The tension waned, and his body sank against hers. His arms and legs weighed a ton. June’s hips started to ache, but she hated to disturb his reverie. She kissed his forehead and neck, but he didn’t move.
She murmured into his ear, “Ash?”
He didn’t answer. Ever so slowly, she eased him aside. She straightened her legs and pushed him off. He tumbled over on the quilt. He was already asleep.
15. Chapter 14
June woke up the next morning to the sight of Ash watching her. He bent one elbow under his head and regarded her while her eyes blinked awake. He’d been watching her sleep.
She cuddled into his chest, and his arms protected her. “What time is it?”
“It must be close to noon. The sun is almost overhead.”
She clamped her eyes shut. She didn’t want to think about that. She didn’t want to think about anything outside this cabin.
“Your father will be wondering where you are,” he remarked.
“He’ll figure it out, and when he does, I’ll be happy. I hope he figures it out soon so he doesn’t have to wonder anymore.”
“What will you tell him when that happens?”
“Tell him? I won’t tell him anything. There’s nothing to tell. We’re mated.”
“I mean what will you tell him about us? What will you tell him we’re going to do?”
She pulled back so she could look at him. “I don’t know. What are we going to do?”
He sighed and shook his head. “Same old questions and no answers.”
“Well, I don’t have any answers. I only know we belong together.”
“Will you come back to Bruins’ Peak with me?”
She eyed him. “I can’t lie to you. I don’t want to go to Bruins’ Peak.”
“And you don’t want me staying here, do you?”
Her eyes flew open. “What makes you say that?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Come on. You don’t have to pretend.”
She hid her face against his shoulder. “What would your people say if you brought me back?”
“They would be delighted. You would be very welcome. My mother and my grandparents would cry with joy.”
She laughed out loud. “Stop fooling.”
“It’s true. We have no reason to hold NightShade at a distance.”
Her head shot up one more time. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just what I said. No Bruin would have any reason not to welcome you. You would be a part of my family. End of story. There are lots of nice women around, including quite a few your own age.”
She cocked her head. “Are you sure there wouldn’t be some young women who got their feelings hurt that you took a mate from outside instead of going with them?”
“Is that what you’re worried about? There’s only one woman I ever looked sideways at, and that’s Sky Farrell. It didn’t work out, but she found another guy before I ever left Bruins’ Peak. If I came back with you, she would probably be the first to congratulate you—after my family, of course.”
She regarded him. “You miss your family, don’t you? You miss your home.”
“Sure, I do. I’ve never been away this long, and I wasn’t planning on staying away as long as I have. What about you? Do I have anybody to worry about on this Ridge besides your brother?”
June bit back a smile. “The only guy I ever really considered was Abel, and that ended years ago.”
“He’s a nice kid.”
“He’s very nice, and very kind and handsome. It just didn’t work out. He…well, he’s just not you.”
He kissed her. “You belong on the Ridge. I understand that now. You don’t belong on Bruins’ Peak. You wouldn’t thrive there.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Just some things I’ve noticed about your people. Noah said no NightShade ever leave the Ridge, and now I understand why. You all seem to grow out of the rocks and canyons. The soil runs up through your legs to feed the Earth’s energy into you. You grow on the Ridge like trees. You would wither and die if you left it.”
She buried her eyes in his chest. His heart beat against her temple. How did he understand so much about her in such a short time? He understood NightShade better than most NightShade did.
“That doesn’t help us find a solution to our problem, though.”
He kissed her hair. “Tell me more about the Ridge. I never got a chance to see your livestock. How much land do you have dedicated to food production?”
June froze. This pleasant conversation turned into something dangerous. She didn’t want to answer, but she didn’t see how she could get out of it. “I’m not exactly sure. It’s a lot, though.”
“How many families live on this Ridge?”
“Only one. We’re all one extended family. I thought we explained that.”
