Pride's Run (14 page)

“I can’t do what he wants me to do. I just
can’t.” I whisper under my breath before I can stop myself.

Logan opens his mouth like he wants to say
something but then seems to change his mind.

“We’re both tired, Pride.”

My mussed hair whips across my face as I give
a vicious shake of my head. “I won’t let that happen again,” I say.
“I need to stay alive.” What Logan doesn’t understand is that I
have a mission, and death will simply prevent me from accomplishing
it.

Logan looks around to take in the
mountainside. “At least they’re not tracking us by scent.”

Once again I think of Stone and my pulse
leaps. “My master will put another tracker on us. I’m sure of
it.”

Logan stares at me for a moment then asks,
“If he sends another tracker do you think he’ll let you go? Let you
take your freedom?”

I give another hard shake of my head. “No.
He’ll send Stone.”

“Stone?”

“He’ll never let me go.”

“Why?”

I turn away and my gut clenches so hard I
think I’m going to be sick.

“What is it?” Logan grabs my arm and turns me
back to face him. “What do I need to know about this Stone?”

“He’ll bring me back because he’s been
broken. He’s the master’s puppet and will happily do his
bidding.”

“And?” Logan studies me and his eyes harden
as they move over my face. “What is it you’re not telling me? What
is it your master wants you to do?”

I draw in a heavy breath and as I let it out
I say, “In two days I’m supposed to mate with Stone.”

Logan’s blue eyes widen as he lets loose a
long slow whistle. “I see,” he says as he looks past my shoulder,
to some distant spot in the forest. I watch the muscles on his jaw
tense when he says, “And I take it you don’t like Stone.”

“No. I don’t.”

“Yet your master is going to mate you with
him anyway?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“To tame me.”

He gives me a perplexed look. “He thinks a
mating will tame you?”

“No. He thinks puppies will.” I feel a burst
of anger but tamp it down before I say, “And believe me, I’m not
going to bring a pup into this world and let it suffer at the hands
of my master.”

His voice drops to a whisper and
understanding passes over his faces when he says, “I can see why
you ran.”

I look at him and when I see worry shadows
beneath his eyes I turn the question on him. “Why did you run,
Logan?”

“Because the opportunity presented itself.”
He shoots a glance and redirects the conversation. “Do you think
Stone is out here, scenting you?”

“I’m not sure but can only guess he is. I
haven’t picked up any traces of him yet though.”

“Good.” He looks me over, and I don’t miss
the concern on his face. “At least the clothes you’re wearing will
help mask your scent.”

“Not with the way I’ve been sweating in
them.”

“Then tomorrow I’ll go shopping, to
restock.”

“What’s your currency exchange?”

He grins is slow. “How about I let our
suppliers live.”

His predatory smile and the way he talks so
callously about life and death elicits a shiver from deep within
and reminds me I’m running with a dangerous wolf.

“I lost our supplies so I should be the one
responsible to restock,” I say.

Logan mistakes the shiver rocketing through
me. He steps closer and the air around us charges as he runs his
hands over my arms, using friction to create heat. His touch makes
me feel strange and unbalanced.

“It’s okay, Pride. It’s a bump in the road,
it’s not the end of it.”

As he cares for me, the way an alpha would
care for his mate, my numb feet take that moment to throb and
despite the pain I’m thankful for the distraction. I step back,
severing the intimacy. I pull a face as I glance at my purple,
blood-crusted toes.

“I lost my boots.”

Logan winces when he sees the sad state my
feet are in. He bends down and starts untying his boots. “Take
mine.”

“I’m not going to take your boots,” I shoot
back. “You need them.”

“I won’t need them tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because I couldn’t find us a tent, which
means in order to stay warm, I’ll have to call on my wolf.”

I shrug and reach for my zipper. “Then I
guess I won’t need them either then.”

Logan grabs my hand and stops me. When I look
at him in confusion, he says, “No, there is no sense is us both
staying awake. You sleep. I’ll stay watch.”

As I continue to stare at him, still unable
to figure him out, or why he’s being so nice to me, a cool breeze
ruffles his hair and rich, Pacific blue eyes—eyes that promise
freedom—reach out to me.

