She heard the noise again. Was that a wolf howl she heard? She shut her mouth in a hurry. What if it wasn’t a person at all? What if it was a wild animal coming after her? After all, she had no idea where she was.
Nothing made sense. She should be in her bedroom in her apartment. Maybe she was there. Maybe this was nothing but a nightmare.
“Wake up,” she whispered. She stumbled and fell to the ground. It was soft and spongy with the rain and mud. This time she didn’t get up. She’d exhausted all her energy reserves.
It saddened her to think she was going to die here alone in the dark. A tear mingled with the pouring rain, lost among the drops falling from the sky.
She heard the sound again and it was much closer. Her breathing was labored now but at least she wasn’t cold. A comforting numbness settled over her and she decided this wasn’t so bad after all.
A huge, furry face appeared only inches away, startling a scream out of her. The creature was massive, the size of a pony. Wet fur brushed against her face. She cringed back but the animal followed her, showing a lot of very big, very white fangs. She threw her arms in front of her, expecting to feel the painful bite of whatever it was. In the darkness and driving rain she couldn’t tell if it was a big dog or a wolf, only that it was big with sharp teeth.
When nothing happened, she slowly lowered her arms. A large, rough tongue scraped over her cheek. She jerked back but the animal didn’t attack. She squinted. Was it a dog?
It leaned toward her and nuzzled her face again. She threw her arms around the dog’s neck, comforted by its closeness. Where there was a dog there had to be civilization. “Where did you come from?” she asked.
The dog gave a deep woof in response.
“Carn?” a loud, male voice called in the distance.
The animal tilted back its head and howled. The chilling sound raced down her spine. He sounded like a wolf. Come to think of it, he looked something like one too. She slowly released her arms, pulling them back to her sides. The animal gave a low whine as if he wasn’t happy with her.
She smiled and felt the world tilt again. Her head rested against the ground and she could feel the earth shake beneath her as someone hurried toward her.
“What have you found, boy?” the male voice asked. She didn’t have the strength to answer him.
Strong hands turned her onto her back. She blinked as two large shapes went in and out of focus. She raised her hand to touch one of them but it was too much trouble. She let it fall back to her side and slipped away into the comforting darkness.
Just before oblivion claimed her she felt herself being lifted and held against a broad, masculine chest. In spite of the cold, she could feel heat radiating from him and snuggled closer. The one coherent thought she had was that she was safe now. She’d been found.
Chapter Four
Abrah couldn’t believe his eyes. He could make out a dark shape with legs and arms. There was a person lying in the dirt with Carn sitting right beside him. No, it wasn’t a male, but a female. The closer he got the more he could discern in the almost impenetrable darkness.
He pushed Carn aside and turned her carefully onto her back. Her body was delicate and there was no mistaking the outline of breasts against the wet fabric. Whoever she was, she wasn’t dressed for the weather.
She blinked at him and then her eyelids fluttered shut. She was alive, but he had no idea if she was injured or how badly. They had to get her to safety.
“What is a woman doing all the way out here? Alone!”
He shared his brother’s disbelief, for it was beyond comprehension that a woman should be out on a night like this and alone. “We have to get her back to the keep.” Abrah stripped off his coat and wrapped it around her slender form, desperate to get her warm. Whatever she was wearing was soaked through. He slipped his arms beneath her and lifted her off the cold ground, a sense of urgency pounding inside him.
“Hurry.” He knew they were on borrowed time, especially since the cold could draw the life out of a person. He’d seen it happen before and it was imperative it didn’t happen to this woman, whoever she was.
Heroc led the way with Abrah and his precious bundle beside him. They moved as fast as they dared with Carn loping along beside them. Abrah prayed to the gods as he hurried, imploring all of them to let the woman live.
As he made his way over the uneven terrain, he strained to hear her breathing above the howling wind and beating rain, but it was impossible. All Abrah had was hope, which had been in short supply in his life as of late. Heroc glanced at him and the woman in his arms from time to time but said nothing. Even if they yelled, the raging wind would swallow whatever either of them said. Time enough for conversation when she was safe and warm inside.
The keep came into view, lamplight from the surrounding homes illuminating the familiar path to their home. The brothers didn’t bother to summon help. Whoever the woman was, they would deal with her injuries themselves. If they were deemed too serious, then he would send for Tara and more help.
Heroc pulled the large door open and Abrah hurried inside. Candlelight flickered in the wind and several of them flared and then flickered out. He didn’t pause downstairs but took the narrow stone stairs two at a time to the next floor. His heart was racing, his lungs sucking in air as he hurried to his room. He shoved the door open with his hip and kept going through the bedroom and into the bathing chamber, where a single candle lit the space.
In the center of the room sat a tub of lukewarm water, which the housekeeper had ordered prepared before she’d retired for the evening. Abrah was thankful for her thoughtfulness.
Abrah barked his orders as he knelt on the floor with his precious bundle. “Stoke the fire and go down to the kitchen and get more hot water.”
Heroc took a moment to light several more candles before he hurried toward the door. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can.” His brother was yanking off his coat as he raced back to the bedroom.
Carn settled beside him and poked his nose into the top part of the bundle. His large muzzle shoved aside the fabric and gave Abrah his first look at the woman. Her face was streaked with mud and grit but her beauty shone through. Her nose was straight, her lips full and kissable.
Abrah gave a low growl, angry at her battered condition, and slowly lowered her to the floor. What had she been doing out in this weather on her own?
Carn glanced at him and then went back to nuzzling the woman. “Like her, do you, boy?” Carn didn’t usually take to strangers, preferring to stay aloof from everyone but Abrah and Heroc. The dog gave a low woof as though he understood the question. And Abrah wasn’t sure he didn’t.
He slowly stripped off his coat, which he’d wrapped around her, to reveal her body. She was slender, her limbs long and delicate. The clothing she was wearing was unfamiliar—some kind of pants and a soft tunic. He stripped them off her, careful not to jar her body any more than necessary.
She moaned and batted at his hands.
“I have to get these wet clothes off you.” He spoke, not sure she could even hear him as she drifted in and out of consciousness. But he kept up a steady stream of words as he tossed the sodden mound of cloth aside. She wasn’t wearing any footwear, only a thin covering of some kind. He pulled them off and added them to the pile. She was left wearing some kind of odd undergarments. The ones covering her lower half came off easily but the one covering her breasts gave him a moment of trouble. He’d never seen anything like it. It didn’t cover much, so he didn’t see the point in it.
He shoved it up and over her head, being as gentle as possible. She wasn’t shivering and that worried him.