Stalking Wolf was glad she wanted to know more about him, but hoped his mixed bloods would not matter to her. “My father’s name was Adam Stone. He was a man with white skin who came to our land from far away to trap beaver and other animals for their pelts. A band of Crow stole his possessions and he tracked them. He found them attacking a small hunting party of Our People and helped defeat the Bird raiders. They took him to our camp and he stayed with them for many moons. He honored and accepted the Indian ways and became a friend. The Strong Hearts made him a blood brother and he lived and trapped near our tribe. He won my mother’s heart and eye, and Big Hump allowed them to join. Her name was Morning Flower. Others have told me she was craved by many warriors for her beauty and rank and gentleness.”
Stalking Wolf watched water flow in the nearby creek as he revealed his history to her. “I do not remember my parents; they were slain by Crow when I was two winters’ old. We lived in a wooden tipi, what his people call a cabin, on the river near the Medicine Bow mountains and forest. Mother was gathering plants and berries when the Crow attacked. She hid me in my cradleboard in a tree and went to help Father, for she was skilled with a bow and knife and her love for him was as large as the sky. Flying Eagle, her brother, found me two suns’ later and took me to Grandfather’s camp and tipi. I was raised by him and the Strong Hearts as Big Hump’s adopted son, as a hunter and warrior. When I was found, I was wrapped in a wolf skin, so Grandfather named me Little Wolf and I was no longer called Joshua Stone, my white name. In my visionquest, I was told to take the name of Stalking Wolf, to take the wolf as my spirit sign and helper. Many seasons later, Flying Eagle and his mate were killed by Bird Warriors while camped on the grasslands. Their son, Five Stars, was adopted by Grandfather and we became brothers. Flying Eagle’s death was avenged by his friends, but we still do not know who killed my parents. When I find the man who wears a hairlock like the blazing sun, I will know who slayed them.”
Kionee realized that his hair was lighter than an Indian’s because of his father’s legacy. And the color of Adam Stone’s eyes must have made Stalking Wolfs a tawny shade instead of brown like his mother’s. She thought about his quest If the attacker had taken possessions as coups or to place in his medicine pouch, the killer could be exposed when those belongings were found, if the man still lived. It was possible the man had since died or been killed during a battle.
“It is sad to lose parents at such a young age,” she said wistfully. She knew that terrible feeling from experience: when she was five, she was taken from her home and parents’ arms and forced to live and train with tiva elders until she reached sixteen. It had taken her a while not to feel abandoned and afraid, to put aside girlish things to become as a boy, to learn to mask her true feelings as she was compelled to mask her appearance. Kionee discarded those bad memories for now.
She looked at Stalking Wolf and said, “It is good your grandfather took you as his own son and you have a brother like Five Stars. The moon will come when you will have your revenge; Atah will guide you to the Bird Warrior who took their lives, for such evil must be punished.”
The warrior locked his gaze on Kionee. He longed to view her lovely face without the colorful guise. He craved to caress her soft skin and stroke her unbound hair. He yearned to hold her and kiss her, to make her his in all ways. Surely she was the woman in his vision and dreams who would become his mate. How he would win her, he did not know, but he was going to do everything within his power to capture her heart. “That is what the visions of Medicine Eyes and Stalking Wolf told us this season. Our shaman is never wrong; his words and dreams always come true.”
Kionee was touched by the tender expression in the man’s eyes and on his face. He could be so gentle for someone so strong. It would be joyous to press her mouth to his, to be held in his embrace, to lie with him on the joining mat. She had overheard whispers between men and women about the pleasures of uniting bodies, and she longed to experience them with Stalking Wolf. She realized from his curious look that she must be staring at him oddly so she lowered her gaze and asked, “Those are the same visions which told you a Hanueva will do a great deed for your people? That is why you were sent to protect us and why we were asked to camp with the Strong Hearts on the grasslands?”
