Mated to the Highland Wolf Page 3

  The congregation cheered and John quickly swept Muriel up in his arms before he began to charge back down the aisle with her flung over his shoulder. The only causalities she could see seemed to be people she did not know or recognize and she felt herself relax some more as John charged with her back through the castle.

  In her bedroom he closed and locked the door behind her before he turned and stared. His eyes were so big and deep, it was as if she could have fallen in and never been able to climb out.

  “That was… fast…” she panted.

  “It was essential,” John said, “There was no time to lose.”

  “But, why?” Muriel was trying not to sound too rude or overbearing. Her heart was still racing, and although she was intrigued by him, she was also nervous.

  “You were being lured into a trap,” he said sternly, “Lord Rose would have harmed you if you had gone with him.”

  Muriel felt her skin go cold.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “The Roses were going to destroy Clan Calder,” he began, “They have been travelling around the highlands and forging false alliances… once they have gained a way into a new clan, they overtake and destroy it.”

  Muriel couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The real threat wasn’t Clan Campbell and their huge wolves… it was the sneaky and duplicitous Rose Clan.

  “We got wind of this several months ago and we have been on the hunt to defeat them ever since.” He continued. “We got here just in time.”

  “The hunt?” Muriel asked curiously.

  “Aye,” John snarled. “The Rose’s have left a path of destruction… my pack and I have hunted them down and finally caught up with them… none of them will survive by the time we are through.”

  Muriel shuddered and she remembered how all of the casualties in the Great Hall seemed to be from Clan Rose.

  “You saved me?” she whispered.

  “Aye,” John smiled. “And I wed you instantly so you would never be vulnerable again.”

  “But why?” she gasped. “We don’t even know one another.”

  John took a step forward and took hold of her by the shoulders before he looked at her deep in the eyes and spoke softly…

  “Our Clans have crossed paths before… many, many years ago… and it has been written in the stars ever since that you and I should come together to start a new blood line… a new clan… one so powerful it shall rule the whole of Scotland.”

  Muriel looked up at her husband. She didn’t know much, but she did know that she trusted him entirely. There was a sincerity in his words, and in his actions. She had felt something between them the second she had laid eyes on him. The complete opposite of what had happened when she had first seen Lord Rose. He had made her skin crawl and she had known there was something disloyal and evil lurking beneath his surface. Now John had come and saved her and her family from making a terrible mistake.

  “My parents…” she began, “Do they know?”

  John shook his head.

  “No,” he said, “The Rose’s have been deceiving people for generations. But, Clan Campbell is very different to any other clan you will have ever come across before,” he smiled.

  “In what way?” Muriel whispered.

  “Here,” he reached out and took her hand, “Let me show you.”

  8.

  The night had fallen swiftly and the ground crunched underfoot as they walked together underneath a sky that glistened with the light of millions of bright stars. Muriel looked up and couldn’t believe how beautifully perfect it was, it was as if the heavens had opened up just for them to celebrate their union.

  “Your parents will return safely,” he reassured her as they walked hand in hand, “News will reach them soon enough that their castle is intact and their family waits for them.”

  “But then what?” Muriel asked. “We all just live here together?”

  The thought was so ridiculous she almost couldn’t keep a straight face.

  “Well that all depends on you,” John smiled.

  Muriel wanted to ask him what he meant but she was distracted by a shooting star overhead and she stopped to look up into the sky.

  “This is so incredible,” she gasped.

  “It’s because it’s meant to be,” John pulled her closer to him and she felt his warmth.

  They continued on past the loch and towards the forest. The moonlight glinted down on the water and lit the path ahead. It was the first time that Muriel had noticed it was a full moon and as they continued she felt a change in John’s demeanor, as if he was trying to restrain himself from saying something and holding back with each step they took.

  He finally stopped on the edge of the loch and sat down on a rock. He motioned for Muriel to follow him and she sat down at his side as they looked up at the beautiful night’s sky and all of the splendor that was being opened up to them.

  “Clan Campbell are very different indeed,” he continued their conversation from back in her bed chamber, “We have many secrets. Some of which have become legend and some that are just wild whispers around the highlands.”

  “What sort of legends?” she asked, although she had the feeling that she already knew what he was going to answer.

  “Wolves,” John said sternly, “Clan Campbell are half men… and half beast.”

  Muriel felt a twinge of excitement. Even though she was confused, she had known the instant they had burst into the Great Hall that there was something distinctly different about them. The men and wolves were far too big to be anything short of supernatural.

  “I’m not sure I know what you mean,” she stammered.

  John reached up and took hold of her face before he kissed her passionately and deeply on the lips. She allowed her body to submit to him and for him to take her roughly in his arms as he lay her back against the rock. She was as timid as a virgin should be, and although she had never felt or known passion like it, her wedding night nerves still thumped through her and held her back from truly letting go.

  “John,” she panted as she broke his kiss and looked deep into his eyes.

