“Don’t, Soren,” she pleaded, already knowing he was going to make another attempt to shove himself upright. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
“Damn.” He squeezed his eyes shut and released a heavy sigh. “This isn’t doing much for my image as a super-hero.”
She brushed a stray curl from his forehead, at the same time ensuring he wasn’t running a fever.
“I don’t need a super-hero,” she assured him.
“What do you need, princess?”
“You.”
“Me?” He opened his eyes, studying her with a raw, aching need that stole her breath. “You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
“No more walls?”
“No more walls.”
“Thank God.”
Her fingers lightly traced his brow, her cat purring in satisfaction, even as her heart remained uncertain.
“I just have one question,” she said, unable to halt the words despite the knowledge that this was hardly the time or place for this particular discussion.
“What?”
“Why didn’t you come to me after…” She floundered beneath his steady cognac gaze. Dammit. Why had she even started this conversation?
“After Leah died?” he finished for her.
She bit her bottom lip, a blush staining her cheeks. “Yes.”
He reached to grasp her hand, squeezing her fingers in a grip that helped to ease her regret for mentioning his dead mate.
“I’ve always told myself that it was guilt that kept me away,” he said, his gaze lowering to where their hands were connected.
Cora frowned. “Guilt for what?”
He absently stroked his thumb over her knuckles, his expression unbearably sad.
“For not being able to give Leah my heart because you already possessed it.”
Her lips parted on a dismayed sigh.
Crap. She’d been so caught up in her own sense of betrayal, she hadn’t really thought about the cost to both Soren and his young mate.
And even if she had, she would never have considered the possibility that Soren would not only continue to love her, but that his feelings for her would have affected his relationship with Leah.
“I’m sorry,” she breathed.
His face clenched with soul-deep remorse. “She deserved better.”
Leaning forward, she brushed her mouth over his lips in a gentle kiss.
“You did what you thought was best for your Pack,” she murmured.
He gave a sharp, humorless laugh. “And hurt everyone in the process.”
Cora heaved a sigh. There was nothing she could say to make things better. He was determined to blame himself for a situation none of them could have changed.
Only time would ease his pain.
“You said that guilt was what you told yourself kept us apart,” she reminded him, hoping to distract his dark thoughts.
Tightening his grip, he pulled her fingers to his lips. “When I woke up to find you gone from my bed, I felt as if I’d been slugged in the gut.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m sorry.”
He nipped the tips of her fingers. “It made me realize how desperately I didn’t want to experience that sense of loss.”
“By avoiding me?”
“Yes.” He held her gaze. “As long as I kept you as a distant fantasy, then I could cling to the belief that we would eventually be mated. But if I’d come to you and you couldn’t forgive me, or worse, if you’d found another male, then I couldn’t hold on to my hope.” She felt him tremble. “And that would have been unbearable.”
****
Soren’s wolf pressed against his skin, deeply troubled by Cora’s pale face and the weary smudges beneath her eyes.
This was his female.
He wanted to care for her. And that meant getting her out of the man-cage and taking her someplace where she would be warm and comfortable and tucked in his arms.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen until he was strong enough to get off the damned floor. Then, he had to find a way to lure the guard to open the door…
He gave a shake of his head.
First he had to get out the bullet so he could heal.
After that, he could concentrate on getting them out of the cell.
Kneeling at his side, Cora gazed down at him with a troubled expression.
“I wish I hadn’t left your bed,” she murmured softly.
“Me, too.” He deliberately lightened his tone. He hadn’t intended to play on her sympathy. Pity from this female was the last thing he wanted. He just needed her to understand why he’d waited so long to come to his senses and claim her as his mate. “We would certainly be having a lot more fun, not to mention a decent bed to sleep in.”
Instead of being comforted as he’d hoped, she managed to look even more upset.
“And you wouldn’t have a bullet in your shoulder and a cracked skull,” she said.
He sucked the tip of her finger between his lips, holding her worried gaze.
“Unless I pissed you off,” he teased.
It took a long moment, but as if sensing her distress was agitating his inner animal, she managed to force a smile to her lips.
“I promise that I’ll never shoot you,” she said. “I might bite or scratch-”
“Mmm,” he interrupted with a throaty growl. “You promise?”
“You’re impossible.” She gave a reluctant laugh, pulling her fingers from his grasp. “I meant that I was sorry I allowed my fear to overcome my desire to stay in your arms.”
He studied her pale face. The thought she could ever be afraid of him was…
Horrifying.
He clenched his jaw. “Why would you be frightened?”
“You make me vulnerable,” she whispered.
He flinched as if she’d struck him. “You’re afraid I’ll hurt you again.”
His words came out as a statement, not a question.
She shook her head, belatedly realizing that her words had hit him like a blow.
“I think it’s more a fear that fate might once again steal you away.”
“Nothing is going to separate us, not ever again,” he swore, his face abruptly twisting as a searing pain blasted through his shoulder. “Shit.”
