Chapter 1

Kevin gave Meghan a French kiss as he slid her sweaty body from atop his and nestled her in his arms. He adjusted himself, so he was laying on his side. Kevin kissed her again. “You were wonderful.” Meghan beamed a smile up at him. “In a few days, It should be safe for you and Carly to go home. I have a few ideas to run past you.”

“Such as?”

“I was thinking we could live at my house here and you could rent out your house and put the money in Carly’s college kitty. It’s safer for you here. My house has the same set up this one does. I’m still paying off that part of it. It wasn’t cheap.”

Meghan sat up so Kevin joined her. “What would your mom think of us shacking right under her nose?”

He said. “We wouldn’t be.”

Meghan’s brow furrowed. “Umm ... Master, I’m confused. Are you ordering this Girl to marry you, so things look right? Are you asking Meghan to marry you or are you saying you want to marry Carly?”

“Meghan...”

Meghan shook her head and put her hand over his mouth. “Don’t, I’ve hurt you enough already. Please don’t make me do it again.”

Kevin took her hand in his and flattened it and kissed her palm before gently pulling it away. “I want us to have children together.”

Meghan bit her lower lip then said. “It is your right to breed this Girl if you wish. If you’re asking me then I don’t want any more children.” She cupped his face. “Master, do you realize I would be in my sixties before I would ever hold my grandbabies? This collar means you own me lock, stock, and barrel. If you tell me to marry you I will. But you’ll grow to hate me because I don’t have it in me to be Mrs. Anybody. I can’t fill that place in your heart. You need someone that you can grow with. I make an awesome Girl. But, I would run circles around you if we were in an equals relationship. Do you know why?”

“More experienced?”

Meghan nodded and took his hands in hers. “There’s that, and I know I own your heart. That means you’ll put up with a lot. Not that I’d intentionally be ugly. You love me more than I love you.” Kevin’s eyes lit up. “Yes, I do love you that way, some. But I can’t risk being hurt again.” She shook her head. “I won’t. Not even for you.”

Kevin brought her hands up and kissed them. “I understand. Thank you for telling me you love me as Meghan. It means a lot to me. I won’t push you about it.”

Meghan looked at him fearfully. “Are you going to breed me?”

He shook his head. “I’m in love with Meghan, and she doesn’t want to have my children. I’m not punishing a girl because I can’t get what I want from someone else. I reserve the right but for the foreseeable future I have no intention of using it.”

“Thank you, Master.”

Kevin leaned back against the wall. “Well, there goes plans A, B, and C. I didn’t bother to make plan D. Now what?”

“Master, we could still get married to make it look right.”

Kevin shook his head. “That’s setting myself up for failure. I want to marry you. It would hurt too much to do it just on paper.”

“Have you thought about Carly?”

“Excuse me?”

“Have you thought about Carly?” Meghan asked.

“What about Carly?”

Meghan shot him her best smile. “She would make you a good wife.”

Kevin looked dumbfounded. “I proposed to you, and you want me to propose to Carly? I thought I made my choice clear?”

Meghan got an oops expression. “Can we go into Meghan and Kevin mode?”

Kevin shook his head. “That wouldn’t be a good idea right now. Say what you need to say I won’t punish you.”

Meghan took a deep breath and said: “My master has three choices. He can be in a paper marriage with his girl. He can marry Carly, or he can find a different woman altogether.”

“I want Meghan.”

“That’s not one of your choices. I cried for John every night for almost two years after he died. He never came home. Life’s like that. You don’t always get what you want. You have three choices. You’ve already said you won’t accept a paper marriage. So that leaves you with two choices. Why wouldn’t you accept Carly?

Kevin looked down. “Umm...”

Meghan whispered harshly. “Don’t you dare tell me you don’t love her, too. I know you killed that man yourself. I saw it in your eyes when you told me. You wouldn’t have done it unless you loved her.”

“I do love her. I love you more.”

“Master, I will never marry again if I have any choice in the matter. I want you to marry Carly. I’ve had the love of a strong, gentle, father and a wonderful husband and master. Now, I have you. Doesn’t Carly deserve love like that too? She’s had almost none.” Meghan’s expression became unreadable as wave after wave of emotion swirled across it. “If pining away for me is the only thing keeping you from giving it to her. The ... then take your collar off of me and s ... send me away. Her happiness is the only thing that matters to me.”

“WHAT!”

Meghan cried softly as she spoke. “Don’t make me beg. If you love me as much as you say you do send me away. I won’t let her lose what happiness she’s found because of me. If you won’t free me, I’ll kill myself.”

Kevin stared at her a second. “No.”

Meghan laid her head in his lap and pulled her hair away from her collared neck. “Choose.”

Kevin grabbed the back of Megan’s neck in an iron grip and pulled his slave’s head out of his lap. He squeezed harder and glared at her. “You are getting good at pissing me off. You better find another hobby fast.” He hissed. Kevin pulled her head toward the edge of the bed. “Get my belt from my pants, now.”

Meghan scrambled to get his wide leather belt and returned to a kneeling position on the bed holding it out to him.

“Look at that belt,” he ordered. “I want you to feel it and imagine it going across your bare ass and thighs. I promised you I wouldn’t punish you for this conversation, and I won’t. I am making you another promise now. If you EVER try to use my love for you against me again you will feel that belt across your bare ass and thighs.”

