Out of the Shadows (26 page)

“I know I’m not supposed to know about werewolves, but why
did they take me anyway? I mean, why go out of the way to come here and take
me? Why take me to Santa Fe? Why me?” Lark asked quietly.

Devon pulled her a little tighter.

“For Emmett, it was about getting
back at me,” he paused certain of his answer, “but Juarez, I don’t know why
he’d want you.” He ran a reassuring hand down her arm, but felt a tick form in
his own jaw as the realization dawned on him.

What was Juarez’s interest in Lark?

***

“Where are you going?” Devon grumbled as the bed shifted and
squeaked. He blinked his eyes open to see Lark hopping into a pair of jeans.

“I was going to run to The Cookie Jar real fast, make sure
it’s still in one piece. I need to see what I’m going to have to do to get
things back in order tomorrow morning,” Lark said through gritted teeth, a
black hair tie dangling from her mouth. “Sarah follows the recipes, but she has
no clue how to do the books or anything else for that matter.”

Devon watched as she used her fingers to pull her hair into
a messy up do.

“Is someone going with you?” He
asked, sitting up glancing at the red illumination on the alarm clock. Six pm
-
t
hey’d slept
a few hours. It was probably a good idea to get up now, otherwise they would
throw their bodies way off track.

“Not yet, but I’m sure there will
be some takers since they’ll get first dibs on leftovers. Did you want to
come?” She turned from the mirror to look at him.

“Yeah.” He wiped a hand over his
face and through his hair. Getting up he grabbed a pair of jeans and a black
shirt.

“I wanted to check on Natalia too.”

“I’m sure she’s fine.”

Lark shook her head.

“I know. It’s just; it must be hard
for her. Even if she won’t admit it, she’s probably terrified. She’s been a
prisoner for who knows how long and is in a strange place with people she
doesn’t know.”

Devon hadn’t really thought about
that but could see where Lark was coming from. He admired Lark’s compassion for
others, it was a wonderful and endearing quality.

“You should, as long as she isn’t
dangerous. She does seem to have taken a liking to you. You’re the only person
she’s actually spoke to.”

She shrugged watching him through
hooded eyes as he slipped into his clothes.

“She doesn’t like Daniel.”

Devon laughed, remembering the red
claw marks on his brother’s face. “I gathered that much. Between the two of you
he had a rough night with women.”

Lark flushed and bit her lip. “Oh,
he told you about that.”

Devon blinked studying her, he
hadn’t really heard the story, and Daniel had been vague on the details.

“I was so flustered and mad. I know
he was just doing what Emmett asked, but I smacked him. I should probably
apologize for that, he did so much to help out last night.”

Devon grimaced. “I’m sure he
deserved it. What did Emmett do to upset you?”

Lark shivered and shook her whole
body.

“Ugh! I was so pissed. Planning my
future and talking about me like I wasn’t there.” Red crept across her face as
she spoke.

Her gaze stayed on the floor for a
long moment before trailing up to his.

“You know what, I don’t want to
think about that. It’s over and everything’s good. I’m just glad Emmett got
what was coming to him. Are you ready?”

“Let’s go.” Devon walked to the
door and opened it for her.

“How is Daniel taking everything?
He seemed pretty freaked out when he thought I was going to shoot Emmett. I
can’t imagine how he feels now,” Lark murmured.

Devon sighed, “I’m not sure.
Regardless of who Emmett was, he was still Daniel, Vincent, and Em’s father. I
imagine they will grieve him in their own way. I think deep down he knew what
was going to happen though.”

Lark nodded. “Are you guys going to
try to work things out?”

“I don’t know, maybe,” Devon said
after a long moment. He didn’t know that he and Daniel would ever be close, but
maybe they could at least work on being civil to one another.

***

Lark walked up to the ranches door,
boxes in hand. Devon behind her with more containers. While she was glad that
Sarah had taken over the bakery for her, her sister had overestimated the
number of baked goods they needed.

