Free The Tempted by Donna Grant Page A

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    “Is it true?” Leana asked her. “Is Stefan out there?”
    Morvan nodded. “It is. The past few days have felt like someone aligned the stars to bring us together.”
    “How do you mean?” Meg asked.
    Morvan told them the story of how she’d been brought to the cliffs by some unknown force, and how she and Stefan came to meet. She left out their night together, ending the tale with Stefan leaving her at the castle.
    “He was here,” Leana said with a shake of her head. “He was right here. If only he had come in with you.”
    Morvan picked at a sweetmeat. She had consumed four during her story. “He was so anxious to find his friends. All he wanted to do was get back to the place where it all began to see what he could find.”
      Meg leaned back in her chair, regarding her. “How much did Stefan tell you?”
    “All that he knew. Was he right? Were they cursed?”
    Leana sighed loudly. “They certainly were.”
    It took all Morvan could do to keep her eyes open as the two shared their stories of how Ronan and Morcant came to be at Ravensclyde.
    “Is it fate that all three were brought to this clan?” Morvan asked.
    Meg smiled. “It’s magic.”
    Magic. Morvan wasn’t sure if that was the correct word, but then again, she didn’t know what to call whatever had compelled her to the cliffs to touch the etching of the wolf.
    “Are you feeling well, Morvan?” Leana asked worriedly.
    Morvan rubbed her hand along her forehead. “For some reason I can’t shake the exhaustion.”
    “It’s everything you’ve been through.” Meg rose and helped Morvan to stand. “We’ll let you rest in your chamber.”
    Leana smiled. “And we’ll be sure to let you know as soon as Stefan arrives.”

    ~ ~ ~

    Stefan spent the entire day trying to make it across the stream. The farthest he got was half way before he got a bad feeling. As soon as his feet were back on Sinclair land, the feeling dimmed, but didn’t go away.
    He bedded for the night at the cliffs, but sleep eluded him. All he could see when he closed his eyes was Morvan as they’d made love beneath the stars in that exact spot.
    Stefan was on his way back to the castle before the sun peaked over the mountains. He waited for a glance of Morvan, because he knew she couldn’t stay within the castle walls for long. She was a child of the forest, after all.
    As the sun continued its ascent, there was no sign of her. Stefan decided to try a different route to leave. Surely this time he would make it back to the glen where he and his friends were cursed.
    If he couldn’t have Morvan, he could at least avenge his friends.

CHAPTER EIGHT

    For four days, Stefan tried to leave. He tried going different directions each time, but every dawn he found himself back at the castle hoping for a glimpse of Morvan.
    He’d stayed at the castle longer than he should have, especially since there seemed to be someone following him. Stefan briefly contemplated waiting for whoever it was, but he didn’t want to fight. He just wanted to see Morvan.
    As the dawn of the fifth day came, Stefan walked from the trees across the open plain to stop a cart that had just come from the castle.
    “Good morn,” he called to the elder man, putting a smile on his face though he felt like anything but smiling.
    The man nodded in return. “Good morn.”
    “There’ve been rumors around that someone from the MacKay clan has come to the castle. Is it true?”
    The old man looked back at the castle for a moment. “Aye. It’s a woman who came. It must be bad at the MacKay clan for their people to begin coming to Ravensclyde.”
    Stefan patted the horse pulling the cart. “What does the laird say?”
    “The laird isna here yet, lad. He and his men will be here soon enough, I wager. If clan MacKay wants a war, they’re going to get one.”
    Stefan had seen enough of death. He wanted to be as far from the battle as he could. Now he wondered if it had been a good idea to leave Morvan