And it was his loss.
She wouldn't be waiting for him on the other side. The pain of that knowledge tore him apart. She would greet that bastard Buffalo. A man who had caused him infinite grief and tried to alienate him from his father and from their people.
No ... it wasn't right that bastard would have her. Not after Coyote had endured torture and pain to come back to her and take her as his wife.
Damn you all!
Throwing his head back, he screamed in outrage. It wouldn't end like this. He'd been a good man. Obedient. All his life. And one by one, all of them had killed that.
First Makah'Alay, then Buffalo, and finally Butterfly.
They'd ruined his life and changed him forever. There was no way he would let them live a happy eternity together. Not after he'd assumed an immortal Guardianship that would leave him alone for eternity.
He reached into Ren's pouch and summoned the strongest demon elements there. "I curse you, Buffalo," he growled between clenched teeth. "You will live a thousand lives and never be happy in any of them. You will walk this earth, betrayed by all who look upon you. There will be no one place you call home. Not in any human lifetime. And you will never have my Butterfly." He blew his magic from his palm into the air so that it could be carried to the spirits who would make it so.
Then he looked down at the serene beauty of the Butterfly. So gentle. So sweet. The thought of cursing her stung him deep.
But she had scorned him. Betrayed him.
"Because of what you did to me, you will never marry the one you love. He will always die on his way to unite with you and you will spend your lifetimes mourning him over and over again. No peace in any of them. Not until you accept me in my true right. And if you do marry another, he will never trust you. You will never be happy in any marriage. Not so long as you have human blood within you." He reached into his pouch and drew the last of his brother's magic, then sent it into the wind.
"Do you know what you've done?"
Coyote looked up at Choo Co La Tah's approach. "I settled the score."
Choo Co La Tah laughed. "Such magic always comes back on the one who wields it. Whatever you cast for, you bring to shore."
"How so?"
He gestured out the window, toward the sky and the trees. "You know the law. Do no harm, and yet you have done much harm here today."
"They hurt me first."
Choo Co La Tah sighed. "And you have sown the seeds of your ultimate demise. When you curse two people together, you bind them. With that combined strength, they will have the ability to break their curse and kill you."
Coyote scoffed at him. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Arrogance. The number one cause of death among both peasant and king. Beware its sharp blade. More times than not, it injures the one who wields it most of all."
Coyote dismissed Choo Co La Tah's words. He had no interest in them. He would never suffer more. He'd already paid his dues. It was time for him to get his just rewards.
And he would ensure that they did, too. For all time.
Kateri pulled back as she experienced Coyote's hatred firsthand. It was a malevolent beast all its own. She left it there in the past, and looked up at Ren while he held her.
"Am I doing something wrong?" Ren asked with a furrowed brow. "I haven't hurt you, have I?" The concern in his tone warmed her.
How could anyone not treasure someone so sweet?
"No, honey. You definitely haven't done anything wrong. I just felt a jolt of hatred from your brother for you. It was so foul, it momentarily stunned me."
He started to speak, but she placed a finger on his lips to stop him. "Don't say it's your fault. You have suffered far more than he ever did. Yet you are still human. You never left that part of you behind."
"I wasn't always so."
"You were possessed. That's different."
Ren wasn't so sure about that. Yes, he'd allowed the Grizzly Spirit to take possession of his body, but he'd been aware even then what he was doing. And the Grizzly hadn't been inside him at the point he'd killed his father.
That, he'd done on his own.
He glanced down at the scar near his left hip where his father had almost gutted him. It had been a brutal fight. For all of his age, his father had still been an accomplished warrior. Ren was lucky he'd survived the fight.
It was also his self-awareness that had finally allowed him to break from the Grizzly and free himself. But that was a lot easier said than done. It'd taken weeks to get his life back.
And a mere heartbeat to lose that life again.
Kateri laid herself over him. He sucked his breath in sharply at the sensation of her naked breasts on his chest as she began to lave his jawline. All thoughts scattered. His body erupted as his head swam from sensations he'd all but forgotten.
Straddling him, she pressed the center of her body against his groin, making him even harder. Please don't let me embarrass myself. Afraid he wouldn't last long for her, he rolled her over so that he could peel her shoes and jeans from her.
His heart stopped beating as he saw her lying there, completely naked and inviting. She opened her legs for him and bent her knees, giving him a prime view of the part of her body he craved most. Her smile was warm as she reached for him.
He wanted to tell her how much that meant to him, but his mind couldn't formulate a single word past the thrumming heat in his blood.
Kateri arched a brow at Ren's hesitation. She saw the deep-seated need in his eyes. Still, he made no move to touch her. Rather, he licked her entire body with his hungry gaze.
Finally, he approached her like a feral predator on all fours. Crouching low, he slid his cheek against her calf in a tender caress that sent chills all over her. His gaze held hers captive as he reached to gently finger the part of her that was begging for his touch. He ran his thumb slowly down her cleft in a move that only made her want him more.
A slight smile curled his lips as he used his thumb to open her up for him, then he replaced his hand with his mouth.