Pride (38 page)

I shifted, tightening my grip on Radley’s neck as I settled onto my stomach on his back. I would wait.

I inhaled through my open mouth, listening as Kaci’s footsteps echoed off to the west. Radley squirmed beneath me, and I growled, warning him to hold still. Then I heard a metallic click, completely out of place in the woods.

What the hell?

Pain lanced my right side and shot through my hip. My heart tripped in panic. Then understanding bit me just as deeply as the pain. The son of a bitch had a knife. He’d fucking
stabbed me!

I roared around his neck in pain and fury, and in response, someone shouted my name from the woods. “Faythe?”

It was Jace. Footsteps pounded the earth frantically, headed in my direction.

Radley pulled the knife free, and my teeth bit farther into his skin, my paws digging into the dirt on either side of him to hold him still. But then the bastard stabbed me
again.

I moaned in fresh agony. Blood soaked through my fur, drenching the form beneath me. Pain ripped through my side with each heartbeat, echoing in the lacerations in my back and the vicious bite on my ankle. Panic edged up on me, burning beneath my fur like an electrical charge.

The bastard pulled the knife out again, and I screamed around his neck. If he hadn’t nicked any vital organs yet, he would soon, and I’d be dead. And he’d be gone long before the guys found us. The motherfucker would get away free and clear.

The hell he will.

My jaws clenched around his neck. Blood flowed into my mouth. My teeth met bone. He thrashed beneath me. I bit as
hard as I could, but breaking someone’s spine was harder than I expected; Marc made it look easy.

I concentrated, clenching my jaws so hard they ached. Radley bucked, and shoved the knife in one more time. My body jerked on top of his. Footsteps raced toward me from the trees, but I couldn’t hold on. My whole world was pain. Pain, and anger.

I seized the anger and forced my teeth together. Finally, bone snapped. Radley shuddered beneath me, then went still.

Fire licked at my side, burning deep within. I rolled off him onto my good side, and thought of nothing but breathing through the pain. Minutes later, Jace ran into sight, followed by Kaci and a handful of toms in cat form. He knelt at my side and pressed his shirt to my worst wounds, as Marc had done two days earlier.

I growled to tell him he was late, as usual, and to my surprise, he actually seemed to understand.

He smiled, even as his eyes watered. “Better late than never, right?”

Says the man who wasn’t used as a pincushion.

“Faythe?” Kaci knelt at my side, and her hand stroked my muzzle. “Is that you?” I nodded, and she sobbed. “You came for me. You didn’t let him take me.” She wrapped her arms around my chest and laid her head on my shoulder. “Thank you.”

“H
ey,” Marc said, and I looked up to find him leaning against the door frame, a mug of coffee in one hand. He wore his leather jacket, even though a fire raged in the next room, heating the tiny cabin much more effectively than I would have thought possible. “How do you feel?”

“Like someone used me for target practice.”

He smiled and sat in the sturdy, knobby wooden chair by the bed. The chair was handmade by Elias Keller, as was the bed frame. The whole building, in fact. They’d carried me to Keller’s cabin because it was closer than ours, and the bruin had insisted I stay to recuperate. I think he liked having company, after fifty-odd years alone.

Which was why he’d invited Marc, too.

Instead of catching his flight the morning before, Marc had headed for Keller’s cabin. According to the bruin, he showed up on the doorstep with determination in his stride and desperation in his heart. He’d asked Keller’s permission to stay in the territory until my verdict and lightened sentence were official, to make sure I was safe.

Rather than simply granting him permission to camp in the woods, the bruin had insisted Marc stay on his couch.

Later that day, he’d loaned me his bed. And earned our Pride’s loyalty for life.

Marc set the mug on a small table made of a section of tree trunk polished to a smooth finish on top. “Doc says you should wait at least a week before Shifting again. Radley got you pretty good. It’s a miracle he didn’t hit anything vital.”

Yeah,
that’s
what it was. It was a miracle I’d “only” been stabbed in the hip and the side. It was a “blessing” the knife had nicked bone, rather than intestines, on the first plunge, then gone clean through muscle and skin and out the other side on the last two attempts to end my life. Really, I should have been grateful.

Marc smiled, as if he knew what I was thinking. Hell, he probably did.

Dr. Carver had also said my arm and ankle would probably scar, but I didn’t give a shit about that; I was just grateful there was no muscle damage. Besides, I didn’t know any enforcers without a couple of claw marks to show off. And now I had scars to match Marc’s.

“How’s Ethan?” I asked, reaching for the mug.

Marc handed it to me before I could stretch far enough to hurt myself. “Heavily bandaged, lightly sedated and recovering nicely. His ribs look awful, but Doc says he’ll heal fine.”

“What about Kaci?” I hadn’t seen her since Carver shooed everyone out of the room so he could stitch me up.

