Gina's Wolf (Daughters of the Wolf Clan Book 3)

by Maddy Barone

  Cole wanted to help. He was chained in the center of the cage and neither his arms nor legs could touch the bars. If he’d been able to reach that far, Todd would already be dead. He tried again to pry the steel collar from his neck, but, as with every other time he’d tried, no matter how he gripped it he was too weak to budge it.

  The bars groaned as they parted three inches. Wolf’s Howl collapsed against them, shaking. “Almost,” he panted. “One more time.”

  Cole forced himself to not order him to hurry. “Good job, Howl. You are the strongest in our generation. You can do it.”

  His mate rushed over. “I can’t find any keys,” she said franticly.

  “That’s okay,” Cole said. “My brother has just about got this cage open. Right, Howl?”

  His brother nodded, rising again and taking hold of the slightly bent bars. “Ready?

  “Wolf’s Howl, you are amazing!”

  Cole would have been jealous of the admiration on her face if it hadn’t been directed at his brother. He couldn’t believe she was here. Once they were back in Omaha he was going to have a long talk with her. Not until after he’d covered her entire body with kisses, but they were going to talk about how she was never again going to risk her life for him.

  The bars groaned and slowly parted another few inches. Wolf’s Howl fell to his knees, gasping for breath. Gina stuck her arm in the gap and then inched her shoulder through.

  “Not big enough. Even if I could fit, I can’t pull that chain out of the floor,” she said. “Can you do more?”

  Wolf’s Howl nodded. “Just need to rest a few seconds.”

  Cole counted every second that rushed by. How much longer until a guard made his rounds? Finally, Wolf’s Howl shook out his arms and took up his stance. He pulled. The bars were bending more readily now. Another inch. Two. Three.

  A lazy voice edged with a sneer drawled, “Well, isn’t that impressive?”

  Wolf’s Howl spun, shoving Gina behind him with an elbow.

  A gravelly voice replied. “Very. That steel alloy is supposed to be the strongest in the world.”

  From his position with his head chained only a foot from the floor, Cole couldn’t see around his brother, but he knew who was speaking. Jon and Tanner Allersen. He had met them a couple of months ago at The Limit when they’d all been staying there. He hadn’t remembered them until this afternoon when they’d watched his torture with cool commentary. They and their crazy father, Brother Saul, had been on the train from Omaha to Kearney, but instead being shot like the other men on the train, the Allersens were greeted as friends by the Kansas-Missourians. They had informed Todd about the train that carried his stepdaughter. Cole growled deep and low in his throat. They were the reason Gina had been recaptured by Todd.

  Cole could see Wolf’s Howl’s leg muscles bunch as he prepared to spring on the two brothers. Before he could though, two powerful spotlights snapped on and flooded them with light.

  *

  Gina threw an arm over her eyes to protect them from the blinding light. Damn it. Damn it, they had been so close to getting Cole free.

  “And look who we have here.” Tanner Allersen’s voice made her want to scream. “I believe that is our bride.”

  “Dim the lights.”

  That was her stepfather’s voice. Gina swallowed, dropped her arm, and made herself stand up. She’d had a plan for this eventuality, but she hadn’t shared it with Wolf’s Howl. She hoped he’d understand. She hoped Cole would understand. Growing up with Todd had taught her to hide her feelings and put on an act. With Cole and his family she had almost forgotten it. This would have to be her best act yet.

  She pushed away from the cage, looking at her stepfather. “At last, I’m safe,” she cried. The tremble in her voice was very real. “Finally, I’ve gotten free from them.”

  Wolf’s Howl tried to keep her behind him. “Gina,” he began.

  She shoved him away. “Don’t touch me,” she screamed.

  Rifles were raised. Todd gestured to her. “Come here, Georgina.”

  She walked to him, skirting around the Allersens. He halted her when she was still two yards away. A few of the rifles followed her while the others stayed directed at Cole and Wolf’s Howl.

  “You wanted to return here.” It was a statement, but Todd’s cool voice implied a question. “That is not the information I was given.”

  “I was stolen from this camp when I went to use the necessary. I didn’t leave by choice.”

