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Bryce watched in amusement while Gemma, Rex's mate, revved the engine of her ATV. Her dark hair, usually up in a ponytail, had been braided and dangled beneath her helmet.
"What?" she asked, catching his eye. "You think you can keep up with this?"
Bryce laughed. "I'm surprised even your mate can keep up with you. You're a force to be reckoned with."
Gemma nodded in satisfaction, then beamed when Rex came over to stand next to her.
Rex shook Bryce's hand. "Glad you're joining us, man."
"Thanks," Bryce said. "There's no place I'd rather be."
It was the truth—the stack of stones formed a point of gathering, and surrounding them were tall pine trees, evenly spaced. Beyond those, forest—the RCC territory that Bryce could also call his own when he joined the clan.
Margot was already in her fox form, gamboling about with her sister in the darkening twilight. Every time he caught her eye, she looked away. Nolan stood nearby. Bryce should have felt bad for falling for his brother's woman, but he couldn't. Not when their kiss was so fresh in his memory. Not when she'd said the words he needed to hear, that she wasn't in love with Nolan.
She's free, his inner grizzly told him.
Not free anymore, he added. Because now she's mine.
Bryce shook off the thought. She was only his if she wanted to be. Two days ago, she'd been kissing Nolan. Why? Bryce should have asked her.
There were a lot of things he needed to discuss with her.
Ian knocked into his shoulder as he walked past, and Bryce held back a growl.
There were a couple of things he needed to discuss with Ian, too. But Jameson entered the clearing—the Circle, Bryce had heard it called. It was where the clan runs started and ended.
Jameson started speaking. "It's been a while since our last clan run, and we have some new faces. I have one rule, and one rule only: no fighting. A clan run is a chance to put past grief and anger behind us, to come together as one. You have shit to deal with? Set it aside. Got it?"
Everyone nodded, even those in their animal forms.
"Great," Jameson said, taking off his shirt. "Let's go."
Shimmering light surrounded those who hadn't shifted yet. Bryce embraced the discomfort of his shift. His grizzly was ready to make the most of this run with his future clan, two nights before leaving for South America where he would do the work to earn his place in the RCC for good.
He'd been an outlaw for so long. Everyone took off, running into the woods. Some ran alone, some ran together. Bryce ran alone. As his feet pounded over the soft earth, they beat out of rhythm of the words he repeated in his head. Outlaw no more. Never again.
After running for a while, sounds of growling and snarling reached Bryce's ears. Hadn't Jameson told everyone to chill out? Bryce followed the sounds to the creek at the edge of the territory. A grizzly—Ian, and a polar bear—Nolan, fought at a rocky outcropping. Before Bryce could intervene, another grizzly rushed in and roared.
The two fighting bears fell still. Bryce backed away, out of sight. He couldn't see any of them, and they couldn't see him. This wasn't his argument.
Jameson's voice came next; he must’ve shifted to his human form. "Shift back, the both of you, now."
The sounds of bones crunching and bodies rearranging filled the new silence, and a moment later, Jameson said, "I was clear about the rules of the run. No fighting. This was a time to set aside differences and come together as the clan we're meant to be. I expected better of both of you. Nolan, I don't know what has gotten into you, but this isn't your normal behavior."
Ian and Nolan mumbled their apologies to Jameson.
"I'm going to head back to the Ring of Fire to fix dinner," Jameson said. "Don't return until you've worked out your issues."
Bryce listened as Jameson marched away, then he waited to hear what his brother and his best friend would do. It was likely that Nolan blamed Ian just as much for leaving their town in Alaska, and everything that had happened after.
"It's not my fault your dad died," Ian snarled.
"I know," Nolan said. "It's his fault."
Nolan was talking about Bryce. Fuck him. Bryce turned to go, not wanting to hear any more. He'd been running from Alaska for his whole adult life, only to come back here and have it all dredged up again. If it weren't for Margot, he'd have been out of the RCC territory yesterday—nothing except her was worth this drama.
"You're such an idiot," Ian said to Nolan.
Bryce winced, waiting for the sound of Nolan punching Ian, but nothing came.
"Yeah?" Nolan said. "Tell me why."
"Your dad told him to go."
"My dad wasn't talking. He couldn't have told Bryce anything."
Ian paused. "I believe what Bryce told me. Your dad spoke to him. The thing was, Bryce didn't want to go, but he did because that's what the alpha asked. Bryce knew it would make him an outlaw, and me, too, but he had to honor your dad's wishes."
