“Immediately.”
“I had thought to have my sister and family present but . . .”
“You know that is not possible. Tarr will never allow you to marry me,” he said, and walked away from her to fetch his shirt on the ground nearby.
“Tarr assured me the choice of a husband was mine.”
Rogan shook his head. “Tarr would never have imagined you choosing the Wolf.”
Aliss’s shoulders sagged. “You are right. He thinks of you as his enemy.”
“Then it is wise that I am your husband before I meet him. We must be wed properly so that Tarr cannot claim the marriage invalid, and that means our vows must be consummated.”
Her cheeks blossomed like a fresh red rose. “Is there anyone who can perform a valid ceremony?”
“Yes,” he said, walking over to her. “We will be wed by nightfall tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“There is no reason to wait. Besides, our bargain was for me to return you home once you healed my people.”
“I go home?” she asked incredulously.
“Give me a week or two to prepare the ship and men and then we leave.” He almost choked on his false words.
Aliss clapped her hands in glee. “I can’t believe I am going home.” She laughed. “And returning home a married woman.
“I have much to do before tomorrow. There is a celebration to prepare.” She ran off laughing. “I will tell everyone that the healer weds the Wolf.”
Rogan watched her run, skip, and laugh with joy. She was happy, but for how long?
He sat by the river’s edge lost in his thoughts.
Was what he was doing fair to Aliss?
Should he have told her the truth before accepting her marriage proposal?
He would chance losing her that way, but either option could mean loss.
He would be bound to her once he wed her and no one could separate them. There was a chance that with time she would come to understand and forgive him for deceiving her.
What else could he really do?
He had a debt to settle and nothing would stop him from settling it. He had waited too many years for this moment.
“So you wed her.”
Rogan turned slowly, not surprised that Derek sounded as if he accused him.
“She is a good woman,” Derek said, his arms crossed. “She enlightens the people of the sudden nuptials with sheer happiness.”
Rogan walked up to him. “Spit out what you have to say, Derek.”
“She has been unselfish with her skills and has healed us. Is it fair to use her like this?”
“I have no choice.”
“Don’t you? Or have you convinced yourself you don’t so that you don’t feel like such a bastard for lying to her?”
“Wedding her was never part of my plan,” Rogan said.
“Then why is it now?”
“Why do you defend her so?”
“She healed me when I thought for sure I would die.”
“You never told me you thought you would die,” Rogan said.
“There were nights I thought that if I closed my eyes I would never open them again. Aliss held my hand and convinced me that I would live to love many women.” Derek laughed. “She understood each and every one of our fears and helped us combat them while she fought the enemy within us. She never gave up on any of us. She did everything to ease our suffering. I wish to do the same for her.”
“I would never hurt Aliss.”
“You do by marrying her,” Derek argued.
“She must wed, you know that. Should I let her wed someone who would forbid her to heal?”
Derek shook his head. “I would not wish that fate on her.”
“Then trust my decision.”
“Do you?” Derek asked.
“It is the decision I arrived at and the one I will see through to the end.”
“I hope it is a wise one, for Aliss’s sake and for yours,” Derek admitted.
“Finally, words I want to hear,” Rogan said with a slap to Derek’s back. “And ones that I wholeheartedly agree with.”
“As does most of the village. You should know a large celebration is already being planned.”
“I am pleased,” Rogan said. “I want the day to be special for Aliss. One she will always remember.”
Derek looked about to protest once again.
“You have always stood by me. Do I need ask if you will continue to stand by me?”
“No,” Derek said firmly. “That is a question you need never ask me.”
Rogan nodded, pleased that his friend remained his comrade. “Let us go share some ale, and while preparations are made for the celebration, we shall also prepare.”
The two men walked off, not noticing the pair of green eyes in the shadow of the woods that watched them depart.