Abandoned to the Night (The Brotherhood 3)

They stared at each other for a moment. She imagined that whatever expression he wore, his eyes would still hold a look of disdain.

“Let us all sit.” Douglas waved to the chairs hugging the hearth.

Lachlan cleared his throat. “I prefer to stand.”

“Then say what you’ve come to say.” Isla’s temper flared. She was tempted to flash her sharp teeth, to let him know she commanded a power he could not even begin to comprehend.

Lachlan shook his head and inhaled deeply. “I have come with a proposition. One I believe will be to our mutual advantage.”

Many times she had dreamt of him saying a similar thing, though she imagined his tone would be warmer, his gaze heated. Now she suspected a proposal of an intimate nature would be the furthest thing from his mind. The thought fuelled her ire. Perhaps she should tease him, chip away at the arrogance that oozed from his pores.

“I hear you’re a man familiar with propositions, that in Edinburgh you’ve gained experience with proposals that are mutually advantageous.”

She had once seen lust and desire flash in his bright blue eyes. She knew how magnificent such a specimen of strength and brawn must appear to ladies looking for pleasure.

His expression darkened. “I hear you’re a witch set to kill every animal in the village to make your brews and potions.” He raised a brow. “If gossip were fact, there’d be many a man hanging from the bough of a tree. Besides, I doubt Douglas wishes to hear your jealous banter.”

Och, the man could provoke the Devil.

“Did you learn your conceit in Edinburgh, too? What need do I have to be jealous? You were the one who ran away. You were the one who let bitterness stand in the way of our friendship.”

It was wrong of her to blame Lachlan. The fault was hers and hers alone. She had not wanted to marry Nikolai, but he had a forceful way of speaking that made the most abhorrent act seem appealing. She had been powerless to say no to him.

Lachlan clenched his jaw. “You know why I left.”

Aye, to be far away from her. She’d wanted him to stay and fight for her. She’d wanted him to kill the devil, Nikolai, with his bare hands.

“Aye, ‘cause you’re a coward.” Isla regretted saying the words as soon as they’d left her lips. If she were a man, she would not be standing.

Douglas sucked in a breath. “Have a care, lass.”

Lachlan snorted. “It seems I’m not the only man you’ve chased away.” His tone brimmed with resentment. “I hear your husband fled into the night and has not been back for three years. Mayhap he’s gone to Edinburgh where the ladies hearts are kind and tender, where he’ll not find a lifetime’s worth of bother.”

Douglas shook his head and tutted. “Keep yer head, lad, and remember why ye came.”

Isla felt the tips of her fangs burst from their sheath as an intense rage burned in her chest. Her hand flew to her mouth in a bid to disguise it. It was not the pain of Nikolai’s rejection that induced such a virulent reaction. It was the pain of losing Lachlan’s love.

She turned her back, couldn’t face the man she’d once hoped to call her husband. “Get out, Lachlan. Get out of my home.”

Douglas stepped up to her shoulder. “Will ye not just listen to his proposition, lass?”

“You listen to him if—” Her voice sounded strange whilst baring her fangs. She could not let Lachlan see what she had become. Fear or pity were not emotions she wanted to see in his beguiling eyes.

Without another word, she turned and ran from the room. She would not go to her chamber. Douglas would send Malmuirie up and she was too agitated to talk. Grabbing her cape from the coat stand, she rushed out into the night. Perhaps she should go down to the village, scour the fields for an animal to sink her teeth into just to add credence to their silly stories.

But she chose to walk in the forest.

In the forest, she did not feel so alone. There were other nocturnal creatures roaming the darkness. There were other creatures wandering aimlessly, lured to the night.