by Alisha Paige
A sexy grin crossed Sean’s face as her silk nightie lay on his hard chest. He pulled her to him, letting her soft hair flow softly between his fingers as he breathed her in and kissed her tear stained cheeks.
“I’ve got a better idea, gorgeous.”
In one fluid movement, he had her beneath him, as she giggled softly and kissed him back. How could this man scare her half to death and then two minutes later make her feel like a beautiful princess with her handsome prince?
“What do you have in mind, Prince Sean?”
“Prince Sean?” he asked with a puzzled look on his hard features.
“Remember that stupid joke you told about the turtle at the falls the other day? How he wished he were a frog, so I could kiss him and turn him into a prince?”
“Yeah, what’s that got to do with me?”
“Two minutes ago you were flopping around and croaking like a frog. After I kissed you, I got my prince,” she replied laughing beneath him.
Sean laughed out loud at the silliness of it. “You’re going to pay for calling me a frog,” he said as he tickled her and kissed her while she writhed helplessly on the sheets.
“Please, Sean, don’t. I can’t take it,” she squealed.
“Can you take this?” he replied as he easily slid her panties off her and slipped inside of her, leaving her breathless and begging for something else.
****
The sun had just peeked over the horizon when Coming Wind rapped softly on White Feather’s door. It was a tiny, one room adobe hut, with one bed, a loveseat draped with various animal hides and a fireplace to cook over.
White Feather was the eldest and most respected of the Havasupai. He was the shaman of the tribe and had seen more trials and tribulations of his people than anyone could count. He had been up for several hours, awaiting Coming Wind. He knew he would come and he knew what he would inquire about. White Feather had already seen Sean and the wolf in his dreams and knew what his presence foretold.
For two hours he knelt by his fire and prayed to the gods, thanking them for sending Sean. Coming Wind suspected that White Feather would already know and be expecting him. His fist was in mid-air, ready to rap a third time when the door flew open, revealing the short, white haired man with large black almond eyes.
“Come in, come in,” White Feather said, waving him in quickly and shutting the door behind him. “I knew you were coming.”
“I guess you know about Sean, too? The man who accompanied Ms. Wellington to the canyon?” Coming Wind explained.
White Feather waved his hand at him in disgust.
“Please, no introduction is necessary. You know nothing gets by me in the village. I knew he was coming before you invited the woman.”
Coming Wind nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. He always felt like a young brave around White Feather. Though Coming Wind was revered as one of the great leaders of his tribe, White Feather’s age and wisdom eclipsed his own, quickly putting him in his place.
“He carries the gene,” White Feather said, wide-eyed, crossing the tiny hut and retrieving a scrapbook.
“I thought we were the only ones left,” Coming Wind replied.
“We are. Look at this,” White Feather said opening a tattered scrapbook and pulling out a yellowed article.
Coming Wind studied the piece of paper. It was a newspaper article showing a mangled car crash, listing the dead. He scanned the words quickly before stopping on two names. Yes, now he remembered. Amanda and John Wilson were killed instantly in a head on collision. Their only survivor was their son, Sean Wilson, 12-years-old.
John was known as Running Wolf by his tribal name. He changed it after marrying a white woman named Amanda. Running Wolf had tried to stay in Havasu Canyon, but Coming Wind remembered how much Amanda hated it. She moaned about how hot it got and how the temperatures would plummet at night. She hated the lizards and scorpions and longed for a real garden with roses and not just cacti. She was miserable and never seemed to fit in with the other tribal women. Many of them gave up trying to teach her various crafts when she made fun of them and even once called their jewelry, trash.
Running Wolf was crazy about her and broke his family’s heart when he left the tribe for Colorado. The first few years, he wrote every couple of months, then some of the tribe would receive a card at Christmas time, but he eventually vanished. He returned his parents’ mail unopened and sent a birthday gift back from his sister.
