The Seduced Read online

  “Don’t fight it,” Ilinca’s voice whispered in his head.

  It was in his nature to fight. He fought as hard as he could against whatever she was doing to him, but it was too much. The world went black in an instant, like the snap of someone’s fingers.

  Ilinca sighed as she dropped her hands and took a step back from Daman. Then she nodded, and the men carried him to her wagon and brought him inside. Grief rose up in her like a tidal wave. She would tend to Daman later. Right now, she needed to bury her granddaughter.

  Once that was done, she had a destination to reach.

  “Grandmother?”

  Ilinca held out her arms for Ana’s younger sister. When Amalia wrapped her arms around her, Ilinca held her tight. “It’s almost over, my sweet.”

  “You didn’t say Ana would die.”

  “I didn’t know.” Ilinca didn’t stop the tears from falling. “Ana was impetuous and kind, but she wasn’t as strong as you are.”

  Amalia looked up at her. “Where did you send those men?”

  “Far away.”

  “And the fourth? Why didn’t you send him, too?”

  Ilinca glanced at her wagon. “Because he’s the key to all of it.”

  CHAPTER ONE

  MacKay Clan

  1609

  Innes stood in the great hall of the castle staring at their dwindling clan. Every day more and more people left. Not that she blamed them. People were starving, and with most of the warriors dead, their clan was weak.

  She fingered the amulet hidden beneath her gown. It had been placed around her neck when she was just seven summers. Her mother had told her to never take it off. It had been passed down through their family for over two hundred years.

  “You may need it one day, Innes,” her mother said.

  “Need it how? It’s just a pendant.”

  “It’s not just any piece of jewelry, sweetling. It possesses magic. There is a warrior hidden on this land. He’s sleeping, waiting for the time when we need him most.”

  Innes had thought her mother was making it all up until she was shown the sleeping warrior the next day. From that moment on, rarely a week passed when she didn’t go see him.

  Her brother’s voice boomed through the hall as he tried to quiet everyone. Innes knew they were in trouble. There had been an attack in their forest by a lone man who had killed several of their men, as well as the defection of another clan member to their enemy, the Sinclairs.

  “Enough!” Alistair shouted. He ran a hand through his dark hair, his nostrils flaring. “We will survive. We were a great clan once, and we will be again.”

  “What of Donald?” someone shouted.

  Innes watched her brother’s hands fist at his sides. It infuriated him that Donald was making more trouble for the clan instead of helping. Then again, their brother wanted to lead. Donald’s pride was hurt from not winning the clan’s support to become laird.

  Alistair met her gaze, and she gave him a nod. She normally didn’t take sides with her brothers, but in this, she wholeheartedly agreed with Alistair.

  “My brother will be brought to heel,” Alistair said, his words ringing clear and loud through the great hall. “Family or not, he is destroying this clan. I vowed to rebuild us, and I’ll no’ stop until I do.”

  The talk then turned to the stores of food for winter. Innes turned and walked from the castle. She made her way down the castle steps to the bailey, which was so quiet it was eerie.

  It used to be one of her favorite places. All the noise, all the people. It was a central place for the clan. Now, it was a reminder of all they had lost.

  Innes walked through a hidden postern door and out of the safety of the castle. They had only one man standing watch at the gatehouse, but she didn’t want anyone to know where she was going.

  A cool wind whipped around her as she walked across the land, reminding her in not so subtle a fashion that winter would soon be upon them. Their food stores were alarmingly low. The men who would be out hunting were now dead thanks to her youngest brother.

  Donald had always been impetuous. He’d always been jealous of Alistair as well, but he seemed to realize that Alistair would be the one to lead. Over the past few months, however, Donald had become increasingly argumentative. He questioned Alistair’s every decision and command.

  Then, to her horror, he began to sway some of the remaining younger men to his side, claiming he would set things right one way or another. Donald’s idea of setting things right was to attack the Sinclairs. Unfortunately, that idea turned into action.

  It was a stupid, thoughtless move. The Sinclair clan wasn’t only large, they were powerful. Their laird had several castles on his land being held by commanding, formidable men.

  Donald thought he could attack Ravensclyde to see how strong their new lord – Ronan Galt – was, but he and his men had been put in their place quick enough.

  How she wished that had been the end of it. Donald and his remaining men returned to the castle to heal and lick their wounds, and her brother swore to both her and Alistair that he would never attempt to oust Alistair again.

  Yet, three days ago, he’d done just that.

  Innes continued over the rocky landscape and up a steep hill. She had to lift her heavy skirts on the way up. Thunder rumbled as dark clouds rolled in. The air was heavy with the scent of rain.

  She hurried down the opposite side of the slope hoping to beat the rain. Half way down, the sky opened up and drenched her. Innes didn’t slow as she reached the valley and took a quick left into a grove of trees where the cave was hidden.

  Once inside the cave, she stopped to catch her breath. Innes wiped away the wet strands of dark hair sticking to her face.

  Just yesterday, she had been to see the warrior as she had every day since Donald had begun to push against Alistair’s rule. But last night, she found no rest as her thoughts jumbled into what was happening and the possible outcomes.