As Stalking Wolf nodded, he barely controlled a potent urge to seize her and kiss her; the way she watched him stirred his already kindled passions to blazing life. He was convinced now that she desired him, and that conclusion caused his heart to soar with happiness, but he must not reach out to her too soon. He did not wish to offend her or frighten her away. They had many similarities, yet many differences, and there was a great obstacle between them to be conquered. She took her tiva vow and duty seriously, and he must not treat them lightly. When he trusted his voice not to betray his emotions, he said, “The visions did not tell us who would do the deed or what it will be.”
“Atah knows all things; He will guide the chosen one’s path.”
Maja returned and lay beside Kionee’s mat, placing himself between the two people as if determined to keep them apart. He rested his muzzle across Kionee’s outstretched arm and relaxed when she used her other hand to stroke his head and neck. He wriggled closer to her and closed his eyes, as if to dream of running in the forest with a she-wolf.
“We must sleep,” Kionee murmured.
“Rest well, my friend and companion.”
They traveled along the North Fork of the Powder River, so named because the dirt became like dust when handled. Winters were always milder along riverbanks which were guarded against harsh nature by rimrocks, cliffs, and sloping ranges. In the cold season and early spring, winds howled through the canyons and through passes like a pack of starving wolves on the chase and blizzards often buried everything in sight. In late summer, sudden and violent thunderstorms sent water sweeping over their banks and carrying away anything in its path. There were sections where bogs, quicksand, and flash floods could devour man and beast. Aware of those perils, Kionee and Stalking Wolf traveled with caution.
Game thrived in this area where water, grass, plants, berries, and trees were abundant. Deer, antelope, and other creatures grazed in juniper-scented draws. Moose and elk feasted in wetlands and peaceful meadows. Wildflowers were everywhere. Sage and rabbitbrush dotted the landscape.
Ancient rock cairns marked the trails, but the couple did not need them for direction. They continued to follow the tracks of the enemy band; from the marks in the dirt, the doused campfires, and condition of broken grasses, they estimated the Crow to be two days ahead of them.
Suddenly Stalking Wolf halted, turned, and gazed behind them. “Two riders follow us. Come, we will trap them.” He was pleased when Kionee obeyed without hesitation or doubt. He guided them to a side river and told her, “Ride into the edge, turn fast, and leave the water there.” He pointed to an area where dense brush was near the bank with a thick cover of trees behind it. “The Crow will think we crossed here. They will be fooled and will follow and be snared by the eating sand. We must hurry. Be careful. Go no farther out than an arm’s length.”
Kionee guided Tuka into the river and stayed close to the bank as she walked the pinto downstream. She kept Maja close and opposite of harm’s way. She urged the horse up the bank, and Maja followed with an agile leap. She watched Stalking Wolf do the same and join her.
They dismounted and hid the animals, then concealed their tracks. They ducked out of sight as two Crow warriors came into view, both leaning over to study the ground for signs. One pointed to the river and said their targets must have seen them coming and had crossed to elude them. The two men were excited to have them on the run and heading into an apparent box canyon ahead. Both galloped into the water as if each was trying to be first to reach their goals to earn the coups and possessions.
Kionee watched as the horses staggered, whinnied, and became wide-eyed in panic as they grasped their peril. Both riders were unseated and the animals struggled backward, s
omehow escaping the threat their owners could not. Kionee hated to watch their futile attempts to survive, but the enemies would have slain them if caught and would still do so if she and Stalking Wolf helped them escape.
Soon it was over, and Kionee lifted her gaze once more. She watched her companion unload, unbridle, and free the two horses. She joined him.
“We cannot take them with us. They could endanger us by not obeying our commands when we near the Crow camp in secret. They are strong and smart; they will survive in this good land.”
“You are wise and cunning, Stalking Wolf,” she said in agreement.
“Come. We cross to the Red Fork. We will ride its waters to hide our trail and plan if others come behind us to reach their people. Perhaps some warriors remained longer at Medicine Mountain to seek visions at the Great Wheel or were off hunting or raiding when their tribe left. Fresh tracks atop old ones of their band will be seen and followed. We take no risks.”
