Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume III)

by Sarah J. Stone

  She shouldn’t feel this way about a human. She shouldn’t feel this way about anybody but another Bruin. Yet, here she was, carrying on a clandestine romance with someone she never met. What would he do when he found out what she really was?

  77. Chapter 2

  Silas and Briar MacAllister murmured in low tones in the kitchen at MacAllister Homestead. “He’s hanging by a thread,” Silas whispered. “The last time I went in to see him, I had to stand there and watch for five minutes before I could see him breathing. I don’t know how much longer this can go on.”

  “What did Ma say?” Briar asked. “Isn’t there anything we can do for him?”

  Silas glanced toward their parents’ bedroom. “Whatever you do, don’t say anything to Ma about doing anything for him. She’s at her wits’ end. She falls apart anytime anybody looks sideways at her.”

  “It can’t be as bad as that,” Briar whispered back.

  He nodded. “It is. Pop’s gonna die, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Ma dies, too. She’s a mess.”

  At that moment, the bedroom door opened and Iris MacAllister came out. She walked toward her son and daughter, but she looked right and left and didn’t see them.

  Briar touched her mother’s arm. “How are you, Ma? Have you eaten anything today? Let me make you cup of coffee.”

  “Don’t forget to collect the eggs from the hen house this afternoon, Briar,” Iris replied. “You forgot yesterday, and I had to get them for you. You wanted chickens, and you promised your pop and me that you would take care of them by yourself. I shouldn’t have to do anything, and you forgot to fill their water tray yesterday, too. If you keep this up, you won’t be allowed to have pets.”

  Briar stared at her mother’s drawn face. Briar hadn’t kept chickens since she was ten years old. Iris retreated into the past to escape the bald reality that her husband lay dying in the next room.

  Briar cast a sidelong glance at her brother. He only nodded and pursed his lips as if to say, “You see what I mean?”

  Briar stood up straight. “Okay, Ma. I’ll get the eggs, and I’ll make an effort to stay on top of the chickens from now on. I’m glad you and Pop let me have them.”

  Iris wandered into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and shut it. She yanked open two or three cupboards, but closed them without taking anything out. Silas and Briar watched her in silence.

  Briar stepped forward and took her mother by the hand. “Sit down, Ma, and I’ll make you something to eat. Then you and I will go see Pop.”

  Briar sat her mother in a chair at the table and busied herself frying some eggs and bacon. She brewed coffee and ran water into the sink to do the dishes. Silas observed her from across the kitchen. She moved in like she never left. No one would ever know she was an Alpha’s wife.

  Silas retreated to the living room and left Briar in charge of his mother. While he stood there pondering, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out to read the writing on the screen Message Not Sent. He shoved his phone away and paced around the room.

  He couldn’t bring himself to be sorry his father was dying. Don became less and less responsive the older he got. He was at the end of the line. He had nothing to do but die and leave the MacAllister tribe to somebody else. It just so happened that somebody else was Silas.

  The more his father retreated into old age, the stronger Silas got. He grew into his power and took over the tribe long before Don went to sleep in his bed and didn’t wake up. Now Silas controlled the whole tribe and all its lands and resources from his room down the hall.

  While he stood there pondering, his older sister Dana and her husband Shaw emerged from the back of the house. They kept their voices low, too. No one wanted to disturb the sleeper in the other room. “How is he?” Dana asked.

  “The same as before,” Silas replied. “There’s nothing to do but wait.”

  “Is there time to run over to Farrell Homestead to pick up Brooker?” Shaw asked. “He went over there to spend the night yesterday. We wouldn’t want to miss anything.”

  “Go ahead,” Silas told him. “I’m sure nothing will change in that short a time, and even if he does go, there’s nothing anybody can do. He hasn’t opened his eyes in weeks. He won’t say anything to anybody. He’ll just stop breathing, and when you get back, we’ll talk about the funeral.”

  Shaw nodded and turned away.

