Pride Unleashed (a Wolf's Pride novel, book 2) (27 page)

“But that didn’t happen,”
I
remind her.
“What did?”

“It was
broad
daylight
.” She gives a slow shake of her head
and her voice sounds strangled when she continues.
“And w
e didn’t even see them coming.”

“
Didn’t see w
ho
coming
?”
I question, determined to get to the bottom of matters.

“Not who.
What
would be more accurate
.
”
Her hand catches hold of mine
and a
hot shiver
rushes through my blood
.

D
etermined to get the details from her I question,
“
Okay, w
hat then
?
”

She
exhales a shallow breath
.
“You’re not going to believe me
.
”
Her brows collide and she gives a slow, perplexed shake of her head. “Honestly,
I’m not even sure if I believe it.
Maybe this fever is making me delirious.
”

I go back on my heels
and give her hand a comforting squeeze to let her know she
’s not delirious.
“
Let me guess.
You were attacked by shape
-
shifting panthers.”

Surprise registers on her face and her
eyes go wide.
“How did you know
?”

“I saw them on the monitors
and
when I mentioned it to
Logan
, he e
xplained what they were.”

“
We’ve always been taught that other
shifters
existed but
I’d never seen anything like them
before.
They were
long,
black,
sleek, and
vicious.”

“Did they…”
My hands fall away as
I stop
speaking.
I
struggl
e
to figure out how to
push the next
question
past my lips
, but
I can tell
she already knows what
it is I’m trying to ask.

“No, they ran, and
then
the panthers
took chase.
Wolves are fast, but
cats
are
fast
,
too.”

“Do you think they caught them?”

“I don’t know
.”

“How did you get away, Gem?”

She grips the cold bars of her small cage
, her face close to mine
.
“I didn’t.”

I look at her, confused for a moment and then realize what she means.
“No. I mean how did you get away from the panthers
?
”

“
I didn’t,” she says again.
“One trapped me.
He was big, black and
dangerous
but what I remember most was his eyes.
They were the deepest shade of
gray
I’d ever seen, but underneath
all
that
feral
hardness I saw something else.”

“What was it?”

She looks down for a moment, her long lashes shadowing her emotions, then she whispers,
“
I think it was c
ompassion.
I think he felt sorry for me so he let me go.”

For a moment my brain stalls.
“He let you go?” I ask again, dum
b
founded.

“Yes, and I used that
opportunity to run for the front door of the mansion.”

I frown
and watch her stretch her legs out in front of herself.
Even inside the small cage her movements are calculated and graceful, a reminder that while her name says it all—that she’s vibrant and bubbly—in wolf form she’s
not only
s
treamlined
and
fast
, she can think on her feet.
 

“Why did you do that?”
I ask.
“Why didn’t you run away?”

“I couldn’t leave you in here thinking we’d abandoned you.
Besides, I
figured I’d be
more help
to you on the
inside now that our plan failed.”

Her response stuns me and I almost blurt out
how wrong she is, how her capture has
only
slowed us down
because we
’re unable to
flee the courtyard
until we figure out a way to free her
or convince the master to place her in the cellar with the rest of us
.
Bu
t I can’t bring myself to
say those things
, because I know it will only hurt her
and she doesn’t deserve that from me
.

Instead I say, “We have to find your family, but we have to get out of here first.
”

“What’s the new plan?”
Her green eyes are wide and waiting
, fully expecting me to have the solution.

B
ut I do
n’t
.
So I don’t
answer.

It does, however, occur to me that everyone is counting on me, putting their trust in me.
I redirect the conversation
and
try to
sound more sure of myself than I am
.
“Tell me, d
id you see or hear anyone else
out there
?
Someone has to be controlling these
shifters
and we need to know what we’re up against
.
”

She goes quiet for a moment and her eyes narrow as they
once again
cast down in thought.
Then a moment later her chin comes up with a start and I
hear
the quiver in her voice when she asks,
“
Do you think it could be the PTF?”

