Free One Battle Lord’s Fate by Linda Mooney Page A

what had happened. Gossip ran like lightning through the troops. Rumors spread like wildfire. Yulen would bet that every man knew of the Abalam boy’s rescue and Atty’s delayed return by now.
    His first reaction was one of cautious relief when he saw her. She hadn’t come far into the clearing. She was less than a dozen yards from the forest edge, but his sixth sense immediately knew something was wrong. She was standing still and tilting slightly to the right. It was as if she was waiting for him to catch up. Splotches of blood covered her from head to foot. Yulen prayed it wasn’t hers. Several soldiers had already caught up with her but were waiting to the side, ringing her in a semi-circle of protection. They knew the Battle Lord would want to see to her personally. They were only there to provide backup.
    “Atty? Are you okay?”
    A thin smile creased her lips even though the rest of her face appeared separated from the expression. One blood-stained arm lifted to show him the long furry tail she had confiscated from her kill. “Give this to Case. He earned it.”
    She started to reach out to give it to him, taking a step toward her husband, when her legs buckled. Yulen caught her before she hit the ground. A soft expletive passed her lips, and she closed her eyes. He could feel her muscles relax as she went totally limp.
    A wetness covered his hands at the same time his fingers felt the shredded tunic. Her clothing was saturated in gore, but the stuff he was feeling was still warm. Too damn warm if she had killed the wolfen nearly an hour ago. Behind her he could see one of the solders blanch at the sight. Hoisting her into his arms, the Battle Lord rushed to take her back into the compound where the physician would be expecting them.
     
    * * *
     
    She could tell she was lying on a table. On her stomach, no less. Atty winced. Damn thing was too hard, especially with her right cheek mashed into the unyielding surface. Adding to her misery was the fact that her overly-full breasts were protesting like crazy, reminding her she was past due feeding Mattox.
    She was tired. Way more tired that she thought she would be. But going after that wolfen had forced her to use muscles she had gotten lax in using. So she had no one to blame but herself. She needed to get back into shape, and soon, or else next time she wouldn’t be so lucky.
    A blanket was draped over her. Actually, it was draped over her bottom. It’s softness felt comforting. She could wriggle her toes, meaning someone had undressed her. A nice cold compress was on her back, and more than likely one of Liam’s salves was slathered on it, too. Atty sighed at the lack of pain, knowing it was temporary.
    At the sound of her sigh the physician was in her line of sight. The turned down corner of his mouth and the lowered eyebrows over his brown eyes were a sign of disapproval she was familiar with. “How do you feel?” he asked in a very business-like tone.
    “Other than the fact that my boobs are about to burst and my back might look like raw hamburger, I’m fine.”
    “You’re not fine, Atty,” he started to argue when another face blocked him from view. A face that loomed closer.
    “What happened, Atty?”
    Oh, great. Either she was going to get chewed out, or she was going to get a lecture. She might as well be unconscious. Briefly she wondered if she might be able to fake it.
    “Don’t take that tone of voice with me, Yulen. I hurt and I don’t feel like listening to it. I thought the damn thing was dead and I turned my back on it, all right? My mind was on the boy. I was worried about him getting back safely.” Raising questioning eyes to her husband, Atty added, “He did get back okay, didn’t he?”
    Yulen nodded. “Regardless, that was a stupid stunt, turning your back without finalizing the kill.”
    “If it had been any other animal, it would have been dead. I’m sorry. You’re right. It was a stupid stunt. I’d stopped thinking