Page 6 of My Scarred Laird
Callum knew they were in good hands.
* * *
As the years passed by,Culloden lived up to the reputation his father gave him.
He was the best warrior the clan had and trained many men to be the best they could be. Callum didn’t have to think twice about letting his brother, and their second in command, a man named Egan Scott, trained their warriors well. The men were fierce, and unafraid of death or pain.
Callum never worried for his brother when he trained or went into battle for their clan. Culloden was strong, capable, and able to do more than he ever could.
Callum was glad he had Culloden on his side and by his side.
Many of the lasses tried to catch Culloden’s eye, but he never looked twice.
Listening to the advice that their father gave them about knowing who their girl was.
Callum was the same. Although women didn’t flock to his side, he was kind and courteous to the women in his clan, but they never looked at, or acknowledged him in anyway except to curtsey in barely restrained annoyance.
He hated that they had no respect for him. Even with everything he had done for them.
He heard the rumors that people spread about him, that he was scarred and because of that, he had the devil inside him. That no regular man could survive what Callum had. They were convinced he was evil because of it. Because the noises coming from his chambers in the dead of night. He had been heard more than once screaming into the darkness, pain taking hold of him so tight that it was all he could do to make it through the nights sometimes.
He didn’t have the devil inside him. He wasn’t evil. He hated that rumor more than most. It was an absurd rumor that threatened his ruling as the Laird of their clan.
He just had horrible night terrors, and horrible headaches that would make him wish he had died in that fire, and then he would remember seeing his mother’s dead body on the ground and feeling his body burning.
Night after night he dealt with the pain, and the nightmares that plagued him.
He wished it would stop, but they hadn’t gone away, even though he was older now and he was a grown man.
Someday, he thought. Someday the terrors would leave.
He hoped anyway.
Someday, his clan would accept his place as laird. He hoped anyway.
CHAPTER1
CALLUM
It had been nineteen years since that fateful day that ruined his body and took the life of his mother.
He dealt with all he could deal with in the years since.
Learning to use his scarred and ruined body again, although with a limp that made it hard to do most things, even though he never let it stop him, and with a hand that didn’t fully extend on cold mornings, he still excelled at most things, especially with his sword.
He was a fierce warrior, despite his hardships. He wielded the clan’s claymore with a tenacity and capability that shocked many in their clan and many of their enemies.
His brother saw to that. Culloden had found him trying to teach himself to wield the claymore, and he took over, teaching him how to fight with the massive sword, and how to use his limp to his advantage.
Callum took his brother’s lessons to heart and worked on his body every day.
It wasn’t easy, yet he did it and he was proud of his accomplishments.
The clan had prospered under his leadership, and they had gained much land and many men in the years because of both he and his impressive work as the Laird, and because of Culloden and his fierce way as the leader of their army.
Callum was proud to have a man like Culloden as his brother.
He knew that Culloden was getting restless though. That he wanted to become Laird of his own holdings and Callum knew just the right piece of land to give his brother so he could do just that.
