Pride's Run (20 page)

“Let’s go.”

We sniff the air and look for game. As we
track along the mountain, Logan moves ahead of me, to keep an eye
out for danger and traps. As he leads the way, the sight of him
pulls all my attention and I decide it’s well past time to learn
more about the boy who has yet to turn on me.

“Logan?”

“Yeah?” He slows until I’m beside him.

“How did my master find you?”

Pewter flickers in his eyes as they meet
mine. “I don’t know.”

“Where was your master’s estate?”

“California.”

I wave my hand. “Then you must have been
running for days if you made it here.”

“I hitchhiked.”

“When did you remove your microchip?”

“As soon as I escaped.”

“Then how did they track you here?”

“Like I said, I don’t know.”

I glare at him and my stomach twists. He’s
asked me to trust him but once again I get the sense he’s keeping
something from me. I open my mouth to voice those concerns but he
silences me and gestures with a nod.

When I see a pack of deer, I understand his
intent and instantly begin to remove my clothes. It’s only after
I’m naked that I realize I hadn’t turned my back on the alpha while
I undressed. Once complete, I stand next to Logan like we’re equals
and we both call on our primal side.

A few minutes later, when we’re both in wolf
form, we silently communicate a plan of attack and begin our hunt.
I calm my wolf and mentally go over yesterday’s training as Logan
gives me the go ahead.

I sniff the air and dart through the woods,
keeping low and quiet, the way he taught me. As I approach I get a
quick flash of panic, but then I hear Logan. He’s in my head,
working with me, coaching me and giving me the courage I need to
make the kill.

“
That’s it, Pride, you’ve got
this.”

Strangely enough, there is something so
encouraging in his voice, and the combination of his strength and
belief in me help me push forward. Confidence bolstered, and
wanting to please Logan, I dart forward, and catch the deer from
behind. Within seconds I wrestle it to the ground and once it’s
down, Logan joins me. I can feel his excitement, his pride in me
and my own chest swells in response.

We eat together and once we’re done we go
find our clothes and make our way to the lake for water.

Logan grabs two big sticks as we cut through
the trees and once we reach the lake he sits on the embankment,
pulls the knife from the bag and begins to shape the ends into a
sharp spear.

“What’s that for?” I ask as I take a big
swallow of water.

“Fishing.”

Even though I’ve just had breakfast, I can’t
deny that I’m ready for lunch. “You’re a guy of many skills.”

Logan smiles and peels a strip of bark off
the stick. When the blade of the knife glistens in the sunlight it
reminds me of Stone.

“Logan?” I begin.

“Yeah?”

As though sensing my unease Logan puts the
knife down and shoots a glance around to do a quick check for
danger.

“What is it?” he asks.

“Stone was trying to tell me something.”

His face darkens at the mention of Stone.
“What do you think it was?”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think he wanted to
hurt me.”

“That’s not how it looked to me. He was
coming at you with a knife.” Logan holds up the metal blade and his
voice is hard when he say, “This knife.”

I steal a quick glance at him. “That’s
because you couldn’t hear what he was saying to me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Stone and I, well, we can speak
telepathically.”

He gives me an odd look. “All wolves can,
Pride.”

“Not when they are in human form.” As soon as
the words leave my mouth, I feel like I’ve betrayed him
somehow.

I can feel his body stiffen and when his eyes
turn cold, I get the sense he knows something I don’t.

“What?” I ask.

Logan goes quiet for a long moment, then he
asks, “When did your master break Stone?”

“Three years ago when he turned sixteen.”

His gaze shifts to my body. “And you were
what fourteen, going through puberty?”

“Yes.”

“And this is right around the time he started
acting aggressive around you right?”

“Yeah.”

Logan scrubs his chin with his hand, briefly
closes his eyes and makes a tortured sound. “I should have
known.”

“What.”

“Stone isn’t your enemy, Pride.” He gives a
solemn shake of his head. “He’s in love with you.”

I balk at that suggestion. “You have no idea
what you’re talking about.”

