I stumble back a few steps and prepare my retaliation, but as I’m still steadying myself, two powerful beings body slam me from both sides, and I crash into the floor. The air is knocked out of my lungs, and my head snaps back, colliding with the hardwood. I hear screaming and yelling, but the one voice I focus on is hers.
“Ryker! Get up!” Pru pleads, her voice cracking.
Two sets of hands roughly grab onto me and haul me up. They stand on either side of me, holding me in place. My arms are pulled behind my back and held at a painful angle. The more I fight their hold on me, the more they twist my wrists. One of the men reaches up and digs his claws into my throat.
“Well, that was exciting!” Nicolai’s metallic laugh makes me cringe. “I do appreciate your efforts, Ryker, but know they are futile.”
I look over at Nicolai and find him standing behind Pruitt, his claws held against her jugular. Her bright-green gaze is on mine as she stands there shaking with tears running down her face. I try to jerk out of the men’s grasp, but when I do the one on my right growls before violently twisting my wrist once more, sending the sound of a cracking bone through the now quiet room.
“Fuck!” I holler in pain.
“Leave him alone! Please stop—” Pru’s words are cut short when Nicolai presses his claws into her throat, the scent of her blood overwhelming my senses. My parents or sister don’t dare make a move toward us. The way they have Pruitt and me held, it would only take a second for them to kill us.
“Now that I’ve got your attention, this is how it’s going to go,” Nicolai growls between clenched teeth. “I’m going to walk out of this house with my men. Ms. Thorne will not be coming with me today. I made a mistake with Genevieve. She didn’t get a choice in whether or not she came with me. This time, however, Grey will make that choice on her own and do it willingly.”
“What makes you think she will ever choose to come to you?” Dad’s voice has an angry bite to it.
“She’ll come to me because every day that she doesn’t, I will have one of your pack members killed,” Nicolai says, simply. “And then I will have their bodies delivered to your front gate every day at dawn.”
Nicolai’s pale hand reaches up and twists into Pruitt’s hair. He pulls her face roughly to his, making her whimper in pain. “I’m going to enjoy my time with you,” he whispers into her ear before bringing the hair in his hand up to his face. He pulls in her scent and then sighs in satisfaction. “You’re going to make a lovely mate.”
Prue tries to pull away but stops when she feels the claws in her neck again. “There’s something you should know.” Despite being scared, her voice is strong when she speaks. “I can’t shift. I’m useless to you.”
“I heard, and I’m not worried. I have a lot of experience with reluctant females.” I watch in horror as he runs his tongue along her shoulder, right where I’m meant to mark her. “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to forcing a shift upon someone. I look forward to using those skills on you.” He breathes her in one more time before abruptly shoving Pru forward with such force she falls to her stomach on the floor with a loud thud.
Pruitt begins to pull herself up, but Nicolai shoves his dress shoe clad foot into the middle of her back and forces her down again. “I’ll see you soon,” he promises her. He motions at his goons to let me go, and they mimic what he did to Pru, shoving me back to the floor.
I skid to a stop right in front of Pru, and the second the front door slams behind them, she begins sobbing. Her whole body shakes with emotion. I pull myself into a sitting position, careful to not put any pressure on my broken wrist, and hiss in pain when I feel it radiating from my ribs. One of those assholes must have broken one when they bodyslammed me.
I stay sitting on the floor and pull Pru into my lap. She comes willingly and sinks into me when I wrap my arms protectively around her. Her hands ball into the front of my shirt as she cries into my chest.
I hear my father on his phone, making calls to the enforcers. He alerts them that we are on a pack-wide lockdown and to go to the various safe houses around the city. Many of them with small children will end up staying here with us since it’s safest.
“Are you alright?” Mom kneels at my side and puts a soothing hand on Pru’s back. “Honey, what can I get you?” she asks her.
Pru shakes her head and continues to hide her face in my chest.
“We need something to clean up her neck.”
