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Hilda felt as she imagined Maxwell must have felt when he saw what he thought had been an apparition of Bea. When Angus turned and betrayed them, it didn’t seem real. It almost seemed like it had been someone else. This was a man who had lived in her clan, who was best friends with her brother, who had vowed that he would die for the clan. Now he was a traitor, and she was annoyed at herself that she hadn’t seen it before. The door to the cage was locked again. After spitting on Angus, he slunk away like the serpent that he was, and Hilda was left to storm around the cage. The cage was alive with the chatter of people who were trying to make sense of Angus’s actions. Maxwell came up to Hilda to speak to her, but she raised a hand. She couldn’t bring herself to speak about anything at the moment.

She should have known something was amiss when he returned with barely a scratch on him. She should have suspected something, but there she was, taking him to show the hole they had dug, revealing all their plans. Once again, she had failed, and she was getting tired of it.

She listened to the rancor around her as the men were stunned and tried to rationalize Angus’s actions. Some of them claimed that he was doing this for their own good, that there must have been something wrong with the plan they had formed, but he could not tell them. They tried to believe that he was secretly still working with them, only that he was free to move about the camp without any restriction, and he would use this to help them eventually.

They were all deluding themselves, although Hilda wasn’t going to tell them this directly. Instead, she stewed, the rage simmering in her heart. There were shadows under her eyes, and all she wanted was to rage through this camp and tear it apart, to rip up the huts from the ground and burn it all down. She had been so close to leading them to freedom, and it had all fallen apart because she had trusted a man she had known most of her life.

In time, he returned to the cage. He had wiped off the spit that she had stained him with. She walked up to him and looked at him through the bars. The rest of the men stood straight as well, and Maxwell came to stand by her side.

“I hope that ye hae calmed down now, Hilda,” Angus said.

“What dae ye want, Angus?” Hilda said. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of appearing to be anything other than disgusted by him.

“I just want tae talk, tae explain.”

“Ye can dae that right here.”

Angus’s gaze flicked toward Maxwell. “I want tae talk tae ye in private,” he said. “I promise that I’ll tell ye everything that’s gaeing on. I just want tae talk.” He started to undo the twine that held the bolt secure. Hilda didn’t want to go with him, but she thought it was an opportunity that she couldn’t pass up. The only good thing about Angus betraying them was that now she knew her enemy. Before, they had all been strangers.

“Dinnae gae with him. He cannae be trusted,” Maxwell said.

“I know,” Hilda said, but she went with Angus anyway. Angus flashed an ugly grimacing smile to Maxwell, who seethed as Hilda left him.

“I want ye tae understand, Hilda, that this is nothing personal,” Angus began.

“Ye mean attacking us after riding with us is something ye hae tae dae?”

“Aye, in a way,” he said. “I didnae want anyone tae get hurt. That’s why the battle ended as swiftly as it did. Believe me, I hae only been looking out for ye and yer clan. I am still a good man. I’m the same Angus that ye hae always known.”

Hilda regarded him with an arched eyebrow. “Aye, ye keep telling yerself that,” she said.

Angus seemed annoyed by this, and his voice was imbued with frustration. “This is nae gaeing tae gae easy if ye dinnae work with me.”

“Why should I work with ye, Angus? Ye hae nothing tae offer me,” she said.

Angus’s smile widened at this, and he tilted his head back. “Actually, I dinnae think that’s true. Are ye really sae blind, Hilda?”

“Blind? Blind tae what?”

Angus let out a dry laugh. “Oh, aye, ye hae spent sae long on the battlefield testing yerself against us that ye could nae see what was plain in front of yer face. Hilda, I hae admired ye for a long time. Ye are like no other woman I hae ever met, and there’s nothing I want more than tae make ye my wife.”

“Yer wife?” Hilda asked, almost choking on her breath, such was the shock.

“Aye, Hilda,” Angus said, a dreamy expression coming across his face. “Hae ye nae felt it? The connection between us? It haes been present for a long time, and only now dae ye see that we are meant tae belong taegether. I can give ye anything ye want. With me, ye can be the woman ye hae always wanted tae be. We can rule yer clan taegether. Isnae that all ye hae wanted? Ye can make yer own rules. We can be the strongest warriors in the Highlands, and nobody can take that from us.”

