Instead of answering, Brodie studied Gavin. "How are you here in the daytime? I thought you shifted into a hawk. 'Tis what your missive said."
"I did, but my curse has been destroyed." Gavin grinned. "I'm free of Wilona MacRae's evil."
"As am I," Torr added.
Brodie glanced between them. "What? Both of your curses banished?"
Gavin and Torr nodded.
Their friend appeared flummoxed. "How?"
"We'll tell you soon enough," Torr said. "But first, we must ensure Cat is safe from MacPeter. If he marries her, he may try to take over your clan."
"He wouldn't dare," Brodie growled through clenched teeth.
"Never underestimate him or anyone," Gavin said. "As you well ken, my cousin tried to steal the chieftainship from me. Greed knows no bounds."
"Besides that, a storm is approaching from the west," Torr said, listening to the howling wind outside the cave. "We need to get back to Farspag."
"Damnation." Brodie grabbed his boots. "I'll return later, Margaret!" he yelled into the bowels of the cave.
Torr was not surprised that Brodie had somehow found a female companion, even on this remote, abandoned island. Was she a selkie also?
Once Brodie put on his boots, he hastened out of the cave. "Let's go. I left my sword hidden in the guard tower."
They raced down the windy beach to join the rest of the men, pushed the birlinn into the water, and climbed aboard. The dark clouds, lit within by lightning, threatened only a short distance away.
"Is MacPeter at Farspag now?" Brodie yelled over the wind.
"Nay, but he will return once he kens Cat is back," Torr said. "Your mother signed a betrothal agreement. You must rip it to shreds and draw up a new one. Cat has found someone else to marry."
"Who?" Brodie demanded with a fearsome frown.
"Me." Torr grinned at his friend's shocked and outraged expression.
***
"ISWEAR TO YOU, I'LLstart by killing the old men and end with the young maids," MacPeter shouted outside Catriona's bedchamber door.
Oh, dear heavens. Severe nausea washed over her. "You see, Ma? He's a murdering monster," she whispered.
Her mother blanched pale as snow and grabbed hold of the bedpost. "Lord, help us."
Lightning flashed outside, and strong winds buffeted the windows.
She prayed Torr and the others were not still out at sea.
"Now!" MacPeter bellowed beyond the closed door. "I mean what I say."
Cat inhaled a fortifying breath. "Give me a few minutes to change my clothes."
"Nay! What you have on will do, or wear naught. It matters not. We will consummate the union a trice after we say the vows."
She cringed at the nightmarish images that flashed through her mind. He was indeed a madman.
She would kill the bastard in his sleep.
"What's going on here?" The female voice echoed in the corridor.
