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my thinking about your invitation…” She paused for a moment. “Deal?”
    “Aye, lass. We’ll show you a lot of things when we get tae the keep.”
    The keep. Now that was an antiquated phrase she didn’t think people, even in the highlands of Scotland, used anymore. She wondered just what the keep was. Was it some old, broken-down shack, a manner house on top of a hill or an ancient castle that was falling down around their ears? Whatever it was, Lara was certain that it wasn’t what sprang to mind when he first said the words. What sprang to mind was a glorious castle kept in its glory for hundreds of years. Since she knew how impossible that was, especially in Scotland after all its wars, she dismissed the idea as ridiculous.
    “I could be less than a gentleman and take ye up on that offer, but tae be fair, ye won’t hae much time tae think on it.” He pointed to a place over her head. “The keep is just over the hill.” Duncan sat up behind her. Reaching down, he pulled her back against his chest. “Ye might as well take a good look now, lass. We’ll be there in less than five minutes and ye may as well get your screams out afore we arrive.”
    What screams? Lara frowned as she looked up at him. “I don’t—”
    Gently, he turned her head forward. In front of her, the top of the hill gave way to a vision of beauty below. A large castle loomed up out of the misty darkness, lights in nearly every window as the people inside obviously awaited the arrival of their missing men. The moon shone down onto the stone, making it gleam in the silvery light like a glowing mountain of gray-white stone. A chilled breeze ruffled Lara’s hair and she shivered. No longer sandwiched between Duncan and the animal they rode, her upper body was exposed to the weather and the moist air bit through her clothes and chilled her to the bone.
    With a triumphant grin, Lara turned her gaze to the animal beneath her and gasped. “Oh, my God! It is a giant polar bear. What…how?” She glanced up at Duncan who stared down at her with an amused expression. He smiled, showing her gleaming-white teeth that, at least in her mind, elongated to that of a large predatory animal. At that point, Lara had had too much. “Holy smokes, Santa! I’m riding a frickin’ polar bear.” She barely felt herself pitch forward as she fell into an embarrassing faint.

    Chapter Three
    Duncan looked down at the girl in his arms and smiled. She was a bonny lass, indeed. She hadn’t even screamed when she got a good look at Jamie in his animal form. Duncan had even tried to make her scream when she looked at him. He had partially shifted, showing her his elongated incisors. They needed to know just how strong willed she was. There were legends about shifters taking humans as mates, but every one of them told an exhaustive tale about the human’s bravery before being confronted by their shifter mates.
    He looked down, brushed a stray lock of hair from her face and stared at the long lashes making golden crescents on her cheeks. She was more beautiful than he could have ever imagined and she was strong. Even her fainting had little meaning. Humans lost consciousness when they reached a point where their brains couldn’t process the information given to them, but the weak always screamed. Of that, he was certain.
    She’s a strong one, isn’t she, Duncan?
    Aye, Jamie. That she is. She’s not one tae run away from the things that frighten her.
    What do we tell the others? Jamie continued to walk toward the keep.
    We tell them the truth. We found an angel in the woods and we intend tae keep her. Duncan wasn’t about to let anyone chase her off. She may be human, but what she said, a mere hour and a half after meeting them, was proof enough that she had the courage to face all of the clan without backing down. He had no doubt she could and would do it, just as soon as she came to grips with the fact that they were shapeshifters.
    They continued slowly