The Renegade's Heart (41 page)

She would die alone, and ’twould be her own
fault.

She was a fool. Should she not be able to
change her manner and thus her fortunes, perhaps she deserved to
die alone.

The very idea gave her purpose. Annelise
reached the edge of the village but kept walking, her chin high.
She could not go back to the hall, not yet, not before she had made
some change in her circumstance, however small it might be. As the
forest closed around the road and the road curved out of sight of
Seton village, Annelise knew what she would do.

She would visit the glade with the natural
well, the place where people came to pray for healing. It was an
old place and she had been there several times with Isabella.
Isabella had prayed there to quickly conceive Murdoch’s child, and
five months into their marriage, she rounded with child. It was
clear that the well had power, and equally clear that Annelise had
need of assistance. She would go there herself this very day and
pray that she found a husband.

Soon.

* * *

Garrett MacLachlan darted through the forest
in pursuit of the wolf, not caring that he left his father’s estate
far behind. It was only in the forest that he found peace, and only
truly in the wilderness where he felt at peace. His curse seemed
more of a gift when he left human society behind.

All the better, he had a quest this time. He
tracked a ravenous wolf, one that had eluded all attempts to trap
it. It had eaten well at the expense of many others, and Garrett
would see the beast pay for its crimes.

As soon as he had set out after the wolf,
Garrett realized why it was so elusive. It was larger than most,
but moved with astonishing speed. Further, this wolf was silent in
the forest and could disappear into shadows, as if it were not
truly of this earth or as if it had never been. It was cunning even
beyond its fellows.

Garrett would have lost it a hundred times,
save for his curse. Even now, he caught only glimpses of it moving
through the forest, a fleeting shape against the patterned shadows
of the leaves.

It was his awareness of the wolf’s thoughts
and intent that gave him an advantage.

For once in his life, his legacy had
value.

On this day, Garrett felt the wolf’s thirst
and guessed its intent.

He was aware the moment that it smelled
water. He was not surprised when the wolf slipped over the ridge
and descended into the hollow between the hills. He heard the
bubbling of the water as he crept behind the creature and realized
the wolf had found a spring.

The wolf glanced back more than once, pausing
beneath a shrub or in the shade of a tree, its eyes gleaming as it
sniffed the air. Garrett knew it sensed that it was pursued, and he
dared not let it perceive him. He knew this wolf had not eaten for
a week.

It would rip out his throat for coming too
close.

It would rip out the throat of any creature
it could devour. Harried by some awareness of Garrett’s presence,
the wolf had not paused to eat. Now, hunger made its belly growl,
and hunger - Garrett hoped - would drive it to err.

Garrett was not even certain where he was,
save that he was close to his prey. It did not matter. Once the
wolf was dead, he would claim its pelt as proof of his deed and
return home - undoubtedly to have his father’s new bride discount
his accomplishment. It did not matter what his father thought of
him these days, or what lies Rowena told of him - it mattered only
that he did what was right. He could not help what burden he had
been born to bear, and he could not stop that curse from aiding
Rowena’s scheme to discount him in his father’s affections.

The curse of hearing the thoughts of others
had been his mother’s legacy. His father had loved her. He should
have known what ailed his son. He should have been able to see
beyond his own lust for Rowena to see the way she schemed to ensure
the advantage of her own brat over his blood son.

Garrett paused to collect himself, aware that
the wolf had a keener sense of him. Anxiety would draw the wolf’s
attention, and his thoughts of Rowena had no place in this hunt.
All was simple in the forest. There were hunters and there was
prey.

He knew which he would be.

The wolf’s concern faded, perhaps because of
its thirst. Garrett saw it leave the shadows ahead. On quick feet,
it entered a glade dappled in sunlight, a tranquil place of verdant
green. There were rags of all colors hanging from the trees at the
bottom of the valley, a sign that people came to this place to pray
for healing. The wolf was momentarily disconcerted by the scents of
so many humans, but it made its choice and headed for the
water.

Garrett waited and watched. He could see the
light on the pool around the spring, turning it to a silver mirror.
He could see the wolf clearly from this position, and he was
downwind of it. He reached out to sense the wolf’s thoughts and
felt its confidence.

The wolf was silvery grey, his snout and paws
darker than its back, its tail lush. His pelt should adorn a lady’s
bed, Garrett’s lady’s bed, a token that was proof of his intent to
protect the woman pledged to be his own. But Garrett had no woman
and he doubted there was a woman alive who could accept his curse.
His life was lonely and it would remain so.

The wolf stepped into a patch of sunlight,
glanced about itself, then bent to drink.

