Pride Unleashed (a Wolf's Pride novel, book 2) (9 page)

Had the master orchestrated this
punishment?

Is this what Mario had been
trying to
warn me about?

My wolf
wails
,
eager
to
attack
her assailants
face on,
to tear fur from bone
and fill her mouth with warm
, sweet
plasma
,
but the click of the guns cocking above our heads has the
mangy crew
backing down.
As they disperse, anxiety bombards me
because I realize
that
this
display of
animosity
toward me
mean
s
these
new
wolves are loyal to the master
.
This
c
ould
very well
cripple
my plan
.

My mind races, trying to sort things through.
Even if my small army is able to take out the six armed guards when the cannon sounds at mid
day
, how will I ever convince these broken wolves
that
I can offer them freedom?
Will they allow me to lead them from the compound, or will they protect their
master
at all cost
and turn on me?

As I eye the shifters with uncertain
t
y I
press my hand to my stomach to settle my agitated wolf
, but
as I leash her,
I know she
has every
right to be upset
.
This unexpected turn of events could mean the end of her freedom—and everyone else’s.

Fearing
the worst
, I
blink hard to squeeze the dirt from my eyes
, desperate
to clear my vision
.
I
need to find Stone and I need to find him now.

“
You shouldn’t have come back
.”

As if my thoughts had somehow conjured him, I feel
Stone
closing the distance between us.
I also feel the
hot, seething
anger emanating
from his every pore
.

Keeping my back to him
as I gather my
composure
I answer with,
“
How could I not?”

H
is rage overwhelms me as h
e comes closer
but the softness in his
knuckles
as they
brush along my arm
speaks of
a
deeper emotion, one he can no longer keep hidden from me
.
With my gut
clenching
,
I spin around
and I’m about to explain why I’m back, about to regurgitate my rehearsed speech
in order
to make him understand
,
but
my lungs seize when I see the
ugly
purple
scars marring his
upper
body
.

Recent scars.

Scars
inflicted
by our master.

I bite
t
he inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood an
d when
my fingers twitch
, wanting in the most desperate way to soothe his
sores
—lashes delivered because of m
y disobedience
—i
t
forc
es
me to
fist my hands and anchor them to my side
s
.

I
know better than to
show emotion in this prison.
For both our sakes.

“
This is my fault
,
”
I say quietly,
barely able to keep my
wolf c
ontained
as rage spikes
my blood pressure
.

My eyes go to
Stone
’s
and while I expect to see reproach in his dark
gaze
, what I see instead has my throat constricting
and
my heart aching
for him
.

His long
,
mussed
hair brushes along his
chiseled
cheek
s
as he dips his head to better see me.
The hardness on his face softens when he says,
“
I
t’s not
your fault
, Pride
.”

I gulp
the heavy air but can barely fill my
lungs
a
s I scrutiniz
e
him
.
With my mind going in a million different directions, I a
ssess
both the physical and emotional damage done to
hi
s body and mind,
and while
I know he’s lying,
trying
to protect me
from the harsh truth
, it does make me think of Sandy
and what she said to me
.

“
You’re nothing but trouble for the rest of us and no one wants you here.
”

As Sandy’s words echo in my head
I want to tell
Stone
I’m sorry.
For not believing in him.
For not trusting him.
For
…
everything
.

But since I know nothing about forgiveness how can I expect him to
simply put the past behind us
.

“Stone, I’m…I’m…
” I try to formulate the right words in my mind when I suddenly notice that the yard has grown exceptionally quiet
.
Even though we’re speaking telepathically, and trying not to draw attention
, many wolves
are
focus
ing on us with dark curiosity
, and that doesn’t bode well for either of us
.
 

I glance back at Stone.
His troubled eyes collide with mine and inside
my head
his
voice is a soft, coarse rasp
, one filled with
raw
emotion.
“
Pride-”

Despite the warmth of the day, a chill runs through me
because I know he’s thinking about that night in the
cave
, the night I gave myself to another
.
That has my thoughts careening to my
new
mate
and worry for his safety gnaws at my insides.

What could the master want from him?

As I mull that worry over,
o
ne large raindrop lands on my forehead
.
An
ominous
cloud moves in overhead
, darkening the courtyard
.
A
cool
breeze
comes out of nowhere and
rushes across my face, the whispering hush of danger
following in its wake.

Stone’s
dark eyes are
somber
and I see a sadness that he can’t hide
as
his g
aze
move
s
over my face
.
My throat clenches
painfully
and when I think about everything he’
s
done for me I
can’t help but
feel a sense of disloyalty
to him
.

For a moment we stand there in strained silence, then before I break down and cry at the
unmasked grief
clouding his
face
, I
slice
the tension by saying,
“
I had to come back
.
”

His mouth tightens.
“
No you didn’t
.
”

“
Stone—
” I begin but he cuts me off.

He casts his eyes down and his look is intense when he begins,
“
You need to listen to me.
”

“
No, you need to listen to me
,”
I say almost frantic
.
“
W
e need to put a stop to this.
You know it as well as I do
.
”

His
gaze
dart
s
nervously around the courtyard and I can
tell he
’s
uncomfortable but working hard to hide it.
His jaw seesaws
from side to side
as he clenches
hard
.
“
I told you, it’s not safe for you here
.
Not now.
”

Every muscle in my body stiffens and
the nerves tracking along my spine tingle.
I look at him, my eyes searching his for answers
.
“
What’s going on here?
What is it you’re not telling me
?”

Before he can
speak,
Mario steps up to us and directs Stone to the obstacle course.
While I’m desperate for answers, desperate to put my plan into motion, I have no choice but to step away.
I can’t cause a commotion.
It’s too soon for that
.

Anxiety flutters in my belly as
I
watch
Stone take his place at the start line
.
I back out of the crowd and
move to the
sidelines,
to lose myself in the shadows
while I continue to
count the minutes
which suddenly seem to be ticking by far too quickly.

As I
keep one eye on Stone, noting the way he
negotiate
s
the course
with practice
d
ease
, I press my back to the fortress wall and try to see inside the mansion, try to catch some sign that Logan is nearby,
unharmed,
ready and waiting
for the signal
.

I work to tamp down my
nervousness
while
I
focus
back
in on
Stone’s large, streamlined frame
as he
run through the course
.
But when he slows on
the
zig zags,
worry
fills m
e
.
It occurs to me how much time w
e
’re losing.
Time we
can’t afford to lose
.

Behind the clouds
I know the
sun
is rising higher and higher in the sky
and
I know I
have
to have everything in place before it’s directly overhead.

Stone finally
finishes the course,
and when he comes out the winner, he
shifts back to human
and pulls on his jeans
. Then
he turns to face me.
From across the courtyard
we stare at one another
in mute silence
and an excruciating looks passes between us
.

The wind hums around
the
yard
blowing dirt and debris across our faces
and
before I get a chance to tell him
about my small army outside and what they’re about to do
, he
weaves his way through the crowd and closes the distance between us.
His face is serious, his eyes
grave
as he
looks past my shoulders
.

“
Not everyone wants or can be saved
,
Pride
,
”
he announces like he’s already privy to my plan.

“
You’re wrong
,” I say and give a hard shake of my head, refusing to
believe
him
.
If I did,
that would
mean
I
’d
dragged
Logan
and his
entire family in
to my dark, dangerous world
and put their very lives at risk
for no
thing
.