by Deanna Hall
Chase agreed. “Mia’s right. Jackson is ruthless. We are a very long-lived species. As Dakota knows, most packs, like his old one, consists of many generations of wolves. Ours is a newer pack, but Jackson’s isn’t. Thanks to his trials, any weak wolves died in battle. Even the older ones were forced to compete often to the death. Those who tried to leave were hunted down and killed.
When my father was killed in battle, my mother faded away as the years went by. Shortly after I turned for the first time, she passed away. Jackson took me under his wing as he did Bodie. He accepted my leaving only because my betrothed, his daughter, had run away. He saw it as her dishonoring me.
I think the only reason he never came after me was because he was always a little afraid I could beat him. He’ll never let Mia or anyone she cares about survive if she leaves. I hope you have a good plan, Mia. The pack can protect you, but eventually, we would let our guard down, and Jackson holds a grudge a long time.”
The Challenge
Dakota
Now that I understood Mia’s fear were grounded, I was apprehensive. I’d known what Jackson had done to her parents, but I hadn’t understood the extent of his desire for power. What scared me most was I had no clue what crazy idea was tumbling around in Mia’s head.
When we returned to the ceremonial grounds, Mia handed the papoose to Makala before going to stand in front of Jackson. “Grandfather, this charade has gone on long enough. My family knows the truth of what has transpired between us. I am going to go home to my family now. I am not divorcing my husband; he will be leaving with me. Therefore I will not be forsaking our agreement or tribal law.
I will continue to be a part of your pack and tribe. I will come here often with your grandchildren and visit with our people weekly. However, I will live in my own home with both my husbands.”
Jackson countered, “Your home is here on the reservation now. If you leave here, you betray your people and will face my judgment as your mother did.”
Bodie stepped forward. “Do not threaten my wife.”
“Or what, pup, will you challenge me. You will lose. You may be our greatest warrior, but none of you have the strength of will to defeat me. You all fear me, as you should. None of you are ruthless enough to do what must be done.
You will die, leaving your wife and children fatherless as your father did before you. Then I will raise them. Though I trained you well, you are weak-minded. Unlike you, they will be my blood and the strongest among us.”
Mia stepped in front of Bodie. Her voice held anger; I had never thought I’d hear from her. “You will never raise my children. You will allow us to leave here and give your word never to harm or threaten any of us again.”
Jackson laughed. “Why would I do that?”
“Because if you don’t, I will challenge you for your pack. When it is mine, it will be you who will fear my wraith.” Mia declared.
Jackson laughed harder. “You truly are my blood, Miakoda. I will never allow you to leave. I will accept your challenge, however. When I win, you will stay among your people where you belong, always. Agreed?”
Everyone in the place took a collective breath when Mia said, “Agreed.”
“Know I will not hold back, Granddaughter. I have no desire to harm you, but you may not survive this fight.”
“I am aware of that, Grandfather. Since I have no such desire to be merciful, you might not either.”
Jackson roared with laughter. “You make me proud, Miakoda. I will not kill you if I can avoid it, nor will I lose. You may change your mind without dishonor if you wish.”
Mia stared him down. “I have no wish to change my mind. I do have some conditions of my own.”
“I will hear them.”
I saw Bodie’s eyes widen in fear as he fell to his knees, pleading. “No, Miakoda, this goes too far. Do not do this. No one has ever defeated him. Please, I have never begged for anything in my life, but I am begging you, do not do this.”
Mia turned to him, taking his hands in hers, she kissed them. “Bodie, you know I love you. This is the only way our children will ever be free of him. We can’t let him be a part of their lives. If something happens to me, I need you and Dakota to raise our children together, away from here. Promise me.”
“I cannot, Mia. I cannot let you go. Please, please.”
“I’m sorry, Bodie, this is the only choice we have.”
“Then let me fight him.” Bodie pleaded.
“Bodie, I know how brave you are; only Jackson has hurt you so many times your spirit fears him. It gives him power over you. I don’t fear him, only what he can do to those I love. This is a fight only I can win.” When she kissed him, he held her so tight she had to pry herself away from him.
