One by one, families from all over Bruins’ Peak gathered at MacAllister Homestead. They all passed in front of Silas, shook his hand, and offered their support and well-wishes. They filled the house to bursting until they overflowed into the yard and out onto the mountain itself.
A figure passed outside the front window, and Aiken glanced over his shoulder to see who it was. “Still no sign of Rhys?”
Silas shook his head. “Riskin has been patrolling the Homestead since five this morning. He keeps pacing around and around. He wants to cut Rhys off when he does show up.”
Laird Kerr tilted his head on one side. “'When'?”
Silas nodded. “He’ll come back. He wouldn’t be able to stay away. This funeral offers too big a temptation for him.”
“He better not show up here,” Jasper snarled. “He would have all of us on his tail in a second.”
Silas shrugged. “I wouldn’t put anything past him.”
After more than three hours of receiving people and thanking them for coming, the clock hands crept up toward noon. At a silent signal, Briar, Dana, and Natalie entered from another part of the house. Other cousins, aunts and uncles for the rest of the MacAllister tribe gathered.
The Alphas turned sideways and filed out of the living room. They took their places next to the coffins. They grasped the handles and hoisted the coffins off the trestles. Silas and Shaw hung back with the women while the Alphas carried Don and Iris out of the house for the last time.
Shaw took Dana on his arm, and Riskin appeared to escort Briar. Natalie materialized at Silas’s side. She smiled when their eyes met. They waited until all the rest of the family followed the coffins out into the midday sunshine.
The long procession crossed the yard to the trail rising through the woods. Hundreds upon hundreds of people escorted Don and Iris to their final resting place in the MacAllister family burial ground.
Silas watched them go. He could take his time. He held this whole scene in the palm of his hand. This day was all his. His power welled up from inside him. He controlled everyone and everything that happened.
The crowd parted near the top of the hill. The Alphas set the coffins down next to a deep hole set among dozens of other graves. Wooden grave markers scattered over the rolling grass. Some leaned on their sides, while rotted at the corners from time and weather.
Silas took his place at the foot of the grave. He didn’t have to look to feel Natalie next to him. Her hands pressed his arm. He could face anything with her at his side.
Laird Kerr brushed off his hands and took a Bible out of his coat pocket. He flipped the pages until he came to the page he wanted. He started reading, and his voice carried on the wind. “How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people. How is she become as a widow! She that was great among nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary. She weeps sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her.”
Briar turned her face into Riskin’s chest and burst into tears. Dana wiped a handkerchief across her cheeks, but she couldn’t stop the tears flowing down. Silas tensed against the emotion roiling inside him to be let out. He clenched his jaw. He wouldn’t show any sign of distress, not now when he achieved what he worked for so long.
Natalie squeezed his arm one more time. She understood. She was there for him. Of all the people here, only she existed to lightened his burden. She always would. She was his mainstay, his bulwark.
After Laird finished reading, he slipped his Bible back in his pocket. Mattox, Brody and Austin came forward with Aikin and Boyd. They slung ropes around Don’s coffin and lowered it into the hole. Then they lowered Iris’s coffin and set it on top of Don’s in the same hole.
Sobbing, wailing, and crying ruffled out of the crowd. Briar and Dana made no attempt to hide their grief. Natalie sniffed back tears. Even Riskin inclined his head to wipe his eyes against his shoulder. Only Silas stood impassive. No one would ever see him show his emotions in front of the whole community.
Brody coiled up the rope, dusted off his hands, and moved back. All eyes gravitated to Silas. He came forward. His face hardened into an iron mask for what he had to do next. He yanked the shovel out of the mound of dirt next to the grave. He kicked it into the soil and heaved a scoop into the hole.
It thudded against hollow wood. The sound echoed louder than a clap a thunder through the trees. It set every nerve on edge. Briar and Dana dissolved in sobs. Natalie bit her lip to hold back her tears.
