“You’re welcome. You girls should get ready soon. We’ll be heading up to Elsu’s soon for the feast.”

  Sara and the squad stand up and Sara playfully kicks my thigh. “See you at Uncle Elsu’s. We’re going to the hotel to get ready.”

  She grabs a couple cookies and they start walking out. I catch Symone’s hand as she’s walking by and she looks down with a smile as she tugs up on my arm, pulling me up.

  “You just going to leave without saying goodbye?” Her smile widens and she wraps her arms around the back of my neck. “We haven’t even said, hello, yet.”

  “Hello and goodbye.” I pretend to pull back and turn around and she laughs and pulls me in tightly. “Brat. Walk me out.”

  She takes my hand and pulls me out of the room. When we get outside, she turns to face me and wraps her arms around me again. She runs her fingers through my hair and smiles.

  “That was really sweet how you took care of Jaime today. You must really care about her.”

  “I would have done the same thing for you.” Her lips curl into a wider smile and her beautiful green eyes seem to brighten. She brushes her thumb across my bottom lip as she moves in closer to me. “You care about me that much?”

  “Yes, you’re one of my best friends.”

  She glides her hand back through my hair again and cups the back of my head. She presses her lips to mine and lightly envelops my bottom lip with hers as she glides her tongue along my lip. Heat instantly flares up in my cheeks as she pulls back and smiles.

  “Sorry, I slipped.” She presses a palm to my cheek and grins as she feels the heat she created. “Guess its ok.” I smile and shake my head. “You’re such a brat. Go get your ass dressed.”

  She giggles and pinches my chin as she releases me and turns to leave. She looks over her shoulder at me with a proud affectionate smile and switches her hips dramatically. I take a deep breath and rub the back of my neck while I watch her walk away. Damn, she’s beautiful. Her light cocoa skin looks soft and smooth, her curves are breath taking, and the happiness radiating off of her right now is stunning.

  My babies and Jaime are missing from the living room so I go back down the hall to Awenasa’s old bedroom. I try to open the door and pretty much walk right into the door because its locked and doesn’t open as I expect it should. There’s a rustling inside and the door unlocks and Madison peeks her head out with a cute smile.

  “You can’t come in.” She closes the door, and a moment later, she opens the door just enough to hand me my suitcase. “Damn, this is sudden, but I guess I should be happy I had such a long run with all of you. Do I need to leave my key on the counter as I leave?” Madison laughs and leans out more, kissing my lips. “We want to surprise you. You can’t see our outfits till we get to the feast. Awenasa packed something special for you to wear.”

  “I packed my own suitcase.” Madison grins and shakes her head. “We snuck it in there. Go get changed.”

  Without waiting for an answer, she closes the door and I hear the lock click and their adorable giggles through the door. I smile and shake my head in amusement. I love those girls so much. They’re just so damn cute.

  I go to the bathroom to get ready. I brush my teeth, comb my hair, and wash my face. I unzip the large section of my suitcase and laugh a little. Awenasa packed me a pair of long black suede shorts with really nice blue and white beadwork along the thigh cuffs and up the sides. There’s a matching tank top that has beadwork around the arms and neck. I rarely wear dance outfits like this, mainly because it’s hard to find ones I’d be comfortable in. Most of the traditional dance regalia for women are either dresses, or skirts with a bikini style top or a halter top. This is a really nice simple outfit and fits how I typically wear my shorts and tank tops. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had to special order this.

  My girls have sweatpants and hoodies on when they finally come out. When I try to hug them, they take my hands and giggle, preventing me from trying to feel them to see what they’re wearing. Jaime is also in sweats, which makes me smile really big. I try to hug her, but she laughs and fends me off as well.

  When we get to Uncle Elsu’s, there’s a huge roaring bonfire lit that’s a few feet wide on all sides and the acre lawn is bordered with lit torches, giving the whole lawn a beautiful orange glow against the light gray sky of early evening. Jasper comes running over to me with a huge smile and releases a loud wolf howl as I scoop him up in my arms. I squeeze him tightly and he laughs and kisses my lips.

