by Cathryn Fox
Soon animal instincts take over and Logan and Stone begin circling one another, both looking for a weakness that could give them an advantage.
I brace myself, and when a cold chill races through me, I fold my arms across my chest and hug my nightgown to my body, but the thin material does little to warm me. My eyes slip shut against the flood of emotion and heartache sets my chest on fire because I realize there is nothing I can do to stop this. Someone I care deeply about is going to die today.
Because of me.
As I stand there paralyzed with fear, I hear footsteps coming close. I don’t need to turn to know it’s the master. I can smell his excitement long before I see him. He stands beside me and I don’t even acknowledge his presence until he speaks to me and what he says has both rage and relief unraveling inside my gut.
“There is a way you can stop this, Pride.”
I angle my head slowly as my wolf clamors to break free and tear bone from flesh. His eyes glint knowingly and when our gazes clash in a battle of wills the master’s face changes. As his smile vanishes his expression turns hard, cruel. Merciless. Intense eyes study me darkly and I know he’s waiting for me to falter.
I snarl at him and it occurs to me that he’s shrewd and cunning and has known all along how I feel about Logan and Stone. He’s been toying with me. Playing me for a fool, because he knew he was eventually going to get what he wanted from me.
“What do you want me to do?”
“You already know,” he answers.
He’s right. I do know. I give a fierce shake of my head. “You can’t ask me to do that.”
“I can and I am.”
I turn back in time to see Logan go for Stone’s throat. When his canines puncture fur and flesh, hot blood shoots into the air, the scent filling my senses and causing a soft rumble to swell through the crowd.
I swallow, never having felt so scared, so out of control in my life and I know in an instant I can’t do this anymore. I can’t stand here and watch the two wolves I care about most tear each other to shreds. My heart races and mayhem erupts inside me as the brutal fight I’m forced to witness drains the good out of me.
I suddenly don’t feel so tough anymore.
“Pride,” the master says and the urgency I sense in him brings my attention back around to him. “If you want to save these two, then you’ll tell me where to find Logan’s pack.”
My rattled brain registers the sound of snapping bones, followed by a painful howl and I’m no longer able to tell which wolf is winning, which wolf is dying. An unnatural black wave of despair grips me and I can feel the darkness inside me spreading onward and outward until my thoughts are a jumbled mess.
As a sick knot twists in my stomach I know in an instant I’ve reached the end. The master has won.
And it’s that horrible, rancid scent of defeat curling around me and polluting the air that brings Logan’s head swinging around to me. His pewter eyes glare at me like he knows I’m about to spill secrets, about to expose his entire family.
He gives a savage shake of his head, and the distraction allows Stone to gain the upper hand. Stone pounces and when Logan tumbles across the ground I can hear the air leaving his lungs in an agonized whoosh.
“Stop,” I say frantically. “Don’t do this.” I turn to the master. “I’ll tell you where his pack lives. I’ll tell you where to find them. I’ll tell you everything. Just stop this now.”
He rolls on the balls of his feet and puts his hands into the pockets of his expensive suit, like he’s in no hurry to end the fight.
“No, Pride. I think I’d rather you take me to them.”
I open my mouth to protest but he cuts me off and snaps his fingers at Mario. “Take her to her cage and tell Kara to have her ready to leave at first light.”
With that the master grips my chin, and turns my head from side to side to examine me. “Your father would have been proud of you, Pride.”
“I don’t have a father,” I spit out and jerk my chin free. My blood pounds so hard in my ears I can barely think straight. I glance at the two wolves rolling around on the ground and bile pushes into my throat.
“You said you’d stop this,” I remind him.
He grins and for a brief second I wonder if he’s going to follow through with his promise, but then he snaps his fingers. Six gun shots crack the air, and the alphas separate. Lawrence stands back and tosses two collars at the wolves. I breathe a sigh of relief but it’s short lived because when Logan shifts back to his human form and looks at me with eyes full of disappointment and anger, my heart clenches and I know I’ve let him down.
I’ve let everyone down.
But what other choice do I have?
14
With my mind sorting things through, I keep my head down as I’m led back inside. I hate myself for my moment of weakness, hate that I let everyone down and while I might have saved Logan and Stone, I’ve put so many more wolves in danger.
As I leave the courtyard, I can’t bring myself to look at my mate and while I can hear Stone calling out to me I don’t dare look at him either. The disappointment in their eyes would kill me as surely as a silver bullet.
I avoid Mica’s worried stare as she passes me a few scraps of food on my way though the kitchen. I fold the napkin around her offerings and hold them tight as Mario takes me to my cell. He’s speaking quietly to me, but with the pounding in my head, I can’t quite make out what he’s saying. He leads me down the stairs and goes instantly silent when he sees Sandy in her cell. That’s when his words register in my brain.
I still have the key!
Thinking about it now renews my purpose and fills me with a measure of hope. I can use it tonight to get to the master’s main office. Once I get hold of the master key, I’ll be able to free everyone and flee this place before I’m forced to lead a team of handlers to Logan’s family.
