Chapter 18
When Mattox came out of the barn, he rested his elbow on Azer's shoulder again. “So that's the plan. Can you get on board with that?”
“You bet! I can't wait to get it all started.”
Mattox gazed across the blistering yard toward the house. Rex sat in a rocking chair on the porch. Lyric came out of the house just then. She wiped her hands on her apron. “It's lunch time. We'll start the round-up after we get something to eat.”
Azer paused on the threshold to glance at him. “Thanks for taking the time to explain it all to me. You didn't have to do that.”
Mattox's expression softened. “I don't know how many times I have to tell you, Azer. You're part of this, and I'm not doing it without you.”
Azer grinned. “That's what I mean. This means a lot to you, and you took the time explain it well enough that now it means a lot to me. Papa was right. You're the best man to lead this tribe. I understand that now.”
Mattox gave him another clap on the shoulder. “You go on up to the house. I'll be right behind you.”
“Aren't you coming up for lunch?”
“I'm coming. There's just something I've got to do first.”
“Let me help you, whatever it is.”
Mattox shook his head. His eyes squinted into the blazing sun outside. “Sorry, man. I appreciate the offer, but I've got to do this on my own.”
Azer strode into the bright light, but Mattox hung back. Every sense prickled with alarm. The bear in his soul picked up Riskin's scent in the barn the moment he first walked through the door. Mattox kept Azer busy all morning. He kept his so busy Azer never mentioned Riskin once, but Mattox couldn't stop thinking about him.
Riskin didn't show his face, but Mattox felt him lingering not far away. Danger kept him on his toes, even while he showed Azer a casual face. Riskin was watching him and laying for a fight.
Heat waves shimmered across the scene and gave it a watery, dreamy appearance. Lyric gazed across the fields and yards to the corral where Mattox's cattle meandered around. A smile touched her lips, and her eyes sparkled. Sadness no longer shaded her eyes.
His heart exploded with love, not only for Lyric, but for the whole Mackenzie tribe. Green fields of grass and trees waved in the breeze. Birds keened in the sky above, and the black forests of Bruins' Peak hovered in the distance. He was home.
In that moment, he understood everything. This was it. Mattox caught Riskin's scent one more time. Mattox could almost put out his hand to touch him.
Riskin would choose this moment to challenge him. The whole scene played out in front of his eyes. He saw himself step out of the barn into the open. Lyric smiled and waved to him with more love and happiness in her eyes than ever. Riskin came out of the barn to block his path.
Mattox followed every movement he and Riskin made. He saw his own arms slice through the air and his fists land on Riskin's body. Two bears roared and slashed each other with their teeth. They batted each other with their claws, and Riskin fell.
Mattox loomed over him, gigantic and fuming, until Riskin ran away in defeat. Peace and tranquility descended over Mackenzie country. Lyric dashed off the porch and threw herself into Mattox's arms. They climbed the steps together, and he and Lyric and Rex and Azer went home together.
He hesitated, but not from fear or hatred. Nothing could spoil this moment's beauty. He savored it as long as it lasted. Once he got past Riskin, nothing could drive him away from this place for the rest of his life. His family, his heart, his whole future waited for him on that porch. All he had to do was get there.
At last, he released a long breath. He took one step out of the barn. The sun hit him full in the face and made him squint. He fought to keep his eyes open against the glare. He had to keep every sense alert right now. The sun burned his forehead and dried the sweat on his neck.
At that moment, a shadow lanced across his path. A head and two arms attached to a broad chest. Mattox didn't have to turn around. It was Riskin.
Dead silence blocked out every other sound. Nothing but Mattox's pulse pounding in his veins disturbed the moment. Riskin stepped into the open, and Mattox turned around to face him.
The two Bruins came face to face in matched hostility. Mattox dwelt in Riskin's smoldering eyes. He couldn't hate this man. Riskin played a part in the destiny of Bruins' Peak. He couldn't do anything else. He had to challenge Mattox, and he couldn't do anything but lose.
Out of nowhere, Mattox heard Azer's voice. “There you are, Riskin. We were wondering what happened to you. Hey, you should see Mattox's plans to breed the herds. I still can't believe it. When you see it, you'll understand why he's got to be our new Alpha. Come on and get some lunch, and then we can show you. You're gonna love it.”
He babbled on until Mattox blinked. He laid a hand on Azer's shoulder and gave it a gentle push. “Go back up on the porch, Azer, and don't come down until I say.”
