Chapter Five: Ghosts and Grime

He could feel the cold caress of the wind as he ran through the trees. The soft, white light of the moon brushed its fingers through his fur. The coppery taste of blood in his mouth mixed with fear, desperation, and survival. He could hear the harsh breaths of his prey like a staccato rhythm urging him on. Closer, closer. That scent of sweat and horror. He could hear every branch that she swiped away from her face, every crack of the bramble underneath her feet. That heartbeat pumping the blood that he so wanted to spill open and lap up. That heart that would split apart under his teeth and go down his gullet like water. Her breaths were like a siren's call, quickening his pace to lightning speed. Any moment now he would topple her, snatch her away from her safe existence, and devour her piece by piece under the light of the beautiful full moon.

Kane woke from his dream with a furiously thundering heart. He grabbed ahold of his body just to make sure that he was still human and had not actually transformed into his beast, sighing with relief when he confirmed he was awake. It was not uncommon for him to dream about his beast, to see through the monster's eyes. But he had sensed that his prey in the dream was none other than Jamie and he had never dreamed about stalking a particular person.

The shame and guilt that came with being a werewolf were even worse than the transformation itself. And that was hell on earth. The first time he had turned into a werewolf, he had vomited halfway through due to the pain. First, it felt as if his entire body was on fire. Like burning alive. Then it had felt as if it was stretching as if something was trying to break out underneath the skin. Then the bones had begun to lengthen and the joints had broken and dislocated in order to make room for new ones. Limb by limb transformed into a longer, more canine version of his own. When the skin did split open, thick, dark fur sprouted out instead. His face elongated into a snout full of sharp fangs, growing more teeth in a matter of seconds rather than days. And his vision went sharp, turning into a black-and-white picture of the world. A world that was infinitely different than his own. Because the final thing to go when he changed was his mind. As the beast took over his body, all of the traits that man prided himself on - logic, reason, compassion, love - evaporated. All that existed was hunger, desire, the need to take what one wanted.

Sometimes he felt as if the beast was brave enough to take what he, Kane, really wanted. The beast took full rein of three thousand acres and ate whatever it wanted. It ran to its heart's content, went wherever it pleased, and attacked anything that threatened its domain. Even as laird, Kane had not felt as if he deserved such reign. His father had still been the laird when Kane was cursed. Kane had merely inherited the role because his parents had left before he had a chance to murder them. As more and more villagers left, Kane found himself the leader of a small gaggle of those who were too poor or too lazy to not leave Gealach Lán. He had not earned the role of a laird, nor did he deserve it.

He had tried to rectify that in whatever way he could. Yesterday it had been by saving Jamie's life from some werewolf that he still needed to investigate. Today it would be by attending to his remaining tenants. He had woken earlier than normal that morning and after checking in on the sleeping Jamie, had left the castle and headed towards the front of the town.

Deidra and her sister, Mary, ran the pub and its adjoining restaurant and had always treated Kane with kindness and reverence. Their family line had stayed out of loyalty even though it had dwindled down to just Deidra and Mary. Two sisters who accepted him as he was and merely asked for some occasional help in return. Today that help was cleaning up the car he had destroyed and then patching some shingles on the pub roof after the storm.

"How's the girl?" Deidra asked from behind the bar as Kane gathered his supplies, and had a morning Guinness.

"She tried to run off yesterday," he admitted. "I angered her something fierce and she got herself caught in some hole in the woods. Broke her ankle."

"Sweet Christ. Now she's surely stuck here. Poor lamb."

Kane winced internally. "Aye, she'll have no choice but to wait until Donald's daughter arrives."

He could see Deidra chewing her lip thoughtfully before she asked, "Have you thought that maybe she could lift the curse?"

Kane stilled, almost afraid to let himself fully consider the possibility. Yes, there was a way to lift the curse. All of the townspeople knew it. A few had even tried to offer themselves or their daughters as possibilities but he had always rebuffed them, refusing to accept that any of them could actually love him after everything that he had done. But Jamie knew nothing of his history. She didn't know about the people he had killed, the harm he had done to the farms and their livestock, the people he had driven out for fear of being eaten by a monster. He had about a month until the next full moon. Was that enough time to make her fall in love with him? She was a stubborn lass and he had not tried to seduce a woman in a few centuries. It was most likely his game was a bit rusty.

