Lance’s face grew furious.

  Ryland didn’t know why he was taunting him, except to maybe buy time. He knew nothing would change Lance’s anger. But he should probably know the whole story anyway, and no one else would be able to tell him.

  “In fact, I probably deserve to die,” Ryland said in a croak, feeling his voice grow hysterical. “Because I’m a murderer.”

  A hush fell over the scene, but Ryland didn’t care. The truth was out, shining like sunshine, and he wasn’t oppressed by it anymore.

  Lance took a step forward, expression darkening like rapidly approaching storm clouds. “What. Did. You. Do?”

  Ryland let out a hysterical laugh. “I killed John Brolin. I did it. I tore him to pieces. I’m a fucking monster.”

  Lance’s whole body convulsed in pain, and with a roar, he finally shifted.

  Ryland looked up in wonder to see the rabid, hulking wolf version of his bear.

  Lance was a dire wolf.

  “You’re a monster?” the wolf asked in an angry, guttural voice. “This is what your dad did to me. My dad threatened a bet your dad made. A big one. So your dad sent people after him. Ended him before the fight the next day. Told people he was caught cheating. But I knew that was a lie. I knew John Brolin was lying from the minute he showed up at my door with my dad in a box and his fake condolences.”

  The wolf was spitting mad, giant fangs dripping blood as he paced, probably from chewing the inside of his mouth. His claws were gigantic, lethal.

  He wasn’t much smaller than Ryland’s bear, and he would be much, much faster.

  “You expect me to feel bad because you’re a monster?” Lance snarled. “Never. I’m the monster. Your father ruined both of our lives. He took everything from us. I won’t rest until I take everything from you.”

  Ryland closed his eyes against the monster rushing toward him, thinking that his last thoughts being that his father was an unbelievable asshole was just incredibly ironic.

  He flinched but heard a voice yelling at them and stopped. Lance’s wolf skidded to a halt with a growl.

  Ryland knew that scent in the air. Lea. She’d come for him somehow.

  His brothers were with her, and he saw that Francis was carrying her. He didn’t even have time to be jealous. He just got to his feet, stumbling over to the side of the cage where he could best see her.

  She looked fine. Thank heavens.

  As he sagged in relief, he felt the sharp sting of poisonous claws sinking into his back.

  Lea screamed, and he sagged against the cage, staring at her. It was hopeless.

  Lea fought to get free from Francis and ran up to grab the other side of the metal, touching Ryland’s fingers.

  Lance drew his claws back with a slash and paced triumphantly. “Say good-bye, Lea. I’m ending this.”

  She stood up. “You fucking coward.”

  He glared at her. “Nothing you say can persuade me.”

  “I know,” she said. “I’ve given up on you. You know, I saw a lot of awful things growing up. I’ve seen you like this dozens of times. I always helped you. I never saw you as a monster.” Her eyes welled with tears, and Ryland wanted to end her brother for the pain he’d caused her. “Until today. Now I give up.”

  Lance shook his head and kept pacing. “I told you to say your good-byes.”

  She leaned in close to Ryland. He loved her scent. It was the perfect thing to experience before he died.

  “There’s something I have to tell you,” he said.

  “No,” she said. “There’s something I have to tell you. You have to shift, right now.”

  “I can’t,” he said. “It’s too late. I—”

  “I love you, Ryland Brolin. I only mated you because I was trying to protect you. I’m sorry for ever being involved in spying on you, and if you just let me, if you just fight for us, I promise to spend the rest of our lives making it up to you.”

  He closed his eyes. “I can’t.”

  “You can. You have to shift.”

  “You don’t understand. My bear’s a killer. He—”

  “He protected someone,” she said, squeezing his hand. “Your brothers know already.”

  Ryland’s head jerked up to face his brothers.

  “It’s true,” Rock said. “And we still love you, you freakin’ murderer,” he muttered with a grin. “So don’t fucking die, because you need to stay alive so I can punch you for entering this stupid contest and risking your life.”

  A grin split Ryland’s face, hurting his swollen mouth. So everyone knew. How?

  “I’m sorry, buddy,” Riker said, crouching by the cage. “I was there. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think you wanted anyone to know.”

  “So come on,” Francis said. “Look, I met your bear last year. Yeah, he’s terrifying, but no one can beat that much ass.”

  “You saved Melly’s life that night,” Riker said. “And your dire bear, no matter what anyone calls it, has protected a lot of people.”

  “So stop beating yourself up and let your bear out so he can do his thing and end that idiot wolf,” Francis said.

  “Yeah,” Lea said. “Because you don’t want to leave me, do you?”

  The sadness swimming in her dark eyes finally reached him. It reminded him of the hopeless look in Melly’s eyes that night. How had he forgotten?

  That’s right. His bear had saved her. And his bear had saved Ana last year.

  And his bear had protected people, despite the monster it was.

  Perhaps, for the first time, he could let it out now. Trust it.

  With Lance about to attack behind him, he didn’t see any other choice.

  He had a mate, he had a family, and he had to stay around and protect them, be a team with them for the first time.

  I don’t want to die.

