“Change is coming.” Saying it aloud didn’t make it so, yet she knew it also meant she’d accepted the portent of her dreams, even if she refused to answer the content. “I fear for us.”
“I don’t.” Minninnewah flashed her a rare smile. Though young for a chief, he was an accomplished warrior and succeeded his father when the wise man passed from their world two winters before. “We will survive in this, I have every faith.”
His tone echoed confidence, but she experienced none of the same. “The Fever took another encampment.” A dying people, the Tsitsistas tribes dwindled, family groups broke away or worse—died. The Fever, much-feared amongst them, cropped up time and again. Soon, they would have no Shamans to combat it. The lack of others gifted in medicine would have kept her from taking the ancient Shaman’s request, if nothing else barred her journeying away. She was the last.
“I know. Scouts brought word yesterday. We burned the remnants. Our people are safe, Little Mother. We have you.” Onsi glanced at the chief then past him to their people. Where once perhaps hundreds, even thousands gathered, now they numbered fewer and fewer. Each winter, they lost more. Every summer, fewer births increased their tribe.
No women carried children as they went to winter camp, none.
Yet, she kept the recording of the oddity to herself. For Minninnewah, believing they were indestructible embedded within his very soul. A young chief, perhaps, but one hardened by time and loss. He didn’t disbelieve in danger, he simply refused to acknowledge it and give it power.
But what he failed to comprehend and what she couldn’t bear to say aloud—he didn’t have to believe in the danger.
Like the Fever, she had a feeling it would come for them all.
When it does, I will stand with my people. Die with them if necessary.
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author, Heather Long, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.
Follow Heather
@HVLong
HeatherLongAuthor
www.heatherlong.net
heather@heatherlong.net
Also by Heather Long
Always a Marine Series
Once Her Man, Always Her Man
Retreat Hell! She Just Got Here
Tell It to the Marine
Proud to Serve Her
Her Marine
No Regrets, No Surrender
The Marine Cowboy
The Two and the Proud
A Marine and a Gentleman
Combat Barbie
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
What Part of Marine Don’t You Understand?
A Marine Affair
Marine Ever After
Marine in the Wind
Marine with Benefits
A Marine of Plenty
A Candle for a Marine
Marine under the Mistletoe
Have Yourself a Marine Christmas
Lest Old Marines Be Forgot
Her Marine Bodyguard
* * *
Bravo Team Wolf
When Danger Bites
Chance Monroe
Earth Witches Aren’t Easy
Plan Witch from Out of Town
Bad Witch Rising
Elite Metal
Pure Copper (Elite Metal)
Target: Tungsten (Elite Ghosts)
Asset: Arsenic (Elite Elements)
Fevered Hearts
Marshal of Hel Dorado
Brave are the Lonely
Micah & Mrs. Miller
Raising Kane
Wanted: Fevered or Alive
Wild and Fevered
The Quick & The Fevered
Going Royal
Some Like It Royal
Some Like It Scandalous
Some Like It Deadly
Some Like it Secret
Some Like it Easy
Her Marine Prince
* * *
Blocked (Hot on Ice)
* * *
Lone Star Leathernecks
Semper Fi Cowboy
As You Were, Cowboy
* * *
Magic & Mayhem
The Witch Singer
Bridget’s Witch’s Diary
Mongrels
Mongrels, Mischief & Mayhem
* * *
Space Cowboy
Space Cowboy Survival Guide
Showdown at the Omega Kilo Space Station
Wolves of Willow Bend
Wolf at Law
Wolf Bite
Caged Wolf
Wolf Claim
Wolf Next Door
Rogue Wolf
Bayou Wolf
Untamed Wolf
Wolf with Benefits
River Wolf
Single Wicked Wolf
Desert Wolf
Snow Wolf
Wolf on Board
Holly Jolly Wolf
Shadow Wolf
Thunder Wolf
Ghost Wolf
* * *
Standalone
Haunt Me