  In the dimmed light her stepfather looked coolly skeptical. “Did Major Ellis misunderstand your refusal to return when he went to Omaha to present my terms?”

  “The meeting at Omaha’s City Hall?” She matched the coolness in his voice. “What else could I say with all of them so close to me?” She gestured vaguely at Cole and Wolf’s Howl. “I had no choice.”

  “I see.” Todd tilted his head and folded his arms.

  “Yesterday morning at the gate, I tried.” She did her best to sound convincing. “I shouted that I would make the prisoner exchange, but they made me shut up.”

  One of the men to her stepfather’s right stirred. “That’s true, sir. I heard her.”

  Todd pinched his chin and regarded her with the same cool stare. “And now you escaped?” he suggested. “And took this young man captive, I suppose? Forced him to accompany you here to this camp?” His voice sharpened. “And forced him to break into the cage that held his fellow creature.”

  “No, of course not. Taye Wolfe ordered him to go with me. We were supposed to free him.” She jerked her chin at Cole, not looking at him. “Then the men would leave and I could stay here.”

  Todd chuckled. “That’s a silly story, my dear. Would you like to try again?”

  “It’s the truth.” She put her heart into her statement, trying to look open and honest. “Why would I make up something so preposterous?”

  “If Mr. Wolfe was willing to exchange you for his man why didn’t he do it outside the walls of Omaha yesterday morning?”

  “He didn’t want to look weak in front of Mayor McGrath.”

  Her stepfather pinched his chin again. “That’s almost plausible. Very well. Jon and Tanner, escort your bride to her mother.”

  Gina swallowed. “My mother?”

  “She refused to leave without you, and what loving husband would force his wife to abandon her daughter?” Todd’s smile was sweet enough to make Gina want to gag. “Go along, now. I have business with these creatures.”

  Gina cast one swift glance at Cole and Wolf’s Howl. A hint of shock hid behind Wolf’s Howl stony face. She wanted to pass Cole some message of love so he’d know she would find a way for all of them to escape, but with his brother blocking the way, all she could see of him was his bare, battered body crouched in the cage. She turned away and let Tanner take her arm in a bruising grip.

  Tanner gave her a big shit eating grin. “Did you miss me?”

  Gina looked away. “I want to see my mother.”

  Jon moved up to her other side and the three of them walked toward the center of camp. Behind her Gina could hear men shouting and a wolf snarling. She didn’t look back, even when the snarl turned to an agonized yelp. It was up to her to find a way out for all of them. She didn’t know how she would do it, but she would, and she had to do it soon. If only she could count on her mom for help. Suppressed tears tightened her throat. That was a painfully useless thought.

  Her mom stood just inside of the harem tent in a heavy wool robe and thick socks, holding a lantern that cast a faint golden glow over her stern face. The right picket of her rob sagged from the weight of something in it. A small gun, Gina guessed. Todd had equipped each of his wives with a ladies pistol. He had never given his daughter such a thing. Sadly, none of the wives had ever used it on him.

  Her mom barely glanced at Gina. “Thank you, gentlemen,” she said dismissively to the Allersens and gestured Gina to enter the tent.

  Jon and Tanner looked like they m
ight protest, but the two guards drew the door flap closed. Gina’s mom led the way through the dark tent to the curtained section that had been her bedroom. She used a long splinter of wood to light the lantern on a small table. In the light Gina recognized the trunk that held the clothes someone had packed for her in Kansas City sitting at the end of the cot. She knew it held all the clothes meant for the daughter of a powerful man. Party dresses and other gear totally inappropriate for an army camp.

  “Good night,” her mother said.

  Gina looked up. “That’s all you’re going to say? No questions? Not even an I-missed-you?”

  Her mom’s back stiffened. “I thought you were safe.” The words came out flat, emotionless. She didn’t turn back. “Don’t try to leave. If you need the necessary, use the chamber pot beneath the bed.”

  Gina stared at the canvas door as it swung closed. Her shoulders sank. For a little while she had been free of this prison, but here she was again. She lowered herself unto the cot and buried her face in her hands. What a fool she had been. She thought she could rescue her husband. Instead, she had delivered another victim to her stepfather. It was up to her to get them all free. But how?

