Wolf Shadow (6 page)

“I will avenge you, my mother. By my blood, I swear it!”

Kneeling beside her grave, he had smeared some of his own
blood on one of the rocks, and then he had passed out.

When he regained consciousness, he was in the lodge of his
mother’s cousin. They had nursed him back to health. When he had been strong
enough to ride, they had given him a horse and food for his journey, and sent
him on his way.

He would have gone after the men who had killed his mother
as soon as he was able, but the news of what had happened to Summer Moon hit
his father hard. Luke McCloud had lost interest in the ranch, in his son, and
in everything else. From time to time, he drank himself into a stupor, and when
he sobered up, it was like the news of her death hit him all over again.

When his old man finally recovered enough that he could be
left alone, Chance had gone in search of the men who had killed his mother. He
had found two of them and now only one remained. Jack Finch.

As soon as he returned Winter Rain to her parents and paid
off the loan at the bank, he would try yet again to find the last man even
though he knew that, after so many years, the odds of finding his quarry were
slim.

Hands clenched, he stared into the darkness. “I will yet
avenge you, my mother,” he whispered fervently.

And in the stillness of the night, he heard his words echo
on the voice of the wind.

Chapter Five

In the days that followed, Winter Rain had little time to
miss Strong Elk, who had gone hunting, as planned, with Two Beavers and Pony
Boy. Every time she turned around, it seemed that Wolf Shadow was there. She
met him on the trail when she went to gather wood. She met him by the river
when she went to fill her waterskin. When she went in search of wild onions or
berries with the other maidens or with her mother, he managed to seek her out.

His presence was disconcerting. She was going to marry
Strong Elk. Everyone in the village knew it. Why, then, did she find herself
looking for Wolf Shadow as soon as she left her lodge? Why was it his face that
invaded her dreams, his voice that echoed in her mind?

He was constantly in her thoughts. When they were apart, she
told herself he could not be as handsome or as exciting as she remembered;
then, when she saw him again, he was more handsome, more exciting. More
desirable than ever.

This morning was no different. She awoke from dreaming of
him to wondering if he was awake. Rising, she judged the time and then, with a
word to her mother, she picked up a clean tunic and went down to her favorite
place to bathe, knowing that it was his favorite place as well, hoping, to her
shame, that she would find him there. And she had. Seeing him, she had quickly
ducked behind a tree, content to admire him from afar.

He was in the water, his back to her as it had been the
first time she had seen him. Once again, she felt a quiver of excitement deep
within her, felt her cheeks grow warm, felt herself smile at the sheer beauty
of him, a perfection that was marred only by the hideous scars on his back. She
wondered again who had whipped him so cruelly, and why.

“You could join me.”

His voice startled her out of her reverie. How had he known
she was there? She hadn’t made a sound.

“You could wash my back for me,” he said. “And I could wash
yours.”

The image of his hands moving over her body sent a flood of
heat through every fiber of her being. Her mouth went dry, making a reply
impossible. She stared at his broad shoulders, imagining her hands gliding over
his skin, and her mouth went drier still.

Like a mouse trapped by the gaze of a coyote, she couldn’t
move, could only stand there as he slowly turned toward the shore. She was
certain he could hear the rapid beating of her heart.

“You might as well come out,” he said. “I know you’re
there.”

On legs that felt as heavy as tree trunks, she walked down
to the water’s edge.

He looked up at her, his gaze warmer than the heat of the
sun on her back. “Sure you won’t join me?”

The thought was far too tempting. He was far too tempting.
Why did she find him so exciting? He was just a man like any other, but even as
the words crossed her mind, she knew they were a lie. There was something about
this man, something in the deep sadness in his eyes that called to her in ways
she did not understand.

He took a step toward the shore, and then another.

She stood her ground until the last moment, then quickly
turned her back to him. She had seen naked boys and even men from time to time,
had laughed with Dawn Song about it. But she knew on some deeper level that
seeing Wolf Shadow naked would not be cause for amusement.

She heard the swish of water as he moved through it. All her
senses came swiftly to life as she imagined him standing naked behind her.
Close enough to touch.

