Bruins’ Peak Bears Volume II
Books 6-10
Sarah J. Stone Erin D. Andrews
This volume can be read as a standalone but I recommend reading books 0-5 first:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077F83GLX
Copyright and Disclaimer
Copyright © 2017 by Sarah J. Stone
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Website: www.sarahjstone.com
Contents
This volume can be read as a standalone but I recommend reading books 0-5 first:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077F83GLX
Title Page
Copyright and Disclaimer
Book 6: Melody
Book 7: Briar
Book 8: Raven
Book 9: Ebony
Book 10: Haven
Witch Academy Box Set
Special Invitation
More From The Author
Book 6: Melody
Sarah J. Stone
Chapter 1
A huge white marquee tent raked the blue sky over Bruins' Peak. The roses around Dunlap Homestead bloomed and sent their perfume wafting over the wedding guests streaming in and out. Laughter, shouts and music drifted out of the marquee, and children ran around jousting with sticks, carrying out secret pacts, and getting in mud wrestling matches in the swimming holes.
Hundreds of Bruins from all over the Peak parked their cars and trucks in the fields and spent days and nights feasting and partying to celebrate Marla Dunlap's wedding to Walker Cunningham. Decorations festooned the buildings, the marquee, and even the parking area.
Enemies and friends came together, split apart into warring feuds, and came back to make peace in the space of a few days. Children battled with their parents, shed tears, and fell into one another's arms with tears of reconciliation.
Walker Cunningham stood in a ring near the buffet table with Brody, Austin, and Mattox Farrell, and Boyd and Aiken Dunlap. They all wore their best tuxedos. Walker wore a single red rose in his lapel. The men sipped their drinks and discussed Peak politics in low tones so as not to disturb the guests.
“What are we going to do about it? That's what I want to know,” Brody cut in. “If these people really are catching Bruins to take back to their bear-baiting rings, we have to stop them.”
“We don't know if they're doing that or not.” Mattox waved his hand. “Do you see large numbers of Bruins disappearing in the middle of the night? As far as we know, no one has disappeared at all. Marla could be the first Bruin they captured, and from what she says, she met the guy on the bus leaving town. It was a fluke.”
“They definitely are doing it,” Walker added. “I caught his scent around that pit trap in Mackenzie country. They could have traps set up all over this mountain. Even if Marla was the first or only Bruin they captured, now is the time to act to make sure they don't capture anyone else.”
“I agree with Walker,” Austin chimed in. “We can't sit back and wait for them to take more and more Bruin. One was bad enough, and it was a miracle Walker got Marla back when he did. We have to act now to make sure they don't bother us again.”
“Not so fast,” Aiken countered. “How are we going to find them? Not only are no Bruins disappearing, Bruins cover the Mackenzie country all the time. That pit trap Walker found is the only one we know about. Someone would have caught a foreign scent if other bear-baiters were invading to capture us.”
“If the bear-baiters set their traps in Mackenzie country,” Mattox went on, “then it's my problem. Since you told us what happened to Marla, Azer, and I have patrolled our whole territory and found no trace of any intruder. We found that trap with its scent, but no others. We'll keep patrolling, but until we find some conclusive evidence they're coming into our territory, we should sit tight.”
“I'm with you, Mattox,” Brody told him. “We can't go traipsing off halfway across these mountains in search of enemies that aren't there. We don't know who or what these bear-baiters are. We know they had a house in Burkes Road—nothing else. If we do anything at all, we should gather more information about them. Maybe Marla can tell us more about the man who captured her.”
Walker chopped the air with his hand. “You want to gather more information by interrogating Marla on her wedding day? You'll go near Marla over my dead body. I already told you everything you need to know about them. They've done it once, and they'll do it again. You guys can sit around and wring your hands. I'm going after them. I'll go alone if I have to, but I think some of these young cubs will want to come with me.”
Brody put out his hand. “Take it easy, man. You're getting married today, and no one is saying you have to do this alone. We just have different ideas about how to go about it. We all want what's best for Bruin kind.”
“I won't take it easy,” Walker shot back. “Those bastards tried to kill my mate, and they starved and tortured her for days beforehand. They set dogs on her and stabbed her with spears. They beat her and suffocated her. If that happened to any one of your mates, you can bet your sweet patukas you'd be going after them, too.”
Mattox murmured under his breath. “I'm sure we would.”
At that moment, Jasper Dunlap sauntered over with Laird Kerr and Rex Mackenzie. The grizzled old Alphas shouldered their way into the circle. Jasper shook Walker's hand. “Is everything all right with you guys? Do you have everything you need?”
“We're fine,” Brody replied. “We're just having a friendly discussion.”
Jasper shot his piercing gaze around the group. “It looks like a little more than that. You guys look like you're having a council of war.”
Walker looked away. Aiken spoke up for him, “We are, actually. We're talking about what to do about those bear-baiters that caught Marla.”
Jasper frowned at the serious faces surrounding him. None of the others would look at him. “I see.”
A long tense silence followed until Aiken blurted out, “I'm sorry, Dad. We didn't mean to disrespect you guys by excluding you..”
