White Wind Read Online Free Page A

would bear him many strong sons and daughters. She was well mannered and intelligent
    Yes, she would be good for his son’s tipi and tribe. Love would come as it had to him and Seeing Eyes. Golden Eagle should be proud to mate with her, he finally decided. All would work out. It had to. To back out now would most certainly mean war again.
    “It will be so,” he insisted with depth and authority.
    Looking into the glowing amber eyes that gave her husband his well-known name, taking in the fiercely proud angle of his head and stern lips, Seeing Eyes closed her eyes, as though to hide her thoughts.
    Hawk Eyes embraced his wife, his arms slipping around her plump middle. Fingering long braids that still held the color of night, Hawk Eyes leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Perhaps my wife would care for a walk along the river tonight?” He planted a gentle kiss on the side of her neck and moved his hips against her in a manner that left no doubt as to his needs.
    Seeing Eyes turned in Hawk Eyes’s embrace, looped her arms around his neck and looked over her shoulder at her son one last time before turning to her husband’s gaze.
    Her eyes darkened with desire as she looked into smoldering hooded eyes. She cupped her husband’s strong chin in her small work-roughened hands, and her fingers gently traced his firm lips as she replied slyly, “Must one wait for a walk after dark, my most desirable husband?”
    Hawk Eyes groaned as the tip of her small pink tongue flicked out to moisten her full lower lip. Mesmerized, he bent down to catch it between his teeth, and felt her move into the welcoming cradle of his hips. “Ah, how I love you, my most desirable wife. I think I cannot wait a moment longer.”
     
    Golden Eagle shook his head, his lips twitching with amused tolerance as he watched his parents disappear into their tipi, the flap lowering behind them.
    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small figure running toward the tipi, long braids flying behind. Turning, he ran to intercept his young sister. The evening meal would once again be late.
    The sky had darkened and stars glittered overhead by the time Golden Eagle sat in his parents’ tipi eating a meal of hot rabbit stew and dried berry bread. He found his mind wandering as his father talked of the events of the day and the council’s decision to begin preparations for the move to the protective and cool hills.
    Once again he was assailed by a growing restlessness from within. Something was missing from his life and, try as he might to ignore it, it wouldn’t go away. He found himself wandering farther and farther from the camp in search of answers that eluded him.
    Alert to the sudden silence, he froze, his hand midway to his mouth. He glanced up to find his father frowning.
    Hawk Eyes chose to ignore his son’s rude behavior and delivered his last piece of news.
    “We’ve had word from the village of Chief White Cloud. They have left their winter camp. Wild-Flower is fourteen winters and is now ready for marriage. The ceremony will take place after the Ca pa-sapa-wi, the-moon-when-cherries-are-ripe.”
    Golden Eagle forced the food in his mouth down his constricted throat. His lungs contracted painfully as he tried to breathe. He was cornered. Trapped. Time had run out. There was no place to run or hide. Duty to his people weighed heavily on his shoulders as he rose to his feet to give his father the expected reply.
    “As my father and chief wishes. Golden Eagle will fulfill the agreement of Chief Hawk Eyes and Chief White Cloud. Golden Eagle will bring honor to the tribe of Hawk Eyes and take Wild-Flower to his tipi and bring peace to the tribes,” he announced before fleeing into the night.
    The moon had risen high into the star-studded sky as Golden Eagle silently entered the tipi that was a gift from his mother. He’d known this day was coming. He’d just wished it hadn’t been so soon.
    He lay down, hands beneath his head, eyes staring at the