Hold Steady (Becoming the Wolf Book 2)

by T. S. Joyce

  “Hey,” Rachel said on the other line. “Don’t worry about Lana. We are keeping her busy.”

  “Thanks, Rachel. I know I don’t have to worry about her with you guys, and it’s a load off of my mind.”

  “Bring Morgan home safe. If anyone can do that, it’s you.”

  He hesitated. He wasn’t a fan of making promises he couldn’t keep. “I’ll keep you guys posted when I get there. Talk to you soon.”

  As he ended the call, his shoulders sagged under the weight of what he would find when he tracked her down. Or worse, what if he never found her at all? Morgan had impacted everyone so deeply in the short time she had known them. It would be a loss to the entire pack if anything happened to her.

  ****

  Dammit! Grey hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. He was sitting in his truck in front of the Southern Montana pack alpha’s house. He had already searched the place from top to bottom after breaking down the front door. Sure, he could have found an easier way to gain entry into the house, but he had been cooped up in a car all day worrying about what Lucan Gates was doing to Morgan and his frustration had him needing to destroy shit.

  Scent trails were everywhere. A few marked the wolves that Grey had killed, while others marked the man who’d driven away with Morgan. There was one he didn’t recognize, which also happened to be the most recurrent trail at the property. He assumed it was Lucan’s scent. None of the scents that he could find were fresh, and none smelled like her. She wasn’t here.

  “Where are you?” he muttered, trying to think like a man he had never met and knew nothing about. If he were trying get away with an abduction, he wouldn’t keep his victim at his house where she could be easily found either. Lucan had a hidey hole he’d stashed Morgan at. But where?

  The truck rocked as he slammed the door. Nose to the breeze, he walked the border of Lucan’s property, making sure he didn’t miss any secret cellars or outbuildings where they could be keeping her.

  When the phone went off, he yanked it out of his back pocket and answered it before the second ring.

  “Grey, we called the number back and someone picked up,” Dean said over the static of a faulty connection. “We tracked the signal and it pinged off a tower over in Big Horn County. I checked, and it is the next county over from you. They must have another place where they are keeping her. We are checking for properties listed to any pack members or family of the pack to cover our bases. If we can’t find anything, we’ll search foreclosures and abandoned houses. Go ahead and head east, park somewhere and be ready. We’re getting close. There isn’t anything else to do until we can pinpoint her location a little better. We’ll call you with the rest of the information.”

  “Thanks, Dean. Where are Wade and Brent?”

  “They are still a couple hours behind you. I’ll send them your direction when they get closer.”

  “All right, keep me updated.”

  “You’ve got it, man. Stay safe.”

  As Grey hung up, he clenched the phone. How was he supposed to sit in some parking lot somewhere when he was this close to her?

  Chapter Fourteen

  The flickering light bulb had eventually gone out. Morgan didn’t have any guess at how many hours it took. She had no concept of whether it was night or day down in the dreary basement. Her only lighting was one dim bulb, illuminating only half of her prison and abandoning the other half to shadows.

  It was creepy down here.

  Her stomach had been growling and turning in on itself for a while. She tried to ignore it, but it was the only thing of any interest happening in the room. It also became apparent that if she ignored her stomach, her thoughts had a tendency to veer off to things that terrified her.

  She would never in a million years give herself to Lucan. But what if he pushed the issue and claimed her by force? From the vile expression on his face as he’d threatened her, it was only a matter of time before she was at his mercy. She pulled again on the metal chain that attached her neck to the wall. What could she do if he forced himself on her? She would fight, of course, but the man had fifty pounds on her and no disadvantage.

  Think of something happy.

  Morgan closed her eyes and thought of Grey.

  He was stunning. Over six foot tall to make her feel safe beside him. Lean and muscular with broad shoulders and a tapered waist. His shifting eyes didn’t scare her anymore. They made him more captivating. His hair was light brown and tickled his shoulders, always falling into his eyes when he tried to hide them. He had that just-out-of-bed look she found incredibly sexy. He had high cheekbones and an easy smile, but only for her and Lana. Others had to earn it, so those smiles made her feel important. Oozing sexuality, his wolf made him even more alluring and powerful. Grey looked at her as if he would devour her soul and make her smile while doing it. And for some reason, he’d bypassed Alexis to give attention to her alone.

