Pride Unleashed (a Wolf's Pride novel, book 2) (12 page)

A moment later I
find myself
standing in the courtyard stark naked,
cold rain dripping down my body,
and I become acutely aware at how vulnerable I feel.
When I begin to shake,
Stone moves closer, his large body protecting mine from those studying me
with too much
curiosity
.
As wolves m
ove
about
and
their soft, hungry growls echo in my ears,
I keep my hands at my sides, refusing to show any
sign of
discomfort in front of the master.

A moment later Mario fits me with a collar, and
it surprises me when
he drapes my torn nightgown over my
scarred
body.
I’m grateful for the small act of kindness, but
know better than to comment on it
.

With a snap of his fingers, the master gestures for Mario to leash Gem.
Once he has
t
he
collar around her neck
, the master says, “Take her to
the
east
w
ing.”

The
east
wing?
Why would he
have Mario deliver
her
to that
remote
part of the mansion
?
To
where
the master’s private sleeping q
uarters
are located
?
Why isn’t he
tossing her into
the cellar with the rest of the wolves?

As I watch Mario lead her away m
y stomach knots.
This can’t be good.
On no, this can’t be good at all.

A shiver moves through me, tilting me off balance.
I search
the master’s dark, weathered
face for answers, and my blood drains to my feet when he offers me a knowing smirk
.
I continue to hold his gaze until his eyes
narrows in displeasure
.

With a crook of his finger he waves Lawrence over then
steps closer
to me
, his face is drawn tight
,
the line
s
deeper then I remember.
I can sense his impatience,
the edginess
brimming beneath the surface
and I know it’s not going to bode well for me.
Tension coils through me
as I harden myself
.

Prepare.

His brow lifts and I know he’s about to make an example of
his rebellious wolf
.
After all, disobedience comes with a price.
My muscles tense in
anticipation
and when the blow comes, it knocks the wind out of me.
The
hard
fist to my
stomach
has me fa
l
tering backwards, and while my wolf wants to emerge
, to
retaliate
,
t
he bone
-
deep need to kill tugging
at her
hard
,
I keep her leashed.
If there
is
ever a time I needed to submit and show compliance, it
’s
now.
Especially i
f I
want to
accomplish my mission
.
Something
I have every intention of doing
,
because
no matter what this man thinks, no matter what rules he plays by,
I
plan to come out fighting
.
 

When his fist comes back again, Stone speaks.
“I told her you still
want to
mat
e
us.
That’s why she reacted.
”

The master’s hand stills mid
-
air
and he angles his head to see
the alpha beside me
.
His eyes are cold
and
shrewd as
they fix on
Stone, a reminder that he’s not a man to be
toyed with and never, ever to be
underestimated
.
“Are you telling me this to protect her?”

Stone’s
grin is wolfish, menacing
, a
boy
who knows how to play the game
better than most
, I realize
.
“No.
Never,” he answers as his gaze leisurely rakes over my half naked body.

Everything
in the way he’s looking at me fills me with unease, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think
Stone was simply
another one of the master’s puppets
, a wolf to do his bidding
.
But I do know better
.
He
is deeply intelligent and is
doing
exactly
what he
has to in order to
survive
in
this cruel prison.
Exactly what he
has to do
to
protect me from
a
brutal
beating
that w
ould
undoubtedly
leave me scarred, inside and out.

Although something tells me the master hasn’t even begun to discipline
his defiant puppy
yet
.
And no one, not even the powerful alpha who pretends to be broken will be able to help me when he
does
.

With renewed purpose, I lower my head in submission
, knowing
if I want to stay alive long enough to com
e up with a new plan
, then I need to
show
obedience
.
A
s
I
stare at my mud coated feet,
my heart tightens in my chest and
I
wonder how many times this boy is going to come to my rescue.
How much abuse he’s going to take because of me?

“
I take it she’s
still putting up a fight?” the master asks
.

Stone’s dark bark
of laughter
reverberates in my blood and I try not to react when he
trails a finger over my bare
arm and says, “
Yeah, but that’s what I like about her.
It will make breaking her that much more fun.
”

“Yes,” the master says slowly, his lecherous g
aze
moving over my body before he adds, “
She is a spirited one.
Almost makes me want to do it myself, but since I need a purebred…”

As his words fall off,
lingering in the air like a deadly
bullet
,
Stone doesn’t physically react, but I can hear his blood rushing faster through his veins, smell the anger bubbling inside him as his wolf
bristles at
the
master’s
threat.

I keep my composure and remind him,
“I’m a runt
, remember.
I can’t give you purebred pups.
”
 

His voice is intense, the coldness in his tone chilling when he announces,
“
Nothing has changed
,
Pride.
”

“I
brought
back the rogue
,
”
I
say
.

At the mention of Logan, the master angles his head
t
oward the private entrance leading to his office and scrubs his hand over his chin as he studies me
.
I resist the urge to
shift my attention,
but do wonder if that’s where the master is keeping
my mate
.

“
And
you somehow thought that would make me
change my mind?”

When I don’t answer, the master puts his thumb under my chin to lift it.
My hackles
spike
and
I tr
y
not to cringe at the
unwanted
contact
.

“Enlighten me,” he demands.

I draw a breath and let it out slowly
before
I
explain
,
“I thought if I brought the rogue wolf back in a show of loyalty you might change your mind.
You said you wanted me to mate with Stone because I was too wild
, too unpredictable and a cub would calm me
.
Doesn’t my compliance prove I’ve settle
d
?
That I
know my place
?
”
I pause
.
T
hen for good measure add, “
You once told me that I should be grateful because you keep us wolves safe.
Well, I am grateful.”
I stop and shiver.
“I don’t ever want to have to run and hide from task force officers again.”

“You were gone an awful
ly
long time
, don’t you think?
”
His eyes scan my neck and I know he’s looking at the puncture wound near my jugular.
The spot
where
he’d once inserted a tracking device
that is no longer there
.
“I was beginning to believe you’d run away.”

“We were under attack.
We had to go our separate ways,” Stone
intervenes
and I realize he’s saying it more for my benefit
than the master
’
s.
It’s h
is
very careful
way of
co
rroborating our stories
.
But the truth is, I know Stone well enough to
know
how he thinks, and I was counting on him using that
exact
excuse.
My
initial
plan
depended
upon it.

There is s
kepticism in
the master’s eyes
when
he
responds with
,
“So you said
.
”
Stone opens his mouth but b
efore
he
can speak again,
the master
hold his hand up to cut him off and zeroes in
on
the
fresh scars
marring his body
.
“
What’s interesting is that n
ot even a
proper
beating could get him to
chang
e
his story
.”

“Maybe that’s because he’s telling the truth,” I say in an effort to defend the alpha.

The master
pauses
, his attention shifting to my
body.
“I wonder what truth
s
I could beat out of you
,
or
better yet
…
”
Once again he angles his head toward his office.

As h
is voice falls off
a second time
,
hot
,
black fear races through me and I don’t miss the hidden
meaning of his words.
I’m intelligent enough to know that he’
s threatening Logan’s safety
, that he believes there is something
between
us
—that he can use my
empathy for the rogue wolf
against me
.
I wonder
how he’ll
try to
do it, exactly w
hat kind of pressure he’ll apply.
 

My heart squeezes painfully in my chest and when his gaze narrows
in on me
I
know exactly
what he sees when he looks at me.

A monster.

But I know who the monster really is.
I
f given the chance
wolf
shifters
can lead regular lives.
This man will always be twisted and evil.