Pride's Pursuit (a Wolf's Pride novel, book three) (6 page)

Our feet fall mutely as we track deeper into the woods, until the sounds of the highway, the
ocean, and all forms of human life are left far behind.
My skin begins to itch, burning in warning, and I resist the urge to claw at my flesh as I
continue to scan the forest. I angle my head to the side, sorting, searching, listening for signs of
danger.
I take another step, but when Stone stops abruptly, I crash into him. My nose smashes into
his hard back and I let loose an undignified oomph as my legs falter.
He spins on the balls of his feet, and in a movement so fast it catches me by surprise, he
curls protective arms around my waist and pulls me against him. His familiar scent drowns out
the smells of the forest around me, and practically steals the breath from my lungs. I open my
mouth to speak, but he presses a finger to my lips to silence me.
“
Sorry
,” he whispers into my thoughts, as the rough pad of his thumb scrapes across my
bottom lip. His touch, warm and deliberately intimate, sends sensations rippling through me. A
flurry of emotions pass over his face, and everything in the hungryway he’s looking at me,
purposely dragging his thumb over my mouth in a slow agonizing caress, confuses my wolf and
tortures my soul.“
I didn’t mean to hurt you.
”
“
I’m…I’m okay
,” I say, but he doesn’t make a move to let me go. Instead, his nostrils flare
and heavy lashes briefly fall over his dark eyes as he sends me a look, one that promises so
much. We stay like that a moment longer, my body completely immobile as he keeps me
anchored to his.
Somewhere in the near distance, a twig snaps, the sharp sound piercing the quiet and
dragging me back to reality.
“
What is it, Stone
?” I finally ask breaking the moment between us. I look past his shoulders,
trying to see what spooked him as hurried footsteps herald the approach of the others.
Logan moves close and fixes Stone with a dangerous look, but the alpha with his arms
circled around my body still seems reluctant to break his hold. Stone glares back, but when I
push on his arms, he uncoils them from around my waist. After I extricate myself from his grip,
my father steps up beside us all and when he gestures to a spot behind Stone, I use that time to
pull myself together.
“What’s going on?” Logan asks between clenched teeth, tension crackling in the air.
Stone aims his finger, and using our exceptional night vision, we all look in the direction
he’s pointing. Collective gasps can be heard when we glimpse an old cabin camouflaged
beneath a cluster of weeping trees. Tucked far off the beaten path, the place is invisible to the
road, the sky, or even hikers. And for some reason that has the hairs on my nape tingling.
As I stare at it, and recall the scent saturating the fallen leaves, my mind takes me in a bleak
direction, one that has me realizing how a wolf’s tortured screams would go unanswered way
out here in the middle of nowhere.
That dark, disturbing thought has a shiver moving through meand I don’t miss the strange
tingling in my bloodstream. I will the image from my head but there is nothing I can do to stop
the tremble running along my spine.
As if sensing my distress Logan steps close, his stance protective, and his eyes are full of
genuine concern as his body hovers over mine.
“What is it, Pride?” he asked, his comforting heat wrapping around me like a tight glove.
“I don’t know.” My hackles spike and I shoot Logan a weary glance.“Something isn’t
right.”
Logan places his hand on the small of my back, but I quickly sever the intimacy, unable to
take comfort in his affectionate contact because I need my wolf sharp, focused fully on this
mission and not on how nice it is to be touched by him.
Logan’s voice is a coarse rasp when he says, “Maybe we should go back.”
Wind hums around me and the fine hairs tracking along my spine stand on edge, but my
wolf isn’t about to turn back now, isn’t about to surrender even if I want to.
Which I don’t.
I’m driven by a need to find the pack of wolves who once stood behind me, a pack that
could very well be dead because they fearlessly crawled into my personal hell without fully
understanding the consequences.
With that last thought urging me on, I take a few more steps and brace my hands on a
decaying log as I carefully climb over it. Insects scurry about beneath my palms, and the
pungent scent of wet moss reaches up to greet my nostrils as I glance up to see Stone inching
forward. He looks back to check on me and the darkening of his eyes as he scans for hidden
enemies and possible threats makes me strangely uneasy.
Nova moves in beside me, her breath coming in hurried gulps as shewhispers, “Do you
think Malcolm and the others areinside?”