Jasper broke into a grin. “That's okay, boy. You guys keep talking about it and don't worry about a bunch of has-beens like me and Rex and Laird. You guys are in charge of this Peak now. What you decide will carry across the mountain. No one knows that better than we do.”
Walker's head shot up. He still clasped Jasper's hand. “Thanks, Mister Dunlap.”
Jasper burst out laughing. “You don't have to call me that anymore, son. You're marrying my daughter. You're my son-in-law. I think we can continue on a first name basis, don't you?”
Walker smiled for the first time, but the lines of tension and concern still creased his eyes and brow. “Thanks, Mister....I mean, Jasper. That means a lot to me.”
Jasper took his hand back and shifted his drink into his other hand. “I know Marla will be in good hands at Cunningham Homestead, and I know Bruins' Peak will be in good hands with you guys. When you decide what you want to do about the bear-baiters, you let us know and we'll back you.”
Laird stepped forward and offered his hand, too. He shook hands with all the young Alphas in the circle. “Jasper just said it all for the three of us, but I just want to say I'm proud of
you guys. I haven't seen a finer bunch of Alphas rise on this mountain in many years. It does my old heart good to know our people will be safe and well taken care of.”
Rex elbowed Mattox. “It's nothing I haven't said a dozen times in the last six months, but it goes for the rest of you as well as Mattox. You guys are the cream of the crop. You never have to worry about including us in your councils. You're our Alphas now, too. You can count on us to back you when the hammer comes down.”
Mattox returned his handshake. Aiken put out his hand to his father. “Thanks, Dad.”
Jasper waved around the circle. “You men carry on with what you were doing. We'll leave you to it.”
The three old Alphas retreated into the crowd and became nothing more than three more guests. Brody watched them go. “We're lucky to have them. They could make our lives so much more difficult if they wanted to.”
“Are you kidding?” Aiken put in. “Look at this place. Do you know how much my dad spent making this the biggest Bruin wedding in living memory?”
“Why would he do that?” Austin asked. “He doesn't have to throw his money in all our faces. We all know the Dunlaps kick all our rear ends when it comes to raking in the profits.”
Aiken dropped his voice to a murmur. “He just said it. He's passing the torch. This is the last hurrah for him and the old guard. When everyone goes home from this wedding, they'll fade into the background and everyone will come to us when they want an Alpha.”
Before he finished speaking, three young men barreled into the marquee. Jana, Foicks, and Ash Dunlap crashed into the group of older men and bounced off. They recovered to make their escape when Aiken grabbed Foicks by the collar. He righted the boy and stopped him running away. “Hold it right there, hot shot. Where do you think you're going in such an hurry?”
Foicks made another valiant attempt to free himself. His brothers started to dart away, but Brody shot out a hand, caught Ash by the belt, and dragged him over, too.
All three boys stretched as tall as Walker, but their shoulders hadn't filled out yet. Curly sand-blonde hair tussled their heads, and their sparkling brown eyes laughed with mischief.
Jana hesitated to leave without his brothers and paused to see the outcome. “Sorry, Uncle Aiken. We were just planning to run out to the Peak for a little hunting expedition. We were coming to get permission from you and Uncle Boyd, but…I guess we came a little too fast.”
Foicks shook himself. “Hey, let me go.”
Aiken gave him a hard shake. “If this is the way you act out on the Peak, you won't be doing any hunting. You're supposed to be celebrating a wedding here, not running off every which way. Simmer down, if you don't want to spend the rest of the day mucking out the barn.”
Foicks settled down enough for Aiken to let him go. The young man shouldered his suit jacket back into place, and he puffed out his chest when he found himself side by side with Bruins' Peak's rising Alphas.
Ash came to his brother's side. “Sorry, sir. We won't do it again. Can we have the key to the weapons locker so we can take our rifles?”
Aiken's eyes flashed. “Take your rifles? What do you think you're gonna hunt out there? Don't you know there are bear-baiters running amok on this mountain?”
Foicks grinned. “That's what we want to hunt.”
Aiken shook his head and turned away. “You guys are way too reckless. You'll get yourselves killed out there.”
“Aw, let 'em go,” Brody chided. “We all did the same thing at that age, and look at us now. A man's got to run a little wild when he's young so he can settle down when he grows up. It's the way of the world.”
“Anyway,” Mattox added, “you better ask your grandad for permission before you go shooting the place up. He's still Alpha around here.”
“We already asked him,” Foicks replied. “He told us to come in here and ask you. He said you guys are in charge.”
“Aiken's right,” Mattox went on. “You guys should stick close to your Homestead. Now's the time your family needs you. Marla's getting married, and Walker doesn't want to have to think about you blasting off your guns in the middle of his ceremony.”
“I don't need 'em hanging around,” Walker countered. “I say if they want to go, let 'em. They're only young once, and if they're out there shooting up the Peak, they won't be thundering around here, running into people trying to have a civil conversation.”
