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He nodded his head. “Good. Then, let’s head back. We’ve got one hell of a mess to clean up.”
22
RAVEN
“I promise you, Miss Gloria, we’re going to make them pay. Those bears won’t get away with this.”
“Come with me, Mr. Rowland. Colin was a massive canner, so I’m sure he’s got some lovely items in the basement of the house that we can use to put a stew together.”
“Amelia! Come with me! We need to find some things to drape over these bodies!”
Red and green. The colors of Christmas. The colors of the holidays. I remembered back to a time where Mom and Dad spent hours decorating our house inside and out. Even with winter approaching sooner rather than later, the grass all around the mountains stayed green. The pine trees that blanketed the side of the mountains were emerald beacons through the white patches of snow and ice.
And yet, as I stood there staring at the ground, the blood that stained the grass erased all of those memories.
Red and green will never be the same again.
“Raven?” Brody asked.
I didn’t bother lifting my gaze to his. “Yeah?”
“Why don’t you come inside? Mr. Rowland is throwing a nice stew together. You can get yourself a hot meal.”
I shook my head softly. “Not hungry.”
“Raven.”
“You may be their alpha, but you’re not mine. Mind your tone.”
And that was when his hand took mine. “Come inside. There’s no reason for you to witness this.”
I pulled away from him. “Yes, there is.”
“What purpose does it serve, then? Hmmm?”
Then slowly, I lifted my eyes to his. “It will forever serve as a reminder that I have no place here that isn’t innately destructive.”
He sighed. “Raven, you know that isn’t true.”
“Look around you, Brody,” I said as I held out my arms. “Who do you think is responsible for this?”
“The bears up in the mountains.”
“And me.”
He shook his head softly. “There’s really nothing I can do to make you stay?”
My gaze fell back to the ground. “No.”
“Then, let me offer you some free advice.”
I scoffed. “Sure. Shoot.”
“If you force yourself to be responsible for everything, then nothing will ever get solved. Especially when you know you aren’t the problem.”
His words struck hard against my chest. “I hear you.”
“That’s all I ask. Now, let’s go inside. I already smell that stew cooking, so it shouldn’t be too long now.”