  Alexis was beautiful and intimidating, but Grey had always looked at her like he would gladly strangle her and punt her carcass into the river. That thought drew a smile to her lips. The way he looked at Morgan was like magic. He had taken to Lana right away as if she was his own flesh and blood. And after everything he had done and offered her, she had panicked and ran, and left a man no other would compare to in her lifetime. Because of that decision, she was stuck here at the mercy of a psychopath. Because of her, Grey might be dead.

  No, no, no, you’re doing this wrong. Think happy thoughts. Stay calm.

  Gasping for breath, she gripped the metal collar to remind herself of how tight it was. She couldn’t get worked up and Change on accident. She wouldn’t survive it.

  The gurgle of her hungry stomach filled the silent room, begging for anything to sustain it. The homemade chicken pot pie she’d made before she’d been taken seemed like days ago. And who knew? Maybe it was days ago. She had no clue how long she’d been unconscious.

  As if he’d heard her hollow complaints, Marshall strode in and dropped a bag on the floor in front of her. It contained a greasy burger and fries from the smell of it. A bottled water peeked out of the top of the fast food bag and her stomach growled again. She reached for it but the collar yanked on her neck and she gulped in pain. He’d set it too far away. With a satisfied laugh, he sauntered to the door.

  “Smells like your shoulder is getting nice and infected there, friend,” she said frostily. “You should probably have it looked at, but I’m assuming my mate killed your pack doctor. That’s too bad.”

  She smiled merrily at the fury on his face. Mom had always told her that her quick mouth got her into too much trouble, but that statement hadn’t ever done anything to improve her impulse control.

  He rushed at her, fists clenched, and she flinched back as his fist connected with her face. She really hated when her mother was right. She groaned and curled in on herself as blood poured from her busted nose and lip. He was wearing rings on his fingers. Piece of shit. Panting out of her mouth, she jerked away from him as far as the chain would go, until it pulled on her neck. If only she could stand and get out of this helpless position. Her nose and face were quickly swelling, making it more difficult to breath than it already was.

  She snarled, “You have no idea what is coming for you.” She held the back of her hand up to her bleeding nose and glared at the smug expression on his face.

  “Oh, I think I do. Nothing. If you are talking about your guard dog, I can tell you he won’t be coming after us.”

  Bluff. “He’ll find me, and he’ll kill you both.”

  “He might be able to find you if he was still alive, but I watched one of our wolves slit him from chest to hip bone. He was holding his guts in as he ran after the car. Your man is dead.”

  She retched, and finding nothing in her stomach to lend to her efforts, she retched again, convulsing against the collar. She spat out the blood that flowed down the back of her throat.

  Marshall leaned back against the door, studying her despair in
amusement. “Since you aren’t tied to a pack and your mate is dead, no one will come looking for you. Do you know what everyone calls your man? The rumors have made him into a real monster. Everyone calls him Demon Wolf. They say he sold his soul to become what he is.” He narrowed his dark eyes. “Any whisper of the black wolf and everyone knows who they are talking about. No one had even laid eyes on him, and he had most of the wolves in North America intimidated. Now I saw him, and I can see where those rumors started, because he was undoubtedly…” He paused as if searching for the right word. “…unique. He was the only reason others haven’t tried the same thing we did. They have worked up this fear of him. And what do we do? Separate him easily from you and he is killed by one wolf.”

  “I heard it was four.”

  “No matter, we will rebuild. Who wouldn’t want to join a pack with a Silver Wolf in it? We will have the largest pack in the country, and every wolf knows numbers mean power.” An empty smile flitted across his stony features as he walked slowly toward her. “You know, someday this pack will be mine. I know you could see it with Lucan. Smell it even. He is rotting from the inside out. His mental state, it’s not well. Losing your pack does nasty things to an alpha. When he falls, I will be there to bring this pack to its former glory, and you,” he said, leaning over her and caressing her cheek with a dirty fingertip, breath hot on her face, “will be all mine.”

