Torr looked to Cree. “I hear it?”
“A rider approaches,” Cree said.
“Only one?” Torr asked.
“A single rider,” the tracker confirmed. “Could be a scout that has been sent ahead.”
Cree signaled his warriors, and they circled with weapons ready.
The lone rider slowed his fast gait when he caught sight of the mighty warriors prepared for battle, and he knew at that moment that he had made a wise decision. He approached the group at a quick pace and called out to Cree as he got close enough, “I have word of the women.”
Cree ordered him forward with the snap of his hand and the circle of men parted to allow the man entrance.
“Speak and be quick about it,” Cree ordered.
“First, please know that I wanted no part of this. Many of us didn’t, but we had little choice.”
“You are from the McBride clan,” Cree said.
“Aye, my lord, I am Neville of the Clan McBride,” he confirmed, “and there is no time to waste. I do not believe that once Owen gets what he wants that he will spare the women or the warriors’ lives. He will take for himself and be gone. I will take you to where I last left the troop.”
“Are the two women well?” Torr asked.
“We rode hard and the pregnant one seems tired. As for the petite one, Owen underestimates her, and I hope the two make an escape before he…” Neville let the words drift away. He could not speak aloud what Owen would do to the women.
“What?” Cree and Torr shouted in unison.
“Owen was taking the two women into the woods when I left and ordered that he not be disturbed. I am a farmer with little fighting skills, and there are a few of Owen’s men that are just as ruthless and uncaring as he is, so I knew the only thing I could do to help the women was to leave and get help.”
“We ride,” Cree shouted and his warriors fell into formation and followed their leader.
Torr worried what Wintra must be going through and that he wasn’t there to save her, but then she would know that he would come for her. And he knew that she would fight heaven and hell to get back to him. They would be reunited. He would have it no other way.
Cree kept pace behind Neville, though it could be a trap he was leading them into, he doubted it was. It did not actually matter since nothing would stop him from getting to his wife. He did not want to think of what Dawn might be suffering right now. If he did, the whole woods would tremble from the rage he would roar if he let loose his anger.
He wished his wife had gone for help instead of following after Wintra, but she would have never done that. And he could not fault her action. She was, after all, looking out for his sister. What concerned him more was that neither his wife nor his sister would simply submit to Owen without a fight. Knowing his wife and sister’s tenacity, there was a chance they could very well escape. He prayed if they attempted such a feat that they would be successful, for if they were not the consequences could be deadly.
Cree also silently berated himself for not letting Dawn get more sleep last night, then she would not be so tired today. But he had come upon her just after she had finished a bath in preparation of their wedding today. Her body had been so shiny and soft, and her scent so enticing that he had not been able to keep his hands off her. They had spent time making love and when he woke in the middle of the night hard from a dream, he had made love to her again. Then she woke early this morning to prepare for the special day, so it was no wonder she was tired. And it was his fault—damn him to hell.
~~~
Owen held his head when he was finally able to sit up and shouted out to his men, then cringed from the pain reverberating through his skull. He would kill the two women for this and be done with them, though not before he got what he deserved. It had taken endless months to court Wintra and to convince her father that they were in love. He had been so close to succeeding in becoming the new Earl of Kellmara, having plans to do away with Kellmara soon after he wed Wintra, and now that was no more. His dreams had vanished in an instant when Cree had announced that Torr was Wintra’s husband, though he had held out hope that had been dashed much too soon.
He would, however, have his revenge. They would all pay for what they had done to him, even the mighty Cree.