Into the Unknown

by Bethany Shaw

  He walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her and placing soft kisses to her neck as his hands trailed up the inside of her tank top. She gasped as he squeezed her breast. Spinning around, she crashed her lips to his, and he hoisted her up. Her slender legs wrapped around his waist, and he carried her to the bed.

  Setting her on the sheets, he lifted her top over her head. His fingers grazed across her breasts as she lowered herself to the bed. Bending down, he took one of her erect nipples into his mouth, smiling as she groaned in pleasure. Natalia’s palms pressed firmly into his back, the nails digging in, causing a pleasure pain.

  She arched into him, and he growled from the delicious friction her movement created. Hand on her hips, he tugged on her cotton bottoms, bringing them down her legs. He pulled his mouth away from her breasts with a loud pop. Undoing the button on his jeans, he slipped them off. Shifting to the side, he found her lips again as he pushed one finger inside her, then another.

  Natalia bucked up off the bed, her tongue darting into his mouth as her hands fisted in the blankets. Pumping in and out of her, he took his time kissing her, exploring the cavern of her mouth. His tongue glided against hers, and he growled as her soft, warm fingers stretched out, wrapping around his cock.

  Grinding her hips into his palm, he felt her begin to tense beneath him. She whimpered, eyes fluttering open as he withdrew his hand. He clasped her wrist, halting her tantalizing movements and set it over her head. She watched as he nestled himself between her thighs and thrust inside. He waited a moment, allowing her wet, tight heat to adjust to him before he curled his arm under one of her knees and set a steady pace.

  His mouth returned to hers as she ground her hips beneath his. His free hand found her nipple rolling the tightened bud between his thumb and forefinger. Her nails scraped down his back, and he hissed in pleasure at the scorching trail she caused. Natalia gasped, her hips flying up off the sheets as she cried out his name. Her inner walls tightened around him, and he buried his face in her shoulder as he rode out her orgasm and followed her over the edge.

  Panting heavily, he placed kisses to her shoulder and up her neck. His tongue softly caressed hers before he pulled away. He tugged Natalia close to him, her hands resting on his chest and abdomen. His eyes fluttered closed. They lay silently for a long moment, Natalia’s breathing quieted, returning to normal.

  Slowly, he felt her slick body pull away from him, and he quirked one eye open, watching as she climbed out of bed and dressed. Her honeyed cheeks still flushed, she met his eyes.

  “I cannot leave Adrian alone. He will wake through the night,” she explained, pulling the strap to her top up.

  Blinking, he climbed out of bed and tossed his jeans back on.

  “What are you doing?” she questioned.

  “I’ll walk you back to your room.”

  She frowned, and he grinned, placing a light kiss to her lips before he walked to the door.

  “Thank you,” she said after a long moment. She eyed him as she approached the door, a smile slowly slipping over her lips.

  Gene grasped her hand in his, her slender fingers wrapping around his as he led the way back to the other end of the house. He vowed that, one day, she would stay in his bed all night.

  Chapter Nineteen

  ––––––––

  “Let me know when you know something,” Devon said quietly into the phone. His eyes fell on Lark’s peaceful form as he listened to his brother. There had been enough death lately, and he didn’t want anything to happen to her.

  Lark groaned and rolled over, watching him as he spoke into the phone in a hushed tone. His blue eyes met hers, and, grinned at her as he finished his call. Finally, he hung up the phone and bent down to kiss her.

  “I was trying not to wake you,” he murmured.

  “It’s okay. I need to get up and go check on Sarah anyway.” She sighed as his lips lingered over hers. “Was that Vincent?”

  “Daniel,” Devon said gruffly. “They are in Louisiana and don’t think they’ve been followed.”

  “That’s good,” Lark said, stretching as she sat up.

  “I just hope they can find out some useful information,” Devon said, yawning as he relaxed into the pillows. He would like nothing better than to keep Lark in bed all day. After the past few days, they could both use a day of relaxation.

