Taken By The Highland Wolf (The Clan MacGregor Book 2) by Stephanie Marks Page B

shock to me when he was taken over by the fever. I never believed that a mere sickness would have the power to take him from me. It was too common, too mortal a way for him to die. It sounds to me, child, like the MacGregor has the same kind of faith in your love as my sweet Liam and I had in ours. You must cherish that, Glenna."
    "I do," I told her, quickly wiping away a tear. The way she spoke of her late husband always touched my heart. I prayed that Alastair and I would have as many years together as Iona and her husband had.
    "Then you must trust in him. He is a strong man, our MacGregor, in heart as well as body. He has protected this clan as his father did before him and he will protect you."
    "He must have the support of the people. He doesn't like to talk about it, but I know that he is becoming disheartened by how hard it has been to sway the clan to the prospect of his taking a human wife. I do not want to do anything that will drive him and his people farther apart. I am willing to wait. I want our marriage to be a joyous occasion. I do not want him to have any regrets."
    "You're a sweet lass, Glenna, and no matter what resistance the MacGregor may be facing, I'll tell you here and now that he made a fine choice in choosing you."
    I reached across the table and took the old woman's soft hand, squeezing it gently.
    "Thank you, Iona. It warms my heart to hear you say so, it truly does."
    A scream tore through the air, shattering our soft moment, and we both jumped in our seats and looked to the window. A moment later the door to the house banged open and one of Alastair's men stuck his head inside.
    "There's been trouble, miss. I have to go check it out. Will you be safe here for a while?" he asked.
    "Of course she will," said Iona.
    "I'm coming with you," I told him, then put down my teacup and hurried to the door.
    "I don't think that's such a good idea, miss," he said as I shoved past him.
    "Don't be absurd, Gregory. If there is trouble I'm not about to hide inside. I want to help if I can. Now, which way did the scream come from? We're wasting time."
    "This way," he said, apparently deciding that arguing with me on the matter was not a battle worth fighting.
    "Thank you, Iona," I said, kissing the old woman quickly on the cheek before I hurried out the door.
    Gregory and I rushed toward the town center where a large group of people had gathered and were talking in hushed voices. My step faltered as I flashed back to my nightmare from the night before, but I quickly shook it off.
    "Excuse me," I said as I pushed my way through the crowd. "Please let us through. We need to see what's happened."
    We broke through the front of the group to see what it was that had drawn everyone's attention, and I gasped at the grisly sight. I turned my face away for a moment while I steadied myself in order to turn back and face the scene.
    The body was propped up against the low garden wall. The young man's face was bloated and discolored, and his blank eyes stared right through us.
    Gregory looked around at the crowd.
    "Who saw what happened here?" he asked. "Did any of you see this happen?" He was met with silence as the people continued to mutter amongst themselves.
    "Do any of you know him?" Gregory asked more urgently. I searched the faces for a glimmer of recognition, but no one seemed to know who the dead man was.
    Gregory stepped closer to examine the body, looking it over for any signs or marks. There was no blood anywhere that I could see, so I didn't think that he had been stabbed.
    "What's this, then?" he mumbled to himself, examining the face more closely. "There looks to be something in his mouth."
    "Good Lord in Heaven," came a stunned voice from behind me, and I turned around to see Father James MacGregor crossing himself as he stared wide-eyed at the body.
    Standing next to him was the magistrate, making his own half-hearted attempt at the sign of the cross while he blinked slowly, looking for all the world like a