Right Wolf, Right Time (13 page)

“Yeah, there she is.” Monty chuckled. “You never let your wolf out to play, but when I sense her, she’s got my back.”

Sophie felt immediate shame. For all that they’d mated, she had yet to run with the man she loved or show him her wolf. “I’m sorry.”
For being less than you deserve. For bringing this danger to your door. For so much I can’t say.

“It’s okay. When I get back, we’ll take it slow, and we’ll run together when you’re ready.”

God, how could he be so understanding?

“A better mate would take care of you. I should have run with you before, and now it might be too late.” She sniffed and wiped away more tears. What if her uncle had been nosing around because he’d been following Sophie’s trail? What if he’d happened upon Stacey and Dean while looking for his wayward niece?

Jesus, she hadn’t thought about that possibility. Guilt ate at her. She’d brought danger to the people she loved. Some bad karma for not doing more to help the battered Ac-taw when she’d had the chance.

“Sophie, stop. You’re pulling my heart out. That fear and grief is so bitter on your skin. I’m not gonna die, I swear. I’m taking some wolves from the order with me, wolves I know and trust. We’ll come back, hopefully not with Joy. I still don’t think Norris has her. Her disappearance doesn’t feel right. But I know he won’t rest until we meet up again.”

“Why you?”
Why not me,
she wanted to say.

“Because that’s who I am. I protect those I love, and like it or not, I—
we
—are part of the pride.”

She flushed. “I like the pride. I just don’t want you in danger.” She swallowed hard, calling on her courage. “I could help.”

He didn’t immediately laugh, which spoke well for him. “You can help by being safe. Knowing you’re protected will keep my mind free to deal with the devil.”

“I can shoot,” she said fast to get it out. “I grew up with firearms. I’m a crack shot.” An ace, truth be told. Though she hadn’t shot a rifle in a few months, she kept in practice. She’d need little time to get right back into the swing of things.

“A crack shot, eh?” He curled a lock of her hair around his finger. “Tell me more.”

She wanted to, to unburden herself, finally, and tell the whole sordid mess of her life. Yet she worried she’d distract Monty from his mission. And—honesty compelled her to admit—she was afraid he’d no longer want her if he knew the truth.

When she continued to remain silent, Monty hugged her tight. “Tell you what, mate. Why don’t we spend the rest of the night together, loving each other? Tomorrow will come soon enough.”

Wanting nothing more than to please her mate, Sophie kissed him. She touched him. She hugged him. Before she knew it, they were making love and giving to one another.

But in the back of her mind, she worried, because she knew better. Her uncle’s words returned to her, and they’d never been truer:
the past never stays buried, not unless you dig the grave yourself.

Chapter Eight

Monty had been gone for three days with no word, and Sophie was losing her mind. She couldn’t think, couldn’t eat, and refused to talk to Julia or Gabby about it, avoiding them by working overtime at the grocery store. But she couldn’t face her lonely house anymore. To stay near Monty, to breathe in his scent, she slept in his big bed each night, crying and missing him as she imagined her uncle and cousins carving him up.

She’d seen enough during her years to make her more than wary of men. Her cousins had brutalized women and men she now knew to be Ac-taw, but they’d done it when their uncle had been away. Ted Norris didn’t subscribe to sexual urges. The man had been a monk in all the time she’d spent around him. He reveled in violence and brutality, but her cousins liked it all. And the dirtier the better.

Nightmare images of Monty being tortured refused to leave her, and her wolf was constantly on edge, turning at the smallest scent or sound.

Footsteps nearing the house had her reaching for Monty’s favorite knife, the one he’d left with her for protection, as if she’d need it with the pride always underfoot. Julia and Gabby were bad enough, but they must have told their mates of their worry, who in turn told Burke, because he stood outside the front door, waiting.

“Sophie, I’m coming in. We need to talk.”

She didn’t unlock it, but she apparently didn’t need to. She heard Burke sigh and fiddle with the door. In moments he entered with a grim look on his face.