Pruitt doesn’t even flinch when Remington presses a swab with antiseptic into the wounds on her throat. I know for a fact that stuff burns like a motherfucker, but my strong little mate sits stone-faced. It took her several minutes to calm down enough that I could carry her over to the kitchen countertop where she now sits.
We all turn to look when we hear footsteps walking on the broken glass from the windows. The twins walk into the kitchen, anger distorting their features. Ranger’s eyes flash into their wolf form when he spots Pru. He hurries over to her, Ransom close on his heels.
“Pru, are you okay?” Ranger asks.
“Do you need anything?” Ransom questions at the same time.
It warms my heart that my brothers are as worried about my mate as I am.
“I’m okay,” Pru promises with a reassuring smile.
Remi rolls her eyes at our brothers’ worried faces. “Good God! Stop hovering and move out of my way so I can work,” she scoffs. Remi carefully places the bandage over Prue’s neck, covering the angry red puncture marks.
“Where is this fucker?” Ransom demands. “Why did you let him get away?”
“We didn’t let him get away.” I scowl at my brother. “He threated the lives of the humans in town if we tried anything.”
“Is he planning an attack?” Ranger has his arms folded over his chest.
“No.” Pruitt jumps off the counter. “He’s waiting for me to turn myself over to him.”
“Which isn’t going to happen,” I growl.
“Every day that I don’t, he’s going to kill someone in the pack!” she exclaims as if I don’t remember Nicolai’s words.
“We’re going to do everything in our power to prevent that,” Dad intercedes. “Until further notice, no one in the pack is to be alone. Everyone must travel or move in teams of at least two. This house is in lockdown—no one leaves,” Dad commands. “Pruitt, you will be staying here.”
“What about Addison?” she asks.
“Noah is already with her. He’ll keep her safe.” I reach for Pru, and she quickly intertwines our fingers. I think back to last night and this morning and frown. It’s scary how quickly your life can explode in front of you.
“We’ll be doing hourly check-ins with each pack member,” Dad continues, “and two people will be on patrol around the house, working in hour-long shifts. Ryker, where are Sawyer and Avery?”
“Sawyer sent me a text and said they were on their way back now,” I tell him.
While the twins had been looking into the possible rogue attack west of here, Sawyer and Avery were following their own lead about a dismembered body south of town. I feel guilty I haven’t been able to help them with the rogues, but I’m thankful my brothers were willing to step up to contribute. There has been such an influx of attacks lately; we can use all the help we can get.
“Okay, good.” Dad nods. “I’ll take the first shift of patrol with Ranger. Ransom and Remi, you’ll be next. Any questions?”
Remi raises her hand then points at Ransom with a slender finger. “Can I request a change of partner?”
“No.”
“Worth a try.”
26
Pruitt
I stand in the window, or what’s left of it, and watch as two more people go out to replace the pair already on patrol. This time it’s the enforcers, Kody and Logan, replacing Margot and a pack member I haven’t met before named Hallie. Hallie looks like she’s fairly young, and I feel horrible she has to spend her night patrolling the woods for danger, dan
ger she’s only in because of me.
I should never have come back…
“Is that what you think?” Ryker questions as he comes up behind me. Dammit, I need to learn not to broadcast my thoughts. “That it would have been better if you’d never come back to Montana? To the pack? To me?”
I cross my arms defensively in front of me as I face him. “Right about now? Yes, I’m thinking that,” I say. “The man who’s responsible for my parents’ deaths is threatening everyone I care about because he wants me to be his mate. If I hadn’t come back, he would still have no idea where I was, and you would all be safe.”
“Pru, we’re all going to be okay, and we will keep you safe.” Ryker’s face softens as he looks at me. I know my words must have hurt him, but he doesn’t react.
“That’s another thing!” I exclaim, throwing my hands up. “I’m tired of people having to protect me! Everyone keeps putting their lives on the line to keep me safe. First my parents, then Addison and now the pack. And Jesus, Ryker! You’ve had to fight off a rogue wolf twice for me now. And today, you had your wrist snapped and ribs broken trying to protect me.”