  He threw his head back and let his rage ripple through him, let his bear tear its way out of his body.

  16

  Lea felt her heart start again as Ryland finally shifted, becoming a huge, shaggy, feral bear before their eyes, knocking Lance backward with his sheer size before he was even fully transformed.

  The bear shifted its weight, snarling ominously, and she took a moment to appreciate the entire, terrifying sight that was a dire bear.

  His fur was gray rather than brown. More matted and thick. He was bigger, thicker than a shifter bear, which was already bigger than a normal bear. And his claws were something that belonged more on a dinosaur than a bear.

  “Holy shit,” she said, stumbling back from the cage and staring.

  “Yeah.” Riker agreed. “Terrifying.”

  Then the bear looked over its shoulder and winked at her.

  “Holy shit, holy shit,” Rock said. “Did Ryland’s bear just wink?”

  “He knows his mate,” Francis said, looking amused.

  She wondered if that was true, and a shiver went through her. But those silvery eyes, they were Ryland’s. He was in there somewhere, even if she couldn’t see or feel him. This bear was a part of him. Had kept him alive. She would always love him for that.

  She approached the cage again, no longer afraid. “Beat his ass!” she shouted, earning a roar of approval from the bear, who charged after Lance.

  Lance’s dire wolf just stared in horror at the approaching bear. Then tried to use his speed to move. But Ryland was faster and caught him by the tail with a claw. Then he slammed him into the metal cage repeatedly, not caring how it was being bent out of shape or how many whines the wolf was making.

  Lance had never expected to fight another dire form, and fear made him clumsy and slow to react.

  Ryland’s bear kept slamming him into the fence over and over, and when it seemed about to break, he started slamming him into the floor until he was just a vaguely wolf-shaped creature.

  Lea’s heart pounded, and she looked at Rock and Riker. Were they going to let Ryland kill Lance? He’d earned it by trying to kill Ryland, but she knew it would hurt Ryland, too.

  “Should we—”

  Riker put a finger to his lips. “Just wait.”

  Rock was leaning on the cage, his fingers in the metal grating, sweat rolling off his forehead. “Come on, bro,” he said quietly, under his breath. “Pull back. You can do it.”

  Lea quietly prayed for the same thing and saw the huge bear in front of them slow and then drop the wolf to the ground. Then he stepped back once, then again, gave her one last, sad look over his shoulder, as if he didn’t want to go, and disappeared, leaving Ryland lying naked in his place.

  She yanked open the door to the cage and ran in, pulling off her sweater to lay it over Ryland, covering him.

  “Thank heavens,” she said. “You’re okay.”

  Rock and Francis went over to her brother, checking his pulse. “He’ll recover,” Francis said. “He might not want to after we hand him to the Tribunal.”

  She frowned. “I have a better idea of where to send him. He needs help.”

  “As long as he never gets out again to hurt Ryland.”

  She nodded. “I agree with that. But the Tribunal can be downright evil.” She shuddered.

  Francis nodded and slung Lance over his shoulder. “Okay, we’ll get him to a medic, then.”

  “Make sure they use extra restraints,” she said. “To hold him.”

  Francis nodded, and then he and Rock were gone.

  Riker knelt beside her, checking Ryland’s pulse and his temperature. “Looks like he’s fine.” He hefted his brother up and over his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s all get to the med tent.” He looked at her bruises. “You, too, sis.”

  She gazed up at him, stunned. It was so weird to be instantly accepted. “Sis?”

  “Yeah, you’re mated, right?”

  “Right, but I betrayed him. I—”

  “You saved him and helped him face a part of himself he could never have faced any other way. As far as I’m concerned, anything bad is in the past, and you’re family.” He nodded. “Ana would kill me otherwise anyway.”

  She grinned. “You’ve got a good mate.”

  “So does Ryland.”

  And then he was walking ahead, Ryland in his arms, humming something to himself.

  So she followed after, knowing this was her new family.

  This was her new world.

  Several days later, Lea had a pudding cup in her hand as she joined Ryland at the picnic table where they’d all gathered for a barbecue.

  From the moment he’d woken at the fight, things had been good between them.

  She’d chased the past for far too much of her life; now she just wanted to focus on the future. She pulled off the wrapper and fed him a spoonful, and he bit down on the spoon, wrapping full lips around it and looking up at her with playful eyes.

  She let go of the spoon. “Fine, then. You do it.”

  “Great,” he said, taking the cup. “I prefer that.”

  She laughed. “There goes me trying to be romantic.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows. “I can think of something romantic.”

  She elbowed him. “Not until after the barbecue.”

  Rock sat down next to them, one leg over the bench, one leg off. “I’m glad you two decided to stay in Bear Canyon for a little while, even after the Brawl.”

  “We’re still family,” Riker said, sitting across from them. “Even with the Brawl, I hope we still come up here and get together.”

  “So it’s really over?” Francis asked.

  Ryland nodded. “I won, right?”

  Francis sighed, slumping in front of the barbecue. “Well, there goes the excitement around here.”

  “You getting tired of Bear Canyon?” Ryland asked. “You know, with Rock here, you don’t have to stay.”

