Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) (12 page)

Nova slid the platter onto her palm, turning
toward the hallway leading down to the office. When she looked up,
Winter was standing outside the office door, his back against the
wall, but he quickly straightened as she approached.

Damn, he looked delicious standing there in
his work shirt and denim jeans that were faded just enough to show
they’d been through some serious wear. The black combat boots on
his feet were polished but still held a few scuffs from whatever
he’d done to put the marks there.

“Is this enough food?” she asked, looking
toward the tray that was held high by her shoulder.

“That will be enough, thank you,” Winter
said, reaching for the tray. Nova quickly released it as soon as he
had a firm hold on it because she didn’t want to accidently touch
him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m…fine, Winter,” she sighed. “I’m
fine.”

“Look,” he began, “I’m sorry I yelled.”

She cut him off by holding up her hand.
“Talon explained it to me. I understand. Just do what you have to
do because I’m ready to go home.”

“To my home?” he asked, a small smile
playing on his lips.

“Yes, to your home,” she said, tucking her
chin and walking away. Nova kicked herself all the way down the
hall. It wasn’t her home, but damn if she didn’t feel
at
home there already. Her only wish was that she wanted to be in his
bed while she stayed with him.

It wasn’t long before Guardians were coming
through the door of the bar, each and every one of them larger than
life as they marched toward the office. Nova kept out of the way
and let them do whatever they had to do with that poor young
man.

“You good?” Dane asked the moment he walked
in the door.

“Yeah,” she said, crinkling her nose. “I’m
good.”

“Is he still being an ass?” her friend
asked, a little twitch to the corner of his mouth.

“When is he not?” she scoffed, kicking at a
spot on the old hardwood floor.

“Come here,” Dane chuckled, pulling her into
a hug. She stiffened until he leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“My scent on you will drive him wild.”

“Are you tricking him into touching me?” she
asked. “Dane, that’s not very nice.”

“He’s a stubborn asshat.” He laughed. “If I
were in his shoes, and I found a women that took up my every
thought, I wouldn’t wait to touch her. I’d want to know if she was
my mate. I’m just giving him a little boost to get his panther to
take over and make contact.”

“You are sneaky,” she said, pushing him
away. The big ass Guardian almost swallowed her up with his arms
around her shoulders, and she enjoyed the comforting touch from her
friend. And that was all Dane was…a friend.

“Gotta run, doll,” Dane smirked, making
quick work of heading toward the office.

When she turned around, Winter was standing
in the shadows where the hallway turned toward the office. Dane
didn’t say anything to the pissed off Guardian who was glaring at
her with the glowing eyes of his panther.

Malaki’s hands shook as he sat on the couch
in the office of the bar. The Guardians hovered around him, each
one on edge with the information he’d given about his sister and
his role in spying on the alpha’s mate.

“I didn’t want to cause harm to your mate,
alpha,” he said, fighting back tears. He missed his own alpha and
his mate. They’d been older, but still very much loved by the
pride.

“We know, son,” Talon said, squatting down
to look at Malaki. “We will be rescuing your sister tonight, but I
need your help.”

“Anything,” he replied without hesitation.
“She’s all I have.”

“You have us,” Talon stated, turning his
head as soon as the office door opened.

Another guardian entered, his icy blue eyes
flashing amber sparks. In fact, all of the Guardians were standing
there with the same angry scowls on their faces. Malaki felt his
panther push forward, wanting to join them, but he didn’t let his
beast free. He couldn’t risk it even if his panther was agitated
from being held back for so long. It’d been weeks since his panther
had been given the freedom to roam, to stretch its legs and run
wild.

“When was the last time you shifted?” the
new Guardian asked as he moved forward. He held something in his
hand, but Malaki couldn’t see exactly what it was.

“It’s been a long time,” he answered,
touching his throat. “I’m only allowed out of the spiked collar
when I’m sent to spy on you.”

A chorus of harsh curses filled the room.
Malaki stood, not wanting to look weak in front of his new pride.
He was thankful that his legs were stable. The food they’d brought
him had renewed his energy.

“What do I need to do to save my
sister?”

“I’m going to put this tracker in the sole
of your shoe,” the new Guardian with the short, dark hair said,
nodding toward his worn out sneakers. The white leather had faded
and cracked, the dirt and grime making the material gray in
color.

“Do not remove your shoes once you are back
with the wolves,” Talon continued as Malaki handed over his
shoe.

The Guardian removed a knife from his pocket
and stabbed the rubber sole of the shoe, making a little pocket to
hold a metal disk that was no bigger than a coin. Once he pushed it
inside, the material closed slightly, leaving no visible gap.
Unless the wolves examined his shoe, there would be no way to tell
anything was amiss.

“My name is Booth, by the way,” the Guardian
with the tracker said as he pulled out his phone. Booth looked up
with a smile after a moment of pushing buttons. “We’re all
set.”

For the next half hour, the alpha and his
men made a plan and reassured Malaki that he and his sister would
be in the arms of his new pride before the sun came up the next
day.

He only hoped he wasn’t too late to save his
sister.

Chapter Nine

Winter fumed as he left the office, throwing
his shoulder into Dane’s as he passed. He knew the Guardian was
pushing him, and he also knew that Dane was always ready for a
fight, but he wasn’t going to give in tonight.

