Overlord: A Dark Shifter Romance Page 3

Sloan was somewhat startled when Alaric entered their chambers with Rowan in his arms. She had heard nothing as they entered the keep. The tub was almost full.

  Alaric thanked her and then asked, “Can you look after her once I get her in the tub?”

  “I’d be happy to, Alaric. I take it she isn’t hurt?”

  He grinned at her sheepishly. “She wasn’t injured in battle if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Sloan snorted and rolled her eyes. “I’ll bet. Is she allowed downstairs if she wants to join you?”

  Alaric thought about it and bantered briefly with a sleepy but seemingly very happy and contented Rowan. It occurred to Sloan that she had never seen her friend at such peace.

  Alaric eyed her. “After you’ve seen to Rowan, you are free to join us downstairs.”

  He left them and she helped Rowan bathe and wash her hair.

  “You’re all right?” they asked in unison and began to laugh.

  “I’m fine. My mate was more than pissed off, but once he feels as though he’s punished me and I have had a chance to atone for my misbehavior, he is really quite willing to let go of his annoyance. And you?”

  “Pretty much the same, although I don’t think my atonement is nearly as satisfying as yours,” Sloan teased.

  “Probably not. I quite enjoy being mated to an alpha,” Rowan sighed as she laid back to soak.

  * * *

  Gareth looked up as Alaric entered the great hall where he was greeted with a loud cheer. He rose, helping Arielle to her feet. Although he had originally dismissed Ruari’s suggestion that he consider Rowan’s sister as a mate, he was finding fewer reasons to continue to do so. She was young, but was also sweet, charming, and, in her own way, quite capable. Doubtless she couldn’t ride into battle, but she seemed to have taken command of the festivities with a quiet self-confidence that appealed to Gareth. Eloise had been kind but had been raised as the pampered daughter who had little use for the actual duties of mistress. She relied mostly on servants for the actual doing and was often bothered by even having to oversee things.

  When he reached him, Gareth hugged his brother close.

  “You’ve been taken care of?” Alaric asked.

  “Very well, brother. Your people are generous to a fault and the Lady Arielle has ensured that my needs are being met. I am quite baffled with your choice in mates when such a lovely she-wolf was available.”

  Arielle smiled and blushed prettily.

  “What can I tell you? When your fated mate threatens you at sword point, there is little a warlord can do but surrender his heart to her tender care. But do not let that one fool you, she has a mischievous side, don’t you, little one?”

  “I do not,” Arielle said, pouting. “Ro is all right? Is Sloan taking care of her? I can go to her if you need me to.”

  “You do; she is fine, and Sloan can take care of her. I’m not sure if she will join us this evening. The last few days have been hard on her. I don’t believe she has slept since last she did so at my side.”

  Gareth watched as his brother allowed himself to be swallowed up by his people and their merry making. Tristan joined him and asked for a private moment. They adjourned to the council chamber and he turned his attention back to Arielle.

  “Do you think I should go up and check on her?” she asked him.

  “I think if Alaric did not believe his mate to be in good hands, he would have said so. Besides I would be bereft without the pleasure of your company.”

  Arielle giggled. “I think you are much nicer than your brother.”

  “Kinder, wiser, and far better looking,” he teased, making her giggle again. He thought her giggle was a very delightful sound and began to wonder what it would be like to hear her make other pleasured sounds as they lay in each other’s arms.

  When dinner was served, Gareth led Arielle up to the head table and made sure she was seated beside him. Alaric returned with Tristan and joined them. Gareth could tell that his having done so did not go unnoticed.

  Alaric’s majordomo approached and Alaric asked that Sloan and Rowan have food taken up to them.

  The majordomo smiled. “It has been seen to, but Sloan said she was helping Rowan to dress, and they would both be down momentarily.”

  The words had no sooner left his mouth than the entire hall went silent. Gareth glanced up and spit his wine as did several others. His brother’s mate in armor had been impressive enough, but dressed properly as mistress of the pack, she was arresting.