  She didn’t need a torch to see the way. She knew where every stone was, where every hole lay. Her heart began to pound and her stomach twisted into knots when she walked down the narrow, twisting tunnel that eventually opened up to a small cavern.

  A slab of stone sat in the middle of the cavern, and upon that slab slept the warrior. Magic had kept him ageless and sleeping for two hundred years, just as magic kept the torches spaced evenly along the walls lit.

  She didn’t know what had happened to put him in such a situation. Her mother hadn’t known either. The truth of that part of the story was forgotten long ago– or never stated.

  Innes walked around the man. He looked so peaceful, so content. Through the years, she had come to him often and spoke of her worries and her dreams. Without realizing it, he had helped her get through some of the worst times in her life.

  She had always thought him handsome with his long, wavy mane of golden hair and his rippling muscles. But a few years ago, she began to...long to touch him.

  The first time, she barely laid a finger on him before she snatched her hand back. Eventually, she came to need to feel his skin beneath hers, no matter how innocent the touch.

  Innes walked to him and rested her hands upon his upper arm, feeling the strength, the hard muscle beneath her palms. Feeling his warmth.

  She took a deep breath and slowly released it as she let her gaze wander over his face. Unable to stop herself, Innes caressed her finger over his wide forehead and down the slope of his nose. She brushed across his square chin and along the hard angles of his jaw up to his sharp cheekbones. She traced the blond brows that slashed over his eyes.

  Her gaze lowered to his mouth. She leaned closer, rested her hand on the side of his face and outlined the shape of his wide lips with the pad of her thumb.

  “I think I’ve come to need you,” she said into the quiet. “That’s not good. If everything goes according to Alistair’s plans, I’ll be married after the first of the year. I’m sure my new husband won’t approve of the time I spend
with you, talking and...touching.”

  She glanced down at his chest. His saffron shirt used to be closed, but she had parted it the year before to see more of his impressive chest.

  “I’m your guardian,” she continued. “And yet, I feel as if you’re the one who has been watching over me.” She dropped her forehead onto his chest and squeezed her eyes closed. “Donald did it again. He took some of his men out into the woods to attack the people of Ravensclyde, but he stumbled across a man that nearly wiped them out. Donald has gone out for a second attack, and I fear if Alistair doesn’t do something soon, Donald will be the ruin of us.”

  She paused and raised her head to look at him again. Innes straightened and took his large hand in hers. “My mother says you’re a great warrior. That one day you’ll be the answer to our prayers.”

  Her heart knocked against her ribs at what she was contemplating doing. With her chest heaving and her blood running cold through her veins, Innes squeezed his hand between hers.

  “I was told that I should only think of waking you under the direst of circumstances. Our clan is starving, and our numbers are rapidly shrinking. Other clans are eyeing our lands because we don’t have enough warriors to fight. I think that’s pretty dire.”

  She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. Once she revived him, there was no sending him back to sleep. He would be awake, his will once more his own. His life had been paused while he slept, and when he woke, he would once again begin to age like everyone else.

  “I pray this is the right thing to do. Alistair is doing everything he can, so now it’s my turn.” She pulled the amulet from beneath her gown and then over her head. Innes looked at the silver piece, the markings faded from being held so many times. “Alistair is a good man, but he needs help. Please be that help for us.”

  Innes held the amulet for a few moments longer, debating on whether to leave without waking him, but the fate of her clan was at stake.

  “Please be the answer we need,” she whispered and gently placed her lips over his.

  Innes set the amulet in his palm and closed his fingers over it just as her mother had instructed. She leaned back and waited, hoping he would wake immediately, but as the minutes passed without movement, she began to doubt.

  She removed the amulet and put it in his other hand. Still nothing happened.

  “Of course,” she said and shook her head ruefully. “It would’ve been too easy to be able to wake you and have you save the day. Keep the amulet. I don’t know why my family was bade to watch over you, or why you’re in this cave, but I hope someday you get to wake.”

  Innes jumped when thunder boomed so close that the ground shook. Pebbles and dirt rained down from the ceiling of the cave. She glanced at the man to see him still asleep. Utterly defeated, she turned and ran out of the cave and back to the castle.

  ~ ~ ~

  The sweet voice was back. Daman drifted upon nothingness, but every once in awhile he heard a woman’s voice. He hadn’t been able to hear the words at first. It was just sound, a calming, reassuring sound that he sought. Then the words became clear, as if she were right next to him.

  It felt like an eternity in-between the times he heard her. Immeasurable time stretched endlessly before him. He didn’t know her name, didn’t know her face or why she was with him, but he felt...comforted whenever she was near.

  It wasn’t just her voice that affected him. It was her touch, as well. How he longed for more, craved more of her soft caresses.

  She only ever touched his arms, face, and chest. Yet he yearned for her to go lower, to take his cock in hand. But she never did.

  The sadness in her voice this time gave him pause. As did the part where she’d said he was supposed to help her. Help her how? He didn’t even know who he was or why he couldn’t seem to wake from the endless sleep.