My wolf howls and my heart races as I settle on my cot. The master might have won the battle of wills today in the courtyard, but if he thinks he’s beaten me, or worse broken me, he has another thought coming.
There’s still hope.
With Sandy watching me, I try to keep my blood steady and work to wipe the excitement from my face, but when Mario meets my glance, and I see a glimmer of understanding in his eyes, we exchange a knowing look.
We’re getting out of here tonight.
Once Mario is gone, I tuck into my food, and even though my stomach is clenching, I know I’ll need the energy for tonight and all the roadblocks I’ll have to find a way to cross. Knowing Sandy has eaten well today after winning her race, I nibble slowly on the cheese, and place the meat on the warm slice of bread before I eat it.
I turn to look at the young wolf. She’s lying on her side, her head propped on her hand, and she’s giving me an odd look, like she senses a change about me.
“Sandy,” I begin trying to keep my voice steady as I prepare her for tonight’s events, being careful not to give away too much information, or frighten her off. “Have you ever thought about getting out of here? Of running in the mountain?”
Something flickers in her eyes, and for a moment I recognize the old Sandy, the young pup with so much hope and life. “It’s too dangerous out there. There are too many threats,” she answers and rolls onto her back and her wild curls fall around her shoulders. “The master keeps us safe inside here. You should be grateful.”
“What if I can take you to a place where it is safe? Where you can run free and not worry about any threats.”
Her gaze jerks back to mine. “Where’s that?”
I go quiet for a moment, worried about how much to reveal. “Just say I can. Would you go?”
She rolls until her back is facing me, but I see the fear in her eyes before she turns away, and it’s that fear that tells me she’s been through so much in the last month.
Her tone is clipped when she says, “We shouldn’t be having this conversation.”
My heart drops into my st
omach and the worry I hear in her voice makes me ever determined to help her.
Time passes slowly as I wait for Sandy to fall asleep, and when I finally hear her breathing level out and regulate, I know it’s time to make my move.
My pulse jumps as I push off my ratty blanket and drop to the floor. I give Sandy one quick last look before I lift the corner of my cot to retrieve the hidden key. Except when I pull the mattress back, I can’t quite seem to locate it.
Panic sets my heart racing, and I push the cot back even farther, thinking perhaps it had shifted beneath the mattress, or fallen to the floor. I search frantically in the dark, but when my hands come out empty, a cry lodges in my throat.
It’s gone!
I jump up, and search around my dusty cement floor, not wanting to believe I’ve lost it, or worse, someone found it.
But who?
“It’s for your own good,” Sandy says, without turning to face me.
I run to the cage and grip the bars. “Sandy, no. You have to give it to me.” I rattle the bars hard, demanding she turn to look at me so I can convince her that I know what’s best.
“Go to sleep, Pride.”
Dark despair churns inside me and I yell at her, desperate to get through to her. My heart hammers as I shake the cage harder, but the more I protest the more she works at ignoring me. When she pulls her blanket over her head, I switch tactics and tell her about my time in the mountains, the running, the freedom, and how her babies won’t suffer the way she’s suffered, but no matter how hard I plead I still can’t seem to get through to her.
I hear a loud noise upstairs and as fear rushes up my spine I scurry back to my bunk, wondering what all the commotion is about. Then I hear what can only be gunshots and I press my back to the cold wall and pull my legs to my chest. A loud wail rises from my throat and I wonder, who is the master torturing now? When the mansion shakes again I worry for Logan, Stone, all the other wolves and even the staff who have no more control over their lives than I do.
Despite the adrenaline pumping through my veins I suddenly feel very weary, very lost. As emotions get the better of me, I can feel tears fill my eyes. The room blurs before me and I wonder if I’m simply fighting a losing battle. I look at Sandy, then think of all the new wolves in the courtyard, the ones who pushed me around because I somehow threatened their master—my father. Perhaps Stone was right all along. Perhaps these broken wolves can’t be saved because they don’t want to be saved.
Maybe I never should have returned. Maybe I should have heeded Stone’s warning and stayed away. Then Logan’s family never would have been put danger, or worse, gone missing. Gem never would have been captured and my mate never would have been tortured.
Now it was all for nothing, because the key to my escape is just out of reach and come tomorrow morning I’ll have no choice but to lead the master to the small colony in the Canadian mountains. Guilt overwhelms me and an invisible fist squeezes my heart, because I might as well be pulling the trigger and pumping Logan’s family full of silver myself.
What have I done?
My tears fall heavier now, soaking my face and blanket and I don’t bother wiping them away. I sniff loudly but there is nothing I can do to get myself under control. Soon my soft cries turn into big hiccupping sobs and I realize I’m falling apart, completely collapsing under the weight of failure.
Is this what it feels like to be broken?
I can feel myself sinking deeper and deeper, drowning in pool of despair and this time I let it pull me under like a deadly wave, let it fill my lungs until they’re starved for oxygen. As emotions erupt inside me I suddenly hate Logan.
