Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume III)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “I don’t think I can be Alpha,” Silas replied. “I know I can. Now stop talking and show me what you’re made of.”

  Shaw and Silas started toward the shed. Arryn let go of May’s hand. “I’m coming with you. You’re not going anywhere with him without someone guarding your back.”

  Silas smiled at him. “Thanks.”

  Iris held out her hand, but May stopped her. “Let them go, Ma. This was bound to happen.”

  The three men strode across the yard, and May hurried after them. She had to see this. She had to see her brother take his place at the head of their tribe. This was the first day in the rest of Silas MacAllister’s life and the dawning of a new era for the MacAllister tribe.

  She hung back when they rounded the corner by the woodshed. She hid behind the building where the men couldn’t see her. Her presence would only distract Silas and Arryn from their chore. She couldn’t let anything interrupt history in the making.

  Silas strode around the shed and stopped. He took his sweet time rolling up his shirt sleeves. He still wore his khaki slacks pressed crisp and neat along the seams. His pristine business shirt rustled when he flipped back the cuffs. He measured Shaw up and down with his bright eyes.

  Shaw set his hands on his hips and paced around. He chewed some insignificant speck inside his mouth until his jaw muscle leapt. He made a big show of waiting for Silas to finish rolling up his sleeves.

  Arryn took his place against the shed wall. He kept out of the way, but he never took his gaze off Silas. He would guard Silas with his life. Shaw couldn’t get away with anything. Arryn acted as a witness to enforce the outcome of this fateful moment.

  Shaw stomped back and forth, even after Silas finished his grooming. Silas cast a wistful smile at his brother-in-law, but he didn’t move a muscle. He stood still and waited his chance, the same way he always did. He had to let Shaw overextend himself. He had to let Shaw defeat himself.

  Shaw whirled around. Both arms flew out at his sides. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

  “I’m not waiting,” Silas replied. “You want to do this? Come on and do it. Show me you’re my Alpha and discipline me for daring to talk back to you.”

  Shaw still hesitated. Silas held all the advantage of brains and confidence. Shaw knew that. He didn’t really want to fight Silas. He let himself believe Silas would bow forever.

  “Here. I’ll make it easier for you.” Silas took one step forward and spat in Shaw’s face. Then he slapped Shaw’s cheek so hard Shaw’s head whipped sideways.

  Shaw roared in rage. He exploded out of his skin to attack Silas. In the blink of an eye, both men shifted into two snorting, fuming, explosive balls of Bruin energy. In that moment, Shaw had a mile on Silas. Silas’s head barely reached Shaw’s shoulder. He would go down in a pool of blood if he didn’t pull some miracle out of his hat.

  May’s guts churned in anguish. She couldn’t watch her brother fall to this lout, but she couldn’t do anything to stop the fight. Arryn tensed in his place, but he didn’t intervene, either. Silas had to fight this fight on his own. He made his challenge, and he had to follow it through to the end.

  Shaw understood his own advantages too well. He hurled all his weight at Silas to bowl him over backwards. He slathered in Silas’s face to maul him to ribbons. Faster than the eye could follow, Silas collapsed onto the ground. He curled himself into a ball and let Shaw sail right over his head.

  Silas huddled against the cold dirt until Shaw’s forelimbs passed over his head. Then Silas craned his head back and bared his gleaming fangs. With one powerful uppercut of his mouth, he flayed open Shaw’s exposed belly.

  Shaw shrieked in pain and surprise, but Silas already burst into action. He tucked his head between his paws and rolled forward under Shaw’s hind legs. He bucked Shaw’s back feet into the air and launched himself upright behind Shaw’s squirming body.

  Shaw hit the ground in a fury. He spun around to confront Silas, but he couldn’t move his big body as fast as Silas could move his smaller one. Silas dug his claws into the soil and pounced. He took a quick bite out of Shaw’s hind haunch and ripped.

  Shaw roared out loud, but that tear cost him precious seconds. He staggered on his feet so he couldn’t make a good rush at Silas. Silas wheeled the other way. Blood darkened his muzzle and splattered his face.

  Arryn clenched his fists. “Come on, Silas! Come on!”

