Pride Unleashed (a Wolf's Pride novel, book 2) (35 page)

Before I get the chance to show him, an explosion rocks the mansion and rips a hole in the floor beneath me.
Dust flies into the air, and I choke
on the particle
s
.
I wave my arms to clear
the debris
, but when I do I notice the master is gone
, Gem
with him
.
It’s then that I notice the hidden door at the back o
f his office.
Before it
locks
behind him, I bolt forward and
thanks to
my small size I’m able to slip inside before it closes.

I hear footsteps on the stairs, and my ears perk as I follow the sound.
I take the steps two at a time, my wolf clamoring to break free but I know I can’t let her
out
just yet. We might have more obstacles to conquer before I can let her off her leash.

From somewhere up above
I hear a door bang open and slam shut, and assume
they’ve
reached the rooftop.
When I finally reach the top, I
approach the door with caution, not knowing
who or
what is waiting for me on the other side.

Using my shoulder I nudge it open and take a second to assess the situation.
But when I hear footsteps thundering on the stairs below me, I know I have to make a move because
it sounds like the PTF
is closing in
.
 

I dart onto the roof in time to see the master and Gem climb into the helicopter
, the master at the controls
.
Using every ounce of strength I possess, I run for the
airliner
but when the door behind me opens and I hear, “Stop
,
” I spin around in time to see a gun pointed at my head.

My heart thunders because I i
nstantly
recognize the
man with the gun trained on me
.
It’s
the PTF officer
I took down in Olympic National Park.
The
same on
e
my wolf n
early
tore to shreds
but stopped at the last second.

I growl at him as the helicopter’s blades begin to spin.
I need to move and I need to do it now, but the minute I turn my back on him, will he shoot
me
full of silver
?
I
gauge
the time it will take me to reach the helicopter and can only hope I can free Gem and kill the master before the silver pois
on
ing takes
effect
, because
I’ve come too far to let anyone stand in my way.

I’m about to move, but some
thing
in the man’s face changes, softens
and when he speaks I can barely believe what he’s saying
.

“You
spared my life.
N
ow I’m
sparing
you
rs
.”

As my brain deciphers his words
I
realize he’s working with me, not against me
.
Without
any time to
giv
e
it further consideration
I spin around
and
jump on the skids moments before the helicopter
makes lift
.
With strength I
never knew I had,
I
pull the door clear off
its
hinges.

The master’s eyes go wide. “What is this—” he begins
.

But I grab him by the collar and say, “This,
my
dear master,
is what you
c
an expect from a runt like me
.
”
Then I
haul him from the helicopter and send him
tumbling to the
ground.
When Gem jumps free, I pounce on the master, and my wolf howls in
sheer
delight, because she knows.

She knows I’m
finally
going to let her off her leash.

I pin the master to the ground
beneath me
,
and my mouth salivates, ready to call on my wolf so she can rip into his throat and watch the life drain out of him.
But when
I listen to the animal cries
in the distance, it does something to me
.
I lif
t
my head a
nd a
s I scent the air
m
y
attention
goes
to the PTF officer who is watching me carefully
.
The sight of him reminds me that
I’m better than this.
I
might be a wolf, raised as an assassin
b
y
a cruel man
, but I’m not monster.
Inside I’m just a seventeen
-
year
-
old girl who wants to live a normal life.

My wolf wails as
I
push off the master and
climb to
shaky
feet
.
He scrambles backwards a
nd
rises.
A
s
I draw a calming breath
, desperate to
settle
my wolf, I move between
him and the helicopter
, blocking his path.
W
ith panthers closing in from the stairwell I know he has nowhere to go.
I
turn to
see Gem watching me.

“Pride?” she questions.

“The panthers are coming,” I say
, breathless, as I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand
.
“Let’s leave his fate in his own hands.”

With that I turn to look at the PTF officer
, determined to make something clear.
“
We’re not the monsters,” I say.

He nods
and moves toward me
. “I know.”

“There are other compounds.”

“We’re searching now.”

“So you’re going to—”

“Yes,” he says.
“
Our unit has
assembl
ed
a new task force.”