Instantly, Cora was leaning forward to frame his face with her hands, concern darkening her eyes.
“Soren?”
He tried to speak, but the words were replaced by a hiss of pain as his body went rigid. Christ. It felt as if someone was shoving a hot poker through his wounded flesh.
After what seemed like an eternity, the skin of his shoulder bulged and the bullet was at last pushed from his wounded flesh.
“Damn, I think it hurts worse coming out than it did going in,” he muttered.
Taking a minute to catch his breath, Soren savored the sensation of his body beginning to heal. Without the damned bullet, it wouldn’t take long for the hole in his shoulder to close and his skull to repair the hairline fracture.
Oh, he was going to have a headache for a while, and he wouldn’t be back to full-strength without a few hours of rest and a large meal filled with plenty of protein. But for now, he was as good as he was going to get.
Shoving off the blanket, he planted his hands against the floor and pushed himself to a seated position.
Cora made a small sound of concern, reaching out to try and urge him back to the ground.
“What are you doing?” she protested.
This time, he was strong enough to resist the pressure of her hands. They couldn’t remain in this cell.
Not when Jonah would already be traveling to meet the SAU. If the Alpha allowed himself to be taken, the humans could disappear with him before they had any hope of mounting a rescue.
“We can’t wait, princess,” he reminded her. “We have to get out of here before your father reaches the Flatirons.” He glanced across the cell, able to see the shadow of the human who was pacing from one end of the ba
sement to the other. “I need to find a way to force the guard to open the door.”
Without warning, she sat back and slipped her hand into the pocket of her jumpsuit.
“I think I can help,” she murmured, pulling out her hand to reveal a small metal object.
“A key?” Soren blinked in shock. “How did you get that?”
She smiled, a hint of smug satisfaction glowing in her emerald eyes
“When they dragged you into the cell.”
He slowly smiled, pride filling his heart as he recalled the guard’s anger when she’d bumped into him. She’d obviously taken advantage of the idiot’s distraction when he was hauling Soren into the cell and lifted his key.
“My clever cat,” he murmured softly.
Moving with a fluid grace, Cora rose to her feet and moved in silence to peer out the window cut into the door.
“We still need to find a way to distract the guard,” she pointed out.
With far less grace, Soren managed to lift himself off the floor, breathing a small breath of relief when his knees didn’t buckle.
Shit.
He was still dangerously weak. Something he was determined to hide from his companion. Cora was just stubborn enough to try and protect him. He wasn’t going to let her put herself in danger.
“You open the door and I’ll snap his neck,” he suggested, forcing his feet to carry him across the cell. “That should distract him.”
She glanced at him with wry amusement. “I was thinking of something a little more discreet.”
“Fine. I’ll-” He cut off his words as the second guard abruptly stepped into the basement and gestured for the man to join him at the door.
“Clark.”
The guard moved forward. “What now?”
Sinclair lowered his voice, clearly too stupid to realize that a shifter could hear a pin drop a hundred feet away.
“They think we have another intruder,” he warned in low tones. “Maybe more than one.”
Soren and Cora exchanged a puzzled glance.
More shifters? Could Holden have sent them? It seemed unlikely that he would risk exposing Soren unless he called for backup.
Of course, if he’d found out that Jonah was meeting with the SAU…
Soren grimly leashed his straying thoughts. He couldn’t worry about the mysterious shifters. Right now, nothing mattered but getting out of the cell.
“Shit,” Clark muttered. “Are they sending more guards down?”
“No.” Sinclair studied his companion with a mocking smile. “They want me to go help with the search. You stay here.”
“Alone?” There was no mistaking the squeak of fear in the guard’s voice.
“You need a babysitter?” Sinclair drawled.
Clark hunched his shoulders. “What if the other shifter tries to rescue the prisoners?”
“You have a damned gun, don’t you?” Sinclair demanded. “If something moves, shoot it.”
“Smartass,” Clark muttered as Sinclair turned to leave the basement.
Sensing the guard was on the edge of panic, Soren leaned against the door, speaking directly through the bars in the window.
“When my friends get here, I’m going to rip out your heart and eat it,” he said with a low growl.
“Fuck this,” the guard rasped, backing toward the door. “I don’t get paid enough.”
With a last glare toward the cell, Clark turned on his heel and sprinted out of the basement.
Stepping back, he swiveled around to discover Cora studying him with lifted brows.
“What?”
“Rip out his heart and eat it?” she repeated in dry tones.
Soren shrugged. It might have been a bit…melodramatic.
“It was the first thing I could think of,” he said in defensive tones.
She rolled her eyes, moving forward to stick the key into the heavy metal lock.
“You sounded like a cheesy Hannibal Lecter wannabe.”
He chuckled. Okay, maybe it’d been more than just a ‘bit’ melodramatic.
“Hey, it worked, didn’t it?”
There was a loud click as she tumbled the lock. Pocketing the key, she sent him a glance as she grabbed the handle.
“Ready?” she asked.