The guys at the ranch would be
enjoying leftovers for a few days.

Gene pushed the door open for her,
a small tight lipped smile on his face as he looked at the boxes. Preston and
Sarah trailed behind with even more.

“Dev, when you’re done with that,
we need to talk,” Gene said as they walked past.

Lark sighed seeing the worry lines
on Gene’s face and the tension in his stance.

Gene turned to her.

“And, if you don’t mind trying your
charm on Natalia, Lark, it would be appreciated. According to Emily and Claire,
Natalia never spoke to anyone her entire stint at the McKinley house. And she
hasn’t spoke to anyone or let anyone near her or the baby since she woke up an
hour ago. I want to make sure she is okay.”

“Yeah, of course, let me just set
these down.”

Lark hurried into the kitchen,
setting the boxes on the counter.

“I’ll see you in a bit,” she said
as she passed by Devon.

“Hey.” Devon caught her arm. “Take
Em or Vincent in there with you.”

Lark gave him a small smile. She
knew he meant well and was worrying over her, but didn’t think it was
necessary. She hurried up the stairs to her old room and hesitantly knocked on
the door.

“Natalia,” she called when there
was no answer to her knocks. “It’s Lark, can I come in?”

Still no answer. Lark shifted on
her feet unsure if she should go in or come back in a few minutes. Deciding the
woman should at least be checked on since she wasn’t making any noise
whatsoever, Lark pushed the door open.

Natalia shot daggers at her as Lark
entered the room.

“Hi, I just wanted to check on you,
make sure everything was okay?” Lark mumbled. Her eyes drifted to the baby who
slept in the bed next to its mother. She’d seen him briefly last night. Claire
and Emily had whisked him away while herself, Devon and Gene tended to his
mother.

“We’re fine,” Natalia said after a
long moment.

Lark shut the door, the woman
wasn’t being overly friendly but she wasn’t attacking her or yelling for her to
get out either.

“He is adorable,” Lark said gazing
at the sleeping baby. He looked like his mother, with his honeyed skin and head
full of dark brown hair. “Have you thought of a name?”

“No.”

“I could pick you up a name book from the store tomorrow. Or
we could bring a laptop in here and search online,” Lark suggested.

“I want it to be special.” Natalia smiled as she grazed a
finger down the infants face.

“I’m sure whatever you choose will be nice,” Lark offered
smiling at the sleeping child.

“What will they do with him?” Natalia asked suddenly. Her
bottom lip trembled and mist flooded her brown eyes.

Lark frowned confused. “What do you mea
n?”

“Fernando Juarez, I’ve seen what he
does to women who have male babies. He takes them and sends them away. What
will they do to him here?” She said, her voice breaking with emotions, a stray
tear slipping down her face.

“Nobody's going to take your baby,” Lark said horror slicing
through her. She walked to the bed cautiously sitting down. “It’s not like that
here. Gene and Devon are good guys. Your son will stay right here in the room
with you.”

“The fake alpha’s son and wife are here, I don’t trust it,”
Natalia grasped the infant to her, briefly jostling him awake. “They cannot be
trusted.”

Lark paused trying to think of what to say to comfort the
other woman.

“Daniel helped us to escape
remember? Even if you don’t trust him, I know Gene. I’ve known him since before
I can remember. He’s like a brother to me. He’s not going to let anything
happen to either of you. And though I haven’t known Devon long, I trust him
with my life and my sister’s life. I…” Lark paused the L word at the tip of her
tongue.

Do I love him?
Surely it
was too early for that. Then again, she had gotten to know him, really gotten
to know him these past few weeks.

“How did you end up here? I’ve never seen a human infiltrate
a pack before,” Natalia said quietly.

Natalia’s question drew Lark from her thoughts.

“My dad was the doctor for the pack
before he passed. Speaking of doctors, you should let Louie look you over, and
make sure everything is okay. We started you on antibiotics and some other
medicines but-“

“I am fine,” Natalia cut her off.