“Think about it. I’m sure your master was
like mine and would use anything you loved or cared about against
you right?”

My stomach cramps as I think about the elders
and what the master will do to them because of me. “Yes.”

“Maybe that’s why Stone kept his feelings a
secret and went so far as to let everyone believe he hated
you.”

Logan goes quiet for a minute to let me chew
on that, but the idea is so farfetched I have a hard time working
my mind around it.

His gaze lingers on my face for a long time.
“That’s what I would have done.” His eyes narrow and his voice
drops to a soft whisper when he adds, “If it meant protecting you,
that’s exactly what I would have done.”

My mind spins as I take a moment to entertain
the idea. “You’re wrong.”

“Just think about it,” Logan says.

My brain comes to a screeching halt and I
refuse to dwell on Logan’s absurd suggestion, because I can’t
believe Stone is in love with me.

I command myself to get my thoughts together.
“Maybe this is all ridiculous and Stone is nothing more than an
aggressive alpha who always takes what he wants.” I nod toward the
knife. “And maybe he really was going to hurt me.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Logan says, sounding
unconvinced.

“Come on, let’s move.”

“Don’t you want to go fishing?”

I pull in a fortifying breath. “Maybe later,”
I say, needing to run, to hunt, to work off the nervous feeling
churning in my gut.

Logan repacks the bag and hands me a spear. I
take it and start running through the woods without bothering to
push branches out of my way. I feel the sting of a thorn as it
slices my face but I ignore the pain. As if sensing my turmoil
Logan remains silent and lets me run hard as I work things
through.

I run for a long time with Logan keeping a
fair distance behind but then suddenly I get the strangest sense
we’re being followed. As my nape tingles in warning, the way it
always does when danger is nearby, I slow my steps and glance
around the rough terrain, noting how high up the mountain-top we
are.

I spin around and look at Logan, who is
staring back at me, but what I see has my senses going on high
alert. My wolf growls and my buttons pop as my primal side threats
to make its presence known but my intuition tells me that my best
bet at survival is to keep my human form.

I suck in a sharp breath and with my spear
aimed directly at Logan’s head, I say in a calm voice that belies
my emotions. “Get on your knees, Logan.”

Logan holds his hands up, palms out. “Pride,”
he whispers, and cocks his head to the side. “What are you
doing?”

“Do it,” I demand.

Expression troubled, he drops, and as I watch
him my heart trip hammers.

With speed and accurate precision I throw the
homemade spear at the mountain lion tracking us from behind. The
sharp end skims its gorgeous coat, slicking along its fur just
enough to maim it but not enough to kill it. Its loud roar echoes
off the mountain-top, but the attack is enough to send it running
in the opposite direction.

Logan swivels around and then his eyes dart
back to mine. His grin comes slow. “Nice.”

Hands shaking, I stand there trying to
breathe. Then something very important occurs to me. In the heat of
the moment I was thinking with my heart, not my head.

It also occurs to me that I’ve never been so
fast, or so accurate before. But the thought of losing Logan gave
me an adrenaline rush like I’ve never felt before. It was that
adrenaline and the fight-or-flight response that came with it that
helped me perform better.

Maybe Logan was right and fighting with your
heart doesn’t always have to be your downfall. Maybe, just maybe if
you’re fighting for something or someone you really care about it
gives you an edge. I always sensed Stone was fighting with his
heart, not his head. Had he been protecting me all this time? Is
that why I’m still alive today? Could Logan have been right?

Logan’s eyes narrow. “You okay?”

I begin to shake as I come down from the
rush. Logan grabs me and hauls me against him and I see a flash of
possessiveness in his eyes when he says, “Hey.” Tenderness steals
over him and he presses his lips to my temple.

“I’m okay,” I say, comforted by his touch as
his warmth moves through me, although if what he suspects about
Stone is true then I don’t believe I’m ever going to be okay
again.

He makes a noise with his tongue and arches a
brow. “You’re lightning fast, Pride. When you come up against
someone twice your size, they’re really going to underestimate
you.”

