Out of the Shadows (24 page)

“We need to move faster,” Vincent mumbled.

One of the wolves behind him whined in agreement. Yowls and
snarls ripped through the night, causing Natalia and Lark to burst into a
sprint.

Devon’s adrenaline thumped erratically as the wolves rapidly
started to close the gap.

“Don’t stop running,” he snarled.
He took the medical pack off shoved it at Vincent and closed his eyes.

“Devon,” Lark gasped.

“Keep going,” Vincent said.

Devon grunted, his bones snapping. Thankfully, Lark was
still retreating. Her light footsteps crunched against the ground. Although he
could hear her arguing over it with Vincent. The wolves stood around him
protecting him as he finished his shift. The first enemy wolf lunged at them
jumping over a bush and pouncing on one of his men.

Fully turned, Devon bared his teeth, racing forward toward
his fallen man. He tackled the white and grey wolf, jaws snapping, going for
the jugular. Warm copper flooded his mouth, dripping down his elongated chest
as the wolf gurgled beneath him.

Pushing away
Devon
dodged an attack, blood
pumping through his veins, ready to fight. Reeling back on his back legs, he
caught another wolf and wrestled them to the ground, his claws slicing through
the thick fur. Snarls sounded near him, as more wolves descended upon them.

Signaling retreat with a loud yap, Devon bounded towards the
road. He could hear his comrade’s paws thudding behind him. His legs burned,
lungs ached from the grueling run, but he pushed forward. They had to make it
to the cars.

He could hear the thrum of an engine starting in the
distance and Lark’s worried questions as Vincent urged her in. The sound of her
voice was like a beacon as he surged to the vehicles.

The tree line broke and he ducked into the car that Lark was
in, sliding in next to her. His side brushed up against her as he squeezed into
the tiny backseat. He’d barely gotten in before the Jeep took off, the door
clapping shut with the movement. He twisted so he could see the cars
surrounding them, counting the wolves as they entered the cars. He let out a
long huff
-
they’d lost one man.

A heavy weight washed through him, he’d led a man to his
death. He would have to explain the loss to Gene and give his condolences to
Ted’s
family
when they returned. He knew the loss was inevitable, but it didn’t help the
guilt that clouded his mind and tugged at his heart.

“Are you okay?” Lark asked her brow furrowed, eyes searching
his.

He bobbed his head up and down.

He blinked as her face fell forward into his. His nose
pressed up against her face, her overwhelming vanilla-cinnamon scent invaded
his nostrils. Natalia watched them a wary look on her face as she cringed
further into the opposite door. It appeared as if she were trying to put as
much distance between them as possible.

“Hey now,” Vincent teased from the driver’s seat. The only
sign that he was tense and on edge was the white of his knuckles gripping the
steering wheel.

Daniel sat in the passenger seat eyes shifting from one
window to the other. Two cars were in front of them and one behind them.
Devon
got a
glimpse of a road sign out of the corner of his eye. They were making good
time. The sooner they crossed into Texas the safer
Devon
would
feel.

Lark pulled back and Devon maneuvered himself onto the
floorboards. He used his teeth to search through the bag on the floor for
suitable clothes so he could transition back into his human form. If he
couldn’t run, he preferred to be on two feet.

Tires screeched as a loud deafening crunch, resonated
through the air. Devon, Lark, and Natalia flew forward as Vincent slammed on
the breaks. He could smell something burning. A metallic oil rubbery scent
permeated the cabin as the car abruptly came to a haul.

Quickly gathering his wits, Devon leaped into the front
seat, and out the passeng
er door following after Daniel.

***

Lark’s breath caught, her body tense as she eased back into
the seat from the floor board. She internally berated herself for not wearing
her seat belt. She met Natalia’s terrified eyes, as whines and howls sliced
through the night. Her body tensed, muscles on edge as she realized they were
under attack.

Her gaze darted to the fight. Blinding white light poured
into the car, from other vehicles headlights. She squinted trying to catch a
glimpse of anything, but all she saw was blaring white.

“No,” Natalia breathed in a heavily
accented voice. “I won’t go back.”

“What are you doing?” Lark grabbed the other woman’s arm as
she grasped the door handle and popped it open.

Natalia’s brown eyes glared at Lark’s hand and she slowly
pulled it away. A cold chill zipping down her spine from the feral look on the
other woman’s face.