Garrett raised his crossbow to fire, then
froze in place when the wolf suddenly straightened. He felt its
heartbeat accelerate. It raised its head and folded its ears back,
sniffing and scanning, then raised a lip to snarl at some
threat.

That was when Garrett saw the woman. She was
on her knees as if in prayer, her head bowed and her hands folded
before herself. He had not seen her at first because her cloak was
green and her hood pulled over her hair. She was utterly still, as
women in his experience seldom were.

Her thoughts were nearly silent, so serene
that even he with his gift had not been aware of her presence. That
astonished him.

At the wolf’s snarl, though, her head snapped
up and terror filled her thoughts. Garrett had time to see that she
was lovely before the wolf leapt toward her with teeth bared.

Without hesitation, Garrett lifted the
crossbow and fired.

* * *

Watch for The Highlander’s Curse

Coming in December 2012.

* * *

If you liked this book and post a review
online, you could win another book from Claire!

Each month, Claire hosts two contests on her
blog - one for readers (which anyone can enter) and one for readers
who post an online review for one of her books. To find out more,
visit Claire’s blog and choose Reviewer Contest or Reader Contest
from the category sidebar. There are two winners every month!
www.delacroix.net/blog

* * *

Bestselling author Claire
Delacroix sold her first romance novel in 1992 – that medieval
romance,
The Romance of the
Rose
, was published by Harlequin
Historicals in 1993. Since then, she has published more than forty
romance novels and numerous novellas.
The
Beauty
by Claire Delacroix, part of her
successful Bride Quest series, was her first novel to land on the
New York Times List of Bestselling Books. In 2009, she was the
writer in residence at the Toronto Public Library, the first time
they have hosted a residency focused on the romance genre. In 2012,
she was honored to receive RWA’s Mentor of the Year
Award.

Claire has also written
time travels and contemporary romances as Claire Cross. She
currently writes the
Dragonfire
series of contemporary paranormal romances
featuring dragon shape shifter heroes, as well as a linked
paranormal YA series called
The Dragon
Diaries
. Both dragon series are published
under the name Deborah Cooke.

In 2012, Claire has
returned to Ravensmuir and Kinfairlie with the launch of a new
Scottish medieval romance series.
The
Renegade’s Heart
is the first in a new
series called The True Love Brides, and features Isabella’s quest
for love and happiness.
The Highlander’s
Curse
, which is Annelise’s story, will
follow in December.

Learn more about Claire’s books at her
websites:

•
http://www.delacroix.net

•
http://www.deborahcooke.com

She posts most weekdays on her blog, Alive
& Knitting, at

•
http://www.delacroix.net/blog

You can also subscribe to her monthly reader
newsletter on YahooGroups, called “Chestwick”:

•
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chestwick/

Catch the latest news and reviews on her
Facebook pages:

•
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorClaireDelacroix

•
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorDeborahCookeFanPage

* * *

More Books by the Author

Claire Delacroix Books

Time Travels:

ONCE UPON A KISS

THE LAST HIGHLANDER

LOVE POTION #9

THE MOONSTONE

Medieval Romances:

ROMANCE OF THE ROSE

HONEYED LIES

UNICORN BRIDE

THE SORCERESS

ROARKE’S FOLLY

PEARL BEYOND PRICE

THE MAGICIAN’S QUEST

UNICORN VENGEANCE

MY LADY’S CHAMPION

ENCHANTED

MY LADY’S DESIRE

The Bride Quest:

THE PRINCESS

THE DAMSEL

THE HEIRESS

THE COUNTESS

THE BEAUTY

THE TEMPTRESS

The Rogues of Ravensmuir:

THE ROGUE

THE SCOUNDREL

THE WARRIOR

The Jewels of Kinfairlie:

THE BEAUTY BRIDE

THE ROSE RED BRIDE

THE SNOW WHITE BRIDE

“The Ballad of Rosamunde”

The True Love Brides

THE RENEGADE’S HEART

Apocalyptic Romances:

The Prometheus Project:

FALLEN

GUARDIAN

REBEL

Deborah Cooke Books

Paranormal Young Adult:

The Dragon Diaries:

FLYING BLIND

WINGING IT

BLAZING THE TRAIL

Paranormal Romance:

Dragonfire:

KISS OF FIRE

KISS OF FURY

KISS OF FATE

WINTERKISS

WHISPER KISS

DARKFIRE KISS

FLASHFIRE

EMBER’S KISS (October 2012)

Contemporary Romance:

(originally published under the pseudonym
Claire Cross)

The Coxwells:

THIRD TIME LUCKY (August 2012)

DOUBLE TROUBLE (August 2012)

ONE MORE TIME (August 2012)

ALL OR NOTHING (August 2012)

* * *