Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume III)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Silas parked in front of Dunlap Homestead. He threw the car into Park. “You go ahead. I’ll wait for you here.”

  May and Arryn stood on the porch until Aiken answered their knock. He started out of his skin. “What’s up?”

  Arryn stuck out his hand. “I’m leaving, man. I’m going home. I just came over to say thank you for everything. Is your dad at home? I’d like to thank him before I leave.”

  “He’s not here,” Aiken replied. “Him and Boyd had to go over to Mackenzie Homestead to talk about a broken water main running across their territory. They could be out for a while. Do you want to wait?”

  Arryn shook his head. “No, we’re going now. Tell him I said thank you, will you?”

  “Sure.” Aiken accompanied the couple back to Silas’s car. “You keep in touch, huh?”

  “I will,” Arryn replied. “Let’s keep talking about this alliance. I’m sure more NightShade will want to visit Bruins’ Peak.”

  “They’ll be more than welcome. We’ll be better prepared for them next time.”

  Arryn beamed. “I couldn’t have asked for a better reception. I’ll never forget your kindness.”

  “Take care of yourselves.”

  Just like that. Take care of yourselves. Not take care of yourself. Everybody already knew Arryn wasn’t leaving Bruins’ Peak alone. The news travelled on the wind. People inhaled it through the air until it became part of life up here.

  May buckled her seat belt. Aiken waved until the car disappeared around the corner. Bruins’ Peak slipped away, out of May’s life forever. Nothing remained but the wide open road ahead. That road led to one place and one place only: Renegade Ridge.

  Her heart quaked when she thought about what she would find there. Where would they live? How would they survive? May would probably never surf the internet again. She would never eat ice cream again or watch movies. She would probably never even read a book again. She would be too busy scrubbing laundry by hand and chopping firewood. Her life would crumble into one long nightmare of misery and toil. She would never sleep in a comfortable bed or watch TV.

  She had to stop thinking like that. She had to face this with her head up. She never let anything defeat her before, and she certainly wouldn’t let finding her life’s mate change that.

  55. Chapter 16

  Arryn clasped Silas to his heart. “I’m gonna miss you, man. You’re the best of the bunch.”

  Silas pushed him away. “Shut up or you’ll make my sister jealous.”

  Arryn sniffed back tears. “You keep in touch with me, you hear? No excuses.”

  “Don’t you worry about that. We’ll be communicating all the time, now that we’ve got this alliance in place. I’ll coordinate the rest of the Alphas, and we’ll send you over a plan for combining our defenses.”

  “Don’t do that until I talk to Ash,” Arryn told him. “We might have some more news from the Midnight. The situation might have changed, and Jordan is our best intelligence.”

  Silas nodded. “You let me know. I’m counting on you.”

  Arryn waved his hand toward the Peak in the distance. “You’ve got the situation under control, don’t you?”

  “I’ve got it covered. I’ll text Walker when I get home. My dad will send out word to the rest of the Alphas. They’ll want to make a big fuss over me. Then it’s all business, and I can handle that.”

  Arryn laughed. “I’m sure you can.”

  The bus pulled up behind the station. Silas gave Arryn one more shove. “Get out of here. I don’t want to see your face again—not for a good long while, anyway.”

  Arryn waved from the station door. May lingered one more minute. She looked back at Bruins’ Peak standing tall and dark on the skyline. Then the driver called out, “All aboard!”

  Arryn handed over their tickets, and he and May climbed into the bus. She took the window seat and he sat next to her. He held her hand, but he didn’t say anything the whole way back to Burkes Road.

  He studied her profile against the landscape churning by. She didn’t smile. She didn’t talk. He read her thoughts plain as day. He couldn’t miss the poignant sadness written all over her face. She didn’t want to leave her old home, her family, and everything she knew. She didn’t want to do it, but she did. She made her decision, and she never complained. She would follow Arryn anywhere.

