Chapter 1

1

"Ye're distracted." Olivia's mother knew her moods inside out, so it wasn't a question.

Olivia knelt at the garden bed next to her mother, staring off into the horizon. Her usual love for gardening wasn't enough to pull her out of the despondency she was feeling.

"I've planted four bulbs, and ye have barely managed one." Elspeth continued.

Olivia looked down at her hands that held the forgotten flower bulbs. With a sigh, she sat on the ground, giving up the pretense of planting.

"I'm nae in the mood today."

"Care to say what's wrong?"

It was hard for Olivia to put into words what she was feeling. For the past few months, a restlessness had been coursing through her that made her unhappy in nearly every place she went. For a while, their home had been busy and bursting with energy. There was the arrival of Ciara and her marriage to Olivia's stepbrother, Magnus. Then there were visits from Ciara's family and the birth of Ciara and Magnus's baby, Arthur.

But lately, the visits from Ciara's family had slowed down. Even her sister, Lana, whom Olivia had grown close to, visited less frequently. Meanwhile, Magnus and Ciara were too wrapped up in Arthur to pay Olivia much attention, and with another baby on the way, Olivia knew it would only get worse.

"Just bored, I guess," Olivia said, since it was the easiest explanation for the churning feeling in her chest.

She saw her mother give a knowing smile. "If ye were married, ye wouldnae be bored."

Right. We all saw what good that did to ye.

But she wouldn't say such a thing out loud to her mother. Her father had been a cruel man. And while Olivia had never been physically hurt by him, her mother had been a frequent victim of his wrath. Sometimes Olivia wondered how Elspeth had emerged a kind and loving woman after such a marriage.

It was one of the reasons Olivia felt reluctant to settle down. Sure, Magnus and Ciara seemed to have a happy union, but there was no guarantee Olivia would find someone as gentle as her stepbrother. Besides, she had hardly had any adventure in her life. The last thing she wanted was to be locked up inside a keep to run a household and have babies. Not yet, anyway. There was still so much of the world to explore.

"I need a walk," Olivia said, standing up and brushing the dirt from her skirts. She grabbed the sketchbook she had brought out to the garden and tucked it under her arm.

"Dinnae go far," Elspeth said, looking up at the sky. "It looks like it will rain."

Olivia shivered as a cloud passed over the sun. "I'll be back soon."

Before her mother could give any more restrictions on her whereabouts, Olivia rushed away.

Sometimes Elspeth was a bit too protective of her only daughter, and today Olivia longed to explore the woods outside the keep's walls. Out there, she could lose herself among the trees and imagine herself a wild creature, untamed and free. She felt that churning feeling in her chest bubbling up, and she began to run.

In the dense forest, the day felt dark and wet with the promise of rain. Beneath the trees, everything was even darker as the sun struggled to push its way first through the clouds and then through the leaves of the canopy above her.

Olivia had removed her shoes and stockings to cross over a small stream that surrounded a portion of her brother's land. Now she walked with her boots in her hand, feeling the cold leaves and dirt beneath her feet.

Maither will kill me.

Olivia was sure of it, but lately, any chance to be a bit rebellious, even if it was only to wander the woods barefoot, had brought a thrill. Her longing for adventure was all-consuming these days, and these small gestures that defied expectations were the only things that brought a bit of relief.

Suddenly, she heard a cry somewhere ahead of her, followed by the neigh of a horse and shouting. The voices were far enough away that she couldn't make out the words, but she knew they were the angry cries of men. A chill came over her as her blood drained from her face, and panic set in.

Olivia was far from the keep. Definitely too far if her brother had anything to say about it. She didn't know what she would do if she found herself in trouble so far away from her family's protection. If she called out, there was no one to hear her except for the men who were up ahead of her, clearly in the midst of a fight.

With her heart pounding in her chest, Olivia tried to settle her breathing as she rushed forward to take cover behind a large tree. A few feet away, she saw the road that led back to MacLeon Castle, and through the trees, she could just make out the dark figures of men and horses, and then a flash of steel.

Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the weapon. She hated violence and never understood why men thought the only way to solve problems was through fighting. Her father had been one of these men. Olivia had witnessed enough of her father's violence to last a lifetime. All she could think about was making this fight stop before someone got hurt.

Ye're the Laird's sister. Ye can tell them to stop.

All day, that restless longing for adventure had been coursing through her body. And now, she found herself in the middle of a fight on the road. She couldn't help feeling like this was a sign.

Gathering her courage, Olivia stepped out from behind the tree to show herself to these men.

"Stop yer fighting at once," she boomed, trying to stand as tall as her small frame would allow.

But as she emerged from the woods, she immediately saw a dark figure laid out on the ground, a crimson puddle surrounding his body. Her breath caught, and her throat felt tight. She was unable to breathe, and tears instantly pooled in her eyes as she realized she was staring at a dead body.

But the body on the ground wasn't alone. There was someone else there. A huge man bent over the body, his shirt ripped and bloody, and his dark hair hanging around his face. His chest heaved as he tried to suck in air, and his hand still clutched a sword that glinted in the sun, its blade dark with blood.

Olivia gasped at the sight of this creature standing over his kill, and the man looked up at her, rage and terror and surprise in his eyes. But all Olivia could see was the blood pouring down his face, dripping into his eyes and covering his mouth, making the hair around his face wet and dark. His mouth was open, and as he gasped for air, the sight of his white teeth covered in blood made her cry out in horror at the beast.

"Leave," she heard him bark at her, but Olivia felt frozen in place. She was unable to move, unable to speak, and the tears that had formed in her eyes were now falling unbidden.

The hulk of a man stood up, and Olivia looked down at the sword he still held in his hand, certain he was coming for her next. He took a step towards her, and she stared at him, begging for mercy with her gaze, since she could not utter a word. There was blood on his eyelashes, and in his eyes, and he blinked hard as if trying to see her.

"Are ye all right, lass?"

Those words, a slight moment of kindness, freed Olivia from her spot. She turned around and fled, dropping her boots and her sketchpad in the dirt as the clouds opened overhead and the rain began to fall.

"What have I told ye about disappearin' on yer own?"

Magnus was in the Main Hall, waiting for her. As Olivia rushed in, out of breath, she caught him pacing back and forth, clearly angry. He hated it when she ran off, even though it was a habit that had started long before he became Laird MacLeon.

But when her stepbrother spun around, ready to yell at her, he saw her drenched clothing, her bare and muddy feet, and the tears that were streaming down her face.

"What is it?" he asked, instantly going to her.

Olivia collapsed into Magnus's arms. She had run the entire way back to the keep, convinced the murderer was chasing after her, intent on killing her next.

"I saw…I couldnae…"

"Take a breath," Magnus told her, walking her to a chair where she could sit down. He kept his sister's hands in his own, trying to comfort her.

"Are ye hurt?" Magnus looked down at her feet and her hands, perhaps trying to see if it was only mud covering her or something more sinister.

Olivia shook her head, her wet locks sticking to her cheeks. Magnus reached a hand up and brushed her hair aside, trying to comfort her.

"Take yer time, lass. Tell me what happened."

"It was…" Olivia said, gulping in the air as she tried to catch her breath. "On the road… someone killed a man."

"Me God," Magnus said, sucking in a sharp breath.

Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, trying to extinguish the image from her mind. But all she could see was that dead body lying on the ground and the murderer standing over him.

"Not just any man," Olivia said, feeling a wave of nausea. "Ciara's faither."

She couldn't look up at Magnus as she said it. The horror of that moment had been bad enough on its own: watching a dead man take his final breath in a pool of blood. It was so much worse when she realized the dead body was a person she knew. Poor Ciara.

"Who killed him?" Magnus roared. There was a darkness in his voice Olivia had never heard before.

"I dinnae ken," Olivia said, and she let out a sob.

If she had to tell Ciara that her father was dead, she at least wanted to tell her who was responsible. But all Olivia could see was blood dripping down a dark face and those eyes boring into her, taking her in as if he knew her.

"All right," Magnus said, trying to regain control. "What did he look like?"

Olivia shook her head, certain she would never get that image out of her mind. That man would haunt her for the rest of her days.

"Like a monster."