  Shaw bellowed louder than ever. He barrelled at Silas with all his power, but Silas narrowed his eyes and danced out of the way. Shaw landed on his feet next to Silas. Silas’s head shot forward. He snatched Shaw’s foreleg out from under him and flipped the big Bruin over onto his shoulder.

  Shaw’s weight shivered the ground. Silas jumped on him slashing and snapping his teeth everywhere. He laid Shaw’s face open one direction. He nipped a chunk out of Shaw’s neck the other way. He cut Shaw’s lip in half and parried out of reach when Shaw tried to retaliate.

  Shaw got so consumed protecting himself from those rapid fire attacks he forgot all about getting off the ground. He lay on his back and swung his head in desperation.

  Quick as a wink, Silas leapt clear. He pranced around Shaw in a circle while Shaw struggled to his feet. The instant Shaw got up, Silas flashed in again. He caught Shaw’s hind leg and crunched to the bone. Shaw twisted around to face him, but Silas wasn’t there anymore. He materialized around Shaw’s other side and slashed a hole under the big Bruin’s arm.

  Shaw didn’t try to fight him anymore. He bolted across the yard on a beeline for the woodshed. One glance showed May what he wanted. An axe stood against the shingle wall. Shaw shifted before anyone could react. He lunged for that axe. If he got hold of that, he could smash Silas’s head in with one swing.

  Shaw skidded to a stop with Silas right on his tail. The exultant thrill of victory stopped Silas’ bear brain from understanding what Shaw was trying to do. Silas only saw his enemy fleeing the fight. He’d won.

  Shaw’s fingers closed around the axe handle. His back contracted to swing it around and stove in Silas’s bloody face when a black hand covered Shaw’s white one. The black fingers obliterated Shaw’s hand, and Shaw found him staring up into Arryn’s smiling face. “You don’t need that.”

  Shaw’s breath stopped in his throat. He blinked up at Arryn. He couldn’t lift the axe, and he couldn’t let it go, either. Arryn held out his hand to the Bruin charging in behind Shaw. “Stop.”

  The bear growled, but he trotted to a halt. He cocked his head to one side and regarded Arryn holding Shaw’s hand over the axe handle. All three men froze for one long moment.

  The bear let out one soft rumble and stood up on his hind legs. His shoulders slumped. He pulled his head down, and he turned back into Silas MacAllister. Blood and gore ruined his splendid shirt and pants, and his sweat-soaked hair hung in his eyes. His breath rasped between his teeth, and his shoulders heaved.

  He looked back and forth between Arryn’s grinning face and the back of Shaw Cunningham’s head. Ever so slowly, Arryn let go of Shaw’s hand and stepped away. Arryn nodded to Shaw. Something gave way, and the ferocious tension drained into the ground.

  Shaw turned around to face Silas. He glanced right and left. Then he shrugged. “I guess…uh…”

  Silas compressed his lips. His tongue shot out of his mouth, and he tasted the blood on his lips—Shaw’s blood. He looked Shaw over. Blood stained the tattered plaid shirt, and ragged holes in Shaw’s jeans showed the puncture wounds from Silas’s teeth. Shaw doubled over across the middle where Silas’s jaws gashed him open.

  Silas tossed the hair out of his eyes and jerked his head toward the house. “Go inside.”

  Shaw lowered his eyes to the ground. He didn’t say, “Yes, sir.” He didn’t have to. The exchange between the two men said it all.

  54. Chapter 15

  Arryn clapped Silas on the shoulder. “I knew you could do it.”

  Silas cast his sharp glance around the yard. “I’ve got to go
take a shower and change my clothes. You go see Dad. Don’t leave without talking to me first.”

  Arryn flashed him a wild grin. “Yes, sir.”

  Silas’s head shot up, but when saw the expression on Arryn’s face, he bit back a smile. “Don’t you dare start calling me that.”

  Arryn shook his head. “You’re the man, Silas. I always knew you were.”

  Arryn turned on his heel and walked away. He walked right past May, and she fell in at his side. “Thank God that’s over.”

  “Were you worried? I knew he’d win.”

  “I knew he’d win, too. I just didn’t know how.”

