Pride Unleashed (a Wolf's Pride novel, book 2) (32 page)

With Stone’s familiar
scent all over me
, I carefully make my way back to my
cage
.
After I finally find the vent leading to my
quarters
, I slip through
the tight shaft
, let myself into my
den
and hide the key before climbing into my cot
.

My thoughts race a million miles
an hour
, trying to sort through everything that
has
happened tonight, from finding my
traitorous
father alive and
learning
he’s a drug lord
in cahoots
with the
master
, to taking comfort in Stone’s arm
s
while my mate
s
i
t
s
all
alone in his cage prepared to fight to the death for me
—the girl he chose above all others
.
And I can’t forget about Gem, and what the master said about breaking her.

Guilt and fear eat at me and I shift restlessly
on my tattered blankets
, knowing I’m going
to
have a sleepless night ahead of me
and feeling like I deserve
one
.

If my father is a traitor what does that make me?
Will I eventually turn out like him?
Turning my back on those I care about for my own selfish purposes
?

Then again, maybe he never cared about me at all.

My heart clenches and I fight back
the hot sting of
tears.
I toss in my bed and
the
worn
springs groan as I
thin
k
about tomorrow and what it will
bring
.

Will Stone walk away
like I asked
?

What will Logan do?
After one look at me he’ll
surely
know I found comfort in Stone’s arms.
Will he
be the one t
o
turn his back on me
?

Unable to get comfortable
I flip over on my mattress
again
,
and I
pound the dusty cot
a
s a low torture
moan
crawls out of my throat
.

I toss and turn for hours
, until
Lawrence
finally comes for us.
I climb
from
my cot,
and with
my body tired and my sleep deprived brain making me feel
completely
unstable and
desperately
emotional
, not even the cold cement floor can pull me from my stupor
.

Out in the courtyard
I squint against the blinding sun and there is little I can do to shake the fuzz from
my brain as I wa
it
for Logan and Stone to appear.
I push away from the crowd as Sandy is led to the obstacle course
.
S
ince I was unable to get food to her yesterday, I pray she wins
the competition
.  She’s pregnant, which means she gets a daily allotment, but
because she
’s
so thin she
needs the nourishment
that comes with victory
.

With one eye on Sandy and the other on the crowd I search for Logan and Stone.
A
long while later a
fter
Sandy finishes up her
race
and is led
inside
to eat because she
’s
beat
en
her
opponent
, I s
ee Logan
moving past her as he
enters the yard through the kitchen entrance, Lawrence standing behind him, gun in hand.

Logan
looks hard and dangerous, but his guard slips
a little
when his eyes meet mine and
my stomach revolts because
I sense
that
he knows I’ve betrayed him.
Guilt rushes through me and e
verything inside me reaches out to him
, asking for forgiveness.
But thinking about forgiveness has me thinking of my father and what he said to me.
“
Sometimes we
have to do what we have to do
.
”

Then I turn to see Stone
closing in from behind
, a powerful wolf on a mission.
I swallow hard and wet my suddenly dry lips.
When I do, I can taste my own fear as it
saturates
the
warm
air
around me
.

At the sight of the two
moving toward the center of the
yard
,
the other wolves
all
mov
e
back to give the two alphas room
to fight
.
Clearly news of this
deadly
battle ha
s
spread through the underground
quicker than a mutating
virus
.
In no time
at all c
heers originate in the crowd, the
restless
wolves goading the
two
alphas
on.

Soon
animal
instincts
take over and
Logan and Stone
begin circling one another, both looking for a weakness that could give them an advantage.

I brace myself,
and
when a cold chill races through me, I
fold my arms
across my chest and
hug my nightgown
to
my body
, but the thin material does little to warm me
.
My eyes slip shut
against the flood of emotion a
nd
heartache sets my chest on fire
because
I realize there is nothing I can do
to stop this
.
S
omeone I care deeply about is going to die
today
.

Because of me.