Foicks brightened up, but he got serious when he saw Aiken's face. “I don't like it,” Aiken grumbled. “You just told us the Peak was crawling with bear-baiters, Walker. Now you're saying it isn't. If it's dangerous enough for all of us to go invading Burkes Road and killing every man, woman, and child in sight, it's too dangerous for these hooligans to go hunting by themselves.”
Walker squared his shoulders. “Now just look here…”
“If they want to go hunting,” Austin broke in, “I'll go with 'em. I'll make sure nothing happens to 'em. I wouldn't mind getting out of here for a while myself. No offense to you, Walker, and no offense to you and your dad, Aiken, but several days of intense family interaction wears on my nerves after a while. I can only stand hugging so many old ladies and repeating my life story to everyone I haven't seen in the last six months. I need some fresh air.”
Brody laughed, and the others couldn't stifle their smiles, either. The tension broke, and everyone relaxed. “All right, boys, Aiken replied. “You can go with Austin. Come to think of it, I'll go, too. I'm more worried about the birds and rabbits than you, but at least you'll have two responsible adults keeping an eye on you. Come on. I'll get my keys, and we'll load up.”
Chapter 2
Melody Mackenzie sat on Marla Dunlap's bed and gazed at Marla’s reflection in the vanity mirror. Marla arranged the veil clip in her hair and draped the gossamer folds around her shoulders.
Melody sighed. “You look so beautiful, Marla. You look just like an enchanted princess in a fairy tale.”
Marla smiled at Melody's reflection. “Thank you, Melody. It's wonderful to have so many people around wishing me and Walker happiness.”
Melody clasped her hands over her heart. “I can't wait to get married like this someday. Someday I'll meet my heart's true mate, and we'll find happiness just the way you and Walker did. Your story is just like a romance novel, overcoming hardship and fighting for survival to fall into each other's arms and ride off into the sunset. I hope I can go through that someday.”
A shadow crossed Marla's face. “You wouldn't want to go through that. Just find yourself a nice Bruin guy and settle down. That's the way to find true happiness.”
“But look at you,” Melody countered. “Your dress looks like something sent down from heaven. The whole Homestead is glowing with flowers and sunshine and beauty and love. Can't you just feel it in the air? Can't you just feel all the love between everybody? This is what a wedding ought to be.”
Across the room, Melody’s sister Lyric rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Oh, come on, Melody. When are you gonna pull your head out of the clouds and start living in the real world? I've seen half a dozen fights out there, and the roses are already starting to blow in this warm weather. There is no fairy tale. It's just life going on as usual.”
Melody's hands fell into her lap. “Why do you have to ruin everything? You can't talk. You already married the man of your dreams, and now he's Alpha of our tribe. Can't you just let me dream a little longer before I turn into a frumpy old matron like you?”
Lyric bared her teeth. “I am not a frumpy old matron just because I got married. What does that say about your fairy tale happy ending?”
Marla turned around and held up her hand. “Come on, girls. Let's not fight. I'm trying to get ready for my wedding here.”
Three other Bruin princesses sat on the bed behind Melody. Haven and Skye Farrell whispered to each other about something. Briar MacAllister laid a hand on Melody's arm. “I saw you talking to the Dunlap boys earlier. Aren't they shaping up into fine specimens?”
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Melody turned around to face her when Lyric interrupted again, “I saw you talking to the Dunlap boys, too, Melody. I saw you flirting with each of them one after the other. You won't find your true mate doing that.”
Melody ground her teeth, but before she could reply, Briar answered for her, “How is she supposed to meet her mate if she doesn't talk to them? I'm telling you, Melody, a girl could do a lot worse than to bag one of them. Their parents are the richest Bruins on the Peak, and they're gonna be smoking hot when they put on some weight.”
Lyric humphed. “And which one of the three boys do you think you might be interested in, Melody? Foicks is the tallest, but Ash is more golden. Jana is the friendliest and the most talkative.”
“Well, I don't really know,” Melody replied. “I was talking to Jana earlier and he's really nice, but Ash is nice, too, in a quiet sort of way. I can't decide which of them I like better.”
Lyric waved her hand. “There you go. Since you don't know which of them you like the best, that proves none of them is your true mate. When you meet your true mate, you'll know. You don't have to go hitting on every man you see.”
Melody whirled around. “I am not hitting on every man I see. Leave me alone.”
Marla arranged her skirt on her seat. “Yeah, Lyric. Leave her alone. Let her work it out her own way. Let her enjoy her romantic dreams while she can.”
Melody peered up into Marla's face. “Thank you, Marla. I hope I can be like you someday.”
Marla put out her hand and clasped Melody's. “I'm sure you'll meet your destined mate very soon, and when you do, your life and your wedding will be just as wonderful as mine. Your life will be a fairy tale come true.”
Melody gasped. “Do you really think so? Do you really think I could be as beautiful and happy a bride as you are?”
“I'm certain of it. Now, help me get downstairs. I have to find my mother and my sister to get ready for the ceremony.” She got up and waved her hand. “You girls clear out of here. Go down to the marquee and tell my dad to start getting everything ready. I'll wait in the living room until he comes to escort me down the aisle.”
Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume II) Page 1