One by one, first the MacAllisters, their mates and relatives, then the Alphas, and finally the rest of the community, tossed shovelfuls of dirt into the grave. The thump of clods against boards softened.
“May should be here,” Briar wailed. “Why isn’t May here?”
She kept weeping and moaning until Riskin moved her away toward the house. Shaw and Dana followed them down the path. The rest of the crowd formed a procession down the mountain, back to MacAllister Homestead.
Silas waited until the very last. He stared down at the grave, now mounded over with the dirt tossed into the hole until it overflowed.
He couldn’t bring himself to think of his parents down there under the ground. His parents were nowhere near this mountain anymore. They were somewhere he couldn’t understand, but he would never visit this grave to be near his parents. He could never comprehend why anybody did that.
He felt no sadness for his parents’ death. He felt nothing at all beyond the bald fact of his ascension. He was Alpha. That’s all he or anybody else needed to know.
Natalie nudged him. He said nothing, but let her steer him down the path where so many other Bruins trailed in a long line back to the house.
Natalie never let go of his arm until she guided him up the porch steps and into the house. The moment they crossed the threshold, she vanished into the cloud of visitors. The Alphas mingled in the living room, and their magnetic sphere drew Silas into their presence. That’s where he belonged.
He never thought to look to see where Natalie went. She would migrate to her own people: Star and Aurora Cunningham, Harmony McGillis, Briar, Dana, and Marla Dunlap. They would welcome her the way the men welcomed him. Those women could understand her. They could support her in ways he never could.
Walker slapped him on the back. Austin pushed a glass of beer into one hand while Aiken shoved a slice of cake on a plate into his other. Silas shook himself awake. He looked around the circle of faces as if for the first time. These men weren’t Alphas anymore—not to him. They were his friends. Almost every one of them, with the exception of Boyd and Aiken, had gone through the same trial of burying their parents, picking up the pieces, and moving on. He would get through it, too.
Brody elbowed him in the shoulder. “I hear you’ve been carrying on a lively internet presence behind all our backs.”
Silas’s head whipped around. How could Brody know? How could any of them have found out about Penny when admitting it to his own mate took all his resolve? He stiffened and rounded on Brody. “What do you mean?”
“I hear you’ve got three businesses running in the background," Brody explained. "Shaw says you make more money with that than you do with your dairy. Is that true?”
Silas gave an inward sigh of relief, but he kept his facade impassive. So, that’s what Brody meant—he meant Silas’s businesses, not his ridiculous romance with a woman who didn’t exist. “Yeah, it’s true. I’ve been doing it for years, but I never kept it secret. My pop knew all about it, and he approved.”
“So are you gonna share with us your tips for success?” Walker asked. “Are you gonna share the wealth, or sit on your new-found dominance?”
“I never sat on anything in my life,” Silas returned. “If you want to know my tips, all you have to do is visit my website. I have a training program for coaching entrepreneurs to copy me and do exactly what I’ve done. Every one of you can turn your tribe into an online powerhouse. It’s really simple, on
ce you learn how to do it.”
“I wouldn’t mind learning some of that myself,” Riskin chimed in.
Silas turned to him. “I’m glad to teach you. As a matter of fact, I know someone else who would be glad to help you, too.”
“Who?” Riskin asked.
“Your sister,” Silas replied. “She’s a hotshot graphic designer. She’s been running her own online freelancing service.”
Riskin’s eyes flashed. “You’re lying.”
Silas pulled up the page on his phone. “I’m dead serious. This is my website. She designed it for me. She’s one of the best in the business. You should talk to her. She could do the same for you if you just ask.”
Talk and laughter broke out all over the circle. Ideas flew fast and thick. The Farrell brothers jabbered back and forth to each other so fast no one could get a word in edgewise. Silas watched and listened. No sadness or heartache marred the occasion. Life went on, just the way it should.