He took her hand as he said this, and Hilda wrenched it away. She stepped back, looking at him with utter disgust.

“What are ye trying tae say, Angus? Why are ye daeing this? My da rules the clan. Why would ye want tae attack him? He haes shown ye nothing but kindness. Stephen is yer best friend. How could ye dae this tae him?”

Angus’s eyes flickered with darkness. “Because this is the way of the world, Hilda. Maybe ye dinnae know what it’s like for most people. We’re born out here, in the wild, and it’s only a matter of fortune if we live or die when we’re babies. If we’re given the chance tae live, then we hae tae fight for every breath, and we hae tae make something of ourselves. Sometimes the only way tae dae that is tae take it from someone who doesnae appreciate what they hae. Yer brother is weak. Ye hae seen the way he fights, and ye see the way yer da wilts away when faced with tragedy. The clan needs new blood, new leadership, and we can be at the heart of that.”

“We trusted ye!” Hilda yelled.

“Aye, and I trusted ye tae. I trusted ye tae teach me and feed me, but I hae never been one of ye. I’ll always be an outsider. I would never be a leader. I would never be deemed worthy enough tae marry ye, nae unless I make it happen. That’s why we’re strong.” He looked proud as he said this. “We show the Highlands we’re strong, and we take what we want. I’m gaeing tae take yer clan. I would like ye tae stand by my side when I dae sae,” he said.

Hilda simply stood there for a few moments, silenced by shock. She would never have assumed that Angus could bring himself to do this. Her mouth was agape. There wasn’t any part of her that wanted to accept his proposal.

“Ye are mad if ye think I would say yes,” she finally said.

Angus’s face twisted in hatred. “Ye are as stubborn as yer da. Cannae ye see that there’s more tae life than this? When was the last time ye were happy? We can be happy again,” he said.

“With ye? Never. Ye are deluded, Angus. How long hae ye been planning this?”

Angus smirked, and she finally got a glimpse of the true malice that lurked within him. “For a long time now, I was worried when ye drove Maxwell off. I wanted tae keep him close once I realized he was hunting us. Thankfully, ye brought him back intae the fold sae I could keep a close eye on him. Ye will start tae see that things are different, Hilda. Life is nae gaeing tae be the same. There are people in this world who hae it all and people who hae nothing. Which one dae ye want tae be?”

“Whichever one is far away from ye,” she said.

Angus looked as though he was about to strike her, but he managed to refrain himself. The anger was plain on his face, and he truly was deluded if he believed there was any chance of her accepting his proposal. He grabbed her arm and escorted her back to the cage.

“Perhaps some time in captivity will change yer mind. But the offer will nae be there forever,” he said as he flung her into the cage. “Ye will soon see what ye are missing out on, Hilda. Think about the life ye want and the life I can give ye. Ye hae never truly fit intae the clan. We’re both the same, ye and I. We’re outsiders.”

He stood in the doorway to the cage as he said this final thing to her. Hilda was about to reply when she sensed movement from either side of her. In a coordinated attack, Maxwell thrust out his long arm and grabbed Angus, dragging him into the cage. At the same time, the cage door was slammed shut, and now Angus was in the midst of them. Maxwell swatted him around the face with a huge fist and then pulled him in, driving his knee in Angus’s chest. Angus groaned and teetered, then fell to the ground. Maxwell came upon him and beat him furiously. Those huge, terrible fists of his crashed into Angus’s face over and over again. Hilda could feel the ground tremble with the anger imbued within each blow.

Guards rushed to the cage, and they struggled to get the door open. The men in the cage did their best, but eventually, they were prodded and poked away. Guards surged in and threw Maxwell off Angus, using all their strength to unbalance him for one moment so they could drag Angus out of there. His face was black and blue, and his clothes and been torn. Now he looked as though he had been tortured, and Hilda didn’t have any sympathy for him at all.

The door was locked again. They were still captive, and Hilda was annoyed at herself for letting herself be manipulated so easily. Angus had been the traitor in their midst, and she had revealed all of their plans to him.