Children of the Wolves by Jessica Starre Read Free Book Online Page B

— well, she wanted.
    She shook her head to clear it, then looked around the room to make sure she had put her materials away. Michael could rattle her so badly she couldn’t think, couldn’t remember from one moment to the next. If he noticed, he never said so.
    Jelena saw Teresa watching them from across the room, her eyes slitted with curiosity. Apparently she had noticed. Then Teresa turned with a smile to her protector, Charmaine, and said brightly, “All set.” The four of them left the workshop together and set off for the dining hall, Michael and Charmaine talking easily about the new pony Rufus the Horsemaster had acquired from the Umluans, a short shaggy beast that provoked shouts of laughter among the riders who were accustomed to their taller, leaner mounts.
    â€œRufus is determined to understand how the Umluans could use the ponies in their cavalry. They’re quite successful,” Charmaine said.
    â€œAnd what has he learned?”
    â€œThat the pony has an evil temper and an aversion to the bit,” Charmaine said, and Michael laughed. “But Rufus is nothing if not persevering,” she added.
    â€œHe was a rodeo cowboy,” Michael said.
    In his pastself, it went without saying. Jelena tried to think if she knew what a rodeo was.
    â€œProbably broke every bone in his body then, too,” Charmaine said.
    With a pang, Jelena remembered how the trader had bargained with the Trinitarians for a big bay stallion at about the same time Rufus had purchased the pony. It was generally agreed that the trader had obtained the far better deal and the stablehands gave the horsemaster no end of grief over his acquisition — the horsemaster being no horse trader like old Gregorius the Trader.
    Now Gregorius was gone and the people blamed it on the wolves.
    Teresa spoke suddenly, materializing next to Jelena, her voice pitched low as she cast a discreet glance over her shoulder to be sure Charmaine and Michael couldn’t overhear. “Did you hear about Danielle?” she asked.
    â€œNo,” Jelena said in a flat voice that invited no further comment even as a coil of uncertainty snaked through her. Danielle served on the riders under Michael. What about her? And what did she have to do with Jelena or Teresa? Jelena forced herself to keep a disinterested expression on her face. It never did to encourage Teresa in her talk.
    Teresa persisted despite Jelena’s apparent lack of interest. “They say she carries a trueborn.”
    â€œMmm,” Jelena said noncommittally, although the gossip surprised her. Danielle was not partnered with anyone, though that didn’t mean she couldn’t be pregnant. The people and the elders didn’t encourage such things outside partnering but after all, the important thing was to have trueborn children. Trueborn children belonged to the tribe, no matter their parentage, and the elders were always anxious that more trueborns be brought into the world. This was as the makers decreed. And yet there were so few trueborns.
    Sometimes, Jelena knew, the elders despaired of ever creating the world they believed they were intended to make. Privately, Jelena thought everyone should be her own maker, but she had never voiced such a shocking thought aloud. So the elders prayed to the makers for guidance though Jelena had never seen any evidence that it was forthcoming.
    Teresa put an unwelcome hand on Jelena’s arm to stop her from moving away. Jelena flinched but didn’t pull free; she didn’t want to be openly discourteous to Teresa. Michael would disapprove. He had never understood her distaste for Teresa.
    â€œThey say that Michael is the father.”
    The words lashed Jelena like a whip but she kept her face still, forcing herself not to respond. She knew Teresa was watching her reaction closely.
    Michael? Had Michael shared his body with Danielle? During all those weeks and months — years — when Jelena