94. Chapter 19
Natalie stood in the backyard with the other Alphas’ wives. Star, Lyric, Marla, Aurora, and Briar surrounded her in a halo of kindness, sisterly concern, and well-wishes. “And then I said to Walker, “How do you expect to get that fence rebuilt over that part of the Peak?” Marla was saying. “The gullies are treacherous. That’s why it’s always been a no-man’s land.”
“It’s better that way,” Star replied. “You never know when someone’s gonna need a piece of land to camp out on that’s not part of some tribe’s territory. Just ask Aurora.”
“The cabin has fallen into disrepair since we moved onto Farrell land,” Aurora added. “I hate to see it go. Somebody should keep it up, but neither Austin nor I have time with all our other work. Austin’s busier than ever with the timber operation, and now I’m working in the office.”
“When are you due?” Lyric asked.
“Not until February,” Aurora replied. “I’ve got a lot more hours to put in before I quit.”
Star laughed. “You’ll never quit, honey. Once a Bruin woman gets her fingers into running things, she doesn’t ever quit. Just look at this place. None of this could happen without us.”
Briar touched her arm, but a wicked glint sparkled in her eye. “Don’t talk so loud. The guys might hear you.”
“I’m sure they already know,” Natalie replied. “They know it better than we do.”
Just then, Grace burst through the back door in hot pursuit of April and Jonas MacAllister. “I’m getting the biggest piece of cake, and you can’t stop me,” Jonas sang as he ran past the circle of women.
Star turned away. “I better get in there while there’s still some cake left.”
“I’m going with you,” Lyric replied. “It’s Leda Farrell’s mint chocolate specialty.”
The whole group meandered into the house. Briar fell in at Natalie’s side. “You were great at the funeral. Silas is lucky to have a mate like you.”
“I’m lucky to have a mate like him,” Natalie replied.
Briar stopped to regard her. “Are you okay? You look tired.”
“It’s all this funeral planning. I won’t be sorry when all these people go home and we have our own house to ourselves.” Natalie’s eyes flew open. “Oh, that sounded horrid! I’m sorry Briar. I didn’t mean to imply anything about you and Riskin and Grace.”
Briar placed her hand on Natalie’s arm. “I know exactly what you meant, and Riskin and I will take Grace home as soon as this funeral is over. You and Silas deserve to have your own space back after everything you’ve just been through. I’ll be glad to get back to my own house, too.”
The sisters-in-law hugged each other, and Natalie waved Briar ahead of her going into the house. She brought up the rear of the line of women on their way to the buffet tables. Natalie passed down the hall when her eye happened to fall on a window overlooking the side yard. She stopped dead in her tracks, and the rest of the women went on ahead without noticing she was gone.
People milled around all over MacAllister Homestead, but no one could mistake this figure striding out of the trees. He fixed his smoldering eyes on the house. He flexed his shoulders and knotted his fingers into fists. He made for the front porch on an unerring line.
Natalie’s heart froze in her chest. Rhys came back. He intended to interrupt the funeral by picking another fight with Silas. Whatever else Rhys was to her, she couldn’t let this happen—not now, not ever.
She ducked back down the hall and out into the fresh air. She barely breathed darting around the house. Rhys stood taller and stronger and grander than ever in person, but he didn’t notice her. He kept his gaze locked on the place where he would confront his enemy.
Natalie barreled in front of him so fast he collided with her. She bounced off his muscled chest. “Rhys!”
He took a second to register what happened. “Natalie!” He stared over her head, his eyes still trained on the house.
She grasped both his arms, but she couldn’t stop him taking a few more steps. She danced backward in a desperate effort to keep pace with him. “Rhys! Rhys, look at me.”
He pushed her aside. “Get out of my way. You know what I have to do. Don’t try to stop me.”
Natalie panted for breath. “Every Alpha on the mountain is in there. You’ll never get near Silas. Do you realize that? Do you know what they’ll do to you? They won’t be anywhere near as merciful to you as Riskin was. They’ll rip you to pieces. Do you want to die? Do you want to get yourself killed and leave me in pieces? Is that what you’re trying to do, by making me watch them tear you apart?”
