CHAPTER THIRTEEN #3
He roared into the night. He roared again, in frustration and rage and, maybe, in grief. The wolves began coming from the nearby forest. They did not join him; they sat waiting, by the trees.
When his throat was sore, he quieted, but he was not soothed.
He was in the midst of a great war, and Moray already knew she was his weakness.
Moray might even know she was a vital link to his son.
She had almost died because of his war. He had no doubt that Moray would use her again, if he could.
And that was all the more reason to take power, as a deamhan should.
Then he would hunt.
The vicious determination arose. The murderous fury crept over him. It was time to end this war, one way or another, and he must do so today. As he moved his mind into the perfect focus of a hunter, the wolves knew, standing one by one. They began to howl.
Their long, lustful cries filled the night.
THE WOLVES AWOKE HER.
For one moment, Brie didn’t move, buried under too many covers to count. As her mind awoke, she realized she was deliciously naked—and that Aidan had just spent hours making love to her.
Her heart leapt. She peered through the darkness at his side of the bed, but it was empty.
Slowly she sat up. Tears began, but they were tears of happiness. Her heart was explosive, so much so that she had to cover it with her hand. She had loved him before; she loved him madly now.
Brie prayed that their lovemaking had finally healed him.
The wolves had quieted. Surely Aidan wasn’t with them.
She groped the bed, but all of her clothes were on the floor.
He had left a single taper burning, so she slipped to the ground, shivering, and found her black plaid, which she wrapped around herself like a blanket.
She was hopeful, but she reined herself in.
He was a complicated man who had lived with a terrible tragedy for decades.
One night might not miraculously redeem him.
But his every touch had been drenched in emotion.
Brianna stepped into her fur-lined boots, went to the tent flap and lifted it. Outside, it had begun to snow heavily. Traveling would be hell. Maybe he’d turn the rest of his men away from Inverness and order them to go home. That would be a huge relief and one problem solved, for now.
Then she saw him approaching, his strides long and hard.
It was a shadowy, gray dawn, and Brie couldn’t see his face until he reached her. He wasn’t smiling. He glanced from her eyes to her plaid-cocooned body, and she was pretty sure he looked right through the wool. “Aidan?”
“Ye’ll freeze,” he said brusquely.
She smiled uncertainly and hopefully at him. Couldn’t he smile back at her? “Good morning,” she whispered.
He nodded shortly. “’Twill snow most of the day.”
She bit her lip. Was he going to ignore what they’d spent hours doing? “Are you coming inside?” A snowy day like this cried out for more lovemaking; it would be perfect if the day was spent together in his bed.
“Aye, for a moment.” He walked past her.
Brie followed him inside. He put on his sword belt, his back to her. She tensed. He was shielding his emotions, but she was pretty sure she knew what he intended. “You’re hunting.”
He didn’t answer, but he turned and stared at her, his expression hard and set. “Ye should dress.”
“Are you hunting as the Wolf, or are you going like that?” she managed, an ice-cold fear consuming her.
“I’ll hunt from the tower at Awe,” he said tersely. “With Moray in Alba, in this time, I will find him. Unless he shows himself and finds me first.”
Brie was afraid for him. She didn’t want him to go. Worse, she desperately wanted to talk about last night. She wanted him to hug her and smile at her, just once.
His face seemed to tighten.
She was pretty certain he was reading her mind. He had been conscienceless in that regard since meeting her, so why would it change now? “Last night was wonderful,” she whispered.
He made a harsh sound. “I’m glad yer pleased.” He turned his back to her and removed his shortsword, then began inspecting the blade.
Brie hugged herself. “You don’t seem pleased.”
He sheathed the sword and poured red wine into a mug. “I was pleased enough.”
He was so cold, so distant, so uncaring. “Aidan? Can we talk about last night?”
He whirled. “I dinna wish to hurt ye, but I canna give ye what ye really want. Ye can go to Seoc for that—or another man. Last night was a mistake, Brianna.”
She was shocked.
“I need power, not sex,” he added flatly.
“Last night was wonderful,” she gasped. “Don’t do this.”
“What do ye think Moray is doin’, even now?” he demanded harshly.
Brie sat down hard on the edge of the bed.
Was he rejecting her? Or did he mean that their worst enemy had a part of the Duisean, and was probably enhancing all of his evil power with even more life-taking, while they had been making love?
Still, that didn’t excuse Aidan’s cold behavior.
She trembled. He seemed entirely unmoved by their affair, and his behavior seemed very much a rejection.
“Can you admit that something special began for us last night?”
His gaze was searing. “Last night was an ending—not a beginning.”
Brie covered her mouth with her hands. Last night had meant everything for her—but it had been her first time. He was a man of vast experience. He’d had many, many women. She became terribly uncertain. He had seemed as moved as she was, as emotional, but what did she know?
She swallowed. “This friendship we have, this attraction that’s between us…I thought it was a big deal, but it’s not, is it?”
He slowly set his wineglass down, his back still half turned to her. He glanced at her briefly and looked away. “I dinna ken yer meanin’.”
She hugged herself. His brief look up had been enough for their eyes to meet. “I just realized you’ve had hundreds of women, and what happened last night might be pretty run-of-the-mill.”
He stared at the wine bottle and glasses on the small desk.
He wasn’t going to respond? “You don’t have to be so distant.
I know a little about men, through my friends.
They can be pretty cold when they’re done with a woman.
” She choked again. This really hurt. She had to get perspective.
“It’s okay. I really didn’t expect anything long-term.
I get it. You’re done. It was a one-night thing. I won’t bug you again.”
“Good.” He finally lifted his brilliant blue gaze to hers. “Ye shouldna cry. Yer a grown woman an’ ye wanted pleasure. Ye’ll find yer grand love with another man.”
She reminded herself that she had no right to be hurt. Hadn’t she known that sleeping with him would be emotionally dangerous? Hadn’t she known that while she loved him, he didn’t love her, and that the next day she’d want more than he could give?
But she was incapacitated with hurt. A smart, modern woman with an ounce of pride would have held her head high and moved on. Instead, she shook her head. “No,” she said very firmly.
She would love him forever, no matter what happened to him, to them.
His eyes widened. “I must go. The Masters can protect ye now. They’ll take ye to Iona. When I vanquish Moray, they’ll see ye back to yer time.”
It was over? Just like that?
Brie was disbelieving.
“Dinna look at me and dinna cry,” he said harshly.
She didn’t move. There was so much tension in the tent, Brie was pretty sure it was the result of his wanting to get away from her, and this very uncomfortable next-morning moment. At last she really understood the pain of rejection.