  “I missed you, Wolf. Are we going to dance?”

  “Call the Thunder, Little Wolf.” He giggles and releases a loud war cry. I toss him up on my shoulders and take his hands to hold him steady. We start walking towards the fire and the drums start. “Call the Wind.” He screeches like a hawk and the wind instruments join the drums. “Call the Rain.” He giggles and lays his head on my mine. “I don’t know how.”

  Awenasa immediately calls the Rain and he giggles again. We reach the fire and I turn to face my babies and Jaime.

  “Jasper, call for the dancers to join us.” He giggles and lays his head on mine again. “How, Wolf?”

  “Whistle at them.” Jasper laughs and rocks on my shoulders. “Naughty, puppy, teaching him to whistle at women.” I laugh hard and reach up to tickle Jasper. “Ok, don’t whistle at women. We’ll call them out to us by our dancing. They won’t be able to resist joining us.”

  Jasper giggles and bounces on my shoulders, making my girls laugh. I start stomping and hopping on my feet to the beats of the native instruments, slowly increasing the distance from my girls and getting closer to the fire. They have the most amazing smiles on their faces. As they start to grab for the hem of their hoodies to pull them off, I spin around and release a loud excited war cry, followed by a wolf howl. My girls and Jaime laugh and quickly pull their hoodies off.

  I freeze on the spot and have to bite my tongue to keep from moaning. Holy shit. All of them are wearing beaded bikini tops that wrap around the back of their necks and short white suede skirts with beadwork around the waist and hem. Each of them also have bead cuff anklets with bells on them. I swallow hard and they start to walk out to me with beautiful affectionate smiles.

  “They’re pretty.”

  “Really pretty.”

  “Dance, Wolf.”

  I laugh and start dancing again, release a loud war cry, and twist around my babies and Jaime. They giggle and start dancing with us. Shiloh and several other children come out to dance with us. Within minutes, the lawn is full of family dancing to the beats of the family musicians.

  I twist and twirl between the children and my babies, dancing wild and hard. I love these family gatherings so much. Awenasa has been working with our girls and teaching them how to do our native dancing and they look wonderful. Even Jaime looks really good and she hasn’t had as much instruction.

  My jaw drops and I freeze again. The squad has arrived and they’re all dressed in native inspired dance outfits. My eyes lock on Symone and she grins as she starts to walk over. She’s similarly dressed to my babies and Jaime and she looks so damn good. Jasper bounces on my shoulders and rocks back and forth.

  “Dance, Wolf.”

  I laugh and take Symone’s hand to twirl her around to join our group. She quickly picks up the dance techniques we’re using and looks like she’s having a really good time.

  We dance for a while, before the musicians need to take a break. We crumble in a heap on a blanket and I laugh and tackle my babies, trying to kiss each of them. In my excitement, I accidentally catch Symone and Jaime in my attack and land a firm kiss on their lips. Both of them laugh and pat my cheek as I apologize for attacking them.

  Jasper jumps into our pile and wraps his arms around me, laying his head on my chest. My girls, Symone, and Jaime smile and watch me wrap my arms around him to hold him in my lap like I held Jaime earlier.

  “He likes you.” I smile and ruffle Jasper’s hair. “The Wolf saved my life. I love Kayla.” Symone smiles and her eyes get teary. “We all do.”

  My eyes get big and she smiles in a sad way as she stands up. She rubs my head and starts to walk away, but I catch her hand and pull her back. She smiles down at me with longing, like she wants to kiss me and lay in my arms.

  “Don’t leave.” Her smile widens and she shakes her head. “I’m going to sit with the rest of the squad.”

  “You don’t want to sit with us?” She laughs a little and squeezes my hand as she sits back down next to me. “Ok, I’ll stay.” I smile and kiss her cheek. “Good.”

  I’ve been able to tell for several months that Symone is in love with me, but she hasn’t said it and she’s been very good about her “slip ups”. She gives me soft kisses on the lips, but it’s rare that she does something like she did today.

  Joey and a group of other children come running by, howling and screaming like wild children. Jasper laughs and jumps out of my lap to join them.

