Native American Shaman Family Origins

Franco felt Naomi’s hand on his shoulder as if in sympathy. Surprisingly, he felt a wonderful warmth and happiness seep into his bones. Everything would work out fine.

“Mother!” Tehya said sharply.

Franco returned to being upset when Naomi moved away. Before he could question what just happened, Jefferson broke the silence.

“Who is Sasha?”

Tehya didn’t answer so Franco asked a question of his own. “When you came into the cave why did you say, ‘I should kill you where you sleep, wolf?”

“Daddy!” Tehya exclaimed in horror.

Franco reached out to cover her hands with his. “If we had a daughter and I found her the way he discovered us, I might be tempted to kill first and ask questions later, Tehya. I don’t blame him.”

Franco watched her eyes widen, her hands go to her stomach in a protective gesture and he fought to keep his expression from revealing his shock.

Shit! They hadn’t used any protection last night, something impossible to do in wolf form anyway. Once they returned to their human forms, they were so hungry for each other he never considered slowing down long enough to put on a condom.

Not now. He would deal with that later.

When he looked away from Tehya he caught Naomi’s eye and realized she knew exactly where his and Tehya’s thoughts went. She raised one eyebrow and allowed a half-smile to touch her lips.

Thank god and goddess Jefferson had no clue.

“I called you wolf because, well…” Tehya’s father looked at her, then back at Franco with a question blazing in his eyes. He didn’t know if his daughter knew Franco’s secret.

“You said wolf because you somehow realized I carry one inside me.”

As Franco said the words, Jefferson watched his daughter for her reaction to the statement. He seemed puzzled when she didn’t react.

“How is it you know of my wolf, but don’t know about Tehya’s?”

“What?” both Naomi and Jefferson exclaimed again.

Franco noticed Jason wasn’t surprised.

Tehya sighed. “The wolf came to me as a spirit totem.”

“Which is convenient, since my wolf has claimed her as his mate. And so, have I.”

“Are you telling us you have a wolf spirit totem, too?” Naomi asked.

“Nah, I’m just your garden-variety werewolf,” Franco replied.

Tehya rolled her eyes at his comment and turned her attention back to her family. “My spirit wolf is called Sasha.” She didn’t add a lot of detail.

“How long?” Naomi asked.

“Since I was twelve.”

“Why haven’t you told us?” Naomi asked. Both she and Jefferson looked hurt.

“You’ve excluded me from the family secrets! I only know what I’ve been able to piece together by listening at doors and snooping around.” She waved her hand at her father. “Dad goes out into a field and makes lightning. I’ve seen him do it.”

Before her father could answer, she glared at her mother. “You touch souls—sensing goodness or evil. Did either of you bother telling me? No. I had to discover all this on my own. I still don’t know why we even have magical powers.”

Franco realized Naomi was touching his soul when she put her hand on his shoulder. He squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. What had she seen?

Jason began to speak. “In a normal Native American family, animal totems act as guides throughout your life. They’re used to help us get in touch with our feelings, to grow emotionally and spiritually. We can pray for a specific animal to guide us, or a certain animal may come to us because of our need. The wolf is a teacher and a pathfinder. His presence signifies a person needs help or guidance in his or her life. Fortunate enough to be visited by the wolf, you would go on to teach others many of life’s lessons. He can also be helpful in building personal strength, teaching us to value our inner voice.”

He paused for a moment to study Tehya. “As you’ve noticed, in this family spirit totems are much more.”

Tehya couldn’t stop the snort of laughter.

“As to who we are…we’re protective Shamans. Our family made a pact with the Great Spirit at the beginning of time.” He turned to Franco. “The short version is we believe man was created by Sinauf, a god who was half-man, half-wolf. His brothers were Coyote and Wolf. According to our legends, Sinauf was preparing for a long journey so he made a bag. In this bag he placed special sticks—all the sticks were the same size, but they were made from different types of wood. The bag was magical and when Sinauf put the sticks inside, they changed into people. As he put more and more sticks into the bag the noise the people made aroused the curiosity of all the animals.

“After filling his magic bag Sinauf closed it and went to prepare for his journey. His brother Coyote was curious. He made a little hole with his flint knife near the top of the bag and peeked in to see what his brother was hiding.

“When Sinauf returned he picked up the bag, threw it over his shoulder without realizing there was a hole at the top, and headed for the Una-u-quich, the distant high mountains. Long story short…through Coyote’s hole in the top of the bag, the people started jumping out. When Sinauf reached Una-u-quich, he found only a few people left in his bag. Our family was among those remaining. When the people jumped out of the bag, some of them fell into magical places and were transformed. As with all living creatures some of the magical beings were good, some bad. Our family agreed to protect mankind from the evil created during this time. There’s a catch. Not all our family members are born with supernatural abilities. So, we wait, sharing the heritage with those who show signs of power.” Jason looked pointedly at Tehya.

