“Yer really going to do it,” Brodrick said from beside Kane. The disbelief was clear in his voice, and Kane understood it perfectly. Even he couldn’t believe what he was going to do, the night before he left for battle. His hand tightened around the chalice.

“I have no choice,” he murmured, lowering his eyes into the cup. “If I donna make it back from this…”

The unspoken message was clear between them. “Aye,” Brodrick said. As simple as that, he understood. “Though I donna doubt ye’ll make it back. Ye’ve never lost a battle before.”

“I’ve never gone against the Campbells,” Kane said into his cup before he took a quick swig. The warriors were gathered around their tables, talking, laughing, and grunting as they always did. Blaine was nowhere to be seen, and he didn’t know whether to be grateful or concerned. He had to do it tonight—there was no question about it.

“The Campbells are just as bad as the MacLeods. They’re only a slightly larger clan full of idiots. Donna worry, Kane.” Brodrick slapped him on the back, earning a grunt from Kane. He wasn’t worried about the battle—he was worried about proposing to Blaine.

It wasn’t like he was going to stay betrothed to her. Hell, the second he returned and had the one thing from her dowry that he wanted, he would send her packing. If Saeran wanted to stay on his land, he would grant it. But Blaine was not to stay here any longer than was necessary.

“How does yer lass feel about this?”

His lass. His woman. A smile curled Kane’s lips despite himself. Aye, she was his. He had yet to claim her, but she was his.

“I donna ken. At first, she spent time with me as a way for Blaine and I to spend time together, but this week…I donna ken. She seems to avoid all talk of Blaine now.”

“Is she jealous?” Brodrick asked, raising a brow.

“Mayhap.” Kane liked the thought of Alice as his lass because by now, she practically was.

He frowned, realizing that she wasn’t coming for him. The last three days, she wouldn’t seek him outright, instead choosing to hide behind a pillar until he noticed her. It was a cute game she played, but he wished for once, she would make herself known. All of his men knew of her—she was the mysterious blonde beauty that their laird was giving all of his time to. How could they not know of her?

Kane began to stand. He’d check her pillar. If she was not there, he would drop it. He understood that a woman needed her space as much as a man needed his. Lately, he had been pushing her harder and harder, testing the limits with which she would resist him. Their desire was almost strong enough to make her forget about her reservations. But alas, her will was strong, despite her innocence.

He wanted to take her. Before he left for battle, before he proposed to Blaine—he wanted to take her as his own, just that once. Mayhap that was all it would take for him to forget about her. One night with her. He strode to the pillar, knowing he was only lying to himself. One night with Alice would only make him need more, and more, and more—which was reason enough for him to break the betrothal to Blaine as soon as possible.

Kane fully expected to see her leaning against the pillar, soft blue eyes luring him with their passionate innocence, but she wasn’t there. His shoulders dropped and disappointment crashed through him. Aye, he’d have liked to at least see her before proposing to Blaine.

“My lord!” He grinned. Alice had—

“My lord, I have a request!” The voice became clear. He turned slowly, his mood crashing. All of the happiness he’d felt slid out of him. Blaine. It was Blaine, the woman he had to propose to.

He didn’t know what the problem was. All it would take was a couple words, a missive would be sent to the king, and then he would have what he’d been fighting for his whole life. Then he could make Blaine break the engagement, and it would be over.

It sounded so simple, but he knew there was much more. He sighed, leaning against the pillar that Alice normally hid behind. It was set in the shadows, with only a lone candle to light the entrance to a hallway. It was also close enough to his table that, if she stood on a certain side, he was the only one who could see her.

“As do I,” he said tiredly.

“I fear mine is far more impromptu. My lord,” she said faintly, a hand fluttering to her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes. He stiffened.

“What?” Kane didn’t know what to do. Women never cried in front of him, and if they did, it was normally because he’d given them the best orgasm of their life. Blaine hadn’t yet received his passions, and she never would; he could only assume the worst of what she was fretting over.

“My brother! He has…he has shamed our family.”

