Author's note: Thanks for reaching out and sending me such kind reviews!
A violent creature is stalking the area, and as a shaman with important responsibilities, Caroline should be focusing on that instead of flirting with a curly-headed merchant from a neighboring village.
Warning: Some smut :)
"If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself."
― George Orwell, 1984
Red. The violence of it was startling. The stench of copper filled her lungs and made her retch. Caroline woke up with a start, the woven grass fibers of her bed roll soaked in her sweat. The air of her small sandstone dwelling was heavy with the screams still caught in her throat. As her people's shaman, she sometimes had visions, but never as intense as these most recent ones. It was because of the beast.
A yenaldooshi, also known as a skin-walker, recently had been terrorizing the villages that dotted the vast Phoenix Stone Canyon. Bodies were torn apart, partially eaten, and left to rot out in the open desert. Fear and dread choked the land and most refused to venture out after the sun had set. Legends spoke of powerful monsters with long claws and fangs that hunted and feasted as it pleased. As a powerful shaman, she possessed a spiritual connection to the land and could feel her people's pain, which unfortunately meant she had to endure the horrific visions of the creature as it stalked the canyon. She must protect her people.
She adjusted her pack, the soft hides providing some relief from the blazing afternoon sun as she made her way along her well-worn shortcut to the neighboring village. To his village. Niklaus was a prosperous merchant in the neighboring village, and since he'd settled in the Phoenix Stone Canyon several months ago, Caroline had gone to him for almost all of her ritual ingredients — because he carried the best quality. The fact that he happened to be the most extraordinarily beautiful man she'd ever seen was beside the point.
She instantly felt her cheeks flush as she pushed open the split pine door of his dwelling. Maybe he'd assume her blush was from her long hike. The way his gray eyes lit up when he saw her sent a small shiver through her body. "Caroline," he exclaimed, "always a pleasure. Why did you journey so far to see me today?"
Caroline bowed her head, silently cursing that despite her prominent position among her people, there was something about the way her name flowed from his flirtatious tongue that left her stammering like a young maiden before her first agave nectar ritual. "Desert needlegrass. You. Me...Uh, give me two jars please. Plus, dried creosote bush and powdered moon opals."
Niklaus considered her requests for a moment, something unreadable flashing in his gaze for a moment. "You're creating a banishment spell," he observed shrewdly, "to rid us of the yenaldooshi."
Her eyes widened in surprise. It was rare to find someone not linked to the spiritual plane to know the intricacies of a banishment ritual. What else did he know about the beast? She finally answered, "The elders of my village have charged me with protecting this canyon. It's my sacred duty." She opened a small tanned leather pouch, carefully weighing several pieces of turquoise before handing them to Niklaus.
As she hoisted her pack to a more comfortable position before turning to leave, his cry of alarm startled her, "No! The sun will set before you reach your village." He grabbed her hands, holding them tightly in his as he said worriedly, "It's not safe, sweetheart."
She was taken aback by his concern. While he'd always shown her a friendly, somewhat flirty face whenever they crossed paths, she honestly thought the attraction between them was something she'd imagined. The thought that he might feel something for her made her cheeks warm. "I know it's not safe — that's why I need to do this. The sooner I perform the ritual, the sooner I can keep the people of Phoenix Stone Canyon safe."
"If something happened to you..." he trailed off uncertainly, his eyes fully of worry.
Caroline could feel the weight of his gaze, suddenly unsure of herself. What happens now? "I didn't know that you felt...I mean, if you felt something..."
"I do," Niklaus quickly interrupted her, "you have no idea, Caroline. From the moment I first saw you months ago, you'd captured something in me. The way you argue with me about proper storage of rose quartz to dismissing the quality of my herbal remedies," he gave a helpless little sigh as he continued, "and the way you bite your lip while looking at me when you think I won't notice."
Her heart was pounding at his words. She'd never had anyone speak to her like that. To express an interest. As her people's shaman, there was a certain amount of distance others kept from her, respectful to be sure, but it also made her feel isolated. This felt new. She licked her lip nervously, "Well, someone needed to speak up about the inferior quality of those herbs."