Hate that he believed in me.
Hate that he put this kind of responsibility on me.
Hate that I’m letting him down.
I pound on my bed and cry harder.
“Pride.”
I go silent and listen, wondering if I’m hearing things or if someone is in the cellar calling my name. I swallow and wipe my nose as I peer into the dark and look for movement.
“Pride,” the voice comes again, and I see Sandy sitting up in her cot, her head darting from left to right, trying to figure out what is going.
I climb from my bed and pad to my door. “Who’s there?” I ask quietly.
When a tall figure comes out of the shadows I suck in air and falter backwards.
When I hit the back of my cage, my body goes instantly stiff, and my heart thunders. “Go away,” I say as fresh tears sting my eyes.
He shakes his head and comes closer to my cage. “You need to hear me out.”
“I’ve heard all I need to know,” I shoot back and press against the bars, unable to put any more distance between us.
“Please let me explain, Pride.”
“Explain? You want to explain why you left your wife and child in a place like this while you ran a prison of your own. Do you somehow think there is something you can say to make that okay in my eyes?”
“It was never supposed to be like this,” he begins and his voice is low, soft, full of pain. “For many years I was a rogue wolf, one who had no morals and didn’t know right from wrong. When I met your master we were both young and hungry for money and blood.”
I think back to what Stone told me. That my father was a powerful alpha and maybe he was the one controlling the master. I wave my hand. “So this was all your idea then?”
He nods and his honesty is like a knife to the jugular. I step farther away from him, confused and fearful but mostly angry.
“We built an army and we became rich and powerful.” He lowers his head like he’s reliving a distant time. “Then I met your mother, and I fell in love.”
At the mention of my mother a howl sounds in my throat. I point to the floorboards above my head. “He killed her and you didn’t do anything about it.”
His gaze jerks back to mine and his eyes are pleading. “I didn’t know, Pride. It wasn’t until long after he killed her that I found out.”
“Well you know now, which makes me wonder how you can even sit and have a conversation with him, acting like you’re old friends after what he did to my mother—a woman you supposedly loved.”
“Not supposedly. I did love her. And I love you.”
I think about Logan, Stone, the elders and all the sacrifices they made for me. “Don’t talk to me about love. You know nothing about it.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, my little girl.”
“Don’t call me that. I’m not your little girl. I’m not your anything.”
“Pride—”
“If you loved us so much then why did you leave?”
“Your master started changing. He became greedy, cruel. Dangerous.”
Fire erupts in my belly and I give a hard shake of my head, my blonde curls flying around my face. “So you thought it would be a good idea to just leave us with a man like that then?”
“Do you remember I once said some things are worse than death?” There is something deeply desperate in his voice that gains my attention.
I don’t answer. I just stand there and stare at him until he continues. “I left to protect you. Your master was becoming strong, more powerful that I ever would have imagined, and he was learning about us, learning how to manipulate the wolves inside us. When he realized he could use our empathy against us, I knew he could never know how I really felt about you or your mother. You were safer with me gone.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and can feel the fight drain out of me. “Why are you here? What do you want from me?”
“I want to help.”
“It’s a little late for that don’t you think?” I shoot back.
“You’re smart, Pride. You know we’re building an army, but do you know why?”
“I know there are panthers stalking the compound.”
He nods. “There’s a turf war going on. A cartel is moving in from the south and they want to take over. They know we harbor wolves, and somehow they managed
to find and harness panthers to do their bidding. Your master thought he had more time.”
“Which is why he’s breeding the females and hoping to harness Logan’s family.”
“Right. But he’s out of time. We all are.”
My pulse leaps. “What are you talking about?”
“We’re under attack.”
I hear Sandy make a gasping sound and my numb feet slide across the cold floor. I step up to my father to meet his gaze, to read his body language. But there is nothing to suggest he’s lying.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“The panthers are closing in.”
I think back to the gun shots I heard earlier. “They have guns?”
“No. The PTF tracked them here. To complicate things, your master has some of the PTF officers in his pocket so we don’t know who’s on our side and who isn’t.”
As far as I’m concerned the PTF are never on our side. I grip the bars tighter as panic erupts inside me.
“There is one more thing you need to know.”
I swallow, not liking the sound of that. “Your master has left you all here to your own fate. He’s in his office making arrangements to get to his helicopter on the rooftop.” He goes quiet for a moment then he says, “And he has Gem with him.”
“Gem! Why?” I blurt out. “Why would he want Gem?”
“Because he’s broken her, and now she can lead him to her family in the Canadian mountains.”
My brain races to catch up because I know I’m missing something here. “Isn’t it a little too late for that?”
“No. If he can harness them, he can start over again somewhere else.”
I look around frantically. “I need to get out of here.” I turn to Sandy. Her mouth is agape and her eyes are wide. “Sandy—” I begin but my father cuts me off.
“You’ll need this.”
A cry of relief lodges in my throat when he produces the master key. “We need to free everyone, but how are we going to get out of here with the panthers closing in?”