His family was distraught at his lack of communication but assumed he was happy and it was his life. He wasn’t the first one to defect from the tribe and live a more modern life. A year had passed before his parents had found out about his and his wife’s death when his father tried in vain to contact him about his ailing grandfather. They were devastated and went into a long period of mourning to make up for the entire year they did not mourn his death.
According to Running Wolf’s father, Amanda never knew about the wolf gene. He was able to conceal it from her and was even able to hide Sean’s true identity. The tribe had tried to find Sean and make contact but were unsuccessful.
They even tried contacting his great aunt and uncle who they knew lived in Colorado. His uncle Charles had nearly killed one of the important elders during a hunt one cold, long winter when food was scarce. Everyone was starving for fresh red meat and the entire situation had gotten out of control. He was forced to defect from the tribe, leaving as a young man. It had been twenty moons since White Feather had seen Charles and was deeply saddened to hear of his death. He often thought that Running Wolf may have moved to the Rockies to be close to his uncle.
Coming Wind shook his head as he read the article and then thought of how he had watched Sean win the gold in the Winter Olympic Games and how happy he had seemed. Sean had reminded Coming Wind of a proud warrior and even looked a bit like an Indian. He remembered wondering if he had some Indian blood in his veins.
“We need to speak with him,” White Feather said, crossing the room and retrieving his pipe from a nearby table. He began loading it with tobacco and packing it in firmly before lighting it.
“I saw him last night. He was the wolf that saved Red Hawk and Quick Feet.”
White Feather puffed on his pipe before passing it to Coming Wind.
“Yes, I know. I’m sure his white lady friend knows nothing of the gene, so we will have to speak to him alone.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“But tonight is the full moon. We must hunt.”
“Yes, I know. Sean will hunt with us. We will show my great nephew a good kill. Tonight we will feast grandly,” White Feather replied with a gleam in his black eyes.
“I will ask him to the monthly meeting. After all, no women are allowed.”
“Good idea,” White Feather responded, taking another puff.
“What will we do with the woman?”
“I’ll have my sister invite her over.”
Coming Wind took a long drag from the pipe. “How do you think he’ll take it? He probably thinks he’s the only werewolf alive.”
“I don’t think so. I believe he kept in contact with his aunt and uncle. But, I bet he never figured he’d meet a whole tribe of his kind.”
Both of the men chuckled, excited about the evening to come. A lost member of their tribe had been found. One of them. Another wolf to add to the pack. Another warrior. Another one to pass on the gene on to his young. This was good news. With only fifty malemembers carrying the gene, their extinction loomed ahead. Even one more gene carrier meant a lot to the tribe.
White Feather and Coming Wind finished their smoke and walked outside. The sun was over the canyon now and a brisk morning wind stirred up the red dirt.
“See you tonight,” Coming Wind said as he mounted his horse.
“Tonight, my brother,” White Feather said, waving and smiling broadly as his white hair blew around his tanned face.
****
Coming Wind found Sean and P
aige lying on a patchwork quilt, sunning by Havasu Creek. Sean was pouring a glass of chardonnay for Paige as she rubbed suntan oil on her long legs. Paige was wearing a tiny, yellow sundress and a wide straw hat that tied with a yellow ribbon around her slender neck. Sean sat the glass of wine next to her and took the lotion from her, instructing her to turn around as he began rubbing the glistening oil on her back and shoulders.
Sean turned his head at the sound of approaching hoofs.
“Good morning!”
“Good morning. How are you?” Coming Wind asked with a warm smile.
“Great. Just enjoying the beautiful sunshine. I can see why you love it here. You live in paradise.”
Coming Wind nodded as his horse began to graze.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Paige?”
Paige squinted up at Coming Wind on his horse. “Yes. I love it here. Thank you so much for inviting us. We both needed a vacation.”
“You’re welcome here anytime. By the way, I wanted to invite you to a meeting of our tribal council tonight, Sean. I think you’ll find it quite interesting.”
“Sure. I’d love to.”
“Great. My sister is teaching a jewelry making class in her home tonight for the tourists if you’d like to attend, Paige?”
