Elyse MacKintosh is newly betrothed to her childhood friend, Donal MacPherson, in an attempt to seal the rift between the two rival clans. As she struggles to adjust her view of the man who was once a grubby boy she wrestled and hunted frogs with, she suddenly finds herself facing a much bigger problem. Elyse MacKintosh is forced to adjust when a need to heal a political rivalry drives her families to marry her off to an unexpected candidate: her childhood friend, Donal MacPherson. Not so with her other "suitor", violent and obsessed stalker Sir William, who serves the English Lord occupying the lands around Perth. A bane on the Scots citizens who must deal with him daily, he has set his sights on Elyse, attempting to abduct her more than once by the time that Donal steps in. The situation comes to a head when a cruel deceit by Sir William leads her into an ambush of his devising. Alone, beaten, tied and helpless, she finds herself kidnapped, headed for his camp outside town, where he plans to ravage her. AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a stand-alone story with an HEA, so no cliff-hangers Story contains mature themes and language, and is intended for 18+ readers only.