Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Silence lingered between them until they reached the door, and Olwen said, “I will see that the healer looks in on your wife as soon as she returns.”
“I appreciate that, Olwen, and thank you for all you have done for me and my wife tonight.”
Olwen nodded and turned, hurrying off.
Cree entered the room and went to sit down on the bed beside his wife. She continued to lay on her side, to avoid disturbing the wound on the back of her head. He ran his hand gently beneath her sleeve and along her arm resting over the blanket. He loved touching his wife’s soft skin, the intimate gesture always stirring his passion, a passion that had not dimmed since they had first met years ago. He had known he would wed, but never had he expected to love his wife with such fiery passion. Nothing would stop him from keeping her safe. Nothing. Not even wolves. He was pleased to see her eyes flutter open to look at him.
“How does your head feel?” he asked, and she cringed. He understood and voiced what she felt. “It hurts.”
She tapped his arm once.
“Rest and heal,” he said gently and stroked her arm once again. “From what I can surmise so far, we are safe here.” He wanted to tell her about what had happened since their arrival and get her thoughts on it. But it would have to wait until she was more rested and feeling better.
Her eyes drifted closed, and Cree leaned down and brushed his lips over her warm cheek in a soft kiss. His brow creased after kissing her and he sniffed along his wife’s face and her hair. A scent lingered on her, and he sniffed closer, glad she had fallen asleep.
The scent was a bit familiar to him, but where he had smelled it before he couldn’t recall. He sniffed a bit more then left the bed to fill a tankard with ale. He stopped and turned to glance at his wife. It came to him then, why the scent was familiar. Only this similar one was more potent… it was the scent on Beast when his fur got damp.
An animal had been in the room during his absence.
CHAPTER 4
Dawn loved waking in the morning cuddled against her husband. Only this morning an irritating pain disturbed that blissfulness. She intended to focus on her husband rather than the pain. She found comfort in his strong arms and the way he would squeeze her gently, in his sleep, as if reassuring himself that she was there. She enjoyed hearing his soft snores and hearing his heart thump against his chest when she laid her head upon it. It reaffirmed life ran strong through him. She could not imagine life without him, could not imagine waking without him beside her in the morning or not slipping into bed together at night. They had a bond that could never be broken, not in this life or beyond.
She breathed in deep, his scent as potent and seductive as ever, which was why they often began the day making love. She took another strong breath and scrunched her brow. There was a scent to him, familiar, but not to him. How had it gotten on him? Or was the scent coming from her?
Damp dog hair.
Wolves!
Her eyes shot open recalling where she was and what had happened yesterday, but it was her memory of last night that had disturbed her the most. She glanced up at her husband and was relieved to see he was awake.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
She cringed then held two fingers close together.
“It hurts but only a little,” he said, pleased her pain had subsided.
She nodded gently.
“The healer should return to the village today. If she says you are well enough to travel and the fog has cleared, we will take our leave and go find my men,” he said, anxious to do just that. Clan MacMadadh left him with an uneasy feeling, and he did not want to linger here.
She appeared as anxious as he was to leave here, nodding and frowning in response.
With Dawn not having a voice and unable to communicate as easily as most did, Cree had learned to pay heed to her movements, gestures, and her eyes. He had realized she spoke through all three and had come to understand that language as if she spoke it aloud.
“Something troubles you. I can see it in your eyes, and you twitched much in your sleep last night. Did you have troubling dreams?”
She nodded slowly, then switched to a shrug.
“You’re not sure?” Cree asked, concerned.
She shut her eyes tightly as if in deep sleep and cringed, then she opened them wide and looked around.
Cree understood her without a problem. “You are not sure if you were dreaming or if what you saw was real?”