Kane frowned. Saeran was a soft-spoken lad, but he had a heart of gold. There was no way he could shame the Sinclair family. Kane simply did not believe it, not for a second. He sighed once again, deciding it was best to humor her.

“How has the lad shamed his name?”

“He…oh, my lord. I do not know if I can say this to you.” She burst into fresh tears. They rolled down her powdered face, creating unattractive streaks. He squinted down at her, then grunted. He awkwardly pat her shoulder. What else was there to do?

“Ye’ can tell me,” he said, already knowing that Blaine was over reacting. She had a need for drama that was incredibly frustrating. Never had he met a more theatrical woman as her.

“Truly? My lord, I do not want him hurt because of this—not too harshly. He…he…oh, my lord!” she wailed, throwing herself at him. He rocked back by the force of her large body, his back hitting the pillar behind him. “I came upon them in the hall. It was horrid. The sounds were disgusting, and the scandal…the scandal it will create! How could he?”

He pushed her away from him, frowning. “Came upon who? What sounds?”

“Saeran….he…he was defiling a maid in the middle of the hall for all to see!” Furious, watery eyes glared into his. “I demand that he be punished!”

His frown worsened. From what he’d heard from Connor, the lad had no interest in females, or sex at all. He had always seemed like such a straight-laced boy.

“…and the maid. The poor, blonde woman. She was….The devil is inside of her,” Blaine whispered in horror. “Only a woman possessed could enjoy it so much.”

“Lady Blaine, I know this is a foreign concept to ye’, but when lads reach a certain age, they become interested in…things.” Lord, how awkward was this. He couldn’t stand her crying, wailing, and over exaggerating. Kane shouldn’t be the one to explain that it was common for a man and a woman to join with each other. Especially if a young lord like Saeran was walking around as many servants as he is.

Though, with his dirty face, Kane wondered how any of the servants could even consider it. Skill, he thought with a nod, proud of the lad. He must have skill.

“It’s…My lord, what if she were a lady, though? I’ve never seen her before! She…I do not think she’s a servant,” she said fearfully. This made Kane pause. There wasn’t a single person in his keep that he did not know about. Of course, Blaine was too busy ordering others around, so she would not take notice of people like he did. The only woman to have gone unnoticed, even by Brodrick except for Kane’s mentions of her, had remained hidden…

“Ye’ said she was blonde?” Kane growled. Blondes were rare in his land. He only knew of two others besides Alice.

“Oh, yes,” she said emphatically. “With bright blue eyes. She was small, my lord. Definitely a lady.”

Definitely Alice.

He stood there, staring down at Blaine, as the thought ran through his mind. No. No, it couldn’t be Alice. There was no way—she was too pure, too virginal to be fornicating with another man in the hall—hell, she was too much his to be with another man.

Pure, unadulterated rage flowed through him.

He wanted to believe it was someone else with Saeran, but he couldn’t. Highlanders were thick, buff. Even the women—and Alice was the only woman he knew that would match Blaine’s explanation of her.

He snarled. Saeran. He’d warned that bastard what would happen to him if he touched Alice. He had warned him, a clear threat, and he had gone against Kane’s wishes.

Saeran was going to die. The second he saw that bastard, he was going to die—by eating Kane’s sword. Furious, he started to push past Blaine.

“Where are they?” he bit out, fury pumping through his blood. Murder. That’s all he wanted to do—he wanted to kill Saeran. Alice was not at fault—she couldn’t be. He refused to believe that she held a part in the betrayal. Mayhap Blaine had mistaken her pain for pleasure…

He saw red.

Saeran had raped his woman. Roaring, he surged forward, forgetting all about Blaine. He was going to castrate the bastard.

He ran into the hall, from the direction Blaine had come from, when something wrapped around his neck. He fought against it, roaring with his fury and betrayal.

“Kane.”

Brodrick. Brodrick was holding him back by his neck.

“Kill,” he grated, driving his elbow backwards. Brodrick grunted, but managed to hold on. “Going to kill him.”

