Chapter 7

7

A ccalia decided—whether right or wrong—that she was doing well here, taking charge like she wanted to do as she did with her staff at home. She had always found that easy to do, but taking care of the boys, she wasn’t sure about that.

Then she headed out to the inner bailey where the boys were waiting for her with wooden swords. Hendrie had two and he ran to her to give her one.

She took it and ruffled his hair. All three lads were smiling. She felt good that they were so eager to play with her.

Several clansmen and women were doing chores but when they saw Accalia coming to fight the boys, they all stopped to watch. When she saw Erik come out to observe the situation, she had a thought. She hoped she wasn’t making a mistake that she would later regret.

She walked over to Erik and handed him the wooden sword. “You wear them out a bit and then I’ll fight them.”

Erik’s mouth opened and she thought he would tell her no, but then he gave her a hint of a smile, took the sword, and approached the boys, who appeared a little worried. They probably figured she would be easy to beat. She was proud of Erik for agreeing to play with his sons.

Thorfinn attacked his da first while the other boys waited.

But then she worried that Erik might be too hard on his boys. She was standing off to the side, casting Erik a look like he should take care with them. She didn’t want to tell him how to battle his sons. But she didn’t want him to beat them so badly to prove his masculinity and to demonstrate something to the rest of his clan. Or maybe even to her.

He caught her eye and Thorfinn struck Erik in the chest, then looked up at him as if he feared he would be in trouble. Erik smiled. She let out the breath she’d been holding up until then.

He motioned to the other boys and fought all three of them. Erik was so fast, sending Thorfinn’s sword flying with a whack of his. He ran to retrieve it as Erik hit Johnne’s sword and sent it off in a different direction. He raced to get it while Erik struck Hendrie’s sword, and it went sailing through the air. Thorfinn rushed back to attack his da again.

Erik’s intense expression, a fighter at heart, turned to joyful laughter when his sons’ swords were airborne. Erik’s reaction melted her heart. He glanced at her and smiled. She smiled back, feeling the more she saw his interactions with his sons, the more she liked the person he truly was.

The boys were so wild and looked eager to beat their da, Accalia was glad he was wearing them down. Sweat dribbled down Erik’s face as he readied his sword to fight his tiring boys. Johnne took a break. Hendrie came in swinging but missed Erik’s sword. Thorfinn came in for another clash with his da but without his brothers’ help distracting him, he lost the advantage.

Forever it seemed they fought.

Everyone was laughing and cheering. Even Accalia couldn’t help but laugh and smile to see the battle progressing between da and sons. They were so bent on fighting him but also having a great time, she thought this couldn’t have worked out any better.

Erik knocked Thorfinn’s sword out of his hand, then Hendrie’s, but Johnne was sitting that fight out.

Erik raised his sword, ending the session, and said, “Good work, lads.”

Then they looked at Accalia. She had hoped they would be worn out after all the fighting with their da, but the boys looked eager to fight her next. She’d promised.

Erik held his sword out to her and when she reached for it, he grabbed her hand and pulled her close. He leaned over and kissed her mouth, shocking her. She was so startled that she didn’t respond at first, not that he probably expected her to. But then she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her body against his, and kissed him. No man had ever kissed her like he had, and she wasn’t letting him go until he kissed her further.

His eyes widened a bit as he looked down at her. Now she had shocked him! Which was just the effect she was going for. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back, his masculine lips warm against hers. She parted her lips to take a breath, and he inserted his tongue into her mouth, teasing and tasting hers and that astonished her all over again. But she loved this with him.

She nearly forgot that half his pack was out there watching them kiss and that his sons were too, and she wondered what they were thinking about all of this. More than that though, she couldn’t believe her body was reacting to his to such a degree. Her breasts tingled, her heart was beating like crazy like his heart was, and she smelled the scents they were both giving off that said they were highly interested in each other as a mated couple. She hadn’t expected that.

Then she broke free from the kiss. She was surprised to connect with him in such a way. Though some wolves didn’t take a mate if they had lost one, his actions made her believe he was interested in mating.

His lips parted as if to speak, and then he saw all his people watching and smiled. “You, lass, are a bundle of fascinating contradictions.”

“So are you.” She was pleased with his praise and realized just how much she craved it—from him. Even if he had room for improvement—just like she had, she looked up to him as a warrior and protective—someone who held his emotions in check most of the time but let them slip for her to enjoy.

He smiled again and stalked off.

Then she faced the boys. They looked worn out, sagging in their stance, their breathing ragged, their hearts beating hard, which was good for her. She waited. Then Thorfinn’s body tensed, and she knew he was ready to spring into action. She readied herself as he rushed her. Hendrie and Johnne waited. Which she was glad for. She didn’t think she could fight off all three of them at the same time.