Tehya looked around at her family. “Because I kept my power a secret, you assumed I didn’t have any?”

“Well. I suspected something,” Jason laughed.

Books:
Magic & Myth (Unholy Magic)
Midnight’s Mystery
UnDuplicated Magic
Autumn’s Awakening
Vlad & Veronica
(UnEnding Magic – Free Book - Druid Mage & Shaman Family Reunion.)

Family Excerpt: Meeting The Parents

Coming awake in a near panic, Franco sensed people entering the cave where he and Tehya slept. He kept his eyes closed in feigned sleep and mentally searched their auras for intent. For one frantic beat of his heart, he thought the evil presence from the mountain had discovered them.

No. He sensed no dark malevolence emanating from the visitors.

“I should kill you where you sleep wolf,” a deep voice growled in fury.

There was lots of anger though.

Franco opened his eyes and met the livid gaze of a very large and deadly looking man. Gray braids hung over his shoulders, his copper skin just starting to show signs of aging. The man’s dark brown eyes reminded him of Tehya’s.

The movement behind the man caught Franco’s gaze. A woman moved to stand beside the gray-haired man. If the man reminded him of his mate, the woman was like looking at a future picture of Tehya.

Then his protective instincts rose. He shifted his body in front of Tehya’s sleeping form when a dark Native American warrior-type moved to the other man’s right. Franco bet Marine or Special Forces for this one. He had a look that said, “I know how to kill with my hands, don’t fuck with me”.

Franco sighed. Meeting Tehya’s family while lying buck-naked beside his mate in a cave wasn’t exactly what he had in mind when he thought of how this moment would play out.

He looked at the sunlight streaming through the mouth of the cave and decided it must be early afternoon. They had been asleep for about six hours.

He felt Tehya’s hands on his back as she pushed him to the side.

“Daddy? Mom? Uncle Jason?”

Shit. It really was the nightmare he feared.

“What are you all doing here? Oh!” Tehya blushed when she remembered where they were and what she wasn’t wearing.

“It’s been nearly twenty-four hours since you sent the email,” the deadly looking man—Uncle Jason? —said. His dark brown eyes were filled with mirth. Okay. Maybe Uncle Jason wouldn’t try to strangle him with his bare hands today.

One glance at the father’s eyes assured Franco his neck wasn’t entirely out of danger.

What email? Franco wondered, shifting his gaze to Tehya. He couldn’t help smiling. Her hair was a mess, her face burned by his whiskers. There were small love bites on her neck and upper chest where he sucked on her skin. On her neck, the red raised marks of his wolf pulsed in the light streaming into the cave. She had the look of a woman who’d been ravished long and often. Franco would be very lucky if Daddy didn’t kill him.

“Twenty-four hours?” Tehya sounded amazed and Franco sighed. Yeah, they had been in the cave for hours.

“I think it might be better to move this conversation to the cabin.” Uncle Jason shifted his gaze to look outside. “Something’s wrong. Tehya did you check out the mountain?”

“I did, but you’re right. This isn’t the place for a lengthy conversation. You three go back to the cabin. Franco and I will meet you there in a sec.”

“Franco.” Tehya’s father glared daggers at him. Her mother reached out to gently lead her husband from the cave—after looking at Franco with eyes that he swore could see all the way down to his toes. Shit! He had a feeling Tehya’s mother would be the real threat.

“You know if you aren’t five minutes behind us, Naomi and Jefferson will return,” Jason said with a smile as he followed the older couple out of the cave.

“Great. I left the snowsuit behind. I’m going to have to go back to the cabin wrapped in one of these blankets,” Tehya mumbled.

Franco looked at her and frowned. Waving his hand, he dressed her in jeans and a soft T-shirt covered by a down jacket. Then he handed her a brush. With the second flick of his wrist, he dressed and cleared away any trace they left in the cave.

Tehya blinked. “We never did find time to talk last night. I have lots of questions.”

“As do I. Tehya? Is your family like you? I couldn’t sense anything otherworldly about them, but I didn’t about you either.”

Tehya sighed. “Yeah, but just how otherworldly they are I’m not sure. I only know what I could find out by eavesdropping and snooping. They haven’t exactly shared their secrets with me. That’s going to change,” she said determinedly as she stalked out of the cave.

Franco would bet she hadn’t shared her secrets with them, either. The next hour could prove to be very interesting.

Maybe if Tehya is ready to do battle over family secrets, her father will be distracted enough to forget he wants to kill me.