“Kane, damnit. Stop—stop,” he snapped, wrenching Kane’s head back. “Calm the bloody hell down, and think. Yer going to kill a lad in yer own home. The men are going to become bloodthirsty. There are children in here. Do ye’ really want to do this? Right now?”

“Yes.”

Brodrick shoved him away, and his body hit the wall. Before he could react, Brodrick’s fist came flying at his face. It struck him with the force of a hammer, knocking his head into the wall. The pain managed to subdue him, but the urge to kill Saeran was still there. He was nearly mindless with his need to avenge Alice’s stolen innocence. Innocence that should have been his. Innocence that shouldn’t have been ripped from her in the first place!

He growled, ready to fight Brodrick to the death.

The second the sound left his throat, Brodrick’s fist connected with his jaw.

“What yer going to do,” his longest friend snarled, leaning forward, “is go into the hall and claim Blaine as yers. Do ye’ understand me?”

He balled his fist, ready to strike—Brodrick slammed him back into the wall.

“Do ye’ understand me?” he shouted. “I donna care if ye’ want to kill Saeran. Blaine is who ye’ need to propose to. Or do ye’ no’ care about her dowry at all? Do ye’ no’ care about yer family at all? Ye’ have two seconds to stand up and go out there before I force ye’ myself, ye ken?”

Kane stared into his eyes. Furious. He was so furious, so enraged…but a thread of sanity managed to sneak through the film of his bloodlust.

Saeran didn’t have the strength to rape a woman—nor did he have the drive. Kane knew that above all else. He had known Saeran longer than Alice, and while he felt a deep, sexual, and emotional connection to her, he knew that Saeran was not that kind of boy. He had balked at the thought of flogging a horse into action—he would never rape a woman…which meant that Alice had been willing.

Pain, unlike anything he had ever felt before, seared him to his core. Pain and betrayal. The past week, they had gotten closer. Closer than he had with anyone. He grabbed his chest, hating the ragged knife of treachery that was digging itself deeper and deeper.

But with the agony of Alice’s betrayal came the renewed fury.

“Aye,” he said roughly, locking eyes with Brodrick. “Aye. Blaine. Proposal.”

Brodrick smiled grimly. There was no real pleasure in his eyes. He helped Kane to his feet. When he made to help him walk, Kane shot him a glare so hot, he took a step away. He pushed away from the wall, storming into the hall and grabbing Blaine by the wrist as they went. She was oddly silent, but he didn’t care.

He hoped that Alice appeared in time for his claim on Blaine. He hoped to God that she felt the same betrayal that he did in this moment, but he doubted it. A whore did not feel betrayal. The whole of the time she had spent with him had probably been an attempt to gain his favor so that he would take her as a mistress. If he had done that, she would have been set for life.

Mentally, he laughed. Alice was a fool, but even worse than that, so was he. He had fallen for her tricks, her kindness, her false purity—as had Saeran, but he could not blame the lad. He was young, and if Alice could fool Kane, she could fool anyone.

But why, he asked himself as he dragged Blaine to the center of his hall, would she give herself to Saeran? When she wouldn’t give herself to him? The betrayal cut a fresh wound in his heart. He was not the monster he was reputed to be. He was not the mindless killer everyone thought he was. If he had felt mindless rage at the destroyed innocence of a woman, he couldn’t stop it. Having his sister die by the hands of Grayham and his cruelty, he couldn’t stand harm to befall a woman.

He might make an exception for Alice, though.

The thought made his stomach clench—with shame. No woman, not even Alice, deserved cruelty. Nay, not cruelty, but certainly punishment.

The hall began to quiet. Feeling the treachery pump through his blood, he stared into the crowd, waiting for the flash of blonde to appear. His eyes strayed to the pillar. Nothing. To hell with her, then. She was too busy spreading her legs for another man.

