Natalie kicked the ground and hugged the post. Briar looked away. She didn’t want to see Natalie or hear her call Riskin nasty names. She kept her head turned when Natalie stepped into the yard and walked over to them.
Natalie murmured in her ear, “Welcome back, Briar.”
Briar’s head whipped around fast, and her eyes widened when she saw Natalie smiling at her. Natalie held out her hand to take Briar’s. “Come inside. Mom’s kept Riskin’s old room exactly the same since he was seventeen years old when he went to Mackenzie Homestead. You don’t want to stay there. You two can stay in the guest suite. It’s much nicer—bigger, too.”
Briar could hardly believe her ears. “Thanks, Natalie.”
Virginia laid one hand on Riskin’s arm and one on Briar’s. She sniffed back her tears. “Come inside, both of you. We have more than ten years of catching up to do.”
Virginia and Natalie escorted the couple inside. Briar found herself in a cool neat house totally unlike her old home. Dodd Homestead sat all on one level, with bedrooms and hallways leading off the main living room with no stairs in sight.
Briar looked all around her at every detail. So, this would be her new home. How could her life change in the space of a few minutes? She glanced over at Riskin. He changed, too. He no longer lowered his eyes when someone looked at him or talked to him. He surveyed the house with casual familiarity. Nothing surprised him. He owned the place. The master came home to rule.
Virginia couldn’t keep still. She raced around the house. “Sit down here and I’ll make you a cup of tea. Get up, Natalie. We have a lot of work to do. I’m going to make a big dinner. We should have a feast and invite all the other tribes to celebrate. You’ll have to send word to the other Alphas, Riskin. They’ll want to come over and negotiate with you.”
Riskin sat down at the kitchen table and draped one arm over the seat back. He pulled out the next chair for Briar. “I don’t have to send word to anybody. The news will spread all over the mountain faster than you can say ‘twink’.”
“You still have to negotiate with the other Alphas. You’ll have to…”
An engine roar and brakes screeching broke in on their conversation. Natalie looked out the window. “Who’s that?”
The family clustered around the window in time to see a shiny red pick-up speeding into the yard. It skidded to a stop, and the door flew open. Briar’s heart sank when a tall man stepped out and slammed the door. “Oh, no!”
The man paced back and forth in front of the house. He tossed his jacket back to prop his hands on his hips. He fixed his burning eyes on the house and shouted at the top of his lungs. “Come on out. Come on out and face me.”
“Who is that?” Natalie asked.
Riskin went back to the table. He rested both hands on the tabletop. “It’s Mattox Farrell.”
Mattox kept yelling, “Come on out of there. I’m not leaving until you come out and face me.”
Briar rushed to Riskin’s side. “You can’t go out there. You can’t get into another challenge with him when you just fought Rhys.”
Riskin straightened up. “I don’t want to fight him, but I have to face him. I’m Alpha now. I can’t back down when I just won my place back.” He took another glance through the window. “I don’t want to back down. If he wants to fight again, I’m ready. I’ll never be any readier than I am right now. I’ll die before I let anyone take this away from me.”
Briar clasped her hands over her heart. She couldn’t lose him now, after everything they went though. She couldn’t beg him not to go, though. One look at his face told her everything she needed to know. He was in his element, here and now. He could face anything Fate threw at him, even this.
He was Alpha now. If he ever hoped to stand on this mountain and win the respect of other Bruins, if he really was worthy to lead his tribe, he had to seize this and every other challenge with both hands.
No one could stop him on his way out that door. He yanked it open and paused under the wide veranda. Mattox stopped pacing and squinted against the sun. The two men regarded each other across the yard. Neither made the first move.
Briar moved back and forth inside the house. Fevered torment wouldn’t let her stand still. What would happen out there? Would Mattox tear Riskin to pieces all over again?
Mattox took a few steps forward, and Riskin strode into the sunshine to meet him. Mattox paced one way and came back. Step by step, the two Alphas faced off on the same ground stained with Rhys’s blood.
