Highlander's Seduction (The Matheson Brothers Book 3) (2 page)

Matheson Castle, led by Murdock Matheson, the Chief of Clan Matheson, a man with dual shifter-fae blood, Scotland, current day.

Murdock Matheson paced the water’s edge of Loch Alsh, his current frustration riding him hard. It had been days since his last vision and he detested not seeing his daughter, Isla, and the three warrior brothers known as the ‘power of three,’ who’d traveled with her over eight-hundred years into the past.

Mere days ago, the ‘power of three’ along with their mates had successfully saved the fae village from the MacKenzie chief’s attack and now their shifter clan held more hope for their future than ever before.

If only he could force a vision. At least Nessa, the seer of ancient times, would be watching over his kin. Of that he had no doubt.

“Chief!” Daniel, his right hand man, jogged along the grassy verge of the loch’s shoreline, the castle’s fortified stone walls rising high behind him. The thick slabs of gray stone were bathed a glorious golden hue as the sun dipped below the horizon and the moon rose majestically overhead.

“Is all well?”

“More than well.” Hands on his hips, Daniel halted and grinned. “Several of our unmated men have reported their senses are stirring as never before. They’re certain their chosen ones now await them, although they need to leave tonight and begin their search.”

“Inform them that they may and that I wish them well. Certainly if their searches lead them this night to a place where no one awaits them, then it could well mean their mates reside in the past as Finlay and Kirk’s mates do. We will need Cherub if that is so.” Murdock rarely spoke of Cherub, keeping her secrets as needed. He clapped Daniel on the back. “Ensure all those who need to leave on their search have all they require at hand. This is our time, for our clan to embrace a new future.”

“Will do, Chief, and it’s a new future we long for.” Daniel grasped Murdock’s forearm in a firm warrior hold then jogged back toward the keep in his clan plaid.

Aye, a new time had now dawned for their shifter line, one of renewed hope and endless possibilities.

Quietly, he closed his eyes and focused on Nessa.

He couldn’t force a vision, but with this level of worry and need consuming him, surely one was close to rising. He’d remain alert if one—

A flurry of images swirled to blazing life and he grasped ahold of them. Nessa stood within the great hall of the ancient House of Clan Matheson in an elegant olive gown, her head bowed under the weight of a vision as her clansmen partook of their evening meal around her. He tapped into her mind and followed the path of her vision.

At the fae village along the loch, a young woman wearing a white fur cloak stood on the pebbly beach. Cherub. He touched his heart. Cherub had visited him from time to time over the years, the very first during his darkest days, not long after he’d lost his wife to cancer only a week following Isla’s birth. Lost in his grief, he’d barely been able to care for himself let alone his newborn daughter. Yet he’d promised his wife on her passing that he’d raise their child with all the love and devotion she would have done, a promise he’d kept and would continue to do so.

Cherub had been the one to console him, to assure him his wife awaited him in the land of the fae beyond the veil, in a place that for now would remain beyond his reach, but not forever. One day he would join her, when his time on Earth was done.

“
Murdock?
” Nessa’s voice reverberated softly through his mind.

“
I’m here, my friend. How is Isla?
”

“
Your daughter is very well. Iain keeps a close watch over her, as do I. She misses you.
”

“
As I miss her. Tell her I love her. I saw Cherub. She looks troubled.
”

“
She’s discovered this eve that she is mated to Kirk, a bond she feels she cannae allow to take due to her duty.
”

Cherub was devoted to those of fae blood who walked this Earth. She ensured each and every one of her people found their soul bound mate, even though they might be separated by a divide of time. She could command the very
air
itself and open portals in time. He drew his focus back to the young woman who held a special place in his heart and always would. Just as he could communicate with Nessa during a vision, so too he could do so with Cherub when his sight led him to her. “
Cherub, how are you?
”

“
I am well, Murdock.
” A smile lifted Cherub’s lips. “
How are you?
”

“
I have good news. Several of my men have just reported sensing their mates, for the first time.
”

“
Many of them shall be led to a place this eve where their mate should be, but they willnae find who they search for. No’ when their mates reside here in this time. The same will have occurred for the other shifter clan farther across the Highlands. I need you to speak to their chief, Michael. Let him know the Fae Angel of Love’s duty stands firm and always shall.
”

