Haven staggered away to save herself, but Sky already followed up her initial attack with another brutal cut at Haven’s face. Sky’s eye tooth barely missed Haven’s cheek and raked through her hair flying sideways.
Sky launched her massive bulk at Haven and tackled her to the ground. Haven’s back slammed into the floor, and Sky’s four paws thudded down around her torso. Haven barely had time to roll to one side before Sky’s wide-open jaws drove toward her face.
She rolled between Sky’s paws onto her stomach. She lifted her head and thanked High Heaven when she saw the door open. It must not have latched all the way when she closed it just now. Sometimes you had to slam it to make it close.
Sky jumped toward her, and Haven scrambled for the hall on hands and knees. Before Sky could recover, Haven rocketed to her feet and made her escape. She didn’t stop running until she made it all the way back downstairs to the safety of her family.
Even when she got to the living room, she heard Sky bellowing and smashing the furniture to matchsticks through the ceiling.
Chapter 11
Foicks threw his truck into Park and leaned back in the seat with a sigh. Moving the gear shift upwards took all his strength. What was he turning into? He couldn’t summon the energy to move his arms or legs.
Both Ash and Jana’s cars sat in front of the bungalow. What would Foicks find when he went inside? He couldn’t face another fight with Ash. He couldn’t face a night without Haven.
Kissing her changed everything. It changed him at the cellular level. He barely recognized the man he was yesterday. He must have been out of his mind to even think about the war with her standing right in front of him.
If he tried to kiss his pillow and call it Haven now, he would burst into tears. His life wasn’t worth spit without her. She was right all along. He couldn’t leave Bruins’ Peak as long as she remained behind.
The rain and cold seeped into his bones, and he shivered in his tight, thin T-shirt. He couldn’t spend the night in this truck, although he’d like to. He would have liked to shift and spend the night in the woods. The woods would hide him until he could see Haven again.
That wouldn’t work, though. The bear would go mad in search of his mate. Foicks already went mad without her near him. The bear couldn’t keep in mind that he would see her again soon. The bear wanted her now. She wanted to come home with him. Why didn’t he let her? How could he let her walk away like that?
He gritted his teeth and heaved the door open. The damp chill outside cut through his skin to rattle his bones. He made for the door and took cover in the warmth. He slipped out of his boots and headed for the living room
As he suspected, Jana and Ash sat in their usual places. Ash leaned over a plate of macaroni on the coffee table while Jana balanced his on his knees. Jana stabbed his fork toward the kitchen. “The pot’s on the stove, and if you have anything at all to say about this war business, take your food to your room and shut the door. I’ve heard enough of it for one lifetime.”
Foicks slumped into his couch and rested his head on the cushion. “I’m not hungry.”
Ash and Jana stared at him. Jana wiped his wrist across his mouth. “What’s wrong with you?”
Foicks swallowed hard. “I’m finished, man. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.” The last words jumped a register when his voice broke. He threw his arm over his eyes. He couldn’t look at them staring at him in surprise.
They expected him to pick another fight with Ash. They expected him to bring this war into their own living room. Why shouldn’t they expect it? He’d been doing it for weeks.
Jana’s fork clinked on his plate. “Are you okay? Are you sick or something? I can go tell Grandma to have a look at you.”
Foicks shook his head. “I’m just tired. I’m tired of everything. I’m tired of living.”
Ash cocked his head. “You look all right to me. You’re still alive.”
Foicks let his arm drop. He couldn’t hold up his defenses any longer. “It’s Haven Farrell. I think I’m mated to her. No, scratch that. I know I’m mated to her. I mean, what am I supposed to do? I can’t leave Bruins’ Peak to visit the NightShade. I can’t even lead my faction anymore. What are the guys gonna say if I back down? I’ll never be able to look them in the eye.”
Ash’s mouth fell open. He and Jana exchanged glances. “Haven Farrell? You’re mated to Haven Farrell?”
