Free Lady and the Wolf by Elizabeth Rose Page A

and you are my best warrior.”
    “Do you think it’ll come to battle?” asked Dolan with turmoil written all over his face.
    “Not if I can get to the old man first.” Wolf felt revenge boiling in his veins. Then again, his bloodlust was nothing compared to the sexual lust that filled his body and threatened to consume him since he’d met the man’s granddaughter. This kind of lust was only going to distract him and make him vulnerable if he didn’t do something about it soon.

Chapter 9
     
     
    “Keep quiet and stay hidden, my lady,” said the woodcutter, sneaking Winifred from the castle courtyard on the back of his cart. It was already sunset when they left Castle Chaserton. The woodcutter drove an empty cart after having dropped off the cut wood he’d collected for her grandfather from the royal forest earlier that day.
    Winifred stayed hidden under the blanket, listening to the voices of the guards up on the battlements as well as the clip clop of the horse’s hooves on the cobbled stone as they made their way toward the castle gate. She’d been lucky to find the woodcutter when she visited the orchards earlier. He’d relayed to her that Lord Hugh de Bar was severely wounded and wasn’t expected to live through the night. He’d also told her that Wolf had gone to a hidden hovel in the knoll deep in the woods to be alone and die.
    She knew exactly where that was. He was at the witch’s hut where her grandfather had trapped the old hag. She felt bad now and had to do something to help him. Wolf must have been hurt badly when he’d saved her from the witch, and she felt responsible for his condition. She could also think of nothing else but being in his arms and kissing him once again. If he were to die before she told him her feelings for him, she would never forgive herself. He wasn’t the horrid man she’d first thought him to be. If so, he wouldn’t have risked his life to save her. She had to thank him for that, and if she had to sneak out of the castle against her grandfather’s orders to do it – then so be it.
    They traveled for a while along the bumpy road and then the cart finally stopped. Winifred grabbed her crossbow and bolts as well as a covered basket full of food she’d brought with, and slipped out from under the blanket, dismounting the cart. There was a chill in the night air and she was thankful for the red cloak she wore to keep her warm. She should have worn a black cloak or one that blended into the night and hid her identity, but for some reason she wanted to wear the cloak that Wolf had given her. She liked it, and also liked the fact he called her Red. “Where are we?” she asked. “This isn’t the knoll in the woods.”
    “Nay, but I can’t go any farther with you, so you’ll have to go on foot.”
    “Why can’t you?”
    “Because I . . . I have some other business to attend to first. “You have your crossbow to protect yourself, so you won’t need me.”
    “I don’t even have a horse. At least let me take the cart. Please.”
    The woodcutter thought about it for a moment and when she was sure he would say no, he nodded and dismounted. “All right. But do be careful. After all, you know you can’t trust anyone.”
    His dark eyes stared into her, and a sudden chill swept through her body. She felt as if she shouldn’t trust him either. She quickly climbed atop the wagon, seeing the woodcutter heading away on foot. “Wait. Don’t you want your ax?” She pointed to the ax on the seat next to her.
    “Oh, how careless of me to forget it. Of course.”
    She handed the ax to him, and when she did, she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Mayhap she should have kept the ax for protection for herself.
    “Now hurry, my lady. He’s in the hovel in the knoll not far from here. You’ll want to get to him before he passes away.”
    “Aye, I will.” She directed the horse forward, and sped through the woods. She looked back to thank the woodcutter, but