chapter 18

White Swan grinned as she approached Black Wolf’s new home in time to see Black Wolf and Fighting Dog arguing about something just outside of the door. Something told her that Fighting Dog was once again trying to tell Black Wolf how to set up his house since he considered himself an expert after living on his own for a couple of winters.

Black Wolf had managed to find a house to move into just in time for the winter. It was the beginning of The Moon of the Long Night, which meant shorter days, cold air and snow flurries. Granted, Black Wolf’s home needed some work, but it was ideal for what he had in mind. So once he had purchased it, he and White Coyote had begun to fix it up with Fighting Dog’s help. Now his family was helping him move the last of his belongings into his new home because Black Wolf expected to finally be able to sleep there for the first time that night.

White Swan had managed to stop by each day to see Black Wolf. However, she was usually too busy for anything more than a quick hello since Crow Flies and his family were in need of help preparing for the upcoming winter months. Still, today they had given her a respite since they knew Black Wolf was moving into his new home now and White Swan wanted to be there to celebrate with him.

As she approached the two men, Black Wolf glanced in her direction with a relieved grin. “Ah, there you are! Finally someone who may be able to reason with my stubborn little brother.”

White Swan raised her eyebrows in question before looking at Fighting Dog. Black Wolf folded his arms over his chest as he gave her a clue about what they had been arguing about.

“Tell my brother that it is not wise to wait until the last moment to prepare for winter and also that he shouldn’t just gather all of it into one huge pile and leave it there for the rest of the season.”

White Swan nodded her agreement as she began to explain in Quedeyona about the disadvantages of the way Fighting Dog seemed to prepare for the winter months.

“You cannot wait until the last moment, Fighting Dog, because once you’ve started gathering and storing, you may realize you haven’t gathered enough. Of course by that time it may be too late to get anything else if the winter is too harsh to go out in again. Plus everything will probably be scarce by then because others who forage may have taken it or the winter itself may have destroyed it.


And you shouldn’t just gather everything you get into one big pile either. You’ve got to prepare everything accordingly. Dry your meats, preserve your fruits and do all the other things you need to do to make your food last longer throughout the winter.”

Black Wolf grinned at Fighting Dog as he slid an arm around White Swan’s waist. “See Fighting Dog?”

Fighting Dog shrugged. “Yes, well my way has not failed me yet.”

White Swan leaned closer to Black Wolf as she spoke to Fighting Dog. “Guess that means you don’t eat much during the winter. Then again, I do recall that you visited your parents often this past winter.”

Fighting Dog cast a sheepish look to the ground as Black Wolf let out a whoop of victory before he pulled White Swan closer to his side. “She’s got you there little brother!”

He turned to wink at White Swan. “Thank you, love.”

White Swan coyly batted her eyelashes at Black Wolf as she switched to English. “Hm, think you can give me a better thanks that that?”

Black Wolf grinned as he leaned over to nuzzle her temple, but when she began to pout he chuckled and turned her face towards his with a gentle hand. The moment he took her lips in for a kiss, Fighting Dog rolled his eyes even though he wore a grin.

“Okay, I know when I am in the way. I will be inside when you are ready to finish moving.”

Black Wolf waved him inside, but didn’t stop kissing White Swan who had curled her fingers into the sides of his jerkin.

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Emmett felt the breath knocked out of him the moment the front of Black Wolf’s new home came into view. Right there, in plain sight of anyone in the area, was his sister and his owner!

And they were kissing!

Bella was kissing a savage! What was she thinking? Emmett had no idea, nor had he ever imagined that he’d ever see his younger sister cozying up to one of those heathens! In fact, he never thought she would have ever wanted to do something as repulsive as that.

Then again, maybe she’d been coerced or forced into it. Yeah, that had to be it! Despite the fact that she didn’t seem to be struggling to get away from the savage, she must have been forced to it. Even though deep down inside Emmett knew Bella was too strong of a person to let someone force her into doing anything she didn’t want to do, he still tried to convinced himself that Bella was doing it against her will.

He held that belief close to him as he made himself walk the rest of the distance towards the house and the couple standing in front of it.

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When Black Wolf had no choice but to come up for air, he was met with a grinning White Swan. Despite the fact that she was out of breath too, she still managed to speak.

“Now that’s a thank you.”

Black Wolf chuckled as he cupped her cheek. “You are very welcome.”