“Devon will be right back, it’s going to be okay,” Lark
soothed, though she had no idea if she spoke the truth or not. Snarls, snaps,
and howls of pain filtered into the car—she had no idea what was going on out
there.

The woman’s hand went to her belly as she inhaled sharply.
Fear shone in her glistening chestnut eyes.

“It’ll be okay,” Lark said again.

They both screamed as a hand jutted into the car and gripped
onto Natalia, tugging her toward the door.

Lark flattened her hand and used her palm to slice down on
top of the vulnerable elbow. A hiss of pain echoed into the car as the man dove
into the car with his full body grabbing Natalia’s arms.

Panicked, Lark grasped the gun from her waist band, and
unlocked the safety.

“Get out,” she screamed, aiming the
gun at his head.

B
oth wolves stopped fighting
as their eyes flicked to the gun. To her dismay, a cocky grin slipped across
the man’s face, his grey eyes mocking her.
Of course the one
person I’m pointing the gun at threateningly thinks it’s funny.

“Get out,” Lark repeated, cocking the gun.

“I don’t think you have the guts,” he chuckled.

Lark blinked rapidly, swallowing down the bile rising in her
throat. Warm hands covered hers, yanking the gun away. A loud pop echoed
through the car, and Lark winced her ears ringing as she tried to process what
had just happened.

Smoke filtered out of the gun as Natalia dropped it to the
floor board. She used her feet to kick the dead body out of the car. Without
even a look back, the female wolf climbed out of the car and darted to the tree
line.

“Wait,” Lark called out. Terrified, she picked the gun up
off the grey carpeted floorboard. Lark rechecked the safety and put it back in
her jeans. Refusing to look at the body on the street; she sprinted after the
pregnant woman.

Devon smashed one of their
attacker’s faces down into the pavement. Warm sticky blood oozed onto the
blacktop and glided toward his paws. The man’s pulse throbbed under the pads of
his foot.

His own heart thundered in his ears. Teeth gritted,
adrenaline rushed through Devon’s tense muscles. He jumped, loosening his grip
as the second loud pop of the night rang out through the night air.

A body was shoved out of the Jeep, falling lifelessly to the
ground with a thud. Natalia dashed out of the car, her movements surprisingly
nimble for a woman in her condition.
Determination made
you do things you shouldn’t be able to
. He knew that better than anyone.

The man stirred beneath his grip prying himself free of his
hold. Devon turned back to Tyler, one of Emmett’s men, but saw Lark spring out
from the car sprinting after Natalia from the corner of his eye. He snarled.
For the moment, he needed to focus on the fight before him. Both women were
running away from the chaos, Lark would be okay for the moment.

He ducked blocking an attack and lunged, tackling the man to
the ground. His front leg burned, tearing against the coarse cracked pavement.
Ignoring the pain, Devon snapped at the man, teeth barred. His jaw clamped down
on the man’s neck, biting into the sensitive flesh. A gurgle fluttered from his
lips, followed by blood bubbling out of his mouth. Within seconds, Tyler was
dead.

Devon surveyed the situation around him. Vincent had one man
pinned
,
as did
Daniel. Marcus and Emily were tag teaming another. Between his siblings and his
men the situation was being handled. There had only been a few men in the other
car that had attacked them and Devon’s pack had easily overwhelmed the smaller
group.

Devon ran to his sister as one of the men grabbed her arm.
Marcus was quicker; without hesitation he threw a punch, giving no time for the
man to recover. Marcus wrapped his hands around his neck and twisted violently,
dropping the lifeless form to the ground. Then with ease and gentleness, he
pulled Emily to him placing a kiss to her temple.

“Where’d your girl and the pregnant chick go?” Vincent
asked, repeatedly kicking the bloodied guy on the ground before him.

Devon scanned the trees, indicating the forest with his
head. He couldn’t see or hear either of them.

“Damn, how fast can a pregnant chick run?” Vincent ran a
hand through his hair as he observed the empty car.

Devon turned back to the beat up
vehicle in front of them. He flicked his gaze between Emily and the cars trying
to indicate for Emily and Marcus to get in them. The struck vehicle would be
inoperable. The ride back to the ranch would be tight, but they could do it. Regardless,
he wanted to get his sister out of here now.

“Bastards side swiped them. Came out of nowhere,” Vincent
grumbled massaging his neck as he pointed with his free hand to the small
country road the other vehicle had materialized from.

