Noble Hearts (Wild Hearts Romance Book 3) by Phoenix Sullivan Page A

still didn’t let him go. Knowing that, he ducked his head and whined—a submissive gesture, an apology. Not because I was his master, because I was never that—could never be that—to him. But because I was something infinitely more dear—his mother, his friend.
    I clasped his head against my chest, and my fingers found Mark’s still twined around the heavy collar. Laying my forehead against the top of the Rottweiler’s head in silent communion, I grasped Mark’s hand in mine, including him in the wash of relief and gratitude and, yes, even the love that flowed between Gus and me.
    “ Asante . Thank you,” I whispered, including Mark in that as well.
    “ Jumbe! Jumbe!” Ikeno and Mshindi came running up the slope, rifles in hand, concern on their faces as they searched for any lingering danger.
    “ Hai! ” Ikeno aimed his rifle after the distant flick of hyena tail as it was about to disappear into the forest.
    “ Hapana! No!”
    Grudgingly, Ikeno lowered his rifle at my command.
    Mshindi stalked up to the first hyena, the big male, and whistled at his size. “ Nzuri, jumbe? ” he called to me.
    Was I okay? “ Nydio .” I answered. “We’re okay.”
    As Ikeno approached Tamu and Nyota cowering at the edge of the paddock, Mshindi was already making his way to the female hyena there to ensure the bullet had been true. These men were protective of their cattle and held little love for hyenas who could easily take a calf in the night, but they were also compassionate men who would not allow a beast—any beast—to suffer.
    When the aimed rifle didn’t fire, I knew the kill had been clean. I was thankful for that—and surprised at Mark’s marksmanship.
    “Where did you learn to shoot?”
    “Just lucky I guess.” His dark eyes wouldn’t meet mine.
    “One shot might be luck. Two is skill.” I didn’t press him, though. My terrified orphans were still backed against the fence, careful not to touch it, but crowding as far from the hyena and Ikeno as possible. Ikeno wasn’t a stranger to them, but only the children ever came up on rare occasion to gawk at the orphans and help feed them. The more practical adults indulged my strange behavior that went so counter to their own. If the rhino and okapi weren’t destined for the table, why spend resources to raise them? Weren’t there enough rhinos and okapis on the mountain already? Not that any of them would ask me that directly, but the children were less guarded when it came to repeating the things they heard their parents gossip about.
    With a squeeze to Mark’s hand and a kiss to Gus’s head, I hurried across the paddock to comfort the watoto , nodding my thanks to Ikeno as he joined Mshindi to carry the 50-kilo hyena out. They would dress the hyenas and share the meat out, mainly for stews and flavoring, as hyena meat tended to be tough and gamy. Part of it would be offered to me. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have the stomach for these particular hyenas myself, but by the time I boiled the meat, Gus wouldn’t know the difference.
    When it came to my little menagerie, nothing much went to waste.
    Crouching in front of Tamu and Nyota, I waited for them to come to me, welcoming them each in turn with a hug and a kiss to the muzzle. It was a fine line to tread if I intended to release my little orphans later into the wild. They needed assurance now that all again was right in their world, while at the same time I didn’t want to diminish the danger and the fright they’d had. I wanted them to remember hyenas were their enemy and to know hyenas didn’t always drop down dead in the middle of an attack.
    On the former point I was successful as their trembling quieted and they took tentative steps toward the middle of the paddock with the hyena had been. I walked with them and encouraged them to sniff and explore the spot where it had fallen as my men dragged the carcass under the lowest strand of fencing only a few meters from where Mark still knelt