Page 39 of Lion Conquers All
The forested land and shale-covered hillside flew by in a white hazy blur. More snow was falling, but he knew where he was going. He didn’t have to see everything.
Except the damn bear right in front of him.
Dalmeck.
He swerved, just missing the big brown fifteen hundred pound predator that wasn’t happy to see him. The bear took a swipe at him and Ryder dodged, barely missing getting a chunk of his flank ripped apart.
The bear roared and Ryder pushed harder, putting as much distance between him and the fast-moving grizzly as possible. He shot out into a small clearing. The wind hit him hard in the open space, but he never quit running.
The bear was breathing hard, but keeping pace. Another roar fed Ryder’s adrenaline and he howled again, this time with a warning for the boys to watch out. The last thing he needed was them tangling with a bear.
Answering howls this time were so much closer than he thought they would be.
A trio of wolves shot out of the forest line toward him, headed straight for the bear.
Ryder slid to a halt and turned to try and head them off. They were being stupid. Grizzly bears were not to be messed with.
The bear had stopped in the center of the clearing and the three massive wolves were circling. Growls rumbled through the clearing, both wolf and bear. They called them boys, but their wolves were full grown now like his and easily weighed in at four or five hundred pounds. They were the same height as the bear, but much leaner and much faster.
They dashed in and out, biting and slashing the big predator until it was panting and bleeding.
Ryder stayed back.
They were a team and the three wolves moved together like one entity. It was a beautiful thing to watch. He was proud of how far they’d come over the year they’d been here—from unsettled unruly boys into a loyal tight-knit group who would take on a grizzly to protect him.
The bear was down in ten minutes.
One of the boys shifted and walked toward Ryder, the wind and the snow swirled around the young man’s face and whipped through his long dark hair—Callum had grown into a man.
Ryder shifted too, walking to meet him. They embraced.
“You let bear get the better of you.” Callum’s words were smoother than last time they’d spoke. He’d been practicing.
“Yes, it was a lazy mistake.” He patted Callum on the back and they separated.
“We will eat well for several days.” Callum shrugged and looked over his shoulder at the bear and his brothers. “They are easier to kill when on flat ground. And that one is a particularly nasty bastard. He likes to bother the human campers.”
“Good kill then.”
“Yes.” Callum met Ryder’s gaze again. “We saw Di’Rham this morning. And now you are on the mountain in a building storm. Why?”
“There are two missing children. Teens. A boy and a girl. They would look like campers. Aarav said he saw you. Were you watching that group of boys?”
“Yes. We visited with them several times.”
Ryder’s heart climbed into his throat. “What?”
“Don’t choke on your tongue, we were shifted and dressed appropriately. We have clothes stashed on the mountain here and there. The Tragher boys camp out here often. They are—” Callum paused as if searching for the right word. “We like them. They are fun.”
“Your language is much improved since we last spoke. I assume they are not the only humans you are interacting with?”
“We are careful. We know the rules. We shift far away and hike in when we interact with people. No one sees our secret.”
“You know you’re welcome in the Tribe if you want to come down off the mountain.”
Callum nodded, his face an emotionless mask. “We know.”
“Have you seen a pair of young campers? They are missing. Not checking in with their parents. The whole town of Mystery and Anchorage SAR is about to crawl all over this mountain. They are waiting for the storm to blow past.”
