The fur was surprisingly comfortable. It didn’t itch her body and it was warm. Her eyes closed but she was unable to sleep. How was she supposed to sleep beside a woman who could slit her throat in her sleep?
Tears welled in her eyes and she pushed them away. She was exhausted and felt so alone. It had been a long and dreadful day, and she had not had personal time to process all that had happened.
Where was her mama and brother? Were they stranded on the trail, food to wild animals? Had they eaten tonight while she had a stomach full? Were they even alive or had the barbarians killed them? She had been unconscious and they would have killed all of them including her baby brother. They were the enemies, she reminded herself. The woman who lay beside her. And the man who had brought her here. She could not forget it.
Chapter 4
Bear Claw ignored his sister as she rattled on about her responsibility. When she realized he wasn’t listening, she stomped her feet like the brat that she was.
“I should not be looking after the white devil like she’s a child! What do you intend to do with her?”
Like many, she was curious. In the two days the woman had lived amongst his people, there was a lot of curiosity about her presence. He had been asked by several people including his trusted men what he intended to do with her. How was he to tell them that's he had seen her in a vision? They would think he was drunk or he had made mad by the spirits. Only those who were in tune with the spirits would understand. And even then, she was a white devil. She was the enemy who had come to steal their lands. He was the chief of his clan, and it was expected that his mate would be from the clan.
The truth was he did not know what to do with the woman. He had acted on impulse in taking her. In the past days, he had been thinking of what to do with her. But the answer was not clear. The spirits seemed to have left him. He had barely seen her since that night, getting reports of her from his sister.
He could let her go. Lead her to the closest developed settlement and she would find a way to reunite with her family. But his heart ached whenever he thought of this.
The other was to lie with her. He wanted her. With her so close, he was tormented. That night, he had been about to take her. He had held her in his arms. Felt her pulse. And since then, he lay at night thinking of thrusting his sword into her. She looked fragile but he knew she would be able to take all of him.
The woman stayed indoors all day, talking to no one but his sister. Yet he was not deceived. He had seen in her eyes stubbornness. She was not going to accept her situation easily, but he would break her, for she belonged to him.
“You want her,” Aiyana said quietly.
“I do.”
“She’s a white devil!” his sister spat.
As if he didn’t know. It was clear in her pale skin. In her green eyes and the brown hair he wanted to run his fingers through.
“You can have any woman in the clan! Any woman! They throw themselves at you. Anika wants you! She will make a perfect mate.”
Yes, she would. She would make his bed at night, and his home by day. She desired him. And she had a body for passion. He had seen her naked when she presented herself to him. Yet, he desired her not. He didn’t feel that hunger for her like he felt for the white woman.
“That woman will bring nothing but trouble to the clan. She doesn’t belong here. She’s not our kind. You are the chief and it is your duty to upload our values. She has to leave!”
He stood up, hovering above his sister and she had the goodwill to lower her gaze. She knew better than to dictate to him on what to do. He was her kin, but he was also her chief.
“I speak out of turn, but her presence bothers the clan. You are not one to make sudden decisions.”
Indeed, he wasn’t one. His decisions were usually accounted for, and if he did not tell the people, they saw the effects of those actions.
“Where's she?” he asked.
The woman was not in the teepee. She couldn't have strayed far. An elder pointed him towards her direction and he followed a path. He watched her in her thoughts. She stood by the trees which grew thicker into the forest. Only those who had grown up in the terrain would find their way through the forest.
She quickly turned around as he stepped on a branch. There was relief in her eyes when she saw it was him.
“How do you fare?” he asked her.
“I want to go home,” the woman said.
“Han... Nah...” He had heard her mother call her name.
“How can you speak English. My language?” she asked curiosity.
“My interactions with your kind since I was a boy.” He was a fast learner and knowing the importance of understanding the enemy, his father had made him learn the language quickly. Only few knew he could speak the language well. To most of the white devils, he spoke the language of the barbarians like most of the clans. Their ignorance gave him the upper hand when they haggled. They considered him a fool, but his act not only gave him information about their dealings as they spoke freely, but it gave him a clearer picture of who these beings were.
She walked towards him, her hands clasped. “Please, I have to go home. I don’t belong here. My mother. My father…”
