Within seconds, a voice from heaven itself.
“Get your hands off my wife.”
Chapter Ten
The whizz of an arrow pierced the air, and the weight of Irv’s sweaty body fell upon her. In an instant, the man was flung off her, landing twenty feet in the distance.
Ella looked up at Raven. Wonderful, beautiful Raven! Her heart soared. He had come!
Another man—was that her father?—held Jasper at bay.
She shook her head, trying to clear the fog. It wasn’t her father. But it was a white man. Dressed like an Indian.
Raven knelt beside her. “Ella. Tehila. Are you hurt?”
“N-No. He didn’t…” Her throat constricted. Fog thickened her thoughts. Those men. Those dirty horrible men had almost… Tears moistened her eyes. “But he tried. And I wasn’t…I wasn’t strong enough. If you hadn’t come…” She looked into his black eyes. His kind, worried eyes. “Wh-Why didn’t you come for me? I-I thought another bear had attacked you. I was trying to come to you.”
“Ah, tehila. I am so sorry.” Raven scooped her into his arms and held her tight against his bare chest. “If anything had happened to you…”
She choked out a sob. “I-I’m all right.” She reached for his cheek and stroked it. He was so beautiful in the moonlight. Her own personal savior and hero.
“I came for you the next night, but you were gone. We tried to track your father, but could not. Finally, early this morning, Bear was able to track you. I knew you had left your father.”
“He stayed awake for over twenty-four hours. I got away as soon as I could.”
“You should have stayed with him. He would have protected you.”
“No.” She stood up but nearly lost her footing. Her mind raced through the haze. “I don’t want his protection. I want yours. I—” Her feet gave way, and she stumbled against Raven’s hard chest. “I don’t understand why I can’t get my mind and body to work.”
“Because you’re frightened, tehila. Those men tried to force themselves upon you. You have reason to feel the way you do.”
“Is… Does…” Ella’s insides quivered at what she needed to ask. What she needed to know about Raven’s people.
“What is it?”
“Do the men of your tribe…do they…take women like that?”
Raven held her body from his, though still held her steady. His chiseled jaw twitched. Only slightly, but Ella noticed.
“Did your father tell you that?”
“Goodness, no! He never speaks ill of anyone. Or at least, he never used to. It’s just…I’ve heard…”
Raven’s hold gentled a bit, and he sighed. “Some of my kind do. As do some of your kind. And I’m sorry that you now have personal experience of that.”
She shuddered, and he drew her to him again. “I’m taking you home.”
“To my cabin?”
“No. To my camp. You are my wife, Ella.”
Warmth coursed through her. His wife. “But we haven’t been married yet.”
“We are married in the ways of my people. We have been since we joined our bodies. That is all that matters.”
Ella didn’t argue. She had no desire to. Being safe and secure in Raven’s arms was all that mattered.
“Raven?”