Page 153 of Sun Warrior

Sora touched her cheek gently. “Thank you for doing what I couldn’t.”

“You didn’t have to. There are two of us now,” Mari said.

“Three,” Danita said, stepping up beside Sora.

“Four,” Isabel said, moving to Sora’s other side

“Five, if you count a Healer.” Jenna dimpled at Mari.

“You count. You all count!” Mari said. “Now Sora will Wash you, and then you can dance your names to the moon.”

“Are you not feeling okay now?” Sora asked, studying Mari more closely.

“I am, but Mason has wounds that have to be cleaned and dressed. I thought I’d do that while you Wash the rest of the Pack.”

“No, Moon Woman. You stay. Wash your people with Sora. With your permission, I’ll take my brother into the burrow and begin cleaning his wounds,” Jaxom said. “He’s himself again, thanks to you.”

“I’ll go with him.” Rose had stepped from the silently watching crowd. “My wounds are healing well, so I don’t need to be Washed, and I’ve been helping with Lydia’s and Sarah’s dressing changes. I know where the goldenseal is, and how to clean wounds with it. I’d be happy to help.”

Mari opened her mouth to insist that she could handle it—sheshouldhandle it. She was the Moon Woman. But she was stuck by the realization that this was exactly what she used to complain to Leda about—the fact that she insisted on doing everything herself. She took on the pain and fear, love and losses, of the Clan, and it made her old before her time and, too often, filled her with sadness Mari couldn’t touch.

“Thank you, Rose,” Mari said. “That would be very helpful.”

“I’ll come help you after I’ve danced my name,” Jenna said.

“So will I,” Isabel added.

Mari wanted to throw her arms around them all and tell them how spectacular they were, but her throat closed with emotion and all she could do was nod and smile at them while blinking tears from her eyes.

When Jaxom and Rose moved off with Mason walking unsteadily, but without being supported, between them, Sora turned to Mari.

“So, Moon Woman. Ready to proceed?”

Mari went to her friend and hugged her, right there in front of the Pack, surprising everyone with her show of affection—including Sora, whose eyes began to fill.

“With my Pack beside me I am ready for anything!”

CHAPTER 33

“Okay, tell me everything!” Mari said as soon as the four of them—Nik, Laru, Rigel, and she—were alone, making their way slowly back to her burrow with full stomachs and even fuller hearts. “How did you find Jaxom and Mason?”

“I didn’t. Rigel found them.”

Mari glanced down at her young Shepherd, who was trotting beside her carrying a slobbery stick in his mouth. The stick was the size of one of his legs.

“Now you really have to tell me everything.”

“There’s not much to tell. I was just finishing up at the burrow. The door was open—I like the evening breeze.”

“Me, too,” Mari said, slipping her hand in his.

He grinned at her. “So, the door was open and all of a sudden Rigel starts air scenting, and he gets agitated.”

“Air scenting?”

“It’s like the tracking he can do when he sniffs the ground, only he’s sniffing the air.”

“Oh, I understand. Okay, go ahead,” Mari said.