“Is there anything I can get for
you?” Lark wanted to help the woman, especially since it appeared she was the
only person she was willing to communicate with.

“I am a little hungry,” Natalia
admitted.

“I’ll go get something and bring it
back up,” Lark offered, standing up.

Devon got comfortable in the arm
chair as Gene went to the liquor cabinet and pulled out two glasses and some
whiskey.

“I’m guessing it’s not good news,” Devon surmised.

Gene poured the two drinks and handed one to Devon. “No,
it’s not.”

Devon closed his eyes, lifting the tumbler to his mouth and
took a long swig, coughing slightly at the burning taste. Gene followed suit,
draining the entire contents of his cup.

“I got a call while you and Lark were out,” he paused to
rake a hand through his hair. “From Fernando Juarez.”

Devon growled, finishing the whiskey in one gulp. “What does
he want?”

“He requested an audience here on Sunday.”

“You told him no, right?”

“I said I would think on it,” Gene replied pouring more of
the amber liquid.

“Why didn’t you tell him where he could shove it?” Devon
snapped, his closed fist thumping on the desk.

“Because we need to think this through, Dev. I don’t want
him here anymore than you do. But, we need to be diplomatic. Even with Derek’s
help, we wouldn’t stand a chance against an attack from them. The Gulf packs
are huge. I can’t even begin to imagine how many men are in their ranks.”

Devon blew out a long breath and leaned back in the chair.
“You know what he wants.”

“I’m well aware of the fact that we now have four fertile
females living amongst us. I have no intentions of turning over any of them,”
Gene assured downing more of the alcohol.

“What about Lark and Sarah. What do you think he wants with
them?” Devon asked curiously.

“It’s not completely unheard of for human women to conceive.
There have been a few instances where it has occurred,” Gene said with a
grimace. “In a way my father and I let them down, by allowing them to know our
secret.”

“Preston and Sarah seem pretty serious even if they’re
young, and Lark takes everything in stride. She is really curious about us. I
can’t imagine them not finding out sooner or later anyway,” Devon said. Lark
was too nosy for her own good at times. Though he didn’t mind telling her
things, in fact, he enjoyed it.

“Speaking of Lark, what exactly are you doing with her? If
you’re not serious about her don’t lead her on.” Gene said his brown eyes
boring into him; his brow creasing with what Devon assumed was worry.

“I like her, Gene,” Devon answered honestly, at this point
he wasn’t sure like was a strong enough word for what he felt. “I thought we
already had this conversation.”

“We did. It’s just she’s like my sister and you my brother-“

“And now you’re making it sound gross,” Devon concluded
taking another sip of his liquor. “What do you want to do about Juarez?” He
asked, changing the topic back to the matter at hand.

Gene groaned and covered his head. “I’m not sure. I know we
don’t want to piss him off, but we need to make our stance clear too.”

“I think we need to do some leg work of our own. We have
friends. No doubt they are at the same risks as us with the Gulf packs. We need
to be more strategic in speaking with them,” Devon said thoughtfully.

“I agree, but they are still miles, even states away from
us. In the event of an emergency, they would never get here in time.”

“Then we train here. Get our men and women ready,” Devon
said.

“What about Claire? She’s been around Juarez the past few
months-“

“No.”

“Why not?”

Devon spun his tumbler around on the desk, irritation
settling over him.

“All the things she let Emmett get
away with, I just, I can’t trust her, Gene,” Devon stammered, the words making
his gut wrench and twist with nausea. There was more to it than that, but that
was it in a nutshell. Devon wasn’t up for a full blown heart to heart with his
cousin. They had more important things to discuss.

“Maybe she had no other options.”

Devon stood up, the chair scraping against the hardwood as
it slid back.

“I don’t know, Gene. Let’s think on
this Juarez thing for the night and discuss it more in the morning.”