Marc’s mouth turned up in a triumphant smile. “They’re going to send her home with you, when you go.”

“Really?” I grinned through the pain. That was too good to be true. “How did my dad manage that?”

“You play a pretty convincing hero.” He brushed a strand of hair back from my forehead and I treasured the touch, wishing it would linger. “You’ve made lots of progress with Kaci. And Malone saved face by pointing out that your mother will be there to bail you out if you screw up. She’s still well
respected among the Alphas. Even by most of those who don’t like your dad.”

I nodded. My mom was strong, and Alphas respected strength. Especially in my mother, because she presented her strength all dolled up behind a dainty, well-appointed and feminine facade. She’d been playing the game for a long time, and she almost always won.

I was trying to learn from her, but my facade was nowhere near as shiny, and I was pretty damn disinclined to polish. Especially after such an obvious dig from Malone.

“Where is Kaci?”

“She’s asleep at the lodge. Jace is there, too. The only way we could get her to leave you was by promising Jace would stay with her.”

When Kaci had run from me and Radley, she’d run right into Jace and the other enforcers, who were following the sound of her screams. “What was he doing in human form?” I asked, letting the mug warm my hands. “I thought they all went out furry.”

“They did.” Marc picked up the old-fashioned alarm clock on the nightstand and fiddled with the dials to keep his hands busy. He was nervous about something. “When they got there, Radley’s hangout was empty. Jace Shifted and snagged some clothes one of the strays left behind, then headed for Keller’s. They were hoping he had a phone Jace could use to call the lodge. He wasn’t home, though.”

I shook my head, smiling at the memory of the bruin smacking a werecat hard enough to snap his neck. “No, he was with us.”

“I know. He went out to catch some fish for dinner, and caught the scent of several werecats near the stream instead. The trail led in this direction. So he Shifted and followed, just in case.”

“Where is he now?”

“Out hunting with Parker and Michael.”

The guys were hunting with a bruin? “No fair. I always miss the good stuff.” I took another sip from my mug, watching him. “What about the strays? Did we get them all?”

A glimmer of true satisfaction shone momentarily through Marc’s melancholy. “You got one in the woods—two including Zeke Radley—and I finished off two of the three you and Ethan took on in the cabin. Keller got several more, and the other guys ferreted out the last two—we hope—shortly after they found you. It was a big mess, and a horrible waste of life. Such a shame, what Radley turned them into. But Keller should have some peace on his mountain now.”

“What about Hannibal?” After seeing him in midmeal, I still couldn’t think of the blood-covered cannibal by so benign a name as
Jeff.

“He was dead before the hunt began. Ethan and Reid put him out of his misery as soon as they were done with him.”

A shadow crossed the door frame and I glanced up to find my father smiling at me, an old-fashioned oil lamp hanging from one fist. He wore a faded button-down shirt and the only pair of jeans he owned. “How do you feel, kitten?”

“I’m fine, Daddy.” I wasn’t in much pain at the moment, thanks to a strong local anesthetic at the site of my stitches. And there was another pile of little white pills on the table, for when the shots wore off. “So, what’s up?” In consideration of my latest injuries, the tribunal had postponed the announcement of my verdict until Doc finished sewing me up. But my father had spent the past hour at the lodge, and I was pretty sure I knew why.

“The tribunal has reached a verdict.”

Marc’s hand closed around mine, and I nodded, holding my breath in anticipation. I was still pissed about missing the announcement, but Dr. Carver would not let me leave the bed
yet. Not even to use the restroom. And I was
not
fond of the bedpan, though I have to admit it was better than a coffee can.

My father smiled. “Guilty of infection.” Which we’d already known. “But innocent of murder, by reason of self-defense.”

I exhaled, but wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or angry. The real news was yet to come. “What’s the sentence?”

My father’s smile widened, his eyes sparkling in the firelight. “Public service.”

“Meaning what?” Marc asked, before I could.

“Basically, they want Faythe reinstated as an enforcer, but working for nothing for the next year.”

Okay, that wasn’t too bad. I didn’t know what to spend my meager salary on anyway…

“And…they want you to teach the rest of us to do the partial Shift. Which means you’ll have to spend five days with each of the other Prides over the next few months.”

“Really?” Surprise tingled through me, and my father nodded.
Now
that’s
interesting.
Though there were certainly a few territories I did not look forward to visiting…

“The partial Shift saved your job,” he continued, transferring the oil lamp to his other hand.

Yes, and Marc had saved my life, as well as Ethan’s. But they wouldn’t cut him the same break they’d cut me. He was officially exiled. In fact, other than my uncle, no one on the tribunal knew he was still around.

“Thanks, Daddy. That’s great.” But my victory was bittersweet. Now that my life was no longer in jeopardy, Marc had no reason to stay.

Fortunately, my father seemed to understand my lack of enthusiasm, and his own smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m going back to the cabin to sit with Ethan. If you need me, call his cell.”