  He didn’t kiss her or hold her or even draw near her, but he loved her more on that bus ride than in all the short, blissful days of their courtship. Her sadness and her iron resolve to go through with this impressed him. She fought a much harder battle than the one Silas had won. She fought for the life she really wanted, and she got it. She just didn’t know it yet.

  He wanted so much to give her everything, to make all her dreams come true. He could do it, too. He could make her happy beyond her wildest imaginings, but he had to be patient. He had to wait and surprise her.

  His pulse raced when he thought about leading her downstairs. He swallowed excited shouts thinking about the wonder and surprise on her face when she saw the trains, the hovercraft, the buildings, the computers, the crowds—the whole majestic glory of Arion. She would love it. She would embrace it, and she would become so much more than just a girl from Bruins’ Peak.

  They got off the bus in Burkes Road. They walked out into the dusty afternoon. No one waited in a fancy car to drive them up the Ridge. They had to hike it. May didn’t complain then, either. She fell in behind Arryn. She kept up with him the whole way.

  Inside his heart and soul, he died to make this easier for her. He would gladly transport her to Arion in a hovercraft if he could, but this was the only way to do it. She had to pass through the fire.

  They mounted the Ridge and followed the rocky line down the north side. Cabins peeked at them between the trees. May scanned the surroundings with her watchful silent eyes when a shout greeted them from their left. A glowing yellow ball rocketed out of the shadows and hit Arryn full tilt. Arryn grappled a wriggling, squirming figure and swung it around in a circle. He howled to the skies. “There you are! I was wondering when you would turn up.”

  He set the figure down, and Ash Dunlap turned his startled blue eyes on May. He froze to the ground. “Hello, May. What are you doing here?”

  “She came back with me,” Arryn replied. “We’re on our way to Daddy’s cabin. Is June home?”

  Ash jumped. “I’ll come with you. Yes, June is there. We didn’t expect you back so soon.”

  Arryn threw his arm around Ash’s shoulders, and they set off down the path. “Great news, brother! The Bruins voted for the alliance, and guess what? Silas MacAllister is taking over as Alpha of the MacAllister tribe. Shaw Cunningham and Rhys Dodd are out. It’s smooth sailing from here on.”

  May trailed behind the friends talking a mile a minute. Arryn filled Ash in on all the developments since he left Renegade Ridge. The path crossed another hummock of granite. May paused at the top of the rise to take in the whole mountain range spread out at her feet. The setting sun cast pink and scarlet shades over the landscape.

  Arryn pretended not to notice her pace slackening. He called over his shoulder. “Come on! We’re almost there.”

  He hurried Ash along until his father’s cabin emerged from the trees. Ash raced ahead, shouting, “June! Ezra! Look who’s here.”

  Ezra ducked through the doorway, and his eyes flew open when he saw Arryn. The two men collided in a big bear hug. Ezra roared into Arryn’s ears. “You’re back! You’re back!”

  “I’m back, Daddy.” Arryn held his father back. “This is May, Daddy. She came back with me.”

  Ezra frowned, but he recovered in an instant. He shook May’s hand. “You’re very welcome here.”

  June appeared at May’s elbow. “Come inside and have some supper. You must be perishing.”

  June and Ash escorted May inside, but Ezra barred Arryn’s way with his stout arm. “Are you sure about this, son? You know what this means, don’t you?”

  Arry
n stole a glance inside. He pulled the door shut and murmured into his father’s ear. “We’re going downstairs, Daddy. We’ll stay down there and make our home there. I’m a married man, and I’m leaving the surface.”

  Ezra sighed. “Oh, that’s all right, son. You don’t have to explain it to me. I just wanted to be sure you were certain.”

  “I’m certain. She’s NightShade. She’s just as NightShade as Ash.”

  Ezra and Arryn joined the rest of the family around the table, but Arryn couldn’t miss the horror and despair on May’s face. She did her best to hide it, but she couldn’t stop staring at the cabin. She took in the dirt floor, the threadbare quilt on the bed, the soot and smoke around the cooking fire. She stole passing glimpses at June’s dirty bare toes and her faded dress.

