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  Ezra cut off a corner of his cornbread. He put it in his mouth and chewed. When he swallowed, he pointed his fork at Ash. “Tell me more about this conflict you had with your brother. How did you resolve it?”

  Ash’s eyes snapped away from June moving around the house. “We didn’t really resolve it. I mean, the whole thing escalated until it almost turned into an all-out civil war. We’ve never had that kind of hostility on Bruins’ Peak since we started living there. We were at each other’s throats. Then my brother fell in love with a girl. She sort of changed him.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “She didn’t care about war or peace. She didn’t care about anything except being with him. We—I mean him and me—we were fighting not just about war and peace but about who would come here to visit you. Then she came along and said she didn’t want him going anywhere. She didn’t want him fighting the Midnight and she didn’t want him coming here to see you. She wanted him to stay home with her. That’s when things started to change.”

  “What changed?”

  “When he said he wouldn’t come here, we started talking. We talked for the first time since the whole thing began. We talked like we used to when we were younger. Then our two factions blew up and started fighting each other, and we both jumped in to stop them. We couldn’t have Bruin fighting Bruin, and my brother’s mate helped us. That sort of killed the whole conflict in a heartbeat.”

  Arryn interrupted, “That would never happen here. We follow the Elders so that sort of thing doesn’t happen.”

  Ash nodded. “I can see where that would come in handy. I never hoped for a result as good as this. We have Haven to thank for that. That’s my brother’s mate.”

  “Well, like I said,” Ezra continued, “nothing can happen until I tell the Elders you’re here. They’re already deep in discussion about whether to fight or make war. There’s nothing to talk about until they decide.”

  Ash ate a piece of cornbread. The taste startled him. The savory flavor of meat and the fruity aroma of vegetables mixed with the buttery corn taste. What in the world did June put in this food? It filled him up much more than regular cornbread. These people must have all kids of secrets tucked away in their mountain home.

  June crossed behind her father, and Ash caught her stealing a glance at him. Her lips parted in a smile before she turned her glowing cheeks away.

  His mind whirled for some way to shoulder past these men to talk to her. “This cornbread is really excellent. I wouldn’t mind taking the recipe home if you don’t mind.”

  June blushed. For the first time, she looked right at him. Her face shone with delight. “I can give you the recipe, but it won’t taste as good if you make it at home.”

  “Why not?”

  “The rock under this mountain makes the soil extra rich in minerals. It makes all our food more nutritious than food grown elsewhere.”

  “How do you make it so meaty flavored?” he asked. “It tastes like I’m eating roasted meat and vegetables.”

  She turned away to wipe the clean dishes on the shelf. “I’ll write down the recipe for you, and maybe you’ll have good luck.”

  Ezra interrupted by finishing his breakfast. He stood up. “I’ll go tell the Elders you’re here. They might want to talk to you, to hear your message themselves. Come on, son. You join me.”

  Arryn glared at Ash. He watched the interplay between the newcomer and his sister, and he didn’t budge. June bit back a smile.. Ash leaned back in his chair. That paltry slice of cornbread filled him up better than any breakfast he’d eaten in a long time. Now he could enjoy the pleasure of staring at her.

  Ezra’s voice cut the air. “Come on, son.”

  Arryn slammed down his knife and fork and kicked back his chair. He stomped out of the house after his father and flung the door shut behind him.

  Ash regarded the shut door. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “Forget him,” June replied. “He’s at a difficult age.”

  Ash snorted. “Who isn’t?”

  June flashed him her smile again. Dang, she looked good when she smiled. Her body glided under her dress to show off her curves. Her skirts shifted when she walked to reveal a shapely leg underneath.

  “How did you get here?” she asked. “Don’t tell me you walked the whole way.”

  “No, I took the bus to Burkes Road. I ran through the woods from the station until I got to the bottom of the Ridge. Azer described the countryside in his letter so we would be able to find this place.”

  She looked him up and down. “You ran it?”

