CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT
SHILOH RED CLOUD
I have been asked a lot if Cursed Awakening is going to have a sequel. The answer is "YES" and the story continues with Nyx's sister, Lahni and Shiloh Red Cloud of the Whispering Water clan.
So who is Shiloh Red Cloud, you might be wondering? Well here are his stats.
Full Name: Shiloh Red Cloud
Status: Clan Leader and Warrior/Lakota Sioux
Age: Early 30s
Height: 6ft 4in
Weight: 220lbs of pure muscle
Hair: Jet Black
Eye Color: Mercury Silver with Gold
Tattooes/Piercings: His left arm has the tattoo of a tribal wolf symbol and his left ear is pierced
Mate: Complicated with Lahni Wahpeton (extremely complicated)
Hobbies: He has a clan to oversee, Cinjin to babysit, and Lahni to chase
Music: Rock, Metal, and Classical
Favorite Saying: "It's not the wolf in the fight but the fight in the wolf."
Pet Peeves: Cinjin and Lahni's brothers
Best Friend: Cinjin
It's said that Shiloh is a descendant from the great Sioux Chiefs, Red Cloud and Crazy Horse. He grew up at the New Hope Reservation with the Wahpeton family. It is also rumored that he and Dyami Wahpeton's daughter, Lahni were sweethearts until Shiloh's father died and he had to leave to take his father's place. He is a force to be reckoned with and is a fierce warrior. He is well respected among his people and those who know him, well except for Lahni; she considers him the bane of her existence, have given him their trust. He's head strong but uses wisdom before he acts.
EXCLUSIVE BLURB
Savage Dawn
Shiloh Red Cloud is a proud and fierce clan leader. He has fought many battles but his biggest and hardest battle has yet to be won. Forced to become a man much sooner than he planned; he sacrificed the only woman he's ever loved for the greater good. Now that He's returned, he's going to claim what he should have so many years before.
Lahni Wahpeton has a great career as a guitarist in a metal band, a great family, and she has her own life. When her family needed her she came, but she didn't expect Shiloh Red Cloud to be camped out on her family's land. The only person to ever break Lahni was Shiloh and it was a wound that never really healed. She wants nothing to do with him and refuses to even hold a civil conversation with him. She can't wait to get back to her band, the music, and as far from Shiloh Red Cloud as she can get because if she would let him in, it might just destroy her.
Shiloh refuses to give up on Lahni and he's willing to fight for her if he doesn't end up strangling her first. Can Lahni forgive the past and take a chance again with her heart? Will Shiloh be able to love the woman Lahni is today instead of the young girl she once was? Two havles that are destined to find each other and forces that will try to tear them apart will erupt in Savage Dawn.
TEASER ALERT!
Khloe stood at the window of her old room as she
watched Shiloh’s truck pull up. She could hear the screaming and arguing going
on. No doubt everyone in the house could hear it. She watched as Shiloh grabbed
her sister by the wrist and tried to pull her back to him, but she out stepped
him and jerked her hand away and ran up the steps and slammed the door. Shiloh
just stood there for the longest time. Lahni ran up the stairs and she heard
her sister close her door. Her parents were stirring, no doubt worried over
their daughter. She watched as Shiloh hung his head slightly and turned back
towards his truck. Cinjin wrapped his arms around her and she sighed as she
leaned back against his chest.
“Is
he going to be alright?” she asked softly.
Cinjin
nuzzled her cheek, “I’m sure he will be. He’s not going to give up on her,
Khloe.”
Khloe
turned in his arms and looked up at him, cupping his face with her hands, “I
love you Cinjin. She’s my sister and it hurts me to see her in so much pain. I
couldn’t imagine life without you.”
Cinjin grinned, “Well it wasn’t so long ago
you tried to resist my…charm and sex appeal.”
Khloe
laughed, “Oh baby, I was on to your sex appeal from the get go, but you were in
need of training.”
He
arched an eyebrow before cupping her ass and lifting her. Khloe wrapped her
legs around his waist as he placed her against the wall. Cinjin ground against
her pussy, already hard for her, “You like me wild and untamed, remember?”