  ****

  It was nearly midnight when Taye Wolfe climbed the stairs to his room at The Limit. Since coming to Omaha, he’d spent most of his time with Mayor McGrath or at the headquarters building. He missed his mate. He missed holding her warm body, even more beautiful to him now with the extra softness that came from bearing his children. The silver threads in her hair and fine lines around her eyes marked the joys and sorrows they had shared over their years together. He missed talking with her and laughing with her. The sooner this ugly business with Todd was over the sooner he could take her home where she belonged.

  He had an hour free now. A forward scout, his cousin Wolf’s Shadow’s oldest son, Eagle, had arrived at the headquarters building to inform him that the reinforcements from the Pack and Clan would arrive an hour after midnight.

  “Go back,” he told Eagle. “Tell them to stay outside the city and to get ready to attack. Cole’s been taken prisoner. The rest of us will meet you west of the city so we can plan the attack on the Kansas-Missouri camp.”

  Eagle gave him a fierce grin. “We’ll slaughter them.”

  Yes, they would. Before dawn Taye would lead his warriors in battle, but he had an hour free now and he wanted to spend that hour with his mate. They could take comfort in each other’s arms.

  He was still yards away from his bedroom door when he heard the muffled sounds of his mate crying. He rushed down the hall and threw open the door. He didn’t need the dim glow of the lamp to see his mate on the edge of the bed. She faced away from the door, but she leaped to her feet and twisted to face him. At the sight of him she scrambled over the bed and threw herself at him.

  “Taye!”

  He held her close. Each of her sobs cut him like a knife. “Sweetheart? What is it?”

  She clung to him, her fingers gripping his shoulders while she pressed her cheek into his shoulder. “I’ve done something awful. Oh. Taye, I’m so sorry.”

  “Sweetheart, what is it?”

  “I was so worried about Colby.” She pulled back a few inches and wiped her wet cheeks. “And Gina …”

  He could almost smell her remorse and guilt. He smoothed a tender hand over her hair. “What?”

  Carla swallowed. “I let her get away. She went to rescue Colby.”

  “What?” he said again, in a very different tone. He took his arms away and put his hands on her shoulders to lean back and look at her more closely. “Carla, what are you saying?”

  Carla wiped her other cheek. “Well, you said you wouldn’t trade Colby, that he was just a casualty of war. I wanted to get him back.”

  “Carla.” He dropped his hands and stepped completely out of her reach. “You thought I’d just let our son be tortured and murdered? Don’t you know better? We’ve been mated for more than twenty-five years!”

  Her tears came again, gleaming in the dark hazel eyes he loved to gaze into. “I know! I was stupid. I was so worried, and you said …” She swallowed. “I heard you say it, on the wall this morning. And Gina̶ -“ She broke off to gulp back more tears. “But after I got home tonight, I started to think. You wouldn’t sacrifice Colby.” She crumpled, hands over her face, and wailed. “I should have known! But why did you say that?”

  “Because I couldn’t know if there was a spy or traitor listening who could report back to Todd.” Her anguish broke him. He put his arms around her again. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. The Clan and Pack are close by. We’re going to attack the enemy before dawn. We’ll get Cole back. And Gina too.”

  He drew her back to the bed. She shuddered in his arms, weeping as if her heart would break. Or perhaps had already broken. He rocked her like a baby.

  “Don’t cry,” he whispered. They wouldn’t indulge in the lovemaking he’d anticipated. His mate was too upset for that, but they could hold each other for an hour. There was comfort and strength to be had in that. He laid his mate between the sheets and curled around her. Tiny sobs still shook her.

  “I’m such an idiot,” she confessed. “I’m sure Gina is in trouble and it’s all my fault!”

  A wise mate wouldn’t agree with that, and he wasn’t stupid. Disappointed and even hurt that she hadn’t trusted him, but not stupid. They had to thrash this out, but that would come later. Right now he needed to comfort her. “It will be okay. Maybe she and Cole are on their way back here already. If not, we’ll get them back.”