  “Sure. I run all the time. You people must run a lot, too, living in these steep mountains.”

  “I wish we did,” she replied. “We don’t get out as much as we used to. Everybody is worried about the Midnight coming after us. Most people stay indoors if they can. It gets downright boring after a while.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t imagine living like that. I couldn’t live without getting off into the woods every so often.”

  “We’re the same way. We need the forests, but our troubles with the Midnight have gotten everybody jumping at shadows.”

  “Too bad. You’d think your Elders would come up with a way to deal with the panthers.”

  “They have,” June told him. “They came up with this plan to lay low and play it safe. Everybody’s been doing that for years.”

  “How has that worked out?”

  She made a face. “About as well as you would expect. It’s taken Hazel getting caught and getting rescued by Azer for people like Daddy to change their minds and start pushing to fight back.”

  “Well, we can’t wait another couple of decades for them to make up their minds. People like us have to take matters into our own hands to make the Midnight stop.”

  She stopped in mid-stride to smile at him. “Us?”

  He blushed bright pink. “You know what I mean.”

  She chuckled. “You’ll have to stick around until somebody makes up their mind.”

  “I wasn’t planning on sticking around too long. If they’re going to dilly-dally, I might just go home. You can send word when you make up your minds.”

  She didn’t seem to hear. “We’ll put you up.”

  He looked around the cabin. “This place isn’t big enough even for your family. Where would I stay?”

  “I’ll find you a place.”

  “Where? Here?”

  She waved her hand. “There are dozens of families all over the Ridge. One of them will make space for you.”

  He held out his hand. “Now hold on. I can find somewhere else to stay…” He couldn’t exactly tell her he was used to a nicer place to stay.

  “Where will you stay—out in the woods?”

  He shrugged. That’s exactly what he planned on doing. “Are all the other houses on the Ridge like this one?”

  She already jumped toward the door without answering. “I’ll find you a place.”

  The door banged shut, and she disappeared. Ash sank back in his chair. Now what in the world was he going to do? These NightShade were nothing like what he expected—June, least of all.

  She attracted him like he couldn’t believe, but he had to keep his head. He couldn’t fall for one of these people. For one thing, he was supposed to represent Bruin kind. Hitting up the local beauties wouldn’t go very far to endear them to his message.

  For another thing, he didn’t plan to stay on Renegade Ridge. Once he got the Elders’ decision, he would be off and away, heading home. Getting close to June wouldn’t get him anywhere but into a world of heartache, not to mention making her life difficult.

  He better avoid her as much as possible. That was the smart thing to do, the kind thing to do. Once he got home, he would find himself a nice Bruin girl. He would forget all about June Stark and her poverty-stricken family. He would go on with his life and be happy

  4. Chapter 3

  June skipped through woods. Her arms flew out at her sides, and she
laughed out loud to the impenetrable forest. Ash Dunlap! That name rang in her ear again and again. Ash Dunlap! She never heard more beautiful music in her life.

  Did he feel the same way she did? His pupils dilated when he looked at her. He blushed when she did. Could it be possible? She had to get a hold of herself. He wasn’t planning on staying long.

  She had to watch her step around him. He wasn’t NightShade. She couldn’t come right out and tell him every detail of their lives. He might learn too much, and then where would she be?

  She could skip through the woods and dream about him, but she couldn’t get close to him. He would leave and she would take a mate from her own people, a mate she didn’t have to worry about finding out her secrets.

  How could one outsider throw a wrench in the NightShade’s carefully constructed world? They kept to themselves for centuries, and along came Ash Dunlap with his message of peace. He had no idea he caused so many people such a big problem.

  No one wanted to admit it, but that was the main reason the Elders took so long making up their minds what to do about the Bruins. They could cope with enemies like the Midnight. No Midnight would ever discover the NightShade’s secret.