Azer's head shot up. “What?” He looked back and forth between the two men facing off. “Oh. Okay.”
Tension racked Mattox's body, but it held him calm. He didn't shake or fidget. He only stared into the depths of Riskin's soul. He understood every thought and emotion tumbling in the young man's heart. Mattox cared so much for him, but he had no choice but to play out his own destiny. He was Alpha. This man challenged him, bear to bear and man to man. He couldn't let that challenge pass without answering it.
This was the moment. Which one of them would make the first move? Riskin's lips twitched. He searched Mattox's face with the same fiery intensity. His shoulders heaved with tightening muscles. He braced himself to land the first blow.
That blow never came. Mattox brought his knee up hard between Riskin's legs and smashed it with all his might into Riskin's groin. Riskin doubled over with a tortured grunt.
The next minute, black fury took the place of the pain. He roared his challenge at Mattox and launched himself up with both arms flying. He slammed both fists upward under Mattox's chin and sent him careening back. In a flash, he rocketed toward him and pummeled him with his fists.
Mattox took a moment to recover. By that time, Riskin attacked him with such ferocious energy he almost won the day. He gave Mattox no time to think. He punched him in rapid fire succession in the gut and face. He smashed Mattox's nose back into his face and sent lights bursting through his brain.
Mattox stumbled back in confusion, and Riskin let him go. In that fraction of a second, Riskin reared back. His chest exploded out of itself, and his shoulders blew up to enormous masses of pulsating muscle. His mouth gaped wide, and the thunderous roar shivered the Homestead to its roots.
Riskin raked the sky with his fingernails, and the next minute, a massive bear took his place. Shaggy brown fur sprouted from his skin, and pointed fangs glistened between his powerful jaws.
The sound of his guttural bellow worked on Mattox's brain the way no punch ever could. The hidden Bruin soul in his chest woke to that sound. He couldn't leave that call unanswered.
The tremor rocking through him knocked him off his feet. He hit the ground and rolled backward, but his mind ceased to function as a man. He was Bruin, and he had to fight this battle Bruin to Bruin.
The pain and confusion of Riskin punching him submerged under thick furred skin. His skull protected him from any thought of defeat. He would conquer. He couldn't do anything else.
He rolled onto his stomach, and when he planted all four limbs on the ground to push himself up, his claws dug into the hard-packed dirt. His chest and back and neck bristled with power and unstoppable muscle to dwarf even his giant frame.
The moment he got his legs under him, he flew at Riskin with claws and fur flying. He hit Riskin in mid-air and barreled him back faster than he came on in the first place. He threw all his great weight on Riskin and doubled his hind legs under him to claw Riskin to shreds.
Riskin screamed, but Mattox mangled his face and cheeks and neck with his jaws so Riskin couldn't fight back. Riskin tried to kick him off, but Mattox stood on Riskin's belly and dug in his claws to tear him limb from limb.
Riskin managed to twist sideways, and Mattox's four feet hit the ground. Riskin contorted under him and scrambled free before Mattox could hold him still. Riskin darted a few steps away and whirled on close one more time.
The whole scene played out exactly the way Mattox foresaw. He relived the moment in surreal clarity. Destiny danced him around Riskin on puppet strings. It moved his body to slash at Riskin and bellow at him with that deep Bruin roar. He collapsed into the gravitational force pulling him toward Fate's ultimate conclusion.
Not even Riskin's counterattack could stop that now. Riskin circled on his back foot to launch himself under Mattox's chin. Mattox bent low, but he stood taller than Riskin by inches. Riskin took advantage of Mattox's size to swoop in and dive upwards at Mattox's neck.
Before Mattox could recover, Riskin closed his jaws around Mattox neck. The air cut off in Mattox's throat. He went wild with thrashing and flailing, but he couldn't shake Riskin off.
Panic robbed him off his ability to think. He couldn't get enough air to keep himself alive. In one last ditch effort to free himself, he scratched his claws along Riskin's back. His razor-sharp talons combed through Riskin's fur and caught in his flesh.
Riskin grunted in agony, but he didn't slacken his hold an inch. He clamped down hard, and Mattox stopped breathing. Mattox's mind spun to come up with something, anything, to get that terrible tightness off his neck. He couldn't go down like this. He had to do something.
His vision swam. He caught sight of Azer, Lyric, and Rex on the porch. They watched the fight from a great distance away. Whoever won this challenge would rule, while the other bled to death in the dust.
