Melody saw her chance. She collapsed under the Farrell brothers’ weight. She flattened herself to the floor, and as she did so, she kicked her hind feet out behind her. Her paws hit Aiken hard in the ankles, and he buckled behind her.
Where Aiken used to be, nothing but an empty gap separated Melody from the open field. The sun brightened the sky outside. Already wedding revelers crossed the field between the Dunlap’s house and the marquee. The music and feasting would start up again soon.
Melody didn’t have time to appreciate that. She scooted her legs under her and launched herself through that gap. At the same moment, Riley slithered through the opening he created for himself, and they both bolted for the open shed door.
Riley moved faster and got there first with Melody right on his heels. He hit the ground running in a seamless black ripple. Nothing could stop that wave once it started. It would flow on all the way to Midnight Moraine.
Melody exploded out of the shed. She could run as fast as Riley in her bear form. Her heart surged for the freedom of the woods. They were free!
At the last second, something massive hit Melody from behind. She slammed down hard on her chin. Stars exploded in front of her eyes, but she didn’t have time to blink before a huge bear rolled her over on her back to face him.
She found herself staring straight up into the burning black eyes of Mattox Farrell. He was her Alpha. Only he possessed the real power to punish her for what she’d done. Only he could put her down for the sake of all Bruin kind.
The saliva glistened on his fangs as he dove in toward her throat. She started to relax. She could accept this, this most fitting end to a Bruin’s life. She almost loved Mattox for doing it. At least she would die a Bruin.
Out of nowhere, the black torrent of pure energy blasted into Mattox’s face. Screams and bellows echoed around the shed. Melody took a second to register what happened. Riley clawed and slashed Mattox. The bear reared on its hind legs, and the other bears closed in to rejoin the fight.
Melody’s latent instincts kicked in. She scrambled to her feet, and with a growl to Riley, she darted free. He sprang clear of Mattox’s face, and before the other Bruins could catch them, they both barreled out of the shed into the open field.
Chapter 18
Melody paused inside the tree line to catch her breath and look around. She shed her bear body, and the thousand random thoughts of her woman self took over. The panther at her side disappeared, and Riley grabbed her hand. “Come on. We’re not far from the road.”
Melody tugged him the opposite way. “We can’t go near the road. That’s the first place they’ll look. We have to go over the Peak.”
“Are you crazy? They’ll catch us on the Peak. We can get to Iron Bark in a few hours and catch a bus or hitchhike to Burkes Road. That’s the best way to avoid getting caught.”
Melody shook her head. “That will take too long. We have our best chance cutting straight over the Peak. We can make a beeline through Mackenzie country and be gone before they get their act together.”
Riley shook his head back at her. “I don’t want to spend any more time in this territory than I have to. They already caught me twice in Mackenzie country. They’ll be looking for us that way.”
Melody stood her ground. “You got caught twice in Mackenzie country, but I’m a Mackenzie. It’s my country, and I won’t get caught there. I know that country like the back of my hand. I know a way we can get through. Once we pass out of Bruin country, we’ll be home free. Besides, it will be deserted. All the Bruins are at the Dunlaps. We’ll be safe.”
He shrugged. “I don’t like it, but you know this area better than I do. If you think we can get through, we’ll try it. I guess we have nothing to lose.”
They set out together. They shifted again, bear and panther side by side, so they covered a lot of ground in a short time. Within a few minutes, they passed out of Dunlap territory, cut the corner off Dodd territory, and entered Mackenzie country.
Melody skirted the fence line Ash and the Farrell brothers followed the morning before. She got ready to dive into the deep undergrowth leading into the mountains beyond when she paused.
She shifted to her human form and peered through the trees. Riley came up behind her. “What is it? What’s the problem?”
She gazed into the open. “It’s my Homestead.”
He waited, but she couldn’t turn away. “Is there any danger? Can we cross?”
“There’s no danger. It’s deserted, like I said.”
“Then why are we stopping?”
She couldn’t move. “This could be the last time I ever see it.”
He took her hand. “Come on, Melody. We don’t have much time.”
She moved away from him. She moved with such single-minded determination he had to follow. “I have to see it again, just once before I leave. I have to look inside, one last time. Then I can walk away without looking back.”
He hung inside the trees, but she didn’t turn around again. The place cast its spell on her heart and soul. She’d never lived anywhere else. Mackenzie Homestead was the only home she ever had in her life, and now she would leave it behind forever. She would never visit. She would never see her sister or brother or father again in this life.
She had to see it, even if she just looked through the windows. She had to peek in on the life she left behind. She walked across the lawn, through the gate and up the porch steps. The floorboards resounded under her feet with that familiar thud. How many times had she stood on this porch? She would never be here again.
She peeked through the windows on the innocent life of a Bruin child. She never suspected, in all her years living in this house, that she would make this choice. She never would have believed she would leave it all behind to marry an alien. Riley came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. She pressed them into her.
Her eyes smarted and a lump stuck in her throat, but she smiled on the old house. She sat at that table for three meals a day. She would sit somewhere else for meals now. She would talk to different people about different things. She would make a new home and a new life for herself somewhere else. She would make a new life with him and in him.
