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

Floodlights sweep the area, splashing
monstrous
shadows over the manicured lawn
s
and towering marble
sculptures
.
As I take in the
array of statues
fringing the walkway
I can’t help but think they resemble a
n armed
band
of
soldiers
ready to defend the empire
,
prepared
to kill all those who threaten their leader
.
I look beyond them,
and in the distance I spot
the
front door
with i
ts ornate, silver doorknocker.

As I
glare at
it, m
y heart thunders and my blood pumps faster
.
The
majestic
entranceway
might
look welcoming
to most
, but
I know it’s not
.
I know
the cruelties that
await us
on the other side
.
But instead
of heeding common
sense
and running in the opposite direction,
we’re walking
straight
back in,
simply
because
it’s the only way I can follow through with the
vow
I once made to
myself
.

Logan moves closer, sensing my discomfort
.
Unwilling to give in to my fears,
I
breathe in his
comforting
scent
s
, pulling them deep into my lungs
.
The
heady
bouquet
of
clean earth
—a
fragrance that reminds me of cool
,
su
mmer
days
—m
ingles with the
fresh
aroma of
pine needles
.
The aroma
seeps under my skin
and
as it travels through my veins
I suddenly
can’t help but wish I was
facing the master
alone.
I hate the risk
Logan is
about to take
.
Hate that he’s so sure of me
that
he’s willing to put his life in my hands.

Aware of the security cameras
panning the area
,
I take a tentative step closer
to the intercom outside the gate
.
But fear for Logan’s safety has
my stomach rebel
ling
as the
bulging
black
button taunts me
.
I want to reach for it, but
I can’t seem to move,
my mind and body
no longer
functioning
on the same wavelength.

Logan curls his hand around my waist, and I jump at his touch.
He slides me a look
as
those
perceptive
blue eyes
of his slowly
mov
e
over my face
, a careful assessment
that makes me uncomfortable
.

His voice is low, reassuring
and I try not to fidget
when he whispers,
“
It’s going to be okay, Pride.
”

I force a smile
and
my wolf bristles, but I
no longer
let her take
comfort in his touch,
or
the warm strength of his body
.
Right now I need to draw on my anger, because it’s that anger that’s going to keep my wolf sharp and keep us alive.

“Pride,” he says again
in that soft tone that always gets to me
, then
he
pauses to add depth to his words when he
states
, “We’ve all got your back.
Nothing is going to go wrong.
”

“
I know,” I
respond
and
study
his family
as I work to keep my voice from sounding uncertain
.
Although Logan is smart, strong and skilled,
we
’re
no longer playing in his territory.
While
his
world
might have dangerous black bears,
birds of prey
,
and wild
, feral
animals, the
k
ing of my jungle
is
far more
deadly
.

And we’d be wise to remember
that
.

With life and death hanging in the balance,
a
dark shiver puls
es
in my blood
.
Ignoring the warning sign
,
I reach out and
stab
the
security
button
.
M
y mind
takes that time to
run through various scenarios
.
As I wonder
how the master will receive us
,
knowing that the next few minutes will determine our fate, I pull a gun from my
back
pocket and aim it at Logan’s head.

I
turn to look
at
Logan’s uncle,
Malcolm,
t
he
powerful
leader of the
handpicked
group
of wolves
who
make up our motley
crew
.
Since I know very little about each wolf, their strengths and weaknesses, I had
zero
input into
who came and who stayed back to oversee their small
Canadian
community near the border.

B
ut I do know that those who
are with us now have risked
their lives t
o help me
free the others
and for that I’ll always be grateful
.

Malcolm
gives me a curt nod
, bringing my attention back to the crisis at hand,
and
then
his
brown
eyes take on a serious edge when he
looks past my shoulders.

I don’t need to turn to know what he’s looking at.
I can hear the gears grinding on the security camera as it
slowly
pivots my way.
R
eturn
ing
Malcolm’s
signal
with
a
stiff nod of my own
,
and
summoning every ounce of courage I posses
s
,
I watch the team of eight retreat
,
losing themselves in
the
inky
darkness
surround
ing
the estate
.

Once they’ve disappeared,
I draw a fueling breath
to clear my thoughts
and
remember what my father taught me
when I was
just a pup
,
before he
blew out of my life like a leaf caught in an updraft
.
N
ever let them see your fear.

But thoughts of my father ha
ve
my head spinning
and fill me with a million questions
.
M
ainly, c
ould
he
still be alive?

I
square my shoulder and
begin to turn
, to face the firing squad about to
descend upon
us
,
but moments before the camera lands on me,
Logan’s cousin,
Gem
s
teps
from the darkness to
give me a brisk hug.
 

“
Grasshopper
,” she whispers into my ear
.
I instantly remember Logan once calling me grasshopper, but
before I can ask what she means, she
’s gone
, disappearing
as
quickly
as she
’d
appeared,
a bright shiny jewel
dim
med by the ebony
blackness
owning the night
.

I shift my focus to Logan and
I’m about to question him
.
I want to ask what
Gem
means,
but
I
also
want to know
why Malcolm would bring a
spirited
, energetic girl like her along
—
one who
would
surely
collapse
in
the heat of
battle
.
B
ut
he squeezes my arm in a silent message
, letting me know
it’s
time to focus.

A look passes between us,
and
then
he
lowers his head
like a broken puppy
—one who was just brutally kicked
.
My heart misses a beat as I watch him
put on his game face and
execute our plan to perfection
.
This strong yet gentle alpha never fails to amaze me and
everything about him
touches me in places I never knew existed until
we
met
.

But I can’t think about that right now
, can’t think about how he makes me feel so warm and
secure
when I’m with him
.
Right now I have to get my head in the game and focus on the task at hand
, because
once that gate opens
we’ll
be
anything but safe.

When I tear my gaze away from the boy who taught me
how to
trust,
I remove all emotion from my face and look pointedly at the metal gate.
Once again I remind myself that this risky plan needs to go down without a hi
tch
, otherwise I might not ever feel Logan’s warm
touch
again.

S
hivers skitter down my spine at the sound of
the oxidized
hinges
yawn
ing
open
, yet I keep my face blank, my eye
s
vacant
.
L
ess than a split second later
the sound of
squeal
ing
tires reach
es
our ears
.
I brace myself
for battle
and
blink against the glaring headlights aimed our way
.

It appears the firing squad has arrived
.

I peer into the dark
ened
window
s
of the approaching vehicle
and spot
Lawrence
, one of the handlers who
takes pleasure in
using a rough hand to
restrain
t
he wolves
.
I
pan the inside of the vehicle and note
that he
’s
brought
two
bodyguard
s
as
backup
, the same ones I
’d managed to
ditch and
elude
at Olympic Park
some three weeks ago
.

The bulletproof SUV they’re traveling in
screech
es
to a
halt
just inside the gate.
The three slowly emerge from the
oversized luxury Blazer
, and a
crooked yet cautious smile curls
Lawrence’s
thin
lips as his
dark
,
beady eyes lock on mine.