Page 6 of Wolf Pack

Bodolf wiped away tears. “Aye.”

They hurried to the barrels and motioned for Bodolf’s siblings to accompany them. Libby and Drummond were both crying.

“Nay, dinna cry,” Inge said. “We must hurry.”

Bodolf grabbed his sister’s and brother’s hands and sprinted for the cave.

Even though his da had never shown an ounce of love toward his children, she knew they cared about him, and she felt bad about how this had all turned out. For now, she had to concentrate on getting them safely away.

“Elene!” she suddenly said.

“I’ll go back for her,” Bodolf said.

“Nay. I’ll get her. She might no’ go with you. Leave your brother and sister in the cave and get the ship.” Isobel had befriended Elene because she was a wolf like them, though it had taken Elene weeks to trust Isobel. She genuinely wanted to be Elene’s friend.

Taking a deep breath, Isobel studied the longhouse and listened to all the shouting inside. Funi or his men could easily kill her if she returned. But she had to free Elene.

She slipped in, keeping tight to the outer wall where beds were lined up. Elene was tied to a bench in the longhouse where the men were beating Isobel’s uncle’s dead body. Inge averted her eyes, hoping no one would notice her as she drew close to Elene, then, with a dagger in hand, quickly cut the ropes around Elene’s wrist. Elene’s eyes were huge.

Wordlessly, Inge dragged Elene by the arm out of the longhouse without a backward glance. If anyone saw them escape, they would kill them all.

They rushed through the forest to the beach and the cave.

“What…what are we doing?” Elene finally asked once they were far enough from the longhouse.

“Escaping from here. And taking you home.”

“Home? To Scotia?”

“Ja.”

Elene moved even faster than Inge did then. When they reached the cave, they found the water level rising. Inge hadn’t considered the tide would be in when they had to make their escape. Mainly because she didn’t know when the takeover would take place.

Her younger cousins were sitting on a rocky shelf above the waterline with their belongings.

“Where is Bodolf?” Then she remembered she had sent him to get the longship.

“He went to get a longship for us,” Drummond said.

“Ja. Good.”

“How will you get to us? The tide is coming in.” Drummond sounded frantic.

“We will come in and get you as soon as the ship arrives.” This she truly hadn’t planned for.

“I can swim and get the children,” Elene said.

“Nay. They can swim, but they’re afraid to leave the cave.”

Forever, it seemed they waited for word from Bodolf. She was sure they would hear the clansmen coming for them before long. She could envision them shouting their names, armed, all riled up, and in a killing mood.

Then Bodolf whistled for her, and she looked out to sea. “He has come.” She was elated but still anxious, her heart beating like crazy.

He beached the ship and then saw their dilemma. The children were in the cave, and the water was too deep to reach them.

“We can take the ship into the cave,” Bodolf said.

“If we wreck it on the rocks, our clansmen will catch up to us, and we’ll die,” Inge said.