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Ewen had dangled her in the lake Rust-colored patches of dried blood speckled her clothes and she gulped back a wave of nausea at the realization that she had no idea who the blood had belonged to

She heard a throaty chuckle behind her "Stop your preening, lass You’re as bonny as the"

So, sarcasm wasn ’t a modern invention after all "I’m a mess And I don’t preen "

"Sure you don ’t--no lass does, aye?" An accusatory grin flashed in his eyes

"Let’s just be going, aye?" Lily huffed She was in no ames for him, but she was a rattled wreck Plus she could really use a bathroom and wasn ’t quite sure how to broach that one with a seventeenth -century laird

"As you say, Lil’ I iine you’ll want to walk down by the loch first There ’s a wee thicket to the side where you ’ll have a bit of privacy " He grinned again, damn him Well, she was happy in this one instance that he read herthat one up herself

"Thank you, " she uttered, hoping that he ’dair

Making her way back up froht What she wouldn ’t do for a sht about now She desperately hoped that they didn’t have anything like poison ivy in Scotland, though she didn ’t kno she ’d recognize it--she had been abadge after the second try, she dropped out And her reat outdoors had been with a bunch of other girls in the troop leader’s backyard When they needed to go, all they’d had to do alk inside and use the bathrooain She didn’t understand why she was attracting so much drama of late--she led such a peacefullyher to be quiet? She wasn ’t rave;rach, your big feet make a racket, " he hissed

Then Lily saw it A as stalking around the perih she had seen copious photos in her time, she had never before seen a wolf up close No picture could do such a e, but in a lanky sort of way, taller than your average dog, with thin, rangy legs It had a feral energy, as if its long, lean htest provocation This ani than any featured on the sort of save -the-wolf brochures that Lily was fae of dirt that soiled its white and gray coat Theals It was a terrifyingly beautiful creature

Ewen slowly unsheathed the dirk at his side

"What are you doing? Wolves don’t hunt people --he won’t hurt us if we "-- "You ’ll hush or see us killed "Ewen shot her a deadly glare

"I don ’t know about your world, but we kill vermin like this in Scotland"

Lily was appalled "You’ll do no such thing! " She stepped forward, but not quickly enough In a single fluid rabbed a rock, and hit the animal just above the left eye The creature looked at Ewen for adown its fur, then turned and ran whih the woods

"How dare you?" Lily spun to face hi to him, not to us Wolves don’t hurt people In fact, there are NO docu a person Maybe it was a fe to protect … thank God you didn’t kill her!" In a visible attempt to rein in her temper, Lily added quietly, "You just can ’t do that You can’t go around trying to kill things like that …"

"Och, I can’t?" Ewen asked with cocked brows "Really lass, are you quite done?" His voice was measured and see "Contrary to your way of thinking, these are indeed my woods Tell my crofters that the wolf poses no threat--to their land, to their stock, or to their very lives--and you can see how they treat that wee notion "

Ewen slowly examined the blade of his dirk then slipped it back into its sheath "The wolf can change his coat but not his character, aye? Those who live olves learn to howl"

"Fine " Lily proo "