Foicks blinked back tears. “It just happened. I kissed her in my truck a little while ago, and now I can’t live without her. I felt like I had my right arm torn off when she went back home. I’m bleeding, man. I’m bleeding out, and I feel like I’m gonna die. What am I gonna do? You have to help me.” His voice spiked into a whining, pathetic cry.
Jana dropped his fork and slid over next to him. He wedged his shoulder against Foicks’s body. “I’m sorry, man. I can’t help you because I don’t know what it’s like to mate with a girl. You just have to punch through to the place where you two can be together. That’s what everybody else does. She’s not going away. If she feels the same way you do… Does she feel the same way you do?”
Foicks nodded down at his hands in his lap. “She didn’t want to go home. She wanted to come back here with me.”
“Well, why didn’t you bring her?”
“It’s all this stupid war stuff. I wish I never had to hear about this business again as long as I live.”
Ash cleared his throat. “I’m surprised to hear you say that.”
Foicks’s head shot up and he fixed Ash with a piercing glare. “Listen to me, man. I’ve got a big problem, and you’re the only one who can help me solve it.”
Ash straightened up. “You name it, man. I’ll do anything I can to help you. What do you want me to do?”
“Haven doesn’t want me to leave Bruins’ Peak, and I don’t think I could leave if I wanted to. She doesn’t even want me to go to Renegade Ridge to visit the NightShade. She’s worried something will happen to me and she’ll be left alone.”
“Well, that’s easy,” Ash replied. “I’ll go.”
“That won’t work,” Foicks countered. “The guys in my faction would never trust you to represent their views, and I don’t’ blame ‘em. You would probably tell the NightShade all about your plans for peace. You wouldn’t tell them some of us want to make war.”
Ash shrugged. “Well, yeah. I was sort of planning on doing just that.”
“Everybody knows it, and that’s not all. What am I supposed to do about all the battle plans? My guys are up to their eyeballs in guns and ammo and supplies. They’re hungry for blood, and they won’t back down until they get it. How can I waltz in there and tell them I’m turning my back on them so I can crawl into bed with a girl?”
“Half those guys are mated themselves,” Ash replied. “They’ll understand. Take a look at Walker Cunningham. He’s your strongest ally, and he’s not running off to Midnight Moraine to get killed. He’s got a wife and a tribe to run. He’ll leave the fighting to you young punks.”
Foicks shook his head. “I never should have gotten into this thing so deep. Now I can’t get out of it.”
“I’m sure Haven understands that.”
“She doesn’t want me involved in it at all. She doesn’t want me fighting. She wants me with her.”
“I guess that’s why Bruins mate in the first place,” Ash remarked. “These women make us see what’s really important.”
“I only wish I could do it,” Foicks murmured. “I only wish I could turn my back on the whole thing. Life would be so much better if I did.”
Jana leaned back in his chair. “It’s really good to see you guys talking like you used to. It’s been way too long since we all sat around and had a civil conversation with each other.”
Foicks glanced at him. Then he turned back to Ash. “I’m sorry I’ve been such an ass these last few weeks. I don’t know how I could let something like this come between us.”
Ash stuck out his hand. “It’s a
s much my fault as yours. Let’s agree not to fight about it anymore.”
Foicks clasped his brothers’ hand. He would have pulled Ash into an embrace, but he couldn’t drag his aching body off the couch. “Now let’s talk about how we’re gonna work this. There must be a way to satisfy everyone without disappointing all their expectations.”
Ash started to reply when a loud knock banged on the door. Jana answered it and turned back to Foicks. “It’s for you.”
Foicks hauled himself to his feet to find Rhys Dodd on the doorstep. “What’s going on? It’s getting late.”
Rhys jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “We’re all set. We got all those canisters loaded and strapped down. We’re just waiting for your inspection.”
“My inspection?” Foicks peered into the darkness blanketing the mountain.
Beyond the rim of porch light, six or seven vehicles cast their headlight beams into the forest. A dozen armed men moved back and forth in the eerie glow. Foicks could just make out the puckered outline of tarps roped across the truck beds.
