Savage Desires (1st in Savage Series)

Chapter Nine

Hawke rode into town nearly an hour later with his eyes scanning every direction at once. He rode down to the stage coach office and after hitching Trigger to the post he walked in.

"Hawke." Greg said from behind the counter as he pushed his glasses up on his freckled nose. Hawke nodded and looked around the stage office realizing instantly that Nathan was not here. An old man and woman sat in the corner and a mother and small child sat on a bench a few feet from Hawke. The woman eyed Hawke nervously and then went back to reading her book.

"Hawke, you know I can't sell you a ticket for the stage.. The boss doesn't allow your kind." Hawke stood tall and squared his shoulders.

"I am looking for someone." he replied. Greg nervously picked at his grey vest and began straightening papers on the counter.

"Who?"

"A man named Nathan Yeary. He is about this tall.." Hawke raised his hand to his shoulder to indicate Nathan's height. "Blond and pale. He was coming into town to take the stage to Helena."

"He's gone already. The stage left nearly two hours ago." Greg replied. Hawke's fists clenched and he turned to leave the office when he felt a tugging on his buckskin pants. He looked down to see the toddler smiling up at him.

"Hi." the red haired child said. Hawke smiled and nodded his head.

"Hello." he replied. The mother looked up from her reading and gasped.

"Get away from my baby!" she shouted as she grabbed the child's arm and pulled him into her arms. "Marshall Yale has lost his mind letting savages like you walk the streets with the rest of us! You should be tied up and sent to the reservation with the rest of your kind." Hawke had heard all of these things before and so he paid no attention the words. He tipped his head to the child and then walked out of the stage office.

Revenge against Nathan would have to wait until the man got back to town. Hawke had no doubt he and Trigger could catch up to the stage coach but he did not want to leave Lily alone that long. Hawke walked up the street to Doctor Mason's office.

"Hawke, my boy how are you?" Doc Mason asked cheerfully as he rose from his desk and slapped Hawke on the back.

"I am well." Hawke replied. "But there is a woman at my house that is not." Doc Mason could see the worry in Hawke's eyes and it surprised him. Doc Mason had helped give birth to Hawke and he had known the boy his whole life. Never before had he seen Hawke look worried.

"Let's go then." Doc Mason said grabbing his black doctors bag from the floor.

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"What the devil happened to her?" Doc Mason demanded when he walked in and saw Lily Yeary lying beaten, bruised and asleep on the bed.

"The devil happened to her." Hawke replied. "Her husband did this." Doc Mason's eyes widened.

"Nathan did this?" he asked. He had gone to dinner with Nathan and Lily several times since they had come to town and he had thought that Nathan was a decent man. He was friendly and laughed and smiled a lot… Could he really have done this to his own wife?

"Yes." Hawke growled. Doc Mason looked over at Hawke. Most people did not trust him because of his Indian blood but Doc Mason knew that Hawke was one of the most trustworthy people alive. If Hawke said Nathan did this then he believed him.

"We need to let the Marshall know." Doc Mason said. Hawke nodded.

"You can tell him when you get back to town." Doc Mason shook his head.

"No he's gone. Won't be back for nearly two weeks. He left his deputy in charge." Hawke snorted and crossed his arms over his broad chest.

"It can wait until the Marshall gets back. Nathan is gone and will not be back for a month." Hawke knew the deputy and he neither trusted or respected the man.

"I need to check her out, go ahead and step out of the room Hawke." Doc Mason said. Hawke forced his feet to move and walked out of the room. He paced in the cabin for several minutes but the walls and ceiling felt like they were pressing down on him and so he quickly walked outside.

Wolf watched the alpha pace back and forth. The alpha always paced when he was upset over something. Wolf sighed and laid his head down on his paws.

Wolf was angry that the evil two legger had done this to the alpha's female. The scent of his anger had been thick in the air at the other house. Now it was the scent of the alpha's anger and worry that filled the air. Wolf's eyes followed him back and forth over and over again and Wolf finally closed his eyes as the alpha's pacing began to make him dizzy.

Wolf would protect his alpha and his alpha's female. If the evil smelling one ever came near either of them again he would rip his throat out. Hunt and kill.

The alpha's pacing was becoming too much for Wolf. He did not like seeing his alpha this upset. Didn't the evil smelling one realize how dangerous the alpha was? Making the alpha angry was never a good idea. Wolf stood up and walked into the woods. He would make sure there were no threats anywhere near the alpha and female.

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"She'll be fine, Hawke. She just needs rest." Doc Mason said a while later as he walked outside. Hawke breathed a sigh of relief and stopped pacing.

"Thank you." he said. He was about to walk into the cabin when Doc Mason stepped in his way.

"I will take her back to town with me. She is still asleep but I can lay her in your cart." Hawke looked at the late evening sunset and shook his head.

"She stays here." he said. Doc Mason shook his own head.

"That is not a good idea, Hawke."

"She stays here." Hawke said again meeting the doctors gaze. Doc Mason sighed. He knew what the look in Hawke's eyes meant. He knew that Hawke was not going to back down.

"She's a married woman, Hawke." he reminded him. Hawke's eyes flashed with anger.

"She will soon be a widow." he replied. Doc Mason shook his head and walked over to his horse.

"I'll pretend that I never heard that." he said as he unhitched his horse and lifted his old bones into the saddle. "This won't help the towns opinion of you." Hawke shrugged.

"Have I ever cared what they think of me?" he asked. Doc Mason chuckled and shook his head.

"No. No you are just like your father when it comes to not caring what anyone thinks." Doc Mason nodded a goodbye and then rode off toward town.

Hawke walked back into the cabin. He went into the bedroom to find Lily still sleeping soundly. Hopefully she would rest soundly until morning. He pressed a feather light kiss to her swollen cheek and went back out into the kitchen to warm up some soup for supper.