Free Dangerous Pride by Eve Cameron

offered no resistance to her touch, drawing only shallow, stuttering breaths.  Whispering a hasty prayer under her breath, Catriona gently eased her fingers into the ewe’s trembling body.  Her efforts were quickly rewarded when she felt the lamb’s tiny limbs beneath her fingertips.  Experience had taught her the way to manipulate the lamb, and within a few moments she had placed the animal’s wayward leg into the correct position.  She sighed her relief as she settled beside the ewe, content she had done all she could for them.  Now, nature would have to take its course.
    Catriona leaned back against her basket, once again aware of the chilling breeze that coursed over her drenched body.  Water streamed down her cheeks.  Her braid hung in a heavy, sopping mess down her back.  With a resigned sigh she gathered up a handful of wet grass, doing her best to clean her hands as she watched the ewe’s breathing take on a more normal rhythm.
    As if sensing Catriona’s impatience, the ewe seemed to regain some strength, and in a short span of time the tiny, struggling lamb emerged from her body.  Catriona held her breath until the lamb found its legs, and its way to its mother on unsteady, weak legs.  Only when the animal had begun to suckle did Catriona allow herself a small, satisfied smile.  She gently rubbed the animal down with more of the wet grass, helping the ewe as she worked to clean her newborn.
    A harsh clap of thunder brought Catriona back to the reality of the situation, pushing all other thoughts abruptly from her mind.  The tiny lamb would be unlikely to survive the night unless she could find them shelter from the storm.  She had no idea how much time had passed since she’d left the keep, or since she had stumbled upon the ewe.  Clearly, she needed to get out of the rain before she too was at risk of succumbing to the storm.  Already, the temperature had fallen dramatically, and it often did in the unpredictable lands.
    The lamb was still too weak to travel under its own power, so with a sigh of resignation Catriona reached down and drew it into her arms.  The mother watched her closely, and Catriona knew the animal would follow her wherever she went.
    It was difficult for Catriona to choose a path, even now that her mind was set to the quest for shelter.  The wind was splaying water in her eyes, and it was hard to see her way.  Though she knew her way around her father’s lands, the cold,  darkness and unrelenting downpour made it difficult for her to gain her bearings.  Using the flashes of lightening as her guide, Catriona slowly made her way in the direction of a small grove of birch trees lower in the valley.  The risk of a lightening strike made it unreasonable to go higher up the hill, and that as much as anything decided the path she would take.
    With every flash of lightening that illuminated the sky, she struggled desperately to find her way to the shelter of the trees.  Exhausted, shaking with cold and fatigue, her pace slowed until she barely made any progress at all. The lightening came less frequently now, and she began to fear that she had lost sight of the shelter.
    As she paused to catch her breath, the wind carried a sharp noise to her ears.  Catriona straightened, pushing her soaking hair from her eyes as she struggled to see what might have made the noise.  She knew too well the dangers she faced being out in such conditions, and cursed her foolishness for not having brought so much as a dirk for protection.
    The noises became louder, drawing closer, and Catriona was able to make out the sound of a man’s voice.  No matter who he might be, surely she would be safer with him than staying where she was, in the eye of the storm.  Cupping her hands around her mouth, she shouted into the night.
    Catriona’s voice had become hoarse and tears of frustration had joined the rain that tracked down her cheeks before she could make out the form of someone drawing towards