I watch her for a minute and don’t miss the urgency in her eyes. Her blood is pounding
hard, rushing faster than a wolf on the prowl, and I wonder what’s elevating her heartbeat—
anticipation? Or fear?
“There is only one way to find out,” I answer.
“You’re going in?” she asks, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow arching inquisitively.
I’m about to answer, but Stone waves us forward and we all push past the low hanging
branches and step up to the pitch black cabin. I sniff the air, and when a breeze washes over my
face, the deadly stench of sulphur and silver thickens my throat.
“PTF,” Logan says coming up beside me. Pewter punctures the blue in his eyes as he scans
the tree line.“They’re nearby.” He sweeps his hands through his hair to push it off his face and
says, “It’s not safe here, Pride.”
My heart begins to beat faster because I know we can’t run away. Not yet. Not without first
checking to see if Malcolm and the others are caged inside. Besides, even if I’m suddenly
feeling ill prepared, isn’t facing the PTF part of my pursuit? I just wish I was facing them on my
grounds, and not theirs.
I stalk closer to the cabin and try to scent the inside. When my efforts prove futile, I turn to
Logan.“Do you—?” I begin to ask.
“I can’t tell. The place is locked up tight.”
I go up on my tip toes to peek inside.It’s dark, and I can’t detect any movement, but that
doesn’t mean it’s empty.
When my wolf growls, Logan moves closer, his body caging me between the cabin and his
chest.“What do you see?” he whispers.
“Nothing, and that’s the problem. I have to get inside.”
“Pride—” he begins.
Just then Nova comes up from behind, looking windblown and nervous, her eyes wide, and
her blood is rushing so fast I fear her heart is about to explode.
“I found a small window around back.It’s open,” she hurries out and there is an intensity
about her that makes my feral wolf want to crawl out of my throat and snap at her. Her glance
fixes on me.“It’s tiny. Only big enough for you to fitthrough, Pride.”
I narrow my eyes and peer at her.“Did you see anything inside?”
“It looks like a small bedroom, and it’s empty.”
“Okay,” I say, and work to strategize my next move, but when Stone joins us and his anger
hovers like a dark rain cloud, it pulls my focus.
Wild eyes lock on mine, and an untamed sound gurgles in the back of his throat before he
says, “You’re not going through it, Pride. I’ll break down the door first before I let you go in
there alone.”
My pulse thrums harder in my throat and I fight to steady it.“You can’t,” I whisper, then
draw a fueling breath, pulling the scent of the deadly hunters into my lungs as I look at the
shifters surrounding me. They’re homeless because of me and I know I can’t let them down.
“The noise will draw the attention of the PTFand I don’t want to face them until I free the
others.”
“What if it’s a trap?” Stone points out, pitching his voice low to match mine.
“What if it’s not,” I counter, intent on finding out who or what’s inside, and if I don’t find
the others I at least hope to find information leading to them.“The PTF aren’t aware that we
know about this place.” As I address his worries, I can’t help but think about Nova and the
darkness I feel in her.But the truth is we’ve come too far to back down now.
My glance lands on my father, and I find him standing guard over Gem and Sandy. His face
is tight, his body on high alert, but there is a new weariness about him, one I’ve never seen
before.I’m intelligent enough to know there is something going on with him. While I feel it in
every fiber of my being, I know now is not the time for questions. Now is thetime for action.
“Logan?” I say, looking at him.
A guttural sound rises from the depths of his throat and it’s clear he doesn’t like what I’m
about to do, but he also knows it’s our only choice and nothing he does or says is going to stop
me.
His warm palm cups my face.“The first sign of danger, you get yourself out,” he warns and
I give a quick nod.I’m about to move, but he captures my elbow and holds me for a moment.
He gives an encouraging squeeze, and as he communicates silently with me his belief in me fills
me with bravado.“I’ve got your back, okay.”
“You have got to be kidding me?” Stone barks out, his voice rising in the sudden updraft
rushing through the forest.
I put my hand to his chest to calm him.“Stone, it’s okay. I’ll get in and get to the front door
as fast as I can and let the rest of you in.”