  Arryn clucked his tongue. “God, what a man! I’ve never seen anybody fight like that. He’s…God, he’s ten times the man I ever hope to be.”

  May seized his hand. She couldn’t contain her excitement. Silas won! He bested Shaw in a fair fight. He made Shaw turn tail and run, and Arryn stopped Shaw from cheating to save his own life.

  Silas was Alpha! She wanted to shout the news from the top of Bruins’ Peak, but everyone would know soon enough. Right now, she had to stay calm. She still had to talk to her dad. She had to convince her dad to let her leave Bruins’ Peak when she wasn’t convinced herself.

  Iris waited for the couple on the porch. When Arryn smiled and nodded to her, Iris clasped her hands over her heart. “Oh, thank God! Thank God!”

  May hugged her mother. “It’s all right, Ma. It’s all over now, and they’re both safe. Silas just went to clean himself up. He’ll be along in a few minutes.”

  May guided her mother into the living room and sat her on the couch. May patted her hand. “Stay here, Ma. I’ve got to go talk to Dad.”

  She straightened up to find Arryn waiting for her. They walked down the hall together, and May knocked on her parents’ bedroom door. No one answered, and May let herself in.

  Her father sat on the edge of the bed. His Bible lay open on his knee, but he didn’t read. He gazed out the window at the Peak far away. How long had he been sitting there, oblivious to everything?

  Arryn halted in the doorway while May sat down next to her father. “Dad? You okay?”

  He raised his head to smile at her. “Hey, darling. What are you doing in here at this time of day? Don’t tell me you don’t have anything better to do than to talk to an old man like me.”

  May swallowed hard. “I came to get your blessing, Dad. I’m getting married.”

  His eyes widened. “Married, huh? And who, may I say, do I have the honor of welcoming as my new son-in-law?”

  “It’s Arryn Stark, Dad,” she replied. “He’s the visitor from Renegade Ridge.”

  “Oh, yes. I remember him. You want to marry him?”

  “I want to marry him and leave Bruins’ Peak. I want to move with him to Renegade Ridge.”

  Don didn’t understand what that meant. He only nodded. “If that’s what you want, darling, you should do it.”

  “Then you give me your blessing, Dad? Do I have your permission to go?”

  He smiled at her. “You don’t need my permission to go, darling. You know that. You mated with a man, so you belong with him. That’s all anybody needs to know.”

  May slipped her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Dad. I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too, darling. I’ll always love you.”

  May waved to Arryn, who came forward to stand in front of the old Alpha. “Give me your blessing, too, sir.”

  Don’s clouded eyes cleared. They sparkled up at Arryn, and his withered fingers closed around Arryn’s hand. “You have my blessing, son. You have my blessing to marry my daughter and take her home with you. I know you’ll work hard to give her a good life.”

  “I will, sir.”

  Don frowned down at the dark hand in his grasp. He let go and opened his palm to inspect it. “You’ve got blood on your hands. What’s going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  Arryn cast a sidelong glance at May. Then he faced the old man. “Silas challenged Shaw. They just fought it out behind the woodshed, and Silas won. He’s cleaning himself up. Then I think he’ll come and see you about it.”

  Don sank back into his seat. “I knew this was coming. I could see it coming a long way off. Well, it’s for the best. Silas is the better man. He’ll take good care of this tribe.”

  May gasped. “You knew? You knew all along?”

  “Of course, I knew. They tried to hide it from me, but anybody could see them butting heads. I never doubted Silas would win. The smarter man always wins, even when he can’t match his opponent in size and strength. Some guys just don’t know how to fight. They think they can sit on a man like Silas, and that’s the end of the fight.”

  “But I thought…” May stopped.

  “I know what you thought. You thought I was too old to pay attention to the affairs of my own tribe. You thought I let Shaw bulldoze his way into being my second. I had to let him think that. That’s the only way Silas would have had a fighting chance. If I had backed Silas in the open, Shaw would have destroyed us both and the whole tribe into the bargain. Now it’s over, and we can all go back to our lives.”

  May flung her arms around her father’s neck and kissed him. “I’m so happy, Dad. I’m so glad you back Silas.”

