Pride Unleashed (a Wolf's Pride novel, book 2) (30 page)

“Oh don’t worry, Pride.
It won’t be so bad.
”

I
flip over and
brace myself on my hands and knees, barely able to comprehend what he’s saying.
My nostrils flare
,
my lips curl back to expose sharp canines
, and if I didn’t have my collar on, I’d shift and make a clean kill
right here and now.
A
nd not even the six guns pointed at me from
above
w
ould
be able to
stop me
before I ripped his throat out
.

He looks at me like he’s throwing me a bone when he says,
“
After all, it
is
female instinct to breed with the strongest male isn’t it, Pride?”

Blind panic fills me
as I work to digest his words
.
“What are you
getting at
?”
I
spit out
and don’t care what kind of abuse he’s about to dole out for my behavior.

His back straightens and he levels me with a glare.
“W
hoever wins gets to claim you as his mate
, of course.”

I
fight down a
dark
shudder but still
can’t shake the
bone
-
deep
cold
turning my blood to ice
as I pace restlessly around my cell.
I
mpatience runs
heavy in my
veins
,
and only one thought keeps rattling around inside my brain
: get the master key and
free
the wolves before Logan and Stone
are
forced
to
fight to the death.

I
wring my hands together and
frantically
work to
calm
my thoughts.
I have to clear
my
mind and
keep my vision
focused
on my mission if I
want
to pull it off.
Failure is not an option,
otherwise tomorrow will end in bloodshed
and I
refuse to
let that happen
.
I w
on’t
let anyone else die at the hands of the master because of me.

Once
the upstairs has grown quiet and
I’m sure Sandy is asleep
in her bunk,
I let myself out of my cage and climb back into the ventilation system.
Moving with speed
I
retrace my steps to the
master’s office.
I try to quiet my rapid heartbeat
as I
approach
and
valiantly struggle
to keep my breathing regulated as panic threatens to overtake me.

Soon enough t
he scent of the master overwhelms m
y senses and my blood curdles like spoiled milk.
T
hat’s when I know I’m near.
I crawl to
ward
the
shaft
at the end of the tunnel, the one that will lead me directly to his office.
When I
see light filtering in the
vents
a hot wave of dread hits me.
There is only one reason
his
light
would
be
on.

He’s inside.

With his presence putting a crimp in my plan,
I slow my pace and slide along the duct until I can peer through the plastic slats.
When I see the master sitting
alon
e
at his desk my wolf howls
with pleasure
,
and that’s when it
suddenly
dawns
on me.
This turn of events isn’t a bad thing after all.
Finding him inside alone provides me the perfect opportunity
to
let
my wolf
off her leash so she can
crash through the wall, go for his throat, and end this once and for all.

Instincts sharpened, I can feel her pulling at me, cl
awing
her way from my body.
My nails elongate and my snout punches from my
mouth
, but when heavy footsteps herald the arrival of someone else, I crouch low, hush my
blood hungry
wolf and wait
in hiding
.

The master glances
toward his door,
and
the heavy lines around his eyes fold as he
smiles
.
And
when he gestures with a wave, an indication for his visitor to have a seat, my heart goes into my throat and I clamp my hand over my mouth to keep myself from screaming.
 

I don’t need to see hi
s visitor to
know who he is.
His smell hits me like a hard
fist to the gut
and curls around my body like a deadly serpent
.
Fear rushes through me
and my mind rebels,
some small coherent part of my brain
letting me know
I was right all along—th
ere
really are
things
going on
inside the mansion
that
I d
on’t want to know
—t
hings I might not be able to handle.

Even with
the turmoil shutting down my ability to think with any sort of clarity, it doesn’t go unnoticed by me that the master is
smiling, welcoming this visitor like they’re old friends.

Waves of nausea flood my stomach and it takes every ounce of willpower I have not to vomit.
Sweat breaks out on my body, despite the cool air rushing through the ducts
and
chilling
my flesh.

I press my hands to my ears to still my racing mind, and as I block out the world and all its cruelties, Stone
’s
words of
warning
pierce
my thoughts.
“
Run.
It isn’t safe for you here
anymore.
”

Is this what he was trying to protect me
from?

Then my thoughts
race a million miles a minute
only to
settle on
Mario
.
I take a quick moment to
recall
the
words
he spoke to me in the elevator
.
“
Do
you have any idea w
hat’s waiting for you on the outside?
Or even on the inside?”

All along
I thought he was referring to
the
master, and never once stopped to consider that he was warning me about
the man who disappeared from my life when I was just a pup, a man I once called father.

I
brace my palms on the sides of the metal duct and
take deep breaths
as emotions ambush me
, desperate to slow my chaotic thoughts so I can hear what they’re saying.
What they’re planning.

I catch snippets of the conversation, and
as
the
piece
s
of the puzzle know
n
as my father come together
to
form a clear picture
it becomes glaring
ly
apparent
who
rules
all the new wolves in the courtyard
a
nd how these two brutal men are
creat
ing
a formidable army.
 

How could he have done this to his own kind?

His
wife?

His daughter
?

My wolf wails
and
my heart
seizes
.
Then I hear them discussing Gem.
The
master informs my father that he’s found the key to breaking her and come tomorrow morning she’ll be under his full control.

As air evacuates my lungs, my blood thickens to a heavy sludge
and
I can’t seem to push
it
through my veins.
Feeling lightheaded I sink backward, emotionally battered and not quite sure how to deal with this turn of events.

I suck air and try to refuel my body with oxygen as
I
remember
my father’s
parting words when he came to me in my cage
just
two days
ago
.
“
Some things are worse than death.”

Finding out your father is a drug lord who’s harboring wolves of his own and using them to assassinate
others
definitely ranks right up there
in my books
.

My head goes from left to right
as I sort through this new information
.
I need to move.
I need to run.
I need to do something.

Just then my father stands, and I don’t dare move, let alone breathe.
He turns his back to
the
master and when his
attention
flickers to the duct, his eyes meeting mine, my heart goes into my throat
and a gasp rips from my lungs
.

He knows
!
He knows I’m here.

I squirrel backward and
hold my breath
.
My pulse thrums in my throat as I
wait
for the silver to pierce
, but when he leaves the master’s office I
don’t hang around to find out if he’s coming back.
Instead, I
turn
,
scurry through the ducts
and hurry back toward my cage
.
Tears sting my eyes and blur my vision, but I
continue to push forward
, going left and right and getting myself all turned around
as
emotions tear me up inside.

I go deeper into the ducts and suddenly don’t know where I am anymore.
But what does it matter
now
?
My plan has failed miserably.
I press the heel of my hands to my eyes and realize
I
’ve
never felt so alone
before
.
So lo
st
.
So completely and utterly defeated.
And
I
can’t forget how
many people
are
counting on me
.
How can I possibly tell them I failed, that I’ve let them all
down
?

As grief overwhelms me,
my world
feels like it’s
on the verge of collapsing
.
I sink backwards, my body and legs numb as I
u
s
e
the back of my hand
to
brush the moisture from my eyes, and that’s when I hear a deep growl
rumbling through the vents, rolling toward me like a huge
, thunderous
snowball
.
It
instantly
cuts through the chaos in my mind.

“
Stone
,” I
cry out
, opening my thoughts as I
frantically search for him.

“
Pride
,” he returns and
even though his voice is faint inside my head,
I hear such
emotion and turmoil
in that one word that I know he knows.

He knows I found out the truth about my father.

“
Pride
, where are you
?
”

“
I don’t know
.”
I look around i
n
the dark
ened duct.
I sniff and say,
“
I’m lost
.”

“
Reach out to me and follow the sound of my voice
.”