Bryce could remember every detail, every moment playing in his mind like a movie. The first snow blazing through their town in September, him and Ian trudging away from his house with nothing except their backpacks. And then Nolan barreling out of their childhood home, clocking Bryce across the face, demanding a fight.
He blinked, trying to make the memory fade away. He was in his grizzly form, he didn't need to pay attention to this shit. He hurried off, desperate to focus on something else, anything else.
The forest provided ample distraction, from sour berries to the intriguing scents of wildlife. Somewhere in these woods, Margot was running and playing. He hoped he'd find her. Maybe she was done running and she'd be back at the Circle.
When he came to the Circle, though, it wasn't Margot he saw. There in the crisp moonlight, Gemma sat on her ass on the ground, frowning at the ATV, which was on its side. Tears tracked down her cheeks.
Bryce shifted as fast as he could. "Shit, Gemma, what happened?"
He helped her up, grateful that she didn't seem to care about his nudity. Humans could be funny about that, sometimes.
She rubbed at her cheeks. "I was stupid, was driving too fast."
"Where's Rex?"
"Patrolling. I told him I was fine to get back on my own, and then I was an idiot. Now I can't get the damn thing straight again."
Bryce quickly yanked it upright. "There ya go."
"Funny how I was bragging I'd be running circles around everyone, huh?" Gemma said, her voice sounding bitter.
"Not funny, no." Bryce thought for a second. "Maybe ironic."
"I'm not such a force to be reckoned with." She brushed dirt off of her ass. "It's hard being the only human sometimes."
She sounded so sad and embarrassed. Bryce reached out to touch her shoulder. "You are a force, for sure. How many other humans do you see trying to hang with us shifters? Come on, let's get you back on this thing and on your way home. I'm not going to say anything to the others."
"Really?"
"Really."
He waited while she got the ATV running again. She turned when she zoomed off, giving him a grateful smile.
Well, now what? He was in his human form. Was it worth it to shift back and run around some more as a grizzly, or should he return to the Ring of Fire?
Movement next to one of the pines caught his attention. It was a fox with deep blue eyes—Margot. He lifted his hand in a wave.
She looked one way, then the other. Then she shifted into her human form. He waited while the light around her faded, knowing she'd be naked after the shift.
She was gorgeous, just like he'd known she would be. And she didn't try to hide herself from him. "That was pretty decent of you to help Gemma."
"She was in a jam. I had to help."
Margot nodded, looking thoughtful.
Bryce stepped forward. He wanted to talk to her, he wanted to touch her. Everything within him yearned to simply be with her, however he could manage it. Their kiss at the bakery earlier in the day had only been the start. There was so much more between them, so much he needed to explore.
But could he just come out and say those things? He didn't want to scare her off.
"What is this place, anyway?" he asked, gesturing at the circle of pine trees surrounding them and the cairn.
"I don't know," she said, standing next to the cairn. "We just call it the Circle."
She patted one of the cairn's stones. He wished she were touching him.
"It's, uh, not a burial site, is it?" he asked. "Isn't that what cairns usually are?"
She shrugged, focusing her attention on the cairn instead of on him. "It seems like it's been here long before we arrived."
True. Bryce looked closer at the stones, using them as an excuse to move closer to Margot. Moss grew along the bottoms of them. He smelled violets, but that was Margot, not the stones. He reached for her hand.
But then they heard sounds of conversation and people approaching. Margot stepped away.
"I guess it's time to go back for dinner," she said.
"I guess so."
The expression in her deep blue eyes made him want to pick her up and carry her over his shoulder to a secluded place. Everyone was walking through the Circle, though, led by Matt and Erena, who were naked and holding hands. Bryce grinned at the parade of naked shifters, and Margot fell into step with them.
A wish for the future flickered before him—walking with Margot, holding her hand in the same way Matt held Erena's. They'd be walking here, where they both belonged, where Bryce was no longer an outlaw.
Once they were back at the Ring of Fire, Bryce waited while everyone loaded up plates. Gemma gave him a mock salute from her chair next to Rex, who was back from patrolling. He looked around—Parker was patrolling now, probably.
The entire clan seemed to have sloughed off their extra cares. Everyone wore bright faces from the run. Nolan and Ian both seemed less angry, although they stood on opposite sides of the fire pit.
Bryce edged toward Margot. He'd given her some time, some space, but their brief moment together in the Circle made him think maybe she'd had enough time to think.
Maybe it was time to act.