Noticing movement behind White Swan, Black Wolf looked up to see White Coyote walking in their direction with a basket of more of Black Wolf’s moving things. “Ah, here comes more of my belongings! Just when I thought all of it was already here.”

White Swan turned to see White Coyote approaching. She flashed him a grin. “Hi Emmett! You must be happy to be moving in here tonight since you’ll now have much more room than before.”

White Coyote shrugged indifferently. “It’s okay.”

He barely looked at Black Wolf as he mumbled, “Where do you want this?”

Black Wolf nodded towards the door with his head. “Fighting Dog is inside. He will tell you where to put it.”

White Coyote disappeared inside without another word, prompting Black Wolf and White Swan to exchange puzzled looks with each other.

Black Wolf shrugged. “He must be tired. We have been working since just after the sun rise.”

“Black Wolf! How is the moving?” came Mountain Lion Guides’ voice.

Black Wolf raised a surprised eyebrow in Mountain Lion Guides’ direction as he answered. “It is going well.”

The couple watched as Mountain Lion Guides, Owl Sees Truth, Hawk Soars and Laughing Antelope approached them.

Black Wolf glanced at Owl Sees Truth whom Mountain Lion Guides was slightly leaning against, clearly still suffering a bit of pain from the looks of him. “Should he be up?”

Owl Sees Truth rolled her eyes. “We all tried talking to him, but you know how stubborn he is.”

“Yeah,” added Hawk Soars, “Not even his father could convince him to stay home and rest in his furs. And we all know how strict Screaming Cougar can be!”

Laughing Antelope shuddered. “Strict? Try intimidating! I know I’m not the only one who is glad he was not one of the teachers back at our school!”

Hawk Soars shoved his friend. “Oh please! As if some of those teachers weren’t scary enough to you, you coward!”

Laughing Antelope tried to grab Hawk Soars in a headlock, but he was too fast for him. Still, the two of them threw playful punches at each other as the rest of the group looked on in amusement.

Black Wolf chuckled as he nodded to Mouse Daydreams who stood behind Owl Sees Truth. “Hello, Mouse Daydreams.”

She gave him a genuine smile. “Hi Black Wolf.”

“So Bella, where’s this older brother of yours we’ve been hearing so much about?” asked Owl Sees Truth as she looked around the area, prompting the rest of the group to settle down enough to hear the answer.

White Swan grinned. “Inside putting some things away. Hold on, I’ll get him.”

She disappeared for a few moments allowing Black Wolf to chat with his friends, but before he could also ask Mountain Lion Guides how he was healing, White Swan returned with White Coyote.

He had walked out from the house with a slight frown on his face until he noticed the woman standing slightly behind the taller one. As he stared in slight awe of her, White Swan began the introductions.

“Emmett, I’m sure you remember Mountain Lion Guides and these are his friends, Hawk Soars and Laughing Antelope. I’d also like you to meet my friends, Leah and Rosalie Hale. Here they are known as Owl Sees Truth and Mouse Daydreams, respectively.”

With each introduction, White Coyote had shaken their hands, but lingered a bit longer with Mouse Daydreams’ hand than was the custom. Still, she said nothing nor tried to remove her hand from his.

Instead, she stared into his blue gaze just as intently as he stared into hers. When she realized just how intense he was being, she began to blush.

Then before anyone could really take notice of their behavior, White Coyote let go of her hand, smiling at the two women. “So you two are siblings like Bella and I?”

Owl Sees Truth nodded. “Rose is my younger sister and we were fortunate enough to have been reunited again not too long ago.”

“Ah, you were separated when you were first captured then.”

White Swan answered for them. “Rose was brought here about a year after I was, we became close then. We always talked about our siblings, so when Leah was brought here, it felt like I’d known her forever.”

“I see, well it must be nice to be reunited again. Thanks to Mountain Lion Guides you two can be together, huh?”

Owl Sees Truth grinned as she took Mountain Lion Guides’ hand in hers. “Actually, Rose was the slave to another family here and I’m currently a slave to a different family. However, when things went bad with Rose’s original family, Mountain Lion Guides was kind enough to take my little sister in since he is courting me.”

White Coyote’s smile faded slightly. “Courting? Like the courting our people back East do it?”