Mattox felt his life slipping away from him. Riskin would choke him to death, and that would be that. The strength sapped from his enormous body until he couldn't lift his paw.
He tumbled backward and slammed against the ground. In a flash, Riskin climbed on top of him to consolidate his hold on Mattox's throat. The death spasm caught hold of his limbs. With one last unconscious convulsion, Mattox kicked his four legs outward. He planted his feet against Riskin's chest and shoved.
Riskin's jaws ripped through his throat, but they didn't tear the great blood vessels or the windpipe. Hot blood gushed down Mattox's neck, but he couldn't pay attention to that now. He was free. He leapt up and rounded on Riskin in wicked rage.
Riskin licked Mattox's blood off his jaws. His eyes glowed with demonic fury. He doubled back and met Mattox in mid-leap. The two bears collided a foot off the ground, and that's all the advantage Mattox needed to turn the tide. His greater strength and weight overpowered Riskin and sent him sprawling.
Mattox didn't wait to see what happened. He unleashed his seething muscles on the smaller Bruin. He slashed and clawed and bit, and when Riskin got his head in the way to defend himself, Mattox knocked it out of the way with one jerk of his head.
Riskin never regained his feet. He tried again to twist and evade, but Mattox pinned him down. He drove in to slash Riskin's face with his teeth. He caught Riskin by the corner of his eye and ripped down along his cheek to his ear.
Riskin screamed one more time. Blood flooded over his eyes. He shook his head, but he couldn't see Mattox driving in for the kill. Mattox could have gone for the throat. He could have left Riskin dead on the field, but something stopped him just in time.
Instead, he drove into the other side of Riskin's face. He tore a flap loose from his cheek and shredded Riskin's ear. He ripped and slashed willy-nilly, but he never gave him the death stroke he deserved.
Riskin fought and struggled. Mattox clawed his belly to shreds. He sank his fangs into Riskin's shoulder and tore the ligaments from the bone so Riskin couldn't move his arm. He hooked his hind toe in Riskin's flank and tore down to the knee. He disabled him in every way but never seriously enough to threaten his life.
Riskin's enraged bellows turned to screams of pain and terror until Mattox at last took a giant bite of his other arm and squeezed. If he ripped those teeth out, Riskin would bleed to death. No one could save him. He held that bite and waited.
Riskin tensed when the sharp fangs sank home, but he didn't thrash and fight anymore. He went limp under Mattox's weight and lay still.
Mattox held him one second longer. Then he let out a low growl, loosened his teeth, and stepped clear. Riskin flopped over on his side. Blood darkened his fur all over his body and dripped into the dust. He couldn't see out of one eye, and he held one leg up when he tried to walk.
Mattox snorted. He strode in a circle and tossed his shaggy head. Then he jumped up on his hind feet and shifted to become a man again. He put one hand to his neck to check the wounds Riskin gave him and found four scratches angled down his skin, two on each side. They bled a lot, but they were nothing serious.
Riskin was a mess. Every part of him bled, and flaps of skin and muscle hung off his bones. Mattox snarled at him. “You challenged me, and winner take all. You got what you came for. Now, get out of here. Take what you have left and go home.”
Riskin couldn't stand on his hind legs to shift. He shifted on the ground and coughed on his hands and knees. Blood trickled down his nose. He cast a glance toward the porch. No one moved to help him.
He hugged his arm against his stomach and stumbled to his feet. He dragged one leg, and he couldn't run. He could only lurch away, behind the barn, toward the forest beyond.
As soon as the trees swallowed him up, Lyric rushed off the porch. She threw her arms around Mattox and held her apron to his neck. He kissed her hands. “It's all right. I'm all right.”
“Thank God you're all right.”
Mattox gazed toward the forest. “I hope he's all right, too.”
“He'll be okay. He'll go home, and they'll take care of him. You didn't kill him.”
Mattox nodded, but said nothing. Lyric tugged his arm. “Come on. Let's go home.”
He let her lead him onto the porch. Azer clapped him on the back and shook his hand. He whooped in excitement. “Did you see the way he ripped Riskin's eye? That was amazing!” He laughed and punched the air.
Rex got out of his chair to shake Mattox's hand. He pulled him into an embrace and slapped him on the back. Lyric slipped her arm around Mattox's waist and hugged him. Conversation flew fast and thick in all directions.
Lyric drew herself away from Mattox to throw the door open. She called over the bubble of voices. “Come on inside, all of you. Lunch is on the table.”
***THE END***