  He was the most amazing man she had ever met… and yet there was something so otherworldly about him… and it frightened her. As his passion grew and stirred deep within him, she saw the beast rising to the surface.

  His eyes turned icy blue and his whole frame seemed to vibrate with power and lust, as the intense heat raged within him.

  “My Lady,” he panted before he looked up at the moon. His face cracked into something primal and wild, and Muriel finally let herself go. She rode along with him, spurred on by his intensity and the power raging within him.

  As he shifted from human into wolf form, he took her breath away. The power that radiated from him was so incredible and frightening she was sure he was about to rip her limb from limb. The wolf growled and ran a hot, wet tongue up the side of her neck and cheek. His claws pawed at her and ripped at the wedding dress and he looked up and howled at the moon.

  Muriel was so turned on, she couldn’t believe what was happening to her. Her body was a mess of want and need and as John shifted back into his human form, the clothes torn from his body and revealing his nakedness, he pressed down hard on her and spread her legs with his thighs.

  As he slid the tip of his manhood into her dripping wet sex and claimed her properly, Muriel squealed with delight and pleasure that reverberated throughout the highlands.

  As John powered himself into her, he got harder with each stroke and built up to his powerful release.

  Muriel had waited for this moment her entire life and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Her husband was like nothing she had ever known or could even have dreamed of, and as he thrust into her one last time and spilled his red hot seed, she unraveled around him. As she experienced her first orgasm, it was so intense she thought that it may tear her in half.

  Afterwards she lay in his arms, nuzzled into his burning hot chest and traced lines with he
r fingertips up his naked torso.

  “You are amazing John Campbell,” she whispered. “You have no idea what you’ve just done to me…” she giggled.

  “Oh I do,” he kissed her on the forehead as he pulled her closer. “I’ve deflowered you… and hopefully impregnated you with a cub.”

  Muriel felt a twinge in her belly.

  A cub…

  A baby for them both…?

  “This is the beginning,” he whispered, “This is the start of the rest of the world. Together we are going to change Scotland forever…”

  Muriel looked deep into his eyes and smiled. She knew he was right and hoped that she did have a baby growing inside of her.

  “The stars,” she whispered as she looked up again, “Do you really believe this was written there?”

  “Most certainly,” John smiled.

  The ground began to freeze around them, but Muriel barely noticed. The heat coming from her wolf husband was keeping her warm and she could still feel it pulsing throughout her.

  Less than forty-eight hours earlier she had just been a normal highland lassie waiting for her life to begin… and out of nowhere she had been thrown into an almost unbearable situation with the evil Lord Rose… rescued by the handsome John Campbell and married with the possibility of a baby on the way. It had certainly been an unbelievable day, but one she wouldn’t change for a moment. She had found something with John… even if it was just the beginning, she knew it was a journey she wanted to be on.

  She looked over at Cawdor Castle and smiled. She had never wanted to leave before John had burst into the Great Hall, but now she had a husband of her own, one that she wanted to be with, she knew what Elizabeth and her mother had meant. Her destiny was being fulfilled… she had been chosen by a shifter clan and together they were going to begin something legendary. John said that it would depend on her… and she wanted to go. Together they could find their own home and start their own clan… The Campbell-Calder’s would be the most powerful family in the whole of the highlands.

  She nuzzled into John’s shoulder and looked up at the stars. Above them trails of silver shot across the sky and Muriel took it as a sign from the Gods that she was on the right path. She was where she was meant to be and destiny had finally found her.

  “I love you John Campbell,” she whispered as she locked her fingers with his, “And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  John turned to her and kissed her deeply for one last time before they feel asleep together under the stars as wild wolves howled beneath the moon.

  THE END

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  Chapter 1

  Erin, to the displeasure of her family and now her best friend Alicia, never liked the beach. Even as a child, she had always been a mountain person. To arrive at a compromise with Alicia, they picked a cabin at the foot of a valley, beside a lake, as their vacation spot. Not that Alicia accepted it as much of a compromise.

  They were sitting in rocking chairs on the balcony of the cabin with a view of the mossy green, serenely quiet lake before them.

  “Isn’t this charming?” Erin asked and took a sip from the steaming mug of hot chocolate she had been cradling in her hands. She saw Alicia roll her eyes. “What? What now?” Erin asked, shaking her head.

  “Where are the waves? The half-naked chiseled men showing off their torsos? The frozen margaritas and the sunscreen lotion? This is for middle-aged people, Erin!” Alicia drained her own hot chocolate into her mouth and sighed. Erin couldn’t help but smile, her best friend had always had a knack for drama.

  “You haven’t even given it a chance yet, Alicia. We’ve been here exactly what? Ten hours? And you’re making it sound like we’ve been stuck here forever. Besides, I’m nursing a broken heart and should be made to feel warm and comforted.” Erin pouted her lips. If Alicia knew how to exaggerate her misery, Erin had a few of her own tricks up her sleeves. Alicia sprang up from her chair and lunged towards Erin to give her a tight hug.