***

“What did Gene want?” Lark questioned
as she strolled into the bedroom. She
undid the ties on
her robe,
sliding it off her pale slender shoulders, and hung it on the back of the knob
turning to him.

Devon sucked in a breath some of the anger fleeting away as
he stared at her. She was wearing the ridiculously short shorts and a tank top
again. Her long legs taunted him, begging to be touched.

“Why didn’t you take Emily or
Vincent with you?”
He replied forcing his mind to focus.

Lark shrugged and came to sit on
the bed.

“I didn’t think it was necessary,
and besides Natalia probably wouldn’t have spoken to me if I had. She’s fine by
the way.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” He was also
glad to see she was as well.

“I think it’s going to take her a
while to feel comfortable here. So, what happened with Gene?”

Devon closed his eyes, the
situation had him flustered and pissed.

“Fernando Juarez has requested an
audience here. He wants to sit down and have a formal meeting.”

“What?” Lark stiffened, eyes
widening as she gaped at him. “Here? What does he want?”

“He asked to come this weekend. I
imagine he wants at least Natalia back and possibly Emily too.”

“You guys told him no, right?”

“Gene hasn’t told him anything yet.
We were discussing the best options. I don’t want him anywhere near either of
our homes.”

“He’ll take the baby from Natalia,”
Lark whispered.

“What?” It was his turn to be
stunned.

“That’s what she told me. If it’s a
boy they take them away,” Lark said, her eyes widening as she shuddered.

“Probably off to start training
them,” Devon said anger and disgust seething in him.

Lark shook her head, her face
mirroring what he felt.

“She’s terrified, Devon. That man
shouldn’t be anywhere near her or the rest of us.”

Devon agreed. He didn’t like the
idea either. “Gene wants to confer with my mom in the morning. Since Emmett
spent so much time with him recently he thinks she might be able to give us
some insight.”

“I’m guessing you don’t like that
idea either?”

“She sat aside and watched Emmett
do unspeakable things to me…to a bunch of people, and no I don’t like it,”
Devon spat.

“Have you talked to her since the
car ride, maybe there is-“

“Please don’t try to defend her. I
get enough of that from Emily and Vincent.” Devon ground out fisting his hands
into a tight ball.

Lark crossed her legs as she got
comfortable on the bed.

“It’s probably not as easy as just
telling Juarez no, is it?”

“I wish it were that simple,” Devon
said watching as Lark chewed on her lower lip. “The thing is, going to him is
just as dangerous. I would expect it to be an ambush. And if we turn him down,
he’ll probably keep pestering us, or show up unannounced.”
Or
worse,
he thought.

“He’s not as direct as Emmett. From
what I saw he seems just as cunning and probably more of an ass, but I kind of
got the feeling he is more…” she looked up as if trying to think of the right
words to say. “Sadistic.”

“I have no intention of joining him
or giving in to his demands,” Devon said venomously. He would never agree to
the terms they lived under. “I already told Gene we can tell him where to go. I
have no interest in playing the games and think we should let him know that
from the get go.”

“I can see why it’s not an easy
decision though. You know what he wants, and know you won’t give it to him.
It’s just a game of how long we can prolong the inevitable,” Lark shuddered as
she leaned into the pillows.

“As long as it gives us enough time
to be ready,” Devon said as he entwined his fingers with hers.

***

Lark tapped her mug on the kitchen
counter as she waited for the coffee to brew.

“Good morning.”

Lark turned casting a small tight
smile at Claire as she walked in. “Hi.”

Claire set to work pulling out some
pots and pans. “I always tried to get my kids to be early risers, but they
never were.”

Lark hummed a noncommittal answer
as she poured the steaming liquid into her cup.

“You don’t care for me much do you?
I suppose I can understand that,” Claire sighed sagging against the
refrigerator.

“Um,” Lark started, at a loss of
what to say.

“Leave Lark alone, Mom,” Devon
grumbled as he strode into the kitchen.