“
I’ll inform him. Michael’s been eager to hear more news about Iain, Finlay and Kirk. He misses his sons and will be pleased to hear of your bond taking form with Kirk.
”

“
I’m afraid I cannae accept the bond with my mate, no’ if I wish to aid all those who will soon need me. Kirk is but one of many.
”

“
No one has ever been able to defy the mated bond.
”

“
Then I shall attempt to be the first.
”

“
There is no need for you to deny what should be.
”

“
There is every need if I’m to continue to care for my people.
” Warmth radiated from her through their link and enveloped him. “
We shall speak again soon. Your clan shall need me in the coming days and I willnae forsake you, or them. Of that I give you my word.
”

“
Then take care, my friend, for I too shall be watching over you.
”

“
Until the next time.
” Cherub’s image fluttered away, as did his vision and his connection to Nessa.

The fae time-walker was devoted to each and every one of her people, her work usually done in secret. He only hoped she was as devoted to caring for herself as well. There was strength in allowing the mated bond and joining with the one who was always meant to be theirs. Aye, a mated pair should never be separated, not even when duty stood in their way.

At the fae village, farther along the loch from the ancient House of Clan Matheson, Scotland, 1210.

Under a darkening sky, Cherub paced the pebbly beach before the fae village, the wind whistling around her. It flapped her white fur cloak back from her shoulders and whipped her blond hair in a frenzy. High above, the full moon rose and bathed the Earth in its heavenly glow. This one night of the month always offered such promise to those who were mated, yet this eve, it brought only longing to her very soul, a longing that would soon be crushed. She couldn’t forsake her fae-blooded kind, not when so many would now need her aid in seeking out their mated one.

“Papa!” A lad dashed through the gate in the high stone wall surrounding the village and raced toward the foaming water’s edge. ’Twas Joseph, Amelia’s son. Wearing loose-legged tan breeches two inches too short on his legs and a long green tunic, Joseph swung a wooden pail in his hand as he hurried along the grassy trail.

Ten years ago, Amelia, the second of only three time-walkers born to their people, had traveled from the future to the past and become soul bound to Olaf here in this time. When their bond had taken form, her friend had chosen to forego her skill and devote herself to her mate. That had left Cherub as the only one to care for their Earthbound fae, the third time-walker caring for those beyond the veil. Still, ’twas a duty Cherub adored and one she’d never forsake.

“Wait there, Joseph.” Beyond the choppy breakers, Olaf waved from his skiff then hauled his nets in. He rowed into shore, bounded out and roped his boat to a boulder. Joseph handed him the pail and Olaf filled it with his catch before the two of them walked back along the beach toward her. With a smile, Olaf stopped and gazed at her. “How are you this eve, Cherub?”

“I’m very well. How is Amelia?”

“A little anxious following the recent battle on these shores. ’Tis good to see you’re back.”

“I can never stay away from my kin here for long.” Thankfully she’d only been gone a short time. Bending, she rustled Joseph’s windblown brown locks. “Tell your mama I shall visit her soon, now that I’ve returned to this time.”

“I will.” Joseph ogled her sparkly skin. “Mama said she saw your papa beyond the veil, and more than once when she traveled there. She said the king’s skin glitters too.”

“Aye, his does. Each eldest child born within the royal line holds such sparkly skin as mine.” She was one of seven, the eldest of all her siblings. She kissed Joseph’s cheek. His mother was like a sister to her, and Joseph was the first and only child born to a time-walker. Like his mother, he too would be an immortal, his soul having been blood bound to Amelia’s through his birth.

Olaf wrapped an arm around Joseph’s shoulder. “I’ve caught plenty of fish this eve, Cherub. Are you able to join us for the evening meal?”

“I wish I could, but there is a man I must wait here to meet. My thanks though for your kind invitation.”

“Then you must come as soon as you can. Amelia misses you.”

“As I miss her. Tell her I shall visit on the morrow.”

“I will. Take care.” Olaf squeezed her arm then led Joseph up the trail and through the gate into the village. Amelia and her kin were so happy here, and she too couldn’t have been happier for them. Joseph was a treasure, a child who brought such delight to one and all who met him.

With a soft sigh, she turned her gaze back toward Matheson House. This coming encounter was one that tore at her. She was to meet her soul bound mate and then turn him away. Life wasn’t fair, but then that she’d learnt well over the centuries.

