Pride's Run (10 page)

“
Pride-”

I cut him off and level him with a glare.
“It’s fine.”

“
Look, why don’t we-”

My anger flares once again and my breath
turns to fog in front of my muzzle as I let loose a ragged howl.
“There is no
‘we’
.
”
I don’t like the way he’s
trying to put me at ease. It makes me uncomfortable and suspicious.
Needing a defense against his alpha charm I do the one thing I do
best.

I harden myself.

“
I’m trying to think of our survival,”
he volunteers
.

“
And survival involves us stopping to take
in the view?”
I return.

Now that we’ve stopped, my muscles begin to
ache from the hard climb and my body urges me to rest. But I don’t
want him to see any sign of weakness in me so I angle my head and
try to appear unaffected from that long run. The last thing Logan
needs to see is the depth of my exhaustion. I suspect, however,
that my emotions are as transparent as cling wrap to this astute
wolf.

“
We’re stopping because I spotted a small
cave over there and it’s a good place to hunker down for the
night.”

As my body screams for rest, I know I’m too
exhausted to keep running, but ask the question anyway.
“Shouldn’t we be looking for food, water, supplies?”

“
There’s not much more we can do tonight
and I don’t know about you but I need the rest.”

I stare at his hard body and as I take in his
long sleek muscles, I know he’s lying. He’s barely winded and
hasn’t even broken a sweat yet. But then I realize what he’s really
doing. He knows I’m tired but understands I’m not about to admit
it, so he’s taking one for the team. His chivalry simply arouses my
suspicion.

When thunder rumbles in the distance, he
says,
“Come on, let’s get inside.”

“
I’m not sleeping in that cave with
you,”
I announce, partly because I don’t trust him and partly
because when a wolf slumbers they take on their human form. I’d
rather not hunker down in a small cavern with him, considering I
have no clothes to cover myself.

He looks at me for a moment and I brace
myself for a fight.

“
Fine, you take the cave and I’ll seek
shelter under those trees over there.”

Since I fully expected him to argue, his
easy-going nature stops me cold. The men from my compound—wolves
included—are dominant and forceful and are used to getting what
they want.

There is a moment of strained silence between
us then I say,
“You found the cave, you take it. I’ll take the
trees.”
I offer him my back and step toward the makeshift
shelter.

“
Pride
,” he says, clearly frustrated
by my lack of female obedience and when he pauses I can tell he’s
trying to change tactics.

“
I insist,”
I answer, my tone letting
him know the matter is no longer up for debate.

He pounces in front of me and his voice takes
on a hard edge when he says,
“What’s your problem,
Pride?”

“
I don’t have a problem.”

He growls low and deep.
“Did you ever stop
to think that we might need to rely on each other if we want to
make it out of here alive?”

“
I don’t need anyone,”
I counter, but
as soon as the words enter my thoughts, I’m reminded of my mother,
my father, the elders. As bone deep loneliness rips through me, I
suddenly feel like I’m going to cry. But I’ve desensitized for so
long now, the tears don’t come.

His face softens and there is something in
the way he says,
“Everyone needs someone,”
that reminds me
of a little lost boy.

“
I’m not everyone
,” I shoot back,
wanting to anger him so he’ll harden himself again. Hard I can
handle. Hard I understand
.

He nuzzles me with his snout, the same way
the pups do when they want to play.
“Pride…”

I jerk away.
“Don’t touch me.”

He inches back and the wounded look on his
face causes the strangest sensation to erupt in my stomach. I
shudder, almost violently.

“
We’ll hunt in the morning,”
I say for
lack of anything else as I squash those strange sensations. I call
back my anger because it’s an emotion I’m more comfortable
with.

“
Pride.”

I look over my shoulder, and I’m so tired I
can almost feel the fight drain out of me.
“What?”

His pewter eyes rake over my damaged body and
his voice is soft when he whispers,
“I’m not going to hurt
you.”

“
Maybe you’re the one who should be
worrying about me hurting you,
” I respond, distrust heavy in my
tone.