“Sounds wonderful. I’ve been admiring all of the lovely jewelry that the women here wear.”
“My sister would love to have you. May I escort you to her home tonight at, let’s say 7:00?”
“I can’t wait.”
“Good. It’s settled then. Sean and I can go the council meeting from there,” he replied as he clicked his tongue at his horse and turned the reins to go. Stopping short, he paused, choosing his words carefully before speaking. “Did you two hear of the scare I had last night?”
“No,” both of them replied.
“Red Hawk and his cousin were camping near Havasu Falls and disturbed a mother bobcat early in the morning. I heard her scream and went after them on my horse.”
Paige’s hand flew to her mouth in horror. “Are they okay?”
“Yes. I’ve been thanking the gods all morning. A wolf scared the bobcat away.”
Sean’s heart skipped a beat.
“It’s funny how the story has already circulated around the village. Some people swear it was a hawk that saved the boys.”
Paige screwed her face up as she squinted up at Coming Wind. “A hawk?”
“Yes. They think a hawk was sent by the gods and then turned itself into a wolf to scare the bobcat away.”
“Is that possible?” Paige inquired, a true believer in phenomena.
“I don’t think so. Most Indian legends are just folklore, but I don’t want to ruin it for the others. I’m pretty sure it was just a well-meaning wolf. This isn’t the first time that a wolf has come to a man’s aid.”
Sean remained silent, listening to Coming Wind, baffled that his dream had partially come true. The village really did believe the hawk-wolf story. He was almost afraid to think anymore. It was as if his mind was being read. Suddenly he felt as if he were being watched and hunted. He suddenly wondered if this was how his prey felt before a kill. Completely paranoid and ready to run, he breathed deeply at an attempt to calm himself. Coming Wind’s wolf sense could feel Sean’s anxiety. It was hard for him not to comfort him. He wanted to tell him that he was safe and loved and surrounded by family.
Paige’s face lit up. “I was saved by a wolf. I’m beginning to have a great fondness for wolves. I can see why you paint them so often.”
Coming Wind chuckled inside at her comment. She had no idea how fond she was of wolves. There was one particular wolf that she was very fond of and Coming Wind wondered if she’d ever find out. Often members defected from the tribe in order to keep the wolf gene a secret or were later forced to tell them due to an emergency or dire situation. He heard rumor that Charles’ wife learned of the gene because of a bear attack.
Sean would learn tonight how many brothers he truly had out there. Coming Wind was nervous. He didn’t know how Sean would react, but White Feather assured him that it would go well and it was best for the tribe. The wolf gene must go on and a strong alpha male would help lead the way into the next generation. Coming Wind would have to step down soon. Though his art work brought in a lot of money for the tribe, he traveled far too much. Coming Wind was certain that Sean would be the next leader of the pack.
In the last twenty years, two of the strongest alpha males had died. First was Gray Feet fifteen years ago. He was in a horrible fight with a mountain lion. The wolf in him healed well quickly, but as a man, his wound would come back time and time again. Gray Feet was miserable as a man and would often stay a wolf for months, leaving the tribe and hunting alone. No one knew why his wounds would flare up. Perhaps his gene was mutated in some way.
No other wolf had ever experienced it. Because of it, he was no longer allowed to mate with the females in the tribe. There was much concern that he would pass the weaker wolf gene onto his siblings. He finally disappeared and was assumed dead. He had never been seen again. Either he had gone deeper into the canyon, living only as a wolf and took a family or he had finally died of his reoccurring wounds. No one knew for sure, but he was still thought of and prayed for by the tribe.
Five years later, the new alpha male, Desert Wind drowned saving one of his children in a canyon flood. The Colorado River can be merciless in the springtime. One rainfall can cause the river to change within hours. Desert Wind’s little boy, Sun Fire was swimming one day near Navajo Falls when a spring storm roared through the dry, hot canyon, drenching everything in sight with huge sheets of rain and powerful winds. Desert Wind was able to change quickly into the wolf and saved his young son, just reaching the shore in time for his mother to grab him and carry him to safety. Two seconds later, the river rose dangerously and swept him away. They searched for his body for days and finally found him in his man form two miles away. The tribe plunged into deep mourning.
