Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) (17 page)

Nova locked her office door, then grabbed
her phone and made the call. Liberty answered on the first ring.
“Everything okay at the bar?”

“Yes,” Nova sighed. “I need to talk to
you.”

“About?” Liberty pressed.

“I need to talk to you about the change,”
Nova announced, taking a deep breath.

“Um,” Liberty paused. “Why?”

“He touched me,” Nova smiled. “We’re mates,
but he won’t tell me anything other than that he marked me.
Liberty, I know there is more, but he clams up when I mention
it.”

“Men,” Liberty grumbled. “Talon changes the
subject when I ask him about the three days missing from my
memories of my change.”

“They wouldn’t let me see you because the
Guardians said you weren’t safe right after the change…that you had
to adjust.”

“Something’s fishy,” Liberty said. “When are
you leaving the bar?”

“I was thinking about leaving here soon,”
she replied. “Cole said he’d close up tonight.”

“Come over as soon as you get home,” her
sister said.

“Okay,” Nova said, hanging up and placing
her head in her hands.

Whatever he wasn’t telling her, she was sure
that Liberty would find the answers. Obviously, her sister had some
unanswered questions. Nova was sure that between the two of them,
they could get one of those stubborn panthers to talk.

Nova worked for another hour before she
couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed her purse. Drake grunted as
she walked up to him. “You’re ready to go already?”

“Sorry, Drake,” she smiled.

“Let’s get you home,” he sighed. “I gotta
get back to the den anyway.”

“Den?” Nova frowned, wondering what the hell
he was talking about, but then mentally slapped herself. Den,
meaning his home.

“Home, little lady,” he smirked. “Got shit
to do.”

“Okay,” she chuckled, letting Drake lead her
out to his big ass truck. She had to climb to reach the seat, but
he just hopped, landing in the seat.

After Drake had taken his leave at Winter’s
doorstep, Nova set her purse down and turned to leave, heading for
the main house so she could speak to Liberty. As soon as she
knocked, the door was opened and her sister stood there, worry
etching her brow, but she didn’t say anything as Nova walked
inside.

“Let’s go into Talon’s office,” Liberty
suggested. “It’s private in there.”

As soon as Liberty closed the door, Nova
nodded toward the lock. She didn’t want anyone walking in on their
conversation. Liberty obliged and took a seat in one of the two
chairs in front of her mate’s desk. Nova took the other.

“What do you know about being changed into
one of them?” Nova asked.

“Well,” Liberty paused, gathering her
thoughts. “I was told that to be able to bear young, I would have
to be one of them. At the time, I was okay to wait, because I
didn’t know much about being a shifter.”

“What about the mark on Talon’s neck?” Nova
asked, smiling when her sister blushed.

“I had to mark him with my teeth…my panther
teeth,” she answered, fidgeting a little. “They have a certain way
they make the mating official, Nova. It’s strange…I mean, they can
mark you once their animal knows you are theirs, but to seal the
deal, you have to mark Winter, and you can’t do that until you are
one of them…us.”

“Do you like being one of them?” Nova asked,
needing answers.

“It’s different, but not bad.” Liberty
shrugged. “It’s very strange at first, learning to accept this
thing
inside you, taking up space in your head and body.
When my panther gets agitated, I can feel her. It’s like I’m being
pushed from the inside out. In the beginning, that first shift…it
hurt, a lot.”

“How bad?” Nova pushed.

“I was miserable, but after that, it got
easier,” Liberty replied, leaning forward in her chair. “But what I
still don’t have answers for was why I was out of it for three
whole days, Nova. No one told me anything.”

“I was told to stay away until you healed.”
Nova frowned. “They said that you weren’t safe to be around until
you had control over your panther.”

“I had control over her when I woke up,” she
cursed. “I wasn’t a threat!”

“Someone isn’t telling us everything,” Nova
mused.

Knock! Knock!

“Liberty?” Talon’s voice boomed. “Open the
door! Are you okay?”

“Damn,” Liberty gasped, rushing for the
door. She unlocked it and pulled it open wide. Her mate stood there
larger than life. “Sorry, we were using your office for
privacy.”

“Okay,” Talon said, looking a little
uncomfortable. “Is everything okay?”

“No,” Nova said, standing from her seat. “I
want you to tell me what happened to my sister during the three
days she was changing and healing from her attack, Talon.”

“Ah,” he paused, wiping a hand down his
face. “Damn.”

“There’s something Winter is keeping from
me,” Nova said, gritting her teeth. “He marked me, but won’t tell
me anything else. I know there’s more, Talon. Liberty has no
memories for three days after her rescue. It’s time you come
clean.”

“Sit,” he ordered, nodding toward the chairs
they’d already occupied. Nova and Liberty shared a look and took
their seats.

“This is very hard for me to talk about.”
Talon cleared his throat, looking down at his desk.

“Talon,” Liberty started, but when her
mate’s eyes raised, they were glowing.

“When,” he began, then choked up, a lethal
rumble coming from his chest. “When I found you, my mate, you were
almost dead. They’d touched your skin…the skin that was mine to
protect from harm. They’d treated you like a punching bag. They
kicked you and ripped your clothes as if you were nothing…no one.
You were incoherent, mumbling things I couldn’t understand, and
then you opened your mouth. Blood poured out and that’s when I knew
you were dying.”

“Oh, God,” Nova gasped. No one had told her
the extent of her sister’s injuries.

“Our healer walked me through giving you my
blood…to change you into what I am,” he replied, his upper lip
tilting up into a snarl. “I didn’t think you were going to make
it…and then…then you started screaming.”

“What?” both women barked.

