My Wee Mate

50 - Taste of Death

Fraser

We aren't going slowly through the forest when the suspicious smell hits me like a wall, stunting my motion with its scent. An overwhelming urgency comes along with it, and I freeze momentarily while the realization of what it is slides over me.

The scent of smoke spurs me through the woods, burning my nose and overwhelming my senses; I start moving again with a renewed urgency.

I can feel it in my blood and bones, boiling over. It has to be more than intuition driving me forward now. Something is wrong, deeply wrong.

I move faster than I ever had thought possible. Trees blur, the pink sky looming with the last light of the day.

The pulsing of something way too wrong won't leave me, even as I get closer and closer.

When I burst into the clearing, the stench of burning flames is so concentrated that I immediately know what's going on here. I feel it in my gut like a punch, rushing my breath out of me.

Spotting the stakes surrounded by a crowd of bloodthirsty people, my theory is confirmed.

They're trying to burn my mate.

A roar, a war cry, escapes me at the mere idea, the mere possibility of setting flame to the love of my life. I rush forward to seek my revenge. To seek my life. To save my mate. My Ailsa.

Practically flying, my feet way up the distance as I burst into the crowd of pathetic bystanders. I feel Alec at my flank, angry and ready to tear into these people. He's not as furious as I am, but I'm glad he's thirsty for vengeance, out for blood.

Screams erupt, people trying to flee death even as they waited eagerly for it. Smoke billows as it floats on the breeze. I slice through the horde that is the merciless Sinclair clan. Animals, all of them, standing by as an innocent girl is sentenced to death. And they watch on in glee

A handful of guards rush us. Delicate, human guards that go down easily enough. Blood sprays my face, and a body goes flying past me. I look swiftly over my shoulder to see Nairn and my brother.

I lick my lips, savoring the taste of death.

"Leave the Laird, he's mine to kill."

With that simple instruction, I leap towards the stakes, eyes flicking back and forth between the two. A large woman is also being burned, but I ignore her even as I pass her. She's right by my side when her wide, terrified eyes meet mine. I jump away from her and to my goal.

"Save her." She says to me in passing.

I intend to.

Ailsa's eyes are closed, her head lulling to the side. Flames roar under us, threatening to take us into their heat entirely.

"Mo cuishle." I insist, shaking her slightly. Ailsa's pulse is weak and uneven under her thin skin.

Flames sizzle, I ignore their heat and focus on her. She's unresponsive.

My heart squeezes painfully in my chest. I use my hand to rip the rope away, it snips into ribbons, falling away as her soft body slumps against me. Licked in sweat, her dress clings to her slight frame.

Once I am sure she's secured in my arms, I'm dragging her away from the rumbling fire pit that she was tied to.

I have to shove the anger away that's growing inside of me. I need to focus on her and only her.

My teeth grind together. The screams are still echoing, the clan turned into a scattered chaos. I find a soft patch of grass to lay my mate down on, begging gentle with her head as I pant over her, assessing her state with careful fingers.