“You did. I meant individual family units. There’s you and the Blacks. Who else? How many houses are there? Does each family have their own territory? How do you divide it up? It must get complicated when people start to intermarry.”
She sat bolt upright. “You have no idea.”
He leaned back and watched while she slipped on her dress and her panties. She splashed water on her face and straightened her clothes.
She looked back from the door. “Are you coming?”
He looked around. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Aren’t you hungry? We should go get some breakfast…or lunch, or whatever.”
He propped himself up on his elbow. “I asked you a question, June. You just said you couldn’t lie to me. What is so secret about how many families and territories you have on this Ridge?”
She didn’t turn around. “Who said anything about a secret? Come on. We don’t want to spend the day in bed.”
She put out her hand for the door latch when Ash swung his legs over the bedside. He set his feet on the floor and barked out, “June!”
She stopped dead in her tracks. She kept her back turned to him so he wouldn’t see her eyes clamped shut.
His voice split the air. “Come here, June.”
She took a deep breath and turned around. She locked her eyes on his face and walked back to stand in front of him. She knew this moment would come. She dreaded it. She did everything she could to avoid it. Now, it was here. She had to stare it in the face and tame it.
He laid both hands on her hips and pulled her against him. He set his chin against her stomach and breathed into her face. “I love you, June. I’ll love you forever, no matter what, but you can’t keep this from me. I’ve seen enough to know the NightShade have some secret on this Ridge. We’re going to be together or we’ll both die, and if we’re going to be together, I have to know what’s going on around here. Are you in danger? Do you have some deadly contagious disease?” June laughed in spite of herself, but Ash shook his head. “You have to tell me.”
She couldn’t cope with that look on his face. “I can’t tell you. I wish I could, but I can’t. No NightShade can reveal it to anyone. That’s why we keep to ourselves. You’re the first outsider to come here in centuries. We’ve always kept the secret. I can’t tell anybody, not even you.”
He let his hands fall, and he sat up straight. “I have to know. Unless you want to come back to Bruins’ Peak with me, I have to know.”
She shook her head. “I won’t go back to Bruins’ Peak. I don’t want to, and the Elders wouldn’t let me even if I did. If I went, I would spend the rest of my life worrying about letting the secret slip to someone over there. That would be too horrible to endure. Whatever happens, I have to stay here.”
“Well, what do you suggest? Do you suggest we part ways, that I go back to Bruins’ Peak and you stay here?”
June braced herself. “The only way I could tell you the secret is if you commit yourself to joining the NightShade. You would have to stay here and become one of us. You would have to give up Bruins’ Peak forever. You’re not willing to do that, are you?”
He started back. “Give up Bruins’ Peak! How can I do that?”
“You might be able to visit once in a while, but you would have to stay on Renegade Ridge. You would have to grow on the Ridge like all the other NightShade.”
His wide eyes bored into her soul. Everything hinged on this moment. What would he decide to do?
He let out a shaky breath and let his head fall. “I don’t know if I can do that, but one thing is certain. We have to talk to your father. We have to tell him we’re mated. Maybe then he can help us.”
He pulled on his clothes, and when he stood up to face her, they met in the center of the room. They confronted each other the same way they did when they first entered it. No more reservations held them apart. They were mated. All they had to do was break the news to the rest of June’s people.
16. Chapter 15
June and Ash walked hand in hand down the path. Ash paused when Ezra’s cabin winked into sight between the trees. He drew June close. “Are you ready for this?”
She nodded. “I want to. I don’t want to hide anything from them.”
“It could get ugly in there. You realize that, don’t you?”
She shook her head. “It will be all right. They’ll understand.”
“Maybe your father will.” Ash gestured toward his own battered face. “What if Arryn decides to finish the job?”
“Then you’ll have to put him down.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
She gazed toward the cabin. “You gotta do what you gotta do. If he gives you no choice, then that’s the way it has to be. We have rules about this sort of thing, and may the best man win.”