“Lady Blaine has been here for over a full moon. It is time that I reveal her reasons for being here.” Jaw clenched, he looked down at Blaine, who was staring up at him with a look he couldn’t decipher. He passed it off, listening to the silence, waiting for the stir in the air he felt whenever Alice entered the room. When the hall began to stir with unease, he growled lowly. It was not Alice’s presence who caused the unrest, but his hesitancy in finishing the announcements. Blaine grabbed his hand, twining her fingers with his own.

In a way, he should be thanking Alice. Without his fury over her actions, he would not have had the drive to do what he was going to do now.

“Lady Blaine Sinclair—” There. By the pillar was his blonde seductress. He would have missed it had he not physically felt it like a slap to his face, and the flash of gold that came from her hair. With a sick, disgusting sneer in Alice’s direction, he said, loud enough to ensure she heard it, “Lady Blaine of Sinclair is to be my wife. From this day forth we are betrothed for marriage.”

As his words echoed into the hall, the blonde head of the woman he had craved and begun to care for slowly came around the pillar. Her body followed until she was staring at him. Her eyes dropped to the hand that held Blaine’s. Even from his place in the center of the room, he could see the confusion, the hurt, in her eyes.

Even when she had been found out, she continued to play the game.

Still, the sight of the hurt on her face wrenched his gut. Her angelic face retreated into the shadows, while Kane dropped his new betrothed’s hand. The hall was still silent, not a single word spoken. Not one of congratulations, not one of good tiding. Nothing. It was as if the hall had emptied of life, except everyone was there—and staring at him as if he were crazy.

He took a step away from Blaine, planning to retreat to his table, to where his precious ale was. No doubt Alice had run back to Saeran, and he felt no need to entertain Blaine. One of his men, a black haired man with sharp green eyes, caught Kane’s attention.

A short nod was all it took for the man to stride out of the room. Within a moon, he would have all that he had fought for his entire life, and within a moon, Blaine would be off his land. Both Blaine and Saeran. He would not let the boy stay here when Kane had specifically told him to stay from Alice.

He heard Blaine’s outraged gasp before he knew why she was drawing attention to herself. Rather than look at her, his eyes darted to the pillar as if they had known something his mind hadn’t.

What he saw made him freeze.

Alice, for the first time since he’d known her, was walking in view of others. Towards him. Hands clenched. Eyes blazing. Body tense. Her whole person…beautiful. He tried to stay angry at her. The betrayal of what she had done was there, but in the face of her beautiful fury, he choked on words.

Brodrick made a move to stop her, but she held up her hand, not taking her determined eyes off him. The entire hall was staring at her, and she…didn’t even notice. Her sole attention seemed to be locked on him.

“I want ye’ out of my home,” he growled when she was close enough to hear. From behind him, Blaine made a sound of appreciation, as if she thought he was saying that for her sake. He cast her a glance, long enough to see the fury there, and knew that this was, in fact, the woman Blaine had seen with Saeran.

Alice stared back at Blaine with a hard, cold look. There wasn’t an ounce of the soft, innocent woman he knew in those blue depths, and he was glad. It would have made it that much harder to hate her.

“We must speak in private,” she said, her voice quiet, commanding. He laughed. The sound was wrought with resentment. The people in the hall shifted, all of them gasping at the sight of the blonde beauty who had certainly dressed for the occasion. He’d never seen her dressed so elegantly, and he had to admit it—she looked beautiful. So beautiful that even through his anger, she took his breath away.

“I have nothing to say to you.”

Blaine came beside him, slipping her hand through his. He held back a shudder of disgust, but the way Alice’s eyes flickered to their hands made him go through with it, until Blaine leaned her head against his shoulder.

She wasn’t soft and sweet like Alice. Hating himself for that thought, he couldn’t stop himself from pulling away from her. He took Alice by the arm.

“Kane,” she snapped, wrapping her hand around the wrist that held her arm. She stared up at him with wide eyes. Some of her strength seemed to deteriorate. He understood completely. Her arm was warm and delicate under his palm, calling to his primal senses and ripping away his rationality.

He tightened his grip on her…then grunted. Blaine gasped with outrage from behind him, but he paid no mind to her. The hall parted like the Red Sea for them as he dragged her away.