Used to being woken in the dark as she is her clan's healer, Aliss quickly makes her way to the dying priest's side. But, the "ailing cleric" is really a kidnapper and he forces her on a journey to the sea. Knowing this would cause her to never see her home again, she makes a run for it. Quickly recaptured, she is dismayed to find she is in the hands of Rogan, Chieftain of the barbarian "Wolf" clan of the north. When she is told she is needed to save the sick and dying in his village, Aliss only agrees to heal on condition that she will be returned home when her work is done.
Perplexed by the illness that keeps plaguing some of the people, but not others, Aliss throws herself into her work as she tries to solve this mystery. With her sunny nature and kind and gentle ways, Aliss soon is not only loved by all she heals, but Wolf falls under her spell as well. He hadn't planned on falling in love. His plan was to barter her for a safe haven for his clan on the Isle of Non, an uninhabited island that his mother had told him was his inheritance.
Despite his strength and power as warrior, Aliss begins to appreciate Rogan's kind side, his concern for his people and his willingness to let her practice her craft. Since she knows she has to marry as an ancient prophecy warned of doom for her clan if she does not, she offers herself to Rogan. Her happiness in marriage and her love for him quickly changes when her twin sister, Fiona, and her husband, Tarr, Head of the Hellewyk clan and Rogan's enemy, finally arrive and tells her about the ransom. Can she ever trust Rogan again after that deception?
While an interesting read on its own, Donna Fletcher has crafted a tender and quintessential love story as a sequel to "The Daring Twin". Set in the mid 16th century Scotland, the author's research and detail make the characters and settings authentic, although Rogan's attitude seemed a tad modern. Nevertheless, you'll have sweet dreams after reading this one!
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