Mia turned back to Jackson. “If I lose, I will stay, but our guests will all be allowed to leave here unharmed with no retaliation. If I die, you will let my husband and children leave with Chase. Do we have a Deal?”
Jackson grasped Mia’s offered forearm. “We have a deal, Miakoda Greyfeather. Blood of my blood.”
Mia nodded, “I would speak to my pack before we began.”
“As you wish.” Jackson agreed.
If Bodie couldn’t talk Mia out of this with his desperate plea, I knew we couldn’t either.
Peter was pacing in a small circle, mumbling, “She can’t do this?” over and over. CJ was bent over with his hands on his knees, looking like he was going to be sick. I stood staring at Mia in shock. Of all the crazy things I thought she might do, this was not one of them. I should have known she would protect us at all costs.
Mia walked over to us with Bodie, looking pale as a ghost, in tow. “Don’t try to talk me out of this, Dakota. There is more at stake than just my life. I will not let Jackson influence my children. Our Children. This is the only way to stop him. In case this goes badly, you need to leave here as quickly as possible. I only trust Jackson’s word so far.”
She kissed Peter, saying, “Hey, stop looking like the world has ended. The sun will come up tomorrow, no matter what. If I’m not here, turn your face up, I’ll be smiling down on you in the rays of the sun. CJ, if this goes badly, I’m begging you to take Dakota and Bodie under your wing and keep them safe. Please promise you will.”
“Mia, this is crazy.” CJ started to say.
Mia held her hand up to stop him. “No! It’s decided. Don’t count me out yet; just promise me you’ll keep them alive if I’m gone. Protect them and make sure they all live on for me. It’s what you were meant for, to be our protector.”
CJ hugged her tight. “Yet you won’t let me protect you.”
Mia hugged him back tightly. “Not this time, now promise me.”
“I promise, Mia. I love you so much. Don’t die.”
I heard her whisper to CJ. “Keep everybody close to Dakota. I don’t trust Jackson not to try and take him out.”
Then she hugged and kissed me deeply. “I love you, Dakota, more than life itself. If I don’t make it, raise our children well. Show them all the love you’ve shown me. Stop being jealous, Bodie will need your friendship. Please take care of him, like he took care of me.”
“Mia, please don’t do this,” I begged, knowing full well it wouldn’t dissuade her.
“I have to. It’s either that or I say here. I won’t let our children grow up with the memory of us being killed in front of them, and we can’t spend the rest of our lives living in fear. It’s our only chance to take back our lives. Think of me as a she-wolf protecting her cubs. I can do this, I know I can, Dakota, have faith in me.”
“I do, Nuttah.”
Her last kiss was for Bodie. She tried to console him, except he had grown up terrorized by this man. Not even her spirit healer abilities could reach him. It was clear Mia was the first good thing he had in his life, and he was sure he was about to lose it. As much as I wanted to hate him, at that moment, I felt sorry for him.
After the kiss, Mia took his face in her hands. “Everything will be a
lright. This nightmare will be over for good. I love you, Bodie.”
After Mia walked back to Jackson, I went and put my hand on Bodie’s shoulder. “We won’t let him kill her, man.” This time when he looked at me, he looked like a lost little boy. I understood exactly how he felt.
Mia walked to the center of the ring, untied her dress, letting it fall to the ground. She flowed into wolf form in one smooth movement. Jackson shifted, stepping forward. He was enormous, the largest wolf I’d ever seen. Without hesitation, he lunged at Mia with his powerful, jaw gaping. Just before it closed on Mia, she stepped to the side.
Jackson stumbled forward, snapping at nothing but air. Thus their dance began. It was truly more like a dance than a fight because Mia moved around him gracefully, always just out of reach. Jackson remained calm, continuing to stalk Mia, watching her moves, in search of a pattern. Mia, however, never moved as expected.
