Cooper crawled under one of the older trucks to check the brakes. Simon complained about the handling going down the mountain, and even though Cooper figured out the problem in the steering column, he wanted to check the brakes, just in case. And he couldn’t face going inside the Lodge just yet.

Ever since Zoe had the baby, the little cub ruled the roost among the bears. They all acted like complete fools around the little girl, so it wasn’t the baby herself who bothered him. It was just... The bear part of him worried about the cub. Every time the cub cried, Cooper was jumping out of his skin to figure out why and to soothe the cub and make sure she was safe.

Except human babies cried all the time. She cried when she was hungry, or about to poop, or after she pooped, or if she was tired or cold or too warm, or just because she wanted to test her lungs and make everyone around her jump. So Cooper and his bear were constantly on edge, waiting for the cub to make more noise but dreading that that time it would be something truly dangerous.

Zoe, despite being kinda tiny even after doubling in size during the pregnancy, was the epitome of a mama bear—if her child was crying and anyone else in the vicinity looked like they might have caused it, Zoe charged. Simon was banished from the house at least twice a day for not taking Zoe seriously—and the first time he laughed at Zoe’s wide-eyed panic because the baby sneezed and scared herself and Zoe thought something had broken in her brain... Cooper shook his head. He was surprised Simon survived that particular mama bear episode.

So he spent more time in the woods and outside fixing the trucks, since Zoe hadn’t declared their separate cabin appropriate for a newborn. Cooper shook his head, almost gashing his head on some jagged metal under the truck. Once the truck was done, he didn’t have any chores to do, so he’d have to find something. Chopping wood was always a good option, though he thought he heard Finn lopping away at the logs. They needed another axe.

Maybe he could make a trip into town to buy another axe. Or three, since Noah would also need one. Ethan and Kira retreated to their treehouse, so they didn’t experience nearly as much anxiety when the cub hollered in the middle of the night. Cooper jumped as the phone buzzed in his pocket, and whacked his head against the axle.

He grumbled and scrambled out from under the truck, fishing for his phone as he wiped the grease and blood off his forehead. He didn’t recognize the number, so he answered a little more cautiously than he normally would. “Yeah?”

A long silence stretched as the connection crackled and skipped, then a gruff voice said, “Cooper, it’s your father.”

Cooper froze, his teeth already bared in a snarl. The son of a bitch. How dare he call? Cooper never wanted to talk to any of them ever again. He threw the wrench he still held against the side of the truck, and even the substantial clang didn’t make him feel better. “What the fuck do you want?”

“Watch your tone, cub,” his father growled in response, and waited as if expecting Cooper to apologize.

Well, Cooper found a lot more backbone and balls during his time in the Legion. He refused to apologize. But he didn’t hang up. If someone in the family was sick, he wanted to know. Depending on who it was, he’d either go back to say goodbye or he’d go back to dance on their fucking grave.

His father took an aggravated breath. “So you’re still an ornery, stubborn cuss.”

“What do you want?” Cooper took the swear out in the interest of getting to the point faster so he could hang up the goddamn phone and steal the axe from Finn to take his anger out on some logs. Or…fuck it. He’d go chop down a whole tree.

“It’s time, Cooper.” The old man sounded just as ornery as he claimed Cooper was. “Time for you to come pick up your wife.”

Pain exploded in Cooper’s temples as he ground his teeth, and he almost threw the phone across the gravel lot in front of the Lodge. No fucking way. “No. I’m not interested in marrying some kid, and I’m sure as hell not leaving my life here. I don’t want anything to do with any of you, and that’s it. Get Ace to marry her.”

“Ace is dead. Died fighting the wolves. Which is exactly why we need you to get your head right and come do your duty.”

Ace died? Cooper leaned against the truck as all the air left his lungs in a sudden rush. His little brother was the only one he still cared about. The rest... They deserved whatever they got from life. Cooper pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to focus. Just because Ace passed away didn’t mean that Cooper would walk back into that life like a lamb to slaughter. He’d gotten out of the mountains, gotten free, seen a different world and a different life. He wouldn’t go back.