She put out her hand to turn the doorknob when, to her surprise, it turned by itself and the door opened from the inside. It swung open, and a tall, muscular man stepped out in front of her. It was Mattox Farrell.
Blood seeped into his clothes from gashes under the torn fabric, and he pressed one arm against his ribs to protect himself from the pain of breathing. His eyes blazed, and he gritted his teeth at Riley and Melody. “I knew you’d come here. I knew you couldn’t leave without coming here one more time.”
Melody covered Riley’s hands with her own. Those hands sent their strength into her shoulders to face what she had to do. “If you knew I’d come back here, you know why I have to go.”
“You’re not going anywhere. You’re going back to the Dunlaps’ right now. I’m ordering you, as your Alpha, to give up this terrible business right now. This whole thing has gone way too far. Walker’s flat on his back in the Dunlaps’ living room, and Austin almost lost an ear in that fight. Turn around and go back where you came from before I have to drag you there.”
“You can’t drag me there, Mattox,” Melody told him. “You’re not my Alpha anymore. I’m mated to Riley now, for life and death, and I’m leaving Bruin country forever. I’m outcast.”
Riley squeezed her shoulders and guided her sideways. “Watch out, Melody. Stand out of the way so I can kill this guy. No one will ever find out where we went until we get clear into the mountains.”
“You can’t take us back, Mattox,” Melody told him. “You’re one man. There’s two of us, and you won’t beat us both working together. We’ll have no choice but to kill you.”
Mattox eyes widened. “You would kill me to carry out this crazy project of yours?”
“I’ll kill you and anyone else who stands in our way,” she replied. “Riley is my mate. If
you stand in the way of us being together, or if you try to hurt him or separate me from him, I’ll fight you to the death. Don’t think I won’t, and I’ll take down as many Bruins as you can throw at me while I’m doing it.”
He stared back and forth between her and Riley. “Are you really sure he’s your mate? Are you really willing to throw away everything for him?”
“Isn’t that what you’d do for Lyric? Isn’t that what any Bruin would do for their mate?”
Mattox’s shoulders slouched. “I guess so.”
Riley extended his arm in front of Melody. “Move back. I don’t want you getting involved in this. I’ve got a score to settle here.”
Mattox held up his free hand. “Cool it, kid. You don’t have to fight me. I can see you two are joined at the hip now. If you really have to leave, I guess I don’t have any choice, but to let you go.”
Riley stiffened, but Melody relaxed. “Do you mean it? Thank you so much, Mattox.”
Riley chopped the air with his hand. “You don’t really believe him, do you? You don’t think he’d just let you walk away, just like that.”
“He’s an Alpha. If he said it, he’ll do it.” She rushed forward and threw her arms around Mattox’s neck. “Thank you, Mattox. Thank you so much.”
He pushed her off with his good arm. “Hey, hey. That’s not necessary, and you’re killing me. Leave me alone.”
She moved back to Riley’s side and touched a tear out of the corner of her eye.
Mattox glared at Riley. “I’m only doing this on condition that you give me your solemn word of honor you’ll take care of her. You better swear to me, right here and now, on your honor, that you’ll protect her and make sure she doesn’t wind up in any bear-baiting ring.”
Riley frowned. “You know I’d never let that happen.”
Mattox clenched his teeth, and his voice dropped to a guttural growl. “If you don’t swear it to me right now, I’ll fight you to the death. I don’t care if all three of us wind up bleeding to death on this blamed porch. Neither of you is going anywhere if you don’t swear it.”
Riley drew himself up taller than ever, and he squared his shoulders at Mattox. “You have my solemn word of honor I will protect Melody with my life. She will never wind up in a bear-baiting ring. I swear it on my life.”
“If you don’t, if anything happens to her, it will mean war between our peoples. You take that message back to your kind. If Melody or any other Bruin winds up in your ring, it’s war. Do you got that?”
“Yes, sir. I got it. I promise I’ll bring Melody home when she wants to visit her family. I’ll work the rest of my days to make sure she has the life she wants.”
Mattox sank in on himself. Already he looked older, and all the energy drained out of him. “All right. I guess you better go before someone else finds you. Here. Take these.”
He dug in his pocket and held out a set of keys. Melody frowned. “What are they?”
Mattox jerked his head. “There’s a car parked over in the barn. You better take it. That’s the fasted way you’ll get to where you’re going, and no one will follow you.”
Melody weighed the keys in her hand. “Are you sure about this?”
Mattox snorted. “You should know better than to ask me that. I suppose I should know better than to ask you the same question. You’re doing it, and so am I, so quit burning daylight and go do it.”
“Thank you, Mattox.”
“I don’t want to hear that anymore. I want to see your dust. Now, scoot, and don’t look back.”
Melody burst into a wild grin. She snatched Riley’s hand, and they both ran for the barn. A moment later, a silver Elantra spun around the corner. The tires skidded in the dry dust and the car sped down the driveway, down to the road and away toward Midnight Moraine.
