Cambrun rose up out of the mists so suddenly that Alice almost gasped. One look was all it took for her to see the strength of the keep. It was huge, dark, and would certainly look threatening to an enemy. Alice suspected it could make grown men shiver with awe and fear when they saw it. She saw it as a haven and nearly wept with the realization that she and the children could finally just live without constantly worrying about where their enemies would appear next or even where their next meal might come from.
“’Tis so verra big,” she whispered.
“Aye,” Gybbon agreed and, seeing no fear in her eyes, only a sort of dazed wonder, he smiled. “And nay easy to get to, either.”
“Nay. I began to think ye were just leading me to another cave and then suddenly the mists parted, and there it was. Your ancestors chose weel.”
“Aye, and the need of this place has ne’er been stronger.”
As they neared the gates, he tried to think of how to say she wore his mark on her neck, but the words still would not come. He had wooed her as best he could during the last five days but he found he had no confidence when it came to guessing how she felt about him. Not knowing if he was about to throw his heart at the feet of a woman who only desired him had shown him that he could succumb to cowardice. He would pay for that soon, he thought, as they rode through the gates and his kinsmen rushed to greet him.
The large number of very handsome men at Cambrun astonished Alice. She dismounted and huddled close to Gybbon, a little intimidated by them all, as well as the beautiful women who slowly began to join the welcoming crowd. They smiled and greeted her with warmth but all she could think of was that she could never hold a man like Gybbon when he was accustomed to such beauty.
“Maman!”
That clear, high child’s voice was sweet music to Alice’s ears. She looked around and saw Donn rushing toward her. When he leapt into her open arms, she nearly cried from the strength of the joy that swept through her. A heartbeat later the other children were by her side, hugging her skirts and all talking at once.
All Alice could see through her tear-clouded eyes was how healthy and clean they looked. They wore warm clothing and looked as if they had never known the lack of a meal. But what touched her heart the most was that they were all smiling, all happy and eager to tell her all they had been doing, even solemn little Alyn.
After that everything moved so swiftly, she was dazed by it all. It was not until she was bathed, dressed in a warm blue gown, and having her hair brushed dry by the laird’s wife Bridget that Alice felt she could at least speak sensibly. She looked at the woman who did not look any older than Gybbon even though Alice knew she had to be as old as her own mother had been, perhaps even older.
“M’lady, I ken from all Gybbon told me that ye dinnae have MacNachton blood. Yet ye dinnae look any older than I.” Alice hoped she was not saying the wrong thing but curiosity forced her to press on. “So, ’tis true that MacNachton blood is what makes us strong and gives us a long life? And that can be given to others through our blood?”
“Aye, and ’tis a secret we pray daily no Outsider will discover,” said Bridget.
Alice shivered with horror at the thought. “I think I shall join in those prayers. If one could be certain it would be fairly shared and our lives nay put in danger, then ’twould be a gift we could share, but that would ne’er happen, I fear.”
“I ne’er looked at it in that way, but aye, it would be wondrous if it could be used to do good, but aye, that would never happen and we would all be in danger if the secret got out. Howbeit, now that ye are here and ye and Gybbon are mated, ye need nay fear for your safety. Weel, nay as much as ye have had to.”
“Um, Gybbon and I arenae married, m’lady.”
“Weel, mayhap not by the laws of the land or church, but we can sort that out in time. Ye are mated, though. Ye bear his mark and a MacNachton doesnae mark anyone but his mate.”
“His mark?”
“Aye. Havenae ye seen it?” Bridget held Alice’s hair to the side and touched the mark on her neck. “Look in the looking glass. Right there. See it?”
“Aye, ’tis a bite.” She could not completely subdue a blush as she thought of what she and Gybbon had been doing when he had bitten her. Several times. “’Tis odd that it hasnae healed and faded away as the others did.”
“Ah, he hasnae told ye.”
“Told me what?”
“Nay, I willnae be the one. Ye had best speak to the great fool and sort this out yourselves.” Bridget put the brush down. “In truth, I believe I shall fetch my nephew and send him here to take care of this right now.” She paused at the door. “And, Alice, we all thank ye for sending the children to us, for trusting us to care for them.”
Before Alice could say anything, the laird’s wife was gone. Shrugging her shoulders, she pulled her hair back and stared at the mark on her neck. It should have disappeared. Gybbon had fed off her more than once yet there was only the one mark. It was faint but it was clear to see what it was. Neither was it sore, so she knew it had healed all it was going to.
Mates, Bridget had said. A mating mark. The thought of that sent a heated shiver through her body as she wanted it to be true, wanted to be marked and claimed by Gybbon. Yet, if he had done that, why had he not told her?
The answers that cropped up in Alice’s mind robbed her of all pleasure she felt. It had been a mistake. Gybbon had not meant to do it. Or he had done it but did not want it to be true.