  “Oh, by the way,” Silas called after him. Shaw glanced back. “I got that heifer you asked for. She’s down in the breeding shed. You can pick her up anytime you’re ready.”

  “What do I owe you?” Shaw asked.

  “Nothing,” Silas replied. “Just take her.”

  Shaw’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  Silas laughed at the look on his face. “Really. Now get out of here.”

  Shaw’s smile spread from ear to ear. Dana squeezed Silas’s arm. “Thank you, Silas. Thank you so much.”

  He blushed and pushed her away, but he couldn’t stop smiling. “Shut up.”

  Shaw and Dana ran out of the house. Their car buzzed down the driveway, but it turned off in the direction of the breeding shed instead of the road toward Farrell Homestead. Silas did small favors for Shaw and Dana to make up for his old conflict with his brother-in-law, but he didn’t need to. Shaw never made trouble for Silas after their fateful challenge behind the woodshed when Silas best Shaw to seize the Alpha position for himself.

  Briar’s voice interrupted his thoughts, “Any luck getting hold of May?”

  Silas shook his head. “Sorry. I’ve tried ten times, but I can’t get in touch with Arryn. We might just have to let go of May.”

  She clutched his sleeve. “Please try again, Silas. I can’t stand her not being here.”

  Silas pressed her hand. “I can keep trying, but there’s only so much I can do. The phone number Arryn gave me doesn’t work, and I don’t have another one. If she’s not here, there’s nothing more we can do about it.”

  Briar wilted. “I’m sorry I’m such a nag.”

  “You’re not a nag. You’re just concerned. You’re just as concerned as the rest of us.”

  “I’m glad you’re here, Silas. You’re a rock. I’m glad this tribe has a strong Alpha to take over from Pop. You’re the best thing that could happen to this family.”

  Their mother’s voice broke across the room. She rocked back and forth in her chair and wrung her hands. “Oh, May! Oh, May, my daughter! Where are you?”

  Silas shuddered. He bent forward to murmur in Briar’s ear. “If you can bring yourself to deal with Ma at a time like this, you’ll be doing this family a much bigger favor than I could ever do.”

  Briar did her best to smile. “I’ll take care of her. I might not be able to do anything for Pop, but I’ll look after her. That’s the least I can do. You handle the tribe and leave her to me.”

  “Thanks, Briar. I’ll do that. I’ll be in my room if you need me or if anything changes.”

  Briar returned to her mother, and Silas slipped off by himself. He glided up the stairs and down the hall to his own room. His computer sat on his desk across the room. A thousand pieces of his business empire waited for his attention on that computer, but he didn’t go to it. He sat down on his bed. He leaned against the headboard and took out his phone.

  He touched the notification that said Message Not Sent. He wouldn’t try to contact Arryn Stark again. Wherever Arryn was, Silas couldn’t contact him. The whole MacAllister tribe would have to forget about May coming to her father’s bedside or the funeral. May was gone, probably forever.

  He navigated to his message app, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the message waiting for him, I’m lonely, and thinking of you.

  His thumb skipped over the keyboard, What are you thinking?

  The name above the message read Penny Shields: Thinking about you curling up behind me on my bed and snuggling into my neck.

  His heart beat faster. He lived for moments like this. I would suck on your ear and whisper
to you.

  What would you whisper?

  How much I want you. How much I want to hold you and kiss you and look into your eyes.

  I miss you so much.

  He never felt this way about any woman. He never expected to feel this way about a bunch of letters on a screen. Penny cast a spell over him from her initial messages when he first hired her to design his consulting website. Now, he couldn’t get through the day without talking to her. He shared all his business successes and failures with her. No one understood him like she did, and he’d never even met her.

  He no longer cared if she was the ugliest woman on the planet. He only wanted her. He wanted to share his life with her, but how could he do that? He should only feel this way about another Bruin, not some woman across the country in Oregon.

  When can I see you?

  Silas stared at the writing on the screen. His thumb hovered over the screen, but he couldn’t decide what to write back. What was he supposed to say? He wanted nothing more in the world than to see her for the first time, to take their romance out of cyber space into the real world.