With the tension between us palpable, the fur
along his back bristles, and his silver eyes narrow.
“Do you
want to hurt me, Pride?”

Weary and with no desire to continue this
conversation, I say,
“I don’t even know you, Logan.”

We exchange a long glance then he breaks the
silence by asking, “
What do you want to know
?” But I don’t
miss the slight edge that enters his voice; he can’t hide that from
my trained ears. It’s that edge that speaks volumes and has alarm
bells jangling in the back of my brain.

I’m good at reading people so I take a moment
to study his body language. I note the way he’s suddenly avoiding
direct eye contact with me, an indication that he’s keeping
something from me. Clearly this alpha is harboring secrets and
plenty of them.

“
Nothing.”

A few short hours ago I might have wanted to
know things about him, things like where he came from, how he
escaped, and how he gained the knowledge and dexterity to remove
our microchips. After all, knowledge is power and I’m all about
power.

But now, well, now that I’ve run with him,
and noted his ability to distract me without even trying, I’m not
so sure I want to know any of those things. And I can’t forget the
fear in my master’s eyes when he first summoned me for this hunt.
Maybe the less I know about this alpha the better.

“
Nothing?”
he balks.
“Come on, you
must want to know something.”

“
If you’re looking for a friend, or a
mate, you picked the wrong wolf,”
I say, hoping my harsh words
will silence him once and for all. All I want to do is escape those
hunting us so I can keep the promise I made to myself.

Desperate to get away from him, but also
desperate for rest, I walk toward the cluster of trees. Wind bites
at my face and rustles my tawny fur as I look for a dry place to
flop. I kick damp leaves around my makeshift bed and even though
I’ve roughed it before, I can’t help but think that maybe this
wasn’t my best move. Maybe I shouldn’t have insisted that he sleep
in the cave. But I couldn’t bring myself to switch places, and
despite the cold, bitter air, I’m not about to go crawling in there
with my tail between my legs.

Off in the distance a howl serrates the
night. I glance up and take in the angle of the waxing moon. With
sunup still a long way off, I decide to grab a few hours rest
before I flee. Despite my exhaustion there is no way I’m going to
let myself fall asleep, not with an unpredictable wolf slumbering a
few feet away. Besides, with the harsh elements nipping at my body,
I’ll need my fur to keep me warm. Once my wolf is well rested, I’ll
sneak away under the cover of darkness.

“
Sleep well.”

The roughness in his voice cuts through the
night as he moves deeper into the shadows, to where he can’t see
me. I blink into the night and narrow my focus as I watch him grab
a few big leaves for cover and shift back to his human body.

A fine shiver licks up my spine when I catch
sight of his hard body as he moves with graceful ease. Raindrops
play down his back and glisten on his skin before he ducks into the
dry cavern, which looks more like a crevice in the rocks than any
cave I’ve ever seen.

As my pulse pounds at the base of my neck I
swallow, completely unnerved by my reactions to him. There is no
denying that he’s a beautiful wolf and an even more beautiful boy,
which has me thinking of my own training.

A pretty face and good grace go a long way
for two trained killers like us. It makes leading a mark and
gaining their confidence that much easier.

Is it possible that this gorgeous alpha is
using those skills on me? That he’s trying to lead me
somewhere?

Lure me?

Trap me?

I’m not sure, but as I drop to my knees and
press myself into the rough timber, my gut tightens, warning me
that it’s well past time I made a run for it.

Too bad Logan has different ideas.

August 26
^th
.
Three days until full moon

I
n no time at all
the bright morning light warms my body and pulls me from my deep
slumber. My muscles cramp and my joints rebel as I stretch out my
fatigued limbs.

As my body protests, my mind stirs and mixed
memories of the long car ride, the PTF officers and the dangerous
alpha wolf come rushing back in a roaring whoosh. My eyes fly open,
my pulse quickens and my brain instantly kicks into high gear.

I dart a glance around and that’s when I
realize that I’m no longer outside, hunkered down beneath a cluster
of towering oak trees, a safe distance from the boy who threatens
me.