Natalie put out her hands to Briar. “He’ll be okay. It’ll be okay. He’s strong enough to do this.”
Briar fluttered her hands in deadly agitation. She kept repeating those words, but she couldn’t stop the tension racking her being. He couldn’t go down like this. Their love couldn’t end like this.
Virginia snuck out to the veranda to watch, and Natalie and Briar inched out behind her. Riskin stopped in the middle of the yard. He didn’t pace or stick his hands on his hips like Mattox. He stood still and waited until Mattox approached him. When Mattox came near, Riskin raised his voice loud enough for the women on the veranda to hear him, “You want a piece of me? Come on and take it.”
Mattox took a few quick strides right up in front of Riskin. Briar held her breath and braced for the worst when, all at once, Mattox stuck out his hand. “I heard what happened. Austin told me this morning you were on your way over here to challenge Rhys, and I just met my cousin Logan down the hill. He told me everything, and I want to be the first to come over and congratulate you.”
Riskin frowned down at that hand.
Mattox waited for him to reply, but he didn’t lower his hand. “Come on, Riskin. Make peace with me. We’re both Alphas on this mountain. We’ll be working together from now on. I don’t want to fight you anymore. You take your place at the head of your tribe, and you won’t get any more trouble from me. What do you say?”
Riskin looked up from Mattox’s hand. His frown deepened. “Make peace—with you?”
Mattox nodded. He pushed his hand farther forward.
Riskin hesitated a moment longer. Then his shoulders relaxed and he grasped that hand in his firm grip. “All right, man. All right.”
Mattox broke into a grin and clapped Riskin on the shoulder with his free hand. “This tribe needs a strong Alpha. You’re your father’s strongest son. You were made to run this tribe.”
Riskin nodded down at their clasped hands. “Yeah. I understand that now. Briar said I lost the Mackenzies when I lost Lyric. She says me leaving the Mackenzies’ didn’t have anything to do with you at all.”
Mattox cocked his head. “Did she say that? It sounds like you have a very sharp mate. That’s the kind of woman an Alpha needs. It sounds like you’re all set to take over.”
Riskin couldn’t stop nodding. “Yeah. Thanks, man.”
Mattox swept the Homestead with his eyes. “Do you need help with anything? Do you have anything you need?”
“I’m all right. I just got here, you know. I gotta find a place for me and Briar to spend the night, and my mother wants to throw a feast to celebrate, and I expect everybody else on the mountain will be stopping by to shake my hand, too.”
Mattox laughed. His voice echoed across Bruins’ Peak. “I’m sure they will. You’ll be the man of the hour.”
Riskin’s head shot up. When he caught the gleam in Mattox’s eye, he smiled, too. “Thanks for coming over, man. I wouldn’t have had the guts to make peace with you myself.”
Mattox waved his hand and headed for his truck. “Forget it. It’s done now. You let me know if you need any help with anything, and you let me know if Rhys gives you any trouble. I’ll back you.”
Riskin muttered under his breath, “Rhys won’t give me any trouble.”
Mattox pulled open his truck door and waved over his shoulder. Riskin waved back as Mattox threw his truck into gear and backed out of the yard. Riskin stayed where he was until the dust cloud blew away into the clear sky.
Riskin didn’t respond. He stared into the distance where the truck disappeared. Briar kissed him on the cheek. “Come inside, Riskin.”
He still didn’t move. She tugged his hand. “Come inside.”
He shook himself out of his reverie and shot her a sidelong glance. Briar flashed him a brilliant smile. “It’s all right now. Everything’s gonna be all right.”
He let out a sigh. “Yeah.”
She tugged just a little harder. Her smile broadened, and he took a step toward her. Ever so slowly, the grin spread across his face to match her mischievous smile. She backed toward the house. He broke out of his reserve and matched her stride. Briar spun around, and they walked together to the veranda where Virginia and Natalie waited to welcome them back home.
The End.
Book 8: Raven
Sarah J. Stone
Chapter 1
Raven Faulkner slammed the door to her family cabin on Midnight Moraine. She stomped down the steps and away. She shouted over her shoulder, “I hate you!”