Just then the roof door swings open and out struts two sleek black panthers.
They sniff the air
like
feral
bloodhounds on a hunt
, and when they catch
the
master’s scent, they stalk toward him, completely ignoring
us three
.
The master
falters an
d
falls
backwards.
When he lands with a thum
p
he
begins pleading
for his life
, but the panthers never falter
.
They begin circling, closing the berth.

The officer grabs my arm
.
“We need to move.”

I reach for Gem and catch her hand as the officer
races
toward the
helicopter
.

We jump in
and I look at the controls frantically
.
“Do you know how to fly
this?
”

He nods.
“Years of training
.
All a
part of the special task force.”

Over the
loud
hum of the blades I can hear
the
master howling, but when I think about all the abuse so many have suffered at his hands, I refuse to feel sympathy for him.

When we take to the air, I don’t look back, instead I focus on the ground, and
on
the future before me.
“What about
all
the panthers that have been unleashed
?
” I ask
.
“
They’re not like us.”

“We have a mess on our hands, but now that we know what we’re up against, we can figure out a way to
deal with it.”
He carries us up the mountain and when he finally lands at the top of the vineyard, he powers down the machine and
gestures
toward the
rolling hills
with a nod.
“
You
need to get out of here.
”

I peer into the night
,
swallow hard and say,
“
Thank you.
”

I jump from my seat, and Gem steps up beside me.
Befor
e
we lose ourselves in the dark,
the officer says,
“Take care of yoursel
ves
.”

As emotions choke me I grab Gem’s hand and we walk
away in search of our
family.
When we
finally
spot them near the cannon,
I
see my father, his wolves, Sandy and all the staff
.
I’m not surprised to find
Lawrence
standing there and note he doesn’t l
ook so tough anymore.
I look through the throngs of wolves behind them and
search for Logan and Stone, but when I don’t see them my heart goes into my throat.

A few minutes later, when we finally step up to them, m
y expression is stricken
.
I turn questioning eyes on my
father, and he says, “They both went looking for you.”

I spin around. “The
y’re
in danger, I have to go back.”

I make a step to go, but m
y father grabs my arm.
“Wait.”

I
turn
back to see him and he’s smiling, then I follow his gaze.
I cry out in relief when I see Logan and Stone cresting the hill.

My head goes back and forth between the two boys who mean so much to me, but when my glance settles on Logan and I see the raw hate in his eyes, my heart seizes.
But it’s not me he’s looking at, it
’
s my father.

Before I know what’s happening, I see a flurry of activity and Logan starts running.
Brutally fast, he pounces and slams my father to the ground.
His canines punch through his gums and when his loud growl
s
serrate the quiet and
reverberate
off the mountain, fear for my father’s life has me screaming.

“
Logan, don’t
,
” I yell, and realize that Logan has no idea who this man is.
“
He’s my father
,” I explain.

Logan
bares his teeth and looks at me.
“Pride?” he questions with a growl.
“He was
my
master.”

That revelation takes me by surprise.
I know Logan spent time in a compound but I had no idea he was ruled by my father.
Then I remember something very important Logan once said to me when he saw my deep scars.
He said his master wasn’t so cruel.
That gives me a measure of comfort to know my father ruled with a soft
er
hand.

“Logan,” I begin gently
as he climbs to his feet.
“I
f it wasn’t for him, we never would have gotten out alive.”

Pewter bleeds into his gorgeous blue eyes as his wolf
continues to
hunger for
my father’s
blood.
“So you’re just going to forgive him for all he’s done
?
”

“I don’t know anything about forgiveness,” I say quietly and
step up to him so I can
put my palm on his face,
letting him know how much I care about him.
“But sometimes we have to do what we have to do.
I understand that now.
”

His hand closes over mine.
“Pride, are you sure?”

I step back and my gaze goes from Logan to Stone
and h
is eyes are asking the question that his lips can’t.

Who will I pick?

I don’t directly answer but
I think the
two alpha
s
who I’ve grown to love know
what I mean when I say. “
Actually,
I’m not sure about anything anymore.”
In a crucial first step
of discovery
,
I move closer to my father
, understanding that
I still have so much to learn about my past, my future,
my family,
my world, but most importantly
,
myself
.