Gybbon rushed into the room and then came to a quick halt. Alice was staring at the mark on her neck. The look she turned on him was not one of joyous welcome and he sighed. Shutting the door behind him, he cautiously approached her. His aunt had seared his ears with her scolding and he deserved it. He should have swallowed his foolish cowardice and just told Alice, offered her all he had to offer and hoped he did not get his heart stomped on.
“She called this a mating mark,” Alice said, not encouraged by the guilty look on his face. “She thinks we are mated.”
“We are. That marks ye as mine.”
“If ye marked me, why didnae ye tell me? Or ask me if I e’en wanted to be yours?”
Alice wanted to be his more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. She would not let that lead her into a marriage, or mating, that did not have any more to hold it together than lust and possession. She wanted what her parents had. They had loved each other. She loved Gybbon and wanted him to love her back. Until she was sure he did, she was not going to be claimed no matter how many marks he put on her.
“I was surprised when I realized I had done it, done it the verra first time we made love.” He knelt before her and took her hands in his. “I then thought, weel, there it is, ’tis fate and we will sort it all out when we arenae busy fighting for our lives.”
“Yet ye still didnae tell me and ye have had days where we werenae fighting for our lives.”
“I ken it but I found that I can be a coward.”
“If ye dinnae want to tell me the truth, then dinnae, but dinnae say such nonsense.”
He could not help it, he grinned. “I thank ye for being so certain of my courage that ye think I could never cower from anything. Ah, but I can, my sweet Alice. I called what we shared everything but what it should have been called. Passion.” He brushed his lips across hers, taking strength in the fact that she did not pull away. “Possession.” He kissed the mark on her neck.
Alice did not know whether to be disgusted with herself or afraid when those two little kisses and the warm look in his beautiful green eyes was enough to make her desire him naked and in her arms. “What should it be called, then?”
“Love.”
Gybbon was not sure what he should think when she gaped at him. Just as he began to feel uneasy and was going to demand she say something, a tear rolled down her cheek. His stomach clenched with alarm.
“Alice?” He brushed the tear away with his thumb only to have another follow it. “Why do ye cry? Is it so appalling to ken that I love ye?” He grunted when she hurled herself into his arms so forcefully he fell backward onto the floor, still clutching her in his arms.
“I so hoped ye might come to love me,” she said, her words muffled because she had her face pressed into his chest. “I love ye so much that I was willing to accept less if I could just stay with ye, but to ken ye love me, too, is nearly too much.”
“Ye never said ye loved me.”
Gybbon was shaking with the relief he felt. She returned his love; she was his mate in every way. He knew of only one way to celebrate such a miracle and began to undo her gown.
“Of course I didnae. I didnae want to make ye stay with me out of pity, or even worse.”
“What could be worse?” He tossed her gown aside and started to unlace her shift.
“That ye would be so burdened and embarrassed that ye would send me away.”
He picked her up and carried her to the bed. As he started to shed his clothes he looked at her sprawled out on the heavy coverlet, her shift unlaced and falling open, and felt everything that was male in him roar its need for her. The moment the last of his clothes were tossed aside he hurriedly pulled the rest of hers off.
“Gybbon?”
“I think I have loved ye from the beginning. ’Tis why I marked ye.” He sprawled in her arms and began to kiss a circle around her breasts. “I accepted it but didnae think much on it except to be pleased that fate chose a woman who could make my blood burn. Then”—he teased her nipples into hard points with his tongue—“when I was held captive I realized it was more, more than passion and possession.” He began to kiss his way down her smooth midriff. “When ye were attacked by Callum, when I woke up to find ye gone, that was when I accepted that the more was love. And now that I have had the woman I love tell me that she loves me, too, there is only one thing I want to do almost more than breathing.”
Alice was trembling with the need to have him inside her but she said, “Weel, your aunt said there will be a fine meal set out within the hour.”
Her words ended on a gasp of shock as he kissed her. Right there between her legs. She was so stunned by the intimacy that she could not move. By the time her mind cleared of shock enough for her to speak, passion had roared in to clear every coherent thought from her mind. Alice threaded her hands through his hair and gave herself over to the pleasure he gave her until she could not bear it any longer.
“Gybbon,” she cried out, tugging on his hair until he began to kiss his way back up to her breasts. “I need ye to be one with me.”
“Aye, lass, always.”
She cried out again when he thrust himself deep inside her. Ecstasy swept over her as his fangs sank into her neck. When he placed his wrist against her mouth, she did not hesitate, but cupped his hand in hers and stroked it as she gently fed from him. The moment the spicy taste of him hit her tongue, all clear thought fled her mind and she sank into the fierce passion only he could make her feel.