Plate in hand, Margot sat down next to an empty lawn chair, but Bryce could guess that was Nolan's spot. His half-brother was loading up a plate near the barbecue. Dread filling his gut, Bryce approached him. He didn't want to do this, but if he didn't, Ian would continue fighting for him, and that wasn't fair.
He reached Nolan's side and grabbed a plate for himself.
"Look, Nolan," Bryce said.
Nolan's ice-gray eyes flashed. His brother was a fucking glacier—cold, immovable. What the hell did he have to do to make peace between them?
"I got nothin' to say to you," Nolan said.
"No?" Bryce said. "Fine, then. You can listen."
"I take it back, I do have something to say." Nolan bit out the words. "Fuck you."
Bryce watched, shaking his head, as Nolan stomped away to sit next to Margot. Fuck him. Trying to make up with Nolan was like beating his head against the wall. So not worth it.
Bryce put some food on his plate, barely looking at what he was doing, then sat in an empty chair between Gemma and Jameson.
"Doing all right, Bryce?" Jameson asked.
Bryce nodded and tried to tear his eyes away from Margot and Nolan. Margot didn't love Nolan, he reminded himself. Whether or not Nolan knew that wasn't his business.
At least, that's what he tried to tell himself.
Jameson set down his plate and cleared his throat. The chatter around the fire pit died away as everyone drew their focus to the alpha.
Bryce watched as Jameson looked around at the assembled clan. Then he spoke.
"Margot," Jameson said. "You're going to Peru with Bryce."
Margot had been chewing her food, but she stopped and swallowed with difficulty. Her face went white. "Me?"
Jameson nodded. "You said yourself that your new manager—Kim—can handle the bakery."
"But...don't you want someone who can fight?"
"We're already sending Bryce," Jameson said. "This is a trip for information, not battle. I think the two of you will do nicely, and you can pretend to be a couple to throw off any suspicions about what you're doing."
"Wait, who would be suspicious?" Margot asked.
Jameson looked impatient, but he simply said, "I don't know. That's why you're going—you said you'd help the clan, and this is what I need you to do to help."
"Okay," Margot said, but she didn't look happy.
*
"C'MON," BRYCE SAID to Ian the next evening, "let's go to Cattywompus."
He and Margot would be leaving tomorrow for Peru, but he had to get out of here now. The last thing Bryce wanted to do was let Margot out of his sight, but he also couldn't handle her look of dismay. A whole day had passed since Jameson's announcement, and she didn't look any happier about the idea. Even now, she wasn't at the fire pit with everyone else eating dinner. It seemed like she'd been hiding from him.
Had their kiss meant nothing to her?
"No thanks," Ian said.
Bryce stopped short. He and Ian hadn't talked much since Bryce had announced he wanted to stay with the Rock Creek Clan. "What is it? I figured you'd be down. I know you're pissed about me wanting to stay here—"
"Nah, that's not it," Ian said. "I just don't want to pick up chicks. The woman I'm after—she won't be there."
Ian was after one woman in particular? Bryce raised his eyebrows, ready to ask questions.
Ian said, "Let's just grab some beers and chill here for a little while."
Bryce looked at him, bemused, but said, "Sure, okay."
When Ian was ready to talk about the woman he was after, Bryce would be all ears.
Beers in hand, they sat and looked at the fire crackling in the pit. In a low voice, he said, "I heard you defending me yesterday, to Nolan."
Ian shrugged. "He was wrong."
"Yeah, well, I appreciate it."
"I can forgive you for a lot, you know," Ian said. "Nolan can, too. But one thing he won't forgive is you swooping in on his girl."
Bryce closed his eyes. "She's not his."
"Yeah, well, tell him that, bro."
*
AS HE FELL INTO HIS bed that night, Bryce wished for the same thing he'd wished every night since he'd come here—he wished to visit Margot in his dreams. Once again, he got his wish.
This time, they met in the Circle, and he could see her, not just sense her. She stood naked before him, her back against one of the pine trees, her feet planted hip-width apart. Her eyes were closed, as if she was still asleep.
"What do you want?" he asked.
She opened her mouth and her pink tongue wet her bottom lip. "I want you to tell me what to do," she whispered.
Fuck yeah. He lived for these stolen, dreamy moments with her.
"Are you gonna let me watch this time?" he asked.
She nodded and opened her beautiful, deep blue eyes. "Yeah."
Whatever else was going wrong between them, he could at least fix it in his fantasies.