Since other stragglers might be trying to catch up or could be riding as flanking scouts Kionee agreed it was best to leave the tribe’s trail for a while and pick it up in a few days downriver where the Red limb joined the Middle branch which joined the North Fork. This way, they could conceal their presence and intention, and they could relax their constant guard temporarily. After six suns of being on full alert, that plan suited her fine.
The following night, Maja brought a rabbit into camp and dropped it at Kionee’s feet. She smiled and knelt to stroke the beloved animal. “You are good and cunning, my friend, but we cannot make a fire to cook it. I will skin it for you and keep the pelt, for it is unharmed, my fine hunter.”
Stalking Wolf watched Kionee remove the fur with skill. She gave the meat to her pet and scraped the fat from the pelt before rolling it and putting it with her possessions, to be cured later by her mother. He could not seem to take his gaze from her. Soon he was lost in stimulating memories of what he had viewed at the waterfall near the winter camp. His heart drummed as he remembered how she had looked without the painted mask and male garments.
Kionee looked up to find him watching her with a strange gleam in his eyes. Enticed, she asked, “Why do you stare at me this way?”
“You are beautiful and special, Kionee,” he murmured rashly.
She gaped at him and trembled. “Your words confuse me.”
Stalking Wolf drew a deep breath as he caught his mistake. Perhaps, he reasoned, this was the time and place to expose his feelings, to begin his quest for her. “I know you are a woman, Kionee.” He watched her brown gaze widen in alarm and he heard her gasp in surprise.
13
“DO NOT BE AFRAID, Kionee; trust me to tell no one your secret. The words in my heart spoke swifter than my wits could halt them. You walk into my thoughts when I sleep and race into them when I do not.” He came and knelt before her and captured her gaze with his. “There is no other like you. We are matched. Destiny drew us together to find each other. You are the woman for me. I want you as my mate.” He lifted his hand and stroked her colorfully painted cheek. As she stared at him in panic and disbelief, he pulled her head toward his to kiss her.
Maja leapt upon the warrior and knocked him backward. The wolf took a menacing stance between them and growled in warning. His ears were erect and the ruff on his throat bristled; his tail was motionless. His golden eyes were clear and threatening. He was ready to attack on her command.
“I mean her no harm, Maja, for she has captured my heart.” Stalking Wolf met Kionee’s troubled gaze. “I hunger to taste your lips, to hold you, to make you mine, to share a life and tipi with you. Do you feel the same for me?”
Kionee leapt to her feet and urged, “You must not speak such words! You must forget I am a female in body. To mate with you is forbidden.”
Stalking Wolf decided he must urge his chosen one to face the truth about her feelings, if she had not done so already. As long as she denied or resisted them or remained unaware of his love and desire, he could not win her. Worse, he could have a rival for Kionee in Night Walker, who was an acceptable choice by her tribe and under her laws. “Do you say you do not desire me as a man and mate? Do I misread your signs?” His last words seemed to stun her, so he appeased, “Only I sense them, for you hide them with skill and cunning. Do you not want me as I want you, Kionee?”
“It is forbidden,” she repeated in rising distress. “Why do you speak such cruel words?”
“Ne-mehotatse,” he murmured in a tender tone.
Kionee’s heart fluttered and she trembled. “How can you love me? You do not know me.”
“We have spent many suns and moons together, and you live in my dreams and visions. I know you, Kionee, as you know me.”
She did not know how to respond and turned her back to give her time to think.
“If it were not against your laws, would you come to me in love?”
Anguish flooded Kionee as she yearned to tell the truth. If she did so, that would make the futile situation worse. “I must not speak such words; I must not think them. I am a tiva. I can be no less or more.”
“You are much more, Na-htsesta; you are the woman I love and desire. You are a vital part of my destiny.”