Down the trail toward the sea-gate landing, a warrior with midnight black locks brushing his shoulders ran. He bounded aboard a skiff, released the mooring rope then coiled and stored it under the center seat. With the oars in hand, he rowed.

Once he cleared the bay, he tucked his oars away and raised the sail. The wind filled it with a hearty slap and with his feet braced wide along one side and the ropes in hand, he steered the skiff as it shot off like an arrow toward her.

Her fae senses reached out toward his and butterflies abounded in her belly. Kirk’s drive to reach the village was honed completely in on her, the one woman who was meant to be his, and the one woman she intended to deny him of. Finding his chosen one had consumed him these past five years, just as it had his two identical brothers who’d now found their mates. Although never once had she known that ’twas her Kirk searched for. If only she had, then she could have let him down far sooner and thus allowed him to move on and enjoy his life.

The wind plastered Kirk’s billowy white tunic against his muscled chest and sent the sword holstered at his side swaying. He would be here within a minute or two and there was naught more she could do now but anxiously await his arrival.

Over her shoulder, the need of those within the houses of stone and clay cloistered so tightly together called out to her and touched her very heart. Throughout the days and years to come, so many would need her aid and that knowledge firmed her stance. Their people couldn’t lose another time-walker, a fact she hoped her mate could accept.

With her decision made, she dissolved into a mist and became as one with the very air itself, the element she commanded. ’Twas best Kirk not have her image in his mind. If he did, then that would make their parting all the more harder.

Kirk steered his skiff toward land, lowered the sail as he neared the shore and jumped into the knee-deep water. He hauled his boat onto the beach and in snug black leather pants, marched toward her. He strode past her then stopped and swung about. With a determined slash to his lips and his nose to the air, he breathed deep and prowled back. In a wide circle, he moved, each of his steps drawing him closer and closer to her unseen position.

“Why can’t I see you, my elusive imp? I’m finally here in the right time and place and I should be able to.” He halted directly in front of her, lifted one hand and swept it in a wide arc.

His hand passed right through her, and her very soul shimmered with need.

“Where are you?” he whispered into the wind, raw pain in his voice.

Her heart ached with what could never be. A soul bound match was what she sought for others, believed in to the greatest degree. “I’m so sorry, Kirk. You have my sincerest apologies for withholding myself from you.” She allowed her voice to flow to him. Leaving him wondering about her wasn’t something she’d ever be able to do, not to the man her very soul had now been bound to. “You and I, and this mated bond that has formed between us, it cannae be.”

“You know my name?” He searched where she stood.

“I do, and that is because ’tis now emblazoned on my heart.”

“Why can’t I see you?”

“I’m a time-walker, one of only three who can command the very air itself. ’Tis my element and if I wish, so too I can become as one with it.”

“Why would you withhold yourself from me?”

“I…” She wavered in her stance and took form, although she remained fully cloaked and unseen. “You can touch me now if you wish.”

He swept one hand out, his fingers sliding through her locks then slowly, he brought his hand to his chest, his fist clenched around a long strand of her pale blond hair. “Thank you.”

“My name is Cherub. I am also the one who hears the whispers between souls who arena yet aligned so that I might bring them together across time, no matter where they might be.”

“You’re the Fae Angel of Love?” Surprise widened his eyes. “I’ve heard of you, or I should say the legend. Tales spoken of the Fae Angel of Love give our clan hope.”

“I’m more than just a tale. I was born to serve my people and have done so for over a thousand years.” She looked into his eyes and almost drowned in his stunning golden gaze. A shifter’s eyes, although there was more. They were rimmed with a glimmer of starburst yellow, adding a spark of heat that sent another bout of butterflies flittering about in her belly. “So many seek my aid, and my duty is to those of fae blood who walk this Earth.”

“I’m one of Ivan’s direct descendants, Gilleoin’s second-born son, and unlike Gilleoin’s firstborn line, our clan is shifter alone. I have no fae blood.”

“Aye, ’tis true your clan does no’ hold any fae skills as the firstborn son’s line does, yet Sorcha’s blood still flows through your line all the same.” Sorcha, Gilleoin’s wife and Nessa’s daughter was a strongly skilled fae who held the ability of aura reading. “That trace of fae blood, although diluted over the centuries, is still enough to call to me.” She cupped his cheek, her lips lifting. “I have spoken to Isla’s father, Murdock, this night and he has informed me that many of the unmated men in his clan now sense their chosen ones. The same will have occurred for your clan farther across the Highlands from him. I also asked him to speak to your father and to let Michael know I will watch over one and all, just as I’ve always done.”