The room fell silent, and Lark felt
a nervous tremor shoot through her at the tension sizzling in the air.

Clearing her throat, she broke the
silence. “I didn’t think you were up.”

“I couldn’t get back to sleep,”
Devon said quietly.

“I was hoping to have the
opportunity to speak with you, Dev. I get the feeling you’ve been avoiding me,”
Claire said as she opened the fridge, and set eggs and butter on the counter.

“There isn’t anything to say,”
Devon grumbled under his breath.

“Actually, there is,” Claire said
calmly, holding Devon’s gaze.

Lark shifted uncomfortably. “You
know, I’m going to see if Vincent is ready to go yet.” She bit her lip
contemplating her move for a moment before pressing a soft kiss to his mouth.
“I’ll see you this afternoon for practice.”

***

Devon glared as his mother watched
Lark scurry out of the kitchen. She couldn’t have made it anymore uncomfortable
if she’d tried.

“She seems nice,” she commented as
Lark’s footsteps padded up the stairs.

“She is,” he said hollowly.

“I can see why you’re drawn to her.
The alpha in you senses her strength. Even if she isn’t one of us, she has the
qualities to be your mate.” Claire smiled. “You should have seen the way she
stood her ground against Emmett the other night.”

“What did you want to talk about?”
Devon asked, some of the annoyance ebbing as his mothers words about Lark sunk
in. It made sense. Her characteristics were strong, along with her compassion.
She exhibited traits of an alpha.

“I want a chance to explain
myself,” Claire said her hazel eyes blinking up to meet his.

“Fine,” he huffed, clenching his
jaw.

Claire inhaled a deep breath and
let it out. “Emmett was a very good friend of mine when we were growing up. At
some point, his feelings developed into something more than friendship. When I
chose to marry your father, it culminated and changed him.”

Tears formed in her eyes and she
dabbed at them before continuing.

“I loved your father so much. We
wanted a large family. You were the first of what we hoped would be many.” She
drew in a tight breath as she fought back more tears. “Emmett arranged a hunt a
little after your third birthday. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I
always suspected your father’s death was never an accident as Emmett and his
friends claimed.”

“Are you saying Emmett killed my
father?” Devon gaped a surge of anger washing over him. Heat scorched his face
as he fought to contain the rage bellowing inside him.

Claire nodded, dabbing her eyes
with a paper towel. “I believe so, yes.”

“Then why would you marry him?”
Devon roared.

“I suspected he killed your father.
I watched him slaughter my brother before my very eyes.” Her voice shook, tears
streaming down her face. “The night my brother died, I took you from your bed
and we ran. My goal was to come here to Rick and Beatrice’s. I was panicked and
didn’t think it through as I should have. Emmett caught up to us before we even
made it out of Guymon.” His mother grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser and
dabbed at her face.

“He swore if I didn’t obey him, he
would kill you. You had nightmares for months after the incident, but you don’t
remember it do you?” She asked, her red rimmed eyes resting on his face. Devon
shook his head no. “He held a knife to your throat. He told me if I didn’t back
him as alpha and mate with him, he would kill you. After seeing what he was
capable of with my brother and what I suspected with your father, I believed
him.”

Devon took in the information. A
tick working in his jaw as he watched his mother crumble before him. He’d never
seen her this upset before.

She sniffled and cleared her
throat.

“I agreed. You were the only thing
left that mattered to me. He promised to never lay a hand to you so long as I
obeyed him.”

“That didn’t keep his lackeys from
doing it,” Devon retorted.

“I know, I did what I could to
protect you. I know Rick offered for you to live here permanently at the end of
every summer. I begged him to force you to stay. But you always refused and
came home.” She shook her head and choked down a sob. “When Emmett aligned us
with the Gulf packs I took matters into my own hands. When you’re married to an
alpha sometimes you write letters for them, do paper work. I’d learned how to
perfect his handwriting. I-“