Sweet Savage Heart Read Online Free

become a good Oglala wife, I will accept your choice of either warrior. I do not wish to hurt you, my sister. Do not make it so.”
    Unaccustomed tears glimmered in her eyes, for she could not alter or resist the Indian ways. She had lived with the Oglala Sioux long enough to know she must obey Lone Wolf’s words or be banned from her tribe. Where could she go? How would she survive? Did she want freedom that badly? Even if Rides-Like-Thunder was the best choice for a mate from any tribe, she did not love him or want to marry him. She wanted happiness and freedom; she wanted to comprehend this fierce and intangible hunger that chewed at her mind and body. She wanted and needed… what the Great Spirit had not yet revealed.
    How could she yield to defeat when such a powerful urge to seek her real destiny pulled at her? As surely as the sun rose, it was wrong to marry Rides-Like-Thunder, or any man, just now. But how could she prevent it until she understood who and what she was? Why must she sacrifice her joy, her freedom, and her body to anotherperson? What about her desires and her honor? Was she of such little importance?
    “Niksapa hantans ecanu kte,” Lone Wolf encouraged her tenderly.
    Wild Wind bravely fused her blue gaze to Lone Wolf’s ebony one and mentally questioned his last words: “If you are wise, you will do it.” Suddenly she lost the will to resist him. This battle between them was too vicious and demanding and destructive. If the Great Spirit had other plans for her, He would see them exposed and fulfilled before it was too late. For now, peace with her brother and people was the important thing. She replied, “As you command, I will choose a mate by the Sun Dance, or I will leave our camp forever. If you open your senses to the words and desires of the Great Spirit, you will know your order is wrong. I beg you, Lone Wolf, seek His will for our lives before you stubbornly go against it. Your words and anger have pierced my heart as fiery arrows. I was a child when I came to the tepee of Soaring Hawk and Lone Wolf; you have made me as I am. Now you punish me for the skills I have learned and the hungers I feel. I know I am a female, for I experience the sting of that sex each day. Why must being a woman destroy my chances for happiness? A captive could perform the same duties you ask of me. Why can there not be more to my life, Lone Wolf? Why is it wrong to ride with the sun and wind? Why is it wrong to learn and practice warrior skills? Is it not best for a woman to be able to protect her tepee and family when her warrior is gone? Have you forgotten how many camps have been raided and destroyed while warriors were hunting or fighting?”
    Her voice became strained with heavy emotion as she continued, “Why are women not taught to defend their camps and lives? Why must they flee into the forests or be abused by their captors? Without homes and families, the warriors will have nothing and will cease to exist, asthe white man cunningly plans. You know their clever strategy: leave nothing and no one behind and the Dakota Nation will perish. Why is it wrong to know how to track and hunt when the warriors are away and food is needed? Must women, old ones, and children suffer and die because of male pride? Why can we not listen to the words of the council, which also affect our lives? Did not Grandfather also create females? Did He not also give us cunning and courage? Why must we hide these traits? Women have feelings and wishes; why can we not speak them? We are allowed to do no more for our families and people than animals do for their own kind or slaves are commanded to do for their owners; yet we are above animals and slaves in all ways. Women are Oglalas too, Lone Wolf, the children of the Great Spirit. Where and when has Grandfather said we are beneath males? The taste of cowardice is bitter, my brother. Explain these things that trouble me, and I will obey all orders,” she vowed.
    Lone Wolf