  “Is he the boy that you rescued from the tornado?”

  “Yeah, that’s Jasper. He’s one of my cousins.” Awenasa places a hand on Symone’s arm and points across the lawn. “See the boy with the girls around him? That’s Justin. Kayla saved him from a raging river five years ago. He’s ten now and one of the smartest kids his age on the reservation. The little girl chasing after Joey is Shiloh, another one of her cousins. Kayla saved her from a torch landing on her last summer, the night before she saved Jasper. She ended up with a really bad burn on her back that night. Oh, the young twins sitting on the blanket next to the squad, Kayla saved them from a burning cabin in the woods three years ago. There’s one more.” Awenasa looks around and smiles, pointing in the other direction. “Sparrow, the tall woman with the jagged scar across her eye and cheek. Kayla saved her from a bonfire that became out of control when a bad windstorm came through the yard. I think that was six years ago. Everyone in this yard has been touched by Kayla’s selfless love in one way or another.”

  “Baby, you’re embarrassing me.” I lean over and hide in Shannon’s neck, making them laugh a little. Shannon wraps her arms around me and kisses my head. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed, sweetie. You’re a wonderful person and should feel good about that.” I nuzzle in her neck and kiss her all over her neck and cheek, making her giggle. “You’re a more wonderful person. All of my babies are beautiful wonderful queens.”

  Before she can answer, I hear a familiar woman’s voice say, in Cherokee, “The Wolf’s appetite for beauty is still ferocious, I see.”

  I laugh and leap off the blanket onto Awenasa’s Aunt Dalia. She laughs and squeezes me tightly, shoving my face into her very large breasts in the process.

  “My wife has been teaching me our language, so I know what you said.” She lets out a loud bellowing laugh and kisses my lips hard before releasing me. “How am I supposed to share secret messages with my niece now?”

  “I guess you’re just going to have to learn how to behave.”

  She laughs and wraps an arm around my shoulders and looks down at my girls, Jaime, and Symone with a big mischievous grin.

  “Hi, pretty girls. Are we going to get any wild vocals this year? We can setup a tipi for you.”

  I gasp and shove her away from me, making my girls, Jaime, and Symone laugh. Dalia laughs hard and winks at me before she bends down to give Awenasa a hug and then walks away. I shake my head in disbelief as I watch her walk away, and when I look back at the blanket, all of them erupt in laughter again. I blush and plop back down on the blanket with my hands in my face and fall into a lap, hiding my face.

  “Uh, why the hell is your face between Symone’s legs?”

  I quickly lift my head and find myself face to face with Symone’s beautiful smiling face. My face blushes redder than I’ve ever felt it blush before and she laughs and kisses my forehead with a brilliant glimmer in her beautiful green eyes.

  “Sorry. I didn’t look where I was landing.” She laughs a little and shakes her head. “It’s fine.”

  I rub the back of my neck and sit down next to her and look up at Sara, who laughs hard when she sees my face.

  “Damn, you are red. Let us sit with you. The show’s about to start.”

  I smile really big and we shuffle around to make room on the blanket for the rest of the squad. I sit close to my babies and take Shannon’s and Awenasa’s hands in mine and hold them in my lap.

  The dance ring around the bonfire is cleared and everyone takes their seats. A soft drum and flute fills the air and actors and actresses take the “stage”, acting out different legends through interpretive dance while one of the elders narrates the story. This is one of my favorite parts of the gatherings. The little plays are very entertaining and makes me feel closer to my roots. I look around at my babies and the dance squad and I can tell they’re all enjoying it as well. There are several really funny parts and they laugh really hard and have the most amazing smiles lighting up their faces.

  After several mini-plays, the musicians and singers entertain for a little while with music while a couple men get up and do some really cool fire juggling while dancing.

  The entertainment lasts for over an hour, then they put some pre-recorded music on so the musicians can have a break again. I don’t get a chance to ask my babies or squad what they thought of the show before family and friends start coming over to say hello.

  After a while, I start to feel like a groom at a wedding reception surrounded by my wives, because one by one, pretty much everyone in the family comes by our blanket to say hello and thank us for coming and for bringing the music label here to do the music video for Giz.