  “I need to get to The Cookie Jar too. Emily is still learning the ropes, and, until Sarah’s up to it, I think we could both be working long shifts,” Lark yawned, her shoulders slumping as she stood up and pulled on a t-shirt.

  “I’m sure she’ll come around. Everyone handles death in different ways,” Devon said, throwing the covers back and tugging on his jeans.

  Lark nodded, her blue eyes glistening as she went to the dresser. “I know. I’m just worried. School’s supposed to start next week. I don’t want to push, but I feel like she could stay holed up in his room forever.”

  “It will be okay. It’s only been a day,” Devon said, kissing her forehead.

  Lark sighed, closing her eyes as she sagged against him. Her forehead rested on his shoulder. “With everything going on, it’s hard to remember it was only yesterday that we laid Preston to rest. Do you think Gene’s okay? He’s kind of just plowing ahead. It’s like Sarah’s lost to the world, and Gene’s breezing by at full steam.”

  “I think that’s his way of coping. He needs to stay strong—we need to stay strong as alphas. As cold as it sounds, we can’t back down. Juarez will take anything he can and use it as a weakness. Preston was like another brother, and I…” Devon stopped, letting out a long breath. “I miss him, but he wouldn’t want us to be so caught up in mourning him that we miss something. The best thing we can do is keep Sarah and everyone else safe. That’s how we can best honor Preston.”

  Lark bit her lip, but he could still see the slight tremble. “I know.”

  “Come on, let’s go to Gene’s so you can check on Sarah. Then I’ll take you over to The Cookie Jar for the day. With all this rain, chances are good, some of the roads are going to be washed out, which will only make our day longer,” Devon said, placing a kiss to her lips.

  ***

  Natalia lay looking up at the white spackled ceiling. The rain still hammered against the roof, and she could tell by the dreary darkness of the room that it wouldn’t be letting up anytime soon.

  Adrian had awoken a few minutes ago but was cooing contently in his bed. Natalia sighed, tugging the sheets up a little higher. Her body still hummed from last night, her skin flushed with the memory of her and Gene.

  There was something about him. He was a good guy—sexy—but there was something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Someone yelled outside her door, and she sat up, slipping out of bed. Opening the door, she peeked out into the hallway.

  The men yelled to one another, bustling by as they thumped loudly down the stairs. Claire stepped out into the hallway, leaving Amelia’s room. As she pulled her brown-grey hair up and out of her face, she met Natalia’s eyes.

  “What is happening?” Natalia questioned, her heart racing from the chaos.

  “The river that runs near the barns is overflowing. All this rain…” she trailed off, looking out the window, shaking her head. “They’re trying to set up sandbags to salvage what they can. With the funeral and the attack, everyone has been so preoccupied…we didn’t even think!”

  Natalia followed Claire to the window and swallowed at the cresting water. It was only a few hundred feet from the barn, and, at the rate of the rain, it wouldn’t be long until it, too, was submerged. She watched as the first men threw sandbags onto the ground taking no care to place them properly. Shaking her head, she took a step back.

  “Can you look after Adrian for a moment?” she questioned.

  “Sure, do you plan to help? Most the men here are new. I’m not sure if they know what they’re doing.” Claire stated.

  “Yeah,” taking a step back, she met the other woman�
��s gaze. “All the things for his bottle are on the dresser.”

  “He’ll be fine. Go help,” Claire assured her.

  Nodding, Natalia ran down the stairs and out the front door. The door clanged shut behind her, and she darted out toward the barn. Rain pelted her, and a chill zipped down her spine as she hurried over to the men who were throwing the sandbags down. “You have to lay them a certain way. This will not be as effective,” she screamed over the howling wind.

  Her hair whipped across her face as water rolled down her body.

  “Go back inside,” the man yelled at her.

  “You are doing it wrong,” she insisted, ignoring him. She knelt down and picked up the bag, grunting under the weight as she began to reposition it.

  “What are you doing?” the man cried out as he grabbed her arm.