Feeling as limp as if he had been in the sun too long, Gybbon rolled off Alice and pulled her into his arms. She was as limp as he felt and he found the strength to grin with male pride. She was his, mind, heart, and soul. He had no words for how complete, how blessed that made him feel, but somehow he would do his best, for the rest of their long lives, to make her know just how necessary she was to him.
“We will be married as soon as my mother and aunt can arrange it,” he said when he finally had the strength to speak.
“Can ye get a priest up here?” she asked, idly wondering if she would have the strength to get dressed in time to go have something to eat.
“Aye, one of our kinsmen. He can abide a fair lot of time in the sun and took a place within the church.” He kissed the top of her head. “I hope we have just made a bairn.”
“Weel, even though we already have four, so do I.”
“Ah, my mother found Alyn’s kinsmen. I fear his father was killed even as he was traveling back to Alyn’s mother. The boy does have several aunts and uncles, however, as weel as a grandmother. My mother says they are all madly in love with the lad even now. She is working to see if she can find who ye and the others may be related to.”
Alice raised herself up on her forearms and kissed him. “I dinnae ken how I can be so blessed. I also dinnae ken how I can be thinking of food right now, but I am.”
Gybbon laughed and helped her sit up. They dressed, each fighting the urge to toss aside the clothes and return to bed. Their stomachs won that battle and Gybbon was soon leading her into the great hall.
Her belly full, Alice sipped her wine and looked around at all the MacNachtons. Alyn sat with his newfound family and she could see how their delight in him was easing all that anger and bitterness he had held for most of his young life. Even though Jayne and Norma did not yet know who amongst the crowd of dark, handsome people they might be related to, they were being so showered with love and attention she doubted it would matter if they ever found out. The fact that they were females who would grow up to be the mates of some MacNachton male undoubtedly added to their worth, but Alice could see that the joy the clan felt in all the children had no ties to it. Even Donn, already seen as Gybbon’s son since he was mated to the child’s mother, was being cosseted and feted. Alice knew she was going to have to do her best to make sure the children were not spoiled.
She knew she was basking a little in the acceptance of the clan. The shyness and uneasiness she had felt as Gybbon had presented her to his clan had fled quickly. It was hard to keep tears of joy at bay as she realized that she and the children had come home. Grief pinched her for a moment as she wished her family could have known this joy, but she shook it aside. She knew they would be happy for her and the children and that had to be enough.
The laird stood up and everyone went silent. Gybbon took her hand in his and flashed a smile at her. Alice stared at Gybbon’s uncle, thought of how he would also remain so handsome for years and years and almost grinned back at him, but the laird began to speak.
“We are blessed tonight,” he said, and paused to smile at Alice and each of the children. “We have brought five of the Lost Ones home. The number of fledglings returned to the nest will surely grow. And, since my nephew has had the good sense to mate himself with this fine brave lass who kept these children safe until they could come home, we will soon be celebrating a wedding as weel.”
Everyone cheered as Alice blushed so hotly she was amazed her cheeks did not catch on fire. Gybbon laughed and kissed her cheek but it did little to ease the heat there. It was several minutes after everyone had returned to their talk and their food, or tankards of enriched wine, before Alice calmed down.
“All right now, love?” Gybbon asked, a teasing note in his voice.
“I was just a wee bit unsettled by how everyone was cheering,” she murmured.
“Ye are a heroine to them, love. Aye,” he said when she shook her head. “As my uncle says, ye kept those children alive. That is no small thing. And everyone is overjoyed to have so many Lost Ones brought home.”
“And I am home now, arenae I.”
“Aye, love, ye are. That is what is being celebrated and ’tis a worthy thing to celebrate. Of course,” he murmured close to her ear, “I am eager to return to our bed so that I may celebrate in a manner more to my liking.”
“Ah.” She felt the desire he could so effortlessly stir in her begin to rise. “I thought ye had celebrated it quite thoroughly already.”
“Och, nay. Having ye as mine can ne’er be celebrated enough.”
He sounded so cocky, and looked it, that Alice had to smile. She also felt a strong inclination to wipe that arrogant smirk off his handsome face. “Gybbon,” she whispered in his ear, “ye do recall that, er, kiss ye gave me a wee while ago, aye?”
“Oh, aye, and I recall how sweet ye tasted as weel.”
“Tell me, oh great lover of mine, do ye think I would find ye as sweet to taste?”
He choked on his wine. Alice was still laughing about that when he grabbed her by the hand and dragged her out of the hall. She doubted the joy that filled her would fade anytime soon. She had spent six years in hell, running, hiding, and fighting to stay alive, but now she was home, home with a man who loved her and a people who accepted her because she was truly one of them. Alice realized that she had been lost and she thanked God that the man who was dragging her to their bedchamber as fast as he could was the one to find her.