Free Captured by a Laird by Loretta Laird Page A

open and unattended as the guard flirted with a young maid who had her hand possessively placed on his thick, muscled arm. As she walked quickly through the opening, Lena began to hear the commotion she had been anticipating. Loud shouts grew louder as Lena lengthened the distance between her and the fortress she had left behind.
    Disappearing expertly into the woods, Lena chose the dense cover of the trees. She knew she could move through them with speed and agility. She had already seen the dark shape that flew above her. It was a comfort to know that Pride had not abandoned her but a telltale sign of her location for those that chose to observe. Lena had the niggling feeling that one such observant pursuer would be looking for signs of her around Rwenor.
    Lena continued to run. She ran as she had never run before. She did not have much knowledge of men, but she knew the look in Haigh’s eyes did not bode well for her safety. In a fair fight with bows or weapons she may have had a chance of besting him, but in the ways of men she was a novice. Lena’s heart pounded in her chest. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps, and she felt as though her lungs would burst, yet still she ran. Her feet begged for mercy, and every muscle in her legs throbbed with the threat of cramping. Branches and twigs cut and scratched her tender flesh, tearing at her clothing and pulling it from her lithe form. But still, she ran.
    Eventually, when the blood pounded so loudly in her ears that Lena was afraid of missing the sound of approaching foe, she stopped. A river drew her immediate attention and she strode in to its cool depth, relishing the feel of its icy current on her aching limbs. Submerging her head, Lena soon emerged as her lungs protested at the further abuse. A flash of light caught her eyes and she cursed at her own lapse of attention.
    A shrill cry saw Lena laugh out loud and she turned to see Pride alight on a nearby branch.
    “You had me worried there,” she called out to the bird with carefree abandon.
    The laugh soon stuck in her throat as a large figure stepped out from behind a thick tree trunk.

Chapter Nine
     
    “You…worried? I think not! Lena, clan chief of Rwenor and the mysterious Green Bow.”
    “Stref Harris; butcher of Rwenor. It has been too long,” Lena retorted with a mock bow.
    Lena stood still, wondering how Stref Harris had become privy to her name and position. Surely none of her clan would have revealed her secret?
    “I come from Rwenor with a truce.” Stref confirmed her worst fears. “I met with Val. He leads in place of you. He wished me luck with my plan to marry you and unite our lands against our common enemies.”
    “M–marry you! Over my dead body.”
    “Maybe not yours, but many of your clan are at risk. I assume by your freedom that you have escaped from Haigh. His wrath will be swift and brutal, and directed at those too weak to defend their homes and their kin.”
    Lena shivered from the chill of the water and the truth in Stref’s words. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him.
    “Why do I have to marry you?” she demanded with childlike innocence. “Why can we not fight Haigh together?”
    “He holds no threat to my land, and I have a fancy for an archer in my bed,” Stref said. “You should be glad I have a mind to marry you, not just bed you.”
    Lena screwed up her eyes and scowled at the giant man who stood between her and the freedom to return home. She had just about had enough of pushy lairds who thought to take what they willed from her with no regard for her feelings.
    “I would sooner marry Haigh himself than a man who assumes to take me against my will.”
    Lena watched Stref’s face change from light banter to rigid fury. His hands balled into fists at his sides and the muscles on his exposed torso clenched.
    “Haigh is a monster. How could you prefer his sadistic advances?”
    Lena had the grace to look ashamed. Her flesh still crawled at the