Pride's Pursuit (a Wolf's Pride novel, book three)

by Kalen, Cat

  I peer out from under my cotton hood and move toward a Dumpster. The soles on my worn out boots squish beneath me and give away my coordinates when I sidestep a deep puddle.

  Cursing under my breath for losing the advantage of surprise I bite back a growl and hurry to the far end of the alleyway. I need to get myself into a defensive position before my opponent comes out of hiding.

  My footsteps still when the scent of wet dog hits like a slap to the face. As my wolf slips into kill or be killed mode, I don’t make a sound. Instead, instincts force me to memorize my surroundings and look for possible threats and alternative escape routes. Not that Ithink I’ll need one.

  In this dead end alley, with the only exit at my back, I inch toward the Dumpster.That’s when my opponent has no choice but to step into full view and try to gain control of the situation before I gain control over him.

  I work to quiet my heartbeat and take a quick moment to size up my enemy. From the predatory way he carries himself to the deep scars and hard angles of his face I’d know I’m up against an experienced killer.

  I might be an alpha, with at least three inches and twenty pounds over this guy, but he has a good ten years on me, which means that if I make one wrong move it could mean the difference between life and death.I also can’t forget the fact that he’s managed to operate under the radar and evade the Paranormal Task Force—officers who hunt all things that go bump in the night.

  My pulse pounds erratically in my throat while I watch him size me up in return, and then in a false show of submission, he jams his hands into his pockets and rocks back and forth on his feet.

  Even though this hardened killer knows I’m an alpha, and that I’m stronger and faster than him, at nineteen years old I’m still considered a boy in a species that lives to be centuries old.

  His smile is slow, charming, meant to put me at ease. But I know better than to underestimate this rebel wolf. Just like he knows better than to misjudge me.

  His smile is casual, but I’ve been doing this job long enough to know he’s trying to gain my trust. Since I trust no one, his wolf would have a better chance at resisting the call of the moon on shift night than convincing me to drop my guard.It’s not going to happen.

  “So I guess you’re the one they call Stone,” he says, his voice low, almost hypnotic, reminding me how skilled these rogues are at luring innocent humans into their dens.

  I don’t say anything. I just glare at the soulless predator looking for a weakness in me, and when he takes a small step toward me, I take one toward him.

  He grins and when he realizes he’s unable to intimidate me, he changes tactics in an attempt to bring me into his confidence.

  “It doesn’t have to be this way, you know.”

  I angle my head.“And what way is that?” I ask and loosen the tether restraining my wolf as the scent of my opponent’s fear crawls under my skin and taunts my primal side.

  He gives a casual shrug, but underneath that relaxed disguise I can taste his tension. It taints the air and makes the Dumpster beside us smell more like a day at the carnival than a bin full of decomposing trash.

  “You don’t have to fight this, Stone.” He waves his hand toward the street behind me.“You can be one of us, and feast anytime you want.” He pauses for a moment, his glance moving over my face, assessing me and I wonder if he can sense how close to the edge I really am.“Come on,” he prods. “You know you want to.”

  My glance goes to the fresh drops of blood staining his clothes. It provokes my wolf and hunger claws at me, urging me to give in to the darkness hovering on the outer edges of my soul, just waiting to overtake me.

  Easy Stone, easy.You’re stronger than this.

  I zero in on his jugular and know it’s time to get control over this situation before I do something I’ll only regret later.

  “What you’re doing is wrong,” I bite out.

  I take another small step toward him and as his fear washes over me, he edges away, putting a measure of distance between us. But not even the distance can mask his nervousness or the hot bite of sweat on his skin.

  “Come on, it’s not so bad.” He gives an easy roll of one shoulder.“Consider it population control.”

  I hold my ground as he tries to worm his way out of the situation. But everything in his stance tells me he understands his fate, and that he’ll do whatever it takes to stay alive.

  My wolf howls low and paces restlessly, itching to kill the rebel who is beyond rehabilitation.When my opponent realizes I’m not about to soften, he changes tactics once again.He glares at me long and hard and doesn’t try to hide the hatred creeping over his features. He gives a wild shake of his head and when his gums tighten I don’t miss the way his muzzle contorts, his wolf trying to punch his way free.

  He angles his body for battle and looks past my shoulders, but we both know there is no way he’s getting by me tonight.

  “And you somehow think what you’re doing is right,” he challenges, his tone deep, guttural.

  My glance clashes with his, dark torment eating me up inside as I consider his words. The truth is I’ve been away from my pack for so long now that the bond to my kind is weakening, making it harder andharder for me to remember why I’m doing this. Harder and harder to fight off the darkness threatening to consume me.

  I fist my hands and clench my teeth until my jaw aches.“You shouldn’t kill innocent humans,” I say, and brace myself as I prepare to release my wolf.

  “You think killing your own kind is any different?” The rebel wolf keeps his eyes trained on me and a disgusted sound gurgles in his throat when he adds, “You’re just a stupid kid. You haven’t even been around long enough to know what’s right or wrong.” He shakes his head. “You’re no better than any of us.”

  My stomach tightens and darkness torments me when I think about all the savage wolves I’ve eliminated, all the blood I have on my hands. While I know what I’m doing isn’t exactly right, I know it’s not wrong either.

  I swallow against the thickness in my throat and say, “The difference is you’re not innocent.” I jerk my head backwards.“They are.”

  He smiles at me, but this time it holds no warmth.“Innocent?” he asks, arching one taunting brow, and when I see the cold calculation in his eyes, my wolf howls because everything in the way he’s looking at me tells me he knows. He knows my past. Knows how scarred I am.

  “Here I thought you’d be the last wolf who’d want to protect a human. After all, didn’t one keep you caged your whole life?”

