“I’m fine. I have a roaring headache, but I’m fine otherwise.”

“Why would he want you so desperately that he would risk his life coming here to convince you to go with him? It was madness for him to do this,” Guthrie said. “I overheard Robert McKinley saying that they were dead men if they didn’t get you back.”

Her eyes widened. “You went after him? Alone?”

“Logan was with me. I saw Logan racing to reach the woods and figured he was chasing after Baird on his own. I had to go after him so he didn’t get himself killed. Baird met up with his men, three of them, and we listened in on them. They were all anxious and headed through the woods to their car. They didn’t know Logan and I were following them.”

“He said his life wasn’t worth living if I didn’t go back to him. But it sounds like more than just Baird’s life is at stake,” Calla said.

“Baird’s brother Vardon was really chewing him out. Sounds to me like their pack is rethinking having chosen Baird to be their leader. That could make a man desperate enough to pull something as stupid as this,” Guthrie agreed.

Ian stepped back into the room and asked Calla, “Is there anything else you can remember?”

“Just…well, it seemed kind of odd. He said that he didn’t mind if I stayed here through the time I’d planned, if I’d just agree to be his mate.”

“Hell,” Guthrie said. “I can’t imagine him ever making such a concession for you.”

Ian agreed. “He’s desperate all right. From what both of you have said, it seems like a pack-driven concern. There must be more to it.”

Aunt Agatha quickly entered the room. “I hope you’re going to talk to Logan. He’s telling the other lads he tracked the men down until you arrived, Guthrie.”

“Great. If you’re all right…” Ian said to Calla.

“Aye, I’m fine. Go talk to the boys.”

“If the men don’t kill Baird, I will,” Aunt Agnes said, slapping a wet cloth in Guthrie’s hand. “Take care of her.” Then she winked at Calla and left the room.

They all watched Aunt Agnes make a hasty retreat, no one saying a word. Calla guided Guthrie’s hand to her temple where the injury still throbbed. “Cold compress on head injury,” she said.

“Aye,” Guthrie said and gently laid the compress on her head.

Ian said, “I’m going to check with our men, learn who was supposed to be at the back gate and how Baird got in, and talk to the lads. I don’t want them thinking they can just run off and do this kind of thing again.”

Calla looked relieved when Ian left. Guthrie squeezed her hand, but when she started to close her eyes, he reminded her, “Nay, lass. Keep your eyes open.”

She made a face at him and he smiled.

“Vardon said they should have grabbed you when you were at your home. You never mentioned that when we came to rescue you from them in the blizzard.”

“I was supposed to drop my parents off at the airport and come straight here. My dad had his times way off. I was in a rush to get them to the airport and had no time to finish packing to come here straight from the airport. My dad is never rattled like that.”

“Baird is not forcing you to return to him,” Guthrie said, taking her hand and kissing her cheek.

She smiled a little at him. “Tell me something that I don’t know.”

***

Later that day after Calla had napped, she smiled to see Guthrie sitting in one of the chairs in her guest room, watching her.

“You haven’t been there all this time, have you?”

“Aye. As your soon-to-be mate, I’m protecting you.”

She smiled. Her head was still tender, but she felt much better, her lupus garou genetics kicking in to heal the mild injury more rapidly than a human’s could. “So what happened while I was sleeping?”

Guthrie came to sit on the bed next to her. “Logan was upset that he wasn’t able to stop Baird before he got to the keep and injured you, so he waited in his wolf form, watching the back gate and lingering there in case Baird managed to escape.”

“None of the humans saw him shift or wearing his wolf coat, did they?”

“Nay. Ian spoke with him and told him how dangerous that could have been, both if any of our visitors had seen him and if Baird had confronted him. Even though Logan insisted he had bigger teeth than Baird at the time, so he would have been fine.”

“Yeah, but there were more than one of them. He should have known that. They could have seen Logan. Killed him. He’s just lucky you followed him.”

“Aye. The kid’s a good tracker, though. He stayed out of sight and downwind of them. But Ian counseled him soundly—and the other boys also because they were eating Logan’s story up.”

She frowned at Guthrie. “What could Baird and the others with him have done that they need me back so badly?”

“We don’t know. His brother Vardon said they should never have listened to this scheme of Baird’s. We just have to figure out what scheme that is.”

Chapter 16

At dinnertime, Guthrie had asked if Calla wanted to eat in her room, but she declined. She wasn’t really even hungry, but she wanted everyone to know she was fine. She took her place beside Guthrie in the great hall, beginning to feel like that truly was her place, as many times as she’d sat there now. Many of the pack members came to wish her well and apologized for not taking better care to see that Baird was stopped, word having quickly spread throughout the pack. She was trying really hard not tear up at all the kindness they’d shown her.