Redeem the Bear (Bear Valley Shifters #5)(29)

“Yes.”

Panic and fear and worry welled up in her, filling her until she was so sick and tired of everything. “Well, f*ck, Riker, don’t sugar coat it!”

His eyes lightened and one side of his lip pulled back in a snarl.

Hannah clucked her tongue once like a warning, and Riker canted his head. “What Brooks is trying to do hasn’t been done before in the history of the Long Claws. He’s trying to bring them under order, under bear shifter law. Not just the laws they choose to abide by when it suits them. He’s trying to right the wrongs they’ve done. With any change like the one he’s trying to enforce, there are those who don’t see anything wrong with their old ways. They enjoy the kill and have been trained to think they should fight and steal land until only Long Claws remain. And they were so close. For hundreds of years, every alpha in their clan has had one thing on his mind. Conquering the other clans. And they had us all whittled down to almost nothing when Brooks took over. Their war with us was supposed to be it. After hundreds of years, they would be all that’s left of our culture.”

“Is Brooks okay?”

“I don’t know. He’s been hurt, and still he’s fighting the ones who oppose him. It’s a daily battle.”

“Why does he call you?” she asked, hurt that he’d been leaning on someone this entire time, and it hadn’t been her.

“For advice. He’s trying to bring the Long Claws under a similar rule that I enforce here. He has no background in anything other than absolute power though, and he has questions. If he loses this fight, the shifters trying to overthrow him will come after Bear Valley. He is all that stands between us and another attack. This time it wouldn’t be organized war. It would be a massacre.”

Hannah turned off the heat on the stove, and leaned against the counter. She looked positively green and unsurprised as she crossed her arms over her chest, like the gesture would protect her from the truth of Riker’s words.

Corin dropped her face into her hands and rubbed her bleary eyes. What Brooks was trying to do was huge. It seemed impossible that he could bring about such change to his heartless people.

“This is your fault, you know?” Riker said.

When she looked up though, he didn’t seem mad. On the contrary, a small smile crooked the corner of his lips. “He wouldn’t be trying to force a permanent alliance with us if you hadn’t reached him.”

Corin stood and swallowed hard. “And if he dies for his cause, that will be my fault too.”





Chapter Thirteen



Corin had called Brooks twice more this morning to no answer, and at this point, she was sick with worry. She couldn’t eat, couldn’t stop wringing her hands and halfway through her work day in the fields, Juan had given up on her being any help at all and sent her home. Get some rest, he’d advised.

Yeah right, rest. She hadn’t been able to sleep since Riker told her Brooks was in danger. He’d made it sound like it was Brooks versus the entirety of the Long Claw Clan. She’d seen them on the battlefield. They were some scary bears.

She had to do something. Go to him and help him fight, talk them down, something. Riker seemed to admire him, so maybe he would sanction a small group to go with her to help if she begged. Yes! This was genius.

Emboldened with a plan, she pulled on her best sneakers and her good luck holey jeans and a red sweater. Red would definitely get Riker riled up. Wait, that was bulls. Whatever, red for war, because action was better than waiting for Brooks to lose, and then absorbing the Long Claw’s wrath afterward.

Chin high, she marched her brilliant little self straight toward Riker’s house with the intention of not taking no for an answer. She would simply annoy the shit out of him until he gave in.

In the open field near his house, Hannah waved. “I was on my way to come get you.”

“You were? Why?”

“Riker asked me to. More like told me to because he’s being a moody dick today.” She fell into step next to Corin. “He woke up in a foul mood, then told me I was being emotional, then I had to viciously fight the urge to pee on his cereal, and now he makes me his errand boy while everyone is inside for some big meeting.”

“Wait, big meeting about what?” Corin began to jog through the waving grass.

The lawn was littered with pickup trucks and SUV’s she didn’t recognize.

When she turned around to see why Hannah wasn’t answering, the alpha’s mate had a big goofy grin on her face. “I love love,” she murmured. Was she crying? Jesus, maybe Riker was right about her emotions. They were swinging left and right like a pendulum.

Taking the porch stairs two at a time, Corin threw open the door. The living room was full of strangers. She didn’t understand. A tall, elderly woman nodded her head and moved gracefully to the side.

Brooks stood with his hands behind his back, talking quietly to Riker across the room. His dark eyes were somber and the set of his lips grim. He stood rigid and tall, looking the warrior even now among the soft hum of easy conversation. He was the most beautiful sight she’d ever laid eyes upon.

His gaze slid to hers, and she weaved through the crowd, faster and faster until he opened his arms and caught her. Words weren’t important right now, only touch—only being in his arms and feeling the solid thump of his beating heart against her chest.