But he did want her. After she had passed out from the terror of falling and being stalked, he had taken her to her bedroom and gently laid her down, attempting to make her as comfortable as possible. It had afforded him the chance to look at her without worry, to gaze at her beauty without giving away just how attracted he was. Aye, she was lovely. Her skin was impossibly soft, her hands and wrists delicate. He admired the length of her lashes, how dark they were in contrast to her milky skin and pink lips. Her body was to die for and he had relished every feel of her luscious curves as he had carried her in his arms. Hell, he had had to relieve his aching erection that very morning at the memory of it. He knew that his dream had really been about his desire to have her, to take her, to worship her body and claim it for his own. Seducing her would be his greatest pleasure.

"This may your only chance, Laird," Deidra insisted, her eyes compassionate. "She's a lovely girl, if not a bit stubborn. And how likely are you to find another such as her?"

Not likely at all, Kane knew. But that was part of the problem. He didn't deserve to have the curse lifted. Not after what he had done.

"I don't deserve it, Deidra," he replied. "Aye, she's beautiful and I'd gladly romance the lass, but you know what I've done. I was cursed for a reason."

"Aye," Deidra agreed. As giving as their laird could be, the residents of Gealach Lán knew what he was capable of. They reminded each other of the destruction he had caused lest they forgot or got careless.

"But the curse does not just affect you. It affects us all."

When she saw that he meant to argue, Deidra continued, "You may deserve what's befallen you, but we do not. We don't deserve to lose our families over the years because they're tired of living with such a threat always looming over them. Or losing our livestock because we forgot to lock them up during the full moon. The world has gone on without us, passed us by, and we barely manage to keep up. Maybe that's not a terrible thing, but we didn't ask for it. Just as you didn't ask for this terrible burden. Don't you think we've all done enough penance?"

Ach, Kane hated when Deidra was right about something. And he suspected that she had sent Jamie to him for this exact reason. Christ, the woman had a point. Gealach Lán did not deserve the curse that he had caused. But he sure as hell did.

"Are you finished?" he asked rather brusquely and she lifted a hand in surrender.

"I've said my piece."

"I'll go work on the roof."

When he'd finished with the roof, the old codger, Donald, led him out to the demolished car site near the land boundary. Donald had already begun trying to clean up the mess Kane had left, along with some other locals. They nodded to their laird silently as he went through and assessed the damage again.

"We could use some of the scraps, Laird," Donald offered. "Perhaps I can build a new car!"

Kane could not help but smile a little at Donald's suggestion. The older man was a bit daft but always well-meaning. "Might be difficult but I can't see why not."

They watched as he lifted the largest and heaviest pieces onto a horse-drawn cart. Then as he used his fists to break down the frame into smaller parts. One of the few perks of his curse was that even when he was human, he still maintained incredible strength. It was at its highest potential when he was fully transformed, but it was worth about five men even when he wasn't.

They fanned out, picking up scraps of tires and fabric across the moorland. Among the debris, someone picked up the book that had somehow remained unscathed and gave it to Kane. It was an old tome, probably from the early 1900s from the look of the ancient binding and yellowed pages. It held a library stamp from St. Andrews on the back and had past markings from those who highlighted or written in it. Hidden Lore of the Highlands. He went to the table of contents and found a chapter on "Folk Tale Mysteries" and then thumbed through till he found the exact page. Sure enough, there was a section called "The Land that Disappeared."

It read: One legend in the Highlands has baffled scholars for centuries. Gealach Lán refers to the village that apparently "disappeared" around 1520. Kenneth Murdock was the chieftain of the small Murdock clan then and ruled over the estate after fighting valiantly at the Battle of Flodden. Even though the Scottish lost the battle, Kenneth Murdock was rewarded for his performance and took hold of the lands in 1515. Records still show trade between Gealach Lán and fellow clans, mostly for sheep and wool, between 1515 and 1520. But after 1522, historical records of the Murdock estate disappeared, around the same time that the engagement between Murdock's eldest son and the eldest daughter of the MacIntosh clan ended. Folklore legends have maintained that the village was cursed after the Murdock son betrayed the MacIntosh family, but scholars have varying arguments as to what could have occurred.