  Gareth became vaguely aware of the subtle fragrance of lady slipper orchids combined with the ocean spray that surrounded Ravenscar. It filled his senses in a way that both comforted and aroused him. He felt as though he were adrift in a storm and could feel all of nature’s elements converging within.

  As he tried to detect the source of the aroma, he realized it lingered in the air as Rowan stood proud and strong, looking every inch the she-wolf and warrior—glorious in both her femininity and ferocity. But then Gareth became aware that Rowan was not the source of the aroma, and yet it lingered in her immediate vicinity. His effort to identify its location was interrupted by Alaric standing and prompting his people to slide their seats back and stand with him.

  “All hail Rowan, First Warrior and Mistress of Calon Onest!” he called.

  Gareth smiled. Truly his brother had found his fated mate. He suppressed a wry grin, thankful she was not his. But he wondered if his mate might be near. Alaric’s people, as well as his own, signaled their approval by pounding the tables and the floors, echoing his brother’s sentiments and howling in triumphant celebration as she moved gracefully through the crowd to reach them. Gareth watched Rowan as she approached but continued to try to locate the source of the one’s existence he had always denied.

  * * *

  Sloan had stepped back when they reached the great hall to allow Rowan to enter on her own. She wanted her friend to have this moment. She forgave Alaric everything when he declared Rowan not only mistress, but first warrior.

  As she heard everyone cheer, she couldn’t help but continue to feel the mild malaise she had been experiencing ever since the triumphant soldiers had returned from the battlefield. She and Arielle had worked to make sure everything was prepared for their return as well as rooms in the keep for both Alaric’s brother and his beta.

  Had someone noticed or asked, Sloan would have been hard pressed to say what was wrong. She didn’t feel sick, just out of sorts. There seemed to be a kind of buzzing in her head and it felt as though someone was squeezing her internal organs... not painfully but just to remind her they were there.

  She shook her head, and once Rowan had entered the room and caught the attention of all who were there, she quietly found her way to one of the tables where those from Calon Onest were gathered.

  * * *

  “God’s teeth, she is magnificent,” said Gareth quietly to his brother.

  Alaric grinned at him. “Aye, brother. That she is... and all mine.”

  Gareth chuckled. “Me thinks, little brother, you are quite smitten with your mate.”

  “And glad to be so. My hope is that you will find your own fated mate. I was sorry to hear of Eloise and the child she carried.”

  “Thank you, but as Ruari has pointed out, she has been gone almost a year. He urges me to seek another.”

  Alaric laughed as Rowan joined them. “Why is it betas are forever pestering their alphas to mate?”

  Gareth embraced Rowan. “You look stunning, little sister. Quite the transformation from ruthless warrior to great mistress and mate.”

  “What can I tell you, your brother has that effect on me,” she answered teasingly.

  Gareth found over the course of the evening that his brother’s mate, and her younger sister, had much to be admired. However he could not ignore the sensation of someone rubbing stinging nettles all over his body. He found himself scenting the air but could only catch the most subtle hints of the aroma that had been with him all his life.
It was his oldest memory—one that had comforted him as a child and aroused him as he grew into manhood. He watched as Alaric and his mate ensured that each other’s needs were seen to and then adjourned to their chambers shortly after dinner.

  Once her sister had withdrawn, Arielle resumed her duties as hostess. It was obvious that while their father had trained Rowan to lead, he had trained Arielle to serve as mistress to an alpha. He began to wonder if Ruari’s suggestion that he might consider taking her to mate wasn’t something he ought to consider.

  As he sat back watching Arielle, he considered his future. The sense of something primal in the air persisted. He sniffed the room and the briefest whiff of something familiar and yet unknown stirred within him. Gareth scanned the room several times but could not seem to pinpoint its source. The one thing he was sure of was that it wasn’t Arielle.

  * * *

  Over the next few days, Gareth spent a considerable amount of time with Arielle. He found that he looked forward to seeing her in the mornings and felt her loss when she retired to her rooms for the evening. Every once in a while, he would feel increasingly unsettled, as he had not discovered the source of his dissonance.