  May choked down a few mouthfuls of food. Arryn pretended not to notice her dismay. He rattled away to his family about everything related to his trip. They listened. Then he and Ash launched into a heated discussion about how to proceed with the alliance. Ash wanted to go find Jordan right away. Arryn told him to wait until morning at least.

  All too soon, the meal ended. The domestic radiance in the cabin faded with the day, and the night chill seeped through the shake walls. Ezra yawned, and June started clearing the table. May got up to help her, but June shook her head. “You relax. I can handle this.”

  May looked around. “Where will we spend the night?”

  Arryn made his move. “You and I will go to our own house. There’s not space here anyways.”

  May bit her lip to stop it quivering, but she couldn’t keep her voice steady. “Is…is our house like this one?”

  Arryn grinned. He summoned all his resolve not to laugh out loud. “Come on and I’ll show you.”

  They couldn’t get out of the house without more hugs and kisses. Ezra threw the door open, and cold air blew in. Arryn got the message and led May outside. His family shouted after them down the path until the door closed. It shut all the light and heat and comfort out of the world. Cold, black mountain night surrounded them on all sides.

  May shivered. “You have a really nice family. I’m happy.”

  She didn’t sound happy. She sounded heartbroken. Arryn put his arms around her. He tried to kiss her, but her lips wouldn’t function. She shook all over. “It’s going to be all right.”

  “I know,” she choked. “It’s just…It’s just a shock, you know?”

  He moved away. “Then we better get home. Then we can relax in our own place, and you don’t have to worry anymore.”

  She dragged her heels down the path. He had to tow her by the arm. She faltered when a glowing yellow window shone through the trees. He hauled her toward the house. “Is that it?”

  “No, this isn’t it,” he replied. “This is my friend’s house. We’re going around here.”

  He showed her to the lean-to attached to the back of Noah Black’s house. She suppressed a sob when he opened the door on the gloom inside. He had to force her through the door. “This way.”

  Her breath wheezed faster and shorter through her nose. Cold sweat dampened her palm in his hand. He hated to do this to her. Only the knowledge of what waited for them downstairs kept him moving forward.

  He opened the grain bin and peered down into the vacuum. May whimpered in sheer terror. Arryn swung his leg over the side and stepped onto the first stair. May didn’t move. “Come on. This way.”

  She still didn’t move. She couldn’t. Dread and despair rooted her to the spot. He couldn’t wait any longer. He picked her up and lifted her into the bin. He kept his arms strapped around her waist and marched her bodily down the stairs. He pulled the lid closed behind him, and darkness closed over their heads.

  56. Chapter 17

  Lights winked out of the dark the farther down the stairs they climbed. May couldn’t breathe. Only Arryn’s strength induced her to walk down those stairs. When they got to the bottom, she stared around her in disbelief. Silent trains wheeshed along the huge platform. Lights glowed everywhere, and dark-skinned people hurried this way and that.

  Arryn dragged her down the platform, but when the train door opened in front of them, he had to carry her onto the train. No force on God’s green Earth would get her to step through that door. As soon as he set her down, the doors whisked closed and the train started to move.

  No matter how fantastic the sights, she could not get her mind to comprehend what she was seeing. People stepped into telephone booths and vanished in a shower of sparkles. Space vehicles floated between the buildings. People chatted and gestured on the sidewalks the same way they did in any other city.

  The train stopped in a huge open square. Electric lights made the place as bright as day, and grassy lawns spread out between the buildings. May might as well have been outside on a clear summer’s evening.

  When Arryn took her hand this time, she managed to exit the train on her own feet. He stopped to smile at her. “This is Arion, May. This is the secret I couldn’t tell you. You had to come back to Renegade Ridge with me of your own free will. You had to accept me as your mate, even thinking I was just a dirt-poor country boy. You had to accept the NightShade as your own people before I could tell you.”