Soren moved forward to frame her face with his hands, lowering his head to claim her lips in a fierce kiss. For a timeless moment, her mouth parted, allowing him to drink deeply of her sweetness.
It wasn’t a prelude to sex.
Not that he didn’t intend to get her naked and happy at the first opportunity.
But for now, it was simply a physical need to reassure one another that they’d been reunited. And that they could face anything.
Together.
“Let’s do this thing,” he at last murmured.
Chapter 10
Cora pulled open the door, allowing Soren to slip past her as they left the cell and headed out of the basement. It wasn’t worth the fight to try and convince him that he was still healing from his wounds and that she should take the lead.
He would be deeply offended if she even suggested he couldn’t protect her.
Males…
In silence, they left the basement, Soren indifferent to the fact that he was completely naked. It would make it easier to shift if they were confronted by the enemy.
Cautiously, they began climbing the narrow staircase. Near the top, however, Soren came to an abrupt halt, leaning against the wall as he turned to whisper in her ear.
“There’s someone at the door.”
She sucked in a deep breath, catching the scent of a human man.
Dammit.
“Is there any other way out of here?” she asked, her voice pitched low enough it wouldn’t echo.
Soren glanced up the stairwell, no doubt considering the possibility of climbing to a higher floor before he gave a shake of his head.
“No. The higher we go, the more likely the chances of being trapped,” he at last decided. “I’ll deal with the guard. You get out of here.”
Instinctively, she reached out to grasp his arm. “Soren, you’re injured.”
“I’m nearly healed,” he blatantly lied. As if she couldn’t see the blood that still seeped from his wounds. But before she could protest, he held up a slender hand. “I’m fine, I swear I’m not playing the hero.”
She narrowed her gaze. “You’re not?”
His lips twitched with a rueful smile. “Well, maybe a little,” he conceded. “But we both know you have to get out of here and contact your father before he surrenders to our enemies.”
“But-”
“Trust me,” he murmured, reaching out to brush his fingers over her cheek.
Cora hesitated.
Could she? Could she trust this male who’d once destroyed her heart?
The answer came without hesitation.
Yes.
“Just don’t get yourself killed,” she muttered.
Relief darkened his cognac eyes. As if he sensed her inner acceptance that they truly were partners.
Mates.
“That’s not in the plan,” he assured her in husky tones.
Without warning, the door above them was shoved open and Sinclair stepped onto the landing of the stairwell.
“Are the two of you done?” the man demanded, his scruffy face twisted with a sardonic smile. “I mean, it’s a touching scene and all, but we don’t have all night.”
Soren instinctively moved to stand between her and the guard, his claws slicing through his skin as he prepared to attack.
“Run, Cora,” he ordered.
The man unexpectedly stepped forward, holding up his hand in a gesture of peace.
“Easy, wolf. I’m trying to help.”
Soren growled low in his chest. “Like you helped by hitting me in the fucking head?”
The man shrugged. “Would you rather I’d let my trigger-happy companion shoot your ass?”
Cora pressed against Soren??
?s back. She wasn’t prepared to abandon him, but she knew better than to try and step between the two males.
That was a good way to end up dead.
“He held me down in the cell,” she told Soren, glaring at the man who sent her a mocking glance. “Don’t trust him.”
“No problem,” Soren assured her, suddenly shifting into his wolf form.
Expecting the guard to react like most humans with a lot of cursing, screaming, and a hasty retreat, Cora felt a stab of fear as Sinclair folded his arms over his chest, studying the large animal about to rip out his throat with remarkable calm.
Then, shockingly, his pale eyes flickered, revealing his inner wolf.
“Now, do you trust me?” he demanded with a growl.
“Soren, wait.” Cora leaned down to touch Soren’s back, feeling his rigid muscles as he prepared to attack. Once assured the wolf understood that he needed to wait, she straightened to study the male with a flare of curiosity. “You’re one of the Unseen?” she demanded.
Nothing else could explain his lack of collar and brand that marked the rest of them as born shifters.
He gave a slow nod. “I am.”
She didn’t know much about the shifters who’d managed to elude detection by the humans. Which meant she wasn’t about to trust him.
Just because he could turn into a wolf didn’t mean he was one of the good guys.
“How do you disguise your scent?” she demanded.
“It’s a talent many of the Unseen are born with,” he smoothly answered.
Hmm. That wasn’t particularly reassuring. “You’re a shifter and you work for the SAU?”
His features hardened, revealing the deadly predator that lurked just below the surface.
“How better to learn your enemies’ secrets than to become one of them?”
Ah. That made sense.
“A spy,” she murmured.
“As long as I haven’t blown my cover,” he muttered, pivoting back toward the heavy steel door to push it open. “Let’s move it.”
Soren gave a low growl, but Cora reluctantly followed the male out of the stairwell and into the narrow corridor.
What choice did they have?
If Sinclair wanted to hurt them, he could have shot the minute he’d opened the door. There would have been no way they could have avoided being injured, maybe even killed.