Page 1 of Wolf Alliance

1

Dread poured through her veins as Accalia glanced out her bedchamber’s arrow-slit of a window of Hillshire Keep in the Highlands, looking for any sign of Lord Erik Norwulf and his men’s arrival, and seeing none. She was almost relieved.

“Are you excited about meeting the white wolf chief?” Niamh asked Accalia, helping her dress in one of her nicer burgundy gowns. Accalia’s da felt her blond hair made her look washed out and the more colorful gown would make her stand out. In the worst way, her da wanted her to appeal to the white wolf chief.

Frowning, Accalia shook her head. Her stomach had been tied in knots all morning. She kept imagining what it would be like seeing Erick Norwulf, talking to him, learning if they were wolf compatible.

“You barely ate your bread or venison when we broke our fast.”

“I wasna hungry.” Her da expected her to win Erick Norwulf over from the first moment they met, entice him to mate her over the week he spent with them, and forge an alliance with him. She was sure that wasn’t possible.

Her redheaded friend shook her head, freckles dotting the bridge of her nose, her cheeks, her eyes blue and clear. “You are one of the most positive people I know. This will work out.”

That’s what Accalia had thought with the last wolf she was supposed to mate. “What if Lord Erik Norwulf does the same thing that the wolf I was supposed to mate pulled?” Seasons had changed from spring to summer, but she still hadn’t let go of feeling angry at Uilleam’s or Clodagh’s betrayal.

“That snake. He didna deserve you. What I canna believe is that he took off with Clodagh.”

“You dinna need to remind me.” Accalia had been friends with her since they were young. “I’ve…overheard our people talking about it—saying I didna know how to win a wolf over.”

“Uilleam wasna worth having. Dinna listen to rumors and conjectures. You know how it is. Everyone has an opinion about something, even if it’s wrong.” Niamh sighed.

“’Tis true. Finding the right wolf is the key.”

“You have a whole week to visit each other and learn if you’re right for one another.” Niamh plaited Accalia’s hair. “Before I arrived at your chamber, I overheard your da tell your uncle that Erik was the one who asked to meet you. Did you know that?”

Surprised to hear it, Accalia slipped hersgian dubhinto her boot. “I thought my da had been desperate to seek another ally through my mating Erik once Uilleam betrayed me.”

Niamh fastened a belt around Accalia’s waist. “Mayhap the white wolf chief will be the one for you.”

Accalia attached her sword in its sheath to her belt.

Niamh grabbed up her leather pouch and handed it to her. “Uhm, your da said none of us maids can go with you to meet with the lord.”

“Why no’?” Accalia couldn’t believe it.

Niamh pushed a loose red curl of hair out of her eyes. “You know.”

“Nay. Because da is worried some other lass in our pack will entice Erik more?”

“He didna say so, but I suspect that’s the case.”

Accalia let out her breath in a huff, thinking it was the most unreasonable thing he’d ever done. “Does he think to keep all the women in our pack away from Erik the whole week he is here?”

“I dinna know, but all the women are dying to see him.”

Accalia had heard the younger lasses twittering about his arrival, dressing in their finery, their hair plaited beautifully, eager to see Erik. A pack leader who needed and sought out a mate. A clan chief who owned a castle.

Footfalls headed toward her chamber and a chill went up Accalia’s spine. She and Niamh glanced at the door as the footsteps grew closer. Then they stopped at her door and a fist pounded, making her and Niamh jump. “The scouts have reported Lord Erik is nearby. Lord Baldur wants you to join him now,” one of her da’s men said.

It was Tormod, her da’s commander of his forces. She wasn’t surprised her da would send him to fetch her, not one of the guards. Tormod wouldn’t let her wiggle her way into doing something she wanted to do if her da didn’t wish it.

Niamh hugged her, and she hugged her back. “This will all turn out the way it should,” Niamh said.

Accalia sure hoped so, but after her previous near miss on a mating, she doubted that anything would come of this arrangement. Niamh opened the chamber door, waiting for Accalia to leave the room, then joined her.

Accalia planned to take Niamh with her despite her da’s supposed ruling that no woman would attend her even though she knew Tormod would strictly follow her da’s orders.

She took Niamh’s hand, but Tormod shook his head. “Just you, my lady.”