It was Black Wolf who answered. “Not quite. The whites would court with the intention of it leading directly to marriage. Our people court first and if the couple finds themselves compatible, the male then decides if he wants to ask the woman to be hand-fasted to him, that’s our version of marriage. Of course, once he asks the woman, it is up to her to say yes or no.”

White Swan picked it up from there. “I’ve been told that courting here is not as final as engagements tend to be among the whites.”

Owl Sees Truth agreed. “That’s true, but there are still other rules of intimacy that are similar between the two races. Just because a couple is courting does not mean they have ruined each other for anyone else. That is just in case it doesn’t work out between the two, then they will still be valued by anyone new who comes along.”

“Then any other man can ask to court you at the same time?” asked White Coyote.

Owl Sees Truth shook her head. “When a woman agrees to be courted, everyone will know she’s being courted.” She gestured to the feather in her hair before sliding her fingers over one of the feathers on Mountain Lion Guides’ jerkin.

It wasn’t hard for White Coyote to notice that the feather she wore was identical to those that Mountain Lion Guides had in his clothing. In fact, White Coyote was certain all of the clothing Mountain Lion Guides owned had the same kind of feathers somewhere on them. The feathers were obviously a form of identification of ownership among the Quedeyona. It was probably true among many of the other tribes too. Before White Coyote had the chance to say anything else, Black Wolf’s parents and Porcupine Smiles walked up with the last of Black Wolf’s belongings.

“This is the last of it,” announced Bright Wolf as he followed Porcupine Smiles into the house.

“Thank you father,” replied Black Wolf.

Gentle Otter stopped to make a suggestion. “Listen, since the sun is high in the sky, we should take a break to eat our mid-day meal. Then we can finish getting you settled.”

Black Wolf smiled. “Sounds good.”


“Porcupine Smiles and I will go prepare the meal then we will send for all of you when it is done.”


“My thanks Gentle Otter,” answered Mountain Lion Guides, “but I was only allowed to come for a brief hello with Black Wolf. Now I must return home to rest.”

Owl Sees Truth nodded. “I’m under strict instructions to return him to his home as soon as possible.”

Laughing Antelope laughed. “And Hawk Soars and I were asked to make sure he didn’t give Owl Sees Truth any trouble. If he does, we’re to tie him up and carry him back to his home.”


“But you can come back to eat with us, yes?” asked Gentle Otter.

Hawk Soars shook his head. “I was helping my father out when Screaming Cougar asked me to do this favor for him. I need to get back to helping my father out.”


“Yes, my spear is needed at the shore too. I had been on my way to help gather fish and seal when Screaming Cougar asked for the favor.”


“Oh, well some other time then,” replied Gentle Otter.

They all nodded as they began to say their goodbyes.

White Swan moved closer to Gentle Otter and volunteered, “I can help with the meal.”

“That would be wonderful,” replied Gentle Otter, as Porcupine Smiles, Bright Wolf and Fighting Dog walked out of the house.

“Black Wolf, could you and Fighting Dog accompany me to the council building for some business I need to take care of? It should not take long, so we will be back in time for the meal.”

Black Wolf nodded before turning to White Coyote. “While we are gone, you can continue putting your own belongings away. When I return we will move the rest of my things after our meal.”

“I could stay and help if you need me to,” replied Mouse Daydreams as she gave White Coyote a hopeful look.

Black Wolf chuckled. “I do not mind if White Coyote does not.”

White Coyote nodded his agreement before motioning for Mouse Daydreams to follow him into the house. As soon as they disappeared, Black Wolf gave White Swan a kiss on the cheek then set off after his father and brother.

Mountain Lion Guides and Owl Sees Truth walked along with Black Wolf and the others until they reached the path that would take the couple to Mountain Lion Guides’ home. The short walk allowed Mountain Lion Guides and his friends to have a little more time to chat with each other. Once Mountain Lion Guides and Owl Sees Truth said goodbye to the others, he and Owl Sees Truth took the side path while Black Wolf and the others continued on towards the council building.

Just before they reached the council building, Laughing Antelope and Hawk Soars finally took their leave, waving goodbye to Black Wolf and his family. Black Wolf and Fighting Dog allowed their father, Bright Wolf to enter the building first, as was the custom among the tribe.

For their part, Porcupine Smiles, White Swan and Gentle Otter had set off in the opposite direction than the larger group had gone in. As they walked towards Gentle Otter’s home, the three of them discussed what they could make for a meal. It had to be something large enough to feed at least eight people, yet light enough that it wouldn’t interfere with the rest of the moving they still had to do.

