Captain Liam's Treacherous Mate

Damsel In Distress

Liam sat on top of his horse. He could see Castle Douglas as he topped a nearby hill. The castle sat nestled among the trees. The castle was closer to the sea than his mother's family castle, but still too far for his own liking. Liam had not given much thought to settling down and building a home, but if he did, he knew that he would want it near the ocean. Liam kicked his horse gently to get moving towards their final destination.

"Halt! Announce yerself!" Liam heard in the gatehouse above the large gate that sat between him and his family's home.

"Liam Douglas!" Liam responded. The gate was immediately raised. Liam moved his horse into the bailey and dismounted.

"Brother!" Liam was busy grabbing his satchel from his horse and had not noticed Rowan descending the main stairs. Liam turned a smile towards Rowan, who welcomed him home.

"It has been some time. Have ye just returned?" Rowan asked as he clapped a hand onto Liam's shoulder. The two could not be more different. Rowan showed the brute strength of working with swords and sparring constantly. Whereas Liam had a leaner body working on his ship and had a much darker hue to his skin from the constant sun upon his skin. It had also lightened his hair considerably, making it more of a strawberry blonde rather than the copper color of his mother's family. Rowan had dark hair, the same as their father.

"I returned a few days before my journey here. I needed to see to my ship," Liam explained. Rowan nodded in understanding.

"I am glad ye got everything squared away. I was hoping that ye would stay long enough for my first babe to be born. Fiona says that it should be any day now." Rowan had a permanent smile fixed upon his face as he spoke of his wife and soon child.

"Of course, Brother. My next expedition is not for a month." Rowan and Liam walked up the stairs and into the great hall. Nothing has changed in the years since being children. Fiona said that she did not want to change anything. She wanted her children to grow up in the same fashion as their father. In all sense.

Darling, look what I found in the bailey." Rowan left Liam to walk over to a large chair that sat near the large fireplace. Fiona's head pop up over the side.

"Liam." She said and made a movement as if to sit up. Liam quickly stuck his hand out as he came near to the chair.

"Please, Fiona, do not move on my account. Ye look comfortable enough." Fiona rolled her eyes and moved the blanket on her enough to show her large stomach underneath.

"There is no such thing as comfortable in my current state, brother." Liam chuckled along with Fiona and Rowan.

"Do ye think it is two like us? Mother said she had no idea." Liam asked Rowan. Rowan only shrugged.

"We dunnae. Won't until it decides to come."

"Are ye hungry, Liam? I can have one of the maids bring something out?" Fiona asked. Liam shook his head in response.

"Thank ye, but I was hoping to rest for a while. The journey is long when done in one day." Rowan nodded his understanding. It was well past supper. Rowan and Fiona were about to turn in for the evening as well.

"Yer old room is ready for ye. Or do ye need a reminder about where to find it?" Rowan jokingly asked Liam. Liam chuckled and shook his head.

"Good night." Liam called over his shoulder as he headed towards the main stairs in the back of the great hall.

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Liam woke the next morning feeling rested. The journey had taken more out of him than he had expected. Liam made his way back down to the great hall. The long wooden tables were empty. It must be later than he had thought. Liam had not looked outside before leaving his room. Normally, his internal clock woke him when the sun rose. It must have just been something that happened on the water.

Liam spent more time on the ship than he did on land since he had received his new station as captain four years prior, at the ripe age of twenty and one. At twenty and five, he was surprised that he had not received more questions about when he would get a wife. His family knew that his interests lied in sailing and adventure rather than marriage and siring babes.

"Late to rise?" Rowan said as he walked through the great hall. He seemed to be on his way out to the bailey. "Should we call the doctor?"

"Nay." Liam said as he followed Rowan out into the bailey. The warriors were already in their positions sparring around their circles. Liam spotted Rory, Maya's husband and head warrior in the center of the sparring circles. He was giving directions to one of the warriors, who nodded in understanding. The warrior turned back to his opponent and did as Rory must have instructed him. The warrior was able to throw his opponent to the opposite side of the circle. Rory said something before walking off.

Rowan waved a hand to get Rory's attention. Rory waved back and walked over to where Rowan and Liam stood off to the side. "Welcome home, Captain Liam." Rory held out a hand to Liam, who shook it without a second thought.

"Thank ye, Rory. Where is yer wife? Isnt she usually at yer morning sparring sessions?" Rory nodded and turned his back to Liam in order to point to one of the sparring circles in the back corner. Maya was in her fighting stance and working to circle one of the large warriors that she had been paired with.

"Ye couldn't find someone more her size?" Liam asked. Maya's opponent looked to be double her size. Maya was small in stature but she was very quick. The size difference still seemed great, even with her swiftness.