Swallowing hard, she closed her eyes, listening to the sound
of cloth being pulled over damp flesh.

“What brings you down here so early?” he asked. “Could it be
you hoped to find me here?”

“Of course not! I always come here in the morning to bathe.
This is
my
place and you know it.”

Suddenly angry, she whirled around to find him grinning at
her.

She was surprised to realize that a little part of her, way
down deep inside, was disappointed that he was fully clothed. And if that
wasn’t bad enough, she had the feeling that he knew it, too.

“Tomorrow morning I’ll try to get here earlier.” His gaze
moved over her, as intimate as a caress. “Or maybe I’ll come a little later and
see what I can see.”

The idea of having him watch her while she bathed made her
blush from head to foot.

“One of these days,” he predicted, “one of these days, I’ll
ask you to bathe with me and you won’t refuse.”

Before she could think of a suitable reply, he was gone.

Winter Rain wasn’t sure how she got through the rest of the
day. She helped her mother clean the lodge and prepare the meals, but at the
end of the day, she had no clear memory of doing so. Dawn Song came to visit
but later, Winter Rain could not recall what they talked about.

At dusk, she went outside, hoping to clear her head.

And he was there, waiting for her, a blanket draped over his
arm.

“You!” she exclaimed softly. “What are you doing here?”

He tapped one finger on the blanket. “I have come to court
you.”

She blinked at him. “Court me? You? But…but Strong Elk and
I…”

“Strong Elk is not here.”

She felt a quickening deep inside her as Wolf Shadow
unfolded the blanket and held it up, waiting for her to join him. Almost
without conscious thought, she moved toward him, her heart pounding wildly as
he enveloped them in the folds of the blanket.

She shouldn’t be there, yet even as the thought crossed her
mind, she was taking pleasure in his nearness, in the press of his hard-muscled
thigh against hers, the scent of horse and sage and smoke that clung to him.

“How long will you be staying here?” she asked, needing to
break the heavy silence between them.

“I haven’t decided.” She felt his gaze move over her face.
“Maybe I’ll stick around long enough to see you get hitched.”

“Hitched?”

“Married.”

Her eyes widened. She did not want Wolf Shadow to be there
that day, refused to consider why she found the thought of his presence at her
wedding so unsettling.

His amused chuckle filled the air between them. “Do you want
me to go?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” The question was a soft whisper.

She felt the warmth of his breath against her ear, and she
took a step away from him. “I do not know.”

“I think you do.”

His reply, and the truth in it, sent a shiver down her
spine.

He came courting the next night, and the next. She knew she
should refuse to stand under the blanket with him but there was something about
him she could not resist, something in his voice that captured her imagination,
something in his eyes that held secrets she longed to know.

It seemed she could think of nothing else, no one else.

And then Strong Elk returned to the village.

She saw him ride in with Two Beavers and Pony Boy. All three
men led pack horses heavily laden with deer and elk. Strong Elk smiled at her
as he drew near. He reined his horse to a halt and looked down at her.

“Will you be outside this evening?” he asked.

Winter Rain nodded, her heart pounding. What would she do if
Strong Elk stopped by her lodge at the same time that Wolf Shadow came by?

With a nod, Strong Elk moved on. She watched him ride to his
mother’s lodge, where he unloaded a part of his kill before moving on to his
own lodge.

Winter Rain looked up at the sky. It would be dark all too
soon.

* * * * *

She took special care with her appearance that night. She
dressed in her prettiest tunic, the one with the red and yellow beading on the
yoke. She brushed her hair until it was soft and shiny, spread a thin layer of
red paint in the part. She pulled on her best moccasins.

Mountain Sage regarded her preparations with a smile.
“Strong Elk will be pleased,” she said.

Winter Rain nodded. Strong Elk. Of course, she was dressing
to please Strong Elk.

It was full dark when she stepped out of her lodge. No
sooner had she done so than Wolf Shadow appeared out of the shadows. It was in
her mind to tell him he could not come courting any more now that Strong Elk
had returned. It was a speech she had rehearsed carefully, but when she looked
at Wolf Shadow, the words would not come. And when he opened his blanket, she moved
to stand beside him.