  When Alaric and Rowan rejoined their people, Rowan looked radiant and his brother well sated and happier than Gareth had ever seen him. Seeing his brother in such a state made him happy for Alaric, but only served to reinforce his own growing sense of discontent. He needed to return to Ravenscar but wanted to talk to Alaric about Arielle.

  “Gareth, I’m glad you’re still here,” Alaric greeted him as he entered the main hall.

  Gareth embraced him and leaned down to kiss Rowan’s cheek.

  “I kept hoping to see you before I needed to leave, but with a mate as beautiful as yours, your absence was easy to understand,” he said.

  “I can see who got the charm and manners in the family,” laughed Rowan.

  “Really? I didn’t think it was my charm or manners that held your interest when I had you in seclusion,” quipped Alaric.

  Rowan rolled her eyes at him.

  “Alaric, I wonder if I might have a word with you in private... brother to brother.”

  “Certainly. Behave yourself, Rowan,” he said as he kissed her.

  “Don’t I always?” she teased, causing both brothers to laugh.

  Alaric led the way to their council chambers.

  “I do apologize for neglecting you, but Edwyn’s invasion interrupted my seclusion with my mate.”

  “So I heard. And your beta tells me Edwyn is having a virtual meltdown in your dungeon. While I don’t blame you for wanting time with your mate and wishing to inflict a bit of discomfort on Edwyn, it’s probably wise to make your peace with him and send him on his way.”

  “Most likely you are right, but I think we’d best keep an eye on him. I told Tristan to make an offer to those who rode with him.”

  Gareth nodded. “He did and more than half took you up on your offer. I took the liberty of speaking with them to let them know that Ravenscar would welcome them as well.”

  “I’m glad. Did any take you up on it?”

  “Quite a few. The majority wish to stay here, but the rest would like to return with me to Ravenscar.”

  “And is that all that you wish to have return with you from Calon Onest?”

  Gareth chuckled. “You have always been observant. I would like to have Arielle return as my guest with an eye toward perhaps making a match. She is quite charming.”

  “But are you called to her, Gareth? I would see you mated to one who is fated to you.”

  “I do not believe all of us are gifted with a fated mate, but she is lovely, and both my pack and I would benefit from her grace.”

  “Have you spoken to Arielle?”

  “Not yet,” Gareth said, shaking his head again to clear it.

  “What troubles you? You seem unwell.”

  “Perhaps it is your Welsh air. I can detect a scent that I’ve known since the day I was born, but I keep feeling as though something is eluding me.”

  Alaric arched his eyebrow at his brother. “Something or someone? Is it more prevalent when you are with Arielle?”

  “No, that seems to make it weaker, but it has been present since we arrived. A flight of fancy no doubt.”

  “Perhaps not. Tell me about this scent; is it accompanied by the feeling of a thousand bees within your brain and stinging nettles all along your skin?”

  Gareth looked at him sharply. “How would you know that?”

  Alaric laughed. “I fear, my brother, that your fated mate is near and that she is not Arielle.”

  “Foolishness. Arielle would be an excellent mistress to the pack at Ravenscar and the thought of siring my children with her is most pleasant. I have foregone availing myself of the relief needed after battle so that she would not think ill of me.”

  “But does it make you mad for the wanting of her? Does your cock harden at the very thought of knotting her to you?”

  “Of course not...”

  “But it does when you catch her scent. And I speak not of Arielle’s, but of your mate’s.”

  “Your cock may have grown stronger with your mate beneath you, Alaric, but I fear your mind has turned to mush.”

  “And you are as stubborn as my Rowan. But I tell you, your mate is here. And as it is obvious that it is not Arielle, I will not allow her to return to Ravenscar, but would urge you to stay and seek your mate.”

  Gareth shook his head. “Who would have thought the great warlord would embrace such romantic drivel.”

  Chapter Three

  “How can he do this to Arielle? She is heartbroken. She saw herself as mistress to the pack at Ravenscar. I can’t believe he is being so mean!” shouted Rowan.

