chapter 30

A/N: Warning, this chapter has a rating of MATURE!


Chapter 30
Black Wolf reached between their bodies, fingers finding her sensitive spot in order to quickly bring her to her end. He could feel her legs lifting higher until they wrapped around his waist even as she keened her pleasure to the surrounding forest. A few more strokes of his fingers and she was coming apart beneath him.

As her walls gripped his throbbing hardness tighter, he grunted while he thrust harder into her welcoming depths. Just a few more stokes was all it took for him to release his seed into her body.

She held him tight even as he threw his head back, yelling out to the night. “Bellsssss!”

A few moments later, Bella was still leisurely moving her hips against his when he collapsed on top of her, finally feeling sated. He buried his face in her hair as she trailed her fingers up and down his back, soothing him. They remained that way until their hearts and breathing seemed a bit normal again.

Slowly, Black Wolf rolled to his side, taking her with him so that they faced each other still. He reached for a few of the furs to cover their rapidly cooling bodies with, even as he tugged her closer to him. He could hear her soft sighs of contentment as their hands continued to caress and soothe each others skin.

Smiling, he brushed his lips against her forehead, glad that Jasper had delivered his message to Bella after visiting with Alice. The thought of his conversation with Alice earlier that evening flitted through his mind too.

He was grateful that Alice seemed to be on his side as he whispered to his woman, “I love you, ko’nali.”

He could feel her smiling against his neck. “I love you too, Jake.”

As he lay on his back, she settled against him with her head on his shoulder. Neither of them said much as they simply basked in the joy of being together for the moment. Black Wolf knew he would need to let her go soon so that she could return to Jasper’s cabin before Emmett discovered that she was missing.

The thought of having to do that only made him tighten his hold on her as he closed his eyes against the pain. He hated that they had to keep meeting in secret that way. He wanted nothing more than to have her permanently at his side and in his home, but there was nothing either of them could do at the moment. Emmett was not going to let his sister marry a savage Indian no matter how much Bella begged him to.

Bella let out a sigh, alerting Black Wolf that she was probably thinking the same things that he was. Her words only confirmed that.

“Jake, I’ve tried talking to Emmett since the last time I saw you, but he still won’t listen to me.”

He hugged her as he whispered, “I know, Bells.”

She lifted her head to look into his eyes. “I’ve tried to be nice to him for the past few weeks, Jake. I talk to him about nothing, being polite and all, but when I try to bring up the subject of you and me, he won’t hear it. I just don’t know what else to do.”

Black Wolf cupped her cheek, letting his thumb trail over her lips. “We’ll just have to wait a little longer,ko’nali, when he comes to the village to get your sister and Mouse Daydreams, the council and I will talk to him again. I think this time, he’ll listen to what we have to say.”

She swallowed as she searched his eyes for reassurance. “You think so?”

He nodded as he smiled at her. “I know so. Trust me, Bells. I have a plan that I think will work this time.”

Her smile made his heart swell as she lay her head back on his chest and hugged him. “I trust you, Jake. I know we’ll be together soon.”

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Brown Skunk paced outside of the council building, waiting for her father to come out and tell her that she was finally going to get her greatest desire. She knew her father was disappointed that he had not been given a seat on the council. Instead, that seat had gone to the younger Mountain Lion Guides. While the council had explained their reasons why the young warrior had been chosen over Little Pelican, even she knew the man was a close friend of Black Wolf’s.

That alone was enough to tell her that Black Wolf had to have had some say on who the remaining council seat went to. Plus, now that Mountain Lion Guides was on the council, that was one more vote in Black Wolf’s favor. Brown Skunk sincerely hoped that the rest of the council could be persuaded by her father so that even with Mountain Lion Guides backing up Black Wolf, she would still get what she wanted.

A noise made her stop pacing long enough to look up at the entrance to the building in time to see her father come striding out. She hurried to his side with a hopeful look on her face only to see him frown up at her. He shook his head, letting her know the council had denied his request once again.