Khloe’s
breasts were heavy and her nipples hard as she arched into his chest. She was
already wet and in need for him and Cinjin was more than happy to sate her
need.
Lahni
took a good long shower wishing she could wash away the anger and heartache.
Her emotions were bouncing all over the place to the point she’d caused more
than a few light bulbs to shatter. After she stepped out of the bathroom and
had dressed in her pajamas, she went to her window and outside sat a silver
grey wolf at the tree line. He was going to destroy her all over again but the
worst part was that a part of her still wanted him. She pulled the blind and
shut her curtains and flopped on her bed. She couldn’t stop the tears that fell
down her face onto her pillow.
Shiloh sat
listening to the soft crying of his mate. It ripped at his soul and he wanted
to do nothing more than go to her and soothe her. However, it was going to be a
trial through fire to get her to accept him close enough to do any of that.
Since he was forced to leave her, he’d done everything he could in the hopes of
one day claiming her. Shiloh had filled his father’s shoes, took hold of his
people, and built a home she would be proud to share with him. All these things
he had done and broke his back to do and now he was having his doubts Lahni
would ever be truly his. He allowed himself a few more moments of self-pity
before he shook it off. He was going to win her heart again even if it killed
him. Long ago, they had formed a bond; both their animal spirits had recognized
one another as mates, and a wolf simply did not walk away from its mate. In
Lahni’s eyes though, he had done just that. He could still remember that
fateful day. The heartbreak in those unusual eyes of hers had branded him for
life.
“Little Bird, where are you hiding today?”
he called out to her knowing already where she was hiding.
He walked silently through the
forest, careful not to snap a branch. There was the faint sound of laughter
which caused him to smile. He shifted quickly and darted to the right. Just as
he cleared a fallen log, out she shot like a streak of lightening. Shiloh
pushed himself faster until he was on her. They ran through the forest and out
into a great meadow that was covered with tall grass and a rainbow of wild
flowers. Lahni feigned to the right but it was too late. Shiloh had pounced and
now had her underneath him. He laughed inside her mind as she did him. He bent
and nipped gently at her ear. For what seemed like an eternity they had played
in that meadow; the same one that as young children they had considered their
own playground. Shiloh shifted as did Lahni. Their nudity had never made Lahni
shy before but Shiloh noticed her blush as she tried to shield herself from
him. Her hair was long and it reminded him of pale gold wheat. He took her hand
and pulled her to him, cuddling her as he always had; shielding her nakedness.
He tried to not notice that her arousal and beauty wasn’t making him hard as a
rock but by the look in her blue and green eyes, she wanted him just as badly
as he wanted her. He almost come apart when she nuzzled his chest and kissed a
path up to his neck. One day, and one day soon he was going to go have to go to
her father and ask for her, but right now all he could do was get lost in those
depths of green and blue.
Shiloh lowered his head and kissed
the curve of her ear before whispering, “Lahni, you’re going to get us both in
trouble.”
She looked up at him and licked her
lips as she cupped his face, “You’re mine Shiloh, all mine!” then she pressed
her lips to his.
Shiloh opened his mouth and sought
hers with his own, his hands finding purchase with her breasts that had seemed
to mature overnight. He laid her back against the soft grass and ground against
the place he wanted to be the most. She moaned and let her hands explore his
back and arms. Shiloh felt himself coming apart at the seams as if was losing
control.
“We have to stop Lahni. I have to
speak to your father.” That was about all he got out before she invade his mouth
and wrapped her legs around his waist rubbing herself against him and damn if
she wasn’t wet. Shiloh growled as he fought to stay in control. He lifted his
head once more, “Lahni,” but he was interrupted as they both caught a familiar
scent…they were not alone anymore. Immediately Shiloh shifted and stood in
front of Lahni as she shifted. A large dark red wolf came just into view. It
was Lahni’s brother Nauru. Nauru was the eldest, and somewhere close by had to
be his twin. The two were rarely separated from one another. Shiloh worried
that he and Lahni had been caught. The red wolf approached cautiously. Shiloh
ran to meet him so that Nauru wouldn’t get a whiff of what they’d been doing.