He took hold of her shoulders and moved her out of his path. “You won’t be too broken up. You’ve got your new mate to take care of you. You don’t need me.”
She raced to catch up with him. “I do need you, Rhys. I need you more than ever. I need you happy and peaceful and working with Riskin to make our tribe great.”
He shook his head, but didn’t answer. Murderous hatred burned in his eyes. Nothing she said touched him. Panic seized her. She couldn’t let this happen. She couldn’t let him fight Silas.
All at once, her fear turned to blood-red rage. This demon wasn’t her brother anymore. This was her worst enemy. He wanted to kill her mate. He wanted to destroy her dream and devastate her family.
She intercepted him in one wild leap. He tried to charge ahead, but some forgotten strength took hold of her. She slammed her hands on his chest and stopped him. “Hold it right there, Rhys.”
He frowned. “Get out of my way, Natalie. I’m going through. I’m going to find Silas.”
Natalie kept her voice low. She didn’t even have to try to remain calm. No one could disturb the icy center of her being. “You’re not going anywhere near Silas.”
He took a few menacing steps toward her. “I mean it, Natalie. I won’t let you stop me.”
“You’re not going anywhere near Silas.” Natalie’s voice boomed in her ears. Was she really saying those words? “If you want to get anywhere near Silas, you’ll have to fight me first.”
Ever so slowly, his eyes swiveled around to lock on her face. He stared at her in dumbfounded shock. “What?”
“You heard me,” she thundered. “You want Silas? You’ll have to go through me first. Silas is my mate. Do you really want to take on a raving she-bear protecting her mate? Is that your idea of proving how strong and smart you are, Rhys?”
“Natalie…” he stammered.
She cut him off, “If you fight me, I’ll kill you. I won’t nip you and send you running for cover the way Riskin did. I’ll leave you rotting out here as a warning to anyone who messes with the MacAllisters. Even if by some miracle you survive what I plan to do to you, Riskin will tackle you when I get finished with you—whatever’s left of you. Are you understanding the words that are coming out of my mouth, Rhys, or is this all too complicated to penetrate your tiny brain? The Alphas will come out of that house. They’ll fight you one after the other until there’s not enough of you left
to identify. After them, the seconds will take their turns, staring with Shaw. Boyd and Aiken and Austin and Dax and all the rest of the Bruins will fight you. You’ll be dead long before Silas finishes his mint chocolate cake. Do you get that?”
He stared at her. He opened his mouth, and a frown covered his face. Whether her words made any dent in his old grudge, she couldn’t tell.
All at once, his face fell, his shoulders rounded, and he looked down at his twisted hands. He worked his fingers out and in to release them.
Natalie hauled herself out of her black rage. A shuddering breath passed down her skin to her feet. “For the love of God, Rhys, please listen to me. This grudge of yours will only get you killed. You won’t touch Silas. Do yourself and the rest of Bruins’ Peak a favor and make peace with him. Do it for yourself as much as everyone else.”
He raised his head. He glanced at her once, met her eyes, and looked down at the ground again. At long last, she dared put out her hand to touch him. He gave a quiver. “I don’t want to fight you, little sister.”
She threw her arms around him. “I don’t want to fight you, either, Rhys. I don’t want you fighting anybody. Silas is your brother-in-law. You could be close to him. You could benefit from him, just like all the other Alphas.”
“I’m not an Alpha,” he grumbled.
“No, you’re not. You’re something else. That doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from him. Aiken is in there talking to Silas. So is Austin, and so is Boyd. None of them are Alphas, either.”
“They’re seconds.”
“And you’re Riskin’s second. When are you gonna understand what he’s done for you?”
He looked around. No one saw them. No one understood his private battle. He could save face around the side of the house instead of everyone seeing him defeated and humiliated.
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