  The Bruins were another matter. Too bad Daddy and his supporters couldn’t convince the Elders to send Arryn to Bruins’ Peak before now. Then the Bruins would never discover it, either. Now the Bruins got the jump on them and a stranger showed up on Renegade Ridge.

  Ash Dunlap! Those words sent a thrill through her middle. His bright golden hair, his soft blue eyes, his mellow voice—they infected her brain so she couldn’t think of anything else.

  She hurried through the woods. She had to find a place for him to spend the night. Her father’s cabin wouldn’t do. It was too small and too crude. She saw him study the place when he first walked in. It shocked him. He did his best to hide it, but she saw, anyway. He wasn’t used to houses like that. He all but came right out and said he would rather sleep in the woods.

  She couldn’t let that happen. She had to show him the NightShade weren’t trash. She went to another house tucked among the trees. She knew the old man who lived there, and she knew he had second bed near his fireplace. When she opened the door, a powerful smell of tannin and old leather wafted into her nose. She slammed the door without entering.

  She hurried on her way, but she rejected each house in turn. For the first time in her life, she saw the cabins and shacks on Renegade Ridge through Ash’s eyes. Each looked more dirty and dingy than the last. How could she ask him to sleep in a place like that?

  She made up her mind what to do. She would visit one last house she thought might work. She headed for the Black family home, but when she got there, she found her father and brother standing outside with a bunch of other NightShade men.

  “What are we waiting for?” her father asked. “We’ve waited all these years. We should get the Bruins and attack Midnight Moraine right now. That’s the only way to get our message across.”

  “We can’t do that,” old Noah Black retorted. “We have to wait for the Elders’ decision.”

  “We’ve waited too long already,” Arryn countered. “We can’t wait any longer. They could capture somebody else while the Elders talk.”

  Noah’s wife Amelia spoke up, “We’ve always done it this way. You can’t go changing a thousand years of tradition.”

  “It’s about time somebody changed things,” Ezra argued. “We’ve played it safe all these years, and the Midnight get more brazen every year. They know all they have to do is walk up here and get themselves a bear. They know none of us will even use the weapons we have against them. We’re weak, and they know it. We can’t fight back because we won’t fight back.”

  “We’ve got enough weapons on this Ridge to fight the Midnight on our own,” Arryn pointed out. “We don’t even need these Bruins to back us up. We only need the backbone to stand up for ourselves. Why should we get someone else to protect our people when we won’t even do it ourselves?”

  “Didn’t you say this Bruin kid is preaching peace?” Noah asked. “How do we even know the Bruins will fight with us?”

  “He says his brother favors war,” June put in. “He says a bunch of other Bruins want to fight, too.”

  “Then they’re as mixed up as we are,” Amelia replied.

  “He did say they almost fell into civil war over it,” June admitted. “He said they almost slaughtered each other.”

  At that moment, another figure emerged from the trees. The conversation died when Ash walked up to the house. “I heard voices. What’s going on?”

  No one would look at him until June replied, “We were just discussing your message.”

  He looked at each face in turn. “I never meant to cause any strife with you people. Maybe I should leave.”

  “Don’t you dare!” June gasped.

  “You favor peace, don’t you?” Noah asked. “How do we know you’re telling us the truth about what the Bruins want?”

  “You have only my word on that,” Ash replied. “I gave my brother my word I would represent his interests, as well as my own, and I’ll do it. I’m telling you I want peace, but there are just as many Bruins who want war. I won’t lie about that.”

  “Are they ready to march right now?” Ezra asked. “Do they have weapons and supplies ready to go, or are they just talking about it like we are?”

  Ash snorted. “Oh, they’re ready to march. They have all their supplies loaded into trucks, ready to roll. That’s why the peace faction wanted to fight them, to stop them marching.”

  Arryn sliced his finger through the air. “You see? They’re ready. They’re preparing. They’re planning. We should be doing the same thing. We shouldn’t stand around with our fingers in our ears waiting for the Midnight to show up with ropes and snares.”

