The Vow (Black Arrowhead #1) - Dannika Dark Page 0,58
him looking out for me warmed my heart and made me curious about the man Lakota had become.
Yet the stronger my feelings for him grew, the more I wanted to distance myself. A relationship with my best friend’s brother? Hope wouldn’t like it, and neither would his family, especially his Shifter stepfather, who was all about heritage and passing along traditions.
Am I really sitting here contemplating a relationship? Perhaps it was more like finding reasons not to be in a relationship. Lakota was a bounty hunter and traveled a lot. Strike one. I had a business to run and no time for dealing with a mate who might be threatened by my ambition. Strike two. What if he never found a spot as a second-in-command and I was the one bringing home the bacon? Other men might give him a hard time about who wore the pants in the family. Would he eventually want me to stay home and make babies?
Am I really sitting here contemplating babies with Lakota?
The man had never had sex before, and he sure as heck wasn’t going to mate the first woman he bedded. Life didn’t work that way.
“You’ve been quiet the past mile,” Tak said. “Something on your mind?”
Sex with Lakota? I wiped my forehead. “No. Just enjoying the scenery.”
When Tak clucked his tongue, his horse trotted up beside mine, matching its pace. “You know, it’s none of my business, but you two seem very comfortable with each other.” He straightened his back and looked skyward. “Sometimes a man is more afraid to make the first move when it’s a woman he admires. She intimidates him. He’s afraid she’ll reject him, so it’s better if he rejects her first.”
“Sometimes the guy just doesn’t like the girl.”
He chuckled softly. “I know the look a man carries when his wolf has found a mate.”
I snorted. “That’s jumping the gun a little. We just met.”
Tak shrugged. “It hardly matters if you’ve known someone a lifetime or a minute. Our wolves always know who they belong to.” He leaned forward and petted his horse’s neck. “So, little wildflower, does your wolf sing for Sky Hunter?”
I pressed my heels to get my horse to trot ahead of him. Tak came across as the tough guy who liked to get under people’s skin for a laugh, and some of those jokes were hitting a nerve.
When we reached the house, only the women were outside.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
Tak slowed his horse. “The men are preparing for the ceremony. In our tribe, when a man dies, the men paint their faces black so the spirit won’t see them and hold on to this world. We hang out inside until dark and drink. The women stay with the body, sing to him, and prepare his soul to leave.”
“And when a woman dies?”
He whispered something in his language and glared. “Don’t say such things.”
We reached the clearing at the far end of the backyard and dismounted.
Tak gathered the reins of both horses. “You’ll stay in there,” he said, pointing at the small cabin.
“And you?”
“We journey to the burial ground and stay overnight, singing prayers and sending our brother to his next journey. A stranger would confuse him. All of us go, even the little ones, so you’ll be by yourself.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
He cocked his head to the side, looking at me with surprise. “You’re a compassionate wolf, but this is family. Stay inside the cabin tonight. His spirit will come back to remember his home and land before moving on, and it would be a bad omen if he saw you.”
“Is it okay if I get my purse out of the kitchen?”
He nodded and led the horses away.
Keeping my eyes respectfully low, I passed by the women. Some were sitting around the fire, and others were busy making beaded necklaces. A white blanket covered the wolf’s body, tucked around the edges to protect it. When I entered the house, it was eerily quiet. I hustled to the kitchen to retrieve my purse and spotted a bowl of fruit on the counter, which made my stomach growl. Lakota had given me a stern warning about taking food that wasn’t offered, though he could have spared me the lecture since I wasn’t brought up by jackals.
I dug around in my purse for my phone, but the battery had died. My phone charger was still in the Jeep, and I had a feeling that the small cabin out back wouldn’t have any outlets.