She marched off through the cabins, trailers, and shacks of the Faulkner clan’s main compound, but she didn’t watch where she was going. Why did she let her family make her so foaming mad?
She didn’t see her friends, Ebony and Onyx Archer, coming the other way until she bumped into them. Ebony pushed her back. “What’s up, sugar pop? Another stellar morning in the life?”
Raven gnashed her teeth toward her house. “They’re idiots. They’ll get us all killed one of these days.”
“Let me guess,” Ebony exclaimed. “You got in another fight with your mother about that girl.”
Raven tossed her long black hair out of her face. “Of course, I did. When are they going to wake up and smell the coffee? Don’t they know she’s dangerous? I don’t know what my brother Riley was thinking, bringing one of those Bruins back here. Now, he’s shacked up with her in that little house in the woods, and he’s telling everyone he’s mated for life. Did you ever hear anything so ridiculous?”
Ebony patted her shoulder. “Come on with us. We’ll take your mind off it.”
“Where are you going?”
“We’re going to your uncle Wyatt’s house to see Hunter and Jordan.”
“What do you want to see them for? They’re slackers. Those two are probably still asleep at this hour.”
Ebony burst out laughing and Onyx rubbed her hands together. Their eyes shone with suppressed excitement. “Who cares if they’re still asleep? We’ll wake ‘em up. Your cousins are the hottest two Midnight on legs. Everybody knows that.”
Raven rolled her eyes. “Tell me you two aren’t trying to pick up my cousins. Tell me you’re not planning some kind of sister/brother orgy in the wood shed.”
The sisters burst into gales of laughter. “We’ll tell you all about it afterwards.”
Raven turned away. “Don’t bother. I don’t want to know about Hunter and Jordan’s exploits.”
Ebony wiped the smile off her lips and hooked her arm through Raven’s elbow. “You’re coming with us whether you want to or not. You’ve had your nose stuck in your computer for the last three years. You need some R&R, and no one can find it for you like we can.”
“I’ve been busy. I’ve been too busy to think about shanghai-ing some guy behind the goat barn.”
The three young women set off together in a line. “You’ve been so busy with that business of yours you haven’t had a guy in months. The stress is starting to show, girl. You need a good roll in the hay after masterminding that bear-baiting ring of yours all this time.”
“I’m hardly the mastermind. I’m just the accountant.”
“You’re a lot more than that. We all know it, so don’t try to pull the wool over our eyes. The ring wouldn’t exist without you managing the bank accounts. The whole Moraine knows the Faulkners are the richest clan on the mountain, and it’s all because of you.”
“Yeah, well, the ring won’t last much longer if we can’t get rid of that girl,” Raven returned. “The ring is in danger now that Riley quit. We won’t get any more bears if we can’t get him back on board, and he won’t come back no matter how hard I twist his arm.”
“Can’t you get someone else to bring in bears? What’s wrong with your cousins?”
“None of them wants to set foot off Midnight Moraine, especially not to go back to Bruins’ Peak. Since Riley came back and told everybody what happened to him, no one dares go after any Bruins.”
Ebony patted her shoulder. “You’ll come up with something. You always do. You’re smart like that.”
“I’ll have to come up with something,” Raven replied. “I don’t want to lose a fat profit from this business just because my soft-hearted brother fell in love.”
“Have you seen Riley and Melody recently?” Onyx asked. “Have you visited them at their new house?”
“Why would I want to do that?” Raven snapped. “I can’t stand that witch, and she knows it. Besides, I see her ugly face at three meals a day. It’s enough to kill anybody’s appetite.”
“Doesn’t she know how to cook?” Ebony asked. “Riley must have really got himself a peach.”
Raven had to smile at that. “She can cook. She can cook almost better than Mama. They come down to the cabin for meals so Melody can get to know all of us. They think—at least, Riley thinks—if we spend time with her, we’ll get more comfortable with each other and start getting along.”
Onyx put her head on one side. “Not a bad idea.”