Time dragged by. It was clear they were both getting tired. Jackson was showing it much more than Mia. Mia had managed to get quite a few severe bites in, while she remained untouched. Jackson was losing a fair amount of blood. We thought she had him beat for sure when she slammed him in the side, knocking him off his feet. He wasn’t getting up.
Then when she spun around to go for his hamstring, he managed to take a massive bite out of her shoulder. Mia howled in pain, barely managing to evade his next lunge. Bleeding profusely and limping, she fell.
As she struggled to regain her footing, Jackson got up, stalking towards her. Bodie changed, moving forward to protect her. We all followed suit. “It’s over, Father, you win. You do not need to harm her further.” Bodie thought.
Before we got any closer, Mia demanded, “STAY BACK! It’s not over until one of us concedes, and I do not.” Mia got to her feet, steadied herself, then made a vicious counterattack that ripped out Jackson’s whole hindquarter, tearing through muscle and snapping bone. He went down, hard, howling in pain.
Jackson was struggling to get up. His hind leg was useless. Mia circled him at a distance. “Let this end, Grandfather. I have beaten you.”
Ignoring her, Jackson suddenly leaped up on his three good legs. Mia was ready for him, only instead of going for Mia, he leaped in the other direction, grabbing Bodie by the throat. We all heard Mia screaming, “NOOOOOO!” in our minds as she leaped across the space between them. Latching on to Jackson’s throat, she tore it out as she flew past. Then Mia rolled to her feet, shifting as she went racing back to Bodie.
Blood was squirting from his neck. Mia pressed her hands to his throat, but blood continued to seep through her fingers. He wasn’t even torn up bad. Not that it mattered. Jackson had bit into his main artery. Bodie was already lying in a puddle of blood.
“Change, Bodie, change now,” Mia demanded. “Please, please, please. I did this to save us. Bodie, you have to change before you bleed out. I can’t lose you.”
Bodie blinked his eyes at her. We saw him struggle to change. He trembled with the effort as blood continued to pour from his wound at an alarming rate. His thoughts sounded strained and distant, like he was having trouble forming the words even in his mind. “You saved our children and our people. I love you so much, Miakoda. These months we shared were the best of my life. You were the best thing that ever happened to me. Tell our daughter of me. Tell her I loved…” His thoughts stopped abruptly. I knew that even in human form, Mia had heard every word through their bond.
I saw Mia try to hold onto his spirit. “Please come back, Bodie. Please!” It was too late; I watched as his spirit left this earth. Bodie was gone. Mia collapsed over his body, sobbing as he returned to human form. She cried as if her heart had been torn out. I changed and went to her. Encircling her in my arms was all the comfort I had to offer. No words would take away this pain.
After what seemed like hours, Mia let go of Bodie and got up. She was covered in so much blood she looked like she wore a macabre, red bodysuit. Mia walked over to Jackson’s body, kicking him. “Bastard. How could you do that? How could you kill your own son? Was it to punish me?”
Mia kicked him again, “That’s for my parents!” Another kick. “That’s for the childhood you stole from me!” kick “That’s for Bodie’s parents and his lost childhood!” kick “That’s for ruining Bodie’s life and trying to make him a monster like you!” kick “That’s for threatening and killing the people I love!” kick “I hate you, everybody hated you, you died a hated man.”
It was clear Mia was becoming hysterical. Finally, I tried to stop her. “Mia, stop. It’s over; nothing can change what happened, I’m sorry.” I told her. By now, Mia was hysterical and beyond hearing. Everyone was staring in a kind of horrified fascination. I gently pulled Mia away. She turned and started pounding on my chest, sobbing, so I just held her tightly.
“I had to kill him, Dakota, I had to. I hated him, but I didn’t want to kill him. I just wanted our life back. He gave me no choice. He killed Bodie. Why did he do that? Bodie was good and kind. He took care of Makala and me. He sang me love songs. Jackson knew he was beaten fairly; why would he kill Bodie after he forced us together and made me love him?”
I didn’t have any answers for her. “I don’t know, Nuttah. I think he was a crazy, lonely man, who’s need for power stole his humanity long ago. You did what you had to. He gave you no choice. This is not your fault. I’m so sorry.”