Kane did not need to finish the entry. He knew how it ended. But he took the book with him. He knew that if he was not careful, Jamie would begin to piece the story together.

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Jamie woke to find a huge, almost black wolf at her door. When she sat up to scream, the wolf trotted towards her and in the blink of an eye, changed into Kane Murdock. Speechless, she stared at the very large, very naked Laird Murdock as he slowly came towards her. His huge chest was covered in sweat and his eyes were burning with heat as he wiped a large hand down his mouth. As he came closer, she could see his massive erection jutting out, aimed for her, and she helplessly moaned as he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You're mine now, lass, and every inch of you will know it."

Jamie's eyes fluttered open suddenly and she looked around the room, still half-expecting to find Laird Murdock in it. But it had only been a dream. A damn good one for sure, but still a dream. Despite all her misgivings and frustrations with Kane Murdock, she still thought he was the sexiest man she had ever met and she blushed as she realized that she was horny just from dreaming about him.

Sadly, trying to get up from bed and realizing that her ankle was still broken, shattered any of her residual desire. She was instantly flooded with the reminder that she was trapped in some weird Scottish village where no one had working cars, and that she was in this position not only because something had destroyed her rental but because she had also broken her ankle. Whereas she might have walked a few days to the nearest gas station, she now found herself stuck and at the mercy of a very annoying but very sexy Highlander.

Images from the dream ran across her mind again. Why had she dreamed of a wolf? Because of the howl she had heard after she had fallen in the pit? And why had he turned into Kane Murdock? Granted, Kane looked like the sort of man that mothers would warn their daughters about via the legend of Little Red Riding Hood but the connection was still odd. Of course, dreams were often odd. And apparently full of sex and naked people. She hadn't dreamed of sex with Kane but it had looked to be heading in that direction. Good Lord, if he was as hung as he had been in her dream, she really was in trouble.

Horny, confused, and now very annoyed, Jamie tried to swing out of bed and instantly regretted it. "Fuck!" she cried as her leg screamed in agony. She swore so loud that Catrina had heard it and came bumbling into the room immediately.

"Oh, Miss, you mustn't move your leg," she chided as she helped Jamie back into the four-poster bed. Jamie chuckled humorlessly but listened to the older woman. Goddamn, her leg hurt.

"I'm such an idiot," Jamie muttered to herself.

Catrina fluffed the pillows behind her and shushed her. "No, Miss. You're just still getting used to the injury. Give it time, hmm."

"Well, I wouldn't be in this stupid mess if I hadn't stormed off from Laird Murdock. He's just so…"

Catrina gave her a look. "Oh, aye." Girl, you don't need to tell me, it said.

"So, you know what I'm talking about?"

The older woman hesitated only so slightly before she cracked. "Aye, the Laird can be a bit difficult at times. He's been that way for a long time."

"Since he was a little boy?"

Something flashed in Catrina's eyes and she avoided Jamie's gaze as she started fussing about the room with meaningless tasks.

"Ach, from what I can remember. But I know he can be bull-headed. He still doesn't want to get internet for the castle even though Donald's daughter always tells him what he's missing out every time she comes."

Well, that certainly answered the question about WiFi. Which meant convalescing was going to be a form of CIA torture.

"Jeez, what does he do for fun?"

"Well, he exercises quite often. And he goes around the village and helps anyone who needs it. In fact, he went out early this morning to do just that though I suspect he'll be back soon. Deidra's roof is a bit disheveled after the storm a few nights ago."

"Oh." That was very… kind of him.

"And he reads, of course. He's well-learned. Still reads Greek, Latin, and Gaelic, of course."

"Oh." Jamie had not expected to hear that Laird Murdock was so educated. Men who looked like him were often more interested in CrossFit than dead languages, in her experience.

"And he builds many things. The garage. The greenhouse. He mends fences quite often. He's what you say, very 'handy.'"

"Man, does he cook and clean too?"

Catrina's look answered that with a resounding no and Jamie chuckled a bit. "Okay, so he's not perfect."

"Oh, heavens, no!" Jamie mentally reminded herself to keep digging for more stories. "But he is a good man underneath it all."

When Jamie quipped, "no doubt," and Catrina didn't respond, she realized her pop culture expertise was of no use here. She scratched '90s music references off of her list of reputable skills.

