“I'll talk to Mattox about it,” Azer replied. “I'll get permission for you guys to come onto our land. You know more about these cats than anybody. You can show us what to look for.”
Melody blocked her ears so she wouldn't hear anymore. She raced for the house. She wouldn't hear any blood-thirsty boys there. She raced up the stairs to Marla's room.
Lyric, Briar, and the Farrell girls sat on Marla's bed, but Melody paid no attention to them. With the veil gone, the full weight of Marla's worry showed plain as day on her face. She sat in front of her mirror, but she stared down at nothing. The horror in the basement haunted her eyes. “I just don't know what I'm gonna do. I have to tell Walker I want to leave. I can't stay in this house anymore.”
“You can't leave yet,” Lyric exclaimed. “The party's just getting started.”
Marla shook her head. “It's not safe. I can't rest in this house when he's right downstairs. If Walker doesn't shoot him today, I'm leaving.”
Briar threw up her hands. “Can't we talk about something else? You just married your true love, and all you can talk about is that thing.”
“I still say we should take food and water down there,” Melody chimed in. “We have to treat him humanely, at least until we decide what to do with him.”
Marla spun around, and Lyric gasped out loud. “How can you even think of going near him?”
“He's dangerous, Melody,” Marla told her. “It's bad enough you two were downstairs when they brought him in.”
“You leave him to the Alphas,” Lyric added. “If they don't kill him, they'll do something with him. They won't leave him downstairs to bother anybody, and Walker won't let him worry you anymore, Marla. If you tell him to get rid of Riley, he'll do it.”
Melody ran from them. She couldn't get away from Riley, no matter where she went. She raced down the stairs and came to a halt on the porch. She searched the wedding site until she spotted a cluster of black lumps near the marquee.
She hurried over just as Brody took his leave. Mattox smiled down at Melody. “Where are you off to? I thought you'd be upstairs crying with the bride.”
Melody caught her breath. “I need your help, Mattox. You're the only one who can help me.”
“Sure, Melody. You know I'll do anything to help you. What's the trouble?”
“I want to take some food and water downstairs to Riley.” She held up her hand when he started to protest. “I know what you're gonna say. Just listen. We don't know what to do with him. I mean, you and the other Alphas don't know what to do with him. He could be down in that basement for a while before you decide. You can’t leave him down there to starve.”
Mattox chopped the air with his hand. “Forget it, Melody. You’re not going anywhere near the basement, and that’s final. Walker would skin you alive if he found out you took food and water to that…”
She should back down. She should take his final word and walk away like a good little Bruin, but she didn’t. “I just heard Brody and Austin talking. If anything happens to Riley while he’s here, we could all be up to our necks in a war against the panthers. You guys have to stand up to Walker. You can’t let him kill Riley.”
Mattox cocked his head to one side. His dark eyes blazed, and his jaw worked overtime clenching his teeth together. “What do you want to get mixed up with that…that cat for? He’s just about as alien from us as you can get. Forget him. He’ll probably be dead by morning.”
Melody tried one more time. “What would have happened if someone told Walker that about Marla? Everybody told him she was too far gone to bother with. They told him to leave her to work out her problems on her own, but he didn’t. We wouldn’t be standing here right now if he did.”
Mattox frowned down at her. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you? You really want to be nice to that thing, after everything he’s done to us?”
“He might be as bad as everybody says he is. I won’t argue with you on that, but just because he’s bad doesn’t mean we have to be. He’s not a cat. He’s a person. He’s a shifter, just like we are. I can’t stand by and let him suffer without trying to help him. Night will come soon. What will you do then?”
“If Walker has his way, Riley will be dead long before the sun goes down.”
“Maybe. If that’s the case, giving him food and water now won’t make any difference.”
Mattox heaved a heavy sigh. “I’ll probably live to regret this, but all right. I’ll help you, but don’t blame me if we wind up ruining everything. You heard what Walker said. He’ll throw away the fragile peace Brody worked so hard to build with the Cunninghams before he lets anyone help Riley.”