  “Ro, Alaric’s not doing anything to Arielle,” reasoned Sloan. “He simply believes they are not fated and will not relinquish Arielle to anything less than that. He wants for her what you yourself have said you want for both of us.”

  “I made him promise he wouldn’t force her into a pairing unless it was fated. I didn’t tell him not to let her have what she wanted. And she wants Gareth. Everyone has said he is kind and was grieved by the loss of his mate and child even though there was no real love there. She is destined to be the mistress of a great pack. You can’t deny that Ravenscar qualifies as such.”

  “Arielle is untried in the ways of the world or of love. Along comes this handsome, swaggering, powerful alpha, who just so happens to be brother to her beloved sister’s fated mate. She wants desperately to believe he is hers, but she admitted to me that although she’s wildly attracted to him, she doesn’t feel called to him. Would you really send her clear across to the other side of Britannia with anything less than a fated mate?”

  “I know,” said Rowan defeatedly. “I’m afraid that she’s fallen in love with the idea of Gareth and Ravenscar. But you’re right. I believe it is the notion of that as opposed to being called to him. I want her to have what I have... a fated mate. I want you to have that.”

  “I’m human, remember?”

  Rowan shook her head. “Doesn’t matter, our legends are filled with stories of humans who are called to a wolf. And you’ve never really been opposed to being turned. I want you to know the absolute rapture that is to be found in your fated mate’s embrace.”

  “Jesus, that knot thing must be one helluva ride,” teased Sloan.

  Rowan laughed. “You have no idea... I hope someday we can compare notes.”

  “Did you know? Before he claimed you?”

  “Yes. I could feel his presence when his warship rounded the bend. I felt as though a part of him was somehow reaching out across the water to me. It was very unsettling. And then the first time we met, it was all I could do to remain seated on my horse. I felt much like the moth does when it is caught by the pull of the flame. I knew going too close could burn me, but I couldn’t resist. I think I pushed him that day because I needed him to claim me.”

  “Yo
u needed him to spank you, toss you over his shoulder, and then carry you into the keep that way?”

  Rowan shrugged her shoulders. “It could have been worse.”

  “How?” Sloan asked incredulously.

  “That’s not a question I ask or ever want him to answer... I just know it wasn’t the most embarrassing thing he might have done. The worst part was the spanking made me incredibly aroused. Had he wanted to take my virginity at the stone circle, I don’t know that I would have offered him much resistance.”

  “I am certain then that I could never be wolf. All Tristan’s spanking did for me was hurt. The stupid part was if I had given in sooner, he would have stopped sooner.”

  “I’m so sorry I couldn’t stop that from happening.”

  “Don’t feel badly, Rowan. I knew there was nothing I could do, and had I not fought him, he wouldn’t have used his strap that first time. There’s no way I would ever find that arousing.”

  “You’d be surprised. It’s very annoying, especially as they know it and take full advantage of it.”

  Rowan studied her friend’s face carefully.

  “Are you okay, Sloan? You’ve seemed distant since I returned from my seclusion with Alaric.”

  “I’m fine; I’ve just been out of sorts for the past few days.”

  Sloan watched as Rowan turned and studied her. “Describe out of sorts.”

  “I can’t describe it. It’s like I know there’s something there but can’t quite put my finger on it.”

  Alaric entered the room. “I should have known if my mate was plotting something, it would be with you, Sloan,” he said with a smile as he drew Rowan into his arms.

  Sloan smiled as Rowan stomped on his instep and he swatted her backside with an accompanying growl.

  “The matter is settled, Rowan. Arielle will not go. For what it’s worth, neither Gareth nor your sister is pleased with my decision.”

  * * *

  Gareth eyed his brother. “I cannot make you change your mind?”

  “Are you going to try to tell me you are called to her or that you don’t feel the pull of your fated mate?”

  Gareth sat down and shook his head. “It’s the damnedest feeling and so maddening. The worst part is that the feeling is growing stronger.” He laughed. “I have to keep myself from approaching the unmated females in your pack and sniffing.”