As
I stand there
paralyzed
with fear
, I hear footsteps coming close
.
I don’t need to
turn to
know it’s the master. I can smell his excitement long before I see him.
He stands beside me and I don’t even acknowledge his presence until he speaks to me and what he says has
both
rage and relief unraveling inside m
y gut
.

“There is a way you can stop this, Pride.”

I
angle
my head slowly as my wolf clamors to break free
and tear bone from flesh
.
His eyes glint knowingly and when our gazes clash in a battle of wills the master’s face changes.
As his smile vanishes his expression turns hard, cruel.
Merciless.
Intense eyes study me
darkly
and I know he’s waiting for me to falter.

I snarl at him
and it occurs to me that he’s shrewd and cunning and has known all along how I feel about Logan and Stone
.
He’s been toying with me.
Playing me for a fool, because he knew he was
eventually
going to get what he wanted from me.

“What do you want me to do?”

“You already know,” he answers.

He’s right.
I do know.
I give a fierce shake of my head. “You can’t ask me to do that
.
”

“I can and I am.”

I turn back in time to see Logan go for Stone’s throat.
When his canines puncture
fur and flesh
, hot blood shoots into the air, the scent filling my senses
and causing a soft rumble
to swell
through the crowd
.

I swallow
,
never having felt so scared
,
so out of control in my life and I know in an instant I can’t do this anymore.
I can’t stand here and watch the two wolves I care about
most
tear each other to shreds.
My heart races and
mayhem
erupts inside me as the brutal fight I’m
forced to
witness drains the good out of me
.

I s
u
ddenly don’t feel so tough anymore.

“Pride,” the master says and the urgency I sense in him brings my attention back around to him.
“
If you want to save these two, then you’ll tell me
where to find Logan’s pack
.
”

My rattled brain registers the sound of snapping bones,
followed by a painful howl and I’m no longer able to tell which wolf is winning, which wolf is dying.
An unnatural black wave of despair grips me and I can feel the darkness inside me spreading onward and outward until my thoughts are a jumbled mess.

A
s a
sick knot twists in my stomach I know
in an instant
I’ve reached the end.
The master has won.

And i
t’s that
horrible,
rancid scent
of defeat
curling around me and polluting the air
that bring
s
Logan’s head
swinging
around to me.
His pewter eyes glare at me like he knows I’m about to
spill secrets, about to
expose his entire family.
About to let him down.

He gives a savage shake of his head, and the distraction
allows
Stone
to gain
the upper hand.
Stone pounces and when Logan tumbles
across the ground
I can hear the air leaving his lungs
in an agonized whoosh
.

“Stop,” I say
frantically
.
“
Don’t do this.”
I turn to the master.
“
I’ll tell you where his pack lives. I’ll tell you where to find them.
I’ll tell you everything.
Just stop this now.
”

He rolls on the balls of his feet and puts his hands into
the
pockets of his expensive suit
, like he’s in no hurry to end the fight.

“
No, Pride.
I think I’d rather you take me
to them
.”

I open my mouth to protest but he cuts me off and
snaps his fingers at
Mario.
“
Take her to her cage and tell Kara to have her ready to leave
at
first light.”

With that
the master
grips my chin, and turns my head from side to side
to examine me
.
“Your father would have been proud of you, Pride.”

“I don’t have a father,” I spit out and jerk my chin free.
My blood pounds so hard in my ears I can barely think straight.
I glance at the two wolves rolling around on the ground
and bile pushes into my throat
.

“
You said you’d stop this
,
”
I remind him.

He grins
and for a brief second I wonder if he’s going to follow through with his promise, but then
he snaps his fingers.
Six gun shots crack the air, and the
alphas
separate.
Lawrence stands back and tosses two collars at the wolves.
I breathe a sigh of relief but it’s short lived because
when Logan shifts back
to his human form
and looks at me with eyes full of disappointment and anger, my heart clenches and I know I’ve let him down.

I’ve let everyone down.

But what other choice d
id
I have?