“I heard him.”
“And you still want to go ahead?”
Melody nodded down at her shoes. Did she really want to throw away everything to help a stranger and an enemy?
Mattox squared his shoulders. “All right. You go to the marquee tent and get some food and whatever drink you want to give him. Shoot, give him a bottle of champagne for all I care.”
Melody’s head shot up. When she saw Mattox’s twisted grin, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to find Aiken and maybe Austin, too. I’m gonna get ‘em to come with us to make sure that sucker doesn’t pull a fast one on you.”
“He won’t do anything.”
Mattox spun around and jabbed his finger in her face. “Don’t go telling me he won’t do anything. If you went down there alone, he might try to overpower you and break out.”
Melody glared at him beyond that threatening finger. “I can take care of myself, Mattox. I’m a Bruin just like everybody else at this wedding. I can rage with the best of ‘em.”
Mattox’s hand fell to his side. “I’m sure you can. I’m sorry. I’m just worried, that’s all. I’m worried about you and I’m worried about Walker and I’m worried about all of us. We were supposed to come here to celebrate the next chapter in the legend of Bruins’ Peak, and this disaster had to go and happen.”
“I’m sorry, Mattox. I’m sorry to make it harder for you than it has to be.”
He waved his hand. “Forget it. You convinced me, and now we’re both in up to our necks. The best I can do is get some other people to dive in with us. Now go on. I’ll meet you back in the kitchen as soon as I can.”
Melody hesitated. She almost asked him one more time if he was sure he wanted to do this, but he turned on his heel and strode away without looking back. That’s the way an Alpha played his cards. He judged the situation and he went ahead without hesitation. Mattox was Alpha. That’s why she came to him in the first place. She didn’t have to ask if he was sure. He wouldn’t say it if he wasn’t.
Chapter 6
Melody rushed around trying to get everything at once. She raced into the kitchen and grabbed a wicker basket. She scooted back to the marquee and stuffed the basket with every kind of food she could lay her hands on. She grabbed meat and cheese and bread and carrot sticks and even wrapped a slice of wedding cake in a napkin.
She loaded the basket to bursting and snatched a bottle of water from the drinks table. She bolted back to the Dunlaps’ kitchen, but on the way she remembered something that bothered her. She set the basket on the porch and ran for the shed.
She found a metal bucket under the wash station sink and tore back to the house. She scooped up her basket and hooked the bucket handle over her other arm. She headed for the kitchen when Briar MacAllister came down the stairs from Marla’s room.
Briar’s eyes widened when she saw Melody. “What’s going on?”
Melody panted for breath. “You’ve got your first aid kit here somewhere, don’t you, Briar?”
“Sure. It’s right over there in the living room. Jasper asked my Ma to bring some of her homemade medicines, just in case someone got hurt. Why do you ask?”
“I need some of your witch hazel salve.”
Briar looked her over. “What’s wrong? Did you hurt yourself?”
“It�
��s not for me.” Melody thought fast. “One of the boys fell down running. He hurt his leg.”
“Where is he?”
Melody waved her hand and headed for the living room. “Don’t worry about him. I’ll just grab the salve and take it to him.”
“If he’s hurt enough to need that, I should take a look at him.”
Melody panicked. She rummaged in the sofa cushions in search of Briar’s first aid kit. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it. You go out to the marquee. The band is really heating up.”
In her frenzy, she overturned the couch cushions and found the first aid kit tucked next to one. She pawed through it until she found a small tub of ointment. She stuffed it in her basket and headed for the kitchen just as Mattox came through the door with Aiken and Austin behind him.
Mattox nodded to Melody, but he didn’t smile. His jaw tightened with tense frustration. “Did you get everything?”
Melody put her basket and the bucket on the table. “I got it. I’m ready when you are.”
The three men surrounded the table. “What’s the bucket for?”
“He doesn’t have anywhere to go to the bathroom,” Melody replied. “What’s he supposed to do—wet his pants?”