Kionee turned, and Stalking Wolf attempted to rise from the ground. When Maja growled, she commanded in a gentle voice for the animal to sit. The creature obeyed but remained alert. He had called her “my heart” and warmed her soul. “How did you learn the truth?”
“It was revealed to me. My vision and those of Medicine Eyes said I would find my mate this season,” he answered in honesty without betraying Taysinga as promised.
“I am not the woman in your vision, Stalking Wolf. I must remain true to my vows and laws. I am the Hunter-Guardian for my family, for my mother bore no son to take that rank. They cannot live without me. To break my vows would bring shame and anguish to my family and people.” It would also lead to my punishment, and almost certain death.
“What do you want for yourself, Kionee?”
“I can ask for nothing more than Atah gives to me.”
“How do you know He did not send me to you to become your mate?”
“Tivas do not join and have children.”
“Never?” he asked, needing her to tell those things he should not know so they could discuss and resolve these obstacles they presented.
“Only if a son is born and she is released by our law.”
“There is no other path to freedom?”
“Yes, but it has been traveled few times and long ago.”
“Why can you not travel it this season?”
“You are not Hanueva; it is forbidden to join outside our people.”
“No female of your tribe has joined to one from another?”
“Never; it is our law. It cannot be broken or changed. To go against it would reveal the tiva secret. That would endanger our survival.”
“Not if no one learned you had been a tiva.”
Kionee lifted her hand. “I am marked for life.”
“What of the others who left the tiva rank? What of their marks?”
Kionee stared at him. “I do not know,” she admitted. “No tiva has left the rank since I joined it. I have not seen marks removed. I have not been told how it is done.” But it must be possible!
“The few who left the rank to join mates, how did they do so?”
Kionee told him the requirements and the reasons why mating and bearing children were perilous to a tiva’s family and to the tribe.
“I am of high rank. I can be the Hunter-Protector for your family until they join your Great Spirit. When that moon comes to pass, we can go to live with my people. The mark can be removed and we will tell no one your tribe’s secret. I can win a challenge against you. I have done many good deeds for your people and they can reward me with you.”
“You do not carry Hanueva blood.”
“I can become a blood brother as my father did with the Cheyenne.”
“That is not th
e same, and it is against our law. My people will never break it or change it, or reward you for any reason with a tiva.”
One point remained to be settled for now. “If the Great Spirit shows us a path around the blood law, will you accept me? Do not sting my pride and knife my heart with words you do not mean.”
“My feelings do not matter; they change nothing.”
“They are important to me. Speak them, my love, if only one time.”
Kionee did not want to hurt him. “If my laws did not stand between us, I would accept you. I have known no man such as you. No man has made me feel this way. But it is forbidden, Stalking Wolf, so I cannot break my vows. You must forget I am a woman beneath this mask and these male garments. You must forget your desire for me. You must choose another as your mate.”
The Cheyenne saw her anguish and ached to comfort her. “How can I do so, Kionee, when I love and desire only you? When my sacred vision said you will be mine? You are part of my destiny, as I am of yours.”
“You misread the vision, Stalking Wolf; it cannot be true. I am captive to my rank and, even with your great skills and prowess, you cannot free me. Even with mine, I cannot free myself. Ours together are not strong enough to release me. It is hopeless. To try to escape my laws and vow will bring pain and trouble to many. Do not attempt such a futile task,” she pleaded.
He grasped her small hand. “If the Great Spirit wills it and He clears the path between us, will you join to me?”
Tears mistied her brown eyes and her heart ached in denial. “Do not ask me to hope and dream for what will never come to pass.”
“Your words are clever, but they give me the answer I need. I will be patient while Maheoo clears a path for us. Will you touch lips with me?”
Kionee warmed from head to feet. “That is perilous.”
“All we do in life is filled with dangers and challenges. Say yes, and I will ask nothing more from you this sun and speak no more on this matter.”
Destiny Mine Page 17