“I’m okay, though. They’re healing.” He holds up his hand and moves it around in a circular motion, proving there isn’t any more pain.
“What if next time you can’t heal because you’re so hurt? Huh? What then?” I question. “What happens then? Because I know for a fact there will be no coming back for me if you die protecting me. I can’t allow that to happen because I won’t be able to survive it.”
“Nothing will happen to me. I can promise that.”
He reaches for me, and at first, I jerk from his grasp, but when I see the hurt look flash in his eyes, I stop fighting him. Sighing, I put my head on his chest and wrap my arms around his middle.
“Want to know how I can promise you this?” His hand rubs circles onto my back as he speaks. His touch settles the pacing wolf in my head. She’s just as frustrated as I am right now, maybe more.
“Yes.” I close my eyes and try to focus on Ryker and his touch, instead of the danger that looms somewhere outside.
“I’m too fucking stubborn to die.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “And I made a promise I would never leave your side again.”
I soak up his words, trying to find comfort in them. “This wouldn’t be a problem if I was able to shift,” I mumble.
Ryker pulls back some so he can look down at me. A determined look is on his face as he speaks. “I promise you, Pruitt, one day, we will be mated.”
I really want to believe that…
This time I’m careful to keep my thoughts to myself. Only, I have this pit in my stomach that something terrible is going to happen, and there is nothing I can do to stop it.
I spend the rest of the day looking out the window, trying to come up with a plan that doesn’t get anyone killed, but by nightfall, I’m still drawing a blank. I try to get some sleep, but when Ryker gets up in the middle of the night to take his turn on patrol, I can’t fall back to sleep. So instead, I lie in Ryker’s bed, watching the ceiling fan spin.
Light is starting to come through the window when I decide to finally give up on sleep and climb out of bed. I change into a pair of workout leggings and a cutout tank top Remi lent me since I can’t go home to grab my own clothes, and slip on the pair of sneakers she also left before jogging down the stairs.
Halfway down the steps, I hear yelling and commotion coming from the basement. I’ve never been down there before, but the door leading to the steps is open, I slip through it and descend another flight of stairs. The main area is empty, so I follow the sound of grunting and growls coming from behind a double doorway.
When I push the doors open, I find at least twenty pack members standing in what looks like a home gym based on the exercise equipment and floormats. Everyone stands in a big circle around one of the floormats, and in the middle is Ryker and Ransom—fighting? Ransom throws a punch at Ryker’s face, and the sound of it connecting with my mate’s chin makes me wince.
No one seems to be putting a halt to this, so I rush forward to intervene, but someone grabs my upper arm, stopping me in my tracks. I turn to see who it is and find Ranger standing there with a cut on his upper cheek and dried blood under his nose.
“What the hell is happening down here?” I demand, pulling my arm out of his grasp. “Why aren’t you stopping them?”
Ranger watches his siblings spar with a smirk on his face, the dimple on his right cheek showing up as he does. I don’t know if it’s the weird basement lighting or the way his hair is pushed back and sticking up in all kinds of direction, but he looks so much like Elias right now. The Weylyn siblings get their height and jawlines from their father, but their bright blue eyes and personalities from their mother. They’re all the perfect combination of Elias and Margot.
“They’re just sparing,” Ranger explains. He wipes at the blood on his face with the white rag in his hand. “It’s a good way for everyone to get out some aggression, and it’s good practice if we do end up having to go to war with Nicolai’s people.”
I say something but close my mouth and instead spin around to watch the two brothers duel.
Ryker’s chin is a little red from the punch he received, but other than that, he looks fine. Ransom has blood dripping from his mouth, and when he sneers at Ryker, his teeth are also red with blood. I used to take a kickboxing class back in San Francisco, and this reminds me of that, but a whole lot bloodier.
