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Two Eagles had a deep caring for humanity.
Even if he had been the one who attacked Fort Hope, she would have seen him as a caring man, for his need to fight the men at Fort Hope was understandable.
But she was so glad it hadn’t been Two Eagles who had claimed so many lives at the fort. Even though she loved him, she was afraid she might have relived the horrors of that day every time she gazed into Two Eagles’s eyes.
Now all she saw was an adoration of her that made her melt inside.
Yes, she would tell Two Eagles that she loved him when his duties to his uncle were over.
But for now, she was restless for another reason. She could not get Shadow off her mind. Her wolf had been gone for far too long this time.
Candy had accepted Shadow’s need to rejoin the wild wolves every once in a while, but this time it was different. Her wolf was not all that strong. If she needed to, she probably could not defend herself.
“I can’t wait any longer,” Candy whispered to herself as she scrambled to her feet.
Yes, she must go and search for Shadow. And she must do it alone. She could not ask for help from Two Eagles, or anyone else.
No one would want to think about a mere wolf while mourning the loss of a great, wronged man.
Now that there was an understanding between herself and Two Eagles, he had left her alone without sentries posted outside the entrance flap. She could leave and search for Shadow. No one would even notice her departure because all were preoccupied by their sadness, crying and wailing mournfully while the drums continued thumping.
Candy knew that Two Eagles was preoccupied, too, especially today, for he was preparing his uncle’s body for burial.
Wearing the soft doeskin dress and moccasins, Candy crept from the lodge. She stopped and looked toward the huge council house where everyone had gathered.
There was no one in sight. They were all inside, sharing the mourning.
Even the sentries had been pulled from their posts so that they could join the gathering.
Eager to begin her search for Shadow, Candy left the village. She did not go on a horse because she was afraid that if she took one from Two Eagles’s corral, he might think she’d left to return to the white community.
If she went by foot, Two Eagles would know she hadn’t planned to go far.
She knew that most white people would find it odd that she didn’t want to leave the Wichita and find someone who would help her get her life back in order among her own people.
They would be shocked to know that she wanted to be a part of Two Eagles’s life, for he was Indian . . . taboo.
They would be utterly stunned to know that without him she would be nothing. Without him, she felt she would be alone in the world.
Smiling as she slipped away without being seen, she walked farther and farther from the village. She stopped suddenly in alarm when a red racer snake slithered across the ground in front of her. Fortunately, it went on its way without even noticing her.
Sighing heavily with relief, Candy walked onward, hoping that Shadow would somehow sense that she was there, searching for her, and come out of hiding.
She halted abruptly again when she saw something else that was a danger to her. A little ways off, three stray buffalo were facing down a pair of grizzly bears.
She was stunned when the three buffalo attacked the bears, striking them over and over with their hooves and eventually killing the grizzlies.
She stared at the bears, still finding it unbelievable that the buffalo had actually overpowered the massive animals, then hur
ried onward herself.
When she was a good distance from the village, she began shouting Shadow’s name, cringing in fear when she heard the howling of wolves not far from where she was walking.
She only now realized the mistake she’d made in coming this far from the village weaponless, into wolves’ territory.
To them she was a threat, because she was too close to their home.
If they chose to, they could come and . . .