“But…why…”


“They said they need more time to think this through.” He muttered. “Seems they want to give those Danasga fugitives a chance to know the Chief, thinking maybe a hand-fasting with one of them might bridge a truce between that tribe and ours.”

She gaped at him. “What? Is that what they said, really? How can they turn us down, father? How can they not see that a union between your daughter and the Chief would produce strong bloodlines?”

He sighed as he came to a stop and looked at her. “I don’t think they really mean that. This seems like they are just waiting until the Chief is ready. They did not outright deny my request, which means they are still considering it.” He reached out to pat her arm, trying to placate her. “Don’t worry daughter, I believe they will soon come to see that my offer is the best course to take. They will make that decision soon, you’ll see.”

Without another word, he walked away from his pouting daughter.

Brown Skunk watched him go before she turned back towards the council building. So, they didn’t accept her father’s offer, but they didn’t refuse it either. There was still a chance that she would be hand-fasted to Black Wolf then. She tried not to get too excited as she made her way through the center of the village.

All she could do now was wait for Black Wolf to come out of the building before making her next move.

**********************************************

Black Wolf stiffened as he noticed Brown Skunk sashaying towards him. Great, he thought, just what I need to deal with after getting the council to delay accepting Little Pelican’s offer once again.

He kept on walking, keeping his gaze away from the annoying woman in the hopes that she would give up when she believed he hadn’t spotted her. His efforts were futile when she called out his name.

“Black Wolf! Oh Black Wolf, I have been looking all over for you!”

Black Wolf barely missed running into her as she planted herself directly in his path. Gritting his teeth, he tried to keep his voice polite.

“Hello Brown Skunk, what can I do for you?”

She gave him a demure smile as she moved closer to him. “Well, I just thought it would be nice if we could spend some time together. You know, it would benefit us to get to know each other better since the council is thinking of hand-fasting us to each other.”

Black Wolf resisted the urge to growl at her. “Brown Skunk, the council may not have told your father no, but I have no intention of tying myself to you. You know as well as I do that the council cannot make that decision for me. In the end, it is my choice and I have already chosen White Swan.”

Brown Skunk stepped back with a scowl on her face. “White Swan? Who is White Swan? How could you have chosen someone who does not exist?”


“You know who she is. She may not be here right now, but she will be back.”

Brown Skunk laughed in his face. “Do you really believe that? You know as well as I do that her brother will never let you have her! She is gone for good Black Wolf! You will never have her! You need to let go of your fascination with the pale-faced slave and set your sights on someone worthy of you. You are the chief of the tribe after all and we all know the tribe will not agree to letting you be with a lowly slave!”

He quirked his eyebrow at her. “That is true they may not like me being with a slave, but she is no longer a slave, is she? No one will mind if I take a free woman as mine.”

She gaped at him for a moment before hissing at him. “You don’t have a chance! Her brother would never allow it! He made sure of it!”

Black Wolf leaned in to glare at her. “With your help, of course.”

This time she had the grace to look sheepish. “Whatever do you mean?”

He looked around before he grabbed her arm, yanking her into the recess of a building, away from prying ears and eyes. Once he was sure they were alone, he leaned in again, this time not holding back his harsh growl.

“Get this straight, Brown Skunk! I will never take you as my woman! Do you hear me? I know what you did to help White Coyote take White Swan away! I know everything, you did! From the things you did with White Coyote to trying to get Badger Snaps to help you! Your treachery knows no bounds, but it will not help you trap me!


Mark my words, woman! I will get White Swan back! And I will get the council to refuse your father and allow me to hand-fast myself to White Swan! I am the chief of this tribe and I will get what I deserve! You cannot win with your conniving ways! Try anything and I will make sure the entire village knows what you did!


Now, go away and leave me alone! But remember, try anything and I will make sure you suffer for it!”

He let go of her before whirling around to stalk away from her as she stumbled back from his heated words. He left her leaning against the wall, stunned that he had even spoken to her that way. He knew, she realized. Somehow he knew everything she had done to try to get the slave out of the way so that she could be the one at his side.

