Pride Unleashed (a Wolf's Pride novel, book 2) (19 page)

With the master watching I can’t do anything.
I can’t canter over there and tell Stone to
simmer
, otherwise
we
might
never get out of here.
I need those two working with me, not against me if I want to get into the master’s dungeon and get the key
that could very well be
t
he answer to
our
escape
.

When the starter gun sounds, I hold my breath, half expecting Stone to go for Logan’s throat instead of running the course.
But alpha that he is,
I realize
this is his chance to show domination over my mate, and he’s not about to miss that opportunity.

After all, there can only be one alpha in the pack.

Stone
flashes white canines as his
beefy paws di
g
into the dirt
, bloodlust flashing in his pewter eyes
.
With power
,
agility,
and practiced ease,
he darts
forward and jumps the first hurtle.
He slowly climbs the ladder, Logan
’s powerful legs pushing hard as he
keep
s
pace beside him
.
Using their sharp teeth,
the
y both
clamp down on the
ir
ropes
, their jaws bearing
the entire
weight of their
bod
ies
as they
swing across the mud pit in sync.

I
glance
ahead,
my eyes scanning the equipment and
look
ing
for a flaw in the course, one Logan isn’t bound to notice.
How could he
, really, especially
when he’s not privy to the
cruel tricks the master likes to play on us
?
It doesn’t take long for me to
see
the defect
in the zig
-
zags
.

When I
notice
the
thin
layer of green
sod
strategically
placed over a new
ly
bulldozed
hole,
I
instantly
know it’s a trap
.
I also
know if Logan lands in it he could very well break his neck
.
The master likes to point out that
these manmade
t
raps
help
keep us on our toes and keep us
alive
and
that
he’s
simply
doing us a favor by
sharpening our skills so we’re always at the
top of our game
.

My heart pounds faster and
I
make my
way
closer,
my small body
weaving
around
the wolves pacing the compound
, and I know the
rapid fire
rushing of my blood can be heard by all.
A
s Logan approaches the trap,
I can’t help myself.
I make a noise, a half cry, half howl.

That’s when Stone turns his attention to me
, my distress
signal
gaining his focus
.
With his gaze diverted, he missteps, his ankle catching the outer edge of
the
trap, and his hard body land
s
with a
painful
thump.
I suck in
a quick breath
, and see how furious he is when Logan
jumps over the trap and
takes the lead
.

A hush falls over the crowd as Stone’s
low growl rents the air
.
He pulls himself from the
hollowed
-
out hole
and he gives a savage shake of his head as his eyes zero in on Logan’s
position
.
A moment later he bolts forward
and instead of running through the long tube
ahead of him,
he jumps on top of it, and pounces on Logan when he exits
the
tunnel.

My insides twist a
nd a shiver skips down my spine a
s he goes for Logan’s throat
.
Using swift
,
agile movements
I try to get closer, to communi
cate
with them, but the master is watching me, waiting for me to do something, anything
.

I stand still, knowing any
more
action on my part will be a dead giveaway
and the last thing I want is for the master to know
how I feel about these two
.
As I maintain calm on the outside, f
ury erupts inside me and
it’s
all I can do
to
swallow it down.
Tormented by the si
ght of the two wolves
in a bloody fight
,
my body tenses and
I clench
down
hard
on my jaw as I watch them rip
into each other,
a
nd all the
while
I
stand idly by
unable to do anything about it
.

Logan retaliates,
his powerful muscles bunch as his
nails slash at
Stone’s face, the fresh scent of blood causing a frenzy among the other wolves.
I
listen to the gruesome sound of
claws tearing
flesh
and
strong
bones crunch
ing
like glass
.
A
ball of
dry dirt
forms a
dark
cloud
as the two tumble along the ground
in a mass of black fur and fangs.

I steal a glance at the guards above, wondering how long they
’re
going to let this
battle
go on.
From their smi
rks
, a
s well as the way they are
exchanging
knowing nods
, I get the impression
that
not only did they
expect this
, the
y’re
betting on the outcome
.

As panic invades
my
stomach
,
I
pull in a
quick,
sharp breath
and fight down a strangled cry.
I know I need to
put a stop to this
chaos
before they kill each other.
But before I can do anything, L
ogan pins Stone
beneath him, his big paws holding his shoulders down
.
Stone
’
s
dark
, wild
bark of fury echoes off the mountains a
nd using
his back legs
he
tries to
kick the alpha off
and
gain purchase.

My skin prickles
because I know
Logan
is in
“
kill
or be killed
”
mode
, and I fear he’s about to puncture Stone’s jugular and let
the life
bleed out
of
my childhood friend
right before my eyes
.
A pained expression rips across Stone’s muzzle and somewhere behind me I hear a soft, hungry growl as the cannon thunders on the mountain.

As
I watch the
violence,
I can feel my own blood draining
.
W
ith the
situation
becoming dire,
completely out of control,
I know I have to do something.
I
’m about to make a move, but the master steps up
beside
me
, his
large
body casting shadows over my small
animal
frame
.
I’d been so caught up in the fight
, so worried about
the outcome
that
I
hadn’t even heard his approach.

Not smart for a wolf with a mission.

His hand rakes over my fur, smoothing down my
hackles
and since I can’t stand his touch, I shift back to human,
hurry to my nightgown and pull it back on.
Once I’m dress
ed
the master moves close.

“It seems our rogue is
a
powerful
one
, after all,” he says
as he comes to a stop beside me
.

I don’t look at him
.
I can’t.
Party because I can’t stand t
he sight of
his face, and partly because I’m so focused on the fight
—on the amount of blood
being
spilled—that
I
’m unable to peel
my eyes away.

“I told you he was
,
”
I say between grit teeth.

From my peripheral vision I watch the way the
master folds his arms across his chest and rocks back on his heels
, an irritating habit he has
.
“Now why do you suspect they’re fighting
, Pride
?
”
he asks and I know he’s baiting me.

I
angle my head and
give him a
defiant
look
, one
that suggests
he’s dense, and
when I meet his evil eyes
, a black wave
of
darkness churns inside me, pulsing, rising to dangerous proportions
until my wolf is clawing at my insides
.

My wolf howls and
she
do
esn’t
care about the punishment that
will
come with my next words when I
deliver them.
“That’s what happens when you put two alphas in the same yard.
Surely you expected this
,
”
I challenge.

He glares at me,
his annoyance palatable
.
The
taste
of his anger
settl
es
on my tongue as
I wait for the hard slap to the face, but it doesn’t come.
Instead he looks past my shoulder and gives a nod to the guards.
I resist the urge to exhale a relieved breath
and
instead
roll my tongue around my dry mouth
when I hear g
unshots crack the air
.

A moment later
the two wolves separate, both breathing hard as they continue to circle one another
,
bar
ing
their sharp fangs
.
Saliva drips from their
muzzles
,
and
their fur is a
t
angled mess of dirt and fresh blood
, but neither
one
is quite ready to back down
.

G
un in his hand
Mario steps up to them,
his footsteps
are
slow and cautio
us
as the wolves watch each other, both panting heavily
.
Clearly
Mario is
smart enough to know better than to
place himself
between two feuding alphas.
He’s speaking to them, using words meant to calm.
Logan is the first to shift back,
and I’m proud of him for it.

Once they’ve both returned to their human form
,
they stand at their full height, and
Mario fits
Stone with a
collar
.
He
gives
the alpha
a hard
warning glare
before he tosses
him a pair of jeans and shirt
.
For a minute I wonder if Mario is trying to tell him something.
For a minute I wonder if they’re
on the same team
.