Page 3 of The Highlander’s Untamed Lady

He should have. After all, the Earl of Cornwall’s advice had been a warning to be prepared for anything. With exaggerated stress on the final word-anything. The new, young countess had given a little squeak of laughter, which she'd hidden poorly behind her fan. The smug expression on her comely face made it easy to determine which of them was the most eager to see Lady Diana leave. Though the earl himself did not appear to suffer from a broken heart over his loss either.

Evander had not come all this way to let his betrothed escape. He could not lose the coin their union would bring.

Thunder rumbled and the darkening sky grew ominous with the threat of a great storm.

He sprinted across the clearing into the trees where she'd disappeared. A shadow lunged out at him, a terror from the great black of the forest, eyes flashing gold, teeth snapping. Evander skidded to a halt and swept his arm out, catching the beast in its massive head.

Another wolf.

It shook its head and righted its level stare at him once more. Its nose curled upward and the white of its teeth bared menacingly in his direction.

Evander gave a sharp whistle, and his men emerged from the forest. Granted, he hadn't thought he'd need them to bring home his wayward wife-to-be. Now though he was glad for having brought them. The wolf gave a savage snarl but held its ground even as the Mackenzie warriors strode forward as one.

“Dinna kill it,” he said to them. It would not do to slay his future wife's pets prior to their wedding. Especially considering her apparent…reluctance.

A dark shape flew over Evander's shoulder – a plaid. The wolf lurched backward, but the voluminous cloth landed on its head just long enough to obscure its vision and give Evander the opportunity to run after Lady Diana.

He dashed through the trees, his body practically exploding with energy after a day of three hearty meals.

How long since he and his warriors had been so well-fed? Four years? Five maybe?

The food alone had been worth the trip, but the dowry certainly had held its own coin-laden enticement.

The thought spurred him faster through a heavy thicket of trees. He had to catch Lady Diana. He could not lose this opportunity.

The coin would be enough to feed his people through the winter – nothing as fine as what the earl had within his grand English manor, but at least enough to stave off the brutal, ragged edges of starvation.

There'd be some remaining, enough to invest in an idea he would never risk his people starving over. Yet it might be the very thing to save them all.

Aye, Evander had to find his betrothed. The lives of too many depended on it.

Chapter Two

Diana’s heart pounded hard with her efforts. The months spent in the tower had weakened her.

The air was thick with the icy moisture. It clung in the back of her throat and made breathing difficult. If only she could drink it instead of drowning in it. She darted over the large rock marking the path she always took to the cave. She was so close.

The shuffle of footsteps sounded somewhere behind her.

The nearness of the man shot strength through her. She sprinted forward, her breath huffing in great white gasping puffs. Lightning flashed overhead and ignited the darkening world in a flicker of brightness.

She knew this land. She had the advantage.

The ground blurred before her, shadowed in the dark of the storm and by the speed of her haste. Hera raced at her side, sprinting with enviable ease.

Not just Hera. Zeus’ dark form ran on Diana’s other side. His approach had been so soundless, she had not even been aware of his arrival.

Relief loosed the grip on Diana’s chest. Zeus was safe.

The land fell away up ahead. A shortcut to avoid lost time and provide an opportunity to escape undetected. Diana was all too familiar with the drop. It would be the perfect place to lose him.

She did not hesitate and plunged over the shallow cliff to the rocks below. The wind whistled in her ears while her feet kicked at air. She hit the ground with a solid landing, as did her wolves beside her.

She’d done it often enough that she didn’t need the additional moment to recover. She sprang forward into a run once more through the heavy copse of trees lining the nearby shore.

She was so close.

Thunder growled from the heavens and set the land vibrating under her feet with its fury. No longer did the steps crunch through the forest behind her, nor were there the telltale snapping of twigs marking a pursuer. Her blood surged with victory.