Frowning, she looked around to make sure no one had witnessed their little interlude. Straightening her dress, she took a deep breath as she tried to figure out how it was that Black Wolf knew the truth of all she had done. She knew she had to find out the answers, then she had to figure out a way to fix it all so that there could still be a chance to be hand-fasted to him.

He may have told her outright that he didn’t want her, but she refused to take his threats to heart. One way or another, she would be his wife, no matter what it took, she would one day be hand-fasted to Black Wolf.

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It was nearly a week after Alice and Black Wolf talked then he had met later with Bella in the forest, that the unexpected finally happened. Emmett decided that he had earned enough to free his baby sister and Rosalie, so he told Jasper he was going to the Quedeyona village to do it. No amount of warnings from Jasper could keep him from going. Jasper kept telling him that he had heard Rosalie and Alice’s worth had gone up which meant Emmett still needed more bounty.

However, Emmett believed he would succeed in getting at least one of them out. Not even Bella’s declaration that she was going to the village with him and Jasper could keep Emmett away. He did try to force Bella to stay behind, but she turned out to be more stubborn than he was, eventually wearing him down.

So Jasper entered the village on horseback with a serious looking Emmett and Bella sharing a horse behind him. The three of them dismounted just inside the village where a couple of boys who recognized Weasel Tracks came to take their mounts from them. Jasper grinned at the boys as he gave them a bag of sweets as payment.

As the three of them walked through the village towards the council building, Jasper caught sight of Alice who was half hidden behind a house where she was motioning for him to join her.

He quickly turned to Emmett and Bella. “Ya two know how ta get ta the council right? I need ta make a couple o’ stops while I’m here.”

Emmett nodded. “I’ve got it.”

“Okay, I’ll meet ya later then,” replied Jasper as he watched the two of them walk off.

When he was certain they weren’t looking, he made his way over to the house Alice had ducked behind. As soon as he saw her, he gave her a puzzled look.

“Alice? What ya doin’ out an’ about?”

Alice waved her hand dismissively. “The scouts gave us word that the three of you were approaching, so I came hoping I could talk to you without anyone else knowing. Especially since Emmett is here!”

“Emmett?”

She nodded. “He’s what I want to talk to you about. Well, him and Black Wolf and Bella, among other things.”

She looked around to make sure no one else was nearby before going on.

“I talked to Black Wolf the night after you left and found out some things about Emmett that I don’t think Bella knows about. For instance, Mountain Lion Guides and Black Wolf are sure that Emmett was riding close by on the way to the Danasga raid when Black Wolf told his friends that he was gonna ask for Bella’s rights after they got back from the raid.

Mountain Lion Guides claims he also saw Emmett doing some things during that time that makes it seem like Emmett was planning on sabotaging Black Wolf’s plans. And if Emmett thinks about the Quedeyona the same way Rosalie does, then I know he’s trying to keep them apart!”

She continued to fill him in on the conversations she had with Rosalie ever since she had met her. Then she told Jasper that putting Rosalie’s conversations with the one Jasper had with her, then the one Black Wolf had with her that evening all added up in her mind.

Alice was convinced that Emmett had planned all along to take Bella away from Black Wolf the same way he planned on taking Rosalie and Alice. Only Bella didn’t want to go since she had found a home among the Quedeyona, but Emmett would not allow one of his sisters to become a savage if he could prevent that.

The more Alice told him, the more it made sense to Jasper. He knew Bella had some idea that Emmett had heard Black Wolf’s announcement to his friends, but he didn’t think she had come to the same conclusion as Alice had.

Not only that, but it seemed Alice had even heard how Brown Skunk had helped Emmett raise the bounty in order to free both him and his sister. “But Jasper, I don’t think she just helped my brother out. I think she tried to do something else.”

Jasper frowned. “What do ya mean?”

“Well, there have been a few times that the council has met where I’ve seen her waiting outside. I know her father was inside during the meetings. Something tells me that her father was trying to get the council to do something. I don’t know what that something is, but I think it has to do with Brown Skunk and Black Wolf.”

Jasper sighed. “Yep, sure sounds like it. Betcha it had somethin’ ta do wit a hand-fasting too!”