"He was very worried about you this morning, actually."

That one truly stumped Jamie. "He was?"

"Oh, aye." Catrina's eyes took on a conspiratorial gleam. "He insisted on checking in on you before he went off to help Deidra and Mary."

Did that mean he had watched her while she was sleeping? Jamie wasn't sure what she felt about that but she wondered if that was why she had dreamed about him. Maybe her body had sensed his presence. Part of her was a little heartened and a little turned on by the idea of Kane Murdock watching her. Had he been admiring her?

As gruff and irritable as Murdock seemed, Jamie couldn't shake the very distinct feeling that he was attracted to her. She'd caught him gazing at her a few times and when their eyes met there was definitely electricity crackling there. Even when he had held her she had felt a possessiveness in his grip. While that would normally set her raging, there was something sexy about the way he did it. She had been a literal damsel in distress and he had been the knight in shining armor. So archaic, she thought to herself. But also kind of hot.

Hoping to clean up her dirty mind, Jamie asked Catrina if she could help her bathe. As old as the castle was, the bathroom had a nice, roomy shower and a large tub. The older woman happily helped her hobble across the room and started the bath for her, attending to Jamie almost maternally. She liked Catrina. She liked Effie. And despite her earlier misgivings, she did like Castle Murdock. It wasn't as bad as she had expected.

"Alright, lass, in you go," Catrina coached as she gently helped Jamie into the tub. Normally, Jamie would feel a little weird about some rando seeing her naked, but Catrina was professional. She gathered soap, shampoo, and a beautiful washcloth and handed them to Jamie, offering to help bathe her if needed.

"I think I'll be okay. I'll probably need your help when I get out, though."

"Aye, just give us a shout when you're done. I'll be down the hall."

Jamie nodded and closed her eyes, resting her head against the marble edge of the tub. Laying in the hot water, she was able to forget about her ankle for a few moments. Now she needed to just forget about Kane Murdock as well.

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Catrina had planned to stay nearby Ms. Campbell's room so she could hear the young woman if she called, but she headed downstairs when she heard the laird calling for her.

He was in the kitchens roaming around like a dog looking for food, sweaty from the morning's work. "Are you hungry, Laird?"

"Aye," he grumbled. "I'm starving." She was used to his moods when he was hungry. Though he seemed a bit more tense than normal.

"Take a seat and I'll scrounge something up for you."

The Laird wolfed down his food, gobbling it up so quickly that she had had no time to grab him a drink before his plate was empty. He always got hungry - and testy - like this when it was near the full moon, but that was almost a month away now.

"Everything alright, Laird?" she asked as she grabbed his empty plates.

He gave a sharp nod, his mouth still full. When he was done, he added, "I've a few things to sort out."

"Like Ms. Campbell?"

The sudden look from him gave her an answer.

"Aye. She's a handful, that wee one."

He raised his eyebrows as if that was obvious.

"But then she thinks the same of you."

When the Laird gave her another look, she had to keep from smiling. Aye, just as she suspected.

After a long, pensive moment, the Laird asked if he could help her clean up, but she insisted she could manage.

"Better to go up and get ready for the rest of the day. I'll wash up."

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"Catrina! Catrina, could I get your help?"

Jamie sighed, disappointed to realize that Catrina had forgotten about her or was too busy to help. She didn't want to be a bother and usually she'd just wait and prune but her ankle was starting to bug her and the water had gone cold.

She assessed the distance between the tub and the bed. It wasn't the Grand Canyon but it would be a hike with her ankle, especially since she'd have to hop on one foot. There was always crawling or using the towel to scoot too, but that felt next-level. She was 24 years old. She could hop.

Hoping to try one more time, she called for Catrina and waited a minute. Nothing.

Resigning herself to the bunny hop, Jamie winced as she used the edges of the tub to slowly stand up. So far, so good, she thought. The towel was on a chair right by her but she'd have to walk over to get it, so she steeled herself for a moment. Standing up had been a feat all in itself…

"Lass! What do you…?"

Jamie stood frozen as Kane Murdock suddenly rushed into the room.

He stopped, also frozen, mouth agape as she stood there. Naked.

He stammered, "I-I thought you needed help."

She watched as his hooded eyes roved the entire length of her very wet, very naked body.

"Yeah, I think I do."