Kevin cupped her chin and forced his slave to look at him. “I will not be bullied. I respected your no then you have the audacity to do this to me. Let me add to that promise since we’re making threats tonight. If you do kill yourself, I will never marry her and six months after your funeral I will break up with her.

So in what, a year’s time? Your daughter loses her only female friend and her mother to suicide. Then the only man who has ever loved her.”

Kevin pushed her face back a little as he let go of her. “You’re being selfish, and I’m not putting up with it or going to let you profit by it. You will never treat me like this again. Understand?”

Meghan bowed her head and whispered “Yes, Master. I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK. Let’s lie down. We’ll both feel better after some sleep and a good breakfast.” He gently kissed her as she snuggled in beside him. “I love you, and you’re still nice and cuddly.”

“I love you too, Master.”

The Dream Time

The cool spring breeze of morning kissed Kevin’s face. His fingertips caressed the waist-high plants of the meadow. Ahead of him, he heard the sounds of villagers and their children as they started their day.

“Hi, Kev.”

Kevin spun and grabbed Donnie in a hug. “I thought you were dead.”

“I am.”

Kevin grabbed him by the shoulders and held him out to look at him. “What?”

“You’re having a vision. I...” Don said.

Kevin shook his head. “How?”

Donnie gave his goofiest grin. “A gift calls for a gift. All-Father is doing this because of the gift the clan gave him. He’s letting us talk because of our friendship and the fact we each played a part in the battle.” He became serious.”I can only do this once, and I have a message for you to give to your mom.”

“Ok, buddy. What is it?”

“In the morning, tell her that the time to open Grams Hallwood’s book is today. Do you have it?”

“Yepper.”

Don’s voice got stern. “Dude, don’t goof on me. This is serious. You have to do it.”

Kevin nodded. “I got it. How’s Maggie?”

“She’s ok. She said to tell Carly she’s honoured.”

“For what?”

Don shrugged. “I don’t know. She said you would know when. While I’m thinking about it, thank you for the knife. That meant a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome. I miss you.”

“I miss you. We’ll be together soon enough.”

“I’m going to die!” Kevin yelled in horror. Donnie fell on his ass laughing hysterically. When he caught his breath, he said: “Of course, I didn’t mean soon. You should have seen the look on your face. Damn, c’mere and give me a hug, Kev. I gotta go.”

Kevin squeezed his best friend hard. “I love you, Bo.”

Don squeezed him back hard. “I love you, too. We’ll see each other again. Remember the book.”

Ben Rogers glanced at his son. “You’re awfully quiet this morning, Kevin. Has the cat got your tongue?”

He sat down his fork and sipped his coffee then spoke: “No sir, I’ve been working up my nerve to say something.”

His mother grinned. “It must be pretty good if it can get you to hush. What is it?”

Kevin chewed a bite of eggs as his brow furrowed. He took another sip of coffee. “Don came to me last night.”

“You mean you had a dream about him?” Ben said.

Kevin shook his head. “No, sir. It wasn’t a dream. It was a vision.”

Ben, Kathy, Carly, and Meghan looked at each other.

“I’m not crazy, and I’m not making it up.” Kevin snapped. “Donnie came to me in a vision. He gave me a message from the All-Father to give to you, Mom.”

Kathy spoke with tenderness to her son. “Honey, you know I’m Christian.”

“I know,” Kevin replied. “Will you at least listen? You can do whatever you want with it afterward.”

“Ok, sweetheart.”

Kevin took a gulp of coffee then said: “Don said the All-Father said today is the day to open Grams Hallwood’s book.”

Kathy’s face paled as her expression blanked. She dropped her fork. “What n ... name did you say?”

“Mom, are you all right?”

Kathy’s voice stung as bad as a cruel whip’s kiss. “Tell me the NAME!”

“Grams Hallwood,” Kevin whispered.

Kathy covered her eyes and bawled. Ben got up and ran to her. “Momma, what’s wrong?”

Kathy grabbed a napkin and wiped her eyes. It took a moment for her to speak: “I haven’t heard that name in over forty years. When I was a little girl, she would have all us kids over and have crafts and games in the summer. She would teach us, girls, how to bake and the boys how to hammer nails. It would keep us out of the way for a while as our parents worked on the farm.”

“When I was eight. She gave me a book. She made me promise to keep it and never open it for as long as I lived until the time was right. She said I’d know when. Ben, in my closet on the top shelf, is a hat box on the far-right side. Inside of it, there’s a white box, Will you bring it to me please?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

A few minutes later, Ben handed Kathy the box as Carly moved Kathy’s dishes away. Kathy took the large book out of the box and handed the box back to Ben. The book was old and leather-bound. It was tied shut by three leather straps. Each with an unbroken wax seal. Kathy eased each of the seals up and teased the knots open using delicate pulls with her fingernails. When the book was open Kathy found two yellowed letters. One addressed to her and one marked Clan Chieftain.

Kathy showed everyone the letters. She set the Chieftain’s back in the book and opened hers and began reading it aloud.

“No way,” Carly said.

“How?” Kevin said.

“Be quiet and let Momma finish, kids.”

Keep this next part to yourself for now.

“Is there anything else, Mom?” Kevin asked.

Kathy continued reading aloud.”

Cordially,

Rebecca Hallwood

Kathy set the letter down and took a long pull from her coffee. She closed her eyes a moment and sucked in a slow deep breath. Opening her eyes, she faced Meghan. “Meghan, Grams Hallwood left a message in this letter for you.”