Chapter 16

16

A lasdair was glad his brothers were watching out for Isobel. He would be too, but whoever wished her harm was keeping it quiet around him. That Mege would even threaten Isobel like that, whether it was a case of bluffing or not, was enough to make him want to banish her from the pack.

He felt he was a fair leader, but when it came to the safety of all his pack members, he took any threats seriously.

Once he had seen Isobel off, Conall joining her, Alasdair was looking forward to having private time with her later. Still, he had to ensure that neither of them would be harmed should Mege try to carry out her threat by convincing someone else to harm her.

He waved Lorne down, and he hurried to join Alasdair. “I want you to gather five more men, and the six of you will follow Isobel and Conall home to ensure their safety.”

“Because of Cleary and Baine?”

“Because of Mege.”

“Aye, I’m on it.” Lorne hurried off to gather a force, and within minutes, they galloped out of the inner bailey after Isobel and her cousin.

After that, Alasdair told Hans that he wanted to meet with Mege, her father, mother, and three brothers. “Set it up at once.”

He didn’t want them to leave the pack. But he had to make it clear that whoever he chose for a mate would be his decision, and no one would stop that from happening. If they couldn’t live with it, they were free to leave the pack now.

Hans frowned at him. “You canna seriously be considering mating Mege.” Then he smiled. “Aye, go ahead. Then I will have a chance with Isobel.”

Alasdair smiled. “You wish. Nay, ‘tis a serious matter.” He explained what had happened.

“Nay, the woman couldna be serious to make such a threat against Isobel. She would never win in a fight against her.”

“Mege would have someone else do her dirty business. I doubt she would have the courage to even try to fight Isobel herself.”

Hans rubbed his beard. “Aye. You’re right. Mayhap she could ask one of her brothers to eliminate Isobel. I saw you send Lorne and a group of men out.”

“To protect Isobel and Conall if Mege already put a plan into action.”

“Aye. Let me know what comes from the meeting. Good luck with your talk with Mege and her family.”

Alasdair nodded. “I would have sent you to look after Isobel, but I need you here in case I have an issue with Mege’s family.”

“Aye.”

Alasdair knew Hans would wonder why he or Rory hadn’t been sent to look after Isobel and Conall. Since they were his brothers, that would be a duty that was best bestowed on them. Except in a case like this, where the real threat could be from Mege’s family.

When he settled in his solar, Mege’s mother and father preceded the family, Mege’s three brothers next, and Mege last, as if she knew what this was all about and was reluctant to participate. Her parents looked clueless, even happy, as if he would tell them he wished to mate their daughter. Her brothers were looking at the floor, anywhere but at him, and he suspected they knew what this was about.

“Word spreads throughout a pack so quickly. I’m sure you have some idea why I’ve come here to speak with you,” Alasdair said. “At least some of you know.”

Mege’s mother and da looked at their grown children to see if they knew what Alasdair was discussing.

“Whatever the Viking woman has told you, she lies,” Mege quickly said, as if Alasdair would believe her word over Isobel’s.

“If you wish to leave the pack, you are welcome to. If any harm comes to Isobel or her kin, I will hold you and your kin responsible for it,” Alasdair told Mege’s da.

Maybe he could control his daughter. In any event, Alasdair wanted them to know that he wouldn’t allow any harm to come to Isobel or the others.

“What was said to start this dialogue?” Mege’s da asked, sounding puzzled.

“Ask Mege. She threatened Isobel, stating an accident could befall her if she pursued seeing me further as a prospective mate. ‘Tis my decision, no’ anyone else’s,” Alasdair said.

Her da agreed. “Aye, as it should be.” He gave Mege a dark look.

Alasdair assumed he would speak with her and set her straight. But when he considered her brothers’ glum expressions and their downcast eyes, he knew she had approached them about wanting Isobel harmed. They looked guilty enough, and he smelled their worried scent.

Not only that, but they glanced from him to their da as if they knew he would give them the devil over it next. Their da eyed them with concern.

“We dinna want to leave the pack,” Mege’s mother said, sounding angry. “My daughter knows her place. If there is any trouble between her and anyone else you might consider to be your mate, we will deal with her.” She gave her sons a dark look.

They cast their eyes downward.

“None of us will stand in your way. We welcome the Icelandic wolves to the pack. They will help us to fight our enemies. They bring new blood to the pack. It is good,” Mege’s mother said.

“Aye,” Mege’s da said. “The Icelandic family has endured hardships we have no’ faced once we joined your pack. We willna leave unless you wish it. My kin and I will protect them with our lives, just as we pledge the same to you and your kin and the rest of the pack.”

