Page 52 of The Spirit of the Wolf

Eleven

“Is something wrong?” Marietta frowned as she looked up to him. “You look…strange.”

“Hiya,” he said, “something is very right, I think.”

What in the dear Lord’s name did this mean? “I don’t understand.”

He nodded. “It is to be appreciated that you do not, but maybe some day you will. Ito, come. I have changed my mind about your journey. You will accompany me now.”

At first Marietta wasn’t certain she had heard him correctly. “What did you say?”

“You will accompany me now,” he repeated, his expression grave. “The decision is no longer yours to make.”

What? What was this?

“Changed your mind? But⁠—”

“You will gather up the meat and put it into bags while I break camp. We will cache my robe and anything else you feel you cannot carry. We will leave at once.”

“No, we won’t. You can’t just change your mind like this.”

“I have reason. Now prepare yourself for our journey.”

“No. You can’t do this to me. What’s happened? One moment everything was fine, and then… What possible cause could have…?” Gently, she shook her head. “Tell me this reason.”

Though his gaze was subdued as he stared at her, his words were not. “I cannot speak of it.”

“Cannot?” Shocked, Marietta could only stand before him and gape. “You cannot speak of it? What do you mean by saying this to me? We talked. We communicated. We agreed.”

“It does not matter. Something has changed.”

She tossed her head, scowling up at him. “No, you…you can’t do this.”

“I can.”

“No. Let’s look back at what we just discussed. You promised me to let me go.”

“I did not promise.”

“You said I could go. This is the same thing.”

“It is not,” he countered. “I said you could travel alone as long as you learned from me how to journey in the night. I choose now not to teach you.”

She gasped. “No, no. This is not right.”

He shrugged. “Prepare yourself and your things. We leave at once.”

“Very well. I will leave with you—as long as we ride.”

He simply shook his head. “We have already discussed this. We will not ride.”

“Then…I…I… No!” she stuttered.

A muscle twitched dangerously in his cheek. “An Indian husband speaks but once to his wife.”

“No, I won’t go.”

He ignored her, and bending, he commenced to break camp, smoothing over the ground, scattering the fire.