“No I don’t
,
”
I say neglecting to tell her that whoever is harnessing panthers just might be more deadly than the PTF.

“Why?”

“
Because they hunt all things that go bump in the night.
They don’t harness them.”

“Then who?”

“That’s what I need to find out.
”

Her eyes go serious a
s they track to the ventilation system
a
nd I can almost hear her mind racing.
“Tell me how you found me, Pride.
How did you get out of your cell?”

“I found a key.”

“Is it the master key?” she asks
, a measure of
hop
e
backlight
ing
her
vibrant
green eyes.

My head comes back with a start.
“Master key?”
I
ask
.
Is there really such a thing?

“Yes, the master keeps it secured to his belt
.
It’s on
this long
stretchable elastic he keeps on his
b
uckle.
”

I take a moment to reflect on that.
I’m astute and aware, always
taking note of everything around me and
searching for a way out, which makes me wonder why I
missed that very important
detail
.
As I ponder that, Gem answers my unasked question.

“
Since he’s
the one handling me,
I’ve seen him use it.
It opens all the doors.
”
I see a new sparkle in her eyes and it gives me hope that she’s going to be okay.

I catch hold of her hand again and m
y
mouth drops as a new plan begins to formulate
inside my brain
.
If I can get my hand on the master key
then
I can unlock all the cells and we
can break out under the cover of darkness.
Stone knows the code to the alarm system and can lead everyone to safety while I
settle some un
finish
ed
business with the master.

But I can’t forget that once we make it outside, we still have to face the beasts waiting for us
beyond the perimeter
.
Except, I remind myself
, t
hey’re not really after us.
They’re after the master.
And I might be able to use that to my advantage.

“Does he ever take it off?”

“
Yes,
he’s been keeping me close, leading me around with him and just last night
when
I
was in his west wing office I saw him drop it into his
desk drawer.
”

As I listen to Gem, I realize
I’d been wrong in my thinking earlier.
She
is
far more help
ful
on the
inside that I ever could have imagined.
It’s b
ecause of her
that
I now have a new game plan.

I smile at her, finally understanding why
Malcolm
would bring her along.
Not only is she smart, s
he
has an incredible strength of character and is
stronger than I ever realized.

“You’re brilliant, Gem.”
Somewhere in the east wing an old grandfather clock chimes
and I nearly jump out of my skin
.
I count the loud clangs as they ring out and realize how much time has passed.

Gem
gives me a big toothy smile.
“Why do you think they call me Gem
?
”

The
truth is I
thought
it was because she was vibrant and sparkly,
full of energy and life,
not bec
ause
she
had a brilliant mind
.
And if it wasn’t for her, I might never have
fashioned a
new
plan and
figured out my next step.

Which is t
o get into the master’s office undetected
,
and get my hands on that
master
key.

I
hate to
turn my back on Gem and leave but
under the circumstance
I have no choice
.
E
specially if I want to move about the vents undetected
and get back before Sandy awakens
.

After assuring
Gem
that I’ll be back
as
soon
as I can
, I
work to
get my
emotions
under control so they don’t
end up getting the better of me.
I have to think with clarity as I strategize the next stage of our escape.
Moving about silently,
I
climb back into the
shaft
,
knowing I can’t make any mistakes as I
s
ecure the grate
behi
nd
me
and begin
to
ret
race my steps back to my cell.

I
take that time to
consider what Gem told me and w
hile I’d like to go straight to
the
master’s office
and
have that key in my possession before we begin a new day,
I know
I’ve lost far too much time as it is.

I
need to get back
to my bunk
before Sandy
discovers
I’m gone.
My pulse races
t
hink
ing about
what she’d do with that knowledge
,
or
how she’d use it against me and
try to
destroy everything
we’re
working toward
.
M
y heart hurts for her
, a bone deep ache that
I’m sure
I’ll forever carry
.
I can only hope that someday she’ll
stop disliking me and
see the master for wh
at
he really is.