  He suddenly needed to know why her family kept watch over him, and why she thought putting something in his hand would wake him.

  She’d mentioned marriage. He didn’t want her to marry and never touch him again. He needed to see her face, to know her name.

  To run his hands over her skin as she had done to his countless times.

  He wanted to know the color of her hair and eyes, to see her smile. Most importantly, he wanted to be the one who saved her clan.

  For the first time, he really fought against the strain of sleep. The warm metal in his hand heated, and his fingers gripped it tighter.

  It felt as if he were swimming in a sea of tar. Every time he tried to surface, it yanked him back. But he kept swimming, kept struggling.

  He kept her voice running through his head. His skin tingled from the memory of her touch.

  Then, he saw the faintest pinprick of light. He fought even harder against the tide pulling him under, keeping him asleep. The more he struggled, the more the light grew.

  Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he sucked in a mouthful of air. He sat up, looking around for the woman. But his eyes only found an empty cavern, dimly lit from torches along the walls.

  He looked down at his hand and opened his fingers. The moment his gaze locked on the amulet, he recognized it.

  “The next time you see this, your destiny will be before you. The path you choose will seal your fate.”

  The old woman’s voice was loud in his mind as her words replayed. What path did she mean? To him he had but one – to help the woman who came to him.

  The question was: who was the woman, and where did he find her?

  CHAPTER TWO

  Innes had changed her gown and was drying her hair with a cloth when there was a knock at her chamber door followed by Alistair’s voice saying her name.

  “Come in,” she bade and turned to face the door.

  He took in her appearance and raised a brow. “You disappeared again.”

  “You had things under control.”

  Alistair looked at her with the dark eyes of their ancestry and sank into the chair next to the hearth. “I already have one sibling against me. It looks good to have you there. Shows your support.”

  “I was there,” she argued. “Everyone saw me.”

  “Where did you go?”

  He had asked so many times, and despite the fact she had never told him, he kept asking. “I needed to collect my thoughts,” she answered.

  “And what if Donald was out there?”

  Innes spread the cloth next to the fire so it would dry and gave her eldest brother a droll look. “Donald wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “Just as I thought he’d never go against me.” Alistair propped his elbow on the arm of the chair and leaned his face against his fist. “He’s no’ returned, Innes.”

  She sat at his feet, tucking her legs beneath her. “And you’re afraid if you send a party out looking for him that they’ll either end up dead by Donald’s hand or the men from Ravensclyde.”

  “Aye.” He sighed heavily, his shoulders drooping. “Why did Da try to steal the sheep back with just a handful of men? Why didna he take me or Donald with him? Maybe then he wouldna be dead.”

  “You can’t think that way. Da went without you because he knew it would be dangerous. He was trying to protect you. And he knew you would lead the clan if anything were to happen to him.”

  Alistair spread his arms around him. “Clan? Have you seen the people? More leave each day. I’m surprised another clan hasna come to take our lands by now. The only thing keeping them away is the threat of Ravensclyde descending upon us.”

  “So what do we do? Do we hand over our lands?”

  Alistair cut her a look. “Of course no’.”

  “Then quit complaining and start figuring out a way out of this.”

  “I have.”

  The way he said those two words, with determination and regret, brought chills of foreboding to Innes. She knew exactly what Alistair was referring to. Marriage.

  Everyone in their family sacrificed for the clan. She was just one of many, so there was no need to ra
nt or cry about it. Especially if it saved the clan.

  “Who will I marry?”

  Alistair moved to sit beside her on the floor. He took her hand in his, while his dark eyes searched hers. “I doona want to do this.”

  “I know. You must do what you can for our people.”

  “If there were another way-”

  “It’s all right,” she interrupted him. “I’ve known my fate for some months now. You’re laird. As a woman of this family, I’m used as a way to negotiate peace through marriage.”

  Alistair tugged on her black hair. “I wanted you to be happy. I wanted you to have the kind of marriage our parents had.”

  “What about you? Don’t you want that kind of marriage?”

  He shrugged absently. “I doona believe I’ll have that luxury. I’ll broker my own marriage to another, stronger clan. But first, I must bring Donald to heel.”

  “If the men of Ravensclyde haven’t already done it for you.”

  “Part of me prays they have,” Alistair said in a low voice. “I doona relish fighting my own brother.”

  Both of them knew Donald wouldn’t back down without a fight, and for Donald, who wanted to be laird, that meant to the death.

  Innes knew the strength of both her brothers. Donald was good, but he often let his emotions get the better of him. Alistair was calm and cool during battle. He would win, but it would kill a piece of his soul in the process.

  “We’ll survive this,” she stated.

  Alistair gave her a crooked smile. “I’m going to ensure that you do.”

  ~ ~ ~

  He was famished. His stomach rumbled with the need for food as he inspected the cavern. As he thought, there was nothing but rock and torches. No water, no food. And no female.

  At least he thought there was nothing until he spotted a sword leaning against the wall near the entrance. He smiled as he recognized his weapon.