“You’re the only one, Cooper,” his father went on, voice all gravel and ice. “If you don’t marry the girl, the alliance is broken and the leopards will break the truce with the bears. They could side with the wolves, then we would all be dead. Your entire family tree, uprooted and destroyed. Could you live with yourself, cub? Knowing you could have saved the family for at least another generation?”

“That’s not my responsibility, and I’m not the one who made up those ridiculous fucking rules about confirming the alliance. Maybe instead of bothering me, you all should have had more kids thirty years ago. Your lack of planning doesn’t constitute an emergency for me.” Cooper snarled, the bear aching to tear free so they could lose themselves in the forest and forget everything about his father and the girl waiting to marry him and Ace’s death.

His father took another deep breath. “Clear your thoughts and remember who you are, bear. Remember. You’ve got one day to decide. Call me back at this number and tell me when you’ll arrive. I know you’ll do the right thing.”

The call disconnected and left Cooper glaring at his cell phone. No telling how his father even found his number. Cooper cursed and slammed his fist into the back panel of the truck, leaving enough of a dent he knew Simon would notice. Which just made him angrier.

He turned as the gravel crunched and found Finn watching him, the axe resting on his shoulder. The quiet kid raised his eyebrows. “Problem?”

“You could say that.” Cooper shoved the phone in his pocket and ran his hands through his hair, whirling once more to stare out at the trees. Searching for a sign or something. Cooper took a deep breath. “My family is in some fucked-up alliance with leopards in the mountains out east. They’re trying to keep wolves out of their territory, and if something goes wrong, the leopards could side with the wolves and apparently all the bears would be killed. To keep the alliance going, every generation a bear has to marry a leopard.”

Finn made a thoughtful noise. “That’s some old-school shit.”

“Yeah.” Cooper closed his eyes. “And apparently I’m the only one available to marry the girl. They want me to show up there to marry her and continue the alliance. I’ve got one day to decide.”

“Damn.” Finn was a man of few words, which Cooper usually appreciated. The other bear leaned on the truck next to him, and fiddled with a toothpick as he pondered the mysteries of the universe. Eventually, he squinted at Cooper. “So what happens to the girl if you don’t go back?”

And that made Cooper stop short. He’d never thought about the girl much, even knowing it was a possibility this would eventually land in his lap. She faded into the overall anger and irritation at his family, as if she had a choice in the matter. Maybe she didn’t. Maybe she had less choice than he did. Cooper started feeling like a grade-A jackass. “I don’t know. I guess she’d be given to someone else, but the old man said I was the only one left.”

He stared at the trees, shaking his head. “Maybe she would go free and get a chance to live a normal life. Maybe they’d lock her up. With those families... there’s no telling.”

Finn nodded slowly, then rubbed his jaw. “Well, seems to me you have an opportunity to do something kind for someone.”

“Fuck the family. I don’t want to do shit for them.” Cooper scowled and the bear grumbled, ready to tussle with the younger bear if he kept spewing nonsense like that.

“I meant the girl,” Finn said, completely unruffled. “Yeah, it might help out your family and that’s pissing you off, but you could be saving this girl from a lifetime of misery. What if they hand her off to some old creep? What if she never gets to leave? You can at least bring her back here and then set her free, if that’s what needs to happen. You could be a hero, Cooper, to this girl. It’s something to think about.”

He straightened and hefted the axe, meandering back toward the log pile, though he didn’t get far before Cooper muttered, “When did you get so fucking smart?”

Finn just smiled and whistled a melancholy tune as he focused in on the logs once more. Cooper watched him for a few long moments, debating what he’d said but also worrying about the other bear a touch. Since Simon and Ethan and Tate found their mates and a happily ever after, Finn withdrew, growing quieter and more distant. He spent more time in the woods than any of them, and more often than not was in his bear form. Cooper wondered if they’d end up losing him to the wild.

He shoved away from the truck and headed into the Lodge to talk to Simon. The alpha bear would definitely have an opinion on the matter, and if Cooper intended to go back home and steal the girl away, he might need backup. Or a better truck.