  My mom and Sequoia notice that we’re not able to get a moment of peace, so they bring us plates of food and some drinks. Even with the interruptions, it’s still a beautiful gathering with my girls. The food is delicious, as always, the bonfire is warm and bright, and the sounds of people laughing, kids playing, and alternating live and recorded native and mainstream music is wonderful.

  After we eat and we finally have a break in the constant flood of people coming to talk to us, we get up and dance some more. We dance to whatever happens to be playing at the time, so we do some native dancing, hip-hop, and slow dancing. Lately, I haven’t been able to dance with my babies as much as I’d like to, so I’m really loving the variety of music to be able to dance with them so much.

  While I’m dancing with my girls, I’m suddenly attacked from behind with loud war cries and wolf howls cutting through the music. Joey and several children tackle me to the ground, making me and everyone else laugh really hard. I squirm to get free, but they have me pinned down. I have about seven children on top of me, and I groan as more keep jumping on top of us.

  “We caught the Wolf!”

  I laugh hard and try to take a deep breath. I let it grow in my belly and then crawl back up my throat in a vicious wolf growl that makes my body shake. Several kids squeal and leap off, but the older boys and girls just laugh. I growl and fight them, slowly wrestling myself out from under them. I face off with them in a squat with my arms out to my sides.

  Jasper comes running around the group and leaps onto my back with a giggle.

  “Go, Wolf! Attack!”

  I laugh and run after Joey with Jasper on my back releasing loud war cries. We chase the kids around the bonfire a few times, before they suddenly turn and start chasing us. I dodge kids left and right, but more kids keep joining the ranks chasing us.

  I laugh and suddenly stop, facing off with them, making the twenty or so kids freeze in their tracks. I snarl and growl at them so viciously that is sends shivers down my own spine. Half of them run away laughing and squealing, while the other half back up. I repeat the deep growls as I slowly step closer to them, making them take slow steps backwards.

  Out of the corner of my eyes, I spot the musicians getting back in position to start playing again, so I release a quick war cry, hawk cry, and call the rain in Cherokee. They immediately start playing and I start a taunting dance.

  “Dance, wolf pups!”

  They laugh and join me, trying to copy my dance. Jasper climbs up my back onto my shoulders, hopping up and down with excitement and laughter. Shiloh comes running over laughing and holding up her arms, so I pick her up and hold her around my waist. I lead the children around the bonfire in a wild dance, collecting all of the children back into the fold. As we’re making a full circle and I see I have all of the children in my train, I tilt my head back and release a loud wolf howl, which all of them repeat.

  As we’re circling again, we come face to face with a hawk dancer perched on one leg, with his wings tucked in, hiding his face, so I can’t tell who it is. We freeze and the kids come around to either side of me, holding their hands up like claws. Its adorable. The figure unfolds and releases a loud, sharp hawk shriek. I smile really big. It’s my dad.

  I set Shiloh and Jasper down next to me and feel energy surge through my veins. My knees bend, my head tilts back, and I release a loud, deep, chest shaking wolf howl that echoes off the trees. My dad smiles and raises his eyebrows, as if he’s impressed. I leap at him and he flips backwards.

  The children give us space and I dance battle with my dad. He dances as a hawk and I dance as a wolf. It’s very acrobatic and very expressive. I haven’t danced with my dad in a long time. I’m really happy in this moment.

  We dance for a few minutes, just the two of us, but then I spot Sara on the sidelines and smile at her. She understands and sprints over. I bend down cupping my hands. She plants a foot in my brace I created, and I lift up hard, tossing her up high in the air above my head. She flips and lands behind me, facing off with our dad. He laughs and flips backwards, putting more space between us.

  The three of us dance hard for several minutes, doing a lot of wild tricks and flips. The musicians challenge us by increasing the tempo and intensity of the music, which makes us laugh in an exhausted way. None of us will give up the battle, but the kids are impatient to be able to play in the ring again, so they swarm us and chase us out of the circle, making everyone laugh.