He laughed, "You and I both know all this time you've been buying my sage bundles despite the fact that you easily could pick the sage leaves between your village and mine." He leaned close, his voice barely above a whisper as he confessed, "Every time you cross my threshold, it feels like you become a little bit more mine and I can't bear the thought of you being caught by the beast."
Before Caroline could respond, he brushed his lips against hers, sending a spark that traveled all through her body as she returned his kiss. He broke away, his breath warm on her face as he pleaded urgently, "Stay?"
She quickly nodded, reaching up to tangle her fingers in the leather and beaded cords around his neck to pull him back in for another heated kiss. He suddenly picked her up with surprising strength, tossing her with ease on top of a thick pile of fox furs near the fire. As he prowled toward her with a feral gleam in his gaze, she shivered with anticipation.
The brush of his fingers as they impatiently untied the knotted sweetgrass belt at her waist nearly sent her reeling. She'd never met another who could spark such longing and she quickly untied his breechcloth, anxious to explore his skin against hers. The powerful flex of muscle underneath her hands was addictive and she breathed him in, a heady mix of tobacco and soap made from the yucca plant.
He pushed up the soft deer hide tunic, exposing her legs to his greedy gaze. He rumbled in approval, running his hands appreciatively over her thighs. "My radiant goddess." Heat pooled in her belly as he bent down to place reverent kisses along her body until she arched into his touch.
His possessive touch stirred something within her, a primal need to claim him until their scents mingled together and she yanked him back up until she could slide her core against the hard line of his cock. "I want to feel you," she told him hoarsely, grinding against him until her vision nearly went white.
"Yes. Feel," Niklaus moaned, parting her folds with one forceful thrust. They rocked together against the soft furs, building that delicious tension until their bones vibrated with need. As he strained against her, she ran a teasing line along his collar bone, nibbling just enough to make him shudder above her.
She cried out the moment his hand slid between them to press against her tight bundle of nerves, her orgasm rolling over her as Niklaus growled out his own release.
They quietly held each other in the soft glow of the fire, sharing tender looks that required no words. If only she could stay. As Caroline settled next to him, she began to subtly yawn, allowing her eyelids to grow heavy to mimic sleep. She could feel his breathing lengthen, the smallest rumble from his chest indicating that he would begin to slip into a deeper sleep soon.
As she waited patiently for him to fall asleep, she glanced at the unusual objects that adorned the adobe mud walls, surprised at the collection of powerful symbols in a merchant's dwelling. A bleached white badger's skull surveyed the room with its empty, yet somehow all seeing eyes. Hanging beside the aggressive, fearless totem animal was a long coyote jaw — the embodiment of a stealthy trickster whose shape was ever changing. She shivered slightly when she noticed several raven feathers, her people believing the creature to be a powerful harbinger.
The light snoring in her ear alerted her to the fact that Niklaus had fallen asleep. Caroline carefully slid out from underneath his arm, silently slipping her tunic back over her head. She turned to study him, the beautiful lines of his body warm and inviting in the firelight. With a small sigh of regret, she unclasped her brightly colored abalone necklace, setting it next to Niklaus' arm so that when he awoke, he'd know that she'd return for her token. Before she crossed the threshold, she performed the strongest blessing she knew to protect him. Niklaus would be safe.
The moon lit up the night sky during her trek to the sacred white cedar. She hastened her steps as it was important to perform the banishment ritual once the moon was at its apex. The tall yucca palms in the distance signaled that she was getting close to the site. A fierce growl startled her, and she whipped around to confront the noise, uncertain of where it came from. Yenaldooshi were tricksters, stories told of them luring unsuspecting victims to the empty desert through cunning mimicry of a child's cry or pretending to be a wounded animal.
Adrenaline shot through Caroline, and suddenly her heart increased its pace until she became dizzy. Wiping her brow at the sudden fever that overtook her, she blinked rapidly as she willed her vision to come back into focus. Was she having a panic attack?
Hot, heavy breath hit her face, and she quickly leapt away, scrambling to stay upright in the soft sand. A searing heat across her skin made her realize the creature had begun its attack, ripping away her ritual ingredients in its anger. She swung blindly with her arms, a scream locked in her throat. She refused to be its next victim.