Ash faced the cabin. His eyes narrowed, and his shoulders swelled out. “We have those rules, too.”
She fell behind him. “Then do it. Don’t back down.”
He didn’t look at her again. He eyed the cabin and nodded to himself. Then he took her hand and set off the last few paces to the door. He walked in without knocking. Ezra and Arryn sat at the table with a pan of cornmeal between them.
Ezra’s head shot up. His eyes widened when the couple walked in holding hands. Arryn frowned, and he clenched his jaw. June motioned to the one remaining chair, and Ash sat down. June took her place next to him and laid her hand on his shoulder.
Ezra spoke in his usual casual drawl. “Are you eating, honey?”
“Not just yet, Daddy. We’ve got something to tell you. Ash and I, we’re mated. I spent last night with him at his cabin, and we’re bonded for life. Whatever happens between us, we’ll do it together.”
Ezra’s chin sank onto his chest. He pushed his cornbread one way and then the other with his fork. “I thought something like this would happen. I saw it coming the same way Arryn did, only I didn’t like to say anything straight out. I’m sorry I parted you the way I did. That was wrong. I shoulda left well enough alone. That’s the folly of age, you know? You think you can stop the inevitable by sticking your nose in the ground. Well, it happened, anyway, and here you are.”
Arryn shot his father a ferocious glare. “Are you off your rocker? How can you accept this lying down? You had every good reason to part them. You ought to part them right now. That would be the smart thing to do for all our sakes.”
Ezra waved a hand at the couple. “You know that’s not possible. Look at them. They’re mated. Do you want to kill your own sister to stop her mating with him? That’s the only way you’re gonna keep these two apart. Come here and give your old man a hug, honey. I don’t get a chance to cuddle you the way I used to.”
June bent over and embraced her father. She kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, Daddy. I knew we could count on you.”
Arryn scowled through the proceedings until Ezra pushed her back. “Cut that out. You’ll make an old man cry talking and kissing like that. Go back to your man over there.”
Ezra settled back in his chair and stuck out his hand to Ash. “Give me your hand on it, boy. You two deserve each other. You’re not the one I would pick for my daughter, but the Good Lord has his own way with these things.”
“Thank you, Mr. Stark.” Ash put out his hand.
Arryn’s arm flew out and he smacked Ezra’s and Ash’s hands apart. “Stow that tripe right now! I’m not sitting here watching you shake his hand like some kind of flamin’ Prince of Sheba. Don’t you know what he is? He’s a stinkin’ outsider. He’s no better than the humans. He ought to be hounded off the Ridge before he does some real damage.”
Ash rounded on him. “And that’s what you plan to do, isn’t it? You’ll hound me off the Ridge, no matter what anybody else says.”
Arryn lunged out of his chair. He slammed his two fists down on the table so the crockery jumped and rattled. “Don’t you dare come near my sister! I’ll skin you and hang your flea-bitten hide from the cabin wall if you so much as look at her!”
June squeezed Ash’s shoulder. “This is none of your business, Arryn. You don’t make decisions for us or even for our family. Daddy’s accepted us. You’ll have to accept us, too.”
He smashed the table one more time with his fists. Plates clattered onto the floor. “Accept it! I will never accept it. I’ll fight this thing with my dying breath.”
“You’ll kill her doing that,” Ash pointed out.
“You’re killing her!” Arryn stormed. “You’ll drag her away from the Ridge and the only family she’s got. You’ll work to make peace with the Midnight until she winds up in the bear-baiting ring, just like Hazel, except we won’t get so lucky as to bring her back. She’ll die down there, and it will be your fault.”
“I’ll do everything to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Ash replied. “If we don’t stay on Renegade Ridge, I’ll take her back to Bruins’ Peak. She’ll be safe there.”