  He pauses and waits for me to answer, but there is nothing to say, because when it comes right down to it, he’s right. I’ve been caged my whole life. Caged. Abused. Beaten to within an inch of my life. And even though the cruel man who once controlled me has long been terminated, he still continues to haunt my nightmares.

  When silence hovers like deadly silver he adds, “You should be thanking me for what I do.”

  As his words pound through my head, my pulse beats harder in my throat and I think about all the years I was imprisoned. My hand goes to my neck, to trace the thick bulging scar running along my jaw.But that raw, angry mark is nothing compared to the scars that aren’t visible.

  I think about all those who died at the compound and a volatile wave of rage has me staggering backward. Once again the darkness is right there, pulling at me, threatening to devour me and draw me into a place that reeks of death and destruction.

  “Come on, Stone, join us,” he says, his feral eyes drill into me. He opens his arms wide, and I watch the way his face changes, the way his cruel lips twist in triumph.“Join our pack. It’s not natural for an alpha to be out here all alone.”

  I close my eyes as emptiness settles like a chaotic lump in the pit of my stomach. My world tilts on its axis when I think about the pack I walked away from—one girl in particular.That’s when I recall the vow I made to protect and shelter the brave young wolf who helped free us all from captivity, the same wolf
who was once destined to be my mate. I might not always remember why I’m fighting, but I do remember the promise I made to her.

  As that last thought pushes back the darkness invading my body, my control snaps like a frayed leash. I tear off my clothes, drop to the ground and welcome the painful change. My joints pop and slide into place and I stifle a loud, tortured moan as my muzzle punches through my mouth. I brace my hands on the ground, and listen to the crunch of my vertebra popping and reforming. Dark fur sprouts from my flesh and in no time at all my human groan turns into a dark, animal howl.

  The rebel before me tears his clothes from his body and shifts to a powerful, streamlined wolf.An instant before I’m about to go for his jugular, a sharp voice sounds from behind my enemy and cuts through the alleyway like a jagged knife.

  “Don’t!”

  I steal a glance over my opponent’s shoulder and a shudder moves through me when I spot a pair of dark eyes staring back—dark, amber eyes that hold both fear and sadness.

  Our gazes clash for a brief second and the white glowing dress she’s wearing flutters in the wind as she turns, like she’s ready to run. But then a gasp rips from her lungs and something that resembles recognition flickers in her eyes.

  I drag in a sharp breath and everything inside me freezes. I suddenly have the strangest sensation that not only is she looking at me, that she can see things in me others can’t.

  Shadows dance on the walls beside me and when a flowery scent fills the air I feel something deep and heavy in my gut. A low, almost unrecognizable growl fills the alleyway and I’m surprised to find it’s mine.

  Haunted eyes scan my face, probing, searching, but for what I don’t know. I can’t seem to look away.I can’t seem to think.Everything around me goes fuzzy, my opponent’s growl fading to distant buzz.Feeling like I’ve been sucker punched, air hisses from my lungs, and that brief moment of inattention gives my enemy the upper hand.

  He advances quickly and I catch a hard paw to the muzzle. It sends me hurtling backwards and I can barely comprehend how quickly things are falling apart. I skid across the pavement, the unforgiving asphalt peeling the fur and flesh from my body. My long talons dig into the ground, trying to gain purchase, but I continue to slide until the brick wall at my back stops the momentum.

  I hit with a hard thud and glance at the streak of red coloring the ground. A loud howl echoes in the alleyway as the warm scent of my blood rouses my opponent’s hunger. I climb to my feet and work to shake the buzz from my head.

  I go back on my hind legs, but before I can get myself together and go for the rebel’s throat, he tucks tail and runs into the street, swallowed by the darkness of the night.

  I watch him go and my wolf wails, because he knows we made a rookie mistake, one I never should have let happen. I shake my head, hating any kind of failure, especially in myself. I should have been smarter than to allow a girl to distract me.

  But I’ve never seen eyes quite like hers before. Never felt like someone was able to see into the depths of my soul and see how damaged I really am.

  Feeling disturbed as the girl’s sharp voice continues to echo in my head, an icy shiver moves through me. I spin around and scour the alleyway in search of her, only to find mist hovering in the spot where she’d once been standing.

  Without taking my eyes off the haze, I quickly shift back to my human form, and pull on my heavy clothes. Then I move toward the droplets shimmering in the air. I reach my hand out, and when the mist washes over me, my breath leaves my lungs in a rush.

  With my knees locked and my feet anchored in place, my instincts urge me to move, to do something.But instead I stay like that for a long time, because I’m not sure I can move even if I want to. After a long moment, the mist passes through me and disappears into the street at my back.

  I stand there, stunned, and work to find my breath. Struggling to get my head around what just happened here, I glance up and down the alleyway. I take a moment to scent the air for traces of the girl’s flowery perfume before I step out onto the sidewalk. But when my glance comes up empty, with no lingering fragrance to be found, I rake shaky hands through my hair and wonder if I’ve been hunting the dangerous streets for too long. Maybe a wolf really does need to be with its pack, and maybe the light haired girl is simply a figment of my imagination.

  I pull my hood up to hide my features as I move away from the dark alleyway, but I can’t shake the uneasy feeling clawing at my gut.

  I glance back over my shoulder. I can feel a new kind darkness stalking me. As a strange sort of panic races through my bloodstream I turn away and walk faster, but the darkness seems to be crawling along the dirty streets after me.Except it’s not like any darkness I’ve ever felt before. It feels bitter, demonic, slithering through the city streets like a poisonous snake, spreading and weaving its way deeper and deeper into the dark night.

  Deeper and deeper inside of me.