pants so that only the wound was visible. At the sight of the claw marks, Liam grew furious.
“Same creature,” Mara said quietly. Liam gave her a sharp look. “Amelia’s wounds were the same. As are mine.”
“Yours?”
With a nod, she confessed what’s she’d been doing. “Jean knew, but I swore her to secrecy. She’s been tending my wounds. I know how to make the salve to help protect against infection.”
A different kind of fury passed through Liam. Mara was lucky to be alive. Were his people so disjointed that they hadn’t noticed a young woman hunting a creature out of grief? And doing it alone?
While Mara made the salve, Liam slowly and painstakingly stitched the deepest wounds closed. The women moved in and out of the hut to get him fresh water and clean cloths, a little trick he’d learned from another healer. Mara spread the salve and helped to bandage her up.
When he was done, he was covered in her blood. The other women left, and Mara brought him a bucket of water so he could clean himself.
“She’s remarkable, isn’t she?” Mara said admirably. “The lengths she has gone to so she can help others. She may never be as strong or as skilled as some of your men, but she is a warrior. She just doesn’t do it for the glory. She does it because that is her instinct.”
Curious, Liam looked over at Mara. “What makes ye think she doesn’t do it for the glory? When we were children, ‘tis all she talked about. The glory of being a warrior. One day it could get her killed.”
“Perhaps as a child, she thought of glory. As children, we often do, but she is also practical. As a woman, she will never have that glory. She faced an impossible beast today, but ye know what the men outside are saying? That ye and Alistair had to slay the beast to save her. She is naught but a damsel in distress to them. She knows what her life is meant to be, but she finds ways to honor herself without care of what others may think.”
“Given Jean’s skills, she could have taken on the wolf. I have hunted with her. She is remarkable,” Liam murmured as he dried his hands and arms. “She told me she was felled by a man.”
“A man?” Mara’s gaze flew up to meet his. “Someone from here? Or one of yer men?”
“I dinnae know, but if she is right, then they had no fear for the wolf. When ye have been out hunting the beast, have ye seen or felt anyone around?”
Wrapping her arms around herself, Mara shook her head. “Nay, but I wasnae looking for a man.”
Neither was Jean, as far as he knew. Glancing down at her body, he felt a pain unlike any other. “Will she awaken soon?”
“Aye. She didnae sleep well last night. Her body is recovering from the trauma. I will keep an eye on her tonight, Liam. There are people outside waiting to hear from ye.”
It was true, most of the villagers had gathered to get a look at the wolf’s body. They wanted an explanation, and he knew of only one that he could give.
This was not an act from the old gods. It was man-driven sabotage, and he would find who was responsible.
“With yer leave, I will return. I would like to be there when she wakes up.”
Mara gave him a small smile. “I expected no less from ye.”