Panicked, I sit upright and my head cracks on
something hard and unforgiving. I cringe as my fingers rake through
my mussed hair to feel the beginnings of an egg size lump.
Disoriented by my lack of bearings, confusion floods me and I
rapidly blink my mind into focus. I take in my rocky shelter and
vehemently struggle to figure out where I am.

My glance leaves the bumpy rock wall to trace
my naked human body. I note the dry leaves covering my most private
parts, as well as the weight of the strong arm curled protectively
around my waist.

But it’s who that arm belongs to that has a
riot of emotions rocketing through me. A deep animal sound rises
from my throat as understanding hits like a deadly bullet.

Despite my vow to stay awake, it’s clear I
drifted off, collapsing under the stress of the long, challenging
day. And sometime through the night, when I was in my deepest
slumber and unaware of Logan’s intentions, he relocated me. He
brought my naked body into his protected shelter and used the dual
heat of our bare flesh to keep the frostbite at bay.

With his body pressed against mine, I squirm,
uncomfortable with our closeness and the intimacy of his touch. As
I take a moment to process this unexpected turn of events, I wonder
why this dangerous alpha, who I’ve shown no kindness toward, would
do such a thing.

I don’t know whether to be grateful or angry
but settle on angry because his gesture makes me feel vulnerable
and exposed—things I never allow myself to feel. My heart thumps
hard and as my hands go to my body to cover myself the sudden,
urgent need to escape prompts me into action.

With my eyes trained on him, I scan his
powerful body, and much to my alarm it stirs something deep inside
me.

Something animalistic. Something primal.

But as anger mingles with these unwanted
feelings I no longer see a boy, I see the hot-blooded hound lurking
beneath, one who should have known better than to touch me. Fury
overwhelms me and I struggle to keep my control, struggle not to
kill this alpha who threatens all my emotions.

As my canines punch through my gums, I take a
deep gulping breath and diligently force myself to calm down.
Because when it comes right down to it, his gesture might have
infuriated me— and confused my feelings—but he hasn’t done anything
so horrible that it would warrant his death, has he?

And contrary to what he might believe, we
don’t need each other to survive in the wild. I’m an excellent
tracker, and deep in my gut I know I’m quite capable of negotiating
the forest and warding off danger without him. With that last
thought in mind, I make my move.

Still ensconced in his warm embrace, I try
not to wake him as I carefully squirm out from beneath his tight
hold. But he’s nuzzled so close and the cave is so small it’s hard
to maneuver around his much larger frame.

I take extra care not to rouse him as I
adjust my small body. I slowly, silently begin to inch away, but
after a quick scan I know the only way out of the tight cave is to
climb over him.

Logan makes a noise and his muscles flex and
relax again as he shifts. I suck in a sharp breath and hold it
until he settles.

With his head tossed to the side, his chest
begins to rise and fall in a rhythmic pattern, and I wait a bit
longer, to make sure he falls back into a deep sleep. Once he’s
stilled, I throw one leg over his hips, careful not to touch any
other parts of his body.

Leaves cover him from the waist down and as I
shuffle over him his scent reaches out to me. It’s earthy and
primitive and impossible to ignore. As I take in the hard lines of
his profile as well as the muscles on his stomach, my wolf stirs,
reacting to his animalistic scent and athletic body.

It’s crazy how beautiful he is.

Shocked at how easily my wolf is distracted
by Logan, I admonish her and concentrate on my one and only
purpose. Escape. I move with predatory precision and crab walk over
him.

Once I’ve cleared his body, I crawl from the
cave, climb to my feet and sniff the early morning air for danger.
As the scent of the forest comes to life after a long hard rain, a
kaleidoscope of enticing aromas wash over me, everything from the
moist, dewy earth, the indigenous foliage to the local wildlife
that I can hear scampering about. It’s all so clean, so pure, so
rejuvenating. The warm sunshine even smells fresh and invigorating.
My wolf growls as she feeds off the aromas, never having felt so
alive.