“It’s a terrible idea,” Raven grumbled. “Do you think I want to look at her mug morning, noon, and night? How am I supposed to eat with that across the table from me?”
Ebony chuckled. “I met her the other day. I came around your place when my mom sent me to borrow some baking soda from your Mama. Melody seemed nice enough. She even smiled at me, although she did seem nervous.”
Raven growled through clenched teeth. “I’ll make her nervous.”
Ebony lowered her voice to a murmur. “I’m sure you make her nervous enough as it is. You tell her to her face you’re gonna throw her in the ring. You would have done it by now if Riley hadn’t stood up for her.”
“You’re darn tootin’ I would have done it,” Raven shot back. “Are we running a bear-baiting ring or a halfway house for lost orphans? Come on. The money I bring in with these rings is giving Midnight Moraine a major economic shot in the arm. If we don’t find some fresh bears soon, all that is going down the plug hole. No one seems to understand that but me.”
She cast her flashing black eyes over the scattered building and parked cars around the compound. Was she the only person on this blasted Moraine with an eye on the prize?
The girls stopped in front of a largish log house with a few nice-looking pick-ups and SUVs parked out front. Ebony let go of Raven’s arm. “Here we are. Why don’t you come inside and talk to Wyatt about it?”
Raven started toward the door. “That’s what I’m planning to do. Him and Caleb will help me if no one else will.”
At that moment, two strapping tall men burst through the door. One wore his black hair buzzed close around his head while the other tossed his long locks off his shoulders. Other than that, they could have been twins. They both wore tight black T-shirts stretched across their chests to show off their muscles. Their black jeans set off their sharp angular legs and hips.
Ebony and Onyx started forward. Ebony called out in a sing-song voice, “Hi, Hunter. Hi, Jordan.”
The brothers exchanged glances. Then they both broke into broad grins. Their eyes lit up, and they turned around to reenter the house with the girls.
Raven hung back and watched them go inside. Why couldn’t she enjoy her youth while it lasted instead of obsessing over this business? Ebony was right. Raven put all her time and energy into the bear-baiting ring since her fa
ther Diego started it with his brothers Wyatt and Caleb.
Since then, everyone on Midnight Moraine got involved, but Riley and Raven took on the hardest work. Riley caught the bears while Raven handled the money.
It all came down to the money, really. That’s the main reason she couldn’t turn her back on the ring and enjoy her youth like all her friends. She couldn’t walk away from massive profits from each bear. The more fight a bear put up in the ring, the more money everybody made.
That’s why everyone got so excited when Diego found out about Bruins’ Peak. Those people would fight like the devil, and the crowd paid extra to watch them shift. That wasn’t counting the money Riley made booking bets on the side. All they had to do was sit back with their hands out, and people would dump money into their pockets—that is, they would dump money into their pockets after they caught the bear.
Raven squared her shoulders. Whatever happened, she couldn’t let the ring die. She put her heart and soul into this. If Riley wanted to play house, she would have to find some other source of bears. If she could get Hunter and Jordan off the couch, maybe she could convince them—not to return to Bruins’ Peak. That was out of the question. They could find bears somewhere else, though. Riley would tell them his best sources, and they could pick up where he left off. What could be simpler?
First things first. She headed into the house and found Ebony and Onyx tangled up on the couch with Hunter and Jordan. They cooed in each other’s ears, and Jordan nibbled Onyx’s ear. So much for that brilliant idea. They weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
A rumbly voice greeted Raven from behind, “Howdy, sweetheart. What brings you around to the wrong side of the tracks?”
Raven turned her back on the lovebirds to face her uncle. “How are you doing, Wyatt?”
Wyatt leaned on the kitchen counter. He paid no attention to his sons getting friendly with two local beauties. His wore his long grey hair tied into a pony tail behind his neck. He always wore loose-fitting, faded clothes, but his powerful frame still showed up underneath. No one could stand against Wyatt Faulkner in a fight. Not even his own powerful sons dared take him on.
Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume II) Page 25