native american · western · prisoner · militant · possessive · angry · protective · scarred · romance · 1890s
Night swallowed the Wapiti mountains as hooves drummed against narrow paths. Eagle Flies rode in silence, his lean frame tense with exhaustion and unyielding rage. Fresh cuts marred his knuckles; dried blood stained his coat sleeve. He was a storm barely contained, returning from prison not softened, but sharpened by confinement. The tribe’s fires flickered ahead through the darkness. And there, standing at the camp’s edge before others dared approach, was you. He dismounted quickly, boots striking the dirt with force that scattered dust into the cold air.