Book 2, The Clan of the Wolf Series

By
Karen Kay

He saved her life, then stole her heart….

To escape an arranged marriage, Mia Carlson, daughter of a U.S. senator,
instead elopes with the man she loves. As they are escaping from her Virginia
home, heading west, their wagon train is brutally attacked, leaving Mia alone and
in grave danger. Rescue comes from a most unlikely source, a passing Lakota
scouting party, led by the darkly handsome Indian, Brave Wolf.

Although Brave Wolf has consented to guide Mia to the nearest trading post,
he holds himself apart from her, for his commitments lie elsewhere. But long days
on the trail lead to a deep connection with the red-haired beauty. Yet, he can’t stop
wondering why death and danger stalk this beautiful woman, forcing him to rescue
her time and again. Who is doing this, and why?

One thing is clear, however: Amid the flurry of dodging assassin bullets,
Brave Wolf and Mia come into possession of a powerful love. But is it all for
naught? Will Brave Wolf’s obligations and Mia’s secret enemy from the past
finally succeed in the sinister plot to destroy their love forever?

Warning: Sensuous romance and cameo appearances of Tahiska and Kristina from
the book, Lakota Surrender, might cause a happily-ever-after to warm your heart.

Buy it today!

EXCERPT

She hobbled a little to try to catch up with him.  He turned back toward her, squinting at her.

“You…find…leather of…shoe?”

“I…I did not.  I searched for it everywhere.  But…”

He stepped back toward her, retracing his path.  As he came up level with her, he ordered, “You…stay…”

“I am no dog, sir, to be told to sit, stay or roll over.”

He grinned at her.  “I…not…confused about…that.”

She crossed her arms over her chest.  “I looked and looked for the sole of my shoe, but I couldn’t find it.”

“I will…find it.  You…here…stay.”

“No.  I’m afraid to be left alone.”

His fleeting look at her was enough to cause Mia to realize that her defiance frustrated him.  After four days of travel with this man, she had become used to witnessing the tiny nuances that told of this young man’s emotional moods.  Years from now, she thought, he would most likely master those miniscule flickers of concern.

For now she was glad to have acquired some means to recognize his frame of mind.  She said, “Please don’t be upset with me.  The pea vines and other prickly bushes are constantly stinging me and tearing at my dress.  It’s so much easier to find a piece of my clothing hanging from a bush, than it is to locate the bottom of my shoe stuck in the mud somewhere.  The tall grass alone makes it hard to see the ground clearly, and when I bend to look to try to find it, I get pricked.”

He nodded.  “You speak…true.  This…why I go…find it.  Easier for me.  You…stay…here.”

“I…can’t.  I can’t be without you.”

For a moment she caught a surprised light in his eye as he regarded her.

“Don’t you see?” she went on to explain.  “What if something happened to you?  What if you didn’t return?  I would rather be with you and face what you face, even if that be death, than to stay here on my own, unknowing.  Without you I would die here in this world of grass and vines.”

The curious look was gone, and in its place was a glimpse of…  Was that admiration?

He said, “Understood.  Will try to…teach you way…of prairie.  Then not be…afraid.”

“Good,” she acknowledged.  “I would appreciate that, but that’s in the future.  For now, I must go with you.”

He drew his brows together in a frown as he stepped toward her.  Nevertheless, he uttered, “Then walk…low to ground.  Like this…”  He bent over double.

“All right, I will.  But why must we spend so much time trying to find this?  What difference does the bottom of a shoe make?  Truly, who’s to see it in this environment of dirt and grass?”

“Land full…”  He waved his hands out and away from him.  “…of Indian tonwe’ya, scouts.  If find shoe…they follow…our…trail.  Us they kill…maybe.”

“Oh,” she frowned.  “I see.  Is that why you’ve had me go back over the trail so many times to find the pieces of my dress when I’ve torn it on the bushes?”

“It is so.”

She sighed.  “Then I had better help you, I suppose, and be more careful where I step a foot, for it was in a muddy patch of ground where I lost my shoe’s sole.”

“Waste, good.  Ito’ come.”

Mimicking him, she grappled with the rifle to find a comfortable position, then she bent over at the waist, following him as they made a slow progress back over their tracks.  Amazingly, she had no doubt that he would find that stray piece of leather, and he did not disappoint.  Within a relatively short time, he held the wayward sole of her boot in his hand.

She limped toward him, and reached out for it, but he did not immediately give it to her.  Instead, he made a sign to her, and turning away, he indicated that she should follow him again, traveling once more in that bent over position.

Shutting her eyes on a deep sigh, she realized she had little choice but to do as he asked.