“As I intend to now watch over you.” He slid his hand gently over hers and closed his eyes. “I want my mate, the one woman who was always meant to mine. I want you, Cherub. Please, show yourself fully to me. Uncloak.”

His demand to see her tugged at her heart and caused her to sway toward him, to falter for a mere moment in her stance. She should walk away from him now, and before any ties between their souls began to weave together.

“I’m sorry. That I cannae do.”

“Legend says the Fae Angel of Love is the faerie king’s firstborn child.”

“Aye, I am.” She stroked her fingers back and forth over his skin. Touching him, even for this stolen moment in time, soothed her very soul. “You must understand, there is too much at stake for me to allow our joining. So many others need me.”

“As I now need you too. Surely you can take one night off from your duties. Aren’t you curious at all about who I am and why a bond has taken between us? Give me some time.” He smoothed his hand over her wrist and up her arm then slid his fingers under her hair and around her nape. “I’m so incredibly curious about you. I’ve wondered for five long years just who you were, as well as craved the thought of getting to know you. You can’t leave me now.”

She should move away, yet his hold, so deliciously tender, and the sheer look of desire in his gaze even though he couldn’t see her kept her rooted to the spot. “I’ve never once sensed I was bound to another. Five years may have passed for you, but for me, only a few minutes have.”

“I see.” He found her other arm then swept down to her hand and threaded their fingers together. “I understand your dilemma. I certainly don’t wish to see my fellow kin lose the chance of being brought to their mated one. Holding hope is all that the men in our shifter line hold onto, and now I’ve found you, I too have no intention of losing that hope. There must be a way around all of this, so that both of us can receive what we need to from our bond.”

“My duty is all-consuming, barely allowing me any time for myself, let alone a mate.”

“Then allow me to aid you. I needn’t be a burden but a partner to share the load.” Slowly, he lowered to one knee, brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss against her palm. “Cherub, from this day forth, I give you my oath. All I desire is to keep you safe, to honor your needs above my own. Allow me to stand at your side, to aid you in your duty. I’ll do all I can to ensure you never falter in caring for your people.”

A slow heat invaded her limbs and spread in a rippling wave through her body. His words touched her heart. “You shouldnae have made such a vow to me.”

“My word is absolute and I won’t take it back. Meeting you is all I’ve ever dreamed of, and the thought of you leaving me because your duty is so all-consuming tears my very soul in two. Give me a chance. Allow me to prove I speak the truth and will never fail you.” He rose to his feet, scooped her into his arms and walked with her toward the forest rising high behind the village. The tops of the pine trees swayed in the breeze and an owl hooted from deep within.

“Where are you taking me?” She looped her arms around his neck and held on as he strode along the trail into the darkening forest.

“There is a special place not far from here, one I discovered not long after my arrival. I’d like to take you there. Give me this one night. Don’t leave me or forego our bond until you’ve given me the chance to prove my vow was spoken in truth. I would forever honor it, and you.”

Goodness. If she granted his request and spent one night with him, would she then be able to walk away from him once the sun had risen in the morning? Soul bound mates would do anything for each other. That she’d witnessed time and time again over the centuries, although Amelia had still stood down from her duty after accepting the bond with Olaf. That she couldn’t allow to have happen to her.

“You’ve gone very quiet all of a sudden. Does that mean you agree to one night?”

He asked for so little and right now no other needed her. “I’ll give you one night, although no more.”

“Thank you.” He buried his nose in her hair and grinning, drew in a deep breath. “Mmm, you smell delicious, like fresh air and an ocean breeze. Where do you live, Cherub?”

“My place is here on Earth, amongst those of fae blood, wherever that might be and whatever century that draws me to.” In truth, she owned several parcels of land, had built a home on one such plot and favored it as a home base. She also kept a chamber right here at Matheson House, one Nessa insisted she use as often as she needed to, which would be greatly needed during the coming days and weeks ahead now so many shifters in the future would be seeking their mates here in this time. “You can put me down if you wish. I’ve agreed to one night and I’ll gladly walk with you.”