  Slowly, her shuddering sobs faded. “You’ll be leaving soon to attack.”

  It wasn’t quite a question. “Yeah. In thirty minutes or so.”

  She was quiet for a long while. “You could be killed.”

  He never lied to her. “Not likely, but possible.”

  She twisted away suddenly and reached for a handkerchief on the bedside table. After wiping her face and blowing her nose, she tossed the handkerchief to the floor and turned to face him again. There was no hesitation in her when she pulled her nightgown off and dropped it beside the bed. “Make love to me.”

  That was easy. He was still hurt that she had so doubted him, but he loved her. After spending half his life loving this woman he knew exactly how and where to touch to arouse her passion. He lingered over her mouth, caressed her small breasts, stroked the waist that was not as slim as it had been when they first mated. All of her was infinitely precious to him. When he slid into the welcome of her body, the sweetness of it nearly brought tears to his eyes.

  Afterward, he reluctantly rose from the bed and dressed. Carla watched him with a trembling smile. He leaned down to give her one last kiss. “I’ll bring them back,” he promised.

  She nodded bravely. “I’ll be waiting.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gina was close to despair when she heard the sound of dishes and cutlery clattering and caught the scent of bacon and coffee. Breakfast was being served. She hadn’t slept much. Maybe she hadn’t slept at all. Her mind spent the night rushing from one impossible escape plan to another. Nothing she’d come up with was likely to work.

  She got off the cot with a pounding head and a stomach that couldn’t decide if it wanted to growl with hunger or turn itself inside out with nausea. Her mother’s calm voice spoke in a murmur from another part of the tent. Gina lingered in her curtained-off section, trying to hear what her mother was saying. If she were a wolf like Cole, she would be able to understand every word, but she wasn’t. She adjusted her knife in its inner sheath, lifted her chin, and strode out to the dining area of the tent.

  Her mother sat at the foot of the table, her stepfather sat at the head, and Brother Saul and his two sons, Tanner and Jon, were on one side and a few of the officers of the army occupied the other. Relief touched her when she saw that neither was Major Ellis. She recognized these officers but didn’t know them well.

  Gina was noticed immediately. President Todd ran a
frowning gaze over her. Brother Saul rose from his chair and moved to the other side of the table. Tanner pushed his chair back and came to her. He gave her a smarmy grin.

  “You look like you slept in your clothes,” he sneered.

  “I did,” she answered with a smile that hid clenched teeth.

  He didn’t grab her arm as much as catch the flesh on her upper arm in a pinch. “Come sit down. Eat fast. We’re leaving after breakfast.”

  She managed to neither scream nor punch him. The painful pinch was the only reason she followed him to the table. As she sat down in the chair his words sank in. “You’re leaving?”

  “We are leaving,” Jon corrected.

  Tanner sat next to her and leered. “You’re our wife. You come with us.”

  She looked at her stepfather, who smiled benignly at her. “I’m already married,” she informed him.

  “To whom?” he inquired coldly.

  The words stuck in her throat. The truth would be dangerous to Cole, and a lie wouldn’t come.

  When she didn’t reply, he waved a hand. “I didn’t give my consent. It’s not legal.”

  “I am over twenty-one.” That came out easily enough, although her voice wobbled. “I don’t need your consent. And how could I be married to them? There wasn’t a ceremony.”

  An ugly shadow ghosted over his face and faded, leaving his expression serene. “It doesn’t matter how old you are, Georgina. I am the President. I am the law. I married you by proxy to the Allersens two days ago.” His voice rose with every word, teetering on the brink of a tantrum. He paused and gathered himself. “In any case, if your husband is in Omaha you will be a widow very soon.”

  A rope of tension eased in her. He didn’t know that his captive was her husband. How could he not know? Maybe Cole hadn’t been the intended victim of abduction. Maybe the Kansas-Missourians had just wanted to capture any wolf. Only Major Ellis and the two lieutenants who met with Taye, his wolves, and the leaders of Omaha would have recognized Cole. She hadn’t seen any of those men yet.