  Wrenching her arm free, she shoved him off of her. “Do not touch me,” she growled, feeling her eyes flash gold. The man took a step back, his hands held up defensively. “I grew up in Cabo. I have prepared for many hurricanes. This is not the right way.”

  “Listen to her,” Gene ordered, coming out from the barn with two sandbags slumped together over one shoulder. “She knows what she’s talking about.”

  The man nodded, and Natalia busied herself with readjusting the bags. Gene grabbed the next bag, helping to reposition it. He grinned at her as they moved onto the next one, stacking them together.

  “So hurricanes?” Gene yelled above the howl of the wind.

  Natalia flicked her gaze to his, her drenched hair stuck to her face, clouding her vision. “Yeah.”

  “We don’t get those. At least, not in this part of Texas,” Gene said as he stacked another bag.

  Natalia helped lift another sandbag. Mud squished between her bare toes as the water sloshed around her. Setting the burlap down, she took a second to look around. They still had several more feet to cover before they could rest.

  “We have had a few, but nothing too severe,” Natalia said as she took a sack from someone else. Looking up the line, she saw they’d formed a chain, passing the bag from person to person until they reached the end and begun to stack them.

  “We get the occasional flood when it rains like this. We’ve never had the water make it all the way to the barn, but, with the way it’s coming down, it might today,” Gene said. “It’s a good thing we were prepared. My dad always made sure we had sandbags on standby, just in case.”

  Pushing loose strands of hair out of her eyes, she took a step back, looking on as Lark led two horses out from one of the barn stalls and, took them deeper into the red outbuilding, away from where the water was rising.

  “Does it rain like this often?” Natalia asked.

  “No, not really. It seems we get a good pounding every once in a while, and then it will be blue skies and green pastures for months,” Gene shrugged.

  Adjusting another layer, Natalia sighed, noticing how quickly the wall was being built. It awed her how quickly and efficiently the pack was working together. The teamwork was heartwarming, and the joint effort and response from the members of the pack gave her yet another new perspective on pack life.

  “We’re running out of sacks,” called one of the men who was passing them down from the barn.

  “This will have to do,” Gene hollered back, taking a step back to appraise their work. He nodded and turned to look at Natalia.

  The she-wolf locked gazes with him for a long moment before allowing her eyes to lower. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in his bare, muscular chest. She admired the way rivulets of water cascaded down his tanned skin. Meeting his eyes again, her face flushed, and she took a step back.

  Gene grinned and closed the gap that she’d created. His breath puffed against her ear as he whispered, “You should get inside and change. I’d hate for you to catch a cold.”

  Shivering—whether from him or the cool rain, she couldn’t be sure—she nodded and spun on her heel, sprinting to the house.

  ***

  Gene walked barefoot across the hall to his bedroom. After a tiring morning, he wanted nothing more than to relax. But duty called. He twisted the knob of his door, pausing as he heard soft crying. Turning, he looked at the closed door across the hall.

  The alpha closed his eyes. He dropped his hand and strode across the hall, knocking quietly. Sarah said something, but it was too muffled for him to understand. Slowly, he pushed the door open.

  Sarah peered up at him from her spot on the bed. Her eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot from crying, and tears stained her cheeks. To top this off, her blonde hair was tangled and matted to her neck.

  “I’m sorry, am I bothering you in here?” she whispered hoarsely.

  “No.” Gene shook his head, closing the distance between them. He sat down on the rumpled blue and grey comforter and stared at his hands. “I know how close you and Preston were.”

  Sarah sniffled and sat up. Reaching for a box of tissues, she said, “I miss him.”

  Gene nodded, licking his lips as his throat tightened and became parched. “Me too. He was the only family I had left in Texas. He was my brother—my friend and my confidant. One of the only people I could truly trust to have at my back. Without him here, I feel alone.”

  “I am alone,” Sarah said, blowing her nose in a tissue.

  Gene looked up at her. “You’re not alone. You have Lark, I’m here.”

  “At least you have the pack—something to focus on. I can’t get my mind off of him,” Sarah sobbed. “I can’t stop thinking about him.”