He didn’t want Lahni to be shamed. She deserved better than her father’s
disapproval of pre-mated sex.
“Shiloh, you’re needed at your
mother’s house. Now.” Nauru spoke gruffly which caused Lahni to snarl at her
brother.
Shiloh looked back at Lahni and they
both headed to the Reservation. His mother was a fine and healthy woman. He
prayed to the Great Spirit all would be well.
***
“Shiloh, did you hear me son? You’re
father has died and you…you are to go with your grandfather to the Whispering
Water clan.” His mother had said through tears.
Shiloh hadn’t seen his dad more than
a few times in the past eight years. He barely knew him let alone the older man
who stood before him that had introduced himself as his grandfather. Lahni
stood next to her own grandfather, the Shaman of her clan and Chief Elder to
the New Hope Reservation council. Nauru and his twin kept close.
“I cannot go Mother.”
His mother was barely holding
herself together and wiping at her eyes, it was funny that he didn’t feel the
same level of grief, maybe he should have but he didn’t. She shook her head,
“My son, you must go. You are the son of a clan leader.”
He looked at Lahni who had a single
tear streaked down her cheek.
“No, I won’t. I never knew my
father, not really.”
The grandfather stepped closer,
“Grandson, your father has passed his duty on to you. You have to know you were
his pride and heart just as you are mine as well. You must come and learn to
lead your people and your clan.”
Shiloh straightened up to his full
height of six feet, though he was still skinny for his age, he still towered
over the older man who looked bewildered.
“Duty? Duty is to the life I have
made with my mother here. Duty is to the clan that has been the ones to do the
job that my father was supposed to do and didn’t. I will not go.”
Shiloh’s mother looked up at him
with a strange look on her face-one he’d never seen on her before. She walked
over to him and slapped him right across the face. He heard Lahni cry out but
all he could do was feel shocked and hurt that his own mother had struck him.
“Never speak ill of the man I loved
and the one who was your father! He never abandoned us! Not once, because I
understood his path. Mine was to raise you and I had to do it here. He never
demanded the rights of a clan chief of me when it came to you and I was most
grateful for that. The only agreement we had was that when you were old enough,
you’d go to him so he could teach you to be a man and a strong leader. Do not
shame him or I by using cold angry words.”
She embraced him and he just stood
there as the only world he’d ever known fell to pieces around him. He looked
grimly at Lahni. He knew he would have to go, but he didn’t want to leave her.
How could he? She was his soul and his heart. Lahni’s grandfather, Nighthorse,
held her close to his chest as she cried. She knew it too. Damn traditions and
damn his father!
***
“Lahni listen to me damn it! I have
no choice in this, you were there.”
Lahni held on to his arms, “Please,
don’t go! We could run away-we could live far from everyone. Don’t leave me
Shi, please!”
He cupped her face in his hands, “My
Little Bird, don’t you think my heart is breaking too? I don’t want to leave
but we cannot run. It’s not right and you know it. They would only hunt us down
and we’d hurt everyone we cared about if we did that. I’ll write you every day
and as soon as I am accepted as their clan chief, I will come back for you and
we will be mated the right way and spend the rest of our lives together.”
She collapsed against his chest and
he wrapped her arms around her and held her, fighting his own tears. How was he
going to survive without her? How was he going to be able to leave her like
this?
“Promise me you’ll come back. Don’t
go away and not come back Shi, I couldn’t bear it.” She sobbed against his
heart.
Shiloh tucked his head against her
neck, breathing in her scent as he murmured, “I’ll come back every chance I can
get baby. Be strong and hold on for me; for us.”
A half hour later, his grandfather
and her brothers had packed up a truck. Shiloh said his final good-bye’s to his
mother and all his friends. He saved Lahni for last. The look of utter
heartbreak in her eyes ripped his soul apart. Before he could take her into his
arms, she stepped back and said, “Come back to me, remember your promise.” Then
she shifted and ran. Her grandfather had put an arm around his shoulders,
“Things will be okay. I will speak to her and things will be right again. Your
grandfather is a good man and you will learn much from him.”