  She cringed away from his touch and her back scraped the wall. She pulled her shirt farther down her legs and tucked her knees closer to her body.

  “Lucan is at his house getting provisions. Looks like it’s just you and me for a while.”

  He clamped meaty hands on her ankles and pried open her legs. The chain pulled and she struggled, rearing back and punching him as hard as she could in his injured shoulder. Her position made it awkward, but the blow was hard enough that he rocked back and roared as he held his oozing shoulder with a clawed hand. She took advantage of hesitation and pulled her knee up and slammed it into his groin. He rolled from the tiny mattress and onto the floor, curled in on himself and cursing her entire family tree. She looked desperately around for anything she could use as a weapon.

  He yelled and clawed his way to her, landing his full body weight on her before she could flinch away. He pinned her arms to her sides and straddled her stomach, then he pulled his fist back to hit her again. This was it, the moment when she would die. He was going to kill her and her last moments on earth would be in this filthy cell. She pulled Grey and Lana’s faces into her mind, wanting her makeshift family to be her last thoughts. God, she wished she could tell them how much she loved them—how much she wished she had done things differently. Tears streamed down the outer corners of her eyes as his dirty knuckles arched toward her face.

  When Marshall’s fist was centimeters away from her, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut but nothing happened. Marshall’s weight disappeared off of her.

  She cautiously opened one eye, but he was gone. Her vision blurred from the lack of oxygen, but a man carried Marshall by the throat and slammed him up against the wall by the door with a sickly thud. She could only see his back, but it was enough. “Grey,” she rasped.

  Marshall hit the wall and the entire room shook. Pieces of ceiling dislodged and fell onto the floor near her feet. Grey held him in the air and Marshall flailed. He kicked at Grey while he clawed at the hand that was cutting off his air. Grey grabbed Marshall’s leg with his free hand, wedged it against his knee and snapped the man’s leg at the femur like a toothpick. The audible snap of the bone came a moment before Marshall let out a shriek of pain, high and grating.

  “Oh my gosh,” she whispered at the show of pure violence Grey was capable of.

  Grey slowly turned around, looked at her with feral, empty eyes. She had been mistaken that it was him. His gaze churned in angry glowing slits and his face was contorted in a rage that terrified her.

  Grey wasn’t home.

  Only Wolf remained.

  Grey snapped his head back around so fast, he blurred. One second she was drowning in his fury-filled eyes, and then she was looking at the back of his head. His cheeks widened with a smile as he snapped the man’s neck with his bare hand and threw the body to the side. He stood, panting through his clenched jaw and glaring at his kill. His muscles were tensed into stillness.

  “Grey? I was so scared you were dead.” Fear and shock were thick in her voice and it trembled like a flame, but it couldn’t be helped. “There’s another one. He’ll be back soon.” She searched his face for understanding but found nothing recognizable.

  “Did they touch you?” His voice came out a throaty snarl, each word sounding odd behind gritted teeth.

  It hurt to frown. Could he not see her face? Her nose had stopped bleeding for the most part, but she could feel all of the caked blood from everything that happened. Her face had its own pulse, it hurt so badly. Of course they’d touched her.

  “I mean,” he clarified, “did they touch you.”

  Her eyes widened with comprehension. “No,” she whispered. “They didn’t. Not like that.”

  Grey’s nostrils flared. “I can smell him on you.”

  Under his scrutiny, she wanted to look away so badly. Wolf scared her, now more than ever.

  “It’s his T-shirt,” she whispered. “It’s all they gave me to wear.”