  “No,” Francis said. “I was talking to some of the town council. You know, one of those things I formed that you should have set up a long time ago. We decided we’re gonna need a mayor for this place. Officially. I guess I’m it.”

  “Wow,” Ryland said. “So you’re going to stay, then?”

  “Yes,” Francis said. “Plus, I think it’s beautiful.”

  “But I thought you were getting the mating urge,” Rock said.

  Francis looked out at the trees wistfully. “I guess I just have to believe fate will bring her to me if I’m in the place where I know I’m supposed to be.”

  Ryland grinned at that and hugged Lea close. “I think that’s possible. After all, I thought I was the best planner in the world, but the best thing that has ever happened took me by surprise.”

  Lea flushed and smiled up at him. “Really? Best thing that ever happened?”

  “By far,” he said tenderly. “Nothing else even comes close.”

  “All right, you two,” Francis said, waving a dismissive hand at them. “Dinner won’t be ready for another half hour. You two take that lovey-dovey honeymoon stuff off where the rest of us can’t see it. Come back when you’re ready to be civilized.”

  Ryland laughed but stood, extending a hand to Lea, who took it. She didn’t mind any excuse to be alone with him.

  They told the others they’d be back, and Lea took the lead, pulling Ryland by the hand as they made it through the house and out the front door.

  She knew just where she wanted to go. She dragged him around the side of the house and through the thick cover of trees to the clearing that had somehow become important.

  It was beautiful in the late evening, overcast with the sun setting, warm tones cast over the deep-green grass.

  Soon, fall would be here, and winter.

  She flopped down on her back on the grass, pulling him with her.

  “Can you believe everything that’s happened?” she asked, looking up at the blue sky with its streaks of red and orange.

  He shook his head, putting his hand on her as he lay on the ground beside her. “Thanks to you, this place doesn’t have the power to hurt me.”

  She rolled on her side to face him. “What do you mean?”

  He rolled toward her, too, resting his cheek on his palm, his elbow resting on the grass. “Because I’ve forgiven myself. I’ve made peace with the past. And I’ve learned that focusing on hatred for anyone just hurts you more than it hurts them. The dead are dead. And we can’t do anything for them. We have to move on. We have to make our lives the best we can.”

  She nodded. “Then we really win.”

  “Exactly.”

  He lay back on the grass and paused for a moment before pulling her over him. “So did my bear really wink at you?”

  She laughed, loving the feel of his hard body under her. “He did. I guess he knows a dish when he sees one.”

  “That’s true,” he said, running a hand through her hair, holding it out and watching it shine in the evening light. She flushed.

  “So where are we going after this?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Everything is open to us. With my money, I can walk away from business forever. And honestly, my whole life was leading up to accomplishing my aims of making sure my brothers were happy and ending the violence of the Brawl.”

  “People will miss it,” she said.

  “And I’ll be happy to refer them to much better events run with safer rules in other parts of the shifter world,” he said. “I think that’s one thing the wolves have gotten right.”

  “Well, we had to. We’ve been fighting for dominance ever since we’ve been around. We’re not solitary like bear shifters.”

  His hands found her waist, lightly squeezing. “Well, this bear shifter isn’t solitary anymore.”

  “I guess that’s why he winked at me,” she said with a giggle.

  “Right,” he said, pulling her down for a kiss.

  She felt love flood her, warm and clarifying, as she enjoyed his lips. It was enough to just stay there together, the evening sun waning over them.

  Peace and quiet all around them. A whole future stretching out in front of them. And for the first time for both of them, it was completely unplanned. Full of possibilities.

  Not a happy ending, but a happy beginning.

  Epilogue

  Ryland finished unpacking his last box and stretched, looking around the small apartment. “Maybe we should have kept my penthouse.”

  “This is closer to the training center,” she said. “And you said you wanted to help me with coaching for a while.”

  “It’ll be a good change,” he said. “The business world can wait. I have enough money.”

  “You think?” she joked. “Okay, that’s all the unpacking I can handle for one day.”

  “Me too, I’m ready for bed.”

  She yawned. “Did I tell you that Lance was accepted for that research program?”

  “No,” Ryland said. “But I’m glad to hear it.” It wasn’t a sure thing by any means, but it was Lance’s only hope. A certain group of shifters was very interested in the dire mutation and Lance would get a second chance by letting them study him.

  “Thanks,” she said, and he could tell she was already done talking about it. Thoughts of her brother were still painful.

  He changed the subject. “How do you think Francis is doing on his first night alone, now that everyone’s gone back to their lives and their houses?”

  “Why?” Lea asked, walking to Ryland and putting an arm through his. He loved her warmth, treasured every touch he got from her.

  “He just seemed so happy with all of us visiting.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “And without the Brawl happening every year, he doesn’t even know when the rest of you will visit.” She shrugged. “Still, he feels it’s right for him to be there, so we have to let him be.”

  “Plus, we need him there. He’s doing what no one in our family wants to. Running the town.”

  She nodded, putting her other hand up to rub his bicep gently. “You said something about wanting to go to bed?”