Mia stopped crying, wiping the tears from her face, smearing it with blood. She looked up at me with such pain in her eyes. “How can I go on knowing I caused Bodie’s death. I should have listened to him. He’d be alive if I’d listened to him. I should never have challenged Jackson. I knew he would find a way to punish me.”
Mia started sobbing again, this time collapsing against me as her legs gave out. I picked her up, cradling her in my arms. CJ and Peter came over, wrapping their arms around both of us. Makala came over, carrying the babies with tears streaming down her cheeks. Charlie was trailing close behind. “Let’s get her to the house and get her cleaned up. The babies are hungry. I can’t help her with that.”
The crowd dispersed quietly. An Indian boy came over with others in tow. “I am Nashoba. We will take care of the bodies. We will bring Bodie to the clinic to prepare him for burial. We will see Bodaway is presentable for Miakoda by morning. We are sorry for the part we played in this tragedy. Miakoda made our lives better. This is poor repayment for all she has given us. I hope someday she can forgive us.”
Most of us were naked and bloody, so we followed Makala to Jackson's house to shower. No one spoke. I was hoping for some sage advice from my father at this point. He offered none. Donnie came up to Mia, who was cradled in my arms. “I’m sorry we couldn’t save your friend, Mia. It happened so fast. You’re not mad at me, are you?”
Mia looked at him. Laying a shaky hand against his cheek, she said, “I could never be mad at you, Donnie. You were very brave to even think of trying. I’ve missed you so much, little brother.”
Donnie grasped her hand and started to cry. “I missed you too, Mia. I took care of Cinnamon for you every day.”
“Thanks. Would you do me a favor?” Mia asked
“Anything,” Donnie answered.
“Would you help Makala with your niece and nephew while I take a shower?”
Donnie perked up, wiping at his tears. “Sure. Did you really name one of them after me?”
“I sure did.”
“I love you, Mia.”
“I love you too, Donnie. Thanks again for coming to my rescue.”
After that, Mia stayed more alert and a little less despondent. She let me take her in the shower and wash her up. Though she started crying again, she let me comfort her. By the time we got out, the babies were screaming. I led an exhausted Mia to the bedroom, getting her settled on the bed.
Makala brought the twins to her. When they were done feeding, they drifted off to sleep with full bellies. Mia was starting to doze off with them in her arms, so I set them in the baskets next to the b
ed.
When Mia rolled over, curling into a ball, I started to leave the room. Mia called out, “Do you even want me, us anymore?” I could hear the panic in her voice.
I went and sat on the edge of the bed. “Of course, I want you. You and our babies are my world.”
“Then don’t leave me. Promise you won’t ever leave me alone in the dark again. I’ve been so lost without you.” Mia sounded so desperate.
“I’ll never leave you, Mia.” I laid down behind her. Spooning her, I pulled her close to me. She snuggled in against me falling asleep.
Heartbreak
Dakota
When I woke up very early the next morning. It was still dark out, but Mia was gone. After a moment of panic, I was relieved to find the babies were sleeping soundly in their baskets. I knew she hadn’t gone far. I swallowed down my fear and went to look for her.
She was putting clothes in an old trunk. “What are you doing?” I asked.
“Packing. Most of the clothes Makala and I have been sharing were my mothers. I want to take them with me. I’ve already got all the babies things ready.”
Mia picked up a book clutching it to her as tears filled her eyes. “He’ll never get to go to this school now. Thanks to me, Bodie’s dreams went up in smoke. Before I came along he was going to get away from here for good. Bodie stayed here to save me, and I got him killed. He didn’t even know me. He should have left me to my fate.”
I crossed the room, hugging Mia to me as she cried again. “I’m sorry, Dakota. This is so unfair to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t imagine how it must feel to comfort me while I grieve for Bodie. It just hurts so bad. Bodie was innocent of all this. All he did was care for Makala and I. He just turned nineteen the day the twins were born. It feels like this pain inside of me will never stop.