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Emmett glanced out of the door to make sure no one was around before going to stand near Rosalie. She was currently arranging several cooking utensils in the space Emmett had indicated when they’d first walked in while Emmett got to folding blankets in the corner.

When the two of them had first entered the house, they had tried to chat to dispel the awkwardness that seemed to exist between the two of them. It had been clear that they were attracted to each other even though they were both hesitant to move close to each other.

Emmett had decided to try to find out as much as he could about Rosalie, so he’d asked her questions about her childhood and her life there with the Quedeyona. It hadn’t taken long for the awkwardness to disappear as they talked about their lives.

After a while, he decided to make sure they had some privacy before they continued talking, which was why he’d gone to glance out of the door. Now that he knew they were definitely alone, Emmett hoped it would stay that way for a while.

Waiting until she looked up at him, he changed the course of the conversation. “So, your sister is being courted by a savage, huh?”

A slight frown appeared on Rosalie’s face, clearly telling Emmett that she didn’t really like the idea. “Yeah, almost since she arrived here.”

Emmett shook his head. “Gee, they don’t waste time, do they?”

Rosalie shrugged. “She’s my older sister, but she’s always been headstrong and independent.”

“Right, but I can’t imagine wanting to get involved with someone from the same race that keeps you as a slave.”

Rosalie put down the utensils she had in her hand and turned to face Emmett, wringing her hands nervously. “Me either, but it seems I’m the only one who feels that way.”

“Why do you say that?” Emmett asked, thoroughly curious.

“Well, Leah is with Mountain Lion Guides, Angela is with Fighting Dog and….”

At her sudden hesitation, Emmett prompted her. “And?”

“And Bella is with Black Wolf,” she finished softly.

Emmett scowled towards the door. “I figured it was something like that. Especially after Leah pointed out the feather thing. It was then I realized Bella has a feather in her hair that matches the ones in Black Wolf’s clothing.”

Rosalie nodded. “He gave her the feather the day before he left for the war.”

Emmett glanced up at Rosalie. “Really?”

She nodded once more.

“Hmm, then they really haven’t been together long, have they?”

Rosalie saw the thoughtful look on his face as he said that. She knew he was up to something. “What are you thinking, Emmett?”

A ghost of a smile played on his lips. “There might still be time to convince Bella that these savages aren’t real people. I might be able to convince her that we shouldn’t get involved with any of them.”

“Good luck with that,” scoffed Rosalie, “Bella is close to many of the savages in the village, not just Black Wolf.”

Emmett frowned at that. “Well, I’ll just have to talk some sense into her.” He turned to look at Rosalie. “You should do the same with your sister.”

She gaped. “But she’s been seeing Mountain Lion Guides for a lot longer than…”

“It doesn’t matter Rosalie! Don’t you think it’s wrong for your sister to be with a savage like that?”

“Well…”

“Think about it, Rose! It’s bad enough that we have to be their slaves! Why would anyone want to be a slave to a savage then turn around and become hand-fasted to one? It’s as if they want to be a slave their entire life!”

Rosalie scowled. “Well it certainly makes sense when you put it like that! I would never want to be a slave to a savage for the rest of my life!”

“Exactly! That’s why we have to convince our sisters that what they are doing is wrong! We have to make them see how bad it really is!”

“How are we going to do that?” Rosalie asked.

“Just talk to them. Maybe we’ll be able to see why they got involved with the savages in the first place, then use that to come up with something to talk them out of it.”

Rosalie watched as Emmett walked away, clearly lost in his thoughts for the moment. With a sigh, she stared at his back knowing it was going to be hard for her to convince Leah of anything. Her older sister was much too headstrong for Rosalie to do that. Rosalie knew she was nowhere near as outspoken and quick on her feet like Leah was.

Even Emmett seemed too strong for Rosalie, but she thought Emmett would be able to talk to Bella. While Bella was headstrong in her own right, Rosalie believed Emmett was much stronger than his little sister. In fact, he seemed strong enough to talk both Bella and Leah into seeing their mistakes.

At least that’s what she really hoped because she didn’t like the idea of Leah being with Mountain Lion Guides anymore than Emmett liked seeing Bella with Black Wolf. None of them belonged with the savages.

None of them.