Foicks’s shoulders slumped. “Look, buddy. It’s pitch dark, and I’m tired. I’m not coming out right now to inspect anything. I’m gonna get something to eat, and then I’m going to bed. I can have a look in the morning.”
Rhys frowned. “It will only take a minute. Then we’ll leave you alone.”
“Forget it.” Foicks turned away to go back inside. “I’ve got a lot on my mind right now. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Rhys stuck his foot in the door to stop Foicks closing it. “What’s wrong with you, man? We’ve been planning this for weeks. This is the first time you’ve let us down on anything related to fighting the Midnight. Don’t tell me you’re tired. That’s just a dodge.”
Foicks’s temper flared. “We’re not attacking Midnight Moraine in the morning. Whatever you’ve done can wait until morning for me to inspect it. All of you should be home in bed instead of running around in the dark disturbing people.”
“Oh? So now we’re disturbing people.” Rhys snorted. “That’s just great.”
“Haven’t I done enough for you guys to deserve a night’s rest?” Foicks snapped. “Haven’t I worked with you day and night for weeks without ever asking a minute to myself? Leave me alone. I’m in the middle of negotiating with Ash about something a lot more important than some inspection.”
Rhys froze. “You’re negotiating…with Ash? Now I know there’s something going on.”
“There is something going on,” Foicks shot back. “I’m talking to my brother and eating dinner, and then I’m going to bed. If you guys have any sense at all, you’ll do the same thing.”
Foicks tried one more time to close the door, but Rhys shoved it open. “If you don’t come out right now, we’ll all know you’ve gone over to the other side.”
“I haven’t gone over to the other side. He’s my frickin’ brother. I can talk to him whenever I want.”
Rhys lowered his voice to a threatening rumble. “If you don’t come out right now and do your job, I’ll have no choice but to take over the faction. Someone’s got to do this job, and we can’t trust it to you.”
Foicks’s shoulders slouched. “You want to take over the faction? Go ahead. Then I won’t have to do it anymore.”
He spun around on his heel and slammed the door in Rhys’s face.
Chapter 12
Haven carried a stack of plates to the breakfast table when Sky came down the stairs. She sniffed at Haven and strode out of the house without a word to anybody.
Haven sighed. She set out the plates, and when she went back for the silverware, she found her mother watching her. “I’m sorry, Mom. I tried to talk to her again last night. She won’t even look at me.”
“Don’t worry, darling,” Leda replied. “I know you did everything you could. Did she do much damage to your room?”
Haven bit back a smile. “Only my side of it. She left her own side untouched.”
Leda chuckled. “She sure went into a rage. I don’t blame you for running away. I would have done the same thing myself.”
“I couldn’t exactly fight her. I couldn’t change her mind.”
“You’re right. We’ll just have to wait for her to come to her senses.”
“Do you think she will?”
“Who knows? Here’s the iced tea. Don’t forget the napkins, darling.”
Haven finished setting the table. Her father came downstairs with Easton. “Was that Sky I just heard leave?”
“Yes, she’s gone,” Leda replied. “Sit down, and let’s eat.”
The rest of the family sat down. “The whole Peak is on fire over Azer Mackenzie’s letter,” Josiah remarked. “More people are falling on either side in favor of either peace or war.”
“Can we please talk about something else?” Haven asked. “Can’t we just have breakfast without this bothering us here?”
Josiah kept talking like she never said anything. “I talked to Brody yesterday. He and Mattox and Austin are all falling on Ash’s side in favor of peace.”
“I’m for peace, too,” Leda added. “I’m glad we’ve got some Alphas in this tribe who can see sense. If only we could get the young people on this mountain to do the same thing, we would all be better off.”
“What about you, Daddy?” Haven asked. “Do you support peace, too?”
“I have to. Brody is our Alpha, and with all his brothers with him, none of us dares step out of line.”
“I’m in favor of war.” The whole family whirled around to face Easton. He sat up straighter in his chair to glare at each face in turn. “I’m going to join Foicks to fight these panthers. I’ll show them what a Bruin is made of.”