“Come on Em, we need to get you out of here,” Marcus said,
seemingly catching on to Devon’s train of thought.

Emily patted the top of Devon’s head and bent down giving
him a hug.

“Be safe, Dev,” Emily whispered as Marcus pulled her to one
of the cars.

Devon nodded and raced toward the woods. The two women
couldn’t have gotten far.

***

Lark cried out as she tripped, stumbling, onto the rough
ground. Her hand grazed against something hard, pain exploded through it as she
tried to catch herself. She cursed, trying to catch her breath and squinted to
see in the darkened woods. She brushed some dead leaves from her shirt as she
stood back up. Her palm ached, but it was probably just skinned.

A stick snapped to her right, and
she darted in that direction. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the vast
darkness, but she could still only see a few feet in front of her. The woods
were eerily dark, blocking out the light of the moon and stars. A soft sob came
from straight in front of her as some branches rustled.

“Natalia,” Lark called hoping to calm the frightened woman.

A pained gasp sounded to Lark’s right. She slowed, stumbling
over the broken tree limbs as she caught sight of the other woman.

“It’s okay,” Lark whispered as she righted herself and
approached the wolf. She was slumped against a large pine tree branch.

“Leave me please,” Natalia whispered in her heavy Spanish
accent.

“Let us help you,” Lark knelt beside her. Her hand reached
out to rest on the girls shoulder, but Natalia flinched away. Lark dropped it
back to her side. “I promise no one is going to hurt you or your baby.”

Natalia’s brown eyes studied her for a long moment.

“You’re not one of us.”

Lark blinked surprised; of all the things that was what she
chose to say.

“No, I’m not, but I know what you
are. I’m a friend and so are they. We can help you, but you have to come back
with us.”

Natalia’s death grip on the branches subsided slightly as
she sat up a little straighter.

“I do not trust the fake alpha.”

Lark frowned, trying to make sense of her words.

“Daniel?”

Natalia nodded, “The man whose scent you carry, the alpha,
is he a good alpha?”

“Devon’s a good guy — a good leader,” Lark replied
instantly.

Natalia stiffened, the branch breaking beneath her grip.
Lark’s eyes darted around trying to pinpoint the source of her duress. Lark
jumped, startled, as a warm hand slid around her.

“Did you really think this little plan would work?” Emmett
snarled in her ear. His hand clamped over her mouth as he wrenched her against
his hard body.

Lark fought the horror bubbling up inside her down as she
wriggled, in a vain attempt to free herself. His grip was ironclad, she could
barely move. Her gun bulged out of the front of her jeans; she struggled trying
to get one of her hands around the handle.

“Grab Natalia,” Emmett snarled at someone else she couldn’t
quite see. Out of nowhere, another man appeared yanking Natalia to her feet
roughly. The female wolf let out a throaty mewl as she was manhandled, hands
clutched protectively around her belly.

Lark forced her screaming mind and body to focus. Her limbs
stilled, inhaling a deep breath, she stomped down on Emmett’s toes with the
heel of her foot. Instead of loosening his grip it tightened.

“Your school yard tricks won’t work on me,” he hissed at
her.

Lark gasped as she was lifted off the ground, being drug
away her feet dangling haphazardly in the air like she was a small child.

Think!

Lark gagged as bile rose up her throat. She was not going to
give up and accept her fate. Fear, mixed with rage coursed through her veins as
her heart beat wildly in her chest. Tensing her body, she flung her head
backwards, connecting it with Emmett’s face with a loud smack.

Emmett roared, expletives flying from his mouth. His vice
grip faltered and she fell to her feet, stumbling forward. Adrenaline roaring
in her ears filled with a fight or die scenario
.
Lark
thrust her elbow backwards, spun and threw a right hook.

He faltered, stepping backwards only for a second. Using the
distraction to her advantage, she swung again connecting with his jaw. Pain
erupted in her hand sending, spikes of heat flaring up her arm and into her
shoulder. Rage coursing through her veins, she drew the gun.

Emmett found his footing too quickly. Grasping
Lark by the
arm, h
e
twisted her, shoving her face first to the ground. The impact jarred her and
the gun flipped away, scuttling across the ground under a bush.

The rough uneven terrain burned her
elbows and hands, where sticks and rocks pricked her skin. Struggling to get
up, something landed on her back
. It was
a boot, she
realized. The heel dug into the small of her back seconds before he squashed
her to the ground as if she were a bug.

