Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume II)

by Sarah J. Stone

  She touched his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  His head swung up. “Where are we going?”

  “We’re going back.”

  “Now?”

  “Why not? You said we would keep this for special occasions.”

  He kissed her. “I can’t imagine a night with you that wouldn’t be a special occasion.”

  She chuckled. “You said you didn’t want to live here, and I don’t blame you. We don’t want to live in special occasion land. We’ve both got our families waiting for us back home.”

  “I was thinking about Riley. He’s got a separate house, but it’s close enough that he can visit his family every day. I’d like something like that.”

  “Where would you built it?”

  He waved his hand. “Oh, anywhere.”

  She hesitated. “I wouldn’t want to be too far away from my family. I know Onyx has been a harpy lately, but I’m too close to all the rest of my family to move very far away.

  He nodded. “I know. We might be mated for life, but we’re still Midnight. We’ll always be part of the clan.”

  She cocked her head. “I never thought of that.”

  “What?”

  “That Midnight could mean something more than being fluid. I never thought being Midnight could mean being part of the larger community. It would be nice if everybody else saw it that way.”

  “I’m sure they will. In a few weeks, everybody will be mated for life. Then no one will be lift to say we have to be fluid.”

  “Maybe we can change the meaning of the word ‘fluid’, too. Maybe it can mean running through the branches on the wind instead of screwing everybody in sight.”

  He laughed out loud. “See how far you get convincing them of that.”

  She didn’t laugh. “We can still be fluid. You saw that yourself. You and I ran through the branches as fast as we ever did. Mating for life sure didn’t slow us down any. We can still be fluid. It doesn’t have to mean sex.”

  He put his arms around her. “I’m not disagreeing with you.”

  She jumped up. “Great. Let’s go.”

  He grabbed her hand. “Hold on, you.”

  He yanked her back against his chest and planted a rough kiss on her mouth. She laughed out loud and tried to break away, but he circled her waist with one arm and hauled her back into his embrace.

  He murmured into her mouth, “I’m not finished with you. Just so you know that.”

  She relaxed into his kiss. “It will be nice when we have a place of our own.”

  He crushed her ass in both hands. “Then you’ll never get away from me.”

  She sighed and rested against his chest until he gave her a sharp slap across the ass. “Get up. We’re going.”

  She jumped up, and they joined hands walking home in the dawn. The forest dripped and popped waking up after the cold night, but Jordan and Ebony took their time getting back. They had the rest of their lives together. They didn’t have to hurry up to get there. The sun shone overhead by the time they stopped in front of the Wyatt’s cabin.

  Ebony leaned it to kiss him. “You better go in and pay the piper.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll have a talk with Pop. I’ll tell him I’m moving out.”

  “Do you really want to do that when we don’t have a place to live yet? What will you do?”

  He shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll find something. If worse comes to the worst I can always camp on Rome’s floor until I build a house for us.”

  “Where will you build it? That’s the question.”

  “The more static they give me about getting together with you, the farther away I’ll build it. I’ll build it on Renegade Ridge if I have to.”

  Ebony shuddered. “Don’t say that.”

  He smiled. “Don’t worry. We’re gonna be just fine, you and me.”

  A door slammed behind them. Ebony glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Onyx strolling down the walk coming out of the Faulkners’. One glance told Ebony the whole story. Onyx’s hair stuck out at odd angles. Bite marks showed on her neck, and she walked with that slow, painful limp she always had after a long night of rough play. She’d spent the night with Hunter.

  Onyx approached the gate. She squinted into the sunshine, and her flashing black eyes rested on Ebony and Jordan. Did they look as worn out and sideways as Onyx did? Ebony could believe it. After the half day and night she spent with Jordan in the glade, she must look well worn.

  Onyx swept her eyes down to Ebony’s feet and back to her face. One glance at Jordan, and Onyx’s expression changed. A wicked grin spread over her face, and her gait sloped from one hip to the other. She sashayed the rest of the way down the walk to where Ebony and Jordan watched from the street.

  Ebony braced herself for another showdown, but she couldn’t believe her eyes when Onyx walked past her. She sidled right up to Jordan and gave Ebony not a second glance.

