Protected

By Jane B. Night

Kalinai has plans to marry her tribe's most sought after warrior until fate intervenes. Her uncle arrives in a canoe with the medicine man from his tribe. Suddenly, Kalinai is being whisked away to a land she has never seen to marry a stranger.
Wintano is a protector. He keeps his tribe safe from the ever present demons who would destroy his people. To assure their continued safety he must father a child who will grow to be a protector of the next generation. Two wives have died trying to give him a child but his medicine man assures him that Kalinai is special.
Does Kalinai have the power to carry a protector within her womb and to love a warrior like no other?

*This short story originally appeared in the anthology Love Through Heartache.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BZ Publishing LLC
• Release date: Dec 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215138632

Book preview

Protected

By Jane B. Night

Published by BZ Publishing LLC

Copyright 2018@ Jane B. Night

No part of this book may be reproduced or redistributed without the permission of the copyright holder.

Please note: This short story originally appeared in the Anthology Love Through Heartache

Chapter 1

Kalinai reveled in the feel of the sand on her feet as the water rushed over her toes. She and her milk sister Sai had been sent to the shoreline to gather shells. Kalinai's basket was only half full while Sai's basket might be able to fit seven or eight more small shells.

Nenki should be back soon, Kalinai said softly.

I suppose that is why you have been dawdling, Sai said with a sigh.

Perhaps a little, Kalinai admitted. Though she and Sai were milk sisters and dear friends, Sai had never been able to understand her obsession with Nenki.

Nenki was bronze-skinned with long black hair that hung down his shoulders. He was thin but muscled in the chest, where it mattered.

When he cast his nets into the sea they always came back full of fish.

He was the most sought-after bachelor among their people, and Kalinai had her heart set on becoming his first wife.

Nenki had never shown any special preference for her, but she was the daughter of the chief and one of the most desired women in the camp.

She had already turned down two marriage proposals. One of the would-be husbands had been happy to settle for her younger sister. The other had left their people for two moon cycles and returned with a foreign wife who was a strange creature with lighter skin and eyes that slanted slightly.

Is that him? Sai asked, pulling Kalinai's mind back to the present.

Kalinai used her hand to shield her eyes from the sun and looked out onto the water. There was a canoe in the distance. It was just barely visible.

It isn't Nenki, she said. There are two men. I don't think they are our warriors.

We must run and tell your father, Sai said.

Yes, we must, Kalinai said after a moment of hesitation. She knew that her father should be alerted, in case the visitors posed a threat, but she was curious. It was rare for them to have strange visitors. Very rare.

Come on, Sai said, taking her arm roughly. With one final glance back, Kalinai followed.

They made their way up the great mound to the tallest level. The chief lived in the top hut with his three wives. When Kalinai's mother was still living, there had been four. After she died Kalinai's father, Chief Tall Tree, had declared that he was too old to take another wife.

My sons need beautiful women to carry my grandsons, Chief Tall Tree had said. It was true. Kalinai had ten brothers. Her brothers lived on the level of the great mound below their father.

Kalinai, her sisters, grandmother, aunts. and uncles lived on the final level of the mound.

Kalinai burst through the door to her father's throne room. He was seated on his bone chair with Son