  Noah held up his hand. “Hold on, son…”

  “I won’t hold on,” Arryn shot back. “I’ve been holding on all this time, and some stranger had to rescue my sister from those fiends because no NightShade would twitch a whisker to help her. We’ve all heard the stories. Azer Mackenzie fought them single-handedly, one Bruin against the whole Moraine. Why can’t we do the same thing?”

  “I wouldn’t want to face Midnight Moraine on my own,” Ash chimed in. “You wouldn’t get very far. Azer surprised them. He faced a handful of them in close quarters. He didn’t go charging down the main street.”

  Arryn rounded on him. “Did I ask for your opinion, peacenik?”

  Ash burst out laughing. “Peacenik! That’s a good one.”

  His laughter only made Arryn more furious. “You better shut your hole. What NightShade do or don’t do doesn’t concern you. Keep out of this if you know what’s good for you.”

  Ash stiffened. “I don’t know who or what kind of bear you’re used to dealing with, but you’ll speak to me with respect, if you don’t want to feel my claws.”

  “You want to bring out the claws?” Arryn asked. “Come on. Let me see ‘em. Let’s see what you’re made of.”

  Just then, a young man about Ash’s age charged up the hill. He broke into the circle shouting, “They’re coming! The Midnight are coming up the Ridge.”

  Arryn spun around. “Where?”

  The stranger pointed over his shoulder. “Over there. There’s two of them heading up the north spine. They’re heading straight for us.”

  “Quick!” Ezra shouted. “Get Saul and Titus up here. Get your guns loaded and that net from the shed. Everybody meet at my house and we’ll intercept them.”

  Ash jumped into his path. “You can’t! This could be our chance to talk to them. We could negotiate with them and make peace. You don’t know they’re on their way here to catch another bear. You haven’t even given them a chance.”

  Ezra bared his teeth. “Back off if you don’t want to get hurt, boy. The NightShade have no intention of negotiating peace with these things—not yet. Until our Elders make a decision, we’re as likely to fall for war as
peace.” He spun around and waved his arm. “You womenfolk get inside and bolt the door. Don’t come out until we get back.” He turned back to Ash. “You go inside, too. We’ll sort this out ourselves.”

  Ash squared his shoulders. “I’m not hiding inside with the womenfolk while you blast the whole mountain to kingdom come. You might want war with the Midnight, but I don’t obey you or your Elders. I’m my own man, and I’m coming with you. If there’s any way to talk to them, I’ll do it. I won’t let you kill them when you don’t even know their intentions.”

  A gun blasted somewhere in the distance. Ezra shot Ash one last menacing glare before he raced off into the trees.

  5. Chapter 4

  Ash raced through the forest. Ezra and Arryn ran ahead of him along with three other NightShade Ash didn’t know. Every one of them carried guns, and they ran as fast as Ash did. He exerted all his strength just to keep up with them.

  He couldn’t let them kill these Midnight. A gun battle in the woods could spark the very war he came to prevent. He had to talk to some Midnight, to question them and find out their position. No one could come to any conclusion until someone did that.

  Did the Midnight harbor any peaceful intentions at all? Would they change their position if they found out the NightShade and the Bruins wanted to form an alliance?

  He could only find out, but right now, he had to stop any bloodshed. If anybody died today, he could kiss peace good-bye.

  The mountain dove down a steep embankment. The NightShade knew the terrain better than he did. They plunged down the slope running faster than ever. Ash caught sight of two strange men in the far distance, but the NightShade already overtook them.

  Both men had dark hair and dark eyes and long, lean bodies. They ran in loping step Ash saw on Riley Faulkner, the young Midnight Ash and his brothers caught on Bruins’ Peak.

  Before Ash could catch up, the NightShade formed a wide ring to cut them off from all directions. Ezra stood back to raise his rifle to his shoulder. His finger closed around the trigger, but that pause gave Ash the chance he needed to catch up. He darted in front of Ezra and threw his body in front of the gun.