"Do ye even ken her mother? Why would ye think that I had any say in the matter?" Rory asked genuinely. It caused Rowan and Liam to both chuckle. It was true Marie was very headstrong. There was more than one occasion when they had witnessed William, Marie's husband, getting the what for from her. Growing up, Maya had the same opinions as her mother. Maya was like another older sister to Liam and Rowan. She was closer to their sister, Alexia's age.

Maya had been upset when Alexia had made the decision to move to her mate's clan castle and give up the Alpha title to Rowan and Liam. Maya had been almost as equally upset when Liam had relinquished the Alpha title to Rowan as well. He remembered the day as if it had just happened. Maya had stalked right up to him, "Does family mean nothing to either of you?" Maya had asked. Her hands had found her hips. Liam had tried his best to make Maya see it from his side and even Alexia's side as well. Maya had not been moved.

Maya noticed her husband standing with Rowan and Liam. Maya immediately left her sparring circle and ran towards the trio. Maya threw herself at Liam and gave him a tight embrace. "Hello, Maya." Liam chuckled as she stepped back once more.

"Welcome home. When did ye return?" She asked as she slipped an arm into Rory's. Rory looked down at his wife. Love clearly showing.

"Just last night. It was late. I did not want to wake anyone." Maya nodded her head.

"Are ye back for good or will ye be returning to yer beloved soon?" Maya was referencing his ship. Liam chuckled at her acid tone towards the ship.

"I will stay but a month before my next expedition should begin."

"I guess that will have to do," Maya said. The four continued to talk for a little while longer before Maya excused herself to finish her sparring session. Rory and Maya had not had any children of their own as of yet. In Maya's words, not for lack of trying. Maya had even gone to see a healer in a nearby clan, but they had not been able to help her. Rory and Maya had been upset for some time, but ultimately chose to focus on each other rather than their inability to conceive.

"Would ye care to take a turn about the circle with yer brother for old times sake?" Rowan held out his hand at a empty circle in the center of the sparring area. Liam shook his head and chuckled.

"In the center of everyone, are ye trying to make me a laughing stock as soon as I return?" He asked his brother as he began pulling his tunic from his breeches in order to move more freely.

"Nay. Think of it as reassuring the warriors that their Alpha is capable." Rowan followed Liam's motion and pulled his own tunic as he walked over to the weapons table and grabbed two spadroons from the table. Liam followed Rowan over to the circle. Each taking a side. Liam held up his weapon in a defensive position and readied for Rowan's first attack. Rowan was usually the first to make a move.

Suddenly, there was screaming and a commotion at the front gate. Rowan and Liam's attention was immediately pulled from their sparring match. Both ran over to the front gate and the sight they saw had them both pausing. A woman hunched over and holding the remains of her gown close to her chest. She was screaming that she had been attacked. Rowan and Liam walked over to the woman that was being held by one of the guards. Rowan patted the man on his shoulder, letting him know his Alpha was near.

"What is going on here?" Rowan asked. All the playful demeanor had gone from not even moments ago.

"We saw this woman running towards the gate. There were three wolves chasing her. When she drew nearer to the gate, they split off and ran back into the forest." The guard said to Rowan. He still held the woman in his arms. Rowan looked down at the woman. Concern but a weary expression crossed Rowan's face.

"What happened madam?" Rowan asked the woman. Liam was silent as he let Rowan handle the situation as Alpha. Liam's gaze lingered on the woman. Her dark red hair had been pulled from its original style and flowed around her shoulder and face, covered from Liam's view. Her hair almost resembled the color of his father's wolf. A red so dark it almost appeared black.

The woman tried to take calming breaths. She took a moment before answering Rowan. "I was traveling to my uncle's estate when we were set upon by wolves. My maid and the driver were killed. I was able to slip past them but when they noticed I was gone they ran after me. They almost got to me when I saw yer castle through the trees." Tears began to fall down the woman's cheeks. Rowan felt himself soften slightly towards the woman, but he was not dim-witted enough to blindly believe a damsel in distress. Rowan stood for a moment thinking of the best way to handle the situation.

"Might we get her inside? It might not be the best place to have this conversation?" Liam asked Rowan quietly. The warriors were beginning to gather around their small group. Rowan nodded to the guard who helped the woman walk through the bailey. As the woman passed Liam, she looked up from under her dark hair. The air was sucked from his lungs. Even in her current state, the woman was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. Her petite features, her small chin, her bright eyes and her mouth that was almost shaped like a heart. The woman quickly looked away and back down at her feet.

Liam was frozen in the bailey as the guard and Rowan made their way into the great hall. Liam quickly shook his head to clear it. What had just happened? The woman must be some sort of a witch. Liam had not been able to look away from her. Liam shook his head one more time and then ran to the great hall as well. He was suddenly very interested in the woman who had crashed the front gates of Douglas Castle.