Thorfinn struck at her and she smacked his sword with hers, sweeping it away. Unlike when he challenged his da, he held onto it. He was a strong lad, and she assumed he wouldn’t want her to show him up. Likewise, she didn’t want to be too easy on him when he might not appreciate it. It was different when his da was fighting him. He was so much bigger and stronger than the boys and her. That’s why she hadn’t wanted Erik to be too hard on them.

Thorfinn hesitated to attack her, and it appeared he was studying her, trying to figure out how to make her lose her sword. What a boon that would be! But she was glad he was thinking about it, not just rushing in, believing he could be the victor with wild, uncontrolled actions.

Again, his whole body came to life as he charged her, and she blocked his sword. But she held her own, and the fight was on. He attacked in a hurry without strategizing and struck her sword several times. She was surprised and impressed that his swings carried so much force, given his youthful age. He hit her sword, and she parried, then pushed him several steps back, neither giving any quarter.

So that his brothers could have their turn, she thought of letting Thorfinn win. She didn’t want to, but she needed to end the battle with him. He came at her again, but he wasn’t as steady on his feet, his skin sweaty with exertion, his face red from fighting so hard. When he swung his sword, she knocked it from his grasp, and it flew off to the side.

He ran to grab it, and she knew from his determination, that he intended to fight her again. But she motioned for his brothers to take a turn. She hadn’t envisioned them both fighting her, but they weren’t as hard on her as Thorfinn was.

She was surprised he hadn’t inserted himself in the practice battle alongside his brothers. Instead, he stood off to the side, holding his sword, frowning, looking like he wanted to get her back for making him lose his sword. So much for bonding with him.

Now she was tired as Hendrie struck her sword and Johnne came right in following it, striking her sword again. Like Thorfinn, they were trying hard to beat her. She hit Johnne's sword, but as soon as she swept it aside, Hendrie struck again. She pressed the boys forward, getting them to back off, showing them an offensive move, while they were defending themselves the whole way.

But when she concentrated on Johnne as he attacked her with his sword again, Hendrie decisively moved to take her on, striking her weapon from her hands with a hard thwack. Johnne rushed in for the kill, poking his sword into her stomach.

She laughed. “You lads are much skilled in sword fighting.”

Hendrie ran to get her sword as if he intended to continue the game, but she curtsied to them before he handed it to her. She was worn out. “Mayhap we can do this again another time.” She wasn’t about to fight with him again. She was ready to have a respite.

Etta hurried over to her, giving her a mug of honeyed mead. “Well, done, my lady.”

“Oh, thanks be to thee.” Accalia drank from the mug and noticed Erik had been watching with some of his people. He hadn’t left them to their own devices like she thought he had.

He raised his brows, inclined his head, and smiled, then left the “battlefield.”

“Young Thorfinn would have returned to battle you if his da hadna told him not to,” Etta said.

Accalia laughed. “I wondered. Thorfinn looked like he wanted to fight me again and get even with me for sending his sword flying.”

“I’m sure of it. I have never seen the lord playfight with his sons. It was something to behold. And of course, the lads playfighting with you was as amazing. Everyone’s talking about how well-behaved they were at the meal. Did you threaten to send them to the dungeon again?” Etta asked.

“Nay. I told them I would playfight with them if they behaved at the meal. It worked.”

“It sure did.”

The crowds dispersed to do their chores now that the show was over.

“What do the boys do when they’re done breaking their fast normally?” she asked Etta.

“They make themselves scarce. No telling what they do.”

“Hmm.” Accalia saw them watching her and wondered what they were up to now. “Were they like this when their mother was still alive?” She figured they hadn’t been until after she had died and maybe no one knew how to deal with them in their grief. She felt bad for them, thinking of how she had felt when she had lost her mother. Maybe that’s why she felt such a need to bond with them.

Etta inclined her head. “From what she said, her da believed that they had to learn from their mistakes, just like her father’s da and mother had taught him. That their mother wasna to pamper them.”

“But she loved on them, aye?” Accalia assumed she would, though in some rare instances, some she-wolves weren’t loving, doting mothers. But she’d been lucky with her mother in that regard.

“Uh”—Etta looked around and saw no one was close to hear her speak—“nay. She was young when she and Erik mated. She was upset when she learned she was having the bairns. She did as little as she could with them. Their nannies took care of them always. Even nursing mothers nursed them. She wouldna have anything to do with the task.”

Shocked, Accalia glanced back at the boys who were watching her. They couldn’t hear them, but she thought she intrigued them. Or they wanted to cause further mischief, didn’t want her to catch them at it, and were waiting for her to go off and do something else. All children needed to know they were well-loved.

“What about Erik?”

“Wilma insisted that he didna fuss over the lads either. When she was being indulged, he would play games with the boys. If she learned of it, she would tell him that he was ruining the lads.”

