Page 9 of For Toron's Pride (Toron's Pride 1)

“Holt is dead,” the woman blurted.

Sienna gasped. She recalled the name when Stella mentioned it, something about two men fighting at a plant.

The woman went on. “W-We all feel it when Toron lets go of his power. If it’s out of control, it overwhelms us. Right now, he’s in trouble, and we have to gather around him to help him.”

Sienna left the woman at the door and yanked her bag open to find fresh clothes. She lugged them on and ran fingers through her tangled hair while searching for her brush. “Holt was…”

“Toron’s brother.”

For Toron's Pride

Chapter Five

Sienna stood at the back of the crowd. Every now and then, she got a quick glimpse through the doors to see Toron. His closed expression didn’t allter even while those around him sobbed and shouted in anguish. The little Sienna had been able to gather about Holt, he was a good man, gentle, and without a doubt, not alpha. He loved his people, and they loved him, most of all Toron. The fight he’d gotten into with the other shifter about fixing the books had gotten out of hand, and the other shifter had transformed and killed him. Nothing brought home to her more just how wild these people were and that they were not human.

When their leader stood in the community building watching over his little brother’s body, Sienna felt his pain just like everyone else. Toron didn’t cry, but the fact that even Sienna had trouble remaining on her feet, spoke volumes about his suffering.

People went in and out of the building, with more pushing to get inside. While there weren’t many people in this town, there were too many to all fit at once. Sienna waited her turn. She wanted to offer her condolences to Toron, but it felt like she’d lost her own little brother, and she was an only child. She pushed through the crowd, and the closer she came to Toron, the more weakness stole over her. At one point, she didn’t have the strength to go farther. She stopped where she was and peered in his direction. Stella stood on one side of him, and one of the men on the other.

Neither seemed to be of any use. In

fact, Stella sank to her knees and covered her face with her hands. Sienna frowned. Enough was enough.

She found a surge of energy and weaved her way through. When she reached his side, she slipped her hand in his. To her surprise, Toron gripped it as if it were a lifeline. They remained together saying nothing, and then she tugged on his hand. He leaned toward her, and she rubbed a thumb over the back of his hand.

“I know it hurts.” She paused to clear her throat and pulled in a deep breath. Now she knew why Stella and anyone else in Toron’s vicinity were useless. Power rolled off of him like he had opened the floodgates. She didn’t have to imagine how he felt. His pain weighed her down.

Sienna abandoned the gentle stroke in favor of squeezing his hand as hard as she could, just to clear some of the pressure. “We can’t take any more, Toron. You are not alone, but you are hurting your people.”

He blinked at her, confusion clear in his blank gaze. She found a spark of anger, small though it was, and smacked his cheek. He jerked back and scowled at her.

“Damn it, look around you. This isn’t their pain.” She swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “This isn’t mine. It’s yours. Nothing could convince me of how much you loved your brother than this, but we can’t take any more, Toron!”

Toron spun and scanned the room. His eyes widened, and she saw his comprehension, his remorse at what he’d done to his people. How powerful did a man have to be to affect an entire town’s emotions? The second he woke to what he’d done, the pressure dissipated, and a collective sigh spread in a wave over the crowd.

“Everyone outside, please,” Toron announced, and no one had to be told twice. They were relieved to go and take a break from the torment they had experienced. Sienna started to walk away, but Toron took her hand again. “Not you.”

She longed to go with the others but stayed where she was.

When the door closed behind the last person, Toron raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. Then he drew her into his arms. “Thank you. All I seem to have shown you is my weaknesses.”

He must be crazy. “I’ve seen nothing but strength.”

“That’s the inheritance of the alpha. Anyone becoming the leader of the pride, today or tomorrow would take it on to protect the people. I abused it.”

“You had reason to. You couldn’t predict how you would react to losing him.”

He released her and hitched his shoulders, pushing his hands into his pockets. “I could have when I lost my father.”

She put a hand to her mouth.

“I was too young to accept leadership, but I remember the anguish, ten times worse than what I feel now.” He looked down at his brother. Sienna noticed they hadn’t laid him in a coffin. The resting place was more like a bed, and his brother looked like he was just taking a nap, not lying in that more familiar ritual of folded hands and dressed in a suit. In a way, the shifter’s tradition was less jarring.

“He was everything to me,” Toron said. “He promised that someday I would take over the pride and that he would be there to help me. Holt never aspired to be an alpha because it would mean he would have to leave.”

“What do you mean?”

“There can only be one.”

---