The men exchanged glances, but no one smiled or laughed. They lowered their eyes to the floor. Austin murmured low. “This is a really bad idea. You realize that, don’t you?”
Mattox peeked into the basket. “Let’s get this over with.” All of a sudden, he plunged his hand into the basket. “What’s this?”
“It’s Briar’s witch hazel salve. It’s for his injuries.”
Mattox slammed the tub down on the table. “You’re not taking that. Food and water—yes. A bucket to piss in—okay. I’ll go along with that. Not this. You’re not giving him that.”
Melody opened her mouth, but the look on his face told her not to push it. He already risked too much letting her take this. She pulled her head down between her shoulders.
Mattox turned away, and the three men headed for the basement door. Melody made a big show of gathering up her parcels, but at the last second, she stuck the salve down the neckline of her bridesmaid’s dress. She didn’t have any pockets, so she stuck it down her cleavage.
Mattox unlocked the door and pulled the cattle prod out of his pocket. He switched on the overhead light bulb, and the party proceeded down the stairs. Mattox went first, followed by Melody with her goods. Aiken and Austin brought up the rear.
Fear and tension kept everyone silent and alert. Melody’s senses prickled. The bear in her knew danger when she came near it. Nothing spelled danger more than Riley. The whole basement reeked of it. His cat smell burned her nostrils and set every nerve on end. Every fiber told her to scream and run, or fight to the death to destroy the enemy.
Mattox entered the circle of light. The others lined up next to him. Riley sat on the floor inside his cage. He lifted his head to regard the group arrayed in front of him, but other than that, he didn’t move. He showed no sign of surprise or alarm.
He sat still when Mattox extended the cattle prod and took a step forward. “Back away. Back all the way to the far side of the cage.”
Ever so slowly, without taking his eyes off Mattox, Riley raised himself up on his muscled legs and inched back until he pressed his shoulders against the bars behind him. He moved all the way as far back as he could get and stayed there.
Mattox kept his cattle prod stretched all the way out in front of him and advanced one step at a time until he came to the cage. He stuck his arm through the bars to hold the prod right up next to Riley’s chest. “Don’t move, if you know what’s good for you. I’ve got this thing set to maximum. That’s strong enough to kill a full-grown bull. If this thing hits you, you’ll be dead before you hit the ground.”
Riley didn’t move. He stood still and stared back into Mattox’s face twisted in intense determination.
Mattox didn’t turn around. “Do it now, if you’re gonna do it.”
Melody darted forward. She set the basket on the floor next to the bars. Then she hesitated. “What about the bucket?”
Mattox growled through gritted teeth. “Put it down and get back—now.”
She knew better than to argue. She set the bucked down and moved back to her place. Mattox waited until she got into position before he backed away, too. In an instant, Riley jumped forward. He tore his pants open, whipped out his cock, and let a steady stream of urine pour into the bucket. His eyes drifted closed, and he sighed with relief.
Melody stared at him. He cradled his cock in his hand in full view of everybody. Its thick slab of meat wrinkled its skin in his fingers, and the base disappeared in a nest of wiry hair. A trail of angled black hair ran up his belly to end in a tuft just below his navel. The whole scene struck her as so impossibly erotic she couldn’t look away. A stab of arousal quivered through her to her crotch. Her hands itched to touch him. Her body screamed in excitement.
Austin chuckled low. “Come on. We’ve done our good deed for the day. Let’s get out of here.”
“Wait a minute,” Aiken cut in. “We should question him again.”
Melody stood stock still. She couldn’t stop staring at Riley. He tucked his prick back into his pants and zipped up. Then he squatted down and dug a fistful of meat out of the basket. He crammed it into his mouth and chewed while he eyed the party with short, suspicious glances.
Aiken stepped forward, but he didn’t go too close. “Where are you from? What were you doing in our territory?”
Riley glared up at him. He stuffed the food in his mouth to fill both cheek pockets. He couldn’t reply even if he wanted to.