Everyone stared at him. Barely fourteen years old, he still straddled childhood and adolescence. Haven still considered him her baby brother. No one ever thought a boy that young could think about getting mixed up in this God-forsaken conflict.
“Don’t do this,” Haven murmured. “Don’t get involved in this.”
Easton squared his shoulders, but he only made himself look ridiculous. “Everyone on Bruins’ Peak is getting involved in this. Why shouldn’t I do the same thing? You and Brody and all the rest of the Farrells can join Ash and fight for peace. I’m going to join Foicks. I might be small, but I’ll make ‘em bleed before they kill me.”
“No one is fighting for peace,” Leda pointed out. “Fighting for peace is an oxymoron. You can’t force peace on someone at the point of a gun.”
“Don’t try to confuse me with your big words,” Easton shot back. “I have as much right to choose my own way as anybody else. You should have the guts to choose your own way, too, Daddy, without tagging along on whatever Brody says.”
Josiah frowned down at his plate. “When you’re a grown man, you’ll understand why a man has to go along with his Alpha, even on things he might disagree with.”
“You don’t disagree with Brody, do you, Daddy?” Haven asked. “You don’t disagree with peace, do you?”
“Of course not. I believe we should all be for peace. I’m just saying Easton should go along with his Alpha, just like the rest of us. Maybe when you’re grown, you’ll understand these things better.”
“I’m grown enough to make up my own mind,” Easton countered. “I’m going over to Foicks as soon as we finish breakfast.”
“Don’t do that,” Haven urged. “At least think about it for a few days.”
“I already have. I’ve thought about it for weeks. I knew you would all give me a hassle about being too young. That’s why I didn’t say anything before now, but I’m doing it. I’ve made up my mind, and you can’t change it.”
“We don’t want to change your mind,” Haven told him. “We just none of us want to see you get hurt.”
“I can think of some things worse than getting hurt in this war,” Easton replied. “Staying home with my nose in a book while the men battle for our future would be worse. Being left out in the cold while the
men of our tribe make all the life and death decisions would be worse. Being told I can’t join the fight because I’m too young would be worse. I’m doing it. I’m not too young, and I won’t be left out.”
Leda sighed. “I suppose this was inevitable. You’re growing up. It makes sense you would want to get involved, one way or the other.”
“I want to do a lot more than get involved,” Easton told her. “I want to fight. I want to taste Midnight blood. I want to see their dead bodies at my feet and know they died from my claws and my bite. I want to destroy as many of them as I can to make sure they don’t bother our people again.”
“Maybe no Bruins will go off to fight the Midnight,” Haven remarked. “ Did you ever think of that? Maybe the whole thing will die before it comes to that. Maybe Foicks and Ash will make up and agree to let the whole thing go.”
Easton shook his head. “That will never happen. They’ll never make up, and so many Bruins on both sides want to fight, they won’t let it happen, either. We’re bound to fight, and when it starts, I want to be in the middle of it. I’m going to sign up as soon as I find Foicks.”
“At least wait until you finish your breakfast,” Leda told him.
Haven slid her chair back and jumped up. “I gotta go.”
Leda’s head snapped up. “What’s the rush?”
“Sorry. See you guys later.”
She raced out of the house. She had to find Foicks before Easton got to him. She raced down the drive toward the road. She caught sight of her cousins Aiden and Santiago in front of their house across the way. They ducked behind a wall and pretended to leap out and shoot someone over by the woodpile. They made rat-a-tat-tat sounds with their mouths and aimed imaginary guns at the enemy.
All at once, Aiden jumped to his feet. “I got ten of ‘em.”
Santiago bellowed over his shoulder at no one. “Come on, men. We’ve got ‘em on the run. We’ll chase them all the way over Midnight Moraine.”
Haven ran faster than ever. Whatever else she did in her life, she had to stop this war. She didn’t care who was doing what. She couldn’t let her brother or anyone else get involved in this.
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