  She pressed her body up against Jordan’s and grumbled up into his face. “Hey, baby. I missed you last night. Where were you? Don’t tell me you stuffed that piece of trash when you could have my juicy ass. Huh? You know you like it, don’t you, baby? You know you like it hot and wet and hard? Come on, baby. Let’s go back inside and I’ll show you what a real woman can do.” She ran her hand down his crotch and squeezed. “Gimme that piece of steak, baby. You know I can’t stand him nailing me without you. Do you want me to suck it right now? Huh? You want to see me on my knees and begging for it? I’ll do it. You know I will.”

  Jordan grimaced in agony, but he didn’t reply. His face twisted in a disgusted mask of revulsion, but he wouldn’t push her away, not even when she pinched his prick through his pants and shoved her tits in his face. She placed his hands on her breasts and crammed his face down into her cleavage.

  When he didn’t respond, she darted in to kiss him, but he dodged aside at the last minute. Her lips pecked his cheek. She slid the other way to catch his ear in her teeth. She whined and moaned louder than ever. She kept up her chanting suggestions into his ear. “Take me back inside, baby. You know he turns me on like you wouldn’t believe. I need you right now. Don’t leave me like this. You’ve got the most beautiful cock I’ve ever seen. Don’t you want to fill me up right now?”

  Ebony couldn’t watch this. Her hand shot out. She grabbed her sister by the arm and jerked her off him. “Leave him alone, Onyx. You know we’re mated for life. He doesn’t want you anymore.”

  Onyx rounded on her. She bared her teeth in sheer hatred. “Mated for life! So, that’s it, is it? You think you can screw him to kingdom come and then come crying to me about being mated for life?”

  Ebony waved her words away. “You can say what you want about it. That’s the way it is, so keep your hands off Jordan from now on.”

  “Or what?” Onyx shot back. “What will you do if I don’t keep my hands off him?”

  Ebony fixed her flashing eyes on her sister. “You don’t want to make me stop you. You should know that better than anybody.”

  Onyx turned her back on Jordan and advanced on her Ebony. “You haven’t got the spine to tangle with me, girl. You better pull your head in before you get it bitten off. Do you want to see my claws? Is that what you want?”

  Ebony squared her shoulders. “If it’s claws we’re talking about, you’ll get just as much of mine as you can dish out. If you want to tangle with me, come on. Just stay away from Jordan.”

  Ebony expected a confrontation with her sister. She expected it a long time before now, but she never expected Onyx to shift as fast as she shifted now. The words hadn’t left Ebony’s mouth when a feral shriek ripped the still morning air. Razor sharp claws scratched Ebony’s neck, and a gaping mouth full of fangs darted into her face.

  Chapter 12

  Ebony barely got her hands up in time to stop Onyx closing her jaws around Ebony’s throat. Ebony shoved Onyx’s hissing face aside, but the cat’s momentum knocked Ebony off her feet. She staggered against a tree and
rolled aside onto the ground.

  Onyx screeched and spat worse than ever. She dove for Ebony’s face and throat so fast Ebony had to work overtime to keep up with her. She could only bat her hands at the cat’s head to deflect those terrible bows.

  Onyx sank her claws into Ebony’s skin and clothes. She pinned her sister to the ground under a withering barrage of bites, scratches and cuts. Some part of Ebony’s mind told her to shift. She could fight her sister so much better as a panther. She couldn’t think straight, though. She couldn’t stop fighting long enough to shift. That cat dominated her whole mind.

  Onyx aimed a vicious slash at Ebony’s face. Ebony got her head aside in time, but the panther’s fangs sank into her shoulder instead. Ebony screamed in pain, but the next moment, her pain and fear turned to rage.

  She never fought her sister before, and she never thought Onyx could be this strong, but Ebony had to stop her. She had to school her once and for all. If she didn’t, Onyx would never stop attacking her. She would keep on putting the moves on Jordan. She would never respect them as mates.

  Ebony set her teeth to shift when Jordan rushed over. He swung a club at Onyx, but Ebony called out, “Stay back!”

  Jordan took another aim at Onyx’s head. “I’ll teach her not to mess with my mate.”

  “Stay back!” Ebony thundered. “Keep out of this. I’ll handle her.”