“If!” Arryn thundered. “If you don’t stay on Renegade Ridge! You won’t stay on Renegade Ridge. If you’re even saying ‘if’, you won’t stay and we’ll never see her again. What if you take it into your peacenik head to visit Midnight Moraine next and you decide to take her along? What could one man do to protect her then? Do you want to see her sicced by dogs and stabbed with spears? Do you want to see her torn apart and her dead body tossed down some ravine to rot? Is that what you want for your mate for life?”
“Of course not,” Ash replied.
“Stop it, Arryn,” June snapped. “You’re getting hysterical. At least sit down and be reasonable.”
Arryn leaned forward to screech into her face. “I will not be reasonable! This is the worst disaster our people have faced in centuries. How could you do this to us? How could you betray your own people like this? I never want to see you again. I hope you die out there. I hope you remember what I said when you’re chained to a post on Midnight Moraine with a bunch of bloodthirsty Midnight betting on your death.”
Ash threw up his hands. “That’s it. I’m not listening to any more of this. Come on, June. We’re outta here.”
He pushed back his chair, but at that moment, Arryn grabbed the table edge. He overturned the table away from him. The dishes scattered across the room, and Arryn launched himself at Ash. A thunderous bellow ripped out of his chest. His feet left the ground, and a black bear sailed past June’s face.
Arryn hit Ash in the chest and bowled him over backward. Ash staggered into June, tripped over his own stumbling feet, and thudded to the floor with Arryn standing over him. The black bear dove for Ash’s throat, but Ash bounced up in a flash. He upturned the black bear and twisted over sideways.
In a flash, Ash shifted, too. A shaggy brown bear rolled over on top of Arryn’s black form. In seconds, he pinned Arryn to the floor under his monstrous weight. Arryn wouldn’t give up that easily, though. He writhed and thrashed to break free. His pure ferocious temper took all Ash’s power to subdue him.
The harder Arryn fought, the heavier Ash sank down on top of him. He folded his legs under his body and curled on top of Arryn. Arryn waved his limbs in all directions, but he couldn’t touch t
hat huge Bruin crushing him into the floor.
June moved back to give the men room to fight this out. She never had to worry about Ash dominating. He outmatched Arryn any day of the week, and he could control himself in ways Arryn couldn’t. Arryn fought from unmitigated rage. He never learned to control himself. Once Ash got the upper hand, Arryn couldn’t threaten him. Ash would put him down in a heartbeat.
Ezra was a different story, though. As soon as Ash took the upper position, Ezra cried out, “No!”
He rushed in to join the fight, but June intercepted him. She lashed her arms around his shoulders and held him back. “Don’t, Daddy. Stay out of this. Let them work it out.”
Ezra stared at the enormous Bruin flattened Arryn. “My son! Don’t kill my son!”
“He won’t kill him, Daddy,” June told him. “Arryn’s got to learn he’s not the strongest bear on the block anymore.”
Arryn made one last pitiful effort to free himself. Ash roared down into his face. He spread his slathering jaws wide to menace Arryn. Arryn turned his head away and closed his eyes against the noise, but that was too much for Ezra. He yelled out one more time, “No!” and broke out of June’s arms.
He jumped forward and shifted at the same time. He changed into a jet black bear, a much bigger bear than Arryn but still not as big as Ash. Ezra pounced on Ash’s back and took a big toothy bite out of the back of his neck.
Ash reared off Arryn with a pained scream. He whirled one way and then the other, but he couldn’t shake off the adversary clinging to his back. Ezra sank his claws into Ash’s hide and held on.
Ash twisted and wriggled. Nothing could free him. He came to rest in front of June and shook himself all over. That only ripped Ezra’s claws out of his skin and hurt Ash further.
At the same time, Arryn rocketed to his feet. He bolstered his father’s advantage and slashed Ash’s shoulder from one side. Ash wheeled to face him, but before he could sink his teeth into Arryn front leg, Ezra toppled off his neck. His teeth dragged Ash’s skin sideways and almost pulled Ash off his feet.
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