“I have waited all day for this moment.” He draped the
blanket over their heads and shoulders, cocooning them in a world all their
own.

She could feel his heat beside her, the brush of his arm
against her breast. Now, she thought. She had to tell him now.

She was trying to form the words when he kissed her. His
touch went through her like lightning. It seemed to draw all the air from her
lungs, the strength from her legs, leaving her breathless and weak. She knew
she would have fallen had it not been for his arms around her. It frightened
her, the power of that kiss, the knowledge that she wanted more.

“Why?” she gasped. “Why did you do that?”

“Didn’t you like it?”

“I am going to marry Strong Elk.”

“I know.”

She wished she could see his face and at the same time, she
was glad she couldn’t. It was most confusing!

And then, at the sound of Strong Elk’s voice, she froze.
Flushed with guilt, she pushed away from Wolf Shadow. He lowered the blanket
and Winter Rain found herself face to face with Strong Elk. She was taken aback
by the anger she saw glinting in his eyes.

Strong Elk’s gaze narrowed, moving from her face to Wolf
Shadow’s and back to hers again. “I thought you would be waiting for me,” he
said.

She looked away from his probing gaze.

“Winter Rain? We are to marry soon. Why do I find you with
another man?”

She looked up, her cheeks burning with shame. “Forgive me,”
she said.

Wordlessly, Wolf Shadow folded his blanket over his arm. He
looked at her impassively for a long moment, and then he turned his back to her
and walked away.

Strong Elk put his arm around Winter Rain’s shoulders.
“Tomorrow I will go to the land of the Crow.”

“But you just returned home,” Winter Rain exclaimed. “Must
you leave again so soon?”

“I must steal horses to give to your father,” he said. “With
your father’s permission, I think we should marry when I return.”

She nodded, her gaze on Wolf Shadow’s back. “My father will
be pleased.”

Strong Elk unfolded his blanket and draped it over them.
“And will you also be pleased?” he asked, his voice seeming muffled by the
heavy cloth.

Through a narrow slit in the folds of the blanket, she
watched Wolf Shadow walk away, noting the confident, easy way he moved, the
width of his shoulders. She lifted a finger to her lips, remembering his kiss.
She felt bereft when he disappeared from sight.

“Winter Rain?”

She blinked up at Strong Elk as he lowered the blanket.
“What?”

“I asked if you would also be pleased?”

Pleased? She stared at him. What had they been talking
about? Oh, yes, talking to her father. “I think we should marry soon.” The
sooner the better, she thought. When she was Strong Elk’s woman, she would no
longer have to worry about Wolf Shadow coming to court her. She looked up at
Strong Elk and forced a smile. “I am eager to be your wife.”

She thought of those words later that night. Lying in her
bed, she tried to imagine herself married to Strong Elk, but it was Wolf
Shadow’s image that teased her dreams, Wolf Shadow who shared her lodge, and
her bed.

* * * * *

Chance muttered an oath as he walked away from Winter Rain’s
lodge. Strong Elk’s timing couldn’t have been worse. If the warrior had only
stayed away another week, Chance mused, he might have won Winter Rain away from
Strong Elk, and away from here.

Leaving the village behind, he made his way down to the
river. Shafts of yellow moonlight danced on the face of the black water. There
might still be time, he thought. The attraction between himself and Winter Rain
was real. With a little luck, he might still find a way to use that to his
advantage.

He stood there for a long while, listening to the soft
whisper of the wind sighing through the trees, the gentle gurgle of the water
skipping over stones, the faint chirr of the crickets, the low bellow of a
bullfrog, the distant lament of a lonely coyote. They were sounds as familiar
to him as the beat of his own heart. Sounds associated with his childhood.

He had grown up here, with the Lakota. When he was old
enough to leave his mother’s lodge, he had spent a part of each year living
with his father, who had been known as Snow Wolf among the People. Chance had
not understood why his father was different from other fathers, or why his
parents did not live together all year long. He had wondered about it until he
was five or six, and then he had asked his mother why his father went away so
often. She had explained to him that his father had a lodge of his own among
the
wasichu
and that he had to return there from time to time to take
care of it.