Branded by a Warrior by Andrea Thorne Read Free Book Online Page B

evenings he would sit at his desk and write missives and go over his estate accounts as the fire roared and she slept. He had even begun repairing weapons by t he fire at night to keep busy. Each day as he walked up the stairs to his room he promised himself that tonight would be the night he slept in the large leather chair before his fireplace , instead of next to her . He would ultimately fall for the sorrow he could hear gripping her each night, he refused to allow her to be in such pain if he could stop it. As each night brought in a wave of fresh nightmares for her, he would crawl in next to her and hold her . He would simply talk to her, calming her, bringing her out of her nightmare back into to peaceful slumber once again.
    Try as he might, he could not ignore her pain and suffering. Her cries, her tears, her screams pierced his heart and soul. He had heard her screams for her parents, for her brother, for her people. She mourned even while dead to the world.
    His clan was now well aware of the lone Drummond survivor they had brought back with them; however, Broderick and Kendrix still concealed her identity. The brothers agreed to keep her identity secret until th e lass could speak for her ; she may very well want a new identity. They had shared her identity with only Rhona, their most trusted elder. They all agreed it was possible Elisabeth wanted to let the Warrior Queen of Scotland to stay dead, until she spoke, the clan assumed their Laird also didn’t know her identity.
    The past week had been grueling for Broderick. The castle buzzed with activity of sealing the castle for the hard winter ahead . He had messengers coming and going all week with missives from the surrounding lairds and his king.
    He and his men had great difficulty doing their border patrols w ith the onslaught of heavy snow, it appeared winter was coming early to the Highlands. His days and nights were filled with the demands of being the laird , duties he took very seriously, yet he found himself thinking about the beautiful woman who slept in his bed.
    When he left his chamber in the morning, he worked until the moment he set foot inside his room. Isolated so high in the mountains, winter sealed them off from the rest of the world; it was his duty to see his people had enough supplies stored to see them through the winter months. On top of his duties, he constantly found himself worrying over the woman who lay in his bed for the past week. He was unaccustomed to caring , to being so distracted, something his younger brother liked to point out.
    On the evening of the tenth day, he returned to the castle from a bitter cold border patrol . He had seen Rhona in the kitchens before he came up; she had been busy cooking and inf ormed him the lass still slept. Grabbing a quick bowl of stew he ate before heading upstairs to change. Walking up the stairs he shook off his sable fur and rubbed his hands together, blowing into them for warmth. He was looking forward to the heat of his fire tonight. Today had been exhausting and he needed to sleep.
    Opening his door , he looked directly over to the bed as he did every night since he brought her home. T he bed was empty. Her soft cry captured his attention; scanning the room he saw her sitting on the floor, holding her injured shoulder , leaning against his bed . Her head slumped over, crying in pain as she sat on the floor, his wolfhounds at her side.
     

Chapter 3
     
     
    Sitting bolt upright, Elisabeth screamed in the midst of a nightmare, the sound of her own scream finally woke her from her prison.
    Opening her eyes, she sat up straight and the agony of her injury hit her like a mace. Gasping at the fire in her shoulder, she ran a hand over her injury and saw she had been treated, and changed. The blood was gone from her skin, her hair smelled like fresh roses and she occupied the biggest bed she had ever seen in her life.
    Panic struck her as she realized she had no idea where she was, scanning