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His thoughts were muddled, and his feet moved slower than he wanted as he started to pursue the attacker. Still, he pressed on through the gathering shadows in search of the man who had tried to kill him. No, that wasn’t right. The intruder had been here to killSerene, which likely meant whoever it was thought she knew something about Katherine’s murder.
He shoved through the thick brush, ignoring the cuts to his feet and hacking at the branches with his sword as he went. His speed gained as his balance did, but he had lost precious time. If the attacker was smart, he would head deep into the woods where trees, plants, and caves provided numerous places to hide. There, if he was not discovered, he could wait, biding his time for the next opportunity to attack Serene. A chill shot up Cameron’s spine at the thought, and he pushed on, up hills, over rocks, through streams, but the forest was vast and he needed aid.
Cursing, he turned and raced back the way he had come, and as the shadows turned to darkness, he moved by moonlight and memory.
“Cameron!” shouted Serene’s voice again, followed by a bellow that sounded like Angus, close and to the left.
Cameron opened his mouth to give an answering call, but suddenly Angus and Serene crested a hill. Serene raced past Angus, dagger in hand, and over to Cameron, panting as she placed her free hand on his chest. “Are ye injured?”
The genuine concern in her voice struck him like an arrow to the heart. He liked the concern. He wanted it, even. He gritted his teeth against the emotions for her, but the need to keep her from harm rushed through him, thicker than blood. He moved closer to her and pulled her to his side, telling himself it was for her protection,onlyfor her protection.
“I told ye nae to leave the cave,” he yelled, his fear for her making his words harsh. She tensed and tilted her chin up in defiance. “Come,” he ordered, slinging his arm over her shoulder to keep her close.
Angus fell in step with him on Serene’s other side. Cameron didn’t think she realized they had formed a human shield to protect her.
As they strode through the woods toward the shore, he growled, “Ye did nae heed my orders.”
She huffed. “I could nae verra well sit helpless and let ye possibly be killed.”
He looked at her, awed. Risking her safety for him had not given her pause. These were not the actions of a woman with evil intent. He stored the knowledge away to consider later, when all was safe.
Glancing past her to Angus, he said, “How did ye come to be out here?”
“I led the lass to ye earlier,” Angus said. “I stayed near in case she proved treacherous.” He shrugged, almost apologetically, and looked toward Serene. “I heard her scream, and I came running. I misjudged ye, lass,” Angus admitted, remorse in his tone.
A short laugh escaped Serene. “I kinnae rightly be cross given how I came to ye. I forgive ye,” she said simply.
Cameron was struck with how gracious and brave she seemed to be, and his mind swirled with it as they returned to the castle.
The thoughts were still in his head when they entered the great hall, all three of them sopping wet. The hall hummed with the normal sounds of supper, the inhabitants of his clan oblivious to the danger in the woods. Cameron strode up to the dais, his hand firmly grasping Serene’s, where Iain sat with Marion, Lachlan, Bridgette, and Lena, among others. Iain stopped talking to gape at him, and Lachlan spit out a mouthful of wine as they approached.
“Sound the alarm,” Cameron said without preamble. “An enemy is lurking.”
Serene felt very out of place with Cameron’s entire family staring at her from the dais, especially when his sister, Lena, turned an icy stare on Serene at the wordenemy. She tried to disentangle her hand from Cameron’s and move to a corner out of view, but he curled his fingers tightly around hers, his hold like a vise. He pressed her closer to him.
At first, she thought he might be questioning her, too, but when he moved slightly in front of her as if to guard her from his sister’s anger, she realized he was trying to defend her. Shock caused her to inhale sharply, and when Cameron’s gaze landed on her briefly and she saw the concern in his eyes, her knees suddenly felt weak. The sense of being an unwelcome intruder lessened instantly.
It struck her as rather odd—and a bit frightening—that a man she hardly knew seemed to have such sway over her emotions. Surely, it was because currently he was all she knew, even if it was precious little. Before she could ponder it, a flurry of activity commenced. Supper abruptly stopped, the castle horns announcing an enemy sounded, and the men left the hall with such speed that Serene would have believed none had ever been there if it was not for Cameron, who lingered for a moment, along with Marion and Lena. The other women, Bridgette, and Marsaili, left the great hall as the men did.
Cameron’s hand came to the small of Serene’s back, warm and reassuring, as he guided her to Marion and Lena. “Watch out for her,” he said to them both.
Marion nodded and smiled, but Lena scowled.
“I’ll watch her,” she growled. “Already she brings trouble to our door, and—”
Before Lena could finish her sentence, Cameron took her by the arm and dragged her across the room. Serene shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortably aware that Cameron’s problem with his sister was because of her.
Marion patted Serene’s shoulder. “She doesn’t hate you truly.”
Serene snorted. “It certainly seems that way.”
Marion nibbled on her lip with her head cocked for a moment, as if trying to decide something. Finally, she whispered, “I cannot explain it all now, but Lena was taken from here as a young child, which meant she was denied the opportunity to be a doting sister to her brothers as they grew from boys to men. And as Cameron was the youngest, she would have had the role of protecting him as his older sister, and that was also taken from her.” She gave Serene a tight, sad smile. “She only recently returned, and all the brothers except for Cameron now have wives to care for them. I do believe she is trying to be the older sister that she was not able to be earlier in life. Unfortunately, I also think it may seem to her that none of her brothers need her.”
Serene thought about what Marion had just revealed as she watched the exchange between Cameron and Lena. He was speaking and waving his hands in the air, but when Lena’s shoulders sagged and she bit her lip, Cameron suddenly stopped talking and pulled his sister into a hug. Serene’s chest tightened at the display of brotherly love, and Marion sighed.
When Serene looked at Marion, she was smiling. “Cameron is especially sensitive to Lena’s feelings,” Marion explained. “Likely because most of her attention is focused on him. He watches over her, as well, but in a more reasonable manner.”
When Serene looked back toward Cameron, he was leaving the room with Lena. He turned at the last moment, and his gaze found Serene’s. He stared at her for the space of a breath, making her heartbeat quicken before he departed.