Her lungs screamed as the air whooshed out of them, fighting
to catch a breath. Mind numbing pain splintered through her back and simmered
out to her limbs. Black tainted her vision as unconsciousness lulled behind her
eyelids
.
Emmett
tugged on her hair wrenching her head up.

“That wasn’t very smart. Although, I do admire your
tenacity. I was right, Juarez is going to have fun breaking you,” Emmett
sneered in her ear as he lifted her to her feet by her long blonde tresses.

Lark bucked against him trying to get free. They both froze;
a loud
woof
resonated
off of the trees.

Emmett turned dragging her along with him.

“Ah, Devon, I thought you might
come.” He yanked her head harder
.
Lark grimaced
,
crying out
in pain as a few strands were snatched out of her head.

Devon growled, long yowls that sent shivers up her spine
escaping his mouth. With teeth barred and eyes gleaming, he walked toward them
predatorily.

“Are we going to do this dance again?” Emmett laughed, his
breath ghosting against Lark’s neck, causing goose bumps to pepper her skin.

Lark screamed. Lunging, Devon caught
an
attacking
wolf midair. Emmett drug her backwards as Devon and another
wolf snapped and wrestled each other. They scuffled across the dirt, flinging
sticks and debris up as they moved.

Her eyes fought to catch up with the fight. The wolves moved
in a blur. Lark cringed; a loud sickening snap filled the air. Her breath
caught, heart stopped as she surveyed the two wolves. Neither of them moved.
Tears pricked her eyes as worry flooded her.

Please be okay.

“No,” Emmett bellowed, Lark was flung to her knees as the
elder wolf began to transform.

She couldn’t see much but she could hear clothes shredding
and bones popping. Her body tensed as she realized that while Devon remained
alive, he would have to fight Emmett to the death.

***

Devon circled Emmett as he waited for the transformation to
complete. He knew if the roles were reversed, his stepfather would not be so
gracious. But, Devon wanted this to be a fair fight. He needed to win this the
right way.

Lark’s frightened blue eyes caught his. Copper tinged with
cinnamon-vanilla permeated the air. He swallowed, assessing her quickly. Rage
erupted in him as he took in the small nicks on her arms and hands. Her face
had smudges of dirt on it and her jeans were intact but smeared with mud.

Hatred and the need to protect Lark filled him. He would end
this now. Years of abuse flitted through Devon’s mind.

Emmett’s brownish red fur sprung
out of his pores. His eyes gleamed yellow
;
the change almost complete.

This man had belittled him every
chance he got
. He
had his lackeys beat him repeatedly for no reason
other than spite. He'd traded Emily, his beloved daughter, to the highest
bidder. All so he could align himself to overthrow another alpha. He hurt Lark
for his own selfish gain. It needed to stop now.

A growl erupted from Devon’s chest as he dove at Emmett. His
stepfather caught him. They rolled across the terrain and into the bushes. A
whine sliced through the air as Emmett’s long claws dug into his side. Devon
flexed his own paws, nails elongating. Determined, he swiped at Emmett
connecting with his face.

Blood spewed out of Emmett’s mouth. A ripple of raw power
swept over Devon. He could do this — this time he would win. There was no one
else around to help Emmett during this fight. The only other man stood,
watching with Natalia held firmly in his grasp. Without another thought, he
snarled lunging again.

Emmett reeled up on his back legs, catching Devon in a
vicious embrace. Teeth snaring at each other, they twisted and snapped, both
trying to gain the upper hand.

Devon heard a scuffle behind him, his mind drifting to Lark
as yells filled the air. A burning sensation drew him from his thoughts. He
cried out in a loud yelp as Emmett’s gnarled nails punctured his belly.

Pop.

The gunshot bounced off the trees sending wildlife scuttling
away. It gave Devon the upper hand, momentarily startling Emmett. He struck the
elder with his paw. Blood sprayed across both their faces. Springing forward,
he drove Emmett to the ground. He swung down, prepared to finish his stepfather
when another wolf thrust themselves onto him.

He was thrown, rolling roughly against the ground, colliding
with a tree. Shaking his head, he got his bearings and jumped to his feet. The
other wolf charged him. Devon tensed, staggering up prepared to catch him, when
black fur whizzed by.

He froze as he watched his mother attack the wolf who had
tried to kill him. In one swift motion, she snapped the werewolf’s neck. She
turned yellow eyes on him before flicking her head in Emmett’s direction.