Medieval 01 - Untamed

shook, she touched first the Glendruid Wolf and then the man who wore it.
    â€œDon’t fear, warrior,” Meg whispered. “Whether I live or die, Blackthorne Keep and its vassals will be yours.”
    â€œDamn the land and damn my ambitions with it!”
    Meg’s mouth opened but no words came out. Dominic’s hands were searching tenderly over her, seeking any wound. What he found was a rent in her clothing where chain mail had ripped through fabric. Her breath broke when he touched her ribs.
    â€œBe still, small falcon. Let me see how badly you are hurt.”
    â€œâ€™Tis but a few drops of blood and a bruise,” Meg whispered.
    â€œYou fainted.”
    â€œThe blow took the breath from me.”
    A few more light touches assured Dominic that Meg was right. She had been pummeled but not badly wounded by the blow. She had also been very lucky. Rufus had meant to maim if not kill her.
    The realization of how close Meg had come to death made ice gather in Dominic’s stomach.
    â€œYou never should have risked yourself that way,” he said harshly.
    â€œRufus would have killed you.”
    â€œHe nearly killed you! God’s teeth, if you had died—” Dominic’s throat closed, making speech impossible.
    â€œMy death wouldn’t have mattered very much.”
    Meg smiled sadly at Dominic’s shocked expression. With a hand that shook, she traced the Glendruid pin on his cloak.
    â€œYou are what matters,” she said simply. “You will heal the land, not I. The Glendruid Wolf has set you free of John’s trap. In a way, I suppose it has set me free, too. I will no longer have to endure the exquisite pain of giving my body, heart, and soul to a man who sees in me only a womb for his sons.”
    â€œWhat are you saying?” Dominic asked, appalled.
    â€œBlackthorne’s people are safe without me now. You can have whatever wife you wish, and I can finally be as free as an untamed falcon.”
    Dominic closed his eyes and struggled to control the combination of relief and fear and rage that battled within him. Meg was alive and safe, but she had never seemed farther from him, slipping away with each word, each sad smile, the trembling of her fingers as she touched cold silver rather than his face.
    She had yet to meet his eyes. To see him.
    â€œI will never let you go,” Dominic said harshly.
    â€œDon’t worry, Glendruid Wolf. The people will accept you. Blackthorne Keep is yours for as long as you live. Nothing can change that now.”
    â€œWithout you, the land and the people are a feast for a dead man. Look at me. Look into me .”
    â€œNay,” Meg whispered brokenly. “I can’t bear it. I can’t bear seeing how much I love and how little you do.”
    For a moment Dominic went completely still. Then he bent and kissed Meg’s eyelids tenderly, stealing her tears with the tip of his tongue. He felt the tremors ripping through her, as though he used a whip on her rather than his most gentle caress.
    â€œLook at me and know what I know,” he whispered between kisses. “Look at me. See me .”
    Slowly Meg’s eyes opened and she looked at Dominic, seeing him, knowing what he knew. With a sound of wonder she touched his lips with her hand.
    â€œGlendruid witch,” Dominic said, kissing Meg’s fingertips, “you healed my body, my heart, and my soul…and then you stole them from me one kiss at a time. With or without heirs, I will have no other wife but you.”
    As Dominic gathered Meg closely and buried his face against her warmth, he whispered the truth they both finally knew.
    â€œI love you, sweet witch. I will always love you.”

Epilogue
    W OLFLIKE, WINTER HOWLED , scratching at Blackthorne Keep with claws of ice. Secure in the knowledge of a fine harvest, the people of the keep quietly went about their business. While they worked, they waited for news of their mistress, who had grown big with the Glendruid Wolf’s seed.
    â€œI wish Old Gwyn had stayed,” Dominic muttered.
    â€œShe had paid for her adultery for a thousand years,” Meg said. “I couldn’t ask any more of her.”
    Dominic ran a powerful hand through his hair. He still wasn’t sure he believed as Meg did. All he could say with certainty was that the silver wedding dress, the crystal-studded silver chain, and the old Glendruid woman were gone as though they had