"Hannah," Ryker began, "we've never really talked about that day out on the boundary road when the three of us first met."
Hannah nodded slowly. "No, we haven't, have we? It was a pretty full day for me."
"It was, and you've handled it all beautifully." Bastian reached out to place his hand on hers. "I'm not sure there are many women in this world who would learn that there are such things as shifters in the world, in such a violent way, and still retain a sense of humor."
"It's hard to disbelieve something you've seen with your own eyes," Hannah said quietly. "I could have blamed it on the concussion I guess, but I would have been lying to myself. I know what I saw."
Ryker reached for her free hand. "You walked into an argument that has been raging for thirty years. It was a battle that started between my fathers and Ash's. I'm guessing that you've figured out that there is no love lost between that man and us."
Hannah huffed a quick laugh. "That's putting it mildly! You threatened to kill him, and I took that to mean you two weren't likely to meet for beer and pool anytime soon. Every time since then that I have brought the two of you up in conversation with Ash, he manages to sidestep the issue or ignore it completely."
Ryker grumbled low, a sound that was very much more bear than man. "Damn it!"
Hannah flinched. "What?"
"You're still talking to that prick, and I want to demand that you stop. I want to somehow erase the fact you ever knew that fucker and then I want to lock you in a room upstairs, tied to our bed. Naked."
"Hey—"
"But," Ryker said louder, ignoring Hannah's burst of outrage, "I know that will not get me anything but a pissed off mate and an eternal case of blue balls that might actually prove fatal."
Hannah huffed in indignation. "Too damn right it would. If I left you with your balls in the first place, they would be blue for a really long time."
Bastian laughed as he lifted their mate’s arm to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. "I love that you don’t take any of his shit. But back to why we have this issue with Ash. His family believes they have a right to Blackwater Falls."
Hannah frowned. "But they don't?" Bastian heard the question in her tone. He had wondered if Ash had already talked to her, attempting to sway her to his favor, but apparently not.
"No, they don't," Ryker answered. "Years ago, my fathers’ aunt left Blackwater Falls to seek her mates. Or at least that was what Emily's family were led to believe. She had often talked about traveling the country. They discovered, however, that somehow Ash's father, Harford, had forced a mating with her."
Hannah flinched. "Forced?"
Bastian sighed. "Yes, forced. We didn't even know it was possible to force a mating, but apparently with the right spell and coercion techniques, it is. They literally dragged Emily back to town, tied to the back of a horse."
"Oh, my God, that's horrible!" Hannah looked horrified, and Bastian couldn't blame her.
"Harford came strutting forward," Ryker continued the story, his voice tight with anger, "and stood before our dads, proclaiming that he had mated to the Blackwater Falls princess and that gave him and the rest of his pack rights to our lands. The fucker even taunted my parents and told them to scent their sister and see for themselves that the mating bond was in place. As the war was about to break out between the two factions, members of the Shifter Council arrived."
"Who are they?" Hannah asked in a quiet voice.
"They are like our governing body," Bastian said. "They set our laws and pass judgment on those who break them. They will also step in and mediate between factions if there is an issue, which there most certainly was in our case. One of the council elders, a man by the name of John Chubbuck, turned up that day. Harford had called them to witness the mating and make his claim to Blackwater righteous."
"Chubbuck knew Harford for what he was," Ryker continued, "an opportunistic, lying, never worked an honest day in his life, asshole. He came with another man who could help identify black magic."
Hannah gasped. "Black magic? Is there really such a thing? Hell, of course, there is." Bastian grinned as she answered her own query. "There are shifters in the world, so it would make sense that there are witches and warlocks, too. So, Chubbuck brings someone with him who can sense or see magic, and what happens?"
"They discover that the mating bond between Harford and Emily was not a true mating," Bastian said. "Harford had paid a coven to assist him with a spell to force the mating. Then he raped our great-aunt just to get a piece of this town."
"What happened to Emily?" Hannah asked quietly.
Ryker sighed. "She passed into the arms of our ancestors soon after. Some say because of the magic that was used against her, others because she was embarrassed about what happened. Either way, Harford's actions took one of our clan."
"But why?" Hannah asked. "Why cast your soul to damnation by doing something so insidious?"
Bastian could see that his mate was upset, so he walked around the counter and pulled her up into his arms. "Blackwater Falls is built on grounds rich with natural resources." Bastian continued to talk as he carried their mate back to their bedroom. "We had this geologist tell us years ago that the land around our town is worth millions. Harford and his pack want to mine it. We don't."
Hannah sighed and snuggled into his chest. "Good. The thought of tall metal monstrosities scarring the forest, or worse, completely cutting it all down, makes me ill."
"Us too, sweetness," Ryker said from behind them. "We would never do that to our land. It means too damn much to us."