The End
Book 7: Briar
Sarah J. Stone
Chapter 1
Briar MacAllister gazed through the living room window at the sun shining on her Homestead, but she couldn't enjoy it. Shadows and strange apparitions haunted every corner of Bruins' Peak. She saw them when she looked out the window instead of the grass, trees, birds, and blue sky.
Her sister May patted her on the knee. “You're not still thinking about Melody Mackenzie running off with that panther, are you? The wedding was six months ago.”
Briar tried to smile at her sister, but she only made a mess of that, too. “I'm sorry. I just can't stop thinking about it. Melody dreamed of meeting her one true mate, and when she did, it turned into the greatest disaster Bruins' Peak has ever seen. What if something like that happened to me? What if I mated with some alien and became outcast from my whole family?”
“That won't happen to you. You're too sensible for that.”
“I had the same ideas about romance and finding happiness,” Briar countered. “I got butterflies in my stomach over Marla Dunlap's dress and the decorations and the cake and everything else. I'm no different from Melody.”
“You might not be any different from her, but the great news is you aren't her. You might have had the same romantic notions about finding true love, but now that Melody ran off with a panther and abandoned her people, you know better. You have her to look at as an example of what NOT to do. You won't make the same mistake she made. You can thank her for that.”
Briar shuddered. “I can't imagine anything worse than that.”
May hugged her around the shoulders. “You're here. You're safe, and you're surrounded by good, decent, honest Bruin guys to mate with. All you have to do is find the one who's right for you.”
“You make it sound so easy. I'm just like Melody. I didn't meet any guy at Marla's wedding that interested me, no matter how nice and handsome and successful they are. What if I don't find a Bruin I can fall in love with? What if I start thinking about finding somebody else?”
May slapped both hands down on her thighs. “Listen to me. You're beautiful. You're smart. You work with Ma to make all her herbal medicines and treat all our sick and injured people. When Ma's not around anymore, people will come to you for help. Any guy would be lucky to catch your eye.”
Briar peered up into her sister's face. “Do you think so?”
“I know so. Now, come on. You've been sitting around this house thinking about this far too much. You need to get out and get some fresh air.”
Briar sank back into the couch. “I don't want to get out.”
May stood up and held out her hand. “You don't want to get out because you're worried about meeting the wrong guy. You think what happened to Melody will sneak up and happen to you without you knowing it. Well, I'm here to tell you that can't happen. The wrong guy isn't lurking around out there in the woods, waiting to nab you. You should go out there and see it's still the same beautiful woods it ever was. It's not dangerous or spooky or threatening.”
Briar looked away. “I never said it was.”
May grabbed her hand and tugged her off the couch. “Come on. You're not sitting in here moping on a day like today. Come on. We're going for a walk in the woods.”
May towed Briar toward the door. “I don't want to go. You go ahead. I've got other things to do.”
May wouldn't let go of her hand. “You're coming with me whether you like it or not. You haven't set foot outside this house since you got home from the wedding. You sit on that couch mooning all day long. You hardly talk to anyone anymore. Everybody can see you're depressed.”
Briar protested and the two young women just started to get into a tug-of-war over Briar's hand when a tall, broad-shouldered young man stepped into the living room from the bedroom adjoining the kitchen. Curly black hair capped his head, and sharp black eyes followed his thumb over his cell phone screen.
He dodged the struggling sisters and made for the kitchen when May caught sight of him. “Help me out here, Silas.”
Silas didn't look up from his phone. “What do you want me to do?”
“Help me convince Briar to come for
a walk with me. She needs to get out of the house.”
Silas stuck his phone in his slacks pocket. He wore a crisp ironed white business shirt unbuttoned at the collar. He headed for the fridge and took out the milk bottle. “Go for a walk, Briar. You need to get out of the house.”
Briar rounded on him. “Now don't you start, too.”
“May's right. You need to go for a ramble. Go hunt up some grubs under a log. You'll feel better.”
Briar snatched a cushion from her father's easy chair and threw it at him. “You pig!”
He deflected the cushion. “Go on, honey. Everyone can see you're not your usual chipper self. You're thinking too much, and you're bringing the whole Homestead down. At least go for a walk in the open air. You need some Vitamin D. You're getting pale around the gills.”
Briar spun away. “Leave me alone. I am not pale around the gills, and I am not depressed.”
“You're in shock over what happened to Melody,” May added. “We all are. That's why we're trying to get you moving forward with your life.”
“I am moving forward with my life. I'm just reevaluating my ideas about marriage. I'm thinking maybe finding a man and riding off into the sunset isn't the best thing after all.”
“Maybe riding off into the sunset isn't,” Silas remarked, “but what could be wrong with finding a man? Ma's been working on you for months to find a match.”
“All the more reason I should think twice about doing it.”
May flapped her hands. “See what I mean? She's traumatized or something. Come on, Silas. You come with us. You can help me wrestle her out the door.”
Silas took his phone out of his pocket. “I'm not going anywhere. I've got work to do this morning.”
“You always have work to do,” May grumbled. “That's all you ever do anymore. You're as bad as Briar, with your nose stuck in your phone all the time.”
His thumb started its incessant circling over the screen. “When you've got three businesses to run and two dozen employees under you, you'll have to work all the time, too.”
Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume II) Page 13