Alice gasped. “Are you saying they’re trying to convince the council to hand-fast Brown Skunk to Black Wolf?”

Jasper nodded. “That’s what I’m saying! I know that Brown Skunk an’ she ain’t a good one neither! Why she’s just as bad as her namesake!”

Alice frowned. “Oh boy, now I understand why Black Wolf has been so grouchy when he’s come from council meetings lately. Guess he doesn’t like that they want him to be with someone he’s not interested in.”

“Alice,” Jasper waited until she was looking at him. “I think we should tell Bella what we just talked ‘bout. In fact, I think we should tell her right now while Emmett is talkin’ ta the council, so he won’ interfere.”

Alice nodded. “Right. I just wanted to run it by you first. To make sure it was a good idea.”

“It’s a great idea,” replied Jasper with an encouraging smile. “Bella should know tha truth ‘bout Emmett, an’ I think it’s best that it come from ya since you’re their sister. O’ course, it also helps that ya have nothin’ ta gain by tellin’ her this. I think that’s why Black Wolf hasn’ told her anything ‘bout Emmett. He doesn’ want ta make her think he’s trying to pit her ‘gainst her own brother.”

Alice grinned at that before straightening up, then walked away from the house. Jasper followed her as they headed to the council building where they spotted Bella waiting in front with Black Wolf. For a moment, Alice wondered why Black Wolf was outside instead of with the rest of the council talking to Emmet until she really looked at them. Even from the distance, Alice could see their heads bowed toward each other as if they were having an intimate conversation that they didn’t want anyone else to hear.

It wasn’t until she was almost next to them that she could see that they were also holding hands which had been mostly hidden by their closeness plus the building behind them. She smiled at their need to be close to each other regardless of who came by, which only made her feel better about telling Bella how sneaky their brother and Brown Skunk were being, even though she regretted having to interrupt their moment.

As soon as the couple turned to look at her and Jasper, she began to tell Bella what she knew. “Bella, listen I think there’s something you should know about Emmett. After talking to Jasper and Black Wolf a couple of times, I know Emmett planned all along to keep you and Black Wolf apart.”

Bella nodded. “I know Alice. I realized that the day he freed me.”

“Yes, but did you know that he tried to kill Black Wolf during the Danasga raid after he overheard Black Wolf tell his friends that he was going to ask for your rights when he returned to the village?”

Bella’s eyes went wide as Black Wolf mumbled. “Not on purpose!”

When Bella looked at him Alice added, “Black Wolf told me Mountain Lion Guides kept Emmett from succeeding and Mountain Lion Guides was the one who told Black Wolf what Emmett had tried and all of his suspicions about what Emmett was up to.”

Bella narrowed her eyes at Black Wolf as he held up his hands in a placating gesture. “It’s only Mountain Lion Guides’ suspicions. That does not mean I believe anything. Maybe Emmett wasn’t really doing what Mountain Lion Guides thought.”

Bella still didn’t stop glaring at Black Wolf for a few moments. Then shaking her head she said, “Just tell me what Mountain Lion Guides told you word for word, Jake.”

Black Wolf grimaced. “Okay, but I’m only repeating…”

Bella stopped him from going on. “I know! You’re giving Emmett the benefit of the doubt, although I don’t know why! Just tell me.”

So Black Wolf told her exactly what Mountain Lion Guides had witnessed Emmett doing as well as what Mountain Lion Guides said he thought Emmett was up to during the raid. When Black Wolf was finished, Jasper spoke up to put in his two cents.

He told Bella what he’d told Alice. Emmett was probably trying to play the role their father once had as the protector of the family.

Then Alice also said that while Emmett may have been doing what Jasper thought, he was also trying to save Bella from becoming a savage the way he believed Leah was. Emmett thought that he had a chance to save Bella since she was the one closest to turning more than Rosalie or Alice.

Not only that, but both Alice and Jasper told Bella that they believed even Brown Skunk had a hand in helping Emmett collect the bounty he needed to free them. When Bella saw the grimace Black Wolf was wearing, she got him to tell her what he knew.