Alasdair tilted his head to the mother and father. He looked at the brothers, who inclined their heads to him and told him they would do as he asked. Then Alasdair stood, and everyone in the family rose to their feet.

“I dinna believe I need to say anything further to you about this,” Alasdair said.

“Nay, you should never have had to speak to us about this in the first place,” Mege’s da said. “We will take care of matters here.”

Alasdair nodded, but he didn’t bother to look at Mege. She was lucky she was still part of the pack. She showed no sign of remorse, and she had lied to make Isobel appear to be the guilty party. At least her parents could tell she was lying, and they would have words with their sons too. He would not have that kind of behavior in his pack. They needed to be united.

Despite the family’s assurances, he felt troubled that it had come to this in the first place, all because of a woman’s spitefulness. But then he thought of seeing Isobel at the loch, and he smiled. She made the world right for him all over again.

Mege and her family left his solar, no one speaking a word, but he figured they would be talking plenty after they were somewhere private to discuss the matter.

He stalked out of the keep, and Hans intercepted him. “Did everything go all right?” Hans asked.

“Aye. It is now.”

Hans smiled. “You havena had trouble like this for some time, not within the pack. Sometimes you need to have a wee bit to awaken the senses.”

Alasdair shook his head. “Not where Isobel and her cousins are concerned.”

“Are you going to the loch, perchance?”

“Aye.”

“Do you need anyone to guard your back?” Hans sounded worried.

“Nay. We have this covered.”

“Isobel and you.”

“And her cousin, if we should need him.”

“Aye, and Dawy and Agnes are good fighters if Dawy can manage with his leg. But if you need our help, howl, and we will come to your aid.”

Then Alasdair frowned. “Did Lorne and the others return? I expected a report from him.”

“They havena returned, but you were no’ in the meeting with Mege’s family for all that long.”

“All right, well, I’m off to the croft then.” Alasdair would run into Lorne and the others returning from the croft.

One of the lads hurried Alasdair’s saddled horse out to him, and he glanced at Hans, who just smiled back at him.

Then Alasdair mounted his horse and said, “I’ll see you in the morning unless there’s trouble brewing before then.”

“Aye, safe travels.”

Alasdair headed out and rode like the wind, wanting to ensure that Mege hadn’t talked someone else into harming Isobel if her brothers had said no. Or maybe they had only been privy to what she was up to, and that’s why they appeared so guilty about it.

What he didn’t expect was to hear riders behind him. He whipped his horse about and saw Mege’s brothers attempting to catch up to him. He suspected their da had told them to apologize to him. He didn’t believe they were planning to ambush him.

He paused to allow them to approach. They slowed down, and the brothers, all the same age as Mege since they were quadruplets, inclined their heads to Alasdair.

Bhaltair, the eldest, spoke first. “My apologies, my laird. Mege had her heart set on marrying you, and when you showed interest in the Icelandic woman, she misspoke.”

“Tell me she hasna been stirring up trouble for Isobel,” Alasdair said.

The brothers glanced at each other.

Bhaltair said, “She had no right threatening Isobel, or anyone else for that matter. Da has spoken to her. If she does anything to Isobel, he will disown her, and she’ll be alone.”

“Did she ask you to do anything to Isobel?” That’s what Alasdair had to know. Had she approached them about it, and they hadn’t informed him?

Bhaltair cleared his throat. “We thought she was just making an issue of it. She has done so before over women she hasna liked.”

“So she said what to you? Tell me the truth.”

Bhaltair glanced at his brothers; they looked like they were all going to have their heads cut off in short order. “She said she wanted Isobel to have an accident. She didna ask us to make that happen. We assumed she just hoped for it, no’ that she intended to make it happen. Nor that she wanted us to be involved in something like that.”

“She gets like that,” one of her other brothers said, running his horse’s reins through his hands. “She never does anything about it. She is all talk.”

“But all of you looked so guilty.”

“Aye, because when you came to speak with us, we assumed that our sister did threaten Isobel. Since Mege had told us she would do that, we would be in trouble for no’ reporting it to you,” Bhaltair said.

“Which you would be,” Alasdair said. “If Isobel had accidentally died, I would have done a thorough investigation of the matter, and once I learned how much she hated Isobel, your family would have been questioned. Protecting your sister could have led to my banning all of you, or worse, from the pack.”

“Aye. Our da said our loyalty to the pack overrides our loyalty to the family if one of us should take it upon ourselves to hurt or kill another pack member over something as petty as jealousy. Defending ourselves against a threat from another pack member would be a completely different story.”

“Aye.”

“We apologize for no’ coming forth. It willna happen again,” Bhaltair said.

Alasdair finally inclined his head. “Aye. Return home. I have no quarrel with you or your parents.” He wouldn’t say the same for Mege.