The Mystic Mountains far off on the horizon seemingly mocked her, underscoring her vulnerability to the yenaldooshi in the open desert. She grappled for the obsidian knife at her waist, a feeling of relief washing over her as she felt the familiar carved antler bone handle. She slashed upward, the brush of rough fur firmly keeping her in this surreal moment. This was happening.
Deep bellows of rage tore the night sky, and she felt a smug sense of satisfaction at the realization that she'd wounded the beast. Unfortunately, the sudden burning in her side alerted her to the fact that she'd been injured as well. The fierce pain threatened to overwhelm her and she had no choice but to turn and flee, hoping she'd crippled the yenaldooshi enough to keep it from catching her as she stumbled across the desert toward her village.
Somehow, she managed to make it back to her people without seeing the yenaldooshi again. She quickly consulted with the village elders, realizing that she was foolish to travel alone to the ritual site. Of course the monster would sense her purpose in the desert and would try to stop her. The entire time she met with the elders, her thoughts raced. Something was off. No, something was familiar...
It was rare for anyone outside of the sacred shaman circle to know of the banishment ingredients for the yenaldooshi. And the creature had ripped them away. The collection of powerful objects she'd seen — someone who recognized the strength of those totems had displayed them together on purpose. His surprising strength, and his inherent possessive nature that seemed almost feral at times. His genuine fear at the thought of her alone in the desert at night. Niklaus was the yenaldooshi.
Without bothering to explain to the elders what she'd realized, she ran from the ceremonial room, all rational thought gone as she headed back into the open desert. To confront Niklaus.
When Caroline reached up to grip a jutting rock formation and swing herself over a deep crevice, she fought back a groan of pain. The yenaldooshi must have injured her worse than she realized during their fight. Niklaus had injured her. She shook her head angrily, stopping those traitorous feelings before they had a chance to gain any traction. She'd let him into her body —not her heart. She would see this through and do what needed to be done to protect the people of Phoenix Stone Canyon.
The familiar outline of the tall sandstone structure where Niklaus lived once made her stomach flutter and her breath quicken. Now, she was boiling with rage against the man she thought she knew. A monster.
Niklaus' eyes widened when he saw her, and she roughly pushed past him as she crossed the threshold.
"It's you. All this time, you were the beast," Caroline shouted, fists balled up as she prepared to strike.
He scoffed, "You've lost your mind. I'm no more yenaldooshi than you."
"I'm no fool, Niklaus," she growled, leveling him with her fiercest glare, "No one knows of the banishment ritual ingredients except for shamans. And the yenaldooshi." She gestured around the small room, her gaze momentarily distracted by the gruesome coyote jaw. The shape-shifting trickster. "You display objects of great power in a manner that reflects knowledge of one who understands how to use them."
His face reddened in anger as he yelled, "I'm a merchant, and a damned good one at that! It stands to reason I've learned through my travels certain rare knowledge."
"The unusual strength you displayed, coupled with that animal-like possessive side, not to mention how you kept trying to stop me from going into the desert last night," she sneered, adding, "where you felt the heat of my blade."
Niklaus suddenly ripped his deer hide shirt over his head, furiously throwing it behind him. He stalked over to her, gray eyes blazing as he displayed smooth, unmarred flesh before her startled eyes.
With trembling fingers, Caroline reached out, unable to stop herself from touching his skin. His skin which was whole. Aside from a faint, crisscross pattern of scars that spoke of a fierce battle with multiple spearheads, no knifepoint had pierced his flesh. Certainly not hers.
"I don't understand," she whispered hoarsely, her limbs feeling strangely heavy, "I battled the yenaldooshi last night." She fumbled for her obsidian knife at her waist, showing him the crimson stains along the blade.
Niklaus' gaze softened as he witnessed the violence she'd seen. "Brave, stubborn warrior," he said in a tone full of awe.
A feverish heat overwhelmed her, and her knees buckled unexpectedly. As his palm grazed her side, she let out a yelp of pain. Confused, she allowed him to hold her as she pushed up the soft hide of her tunic to investigate.
Together, they stared in shock at the deep knife wound carved into her flesh.
From Caroline's knife.