Shiloh looked at his grandfather and
sighed as he began to take steps to a new life-one he wasn’t sure he wanted.
Shiloh
drew himself out of the past. His grandfather had been a good man and had
taught him a great deal. He’d kept his promise, he’d written to Lahni every day
but she’d never written to him. When he’d visited his mother, her brother Caleb
had explained that had gone away that summer to some sort of art camp. He’d
given Caleb a letter and some gifts to give to her. She’d never so much had
sent a “Thank-You” card. When she’d gone away to Tulane all the way in New
Orleans, Louisiana, he had driven up there on his own just to miss her again.
Finally when his mother had passed away, she’d been at his mother’s wake and
burial ceremony. In his grief, he had been cold and angry at her when it wasn’t
her fault, but she’d seemed unaffected. The day after the funeral, he’d gone to
apologize, but she refused to see him. Then there was the night a few years
later, when he’d caught up with her at a bar where she was playing with a rock
band.
“You
look about as miserable as a wolf caught in a bear trap.” Bodhi groused as he
came up next to Shiloh.
Shiloh
looked up at Bodhi and snorted, You
should put on some clothes. You never know when a female might come by and fall
over from laughing.
Bodhi laughed,
“Shit, if a female came by, she’d be scared away by that perpetual scowl you
always wear.”
Shiloh
turned his head, How did it happen that
you weren’t eaten at birth? Even wolves have been known to eat their young.
“Dude, has
anyone ever told you that you’re a buzzkill Shi? Damn man go get laid or
something.” Body reached over at a tree where clothing was tied up and pulled
out a pair of sweat pants.
Shiloh
would love to get laid but if he went near Lahni, she’d probably rip all the
parts he was partial to off in a way that would ensure he’d walk funny and
speak like Betty White for the rest of his life. He sighed.
Bodhi
looked at Shiloh then up at Lahni’s window and back a Shiloh. He knew the story
with those two all too well. When Shiloh had left, Lahni had gone weeks without
eating. She had made herself sick and their grandfather and Khloe had been the
only two people that could reach her. Every day she waited to hear from Shiloh
but never had. Then when everyone was pretty sure she was going to grieve
herself to death and her father had made the decision to go drag Shiloh back,
she’d snapped out of it and went on about life as if he’d never existed. It was
also around that time when she’d left home too.
“Sorry
man, I didn’t mean to bust your balls.” He squatted next to Shiloh, “I’ll give
you some advice,” Shiloh looked back at him, “Don’t let her go. Somewhere down
deep she still loves you. I see flickers now and then when she looks at you or
she hears your name right before she wants to cut off your bits and pieces then nail them to a wall. For moments, she remembers you but she puts that wall down
and you gotta get through the wall man. You were her friend once, and her best
friend at that. Find that common ground you both once shared.”
Shiloh
nodded his head, Thanks Bodhi. I’ll try.
I never wanted to leave her. Never.
Bodhi winked and
headed up into the house. He held the door open, Why don’t you crash here tonight? You’re folks are all nice and secure
for the night and your man Josiah and my brothers are running patrols in the
area.
Shiloh thought
it out for a moment, I don’t think Lahni
would like waking up and me being in her home.
Bodhi’s smile
went a mile wide, “I know, that’s the fun part about it all. It will not be
comfortable or expected. C’mon man, everything is cool.”
Shiloh
agreed but went to run one last check himself and grab some clothes. Bodhi was
waiting when he returned. Shiloh shifted in the woods before walking out
towards the house.
“I
hope she doesn’t wake up and decide to neuter me.” Shiloh murmured as he walked
through the door.
Bodhi
chuckled, “That would suck, epically. No worries man, no one comes in my room,
not even Caleb and he’s my twin.
Once
Shiloh seen Bodhi’s room, he could see why. It was a total wreck.
Bodhi
flopped on his bed, “Welcome to my bachelor pad.”
Shiloh
grinned, “You and Cinjin have a lot in common.”
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