Those scouts had returned with no news. No one had seen her. The premise was that she was dead, at the hands of the men who had taken her.
“What changed?” Hannah asked.
“One of them told us you were alive. That you were being kept a prisoner by the tribe,” her mother said.
She froze at her mother’s words. One of them? It had to be Chua! He must have tried to payback for the event that happened that day in the forest.
“She was the one who led us to you.”
She? Her heart raced in excitement. There was only one female she could think of. A female who had never liked her, and would do anything to get her out of the way. Anika.
The realization shocked her. It had not been by sheer luck that they had found her. No wonder she had been repeatedly asked questions. It was because Anika had given them false information.
The nerve of her! The village could have been destroyed. Bear Claw could have been killed all because of her jealousy. How much she wanted to see her one last time and pull at her hair. Now that she was gone, she would present her body to him to warm his fur. The thought made her want to scream. Would he lay with her? Images of both of them together increased her anger.
“Hannah?”
She stared into the worried eyes of her mother.
“What happened?” her mother asked.
She surprised both herself and her mother by bursting into tears. Her mother pulled her into an embrace. “You are safe now. It will be fine. I am sorry I did not protect you. We should never have gone on this trip,” her mother said.
Yes, they shouldn’t have. Thomas was dead. She had been kidnapped. So much had happened that would have been best avoided if they had not come on this trip. Or even better, if they had come with a wagon trial. A solo trip had been an invitation to every bandit out there. But Samuel had insisted and even threatened them.
“I don’t want to talk about it. About what happened. Not yet,” Hannah said. She wasn’t ready to talk about all that had happened at the village. The wound was too fresh. And she doubted it would ever heal.
“All that matters is that you are home,” her mother said, pulling her into a tight hug.
She rested her head on her mother chest. However, she didn’t share the same thought as her mother. It didn’t feel good to be home, when her heart was miles away.
Chapter 14
The village was quiet. It was morning and yet there was no pounding of food, there was no laughter. There was nothing. Or perhaps Bear Claw was oblivious to it all.
He had been unable to sleep. He had barely eaten for days. How could he when his woman had been taken away from him? Worse, she had gone with them, he reminded himself. Her betrayal had caused a rip in his heart. He would have fought for her, killed whoever stood in his way. But she had let go of him and left him.
He had never felt such heartache before. Not even when he lost his father. And his mother followed soon after. It felt like his heart had been ripped from within him and tossed aside. All he felt was emptiness and pain.
This was the first time in years he would stay in this late in his teepee. He was an early riser but he laid on the fur, thoughts flowing through his mind. His head still throbbed from where he had been hit. How much he would have liked to retaliate, but at what cost? They would return and the innocents would pay. Besides, she had left of her own will. She was not worth fighting for, he tried to convince himself.
He looked up at a rustling sound. It was his sisters. They looked worried.
“What do you want?” he wanted to be left alone.
“I am sorry. About what happened,” Aiyana said on behalf of them.
He chuckled bitterly. Why were they sorry? Hadn’t they warned him? Was this not what they wanted?
“Leave,” Bear Claw said. They remained. He stood up, glaring at them. He did not want their pity. He was Chief Bear Claw of the tribe of Apache. “Leave!” he said more forcefully.
The flap opened as his sisters departed. He felt like yelling out the pain in him, but it held his back. He emerged from his teepee, out into the morning. He would not hide indoors like a child, sulk and cry. He would face this head on. The spirits had decided a cruel fate for him, but he would not give it to them easily.
“Sachem,” Juh said with surprise as he took the reins of the horse.
“Gather the men. We hunt,” Bear Claw said with firmness, leaving no room for argument.
The men followed him into the forest. He wanted something difficult. More challenging than a buffalo. His horse rode like lightning, his spear in his hand. His eyes looked around carefully, watching like a hunter. He had picked up tracks of a mountain lion. It was hiding. Watching as well. But Bear Claw had been a hunter all his life. He could smell its stench. He could smell its excitement.