“Nonsense.” She couldn't fathom him trusting the woman's words. However, she had known a woman who captivated every man's attention and could make them do anything for her. Perhaps his wife possessed that power as well.

“Aye, but, though she wasna…I shouldna say this but…she wasna good with the staff, yet she somehow managed to convince Erik she was the greatest she-wolf in his eyes.”

Now that surprised Accalia, until she realized the woman had been working in her family’s tavern, so would never have managed a castle’s staff. No one had instilled in her how important everyone in the clan was. The woman must have blinded Erik to what was going on.

“All right. Then things are going to change.”

Etta smiled. “You have to mate the lord, Accalia.”

Wanting to do what was right for everyone, Accalia patted her shoulder. “We would have to love each other first.” Then she stalked toward the boys, and their eyes widened. They shared looks and Hendrie glanced at the side as if planning to make his escape.

When she joined them, she said, “What chores do you do around here?” She knew busy hands kept them out of mischief. Even when she was a girl, if she didn’t have anything to do, she got herself in trouble.

Thorfinn tilted his head as he looked up at her in an arrogant way. “We are the chief’s sons.”

“Aye, which means you should show all you can do to prove you are worthy of being the chief’s sons.”

They looked at each other and frowned at her.

“The strongest, brightest of the wolves will take over once your da no longer leads the pack. Who will the wolves want to lead them then?” she asked.

Hendrie sincerely asked, “You?”

She smiled. “I’m thinking of the distant future—a young person grown.”

“Me,” Thorfinn said with conviction.

“Nay. The person who wins his clan’s heart, protects them when they need his leadership, and proves to them how competent he is. Not someone who shies away from work. Who plays pranks and misbehaves. But someone who proves he has what it takes to lead a pack. Not because he’s the pack leader’s son, but because he is worthy of the position and can do good by his people,” she said. “When we arrived, I saw that the fences were being mended, the south wall was being repaired, and the horses need to be exercised, groomed, and fed. These are worthy chores of a chief-to-be to do.”

“I dinna think they will let us work on the wall or the fences,” Hendrie said.

“And we have stable hands who care for the horses,” Johnne said.

“But you see, you need to learn how to do all these things so that as a leader you can expect the same of your people. If they have never done it, you can teach them,” Accalia said. “You can learn skills from the blacksmith, the mason, the carpenter. It will make you more valuable. Or you can even fetch firewood or water. You can herd the sheep or goats, gather nuts and berries, and fish.”

“Fishing! We can do that. Will you fish with us? By boat on the loch?” Johnne asked.

“Aye, come with us. A guard escort will have to come with us, but we love to fish,” Hendrie said.

“Can you even fish?” Thorfinn asked, cocking his head, his hands on his hips, appearing to doubt that she could.

“Aye, but I need to speak to your da about it.”

“Because he is in charge of you?” Thorfinn asked.

“Because I am under his protection while I am here.”

“You are no’ leaving any time soon, are you?” Hendrie sounded disconcerted at the prospect, and it touched Accalia’s heart.

With reassurance, she patted his back. She meant to answer him, but Thorfinn did first.

“Nay.” Thorfinn waved his hand at Accalia. “Didna you see the way Da kissed her. He isna letting her leave here.” He made a sour face.

She assumed that he felt she was replacing their mother. Which she wasn’t, especially not if their mother hadn’t been loving toward them. “I’m no’ leaving any time soon. I will be right back after I ask Erik for permission to go fishing.”

Then she saw Logan and went to speak to him since she had no idea where Erik was. “Do you know where Erik is?”

“Seeing to the mending of the south wall. Do you need something?”

“Permission to take the boys fishing.”

Logan smiled. “They want you to fish with them?”

“Aye. Well, at least Hendrie and Johnne do.”

“I will see if ‘tis all right with Erik and will gather the necessary force to protect you. We dinna oft have trouble, but since we have had issues with Freigard because of you being here, we need to take precautions.” Then Logan left to find Erik.

She returned to the boys. “Logan’s going to check with your da about us fishing.”

It took forever for anyone to return to speak to them. Thorfinn shook his head. “Da isna going along with it. I’m sure he doesna want to lose you, even if you can fight with a wooden sword.”

To her and the boys’ surprise, they saw Erik headed their way, his chest bare, glistening in the morning sun, streaked with mortar. He was stunning to look at and she had the strongest urge to pull him into her arms and feel his bare skin against her cheek. But she had taken him away from his duties and he didn’t look happy about it.

He joined them and looked from her to his boys, though her gaze was on his beautiful, muscled chest. Then he said to the boys, “Logan said you wished to fish with the lady.”

“Aye,” Johnne and Hendrie said.

“No rocking the boat on the loch,” Erik warned, but his gaze was hard on Thorfinn. “If I learn you tipped the boat over on purpose, you will wish you hadna.”

