Bearfoot and Pregnant(25)

NINETEEN



Talen returned to his cabin in a blind rage. How could the one woman who finally belonged with him leave? And Bella’s reasons made no sense. A booty call.

He slammed the door of his office opened. A few of the gathered clan members eyed him with surprise. Though he was never the happiest of bears, he never growled openly without reason. He had a reason, they just didn’t know it.

Men worked on putting the offices back together and fixing the broken walls and shattered glass and furniture.

Dylan appeared from the glass exit that led to the forest, a deep frown creasing his brow. “We have a problem.”

“Yeah, but what problem are you referring to?”

Dylan cocked his head. He motioned for Talen to follow him outside. The two slipped past the working employees into the forest. There, a crowd of people had gathered.

“My son,” one of the elder clan members, Jensen, started, “is dead. I need to know why.”

A second clan member, Merita, had tears streaming down her face when she spoke. “You killed my cub. He was so young. Why would you do that?”

Someone broke through the crowd and glared at Talen. “I know why.”

“Lydorn, you don’t know shit,” Dylan snarled. “Your son tried to kill me. The last thing I want to hear is that you are upset. Any of you.” He folded his arms over his chest. “You know the rules of our clan. Your kids attacked. With no reason.”

Merita and Jensen glanced at each other then at Lydorn. Merita took a step forward. “Your brother is the cause of this.”

“Why?” Talen roared so loud the trees around them shook.

“He’s been telling our boys they need to stand up to you. To push you out of the way and that when he leads they can have all the females they want.”

“And you let them believe this?” Talen barked at the group. He scowled at them individually until they each glanced away from shame. “You know the pride I take in this clan. You knew I would try to live up to my father’s expectations and you let your children believe going against me was going to work?”

“We didn’t think they were serious,” Jensen replied. He curled an arm around a still crying Merita. The old man shook his head, sliding bloody fingers over his hair. “They talked about all kinds of things. You were one of the topics.”

Already furious over his missing mate, Talen exploded. “Yes, I killed two of our members. I admit it. They attacked me in my offices.” He turned to point at the building undergoing repairs. “You want proof? Go in there and look.”

“But why kill them?” Lydorn yelled. “Why kill them. They were ours. Our future.”

“You know the rules.” Talen lowered his voice and glanced at Dylan. “We all know the rules. It’s kill or be killed.” He met Merita’s gaze. Though the man felt sympathy for her loss, the bear inside him felt justified in his actions. “Your son could have lived. I turned away. I gave him a chance to get out, but he came at me again, his intent was clear.”

A broken sob sounded from her and she buried her face in Jensen’s neck. They were two of the older clan members. This could be serious. Talen might have worried more about their feelings if their kids hadn’t tried to kill him. He might have had more sympathy if his need to recuperate hadn’t allowed for Cassie to leave for Earth without him getting a chance to speak to her.

“I demand a public trial.” Lydorn’s words echoed around them.

“A public trial is only available when someone is killed without justification.” Dylan took a step forward always willing to put himself in front of Talen. Talen didn’t need his help at that moment. He knew the rules. Hell, they’d been engrained in his brain from birth.

“Our cubs were killed without justification,” Lydorn continued.

Some of the people around them started to back away. It was clear if they had been siding with him before, they weren’t any longer.

“Your spoiled kids came at us without reason,” Dylan growled.

“Would you let someone attack you and not defend yourself?” Talen met Lydorn’s gaze, his own unwavering.

Lydorn’s cold blue eyes filled with anger. “I want proof. Proof that my boy did what you are saying.”

Dylan opened his mouth to say something. Talen sensed things were only going to get worse so he tapped Dylan’s arm and stopped him.

“I refuse a public trial but if it is evidence of what type of bad seed you raised, then you’ll have it.” He glanced over his shoulder at one of the enforcers standing guard by the glass doors. “Get the recordings.”