Redeem the Bear (Bear Valley Shifters #5)(12)

Sagging against him, she cried against his chest for all she’d lost. It had been so much sadder than she’d even realized. Something terrible had happened to Daniel. Something worse than death. Now, he was a monster because of the sacrifice he’d made ten years ago. Her Daniel was dead, and his body walked on, soulless and broken, and killing bear shifters in battles he would’ve never approved had he been allowed to grow to manhood with the good clan he’d been born into.

“Who was he to you?” Juan asked, patting her back roughly like she was a fellow football player.

Sniffling, she pulled away. “I thought he was the boy who saved me from the Long Claws, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe I just wanted him to be.” Her memory of Daniel blurred. Had Brooks really looked like him, or had the ghost in the woods just prepared her mind to see similarities that weren’t really there? God, she hoped she’d been wrong.

Dark hair and dark eyes, but lots of men had those. Maybe he really wasn’t who she thought he was. It became increasingly easy to convince herself when he wasn’t right in front of her.

The crowd was milling and staring at her like she was one notch shy of psychotic, so she eased into the shadows of the woods. Oh, she’d heard Chase just fine when he’d said to find an escort, so she wasn’t going too far. Just far enough to escape the direct line of sight of most of the curious bystanders.

The soft murmur of voices sounded up ahead, and through the trees, she could make out Riker’s tense back and the stoic face of Brooks. He stood facing her, arms crossed and flexed with tension.

“I want to know exactly what happened to him,” Brooks demanded. “You owe me that, and if I smell a lie, I swear on his grave you’ll regret it.”

“I have no reason to lie. Nathan accepted my mate from Merit, and let one of his clan members abuse her. Joanna Penn freed Hannah, and Nathan tried to kill her. That was why we attacked, to save my kidnapped mate and Joanna, who had been claimed as one of my councilmen’s mates. He sent Anya to spy on us, and when she couldn’t do as he asked, he tried to claim her against her will, and then kill her. She was trying to escape to Bear Valley land, but a fence had her trapped and he scarred her—ruined her face on one side trying to kill her.” Riker shifted his weight. “We don’t want this war, Brooks. You are a new alpha and are looking for vengeance for a man who didn’t deserve the honor. Nathan was so focused on Hannah, Anya and Jo that he put every one of us at risk. He wasn’t right. Surely you could see he was slipping.”

“That’s one side of the story, Riker. Mine is that I have an entire clan mourning the death of their late alpha and seeking retribution. You may not have wanted this war, but you made it impossible for anyone to back out. You brought this on yourself.” Brooks turned and strode away.

“No,” Riker said. Brooks turned and narrowed his eyes, waiting. “You Long Claws have had this coming for a long time. You’ve killed too many of our kind to go unpunished. I don’t want this war because there are so few bear shifters left and it’s a waste of life. Don’t get it confused though, Brooks.” Riker’s voice dipped dangerously low and took on a gravelly tone. “I’m not scared of war with a clan who deserves to fall. I just believe more thought should be put into annihilating half of our species in one f*cking morning. Tomorrow you’ll all die, and justice will finally be served to all of the clans you’re people have destroyed. You’re a new alpha, and you have come into this leadership at a dire time for your people. Is vengeance more important to you than the survival of your clan? If so, continue on this path. Or you could become the alpha that Nathan and all of the other Long Claw alphas before you failed to be. You could lead your people into peace. This time, right now, is where you choose what kind of leader you’re going to be. You’ve seen it. Long Claw alphas go mad, and their term is short. You have such a need to kill as many as possible, to acquire as much land as you can, and for what? So you can leave your legacy as the greatest murderer? So you can outdo the murderers before you? Your bear will buckle under that kind of power and blood lust in three years, tops. Why don’t you surprise us all, and be better than the alphas before you.”

Corin was shaking so bad, she tried not to touch the tree. The waves of dominance that snaked through the woods made it hard to stand upright, and any movement would give away her position now. The men had moved too close for her to escape unnoticed.

“What kind of leader would I be if I didn’t avenge the fallen alpha before me?” Brooks asked in a cool, steady voice.

Closing her eyes, she tried to match Brooks’ voice to Daniel’s but failed. They were too different. Maybe he really wasn’t who she thought he was. Confusion swirled around in her head until she was dizzy.

Silence stretched on and on, and finally Brooks said, “Dawn.”

“Dawn,” Riker agreed.

Shuffling leaves said Brooks was leaving, and a tiny sigh of relief escape her lips.

Seconds passed and a hand clamped on her shoulder. Corin gasped, but it was just Riker’s furious face that was thrust inches from hers.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Hiding?” she squeaked. Obviously. She was crouched in a bush that looked suspiciously poisonous. Her skin itched all over just thinking about it.

Gently pushing her forward, he said, “Come on.”