“What is wrong with us? What is that feeling?” his wolf asked.
“I dinna ken,” Mathison whispered under his breath, finding it just as frightening as his inner beast did.
“It is hope,” Mairwen told them, once again intruding upon their thoughts. “Ye’ve not felt it in a verra long while.” She offered him an encouraging smile. “Hold fast to it, honored chieftain. Hope strengthens a soul.”
Chapter
Two
“We’re almost there, Otto. I promise.” Calia Wiles reached over and rubbed her new best friend’s head, her rescue dog of indefinable age and parentage. The shelter had described him as a German Shepherd mix that was probably less than a year old and so rambunctious that he’d been returned to the facility three times. Calia didn’t care about any of those labels. When she’d looked into those caramel-brown eyes of his, it had been love at first sight. She and Otto needed each other and had been inseparable ever since.
Fastened in his doggy car seat, which had made the customs officer at the airport scratch his head, Otto strained against the leash, stretching to poke his muzzle out the partially open window on his side of the car. His black nose twitched, and his long red tongue lolled out the side of his mouth. The canine was obviously in sensory overload from all the sights and scents Scotland offered.
“A fresh start for both of us,” Calia said more to herself than the dog. She pulled in a deep breath, held it for a calming count to ten, then let it ease back out. Time to start the next chapter. She could do this and do it well. With a hard swallow against the queasiness of uncertainty, she tightened her hold on the steering wheel of the small used car that hadn’t dug too deeply into her survival funds. The older gentleman in Glasgow who had sold it to her had assured her it was top-notch and reliable. At least, that’s what she’d thought he’d said. His thick Glaswegian accent and interesting choice of words at times had made the transaction somewhat of a struggle. However, his praise for the compact machinery had proven to be true. The vehicle had gotten an impressive number of miles on a single tank of gas—no, not gas. Petrol. It was petrol here, and she had fueled up at a petrol station.
“Time to assimilate. Gas is petrol, and cookies are biscuits.”
At the mention of cookies, Otto looked at her and softly woofed.
“When we get there,” she promised, treating him to another scratch behind the ears instead of a doggy biscuit. “The real estate agent promised that a big box of your favorites was part of the grocery haul…er…messages.” Messages were groceries or staples. She needed to remember that as well.
Otto thumped his tail against the seat, finding either the explanation or the ear scratches or both acceptable.
As they rounded the latest stretch of hilly landscape that made the narrow road curve like the trail of a snake, the sleepy little village of Seven Cairns came into view. Otto rumbled with a rare deep growl, and his usually floppy puppy ears perked to attention, making his supposed German Shepherd ancestry a great deal less questionable.
“I see him, Otto. Calm down. We mustn’t be rude to the locals.”
The largest black dog she had ever seen in her life stood at attention beside the village’s sign: Welcome to Seven Cairns.
“He kind of looks like a wolf, doesn’t he?” She softly laughed. That was ridiculous. The only wolves left in Scotland were in zoos or on nature reserves. At least, she thought so. It seemed as though she’d read an article about Scotland attempting to reintroduce wolves to the Highlands to regulate the red deer population. Still, she couldn’t recall if they had ever actually done it. Besides, a solid black wolf? Was there even such a thing? That handsome fellow had to be someone’s pet.
Otto growled again, then hazarded a warning bark.
“Otto.” She reached over and buried her fingers in his shaggy ruff, giving him a reassuring tug to lessen the strain he was placing on his lead. “He might be the welcoming committee. Let’s be nice. Okay?”
Otto didn’t seem convinced, locking his focus on the great black dog and watching him as they slowed to the village’s recommended speed limit, which was more like a fast crawl.
Calia placed both hands back on the wheel to maneuver carefully down the narrow main thoroughfare toward the town square. “Am I the only one with a car around here?” While quaint and refreshing to arrive in a village that seemed locked in the past, it was also a little unnerving.
She parked in front of the building that looked like a castle from the Middle Ages or even farther back in time than that. The rest of the village seemed to have sprouted up around it.
Otto hopped in place, prancing from side to side, ready to be done with the vehicle.
“I know you don’t like the leash, but here in town, I think it’s best. Okay?” Especially since the big black dog still watched them from higher ground alongside the stone fortress that had to be the Assembly Hall that the real estate agent had described. Calia clicked the heavy-duty leash onto Otto’s harness before releasing him from his doggy car seat and opening the door. “Mind your manners now. You’ve been doing really well. Let’s keep up that momentum, okay?”
Seeming to take her words to heart, he walked alongside her, heeling just as they’d practiced.
“Good boy. I’m proud of you.” Calia knew he’d be better behaved if she allowed him a few moments of grass sniffing and tree marking, and had plastic gloves and a bag in her pocket just in case he left any deposits in the grassy park at the center of the village square. Since Seven Cairns was currently slated to be her closest connection to civilization, she wanted both her and Otto to make a good first impression on the locals.
As they walked along, she noticed the village’s large, furry guardian stayed close and kept his icy blue stare locked on them. He didn’t seem menacing, just extremely interested. She hoped he wouldn’t get overly brave and risk a confrontation. Otto was mild-mannered enough, but she didn’t want his protectiveness tested by the strange dog.
“Hello?” someone called from behind her.
Calia turned and discovered the real estate agent who sounded nothing like she had during their multiple video calls to close the deal on the cottage. But she’d recognize that smile anywhere and the gorgeous, long purple and black curls framing that pixie-like face. “Keeva?”
“Aye, ’tis me in the flesh. Welcome to Seven Cairns.” With her tablet cradled in the crook of her arm, the thin, sprite of a girl bounced over to them. “I just know Otto and yerself are going to love it here. I just know it.”
Calia hoped she was right. “I am sure we will.” She smiled down at Otto, who had placed himself between her and Keeva, not growling but defiantly standing at attention. She appreciated his quiet protectiveness. “He needed a stretch of his legs before we stepped inside to pick up the keys. By the way, whose dog is that? He’s quite a handsome welcoming committee.” She looked over at the aloof canine, intently watching them from a distance.