“The change is painful,” he answered.
“Extremely painful, but you were already somewhat comatose. Harold
gave you sedatives so you wouldn’t hurt, but you continued to
scream. I had to be removed from the room after the first day
because I was losing my mind. My Guardians held me up when my world
was crumbling around me, seeing and hearing you in so much pain. My
only relief was that when you woke up, you didn’t remember
anything.”

“So, this is why he won’t change me?” Nova
asked, her voice nothing but a whisper.

“Seeing our mates in pain will drive us
insane,” Talon admitted. “Winter doesn’t want to be the cause of
pain for you.”

“Then I’ll take that decision away from
him,” Nova snarled. “Talon, I want you to change me.”

“No,” Talon said, shaking his head. “I will
not do that without Winter’s consent.”

“Excuse me?” Nova barked, her head throbbing
from the force of her outburst. “This isn’t his decision. It’s
mine.”

“Nova,” Liberty warned, but Nova slashed her
hand through the air to stop her sister from interfering.

“No, Liberty,” she cursed. “You know what?
Never mind.”

Nova stormed out of the office and down the
hallway, ignoring the stares of the few pride members that were
milling about the alpha’s home. She quietly left and stomped off
toward Winter’s home, but when she got there, she was too angry to
go inside.

Instead, she reached inside the door,
grabbing her purse and keys. She didn’t think of her own safety as
she climbed into her car and drove off the pride’s secured land. No
one stopped her, but an old white truck waited down the road for
the chance to find Nova Raines alone…and unprotected.

Chapter Thirteen

“What the fuck do you mean ‘she’s gone’?”
Winter raged into the phone. His panther was on edge.

“She knows, Winter, and she left the pride
house upset…mad,” Talon replied. “One of the teenagers saw her
leaving and called me right away because he knew you were out
hunting for Perry.”

“I’m calling her,” Winter snarled,
tightening his fist around the steering wheel of his truck. His
mate was missing…possibly in the hands of her attacker. She could
be hurt again, but this time it would be worse. Perry’s touch alone
could bring her pain. A deadly snarl left his lips as he dialed her
number, cursing when she didn’t answer. He called the only other
Guardian who was in the area of the pride’s land.

“Dane, she’s gone,” he barked into the
phone. He was backtracking from the home where they’d killed the
pack of wolves, hoping to find that son of a bitch somewhere along
the way. He’d just disappeared…vanished into thin air.

“We are just crossing the county line,
heading toward the pride,” Dane announced. “We will keep an eye out
for her.”

“Hang on, she’s calling me,” Winter said,
clicking the phone to accept her call. “Where the hell are
you?”

“W…Winter,” she cried. “Perry’s behind me.
He’s been following me for awhile now.”

“Where are you, Nova?” he asked, trying his
hardest not to yell, even though he was so angry at her for running
off.

“Coming down highway 305 just outside of
town,” she informed him. Winter knew he was too far away to
intercept her…to catch him finally.

“Nova?”

“Yeah,” she said, her voice sounding more
like her own.

“I need you to drive, baby,” he said. “Drive
straight to the pride and get on our land. Do not stop until you
are past the pride house. I have to hang up with you for just a
second so I can call for Dane. He’s closer to you than I am.”

“Okay, but call me back, and Winter,” she
paused, “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll call you right back…now drive,” he
ordered, dropping the call.

His hands shook as he pressed the button to
call Dane. His friend answered on the first ring, “Hello?”

“Dane,” Winter snapped. “Nova is on her way
back to the pride house and Perry is following her. I need you to
intercept her.”

“Where is she?” Dane asked. Winter heard the
throaty engine in Dane’s truck rev as he pressed the accelerator.
Winter gave him the information that he had on where she was,
praying they would get to her in time. If Perry got to her before
they did, Winter was sure the wolf would kill her this time.

“I’ll get her,” Dane promised. “I’ll alert
Talon so the Guardians will be on watch as soon as she
arrives.”

He disconnected the call, immediately
dialing Nova’s number. With each ring that was unanswered, his
panther snarled with worry. He was already crossing the state line
back into Mississippi when she answered.

“Winter,” she yelled. “He’s still following
me.”

“How far away are you from the pride?” he
asked, his focus on the road and not killing himself as he sped
back to his home.

“Three miles,” she replied. “Oh, shit!”

“NOVA!” he yelled.

“He…he just tried to come up beside me, but
a car came over the hill and he got back in behind me.” Nova cursed
again, but continued. “I’m passing the bar now.”

“Two miles. You can do it, baby,” Winter
urged. “My brothers are there waiting for you.”

“I’m sorry, Winter. I’m so sorry,” she
chanted.

“I’ll be right behind you and then we will
talk about this once you are safe,” he replied, fighting the urge
to yell at her, but now wasn’t the time to talk about why she’d
left the land and his home. There would be time for that after he
got home and made sure she was okay. He was sure she’d left to get
some space and to think about the things she’d learned. He didn’t
want her to find out that way, but it was already too late.

“I’m here,” she announced, releasing a loud
sigh. “He kept going.”

“Go to the cabin, Nova,” he said, wiping his
hand down his face. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“The Guardians are here,” she replied.

“Hang up now, Nova,” he said. “I lo… I’ll be
home soon.” Winter froze as he mumbled through what he’d just said.
He almost told her he loved her.

His eyes scanned the road as he got closer
to the pride’s land, hoping he’d see Perry. It was time he paid for
his crime against his mate.

Mate.

Nova was his and his panther growled his
approval, even though they were both anxious to see that she was
truly unharmed.

Gravel crunched underneath his tires as he
turned up the long drive, heading straight to his home. When he
pulled in next to her car, he barely had the keys out of the
ignition when he was met by his alpha.

“Calm down,” Talon said, pinning Winter
against the side of his truck. “Push your panther away. Now is not
the time to go into that house raging mad over what she did.”