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Brooks stared into the woods before him. Shit. She’d seen him. Running his hand roughly over his hair, he tried to calm his erratic heartbeat.
    So what if she’ d seen him? Riker had to know the Long Claws were here already. Brooks had wanted to study the battlefield to assess any unnecessary risks in the meadow he’d chosen.
    What the hell was that fool woman thinking, coming out here alone? Sure, the alliance didn’t end until midnight tonight, and by shifter law, they couldn’t fight before the battle tomorrow morning, but still. His people weren’t exactly known for minding the rules.
    She could’ve gotten herself killed.
    Wait. Why the fuck did he care? If she was dumb enough to go traipsing through the woods on the eve before battle alone, she was beyond his helping.
    Why wouldn’t his damned heart sto p trying to leap from his chest? When he’d seen her, he had felt…something. The temptation to peek around the tree and see if she was still on the other side of the clearing was so great, his insides were being shredded with every moment that he stood hidden in the shadows of the forest.
    He hadn’t been able to tell her eye color from this distance, but they were light. Wide and pretty, and he perceived shock in them when she’d seen at him. There was a spark of something there before he’d ducked behind the tree. Her chestnut colored hair was long and shone with bronze highlights in the sun, and her skin was fair and fragile, like porcelain.
    Despair struck him in the gut. She would die tomorrow. How could anyone so fra il survive what was coming for her clan?
    Closing his eyes, he muttered an oath and rocked his head back against the tree. He didn’t have time or energy to waste on worrying over the enemy. She was a part of the clan who had killed Nathan. She was the problem , and Brooks would wield his vengeance like a sword at dawn.
    The woman would have to die, and the weak sympathies inside of him would have to be suppressed.
    He limped away, but here, he was able to. Back at camp, he’d have to appear as strong as the Long Claw alpha was supposed to. Alpha challenges had been brutal and bloody, and Omar had ripped into the tendons of his leg just before Brooks’ victory. Bad timing, but he wouldn’t let it slow him down.
    He’d had worse.
    With one last glance back to the sliver of clearing that still showed through the thicket of trees, he made his way back to the trail that would lead to his clan’s camp.
    If he saw the woman tomorrow, he couldn’t hesitate. If at dawn, she stood between him and victory, he would kill her.
    ****
    “Come on,” Anya whispered. “It’s dangerous for us to be out here alone.”
    “You aren’t alone,” a deep baritone voice sounded behind them.
    Startled, Corin was rattled free of her daydream. Chase stood against a tree with his arms crossed. Disapproval was written all over his face and Corin cowered, exposing her neck.
    “Cut that shit out, Corin. You can’t be doing that tomorrow morning. I’m depending on you to have Anya’s back, not expose it. Find your fight, girl.” He turned and called over his shoulder, “If you decide to come prancing around the battlefield, do bring an escort. A brown bear at the very least.”
    She couldn’t tell exactly what he said after that , but she was pretty sure he called her a runty black bear . Not kind.
    She flipped him off behind his back and he growled like he could see h er. When she looked at Anya, her friend had sucked her lips into her mouth and looked like she was stifling a smile. Chase did this kind of crap in training all the time, and it was downright unsettling. The man could always tell when she was slacking, even if he wasn’t looking at her.
    Raise your knees higher, Corin.
    Stop talking, Corin.
    I said twenty-five push-ups, Corin. You only did seven.
    Roll your eyes at me again and you’ll do three more laps. Okay, three more laps, Corin.
    The man’s instincts were obnoxious.
    She kicked