  At the same time, seeing her in person was the last thing in the world he wanted. If he met her and didn’t like her as much in the flesh, he would lose one of the greatest pleasures of his life. If, on the other hand, he liked her enough to continue this to the next level, his whole future was shot. He would have to give up his life on Bruins’ Peak to spend it with a human woman somewhere else.

  He never wanted to give her up, but he couldn’t figure out any way he could get together with her. His whole world spun out of control, just when everything should be falling into place. He should be happy about becoming Alpha in his father’s place, but he couldn’t be more miserable if he tried.

  78. Chapter 3

  Grace stirred on Natalie’s shoulder. She raised her head and rubbed her fist into her eye. “Why did you stop reading?”

  Natalie lifted the little girl into her lap. “You fell asleep. You’ve been asleep for hours.”

  Grace whimpered, “I want Mommy.”

  “Mommy will be home soon. Let’s go inside, and I’ll make you something to eat.”

  She set Grace on her feet and took her by the hand. She took Grace to the bathroom. After that, Grace felt better. She played with her toys while Natalie went into the kitchen and started making two sandwiches. Natalie laid out the bread and spread them with mayonnaise, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Max.

  What was she going to do? She couldn’t continue this much longer. Almost every conversation ended in a stalemate over when they would or could meet. What could she say to that? Max insisted they meet, and Natalie wanted to do it. At the same time, she cringed at the thought.

  Maybe meeting him would be the best thing. Once she met him and broke the ice, she would know whether he was a Bruin or not. He wasn’t likely to be, but she could always hope. Once she met him, she wouldn’t be able to hope anymore. She would have to make her choice, but at least she could stop living on this knife edge.

  Grace woke her from her reverie by tugging at Natalie’s clothes. “Is it ready yet?”

  Natalie smiled down at her. “Almost.”

  “What’s taking so long?” Grace asked.

  Natalie laughed. “My brain isn’t working, but I’ll get it done now.”

  She finished cutting the tomato and folding the lettuce against the bread. She sat Grace at the table and set the sandwich in front of her. Natalie returned to the kitchen to get her own sandwich when her brother Rhys walked through the front door.

  He took one look at the sandwich and grinned at Natalie. “Is that for me?”

  She smiled back at him. “This one’s for me, but if you ask nicely, I might be convinced to make one for you.”

  He lifted her hand and pressed it to his heart. “Please, oh, please, Natalie darling, would you pretty please make me a sandwich just like that?”

  She laughed and pushed him away. “Cut it out.”

  He leaned against the kitchen counter and chuckled. He cast a glance toward Grace eating at the table. “It’s awfully quiet around here. Where is everybody?”

  Natalie set the sandwich on a plate and handed it to her brother. “Briar went down to her parents’ house, and I don’t know where Riskin is.”

  Rhys took an enormous bite of sandwich and mumbled with his mouth full, “What did she go home for?”

  “Her father’s dying. She wants to help her mother and Silas deal with everything.”

  Rhys froze with a lump in his cheek. “You don’t say.”

  Natalie cocked her head. “What’s wrong?”

  Rhys set his plate down. He finished chewing and wiped his wrist across his mouth. “If Don’s dying, that means Silas will be taking over as Alpha.”

  Natalie stiffened. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna make trouble for Silas again. Don’t tell me you’re gonna drag this Peak back into conflict and war, just when we got all our problems worked out.”

  He shrugged. “What do you think is gonna happen? Silas will be Alpha, and I’m Riskin’s second. We’re bound to butt heads.”

  “Only if you want to. If you accept him and support him, you wouldn’t have to butt heads.”

  “How can I accept him and support him when we’ve always been enemies? We’ve been against each other from the beginning, ever since…” He broke off.

  Natalie chopped her hand through the air. “You don’t have to say it. You’ve been enemies since Briar helped Riskin challenge you as Alpha.”