  “I’m sorry, cutie. Forget I said anything. You’re right, we need to concentrate on you.” She had crouched down beside Erin now and the two girls exchanged smiles.

  “I hope you haven’t been going through the messages again, Erin?” Alicia straightened her back, stood up and tightened her wrap around her shoulders. Erin sighed and shook her head.

  “No, I haven’t been doing that. I’ve taken the battery out of my phone and hidden it at the bottom of my suitcase.” She watched Alicia make her way back to her rocking chair and settle down.

  “How does that help? You’ve not exactly hidden it from yourself if you know where it is.” Alicia reached for Erin’s mug of hot chocolate.

  “No, but in my moment of weakness, having to take all my clothes and stuff out of the suitcase to reach the battery will give me enough time to calm myself and change my mind.” Erin allowed the mug to slip out of her hands and rubbed her palms together. If the temperature dropped any further, the caretaker of the lodge promised that the lake would freeze over. Erin secretly wished that would happen. She wanted the lake to freeze, for translucent icicles to drop down and then freeze mid-way from the pine tree leaves around them. She was hoping that the bitter cold would numb her heart and muscles and stop herself from physically aching.

  She hadn’t realized when Alicia had reached out and was gently rubbing the side of her arm. She threw her friend a gentle thankful look.

  “Thanks for coming, Alicia. I really do appreciate it.” Her voice squeaked as she spoke and she saw how Alicia flinched. Neither of them was accustomed to Erin being the one in need of support and comfort. They had been friends since Kindergarten and Alicia had always been the one to throw a fit, cry over the men in her life. Erin was the stoic one.

  “I really hate him. I hate Steve. If I see him I’d ̶ ” Alicia was spitting the words out and Erin interrupted her.

  “Forget it. Let’s just not talk about it.”

  “But we need to talk about it, Erin. The guy cheated on you, had been cheating on you for several months. You can’t just pretend that you’ll be able to distract yourself from it for the rest of your life.” Alicia was still drinking Erin’s hot chocolate.

  “I just don’t want to talk about it now, that’s all.” Erin couldn’t keep the annoyance out of her voice. She knew Alicia was trying to help, was trying to be a friend but she didn’t want to turn into a cranky cry baby.

  “This is exactly the reason why you end up going through old messages and emails. Because you’re not venting.” Alicia handed the half empty mug of hot chocolate back to Erin and stood up from her chair.

  “Where are you going?” Erin was predicting a dramatic quarrel between the two of them. A day would never be complete if they didn’t go through one of these.

  “I’m going to have a long hot bath, drink some wine and then try and persuade Ms. Carter to light the fire. I’m freezing out here.” Alicia was already halfway back into the cabin. She held the door open with her other hand fixed on her hip.

  “You coming in?” she asked Erin, but only got a shake of the head in response.

  “Just don’t stay out here too long. Come find me soon?” She sighed as she went inside and Erin grinned and drank some of the remaining bits in her mug. Despite their differences and their quarrels, there was nobody else she was more comfortable with than Alicia. In fact, Erin had always believed that if they hadn’t met in Kindergarten and she hadn’t punched a boy in the face when they were six because he was teasin
g Alicia, they might have never become friends. They were the opposites in school and everybody around them wondered what kept them together. The skinny blonde Cheerleader and the geeky nerd with the braces who always aced every exam, including the surprise ones.

  Erin was smiling to herself as she thought about their friendship through the years, subconsciously grateful that she had something else to think about rather than Steve.

  “Sorry, is someone sitting here?” Erin was jolted out of her thoughts by the voice of a man she had not noticed had now joined her in the balcony. She looked up to find him hovering over the chair that Alicia had been sitting on, her discarded wrap was still lying on the seat of the chair.

  “No, please go ahead. My friend was but she’s gone in now.” Erin spoke too quickly, slightly embarrassed to be caught in the middle of deep thoughts. How long had he been there? Had she been smiling and rocking herself like a fool this whole time?

  She watched as he picked up the edge of the wrap with one hooked finger, like it was something that could infect him with a fatal viral disease. He held it away from his body as he walked the short distance with it over to Erin’s side and then gently flung it over the back of her own chair. She wanted to laugh, just the sight of him made her want to burst out laughing.

  He was incredibly tall, for starters. Erin wasn’t the tallest girl she knew, but she was certain that this person was at least half a foot taller than Alicia…who was the tallest girl she knew. The lower half of his face was covered in a rough salt-pepper beard and his dark hair was scruffy and brushed back, away from his forehead. Only his temples betrayed a slight smattering of grey. She watched as he quietly settled into the rocking chair, a leather-bound book in his hands. She couldn’t quite tell his age, although he was most certainly older than her. He was in a warm plaid shirt and baggy jeans. If he wasn’t a fellow guest at the cabin, he most definitely was a local carpenter or lumberjack. Her eyes fell on his thick wrists and the way the muscles on his shoulders tensed as he started flipping through the pages of his book. She wondered if he had single- handedly built the cabin himself.