Easily lifting two children into his arms as he went down on one knee so the others could gather around, he kissed them all on the cheek, squeezed them hard one by one, murmured reassurance that they were still clan, still his. He could only stay a minute or two, but that time was necessary.

These cubs were also becoming stressed in a way that made him beyond furious.

Leaving them chattering happily, he stepped into the small cave that was acting as this group’s infirmary. He saw Artem at once; the young male was on his knees beside a comfortable mattress on which an unconscious Jovan had been laid. There was a bed in the room, but the injured boy had been placed on the mattress—which lay directly on the floor—because Sergey and the others obviously knew Artem was too weak to stand for long.

Tamping down his fury with conscious effort of will, Valentin strode to the trainee. “I’m here now, Tyoma.” He put one hand on Artem’s shoulder as he spoke the affectionate nickname, the other on Jovan’s uninjured shoulder. “Take what you need.”

A sob from Artem, tears rolling down his bloodless face. But he was a healer to the bone, swallowed his pain to work on the wounded boy. The primal energy of the clan ran from Valentin to Artem and from Artem to Jovan, changed by healer alchemy to be what the body needed to mend itself. Valentin barely felt the draw, the entire strength of the clan behind him . . . even that of the broken shards.

Because he hadn’t lied to the cubs who played down the corridor: These bears were still his even if they didn’t want to be, their animals reaching out to be part of StoneWater. If there had been a total break, he wouldn’t be able to do this, wouldn’t be able to help Artem heal his clanmate.

His phone vibrated in his pocket about ten minutes later. Ignoring it, he continued to hold contact with both Jovan and Artem. The healer finally stopped working on Jovan a half hour after that, his trembling body collapsing into Valentin.

Wrapping the young male in his arms, Valentin pressed his lips to the boy’s hair.

Over the worn-out healer’s head, he checked on Jovan. His stomach wounds were closed, and he was breathing far easier. “Rest now.” He held Artem against him until the healer’s body grew lax, his breathing even.

Scooping up Artem’s far-too-light form in his arms once the healer was asleep, he laid his clanmate down on the unused bed. He was aware of Sergey and his mate hovering in the doorway, but neither interrupted as he pulled the blanket over their son and made sure he was comfortable. Returning to Jovan’s side, he brushed the hair off the boy’s face, spoke to him, because an alpha’s voice was especially important when a clanmate was wounded.

Getting to his feet only after he was sure both the wounded boy and healer were in a deep natural sleep, he headed to the doorway. “I need to get back to the clan.”

Sergey swallowed at his curt tone, stepped back, his mate Enja doing the same. The space behind them was filled with a large number of the adults who’d left. But it was shy Enja who spoke, her voice tremulous. “Are Jovan and my son . . . ?”

“They’ll both be fine,” Valentin reassured her.

When he spoke to the man who’d precipitated the breaking of StoneWater, however, it was in a much harsher tone; as of today, the time for private talks was over. “Don’t allow Artem to get to that state again.” His bear was in his eyes, in the claws that erupted from his skin. “He’s your son, but he is also a gift to the clan. Look after him, or I’ll send someone here who’ll make sure of it.”

The older man looked as if he’d been struck.

Valentin didn’t take any pleasure from the reaction—but it was one thing to be stupid and angry and full of hate toward Valentin, quite another to let a young trainee healer get to Artem’s current state. “I’ll be back tomorrow to check on him.” Jovan would be fine, but Artem would keep giving and giving until he snapped.

Not trusting himself to speak any further, he began to stride out.

A young woman sobbed and stumbled into his arms. He crushed her to him, ran his hand over her hair. A gentle submissive, she was here out of loyalty to her mate, rather than because she’d wanted to leave. Valentin felt only love for her, well aware the competing needs inside her had to be tearing her apart.

However, when he spoke, it was to all of them. “Small bears, you have ten seconds to leave the area and go to the nursery.”

Only after that order had been followed, the little ones out of earshot, did he continue. “Denhome is open to you anytime you decide to come back.” Then he made the most painful decision of his life as alpha—because what tonight had shown him was that this situation wasn’t just deeply hurtful to him and his clan; it was dangerous.

It was time.

“But,” he said, “I can’t have you camped here anymore. You need to acknowledge an alpha so your young will thrive rather than turning on one another.” Bears were predators, big and powerful.

They could do a hell of a lot of damage to each other.

“You also need an alpha so your healer is safe.” Several of the adults dropped their heads in shame. “Most dangerous is that you can’t hold this territory, which means I have to assign extra clan resources to secure the border. The instant I withdraw the patrols, the wolves will see it as a weak point to claw more territory for themselves.”

Selenka was holding to their negotiated truce, but wolves were predators just like bears. Sooner or later, one of her border sentries would figure out that this wasn’t simply a satellite part of the clan, but a broken shard of it. At that point, he’d have to rely on BlackEdge’s better nature—and despite what bears liked to mutter, the wolves could be civilized. It would, however, last only so long.

Wolves were wolves as bears were bears, and changelings could only claim what they could hold. That law existed for a reason.

“You have a month to get off this land or to find yourself an alpha who will help you defend it against the wolves and against StoneWater.” Because the instant they brought in another alpha, they became an unknown force in his territory.

Total silence around him.

It was an older woman who finally broke the shocked silence. “Valya, you wouldn’t . . .”

He knew her. She’d been a friend of his mother’s. He’d played in her cave as a child. “I have a clan to protect,” he said, still holding the yet-trembling clanmate who’d come to him. “You can choose to be part of that clan, or you can choose to leave. There is no middle ground.” He’d given them eight months longer than anyone else would’ve done. “One month.”

Releasing his clanmate, who was now sobbing in huge gulps, Valentin walked out. His heart hurt, but it had to be done. He wouldn’t endanger those who chose to be clan for the sake of those who couldn’t—wouldn’t—forgive the past.

Chapter 36

I will guide this clan. I will cherish my clanmates.

I will dispense justice. I will offer love.

And I will hold StoneWater’s secrets as my own.

I take this oath on my honor.

—Part of the oath spoken by Zoya Vashchenko, Interim Alpha of StoneWater

SILVER WAS OVERWHELMED by a sense of peace when she walked into Denhome. It was noisy here, her head full of countless voices, but it was home in a sense her apartment had never been. That had been a place to sleep and to keep her things.