  A black cloud crossed Rhys’s face. “It isn’t only that. Silas backed Ash Dunlap to make peace with the Midnight when I wanted war. Then he sided with that freak Arryn Stark and turned the whole mountain against me.”

  “He never turned the whole mountain against you,” Natalie countered. “You and Shaw did that all by yourselves. You refused to listen to reason when Arryn negotiated the alliance with the other Alphas.”

  “They never should have made the alliance,” Rhys grumbled. “They should have thrown that NightShade out on his ear.”

  “That’s none of your business,” Natalie snapped. “You’re not Alpha anymore. Riskin won in a fair fight. When are you gonna realize that?”

  He spun away and headed for the door. “Never. I’ll never rest until I stop them all.”

  Natalie caught his hand and held him back. “You can’t fight everybody. When are you gonna put all this hatred and conflict behind you? Make peace with Silas for everybody’s sake.”

  He glared at her under his heavy brows. “You’re one of them now, aren’t you? You supported me when I was on top, but now that I’m on the bottom, you turn against me. You’re just like all the others.”

  She tried to draw near him. “It’s not like that, and you know it. I couldn’t turn against my Alpha, but I never stopped caring about you, even when Riskin took over. He’s done everything he could to help you. He made you his second when the rest of the Peak wanted him to discipline you. You should be grateful to him, and if you don’t know how much I love you, me telling you won’t make any difference.”

  He yanked his arm out of her grasp. “I don’t need love. I need blood. I’ll challenge Silas.”

  “And then what? What will you do if you win?”

  “I guess if I win I’ll be MacAllister Alpha.”

  Natalie stared at him. “You couldn’t be MacAllister Alpha. You’re not even part of their family.”

  Rhys gave a hysterical laugh. “I know. Isn’t it perfect?”

  Natalie’s chin sank down on her chest. “Don’t do this, Rhys. Make peace with Silas and leave well enough alone. I’m begging you. Bruins’ Peak has suffered enough conflict already. Let everything go back to the way it was before.”

  “It can never go back to the way it was before,” he growled. “I was Alpha the way it was before, and that can never happen as long as Riskin is alive.”

  Before she could say more, he raced out the door on his way to wreak havoc and mayh
em. The door slammed behind him, and the windows rattled in their frames. Natalie took her sandwich to the table and sank into the chair opposite Grace. This was exactly what she didn’t need right now, on top of her own problems.

  Across the room, her tablet cheeped its notification. Max must be trying to contact her again, but she didn’t go get it. She had to think before she talked to him again.

  Grace eyed her across the table. Natalie shrank before the girl’s all-seeing eye. She dreaded what Grace would say about her exchange with Rhys. “Did Daddy and Uncle Rhys get in a fight?”

  Natalie sighed. “That was a long time ago. They aren’t fighting now.”

  Grace didn’t take her eyes off Natalie’s face. She didn’t believe a word Natalie said. “But Uncle Rhys is fighting with somebody else.”

  “That’s his business. If he wants to make a mess of his life, no one can stop him.”

  Grace went back to eating her sandwich. Natalie’s tablet gave another demanding beep, but Natalie didn’t get up or check it. She refused to have her life ruled by a machine, and whatever Max had to say could wait until Natalie figured out what to say back.

  The tablet chirped one more time, but Natalie munched her sandwich like nothing ever happened. “Don’t you want to check your computer?” Grace asked.

  Natalie giggled. “What are you worrying about that for?”

  “You almost always answer your computer when it calls you. You say someone is calling you.”

  Natalie blushed. No one could put one past this little shark. “Yeah. Someone is calling me, but I don’t have to answer if I don’t want to.” She could think of only one person trying to call her.

  “What if they get mad and don’t want you to talk to you anymore?”

  “Then I’ll get someone else to talk to. Now, let’s stop talking about my computer and figure out what we’re going to do for the rest of the day. What do you feel like, and don’t tell me you want to read books all afternoon. I know. Let’s go for a walk in the woods. We could go swimming, or fishing, or tracking. What do you say?”