  Jordan obeyed. The club fell out of his hand, and he retreated beyond the space where the sisters fought it out. Ebony could focus on Onyx now. She didn’t have to worry about him getting involved.

  Whatever happened, she had to do this herself. She had to put Onyx in her place, and no one could do it for her. If Jordan clubbed Onyx off her, Onyx would walk away thinking—knowing—she was the stronger sister. She would crow to the whole Moraine that Ebony needed a man to get her out of a fight.

  That would never do, especially when Ebony didn’t need a man or anybody else to get her out of a fight. She could take on panthers a lot bigger than Onyx and hold her own.

  She just had to find a way to shift, but Onyx got the jump on her. If Ebony lowered her hands for an instant, Onyx would have her by the throat. It would be all over, and Ebony could kiss Jordan and their beautiful new life good-bye.

  Onyx must have known this, too, because she didn’t let up. She sensed her prey falling under her weight, and she redoubled her efforts. She bowled Ebony onto her back and pounced on her. Onyx’s hind paws landed on Ebony’s stomach. Onyx flexed her claws and hooked them in Ebony’s shorts. One kick of her hind legs, and Onyx shredded the flimsy cloth to shreds.

  Onyx wheeled her hips around to repeat the maneuver. If she scratched Ebony like that again, she would rip open Ebony’s guts. She would gash open her thighs and cut the big blood vessels running down her legs. Ebony would bleed to death before she ever got a chance to fight back.

  Panic seized Ebony. She had to fight back. She had to get out from under this panther and shift. She had to meet her sister cat against cat. That’s the only way she could survive this.

  When Onyx jumped off the ground to get her feet on Ebony’s stomach again, Ebony reacted. She bucked her hips sideways and knocked Onyx’s feet out from under her. The cat squealed and scrambled to recover, but Ebony followed up her advantage by hitting out with her arms. She didn’t go for the cat’s head. She swept her elbows sideways and slammed them into Onyx’s forelimbs.

  Onyx’s paws slid in the dirt, and the panther collapsed on Ebony’s chest. The panther’s open jaws hit Ebony’s neck, but Onyx was too surprised to bite. She struggled to right herself, and in that moment, Ebony punched her sister in the guts as hard as she could. The breath grunted out of Onyx’s lungs. Cat smell filled Ebony’s nostrils and reminded her. She had to shift, and now she knew how to do it.

  She brought up her fist inside her chest and slammed her knuckles under Onyx’s chin. The panther’s jaws clicked shut, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Ebony’s rage showed no mercy. She grabbed the cat in both fists and hurled her away with all her strength.

  She would have liked to slam Onyx against something, to knock her out, but she no longer cared. She wanted only one thing. She wanted a split second reprieve, and she got it.

  Onyx landed on her four feet a few paces away. She spun around to lunge at Ebony one more time, but instead of a helpless woman on the ground, a raging black panther as black as Onyx herself met her in mid-spring. Ebony rose off the ground with a roar. Her fangs clanked against Onyx’s when their open mouths grappled and fought for the first bite.

  Ebony gashed Onyx’s shoulder open with one claw cut. Onyx shrieked, but she didn’t retreat. Pain only made her mad the same way it made Ebony mad. The two she-panthers tussled on their hind legs. Their claws scored the earth where they pushed each other back and forth. They sank their claws into each other’s shoulders, but neither could get near the other’s throat.

  All of a sudden, Onyx burst forward. Ebony stepped back to catch her sister’s weight, but Onyx already launched herself to one side. She dragged Ebony to the ground, Ebony turned to correct, but Onyx reacted just a second faster. She arched her head to one side and sank her teeth into the loose skin on Ebony’s neck.

  Ebony tried to confront this new threat, but Onyx held firm. She jumped on Ebony and pushed her onto her chest. Ebony rippled under her, but Onyx worked herself around in a circle until she straddled her with all her weight.

  Ebony couldn’t break free with Onyx’s fangs embedded in her neck. Onyx didn’t come anywhere close enough to hurt Ebony, but one rip could make Ebony bleed. As long as Onyx maintained her grip on Ebony’s neck, she could hold Ebony there until she positioned herself to do some real damage.