I nodded. He had dropped—thus shattering—his own phone on the floor of the lodge the previous morning, which was why he hadn’t answered it. He and Michael both seemed
to feel pretty guilty for being incommunicado at the worst possible moment. In fact, Michael had gone out twice already to get me my favorite treats, to aid my recovery. I’d let him off the hook soon. Once he got back with fresh game…

My father’s gaze shifted to Marc, and his expression sobered even more. “Ten minutes.” Marc nodded, and his former Alpha retreated into the main room, then out the front door.

I watched him go, then frowned at Marc in dread. “You’re leaving now?”

His eyes closed for a moment, then opened to meet mine in obvious pain. “I have to.”

“No, you don’t.” I shook my head vehemently as panic set in beneath my anesthesia-fueled fog. “The verdict’s official. Daddy can take you back, and there’s nothing they can do about it.”

Marc sighed, and scooted to sit on the bed with me. “Faythe, Calvin Malone formally challenged your father’s leadership last night on a conference call with the entire council. He’s called for a vote of nonconfidence, and requested to be named the new head of the council. The bastard timed it perfectly—twelve hours before he pronounced you innocent of murder, which makes him appear just and unbiased.”

Nooooo.
My heart sank into my stomach, and the room seemed to spin.

It was too soon. My dad had two seriously injured children, one incarcerated son and a new, traumatized young tabby to deal with. Not to mention Manx and her upcoming childbirth. And trial. And the loss of his top enforcer. How could he possibly deal with Malone’s coup on top of all that?

My gaze strayed to the empty doorway where my father had stood. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

Marc sighed. “He doesn’t want this to set your recovery back. But I know you’re stronger than that, right?”

I nodded, numb. I’d have to be. “When’s the vote?”

“February. They each have three months to present their cases to the other eight Alphas. Your dad needs five votes, other than his own, to keep his spot.” He stopped, and stroked the back of my hand with his forefinger. “That’s why I have to go. If your dad goes back on his word by revoking my exile, he’ll be loading Malone’s smoking gun for him.” He set my mug on the table and took my hand in both of his. “I can’t do that to him. You can’t ask me to.”

No. Of course I couldn’t.

How the hell had Malone forced us each to choose between the other two? And why did Marc always wind up the loser in our little game, no matter how we shuffled the cards?

I sighed and let my head fall back. The ceiling came into focus—plank after plank of wood hewn from trees Keller had probably felled himself.

“So wait for me,” I insisted. “I’ll go with you as soon as I can Shift.” But I knew it wouldn’t work. Jace had been right about that. “Or we could stay here! This is free territory, and after what Keller did to those strays, no one with half a brain will come within five miles of his territory again. Including the Territorial Council.”

He shook his head, squeezing my hand. “I came up with all those same ideas, Faythe, but they’re no good. We can’t drag Keller into this. He’ll be hibernating soon, and he’ll need peace and quiet, not tomcats yowling all over the woods in search of you.” Marc sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat so gloomy my heart broke to see it. “Besides, you belong with your Pride.”

“
Our
Pride,” I insisted as my vision blurred with unshed tears. “And so do you.”

“I have to do this, Faythe. It’s for the good of the Pride,” Marc said. And that’s when I knew I’d lost the argument. He
would do whatever it took to keep the rest of us safe. Even if that meant not being there to protect us personally.

Marc was the Alpha Calvin Malone would never be, and the irony was that Malone would never see that. But my father had seen it from the beginning.

Marc stood, and his hand slipped from mine. He leaned down to kiss me gently, and when he tried to pull away, I held his head in place, so I could kiss him longer. If he was going to go, he was damn well going to say goodbye the right way.

He sank into that kiss, and fed from me like a starving man holding off famine. I drank from his soul in preparation for the drought to come. And when he finally pulled away, my throat was thick with unspoken words, my heart heavy with every apology I’d ever denied him.

But it was too late for promises. The time had come for goodbye.

“First I was sleeping, and now I’m stuck in bed.” I wiped away my tears as soon as they fell. “Why do you always leave when I can’t stop you?”

He smiled sadly. “We both know that’s the only way this will work.” He backed slowly toward the main room, and by the time he reached the front door, tears blurred my sight so that I could barely focus on his face.

I blinked them away in time to see him wink at me. “This isn’t forever, Faythe. I swear on my life.”

Damn right,
I thought as he pushed the door open. If Calvin Malone took over the council, the days of female enforcers and stray Pride members would be over for good, and no one stood to lose more than the south-central Pride. Than me and Marc.

My father would stand against Malone; there was no question about that. But he would need all his enforcers standing strong at his back. Including Marc.

We would be together again soon, and I would do whatever I had to do to make that happen.

He smiled one last time. Then he stepped into the night and the door closed behind him.

And just like that, Marc was gone.