  Grey dragged his gaze up and down her body. Turning, he closed the door and dragged Marshall’s limp carcass to the far corner where he wouldn’t immediately been seen by Lucan when he walked in. Grey took his shirt off. It was bloodied from torn stitches and soaked gauze, but it smelled a hell of a lot better than the rank rag she wore. His hand was steady as he offered it to her and she draped it over her lap. Her neck was exhausted from hefting the chain and she set her face back down on the edge of the mattress. He knelt down in front of her and laid his hand against her ear. The tiny patch of flesh was the only undamaged area on her face. She leaned into his touch and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

  “Tell me I’m not imagining you,” she pleaded softly.

  In a snarling voice, he said the words that eased her heart. “I’m still here.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said thickly. Could he hear the inky depths of despair in her words? Could he hear the truth in them?

  “Don’t you dare apologize for what those monsters did to you.” Gold-flecked eyes studied the lock on the collar and as he gave it a test pull, she groaned as it dug into her chaffed neck.

  Balanced on the balls of his shoes, he rocked from side to side, intense gaze focused on the metal. His jeans smelled of his blood, and the bandages that crisscrossed his torso were bathed in crimson. The muscles of his arms flexed as he rested them on his knees, and his jaw twitched under the pressure of his clenched teeth. A lock of hair had fallen forward, and she wished for the courage to press it out of his face so she could see all of him. She’d never seen a more beautiful sight in her entire life.

  “Lucan has a key. The one who is coming back is the alpha.”

  “Lucan Gates. He’s the one responsible for this, isn’t he?” At her nod, he promised, “I’ll get it. I’ll get you out of this. Wade will be here any minute and he can help clean you up. I don’t even know where to start,” he said, hands fluttering over her face but never touching it, as if he was afraid of hurting her more.

  “They told me they’d killed you. This whole time, I was so scared that you were dead.” Her voice hitched and she swallowed against the urge to sob her relief that he still existed.

  The corners of his mouth turned up, but the smile never quite reached his eyes. “Not yet.”

  A door slammed upstairs and Lucan called Marshall’s name. With uncanny speed, Grey looked up and his nostrils flared as he put a finger to his lips. Slowly and silently, he backed into the corner Marshall’s body lay in. The light had gone out on that side of the room, and through the darkness, two glowing golden eyes watched her, their reflection eerily appearing and disappearing in
cadence with the swaying of the light bulb.

  “Marshall, where are you?” Lucan yelled. “Someone kicked in the door to my fucking house! And what’s that goddamn smell?” Lucan came down the stairs, keys jangling in his hands. Morgan’s heart raced as the door handle turned and the door opened.

  “Marshall?” Lucan’s gaze fell on her mutilated face and anger scorched across his features.

  Morgan kept her gaze only at him, careful not to look to the back corner and give Grey away. “Have you heard the rumor about Demon Wolf?” she asked coolly, keeping his attention on her.

  Lucan sniffed the air and looked uneasy. He stayed frozen in place, no doubt feeling hot breath on the back of his neck and hearing the quiet rumble from another wolf’s chest. He shot an arm out, taser ready, but Grey was faster. He blocked it and sent it clattering to the ground, as he used the momentum to hit Lucan in the face with a lightning-quick strike. Grey took the keys from Lucan’s limp hands and strode over to her, trying the tiniest key first. The click of the lock was the most beautiful sound on earth, and the clatter of metal as the collar fell away would echo through her mind for the rest of her life. She sat up and sucked gulps of air, inflating her lungs painfully but completely for the first time since she had been chained to the floor.

  Grey picked the taser up off the ground as Lucan groaned and opened his eyes.

  He wriggled the taser tauntingly between two of his fingers. “Classy. I’m curious, how does it feel to be an alpha with no pack?” He gestured over to the corner where the lump of Marshall’s body could be made out.

  Realization dawned on Lucan’s face that no help was coming for him and his eyes widened as he stared into Grey’s furious face.

  “Morgan, could you come here?” Grey asked.

  Clutching his shirt like a shield, she got up gingerly and walked over to stand beside the man who’d risked everything to save her. Beside her mate.

  “He is the one I smell on your shirt.”

  She cringed and nodded once. “He had plans to claim me. I woke up with his shirt on. I don’t know where my clothes are and the shirt reeks of him.”