“We’ll take turns,” I say, hoping my voice
isn’t as shaky as my insides.

A long pause and then, “Fair enough.”

With that settled we go to work on gathering
sticks to make a lean-to against the rocky cliff. It might not keep
us very warm, but at least it will protect us from the wind and
keep us hidden from the hunters who are out on night patrol.

I stifle a yawn, and think about the coffee I
left behind. Since Logan is taking first watch, I’m sure he could
have used a cup right now. Once again I mentally kick myself for
losing our supplies.

“You want to sleep first?” I ask.

“No, you go ahead.”

I turn my head when he begins to strip, then
gather his clothes and bring them with me into our tight shelter. A
moment later Logan joins me in wolf form. I can’t seem to take my
eyes off his powerful streamlined body, and without conscious
thought, I reach out to stroke his soft fur. His coat is much
thicker than mine, more conditioned for living in the outdoors.

He nips at my hand and I quickly pull it
back. I understand his message so I curl up in a ball and press
myself against the nook in the rock. He wraps his large frame
around me and using his large body as well as the warmth of his
fur, he protects me from the harsh elements.

As I absorb his warmth, and burrow deeper
into his body, I consider the turn of events and can’t help but
think how weird it feels to be here, protected by this strong
alpha. Especially considering that last night I refused to sleep
anywhere near him, only to wake up naked with his body practically
wrapped around mine.

Once again my mind races, wanting to know
more about this boy. As if he can sense my rambling thoughts he
growls low in his throat, and nips at me again.

“Okay, okay,” I say and growl back. I close
my eyes and calm my erratic thoughts and although I know I should
probably be thinking about how easily this skilled wolf can kill me
in my sleep, I let myself drift off.

I don’t know how long I slept, but when I
open my eyes, I see long fingers of light filtering in through our
shelter. I run my hand along Logan’s back to get his attention. The
fur along his spine bristles and he gives a soft growl as he lifts
his head to look up at me.

Even though he can’t understand what I’m
saying in my human form, I frown and ask. “Why didn’t you wake
me?”

I crawl out from under him and turn my back.
I can feel his eyes on my body as I shed my clothes and when I hear
him make an agonized noise, a deep groan low in his wolf throat, I
know he’s looking at the scars marring the length of my spine.

Seconds before I morph, I feel him move in
close. I shudder as he runs his muzzle over my flesh, his fur
tickling my skin and shredding my defenses. His big beefy paws
trail along my shoulder, going all the way to the small of my back,
but his touch isn’t meant to hurt, it’s meant to soothe.

Completely rattled, I gulp air and when he
lets loose a howl, I inch away and call on my wolf. Once my
transformation is complete I gather my composure, turn to him and
nip at his shoulder.

“
Okay, okay,”
he says trying to
lighten my mood.
“Did you forget that
I’m
the
alpha?”

He shifts and as I look at the naked boy
before me, all sinewy muscle and power, my heart gallops. Oh no,
there is no way I could ever forget this boy is an alpha. As the
warm, familiar scent of him fills my nostrils I gesture toward his
clothes and force myself not to show a reaction as I take in his
nakedness.

With the cool air biting his flesh, he
hurries into his pants, sweater, and coat but when his glance meets
mine again, I can see the deep lines beneath his eyes. My heart
tightens when I realize how tired he is and I can’t help but feel a
little guilty for sleeping so long while he stayed awake to protect
us.

I nip him again, and when he curls up, I
snuggle down next to his body. When he puts his arm around me, a
strange wave of warmth moves through me. I flinch, a little
uncomfortable with the way he’s holding me, but stay close enough
to offer him my heat.

“
Get some rest, Logan,”
I growl and
even though I know he can’t hear me, I’m pretty sure he
understands.

His eyes slip shut and a smile touches his
mouth as he pulls me against him, anchoring my wolf body to his.
This time I don’t move and a few moments later I hear his soft
breathing noises. Once he’s asleep, my wolf senses go on high
alert, listening for possible threats and enemies as Logan takes
his turn to rest.