His wife never got over it and defected with her son to Sedona. Luckily Sun Fire did not inherit the wolf gene. He had been in the small fifteen percent of males born into the tribe that are born without the curse, though in the tribe, usually a male without the gene was perceived as weaker and had problems adjusting to other males.
The other males in the tribe had already been told about the council meeting and understood their instructions well. They all anticipated the evening to come and were ready to welcome their lost brother to the sacred circle of the wolf.
****
Coming Wind and Sean escorted Paige through the village after enjoying an early dinner at the lodge. When they arrived at Coming Wind’s sister’s home, the door was already open. His sister, Corn Flower, was standing just inside the door greeting guests and passing out name tags.
She was a tall, lean woman with one long braid trailing down her back. She wore jeans and a white t-shirt. A gigantic turquoise necklace hung around her neck, matching the large earrings that dangled to her shoulders. Almost every finger wore a turquoise ring, making her hands appear larger than they really were. Her wide grin reminded Paige of her brother. They looked a lot alike and both of them made her feel completely comfortable and welcome.
“You must be Paige,” Corn Flower said as she extended her hand, smiling warmly.
Coming Wind introduced them. She shook hands first with Paige, then with Sean.
“Are you enjoying your vacation?” she asked.
“Immensely,” Paige responded. “I can see why you would never leave.”
“I was born here and have only left three or four times. What is Colorado like?” Corn Flower asked as she took Paige’s arm, leading her into the living room where beads and stones of various colors and sizes lay in trays on the coffee table.
“Oh, I love it. It’s so beautiful and it has four complete seasons. I really love the snow. I’m a big skier so I’m practically in heaven.”
The two women chatted back and forth while Comi
ng Wind introduced Sean to his brother-in-law hiding away in his bedroom from the throng of women.
“Proud Eagle, this is Sean Wilson.”
The two men shook hands firmly and nodded their salutations. Sean thought he saw some type of exchange between the two men, but wasn’t sure what. It only lasted half a second but he was certain it was something. It left him feeling a little wary. Perhaps it was excitement or maybe not. What was this meeting about anyway? He sensed a sort of buzz in the air and thought he had seen some sort of exchange between Coming Wind and several men they passed on their walk to Corn Flower’s house.
Maybe he just needed some sleep. He hadn’t slept a full night in days. He knew losing sleep made him restless and paranoid. It was part of the wolf gene. Wolves never sleep deeply in the wild, especially the alpha wolf. His wolf senses had been on high alert for days and he wasn’t quite sure why.
As the men made their way out to the meeting, Sean stopped in the living room to kiss Paige goodbye.
“See you in a couple of hours, honey,” Sean said as Paige began stringing silver beads onto a leather string.
“Have a good time,” Paige responded, kissing him again on the cheek.
Corn Flower watched the men walk out the front door and grew more anxious at her instructions for the evening. She had been told to lie to Paige and convince her to spend the night. The wolves would feast tonight. Coming Wind said it was imperative that Paige be kept under lock and key and protected until dawn.
Most of the older wolves could access their human brains when in wolf form, but some of the young still did not have a clear grasp on themselves when they made the change. The adolescents would kill any living thing that crossed their path, animal or human. They couldn’t help it. It was just understood that control would come with maturity.
The tribe knew that lock down was at 8 p.m. on a full moon as well as any tribal council meeting. The young were not allowed to hunt without adults in case they were to stumble upon some campers or tourists, but that was very rare and had never happened thus far. There was one close call a year ago with a very aggressive 15-year-old male. A young pregnant woman was walking to the latrine late one evening with her husband during a full moon. The teen wolf was escorted by his father on the hunt when the teen became confused and began circling the couple. He couldn’t reason with his human side, but his father was able to pin him to the ground while the frightened couple escaped.