  “Of course, I back Silas. He’s my own son. He deserves to be Alpha, and the other Alphas will accept him.”

  “I have something else to say to you, sir,” Arryn told him.

  Don inclined his head the other way. “What’s that?”

  “It’s about Rhys Dodd.”

  A hard glint shot out of the old man’s visage. “What about him?”

  Arryn dropped his voice to a murmur. “He attacked me up at the Dunlaps’ cottage. He waylaid me after the meeting yesterday. He said he would do anything to stop the alliance.”

  Don stiffened. “I suspected something like this would happen. Tell me you put him in his place.”

  “I had to, sir. I just wanted to let you know there are still people on this Peak who will do anything to take your people to war. They don’t care what the Alphas say.”

  “I know, son. We all know. We’ve known Rhys would try something like this. I’m sorry you got stuck in the middle of it. I’m glad you were able to put him down.”

  “I just want to make sure you and the other Alphas know what’s going on. You’ll tell them for me, won’t you?”

  Don cracked a grin. “From what you tell me, I’m not Alpha of my tribe anymore. You beat Rhys and Silas beat Shaw. That means the war faction is officially dead. Neither of those two will cause any further trouble, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll pass word around the Peak what you told me. We’ll all keep our eyes open so this doesn’t happen again. If Shaw or Rhys sticks their necks out again, we’ll shut them down fast.”

  Arryn clasped the old man’s hand. “Thank you, sir. That’s all I ask.”

  Don waved toward May. “You two better be going. You’ve got a long way to go before you get home.”

  May hugged her father one last time. “It’s not so far, Dad. It’s right down the road.”

  Don touched her cheek. “It might as well be a thousand miles, darling. How do I know I’ll ever see you again?”

  She clung to his neck. “We’ll see each other in our dreams. We’ll hold each other in our hearts.”

  Don nodded. “Don’t be strangers over there. You keep in touch with your family. If you don’t have family, you don’t have anything.”

  “Don’t worry, sir,” Arryn told him. “May will have all the family she needs.”

  “I know, son.” Don sniffed. “Pretty soon, Silas will get married and there won’t be room on this Peak for an old bear like me.”

  May tried to embrace her father again, but he pried her arms off. He set her hands in Arryn’s grasp. “Go on with you. Don’t dawdle around the past when the future needs you so much more.”

  They kissed good-bye. May broke down in tears when Arryn shut the door behind th
em. She sobbed against his chest. “I’ll never see him again. I know it.”

  “He can rest, now that he knows Silas is in charge,” Arryn told her. “That’s the best thing anybody can do for him. He’s probably been holding out for that all these years.”

  Iris stood up from the couch when they entered. May embraced her mother. “Kiss me good-bye, Ma. I’m going home.”

  Both women wept on each other’s necks until Silas strode into the room. His wet hair slicked back from his face. Not a drop of blood marred his clean clothes. No one would ever guess he just fought the fight of his life. He tapped May on the shoulder. “That’s enough, peachy. Say your good-byes and I’ll drive you to the bus station.”

  May wiped the tears off her cheeks. “I wish I didn’t have to leave. I wish I could stay.”

  Iris pushed her away. “No, you don’t. You don’t want to stay here. You belong to the future now. You go with your man, and don’t ever look back.”

  May sobbed so hard she couldn’t answer. Arryn dragged her away from her mother. How could she ever explain the emotions tumbling through her? Her mother was right. She did want to leave. She wanted to leave even if it meant living in a shack with a dirt floor.

  She wanted everything Arryn would bring into her life. Her past tore her heartstrings, though. She couldn’t help grieving over its loss, even as her soul cried out for the new reality waiting for her.

  As soon as she walked out of that house where she spent her whole life, everything changed. Her tears dried up, and she could smile at the future. She was going where she belonged. She got in the car with Silas and Arryn, and Silas started the motor.

  “Stop by the Dunlaps’ on the way,” Arryn told Silas. “I want to say good-bye and thank you to everybody.”

  May didn’t bother to look around her while the car trundled around the mountain. She didn’t have to. She knew every hill and shadow. She carried them inside her, tucked in forgotten corners of her heart. She would never forget a single detail of Bruins’ Peak.