“You better talk to us” Aiken went on. “You better give us some information to make our friend think you’re more use to us alive than dead. Give us something to convince him not to kill you.”
Riley’s throat bulged when he swallowed. He plucked the water bottle out of the basket, unscrewed the top, and poured the contents down his throat. Then he set to work on the rest of the food.
Mattox snorted. “Forget it. He got what he wanted. He’ll never talk to us now.”
“We should have held off,” Aiken suggested. “We should have shown him the food and everything and told him he could have it if he talked to us.”
“That wouldn’t do any good,” Mattox replied. “You saw him. He’ll never talk for anything. Now everybody get upstairs on the double.”
The men started up the stairs, but Melody hung back. Something in Riley’s haunted expression drew her to him in a way she couldn’t understand. He shoveled the food into his mouth like an animal. He was an animal. He showed no sign of domestic propriety. He cared for only one thing: survival. He cared about eating and drinking and emptying his bladder when he had the chance. Walker could come back at any moment and kill him. No one knew that better than Riley himself.
In spite of herself, she found herself stepping closer to the cage. Mattox barked behind her, “Get away from there, Melody,” but she couldn’t. She had to get near him.
She crouched down in front of him, close enough to see the food crumbs sticking to his lips. His eyes bored into her soul. He tensed to spring at any threat, but he didn’t stop eating.
Melody forced herself to smile. She softened her eyes to gaze into his tortured face. “You’re hungry, aren’t you? I’ll try to bring you some more as soon as I can, but I probably won’t be able to until tomorrow morning.”
He glared at her in mute animal hostility. He grabbed a piece of bread and tore into it.
Melody put out her hand to the basket. He started away from the sudden movement, but his hand clasped the basket handle. He tried to pull it toward him, but it got jammed against the bars.
Melody froze. “I wasn’t going to take it away. I just want to show you….” She pulled out the napkin and unwrapped the slice of cake. “See? It’s wedding cake.”
He scowled at her. Without taking his eyes off her, he snatched the cake out of her hand an
d shoved the whole thing into his mouth. He swallowed it in one gulp and threw the napkin on the floor.
Melody stared at him in frozen confusion. What could you do with a thing like that? He acted like an animal trapped in a cage. Could only a few hours of captivity rob him of his ability to think, and even to speak?
A hand rested on her shoulder, and she jumped. Mattox murmured in her ear. “Come on, Melody. You’ve done enough.”
She stood up, but she couldn’t leave. “I can get through to him. I know I can. I just need a chance to talk to him.”
Mattox tugged her sleeve. “Come on. It’s time to leave.”
“Let me stay here. Please, Mattox. Let me try to talk to him without all you guys threatening him. I can get him to talk to me.”
Mattox’s voice sliced through the air on a knife edge. “You’re not staying down here alone. You wanted to bring him food and water, and that’s what you’ve done. Now, get upstairs. I won’t say it again.”
Melody turned around. She had to obey her Alpha no matter what, but she couldn’t help casting one last glance toward Riley on her way up the stairs. He didn’t look up. He kept his eye on the basket and kept shoving the food into his mouth as fast as he could, right up until Austin switched off the light.
Chapter 7
Down in the basement, Riley sat alone in his cage. He watched the light fade from one tiny window high up in a back corner. The clouds turned colors, and the stars came out.
Jumpy dance music squeaked through the house from somewhere outside. The wedding must be heating up. Couples would dance, eat and drink before pairing off for the night. He knew all about that.
His thought drifted back to home. His family wouldn't start to wonder where he was for at least a week. Even if they did start to notice he wasn't around, they wouldn't know where to look to find him.
The window went dark, and the basement fell into pitch blackness. The basket of food sat empty and the bucket started to stink, but he couldn't do anything about that.
Faces paraded before his eyes in the dark. He hugged his knees to his chest. He couldn't let these bears rob him of his ability to think. He had to keep his head. There must be a way out of here.
Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume II) Page 4
