“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.”