Embrace of Fur and Flesh

Chapter 8

Two weeks later

Lileas woke up from the darkness occasionally hearing whispers in Gaelic, but sometimes darkness would overtake her completely, and force her to another path. Today was an exception, she was able to open her eyes for the first time, and realized just how very thirsty she had become.

Her chocolate eyes fluttered into consciousness. The first thing that came into view was the hard worn face of a man. Bragan...she thought.

He was tired looking with his face in a whoosh of relief and worry. What was wrong with him. What happened to the hard-arse'ed man. She looked around then and noticed that she was on an unfamiliar bed. A very bodacious looking woman with ample breasts and a short stout frame was asleep in the corner of the room by the fire. She had her sewing in her lap and was snoring peacefully from what Lileas could see.

Bragan whispered to her drawing her attention to him, "Och, Lass, thank th' Lord yer all right!"

"All right? Why would I no be all right," Lileas asked confused.

"Ye've been out for neigh a week now," Bragan somberly mumbled crossing his arms over his massive chest and settling back into a chair.

Lileas was silent for a moment and decided that it would be best not to acknowledge the issue at the moment and pushed the concern away to deal with it later. "O-okay," Lileas swallowed then added, "Where am I?"

"Ye are at my home lass, Achadh luach raich {a worthy field}, this is my home, and yer in my bed, been so since we got here."

"H-how did we ge' here?"

"I brought ye here o' course."

"Nay, I mean how did we get here wi'out me bloody dyin' on ye," Lileas determinedly exclaimed with a wince as the woman in the chair snorted and shifted a bit in her seat.

"Ye were no as bad as I originally thought," Bragan said smoothly relaxing back in his chair; attempting not to reflect on the intensity of panic that had overtaken him on that day. He looked at the lass with his eyes steeled over, not giving anything away, yet damn, she already was suspicious of his lie.

"I doubt that," she replied arching an delicate eyebrow at his audacity. Did he not know who she lived with? Four brothers who had taught her to look for any signs of a lie, and who taught her to lie even more smoothly than themselves if need be.

Men must nay 'ave much sense. T' lie t' me when I saw me own wound. I ken I could 'ave died. Wheest, lack brains!

"Do ye no believe me then," he said sternly looking at her moving his large body closer to her.

"Nay, I do no' believe ye. I saw me wound," she said steadfast in her thought. He would not be changing her mind, nor would he lie to her. Within an hour or two she would have bled dry and they were too far to have made it to the keep in that amount of time to get her to the clan's physician in time. Lileas could add up the times. She was not dim-whited, yet the men acted as if she were. She snorted rolling her eyes, "Aye we could really 'ave made it then could nay we? With me bleedin' out like a stuck-pig and all."

Bragan tilted his head with amusement glistening in his eyes, "Ye jest wi' me, lass? Ye must be feelin' better then fer ye t' be makin' jests and such."

The fiery wench was back to making jokes and his blood started to boil in a fiery elixir. Lileas was not making jokes, though, she was very serious and on the verge of screaming with anger. The man was avoiding the issue and it was unacceptable. Shaking her head, Lileas turned slowly to her side and winced as she did so. A sore feeling laid at her stomach as she stretched the sore scars that were still healing.

Breath, she had to remember to breath. She inhaled and exhaled slowly as a sickening, dizzy feeling came over her. She felt herself fall back a little weakened and hit the soft pillow hard.

"Mmmm, fook," she said in pain, a little more physically exerted than she thought she was.

It was difficult, but she finally was able to have the wound settle enough for the pain to subside. Relief came as a swift friend to her as she breathed out slowly. Warmth spread through her midsection, as she realized that Bragan was right there, instantly applying slight pressure to her aching muscles. She gave him a long gaze. Aye, he was lying to her but he was here, and helping her through the problems.

"Thank ye," she replied to him.

"Yer welcome, Lileas."

Her name. He had said her name. God, it sounded good coming from his generous lips. Something about him clicked within her, making her feel safe. So good... She thought.

She turned her head towards his kidneys which had been strained hardness and it's expression. Her own expression had softened as a warm feeling shop to her.. She began to breathe a bit more harshly, and when she closed her eyes she remembered how his lips felt upon hers. His touch making her hot, and his long hard gazes making her feel like her heart was going to patter against her chest as rapid as a hummingbird's wing, hard and soft with the intensity of the emotions that he evoked running in her. She had no understanding of what was happening, it was so fast and confusing, then Lileas did something very unlike Lileas.

She began to breathe a bit more harshly, and when she closed her eyes to take in the distance between them, the air moved and became cold as the door shut itself. Caught in the whirlwind of emotions, she felt lost, especially now than ever before since he had just left her in his room without even a word uttering of where he was going and what he was going to do.

She opened I swiftly and felt the loss. Confusion run through her, she kept telling herself that it didn't matter, that she wasn't hurt, but she was. She never in her life worried if she was doing the right or the wrong thing, but hell, she wondered now. She wanted his presence because she felt strangely safe and attracted to him a drawing closing and winding them close together... Where that come from that was unlike her she'd never been so careless with her thoughts, nor a romantic, and yet there it was, that she was thinking of, and she did not know how to stop it. Frustration, that's what it felt like she didn't know how to control her own feelings and thoughts. She needed to be away from him but how? If anything it was okay to admit that she wanted to be near him, but she did not want to be with him right now because he made her act like a foolish weakling. She felt vulnerable, and enough was enough.

She must not let him in! She mustn't. She replied in thought as sleepy dazes twiddled was in her vision.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Breaking news that they were moving too fast. Too fast, and that he had to take precaution, so that she wouldn't be scared enough to bolt, she was that prideful, he knew it. He knew that if she thought that she was being overpowered by a man that she would be the first to bolt and to close up her own mind from being in love with someone, her own mate. God help him, when the woman began to scream and Elspeth came running to him with concern and relief simply stating, "Milord. She is hallucinating again. I need ye t' hold her down a'fore she rips out th' stitches in her stomach."

He ran. Literally, to his chamber and set to work on what the maidservant had told him. It was imperative that his mate survive these hallucinations, they were very deadly in this day and time, and even a were-shifter could not hold off the pending death that could bring of these visions. It was a part of the venom in him. She would shift even before mating, as Elspeth had explained, this separated the powerful from the strong, but again Elspeth explained it could be a rejection because of the strange scent that she gave off. Whatever the case, Bragan was completely prepared for the worse.

----------------

A/N- please read-

I know it's been a while since I've updated the story, and yes short chapter, I know it sucks. Filler chapters normally do, and I'm sorry for that but I've been kind of having problems trying to write this chapter because I didn't know where to go from chapter 7, but I have more inspiration and I know exactly what I'm going to do for the next chapter. I think you guys will like it. Thank you, love you guys, vote, comment, whatever you want just pass on the story!

Thanks everyone,

Kat.