Stolen and Forgiven (Branded Packs #1)(73)

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 f*cking 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.