She paced, anxious and ill at ease. Though she’d promised herself to Monty, she wasn’t exactly comfortable with the other pride males, and not in a place she considered her own den.
Den?
Her wolf intruded on her thoughts more and more, and she’d let the creature, because she wanted to be more like Monty—a man at peace with himself.

But her man belonged to the pride. She didn’t, and Burke wasn’t a wolf.

She stood with her back to the sink counter, her grip on the knife’s hilt, and watched warily as he stopped inside the doorway.

“I’m going to sit over here, okay?” He moved to the couch and sat, leaving her a clear path to the door should she need to leave in a hurry.

Too tense to feel ashamed for needing the avenue of escape, she asked him the question she knew he held an answer to. “Any news?”

“Yes.” Burke wore his worry in his golden eyes, and she wanted to howl. “One of the wolves reported back. They found some Hunters in the woods, but the Hunters were prepared. Two wolves are dead, the other seven were taken. No further word from any of them. They’ve vanished.”

Her worst fear come to light.

“Now don’t worry, we’ll—”

“Don’t tell me not to worry,” she growled. “He’s
my
mate.”

“Yeah, and he’s part of
my
pride,” Burke growled back and stood.

She automatically retreated and felt immediate shame. Monty deserved so much more than her. Weak, pathetic. She was everything her uncle and cousins had called her. And worse, because she’d never done the right thing when she had the chance, preferring to live in denial.

But she could fix that now.

“Damn it, Sophie. I’m not going to hurt you. Hell, I want to help you. The order’s lighting out in a few hours, when it turns darkest. We’re going to get him back.”

“Who’s we, exactly?” she asked as she plotted.

“The order, Sheridan and his wolves. Soon as he has a direct fix, I’ll join him. We know the bastards are somewhere south of Kalispell, closer to Flathead Lake. But we can’t nail the exact location. Not yet.”

“You can’t go with them.” Something about Flathead Lake sparked her memory. “You have to protect the pride.”

He grimaced. “I’m pride leader. I make my own decisions,” he reminded her in a firm but gentle voice. “Rachel understands.”

For his friend, he’d leave his pregnant mate behind and go into danger. Could Sophie do less for her mate? The love of her life? Fear of her uncle and cousins had blinded her to so much for so long. Because of them, she’d denied her wolf, her very self. And now because of them, she might lose a love worth fighting for.

Time to stop being so Sophie-like and man up.
Wolf up
, her animal spirit corrected, and she embraced the idea.

She let the tears flow. “I’m sorry, Burke. I’m just so worried.” She sniffed a few times, pouring it on thicker. Not that she had to pad her worry, but she’d finally worked up the courage to do something and she needed to get away from the pride and their protective instincts.

“I know, honey. I understand.” He gave her a sympathetic nod. “Want me to get Julia or Gabby for you?”

“No. Not now. I think I just need to sleep on it, you know?” She bit her lip. “Would it be okay if I went home to my house? It’s where Monty and I first… Ah, where he first told me he loved me. And I want to be closer to him. Sounds silly, but…” She held on to the pendant he’d given her, relying on it for strength.

“No, no.” He looked relieved. “I’ll have Grady drive you home.”

“I’m okay. I want to drive my car. And I live in town, so it’s not like I have to worry about being attacked by Hunters.” Not like Monty.

“Yeah, but you’re under my protection. Monty entrusted me with your welfare, honey. You mean the world to him.”

Her eyes welled again.

“Shit. I mean,” Burke paused, looking helpless. “Go ahead home. I’ll follow, just to see that you get in safe. Okay?”

“Sure.” She caught her breath and grabbed her purse and keys. “Can we go now?”

“Yeah. Meet me at the main house.”

She drove to the main house and waited while Burke hustled into his truck. As promised, he followed her home. She waved at him and watched him drive away, knowing she had a small window of time to do what needed to be done. Burke would have someone sit outside the house for her protection. Not that she needed it, but because he’d promised Monty to protect her.