  She swept the surroundings with wide eyes. “Are all these people…are they all NightShade?”

  “Yes, they are. There are millions of people down here, and we have technology beyond anything the humans ever dreamed of. We have computers. We have a network of computers like your internet, but much more advanced. We have teleportation devices and universities and hospitals and everything.”

  She stared up at him. “Are you…?”

  He took a step closer to kiss her. “I love you, May. I wanted so much to tell you. You’re going to be happy here. You’ll make friends. You can study. You can choose what work you want to do. You’ll live the life of your dreams, if only you’ll let me give it to you.”

  She burst out laughing. Her eyes glistened with happy tears, and all the oppressive dread and depression lifted off her. “Oh, yes! Oh, thank you! I never wanted anything else.”

  He hugged her and kissed her. “Come on. We’re going home now. Just wait until you see it.”

  He entered the nearest building, and they rode an elevator to the third floor. May peered over a balcony at hundreds of people streaming in and out through the front doors. Arryn talked to a man behind a desk. The man handed him a metal card.

  “I’ve got the key,” Arryn told her when he came back. “It’s not far away.”

  May glanced over her shoulder. “Who was that man?”

  “He’s a clerk with the labor pool. This building houses the whole labor pool committee. They assign people jobs, or they can give approval if someone knows what kind of work he wants to do.”

  “What did you have to talk to him about?”

  Arryn held up the card. “I just registered us with the central computer system. He gave me the key to our apartment. That’s how it works when a new couple gets married. You log your names with the committee, and they give you a place to live.”

  She blinked. “Did you have to do that your whole life? Did you have to inform them every time you want to do something?”

  “It’s not like that. I never registered with them before because I lived on the surface all my life. Now I’m married. It’s like this for everybody. They keep track of who lives where, how many people live in each apartment and their ages. That’s how they know how much food and other resources everybody should get.”

  “It sounds complicated.”

  Arryn laughed. “It is. It’s mind-boggling.”

  He took her back outside. They crossed the great square to another building, and he conducted her so far up into the air she lost track of where they were. Enormous windows overlooked the whole teeming city. May would never have believed a city this big could exist buried under Renegade Ridge.

  Arryn slotted his card key into a door, and the lock gave way. He held the door open for h
er, and she stepped into her own apartment. Little did she know, she would spend the next thirty years of her life in that apartment. She would give birth to her children there. She would celebrate and grieve and tend to the thousand minute details of living her life.

  She never beheld any house or apartment so luxurious in her life, not even on TV or on the internet. A crystal chandelier hung over a sunken living room, but she didn’t see any kitchen. Computer screens peeked out of almost every wall.

  Leather couches stood in a circle around a glass table. Fruit and flowers sat in a bowl and shone in the golden light. Glistening metal and glass brightened every surface. Floor to ceiling windows across the living room gave a stunning view of the city where lights sparkled out of the dark. The electric lights hanging everywhere dimmed with the onset of night.

  Hovercraft and trains slithered through the streets. They flowed along arteries between the buildings. They never slept. People still moved and worked and lived out there. May wasn’t alone in this apartment. She would never be alone again.

  Arryn came up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her from behind. “Do you want to see your room?”

  She shook her head. “It’s so amazing. All this time, you never told me.”

  “I couldn’t. I wanted to, but we’re all sworn to keep the secret. You have to keep the secret, too. You have to guard it with your life. Can you do that?”

  “Of course. I’ll do anything for this.”

  “Once you’ve lived here a while, it won’t be a secret anymore. It’s only people like Ash and June who have to worry about someone finding out.”

  “How can they live on the surface when they could live like this?”

  “They prefer it that way. June never wanted to live downstairs. She and Ash want to make their lives in the open air, and I don’t blame them.”

  “Then why are we here? Why did you bring me here?”

  He turned her around to face him. “I couldn’t ask you to live like that. I couldn’t ask you to suffer for my sake. Besides, I want to be here. Something changed for me. This is my world now, and I’m going to make it great.”