I know what he’s doing and because I’m such a
trembling mess I let him do it.

“That’s a nice advantage you have there,” he
continues. “Now I know why your master sent you after me.”

A smile touches my mouth as Logan’s little
pep talk starts to make me feel better. I sniff, pull myself
together, and give him a coy smile. “I believe I had you worried
for a minute there, didn’t I?”

He jabs his thumb into his chest,
exaggerating when he says, “Me? No way.”

I give him a dubious look and plant my hands
on my hips. “Not even for a minute?”

“Okay.” He forces a quick laugh. “Maybe for a
minute. I guess I should be thanking you, young grasshopper.”

I have no idea why he’s calling me a
grasshopper, but once again the oddest sense of pride wells up in
my chest.

“No need to thank me,” I say as I recall all
the times he saved me. “Let’s call it even.”

He grins. “I’ve taught you well.”

“Maybe you do need me after all.” I toss the
words over my shoulder as I move past him to collect my spear.

He slips an arm around my waist and spins me
around until I’m facing him. He dips his head and when his hair
falls forward, the scent of his skin washes over me. My entire body
stirs to life.

Rich pewter flecks sparkle in his blue eyes
and there is no humor in his voice when he says, “I never said I
didn’t need you, Pride.”

As I look up at him, I wonder exactly when it
was that I developed feelings for him and exactly when it was that
we stopped acting like enemies and started working together. Then I
quickly remind myself that we have no future. In a few short days,
when we escape this place, I’ll be leaving him behind, never to set
eyes on him again.

“You’re right,” I answer, working diligently
to harden myself. “You didn’t.”

He lets me go and I gather my spear, but when
I turn back to Logan and see the bloodlust in his eyes my heart
races. My hand goes to my throat, to where a thorny bush cut into
my skin, and I feel the sticky drops of warm blood beneath my
fingers.

“Logan?”

With two long strikes he closes the distance
between us, and my wolf feels no fear as his glance settles on my
throat. She only feels puzzled.

“What is it about my blood that makes you
hungry?” I finally manage to get out.

He gives a frustrated shake of his head.
“It’s not hunger, Pride.”

“Then what is it?”

He laughs and looks at me like I’m dense.
“For a smart wolf you can be pretty naïve about certain
things.”

With that he turns and stomps ahead of me.
Before he gets too far in front of me he says, “I need you to morph
and heal yourself right now, before I do something I might
regret.”

August 28
^th
one day until full moon

W
hile we work to
avoid hunters we spend the daytime hours honing my skills as we
make our way out of the park. Logan takes me higher and higher on
the tallest mountain, to an area of the park that is off limits to
hikers. I know why he’s doing it, but still don’t think the
distance will prevent my untamed wolf from going after what she
wants. When her bloodlust takes hold, anything can happen. I shiver
at the thought and push down a burst of panic.

As daylight begins to recede and the moon
rides across the dark sky I try to fight down an ominous sense of
foreboding. I glance around and wonder what’s keeping Logan. He
left to gather snow to melt for coffee but seems to be taking an
awfully long time.

Working to pass the time, I pace around the
small campfire, feeing restless, edgy and so antsy it’s all I can
do to keep from shifting and sprinting full speed across the
mountain-top.

“Easy, Pride,” Logan says as he comes up
behind me. He pulls me to him and my back presses against his
chest. A rush of heat chases the chill away as he puts his mouth
near my ear and says, “It’s going to be okay.”

I nod, even though I don’t believe him. How
can it possibly be okay? I’m an undisciplined wolf who is trained
to kill and not even Logan will be safe when the moon reaches its
peak.

He spins me around and those rich, intense
eyes of his lock on mine. As I watch him wet his lips, tension
coils through me, and I find it most difficult to think with any
sort of clarity. This boy really does have the uncanny ability to
throw me off my game.

“I know something that will take your mind
off the shift,” he murmurs with quiet certainty.

His voice is so soft, so suggestive and so
loaded with promise my entire body quivers, and I wonder if he’s
going to kiss me.