  Jordan called out from the trees. “Come on, Ebony. Get up. You can do this. Get up, Ebony.”

  Ebony glanced over at him, but Onyx growled low in her throat. She inched up Ebony’s back. How long could Ebony hold out before Onyx dealt her a death blow?

  Ebony struggled, but she couldn’t do much under that grip. Onyx stood above her. She put one paw on Ebony’s back…then the other. She was trying the same trick as before. She would slash Ebony to pieces until she injured her sister too much to hit back.

  Ebony squirmed, and Onyx’s foot slipped off. As long as Ebony kept moving, Onyx couldn’t get a stable footing, but this couldn’t go on all day. Ebony had to find a way to free herself. Her panther brain couldn’t concoct much of a strategy, but she could try anything and hope for the best.

  Onyx shivered all over in blind rage. She fought from her gut. Ebony had to slow down, to think. She couldn’t hate her sister, no matter what Onyx did to her. She couldn’t summon the same fury to match Onyx, so she had to fight with her head. She had to find a way to turn Onyx’s anger against her. She had to make Onyx think her anger gave her an advantage. Then Ebony would strike her blow.

  She waited until Onyx got one more foot on her back. Then, when Onyx tried to get the other one up, Ebony gave another wriggle to knock her off. In the moment Onyx lost her balance, Ebony craned her neck around. She couldn’t bite Onyx with her sister’s fangs sunk into her skin, but Onyx saw a better advantage opening up. She let go to dive for Ebony’s throat.

  This was the chance Ebony hoped for. In one smooth motion, she rolled on her back. She exposed her neck just enough to entice Onyx to overextend herself. Onyx plunged for Ebony’s throat. At the same instant, Ebony kicked out with her hind paws. She hooked her claws into the soft skin on Onyx’s belly and ripped downward. She used the same trick on Onyx that Onyx tried to play on her.

  Onyx shrieked out loud, as much from surprise as from pain. She sprang clear with blood dripping from four parallel cuts across her midsection. Ebony didn’t give her sister any opportunity to come back. She launched herself at Onyx and hit her square in the chest. She sent Onyx sprawling and immediately pounced. In a split second, their positions reversed, and Ebony drove for Onyx’s throat.

  Onyx barely got out of the way in time. Ebon
y went after her with every claw bared. Onyx retreated before her fury, but at the last second, Onyx turned tail and ran. Ebony sent a last enraged shriek after her, but the fight was over. Onyx tucked her tail between her legs and scampered away in defeat.

  Ebony trotted to a stop and growled under her breath, but a voice snapped her alert in a hurry. “Ebony!” Her big black heard swung around, and she saw Onyx running straight toward Jordan.

  The panther covered the distance in a few calculated bounds. With one spring, Onyx sailed through the air and landed on top of him. Her forepaws came to rest on his shoulders, and her gaping mouth moved in on his head.

  Jordan turned his head aside, but he didn’t shift. He braced his legs and held Onyx up, but he lacked the strength to fight her off completely. He could only stand there and hold her.

  Onyx bit and slashed at his face. She tightened her claws on his shoulders and took a step back to drag him to the ground. His knees buckled. Another tug and he would go down.

  Bottomless rage welled up in Ebony’s soul. Fighting her sister tooth against claw was one thing. She couldn’t stand by and watch Onyx attack her mate. Ebony never experienced this murderous fury against another Midnight before. She never understood the sheer maniac insanity of seeing her mate in danger.

  Demonic power took hold of her. She left the ground in one smooth arch. She landed on Onyx’s back the same way Onyx landed on Jordan, but no one stood there ready to fight her off.

  She sank her fangs into Onyx’s head and wrenched. Onyx’s neck snapped back, and her claws ripped through Jordan’s T-shirt. Onyx tumbled backward with Ebony clinging to her.

  Onyx screeched in rage, but Ebony couldn’t see a thing. She couldn’t think. Nothing existed but blood. She jumped clear, and Onyx slammed down at her side. In a flash, Ebony lunged and caught her sister around the throat.

  Onyx kicked and struggled, but cold certainty blotted out all Ebony’s emotions. She clamped her jaws around her sister’s throat. She would never stop until she killed this menace. Killing was too good for anybody that threatened Ebony’s mate.