  “It’s okay,” Gene said, hugging her. “It’s okay to be sad—to hurt. Mourn him, but Preston wouldn’t want you to stop living. I have the pack, but you have your life too. You can honor Preston by moving forward with your life. He wouldn’t want to see you like this. He’d want you to go to school, to meet new people.”

  “I don’t think I can. I’ve lost so many people. My mom and dad, Rick, Preston. Something could happen to Lark, or you and Devon at any minute. We’re at war. How can I open up to someone knowing that they could die within the blink of an eye,” Sarah said, her face scrunching up as she pulled away crying. Burying her face in her hands, she shook her head.

  Gene sighed and nodded. He could see where she was coming from. If he didn’t have things to motivate him and people to look after, he might feel the same. But being depressed wasn’t something he could allow himself to do. “Death is a part of life. An unfortunate part, but one we must deal with. You can’t spend the rest of your life wondering what if. You still need to live, Sarah. Don’t forget that.”

  Sarah stared past him, her eyes glassy and vacant. Her bottom lip puckered and turned under as more tears slipped down her face.

  “When my mom died, I found it best to take it one day at a time. That’s all you can do.” Gene stared at Sarah, unsure if she was even listening anymore. His cell phone chimed in his pocket, and he sighed standing up. “Think about what I said, Sarah. I’m always here if you need me.”

  ***

  Devon kissed Lark goodbye as she hopped out of his Civic. At just past noon, he was certain he would need to work well into the evening to get caught up on all of his duties. Settling into the cool leather seat, he made sure she was inside The Cookie Jar and waited for Marcus to give him the thumbs up before pulling away. No sooner had he merged onto the highway, than his cell phone began to vibrate. With a sigh, he picked it up. A growl escaped his lips, causing it to curl up as he read the caller ID.

  “Hello,” he grumbled into the phone.

  “Devon Harris,” Fernando Juarez breathed into the phone.

  “Can I help you?” Devon asked tersely.

  “That depends. I had a few men stationed near your area, and I haven’t been able to reach them,” Juarez said nonchalantly.

  “Huh,” Devon replied, clutching the phone tighter.

  “I bet you think you’re so suave, taking out my men,” Juarez chuckled. “I’ll let you in on a little secret: I have
hundreds more. All of them are more than willing to put their lives on the line just to win my favor. Some may even be headed there now.”

  “I’m not intimidated by your threats,” Devon retorted evenly.

  “No, I suppose you are not, which makes you either very brave or very, very stupid.”

  “Was there a reason for your call? I’m actually really busy trying to run my pack,” Devon said, flexing his free hand across the steering wheel. Rage bubbled just below the surface, and he sucked in long, even breaths, trying to keep it under wraps.

  “Yes,” Juarez snapped, his fine composure faltering. He continued after a long moment. “Family is very important to me, Devon. Natalia’s mother robbed me and my son of my granddaughter’s youth—poisoned her mind with lies about us—”

  “No, you did that yourself,” Devon growled. “In case you didn’t know, women don’t like to be treated as objects.”

  “Don’t presume to know me,” Juarez snarled over the phone, his voice rasping through the earpiece. “My granddaughter would have known every kindness growing up. Love, family, honor. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to give her. I still want to give it to her. I am prepared to make you a deal. And, if I were you, I would think long and hard about it.”

  “No,” Devon snapped, his hand drifting to the end call button.

  “Hear me out,” Juarez bellowed.

  Devon’s throat vibrated as he suppressed a snarl.

  “I want Natalia, and my great grandson. That is all I want. There is no need for a war. War leads to death, and, if I’m not mistaken, you have already lost someone very close to you and Gene.” Juarez paused.

  Devon inhaled sharply, gritting his teeth. Anger rolled through him at the other alpha’s cavalier attitude.

  “Help me arrange the return of my family, and all will be forgiven with your and Gene’s packs. There doesn’t have to be any more death.”

  “No! She doesn’t want to go with you,” Devon replied as he pulled down the gravel driveway leading to Gene’s ranch.