Bear Bride (Bear Cove #1)(3)
“I think I should take the cake up there, you rest and try to distract yourself a bit today, call Amy, see a movie or something.”
“No,” Keyla said with a determination quite characteristic of her in such moments, “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going. It may be my only chance to see him.”
Chapter 2
Troy
Troy peeked out of his log cabin’s window at the small grassy yard surrounded by the rest of the cabins in Snow Crest Camp. The preparations for the wedding were in full swing. Girls were tying up bunches of freshly picked flowers and blooming twigs to the wooden benches, the green gauze ribbons flapping in the warm morning breeze, while boys were setting up an intricate arch of pine branches, twisting and yielding the deep-green, soft needle stems and securing them with twine. Women were efficiently setting up a long table with a crisp, white tablecloth, vases of mountain daffodils and sprigs of evening primrose, and glass-lid covered trays of pastries and fruit. People were coming in and out of the cabins carrying chairs and glasses, cheerfully greeting each other or shouting instructions, while children ducked out of the way with their wooden swords and pine bark figurines.
Troy turned around and sighed. A deep, guttural growl reverberated through his chest.
“What’s up with you? Getting the jitters?” Chase, Troy’s older brother said with a smirk. “Come on. Don’t be so fussy. You don’t have to do much, just stand up there and smile and nod and agree.” Chase nudged Matt, their youngest brother, in the ribs and Matt growled in response. He was concentrated cutting the tips off three thick cigars he had bought from Bear Cove’s liquor store for the occasion.
“If it’s so easy,” Troy grumbled, “why don’t you do it. Wait. Right. You married for love.”
“Mock all you want, but marrying for love isn’t all it’s cracked out to be anyway. Shona and I have our fair share of fights and now with the baby, she practically only notices me when she wants sex.”
“Wow, tough life you two,” Matt chimed in, “a sex maniac wife that stays out of your way and takes care of your child? That’s got to be rough. And you? Marrying just about the hottest girl in the camp and complaining? Seriously?”
“Shut up, you don’t understand,” Troy said. “I barely know her. Plus…”
“Know her?” Matt laughed. “What’s there to know? Killer body, easy-going, up for anything, gorgeous baby face. You are so messed up! Wait. Don’t tell me you are still hung up on that chubby girl from school,” Matt rolled his eyes. “Honestly, what did you even see in her—“
His words were interrupted as Troy jumped faster than the blink of an eye and in a moment he was straddling him on the couch, pinning his throat down with his large, rough hands. Matt’s eyes bulged out and his lips curled to reveal his snow-white shiny incisors. A loud growl rumbled out of his constricted throat. A vein was pulsing on Troy’s burning forehead as he clenched his fingers even more tightly around his brother’s muscular neck. Suddenly, something blew him out of the way and he landed on the floor underneath the window, his head thumping against the rough wood of the log wall.
“You two, cut the crap!” Chase scolded in a serious, authoritative voice. “You, cut these cigars already! And you,” he pointed at Troy who was picking himself up from the floor, panting and rubbing the back of his head, “stop whining! You know very well why you are doing this and if you are having second thoughts, you need to say so now before all the clan’s future is blown to shit!”
“Fine, you are right,” Troy said quietly, “but I don’t want to hear another word about Keyla. Is that clear?” he scowled at Matt, who was still rubbing the stinging red marks on his neck.
“Sure, whatever,” he said indignantly, “but, for the record, I’d love to shack up with Corin, if you really are having second thoughts.” Matt ducked down to avoid the beer bottle that flew through the air with a swishing sound and smashed against the wall above his head, spilling shards of glass and froth all over him. He opened his eyes and brushed off the glass pieces off his ruined white shirt. “Look at this,” he said, grinning like a happy child, “not a drop on these.” He waved the three cigars triumphantly in the air.
Ignoring him, Chase stood closely in front of Troy, taking his red, flaming face in his hands and steadying his trembling with rage jaw.
“Listen to me,” he said quietly, “what you are doing is noble. Just take a look outside. What do you see? A bloodbath? Cut-off limbs and scratched faces? Open wounds and yelling and blood-spattered claws? No. I see flowers and laughter and happiness. I see peace. And it’s all because of you. When our father chose you as the new leader and made you king of the clan, I have to admit, I was broken, but now I see why he did it. You have the right mind and the strength to turn our destiny around. Marrying Corin might not be what your heart needs right now, but this is bigger than you. If the wedding will sustain the peace between centuries-old enemies and help us grow and raise our children free from fear and hatred, you are doing the right thing.”
Troy swallowed with difficulty, his breath evening out and the bear inside him subsiding, his body regaining its composure. Chase was right. Their clan, the Shadow Bears, had lost its dignity, its territories and its strength with the sudden death of their father. They had lived a miserable existence of running and hiding, looking for a new domain for years. The Blackstone Bears had quickly taken advantage of the instability among the Shadow Bears’ ranks and found the perfect moment to attack, scattering Troy’s divided clan and claiming the lands they had roamed and hunted in for centuries. Now, after years of nomad existence setting up camps across the mountain ranges all over Montana, what was left of the Shadow Bears had finally settled in a small log cabin campsite in the hills of Snow Crest Range, right above the quiet, idyllic village of Bear Cove.