Stolen and Forgiven (Branded Packs #1)(72)

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 basement 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.