He was just turning out of the hallway to
enter the bar area when he heard Nova shout. The bar had erupted in
chaos, a few men were coming to blows at the bar. Cole launched
himself over the wooden bar top and pulled Nova out of the way. She
tossed the empty tray in her hand to Della and marched right back
into the melee.
Jesus! She has no fear!

“Nova!” Winter cursed as he lunged forward
just as one of the human males threw a punch, causing his opponent
to stumble backwards. Nova was in the direct path of the large
male’s fall, but Winter was faster, stepping between the two and
taking the full impact, but it did nothing more than act as a brick
wall to the human male. He rebounded quickly and started for the
other man, but Cole had already started pulling the guy toward the
door.

“Out!” Nova barked, seething as she pointed
toward the door. “Both of you,
get
out
!”

Cole and Winter escorted the two men toward
the entrance as Nova’s waitress, Mary Grace, righted chairs and
pushed the tables back to their proper places. Savage and Booth
were standing by the bar, observing and waiting to see if they
needed to step in to help. Both men mumbled apologies to Nova as
they were pushed out into the parking lot, but she didn’t
acknowledge them.

“Thank you,” she said, pushing a stray hair
out of her eyes. Her face was flushed and the dusting of color on
her cheeks had Winter wanting to reach out to touch the skin to see
if it was warm.

“Do you always jump right into a bar brawl?”
Winter cursed, gritting his teeth. He could scent Dane on her skin,
and it took all he had to keep from demanding she go home and
shower.

“Yeah,” she scoffed. “My bar…my rules. If
you act like a fool, I’ll be the one to toss your ass out.”

“Damn it, Nova,” Winter scolded. “That guy
could’ve seriously hurt you.”

“Please don’t come in here telling me how to
run my bar, Winter.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I’ve done
this for years.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s in our nature to
protect women at all costs and here you are, jumping into the
middle of a fight.” He wiped his hand down his face and shook his
head.

“What’s going on with the kid?” she asked,
taking a seat at the bar. She changed the subject, and since Winter
was a smart man, he didn’t say anything else. She looked tired and
a tad bit pissed at his interference.

“We have to leave,” he said, clearing his
throat.

“You’re leaving?” she asked, her eyes
wide.

“Talon is bringing someone in to help us
keep an eye on you,” he replied, but didn’t speak up when Nova
gritted her teeth.

“It feels like I’m being assigned a
babysitter,” she complained, standing up on the rungs of the
barstool to lean over the bar top. Winter looked away when her ass
raised in the air. The last thing he needed was to have a raging
erection in the middle of dealing with rescuing the young
panthers.

“You
are
being babysat,” he continued
after she’d returned to her seat with a beer in hand.

“And that just pisses me off,” she snarled.
“I have a bar to run, and I don’t need someone following me like a
lost puppy.”

“Oh,” Winter smirked, raising a brow. “You
will have a tail on you until this thing is over with the wolves
and we find the son of a bitch who put his hands on you.”

Nova growled low in her throat, and even
though Winter knew it was from her frustration, the sound was so
animal-like that it drew him up short for a moment. Before he could
continue, she slid off the stool and marched toward her office,
stepping aside when Talon came out of the office with Malaki at his
side.

“Drake will be here soon,” Talon announced.
“Meet us at the pride house as soon as possible.”

“Will do,” Winter replied, nodding toward
the other Guardians who were waiting for the alpha to direct them
to their duties in finding the wolves and rescuing the young
female. “I’ll be ready as soon as you give the go ahead.”

Everyone filed out of the bar, giving Winter
a moment to grab a beer while he waited on his replacement. Nova
was in and out of the office and helped the waitresses with tables,
but she never stopped to talk to him as she worked. She glanced
sideways at him with an angry glare a few times before disappearing
back into the office.

He knew the moment when Drake entered the
building. A hush fell across the bar as the sound of heavy boots
made a steady rhythm across the hardwood floor. The unmistakable
sound of spurs clinked with each step the male made toward where
Winter was seated at the bar.

“You called,” Drake smirked. Winter’s nose
crinkled at the scent of the bear shifter’s wildness. Even as a
laid back human, these bears were lethal. He would have to trust
him with protecting Nova, but he wouldn’t like it.

“Talon explained to you what we need?”
Winter asked the wild looking man.

“Sure did,” Drake replied, a mischievous
glint to his right eye.

“Come on,” Winter ordered, gritting his
teeth. He wasn’t too happy about leaving someone to watch over
Nova, but if it had to be anyone, Drake was their best line of
defense for protecting her.

“Heard your little lady is a spitfire.”
Drake chuckled as they walked toward the office. Winter didn’t even
give him the satisfaction of a reply.

“Nova?” Winter called out, knocking on the
office door. His companion stood against the adjacent wall, his
foot crossed over his ankle. The bear’s long, dark chocolate
colored hair fell in tight, spiraling corkscrews just past his
shoulders and his deep brown eyes darkened as Nova’s scent reached
them.

“What?” she barked from deep in the
office.

“Open the door,” he ordered. This little
human was going to drive him into an early grave.