Finally Black Wolf told her what else Mountain Lion Guides had told him. Apparently Whale Sings had wanted to tell Bella that Brown Skunk had been behind helping Emmett free them, but Whale Sings had also heard Brown Skunk admit that she had even tried to recruit Badger Snaps to help out. Thankfully, whatever that was, Badger Snaps had refused to join in her scheming.

By the time Black Wolf, Alice and Jasper were done saying their parts, Bella was furious.

“I’m going to kill my brother!” she growled.

“He was only looking out for you, Bells.” said Black Wolf in a gentle tone.

She shook her head. “Oh no he wasn’t! This was all about him!”

At that moment, Emmett walked out of the council building wearing a scowl on his face.

“Can you believe they told me I don’t have enough money to buy the freedom of even one of them! How…”

Bella walked right up to him, slapping him so hard that the sound echoed around the area.

“How dare you think you could get away with what you did! You conniving snake!” She growled.

Emmett massaged his reddened face where her hand had made contact. “What did I do?”

“Don’t play innocent with me, you jerk! You knew Black Wolf and I wanted to get married! You knew I wanted to stay! But instead you did everything you could to take Black Wolf out of the picture and when that didn’t work, you brought my freedom with the help of that greedy, no good…skunk!”

“Bella…”

Her voice rising with every point she made, she continued on. “You bought my freedom even though you knew Alice would have been better off going with you! Even Rose was a better pick than me!”

“I was not going to leave you here to be brainwashed by these savages!” roared Emmett.

“The only savage here is you!” retorted Bella.

Both her and Emmett continued their heated argument with Black Wolf trying to keep Bella from advancing on Emmett while Alice bounced between them, trying to keep her siblings apart. All of them were too involved to notice that Jasper had ducked into the council building sometime during the argument.

“I promised our parents that I would look after both of you!” Emmett shouted.

“I don’t need looking after Emmett!” snapped Bella. “I’m old enough to make my own decisions and I choose to marry Black Wolf! You can’t stop me! Not by buying my freedom and certainly not by attempting to harm Black Wolf! You can’t keep us apart like that! You wasted your money on me for nothing!”

“Well it doesn’t matter anymore since I still can’t afford to get Alice or Rosalie free!” Emmett hissed between gritted teeth.

Black Wolf pulled Bella to his side before stepping up to face Emmett. “Actually, you might still be able to free them.”

Both Emmett and Bella gave him incredulous stares, but for completely different reasons.

“What?” they both uttered.

Black Wolf glanced at Bella for a moment before he looked back at Emmett. “What the council hasn’t told you is that I am now the owner of both Alice and Rosalie.”

As Emmett gaped and Alice grinned, Bella snickered. The sister’s reactions spurred Black Wolf on.

“I would be willing to trade them both to you in exchange for Bella’s hand plus the bounty you were going to buy them with.”

As Emmett sputtered with indignation, Jasper walked back out of the council building and pulled Bella aside.

“I just spoke ta Mountain Lion Guides an’ he confirmed my suspicions. All ya have ta do is tell tha council that not only did Black Wolf an’ ya arrange ta ask for a hand-fasting when he got back from tha raid, but the two o’ ya been intimate. That right there is Black Wolf’s claim to ya, if ya be consenting.”

“Oh really?” Bella replied, sounding smug.

Jasper nodded. “Especially since ya been intimate afore Black Wolf left to tha raid. The council don’t wanna take no chance that a ‘lil chief be running ‘round without them knowing, if ya get my drift.”

Emmett could do nothing but gape at Bella in stunned silence, giving her the opportunity to grab Black Wolf’s hand as she marched into the council building to do just what Jasper suggested.

Alice shared a grin with Jasper as he winked at her conspiratorially. Things were getting much more interesting now.

A/N: Stay tuned for the climatic battle! LOL, okay so it's not a battle per se, but yes, this fight between Emmett/Brown Skunk and White Swan/Black Wolf is coming to an end. There are now just two more chapters and an epilogue left.....