She hurried into her basement and retrieved the duffel she hadn’t looked at since Theo had brought her to Cougar Falls.

Taking a deep breath, she called on her courage and made the call that would end her life in Cougar Falls. A half an hour later, a knock sounded at the door. She glanced at the bag on the table and knew the time had come.

She rose and answered it. Axel and Rafe entered. Alone.

“Thank you for coming,” she said quietly.

Axel nodded and glanced around. “You by yourself?”

“I think one of the pride is watching the house.”

“Melissa’s out front,” Rafe added. “A few of my wolves are distracting her while we discuss what the hell you’re up to.”

She blinked away useless tears. God, she hadn’t cried so much since she’d left the frickin’ homestead with Theo years ago. “I know how to get Monty and the others back.”

Axel and Rafe exchanged a glance before Rafe said, “No.”

“I’m worth more to the Hunters than you know.”

Axel frowned, but Rafe’s expression didn’t change. “I know more than you think. And the answer is still no,” he denied softly.

“Rafe?” Axel asked.

“I’m Ted Norris’s niece,” she said out loud. “The big bad Hunter killing Ac-taw? I’m his blood. Call and ask Theo. He’ll tell you.”

Axel swore.

Rafe shrugged. “He already told me years ago. I’m not going to let you sacrifice yourself to that monster to rescue anyone.”

“I’m not going to sacrifice myself. I’m going in as bait while you and your wolves get ready to take his Hunters out for good. I’ll distract him for you.”

“Sophie—”

She approached him, ignoring Axel’s tension. “Rafe, I have to. Monty’s my mate. We bonded.” She started to cry again.
Damn it.
“I spent my entire life growing up under my uncle’s thumb. I didn’t do enough before.”

“Theo said you did plenty.” Rafe shook his head. “You saved his life.”

“But I should have saved a lot more.” She didn’t look away from her alpha, even when his powerful glare ordered her to submit. “I can do this, Rafe. Please. I have to do this or I won’t survive.”
Not without Monty, not without doing what I should have done so long ago.

He softened. She could see it. Apparently so could Axel.

“Hell, no, Rafe. You can’t let her go in there. Not around those fuckers.”

“And you can’t tell me what to do,” Rafe growled in a low rumble.

Axel glanced down but didn’t relent. “She shouldn’t go.” He looked up at her. “Even if she is part of this mess. She’s breeding.”

Sophie started. “I’m not pregnant.”

Rafe blinked at her. “She’s not—is she?”

Axel nodded. “It’s really subtle, but it’s there. Happened recently.”

She colored.

Axel’s grin widened. “Yeah.” He touched his nose. “This thing never lies. You’re going to be having a pup in nine months.” His smile died. “So no way you can be anywhere near Norris. He’ll kill you, or worse. Think about your mate, Sophie. Your baby.”

Now more than ever, she had to help Monty. “I am.” She turned a pleading gaze back to Rafe. “When I left my uncle, it was after years of living with him, knowing he was bad but not how bad. He hunted and he killed. But they were just wild animals stealing our chickens or cows. So I told myself. But I think I always knew.”

“Sophie, don’t.” Rafe tried to stop her.

“I saw him kill one of us. A man who’d been so nice to me. My uncle shot him right between the eyes in the middle of his change. And then I knew what he’d been doing all those years. To all those people.” She blinked back her tears, using her pain to bolster her resolve. “Theo helped me escape as much as I helped him. And now my uncle is doing it again, hurting Ac-taw. But this time it’s because of me.”

“No, it’s because he’s a sick fuck,” Axel interrupted. “Honey, you can’t go up against him. From everything we’ve heard, he’s not right in the head.”

“He’s Ac-taw,” she whispered, suddenly putting the pieces together.

“What?”
Rafe stared at her, hard.

“He has to be. Monty said he never seems to change, and when I thought about it, I realized he never has, not in twenty-six years. He’s the same man he’s always been. Strong, and he can see, hear and smell things normal humans can’t. He’s like me, and he doesn’t shift. Ever.”