He doesn’t sleep long, just enough to take
the edge off and when he wakes, he spends a long time looking over
my wolf. As he brushes down my matted fur, grooming it back into
place, I can’t help but think how horrible I must look, and how
much I’d love to have a hot shower to clean myself up.

He speaks to me, but I don’t know what he’s
saying, so I turn my back and shift into my human form. He stays
quiet as I pull my clothes on and I can’t help but feel a little
awkward as he watches me dress.

“How do you feel?” I ask to break the
profound silence, which is making me feel completely
self-conscious.

“Good. You?”

“I could use a shower.”

He laughs. “That makes two of us. Maybe we
can find a lake after we go hunting.”

As I think about hunting I bite the inside of
my mouth to hide my unease. “Okay.”

Logan takes off his boots and hands them to
me. I get ready to protest but he cuts me off and says, “We’ll take
turns. Besides I have these socks to keep me warm.”

I pull on the boots and we step outside. The
mid morning sun shines down on us as we stretch out our stiff,
overworked bodies. We instinctively understand each other as we
exchange a look and knowing we both have a job to do, Logan sniffs
the air for game while I sniff it for danger.

“Anything?” he asks.

“No, you?”

He gestures with his head. “Down there.”

I take a step forward, but Logan stops me.
“Why don’t you tell me which direction the wind is coming
from?”

I stick my tongue out and taste the air,
understanding today’s lesson has already begun. “That way,” I say
pointing west.

“Good. So we need to get downwind, so the
animal doesn’t smell us first.”

“Right.”

Walking quietly, we make our way around the
towering trees, and before we reach a small clearing, I see a herd
of deer grazing. My wolf yelps, eager to give chase.

We stop near a large tree, and Logan unzips
his coat. “Look them over, and tell me which one we should go
for.”

Never having hunted wild game before, I spot
the biggest, meatiest buck and while my wolf stirs restlessly,
eager to go for the juiciest steak, I’m a hunter at heart so I
point to the smaller one at the back of the pack. “That one.”

Logan smiles and as I watch him remove his
coat and shirt I feel like I passed some sort of test. “My dad
would have liked you.” I don’t know why, but hearing him say that
about his dad has me feeling all strange inside. Logan reaches for
his pants and nods toward my clothes. “Get yourself ready.”

As I move away from him and begin to peel my
clothes off my body he says, “We attack from behind and go for the
hind leg.”

I run over the information. “I can do
that.”

“I’ll be there with you, Pride, but I’m going
to let you take the lead on this. It’s the way my dad taught
me.”

I nod, hoping my bloodlust will guide my
actions and I don’t screw this up. Once I’m naked, I fold my
clothes and place them near the tree before I shift. Logan is ready
and waiting for me.

“
Let’s go.”

My wolf growls and we stay low, crouching on
our bellies as we carefully close the distance between us and the
herd. Instincts sharpened, I let my wolf take over and inch toward
the grazing animals, which so far seem oblivious to us. I zero in
on the one I want, and when I see the flick of its white tail, I
make a move toward it. Unfortunately, my wolf is so eager to take
chase she doesn’t notice the branch beneath her paws. As the sound
cracks the quiet, the deer lifts its head, sniffs the air and
signals the others before bolting.

When they begin to run, I dart from my
position and take off after them. Advancing with purpose, my wolf
growls low in her throat and continues to take chase, but when I go
for the deer’s ankle the animal changes direction. My teeth clash
and I fly through the air. A moment later I land with a painful
thud and my empty stomach growls as I watch the game dart away.

Logan comes up beside me and nudges me with
his muzzle. “
You did good.”

“
No I didn’t,”
I shoot back, angered
and embarrassed that I couldn’t bring down one small deer. I jump
to all fours and snarl at him. “
If I did good, we’d be feasting
right now.”

Logan shakes his head, the pewter in his eyes
darkening.
“I’ve never met a wolf who was so hard on
herself.”

“
Then I guess I’m not like the other
wolves you know
,” I remind him, because I hate failure, of any
kind.