“Aye,” all three boys said this time.

“You are sure you want to do this with them?” Erik asked Accalia, sounding a little concerned for her safety should the boys do some mischief.

“Aye. We discussed doing chores around the keep. Catching fish is something they wanted to do, so I’m willing to see how well they fish.” She smiled.

Erik’s mouth quirked up a bit. “And you, lass?”

“Oh, I can fish.” She didn’t think anyone believed her. The truth was that it was all about luck. If the fish were biting, then she was able to catch fish. But even better? When she was in her wolf coat she could catch fish. Everyone back home knew it, but here, no one knew about all the talents she possessed.

“Good. Then we shall have fish at the meal. Logan is gathering an escort as we speak. If the boys give you any trouble at all, let me know.”

“Aye.” But unless it was something bad, she wasn’t about to say anything and ruin the small beginning she had at befriending the motherless boys. She suspected though, that if men were watching them on the loch, the boys wouldn’t do anything to get themselves in trouble with their da.

But she decided she was going as a wolf. “I’ll be right out,” she said to the boys and headed for the keep. In her guest room, she removed her clothes and shifted into her wolf. Then she raced out of the room, startling a maid.

She tore down the stairs nearly colliding with a guard, who laughed, and she ended up at the bottom. She loved running as a wolf. She moved so much faster than a human could.

She ran outside the keep and into the inner bailey where the boys and their guard escort were waiting. Logan frowned at her and said, “Accalia?”

She howled. Erik came to see what was going on. He hadn’t seen her in her wolf coat, so he was probably interested in seeing what she looked like. Not just to know her when she was in her wolf coat, but to see if she appealed to him. It was the wolf way.

“You’re going fishing in your wolf coat?” Erik asked.

Though it seemed obvious to her.

“She canna do that, can she?” Thorfinn asked as if he thought she was cheating.

Erik smiled. “If that’s the way she wants to fish.”

“Then we should shift,” Thorfinn said.

“Nay. She thought of it first. You three will row the boat out on the loch,” Erik said.

She was glad Erik said that because she hadn’t considered that part of the situation. She was too excited about fishing as a wolf.

But then Logan said, “I’ll help the boys row.”

“You’re too easy on them,” Erik said. “But none of you are to leave the boat as wolves. Good fishing.”

“That’s no’ fair,” Thorfinn said.

Accalia ran out through the gates and headed straight for the loch. Everyone else rode horses down to the water’s edge in quick pursuit.

Three boats were waiting for them, fishing poles and buckets in the bottom for the fish. If the boys got into trouble, the men in the other boats could come to rescue them.

She jumped into the boat the boys were going in and Logan joined them. Then he began to paddle out. She almost felt guilty that she wasn’t helping to paddle, but the boys should have helped to row. She barked at them.

Logan smiled at her. “Help row, lads.”

They groaned, their blond hair caught up in the cool breeze.

She breathed in the scent of fresh water and fish, the sparkling blue waters of the loch stretching for a mile, surrounded by rolling green hills and looming mountains. The sun danced off the surface, creating dazzling patterns and reflections. A river trout broke the surface, and she nearly leaped in after it.

“Woah!” Johnne said. “Someone catch it.”

But they hadn’t reached the spot where Logan would anchor the boat. The water gently lapped against the sides, the boys peering over the port and starboard, looking for fish. In the distance, birds twitted from the woods near the north shore, and she felt relaxed and happy to be here with the boys.

She was enjoying her time with them when she thought it would always be a fight.

Once they were in the deepest part of the loch, she leaped overboard. With a splash, she dove for fish and soon caught a brown trout. She rose to the surface and Logan took it from her and put it in the bucket.

The boys had been watching for her, and then they began to bait hooks to fish on the other side of the boat so they wouldn’t snag their hooks on her.

“The lady caught a fish already. Now it’s your turn,” Logan said as she dove back under to fish further.

She caught a sea trout, but when she rose to the surface with the fish in her jaws, the boys hadn’t caught anything. They eyed her, wearing frowns, looking a little grumbly. Especially Thorfinn.

Before she dove to fish again, she shifted, kicked her feet, and moved her arms to keep herself afloat. The water was much colder when in her human form than when she was wearing her wolf coat. “Let the boys shift and they can try to catch fish as wolves.”

“Aye!” the boys cheered and began to strip off their clothes before Logan had a say in whether they shifted. They shifted and jumped into the water.

Smiling, Logan shook his head. “Aye, you can shift.”

Accalia hoped it was a good learning experience for the boys. Though she belatedly recalled their da had said they could not shift and fish with her. But earning their trust meant everything to her.

Now she hoped Erik wouldn’t be angry with the boys for going against his ruling when she had told them it was all right.

Or cross with her for suggesting it.