“It’s all superficial wounds,” Ranger says, still standing behind me. “They’ll be healed in no time.”
I continue to watch them, my head cocking to the side as I study how they evade and deflect each punch or kick. They have so much practice protecting themselves and fighting off attackers, something they will need if and when Nicolai makes his move. Then something dawns on me…
“I want in,” I announce, feeling a grin form on my face.
“Excuse me?” Ranger sputters.
“Nicolai isn’t going to go away without a fight,” I say. I spin on my heels to face him. “I can’t always rely on you guys to save my ass if something happens and something is going to happen.” I grab my stomach. “I can feel it.”
“Ryker isn’t going to let you—”
“He isn’t in charge of me,” I interrupt. “This is happening.” I grin. The new part of me I don’t quite understand yet is itching to punch something. I’ve never been an aggressive person; I’m usually the one who tries to stop situations like this, but I—my wolf—wants to join in on the fun, and I’m trusting she’ll take control once we’re in the makeshift ring.
“This is going to be bad…” I hear him mumble as I turn to watch the end of the fight. Ryker is on top of Ransom, delivering blow after blow to his head and chest. Luckily, Ransom has his hands up in front of his face, so he’s able to deflect many of the hits. Then Ryker manages to land a punch square in Ransom’s face after a few tries.
Ransom taps the floor, and Ryker lets up. I’m prepared for Ransom to be pissed at his older brother, but instead, when Ryker pulls him to his feet, there’s a big smile on Ransom’s bloody face.
“You broke my nose, fucker,” he jokes, shoving Ryker’s shoulder.
“Should’ve kept your hands up.” Ryker just shrugs.
His gaze scans the room and lands on me. The smile on his face makes my heart flutter. Even sweaty and covered in Ransom’s blood, he’s smoking hot.
“Good morning,” he says before kissing my forehead.
“Good morning,” I reply to both Ryker and Ransom. “You’ve got some blood—” I gesture to his whole face, “—everywhere, Ransom.”
“I know. Every time I spar with this asshole, he breaks my nose.” Ransom touches his nose lightly, wincing in pain when he does.
“And yet you still challenge me.” Ryker smirks, looking proud of his achievement. “Did you sleep well?” His brows furrow when he looks at my face. “You have dark circles under your eyes..
.”
“I couldn’t fall back to sleep when you left for patrol.” I wipe at my face even though I know I can’t wipe off dark circles. “It’s fine. I’m fine,” I insist when I brush off his hand as he reaches up to touch my face.
Logan steps onto the mat behind Ryker. He’s shirtless, like many of the men in the room. Black tribal tattoos wrap around his dark skin, and I can see there’s bruising starting to form around his ribs.
“Who did he fight?” I ask.
“Me,” Ranger admits lifting a hand. “He got me in a chokehold, and I had to tap out.” Ranger winces when he touches his neck, and now that he mentions it, I can see dark bruises forming on his jugular.
“Loser,” Ransom says under his breath, and all our heads turn to stare at him.
“That was you tapping out just a minute ago when Ryker kicked your ass, right? Or am I mistaken?” I raise a brow at him and hear Ryker cough on a laugh behind me, but I keep my focus on Ransom.
“Well yeah,” Ransom says with a shrug, “but it was Ryker. No one ever beats him at these things.”
“You should remember that next time,” Ryker tells him.
We’re laughing and teasing Ransom more when Logan’s deep voice booms through the room. “Ryker won the last match,” Logan calls out to the room. “Anyone want to challenge him?”
Everyone is silent as they all glance around at each other, averting their gazes when Ryker looks at them. In seems no one wants to draw attention to themselves. I also notice some of them even go as far as to take a step back in an effort to distance themselves from Ryker.
Fuck it.
“I will.” I shrug. Who else is better to teach me the ins and outs of fighting then the one they’re all afraid of?
Wolf Bound (The White Wolf Prophecy Book 1) Page 19