Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
Read Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance Online
Authors: Lorraine Kennedy
Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
New Concepts Publishing
www.newconceptspublishing.com
Copyright ©2004 by Lorraine Kennedy
First published in 2004, 2010
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
CONTENTS
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
* * * *
Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
* * * *
WOLF DANCE
By
Lorraine Kennedy
(C) copyright by Lorraine Kennedy, October 2004
Reissued October 2010
Cover Art by Jenny Dixon, October 2010
ISBN 1-58608-252-3
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
* * * *
are of the author's imagination and not to be confused with
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely
coincidence.
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
Surrounded by darkness, her heightened senses picked up
the scent of damp earth, and blood—so tangy—so sweet. It
drove her into a mindless frenzy that threatened to rip away
her shell of sanity. Her nails tore at her flesh in a desperate
attempt to free herself of her prison of flesh.
The beast was close—she could feel his hunger, his lust.
Instinct coursed through her, screaming at her to run, but a
dark part of her soul kept her rooted in the midst of the inky
darkness.
Though she could not see him, she could sense his
nearness, and his hunger—a hunger so powerful, so
overwhelming that it seemed to seep through her skin,
penetrating into the core of her very being.
Large, powerful hands grasped her legs—spreading them
against her will. Her struggles were fruitless against the brute
strength that assaulted her. Sharp teeth nipped at the tender
skin of her inner thighs, and savage hunger flooded her body
as sweet, erotic pain.
The next moment she felt the sensation of a soothing wet
tongue licking at her wounds, moving gradually toward that
furiously burning need that she could not sate.
A woman's harsh voice came at her from the darkness.
"
Puta
! Run you stupid girl!" the voice hissed.
She could feel his hot breath close to her ear. "Stay with
me," he pleaded. Though his voice was soft, there was also
an underlying, animal like growl emanating from him.
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
Thick mist whirled around her, reaching into her nostrils to
suck at her life force. In desperation, she clutched at her
throat and labored to breathe. A hand grasped her shoulder
and gently shook her.
Gradually the fog cleared and she forced her eyes open.
The purple hues of dawn were creeping into the small dingy
windows of her grandfather's trailer.
"Laura, you are being haunted in your dreams." Grandpa
Busby's hoarse voice pulled her further into the waking world.
"You should not go on this trip."
Laura sat up, rubbing her sleep-swollen eyes. Getting to
her feet, she walked the few steps to the small kitchen of the
cramped trailer.
The coffee was fresh, as she knew it would be. Laura
poured herself a large cup.
Sipping the soothing liquid, she studied her grandfather
through the dim light. He still sat on the edge of the couch
where she had slept.
Once again worry gnawed at her. He was old and so frail.
The right side of his body no longer worked as well as it once
had. This was the result of a stroke that had cut him down
only a few years ago. Since that time he used a cane to help
him get around.
Each and every day since his illness had struck, Laura had
thanked God that he had been spared to walk the path of life
with her for just a little while longer.
Long, thin wisps of gray hair framed the old man's deeply
lined face. At times his eyes gave the impression of staring off
into space, as they were at this very moment. Laura thought
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
it possible that he might be losing his sight, but Grandpa
would never admit it. She had tried on many occasions to
convince him to move to Santa Fe where he would be near
her, but she had received the same answer each time.
"I am Busby, born to the Bitter River People for the Deer
Clan. I am
Dineh
and will die in my own country."
She understood him of course. He had raised her in the
tradition of the Navajo and she knew that his homeland was
very important to him. Nevertheless, the thought of him out
here—all alone—troubled her. If something was to happen
and she lost her grandfather—the thought was devastating.
He was her only living relative, unless she counted the distant
relation of her clansmen.
Laura quietly sipped her coffee, letting the hot liquid
soothe her dry throat. Her grandfather's dark eyes seemed to
be analyzing her, dissecting her from the inside out.
"Grandpa, you know I have to go to Wyoming. I stopped
here to let you know where I'd be." She tried to soothe him.
His old bones burned with age and he grunted with the
effort of getting to his feet.
"Don't know why you'd have a hand in that kind of work,"
he muttered.
Once again, Laura attempted to explain her motives. "It's
my life, Grandpa, and I cannot live my life in poverty on this
reservation."
"I warned your mother of the consequences of getting
mixed up with a
Belagana
and now your father's ways are
bleeding into your spirit." Busby painfully lowered himself to
the hard kitchen chair.
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
"I don't cut the trees, I just work for them." Laura pleaded
with him to understand.
"That is enough." Busby's voice contained the stern quality
she knew meant he was deeply concerned about something.
"If you destroy the earth, bad things will come of it. Already
the darkness enters your dreams."
The sun had finally made its majestic appearance and
Laura opened the aluminum door to let some light into the
trailer. She breathed in the dry desert air. The tangy scent
never failed to bring back childhood memories. Most of her
memories were good, but the constant lack of food and water
cast shadows on some of those memories.
"I don't agree with what they do Grandpa, but I just can't
stay here and marry one of my mother's people. Life is too
hard here and when I have children of my own, I do not want
them to live through the ugliness of poverty. Not if I can
prevent it." She tried to explain her reasons, like she had
many times before.
The old man got to his feet and walked to the doorway
where she stood. "You mean you want to hide your children
from the truth of what remains of the
Dineh
." He brushed
past her and slowly descended the steps of the trailer. A few
moments later he disappeared into the junipers of the nearby
hills where each morning he went to pray.
Maybe her grandfather was right
Laura was not ashamed of her Navajo blood—she was just
not sure that she wanted to share in their destiny, not when
there was a life out there free of the dark clouds that existed
within the boundaries of the Navajo reservation.
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
Her strange dream crept back into her thoughts. For two
nights now, she had been plagued with the same nightmare.
Heat flooded her cheeks as she recalled the details of the
dream, and how it left her feeling, but even more troubling
than the desire the dream stirred within her, was the fact that
she was left with the vague feeling that she was being torn in
two different directions.
In the brightness of day the dream seemed too ridiculous
to worry about, but she had been brought up in a
superstitious world, and doubt nagged at her.
The woman in the dream called her a whore—
why
? Why
would she dream something like that?
Possibly she was feeling guilty? Her grandfather had been
needling her since she'd started working for Duccini, and
maybe it was finally starting to get to her.
Laura tried to shake the dark dream from her thoughts as
she stepped into the small bathroom. She hurriedly changed
into a T-shirt and blue jeans, and then ran a brush through
her long, golden brown hair. As a result of inheriting her
father's coloring and amber eyes, Laura appeared to be more
white than Indian. She wasn't entirely sure she was pleased
with that fact or not. When she was a child, there were times
she'd felt out of place among the
Dineh
, and it had made her
self-conscious.
Returning to the kitchen, Laura prepared the breakfast
food that she'd brought with her on the small, propane stove.
Once she'd finished, she waited on the steps for her
grandfather to return. It was not long before he emerged
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Realm of the Wolf Book I: Wolf Dance
by Lorraine Kennedy
from the brush, and Laura watched his slow progress across
the desert floor.
She felt her throat constrict with emotion and unwelcome
tears stung her eyes. The old man had made many sacrifices
for her over the years and no matter how she might disagree
with him, her heart would never forget that. Laura recalled