“It’s not okay,” he bites back. “You might not be able to make it to the front door.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
“Are you sure, Pride?” he asks, his back ramrod straight, his eyes drilling into me.“Are you
sure you know what you’re doing?” As we glare at each other in strained silence, the air around
us charges with volatile electricity, and I know in an instant what he’s really asking.
Before I can answer him, he changes tactics and I feel his voice inside my head, his words
for my ears only.“
You said yourself you didn’t trust Nova. What if she’s up to something? What
if she led us here on purpose?
”
I think about that for a minute and the longer I consider it the more ludicrous it begins to
sound. Nova is just a young girl, one who has been completely shelteredfrom life’s harsh
realities. I steal a sideways glance at Logan. With a frown on his face, his hands are fisted as he
watches the silent exchange between destined mates.I can’t forget that Nova is a part of his
pack, and she must want to find her missing family every bit as much as he does.
“
Maybe we’re way off base, Stone. Maybe Logan is right and we have nothing to worry
about
.”
At the mention of Logan, Stone turns to stare at him and their gazes clash in a silent
struggle.
The muscles along Logan’s jaw clench and there is real danger in his voice when he says,
“I’m not going to let anything happen to her, Stone.”
Stone’s mood blackens and he gives a humorless bark of laughter.“Yeah, because you’ve
been doing such a good job of that now,haven’t you? You don’t know how to take care of her,
Logan.Not like I do.”
When they move toward one another, I press a palm to both their chests and try to defuse
the situation before it escalates and gains the attention of hunters. There is a frantic edge to my
voice when I say, “You two can stay out here and fight it out if you like, but I’m going in.”
With that I turn from them, and their voices fall off as I disappear from their line of sight.
When I spot the small window, barely big enough for me to crawl through I take a deep breath
to fuel my courage. I go up on my toes and inch the glass all the way open and still for a
moment, listening for movement inside.
Stale air spills outside and I nearly choke on the bitter taste. I grip the window frame and
hoist myself up on the sill until my knees are balanced on the rigid casing. I peer into the
darkened room, committing every nook and groove in the tight space to memory as I slip my
legs through the opening and shimmy forwarduntil I’m halfway inside, then I drop to the floor,
and brace myself.
Keeping deathly still, I glance around the cold, dank room, and using slow, careful
movements I drop to my knees to look under the unmade bed, the headboard jammed against the
wall beside me. After finding the space empty, I push to my feet and take one small step,
determined to get to the front door to let the others inside.
The wood floor board groans beneath me, and I stop mid stride and hold my breath. I stay
like that for a long time, but when I hear no sounds in response, no guns cocking, or the
pounding of feet coming my way, I step around the mattress and move toward the closed door
leading to the main room.
I listen for sounds outside, and can feel Stone trying to enter my thoughts.“
I’m okay
,” I say,
and to ease his worries I let him hover on the outer edges of my mind as I quietly push open the
door. Exercising caution, I slip into the next room and the second I do, my senses are assaulted
with the coppery tang of death and my stomach revolts in protest.
Blood. Danger. A violence so brutal that it puts my former master’s cruelties to shame,
swarms around me in a kaleidoscopic burst. Bile punches into my throat and when my knees
falter, I grip the door handle to balance myself.
Knowing bad things have happened here, and in fact could still be happening here, I work
to keep my emotions in check, work not to vomit as the bitter scent of brutality drowns out all
the other smells in the small cabin.
Breathing through my mouth, I can almost feel the coldness of death seeping into my bones.
I push forward and pad quietly toward the front door, but when a frightened whimper catches
my attention, I spin in the direction of the sound. Dread takes hold because deep in the darkened
shadows I spot an intruder. Tall. Powerful.
Armed.
When eyes as deadly as silver glare at me, survival instincts kick in and my wolf turns feral.
Sharp canines puncture my gums, and as the figure emerges from the semi darkness, I turn and
face him straight on.Except, I quickly realize, he’s not the intruder.
I am.
My nostrils flare and I suck in a quick, fuelling breath. The rush of oxygen in my
bloodstream parts the fog clouding my rattled thoughts, and allows me to think with more
clarity. A shudder moves through me because for the first time since we set out on this
dangerous journey the tumblers all begin to fall into place, and I know at once why Lewis Lake
sounds familiar.