“I understand,” Running Wolf nodded.
“I will keep quiet for now, but she can’t stay hidden forever. And secondly, whoever hurt a beautiful woman like her might not be thrilled to find her alive. We have no idea how she got here. My opinion is this, be on the lookout for trouble. Her enemies might come searching.”
Running Wolf watched her leave and sighed. He turned to Chito and patted his shoulder. “Despite your grumbling, you stood by me. Thank you brother.”
“Yeah, sure,” Chito shook his head. He tilted his head toward the shed, “What are you going to do about her?”
Running Wolf sighed, “I will just have to see when she awakens. That will tell.”
“Be careful, friend.”
Running Wolf nodded and watched his friend retreat. Sighing, he returned to the shed.
Running Wolf settled beside her and listened to her breathing. She was right. It was better and the whimpering was gone. Her eyelids were still fluttering though. What had she seen? Running Wolf wondered. He stared closer at her. He had never been this close to a pale face before.
His hand stretched forward and he gently pushed a strand of hair away from her face. At his touch, the fluttering of hereyelids stopped. She seemed to calm down visibly and he sighed in relief. He moved back and leaned against the wall. He would need to keep his eye on her throughout the night. As he watched her, he felt a lump grow in his throat as memories of Fala and their baby flooded him.
Running Wolf was awoken by the bright rays of sun filtering into the shed. Immediately, he turned to the pale face. In the brightness of the day, he could see her better and the woman was right. She was beautiful. He pulled closer to her to check her breathing when her eyes flew open. Running Wolf found himself staring into large green eyes a color he had never seen before. He swallowed hard as he suddenly felt a sharp pull in his chest alongside a pounding. She blinked and a tear rolled down her cheek.
“James...” she whispered.
Chapter Seven
James’ lifeless face flashed before Elaina the moment her eyes opened.
“James...” she whispered. Her eyes flitted around and through her tears she saw a brown face. She looked down as she held her belly protectively. Her baby! Her little one! She sobbed quietly.
“You are okay, your baby is okay,” the stranger said softly, leaning over her.
She drew away automatically, and he stepped back. Softly, he said, “I am not going to hurt you. Your baby is fine. I had someone check. She was also the same person who changed your clothes.”
Elaina’s eyes darted around the shed where she had found herself. She drew her legs up under her as exhaustion washed over her. The memories of the previous night flooded her all at once. She shut her eyes tight, her hands cradling her belly. James was gone, she could not believe it. Grimsson, he killed her husband. She started breathing hard, as she panicked.
She felt a pair of warm hands on her shoulder,
“Easy, easy,” the same voice from earlier whispered.
Her eyes still closed, she leaned her head against the wall of the shed. More than anything, she wished she could rip out the heavy pain in her heart. Tears trickled down her cheeks, as she drifted off once again.
“So, she has been asleep since then?” a voice asked.
“She is obviously very exhausted. As we both know, she had a very long night,” the familiar voice from earlier said.
“So didn’t she say anything when she woke up, at least? You need to know what her name is, who she is. Come on, Running Wolf. All we know is that she is a pale face, who is pregnant. That is not going to sit well with the elders and the village. Howlong is she going to be here even? Till she gives birth? When? Remember that men of our tribe are not supposed to assist in childbirth. What are you going to do when that happens? Yell for help? That will be getting her into trouble, and you know there is only so much she can do.”
“Would you stop worrying about it so much, Chito. We will cross that bridge when we get there. For now, I have to ensure that she is okay.”
“You do not have to ensure anything. She is not your responsibility and you owe her nothing, Running Wolf. You only found her at the river. You owe her nothing, she is not Fala!”
“Let this go, Chito,” the stranger from earlier said.
Elaina’s eyes fluttered open and she finally got to see the owners of the voices well. The one she believed was the owner of the new voice was facing her while the dark man from earlier had his back to her. She swallowed hard as she straightened up. She had slept off in a sitting position and now her neck hurt. The man’s eyes widened when he saw that she was awake.
“Your guest is finally up, Running Wolf.”
Elaina winced as she tried to stand up. Running Wolf, what kind of name was that? Where exactly was she? The stranger from earlier turned around just then and he hurried to her side.
“You should not be standing up so quickly. You are still weak. You need to eat some food. When last did you have anything to eat?”
