Royden looked directly at his sister, still startled by the beauty she’d become. He went to speak and felt his wife squeeze his thigh under the table. He bit back the words he was about to say and instead said, “It’s good to finally have you home, Raven, and it’s good to have your friends join us.”
Raven smiled, her rigid shoulders easing some. “I’m so happy to be here with all of you again, and happy for you to meet my men.”
“To your safe return,” Arran said, raising his tankard and everyone raised their tankards with a cheer.
“I’m thrilled you’re home and that we’ll be able to visit often,” Purity said when the cheering died.
“My wife will visit when I allow her to.”
Everyone turned to see Wolf standing just inside the Great Hall, his men fanning out to his sides.
“You should know now I don’t take well to orders,” Raven said.
“And you should know I don’t take well to being disobeyed,” Wolf countered.
Arran stood. “And you should know that I’ll cut your heart out if you hurt my sister.”
“Enough!” Oria said, jumping to her feet, to her husband’s surprise. She looked to Wolf. “You and your men are welcome to join us if you can be civil.”
Wolf recounted with a stern scowl and a sharp tone. “I expected my sister to at least show me respect.”
Royden noticed that Raven didn’t appear surprised now or previously when it was made mentioned that Oria and Wolf were siblings. He shouldn’t be surprised that she was already aware of it. Raven always had a way of finding things out.
“And I expect my brother to show respect in his sister’s home,” Oria retaliated.
“Remember that when it comes to my home,” Wolf said.
Oria pointed to a table to the right of her. “Join us or not.”
Wolf went to the table, his men following, and he whipped off his fur cloak and dropped it on the bench, then to everyone’s surprise he sat next to Raven, while his men made themselves comfortable at the other table.
Raven almost moved closer to her da when Wolf sat close enough to her for their arms to rest against each other, but she stopped herself. She wouldn’t show this man an ounce of fear even if he did send tingles of dread racing through her. She could feel his taut arm muscles through the sleeve of his dark wool shirt and could see the soft, leathery covering he wore over it fit his chest snugly as did the wool shirt. She feared his scent might be offensive but he smelled mostly of pine and campfire smoke.
“I can’t wait any longer, daughter, I must know what happened to you all these years,” Parlan pleaded.
Fear was something that had been a constant when Raven had first been on her own, but time had taught her how to face it rather than run from it. She turned to Wolf with a smile. “You must be curious to know as well, since you searched for me and failed to find me these last five years.”
She fought to keep the lump of fear that rose in her throat from enlarging when he turned his eyes on her. Never had she seen such intense dark eyes. They weren’t black, but one would think they were, they were such a deep brown color. They were eyes that lacked fear and were filled with self-assuredness. This man was confident in his worth, his skills, and his power.
“I am most curious,” Wolf said and held her eyes with his until she turned away.
“It’s a short tale. I dressed like a lad and joined a band of,” —-she paused and looked to her crew— “misfits. They taught me how to survive.”
“I’m grateful to all of you,” Parlan said with a nod to her men.
“How did you become their leader?” Wolf asked, since fighting and strength were ways of retaining leadership within his tribe. He also doubted that her tale was a short one. There was more to it and he intended to find out.
“When she proved herself wiser than us,” Clive said with a jovial laugh.
“Much wiser,” George agreed.
Wolf remained silent as talk went on around him, listening while he carefully kept watch on his surroundings. He had taken note when he first arrived at the way her crew of motley men stood ready to defend her. They were a loyal lot and he’d have to keep that in mind. They also obeyed her well and he wondered why. She had to have done something to win their loyalty, another mystery about his wife he intended to solve.
What had surprised him the most, though, was to see that she was far more beautiful than he had expected. One glance at her captivated the eye and held it, her features were that striking. It wasn’t a soft beauty she possessed but more of sharp angles and curves melded to perfection. Her pale skin was in direct contrast to her long dark hair that shined with a silky softness and had him wanting to reach out and touch it, a surprising thought. She was also taller than he expected, the top of her head reaching past his chin. It was difficult to tell much about her body, the shirt beneath her plaid a bit big for her. Her plaid was cinched tight at her narrow waist and from what he could make of her legs, they did suggest a slender build.