Once a Warrior Read Online Free PDF Page A

deaden his pain. Yet he and his friend had ridden hard for many miles, then charged in and defeated four armed thieves who had been about to kill her, Duncan, and Andrew.
    Training and attitude.
    “Can any man be trained to be a warrior?” she demanded.
    “Perhaps not a warrior,” qualified Malcolm, “but any man can be trained to fight better. Training is trial and error and exhaustive repetition. If a man is well trained, he reacts instantly and lethally, without the fatal weakness of hesitation. He learns not only how to wield a weapon, but how to make
himself
a weapon. When he is attacked, he responds not from fear, but from the deeply entrenched methods of his training. This makes him far more dangerous to his enemy.”
    “And when you were called the Black Wolf and had your great army, were you the one who trained them?”
    His expression grew shadowed. “When I was MacFane, I had a thousand men under my command,” he stated, his voice resonant with bitter pride. “And I trained every last goddamn one of them.”
    He looked beyond her, into the darkness, remembering. A pale wash of firelight flickered across his face, which was mostly hidden beneath a dark growth of unkempt beard. His tangled hair was also excessively long and in need of washing—the hair of a man who has withdrawn from society and is uninterested in matters of appearance. But in that hushed, firelit moment, it was his eyes that held her captivated. They were illuminated by the glow of the flames, or perhaps by the memory he was reliving in his mind. As they glittered with the bittersweet reminiscence of his past, Ariella suddenly saw a flash of pain within the depths of blue. It startled her, to recognize such vulnerability in the man who had been so disgustingly drunk and self-absorbed earlier that day, and then so powerful and ruthlessly savage. Before she could study him further, he closed his eyes and shook his head.
    “I need a drink,” he stated harshly. “Then Gavin and I must be on our way.” He awkwardly moved to stand, bracing his hand against his aching back as he rose.
    “I have something to ask you, MacFane.”
    “I am no longer MacFane,” he growled. “And if you are thinking you would like to squire, I have no need for one. Besides, I doubt your friends would approve if you told them you wanted to come with me.”
    “I do not want to go with you,” Ariella assured him. “I want you to come with us.”
    He shook his head. “I already told you, I cannot help your clan.”
    “MacKendrick hoped you would come with your great army and assume the position of laird,” she continued, ignoring his refusal. “Obviously, that isn’t possible. But you could still come and train us in the ways of warfare. If what you say is true, any man can be trained to fight, as long as he has the right teacher. Even me,” she finished hopefully.
    “You could be trained to fight,” agreed Malcolm. “But not by me. My days of training and battle are over.” He began to limp toward Gavin.
    “You have trained a thousand men,” she persisted. “You have led armies to countless victories. You could help the Clan MacKendrick learn to defend itself until we find a new laird.”
    “No.”
    “Why not?” demanded Ariella. “You have nothing here.”
    His expression grew dark. “You are right,” he agreed brusquely. “And that is how I choose to live my life now. Without responsibilities.”
    Anger flared within her. Alpin had sent her to find the Black Wolf, despite her hatred of him. At first she’d been convinced there was nothing this drunken, crippled hermit could do for her clan. But after witnessing the brutal efficacy with which he had dispatched those thieves, Ariella was no longer certain this broken warrior had nothing left to offer.
    Beyond that, he owed her something for failing her so completely.
    “The Clan MacKendrick was assaulted because you were unable and unwilling to come to its aid,” she stated, her voice