Into the Unknown (Werewolf Wars, #2) (12 page)

“But you do not see him often,” Natalia questioned.

“No, but I knew his parents very well. I know how they raised him. As a child and teen, he spent many a summer vacations here. He is a good man,” Ramona said proudly.

Natalia nodded.

“Enough about that, though, I want to get to know you better. Tell me about yourself.”

“Like what?” Natalia whispered, her throat going dry. Ramona reminded her so much of her mother, she could practically feel her presence in the room. It would be easy to get too relaxed around her and there were some things she wasn’t ready to discuss.

Ramona giggled, and shook her head. “Anything, dear. Your favorite book, movie, vacation. Anything, so that I may get to know you better.”

Easing against the counter, Natalia let out a long breath, thankful the elder woman’s questions weren’t overly personal. Other than Lark, she hadn’t really talked with another woman in months.

***

G
ene stared at the book he was supposed to be reading, but his mind couldn’t concentrate. The words blurred—he’d been staring at the opening paragraph for at least twenty minutes. After their talk, Ramona had headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner, and Clive had busied himself with his own pack woes. Natalia had retreated to her bedroom with Adrian. His mind wandered to the beautiful, honey-skinned brunette, and he groaned, realizing he was never going to get into this book.

Closing the cover, he got up from the sofa. If he were going to convince Natalia to stay in Abilene, then he needed her to stop acting like a prisoner. Somehow, he needed to show her that she could trust him. As he climbed up the stairs, he thought about the pull to her. She felt it too—he was certain of it. He just needed her to see it too.

He paused outside the door to her room. It was shut, but he could hear the gentle sway of the wooden rocker that was in every guest room. Running a hand through his hair, he wondered if she was trying to put Adrian down. He didn’t want to disrupt.

The desire to see her winning out, he tapped lightly on the door. The whooshing of the chair stopped, and he heard feet shuffling across the floor. The lock clicked, and the door squeaked as it opened. Natalia’s chestnut eyes stared up at him as her floral, sea salt smell invaded his senses.

She stared up at him expectantly as she leaned against the door.

“I was bored, and was wondering if you wanted to get out to explore a little?” Gene said.

Her eyes widened, and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “I, um...”

“The three of us, just for a few hours until dinner,” Gene said, gripping the molding of the doorframe as he watched her.

“Why?”

Gene blinked, thankful it wasn’t a no. Now all he had to do was convince her. “I’m bored. I figured you would be too. You’ve never been here before. I thought you might like to look around a bit,” Gene said, watching her intently. He could sense her unease around him, and it stung, making his heart clench tightly in his chest.
What do I have to do to make her comfortable around me?
He wondered.

“Adrian just laid down for a nap. I would hate to wake him,” Natalia stated after a long moment.

“I would be more than happy to look after him for a few hours, so long as you tell me where everything is,” Ramona said as she climbed up the stairs, her hand gripping the handrail as she neared the top. “I was just about to see if you wanted to help out with supper, but Gene’s idea seems much better. The two of you should go, have fun.” Ramona beamed at them, winking at Gene.

Natalia shifted on her feet, eyeing the two of them. “Just the two of us?”

“It's hard to leave them; I remember being a new mother too. You need some time to yourself too, Natalia. Gene would be an amazing tour guide, and, I assure you, after raising seven of my own, I know how to tend to a babe,” Ramona said, soothing Natalia by taking one of her hands into hers. “When was the last time you got out by yourself? Go have fun.”

Natalia hesitated, licking her lips as she stared at her bare feet. Gene could feel her apprehension, and smell the slight tinge of fear on her.

“I suppose,” she relented. “But only for a short bit.”

“Of course—dinner will be done in about an hour and a half. You two go enjoy, be young,” Ramona said, swatting them away. “In fact, have dinner out if you wish. I’m sure the others won’t mind if there is more to go around.”

Natalia opened her mouth, but Gene spoke up before she could protest.

“Thanks Ramona.”

Smiling, she opened the door to her bedroom. “The monitor is on the dresser. He just ate and—”

“He’ll be fine,” Ramona assured, running her hands up and down Natalia’s arms. “Go have fun.”

***

N
atalia breathed in the aromatic scent of roses, pine and bushes. The bright, vibrant colors of the botanical gardens helped ease her apprehension about being out with Gene. Her stomach fluttered, thinking about him. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him; it was that she didn’t want to be alone with him. He made her feel things she wasn’t sure she wanted to feel. Forcing her thoughts from Gene, she took in the enchanting flowers. The tension left her body, and she wrapped her arms around herself in bliss.

Flowers of every color surrounded them, spilling down from the canopy, and wrapping around the trellis. The bushes were also decorated, trimmed to look like large birds. People murmured quietly as they walked along the red cobblestone that stretched endlessly through the gardens. Closing her eyes, she let her mind soak up the soft chirping of the birds, and the intoxicating smelling flowers.

“I thought you might like it here,” Gene said as he looked at one of the beautifully cut bushes. “A part of us craves the outdoors, and enjoys all aspects of nature.”

Natalia opened her eyes, and smiled as she stared at one of the gardens. “I love flowers. Back home, I used to work at a boutique part time. I helped make floral arrangements.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“It was. My mother wanted to send me to college, but we did not have the funds, and I did not want her to take out a loan. At first it was just a job, but the more I did it, the more I realized it was something I could be passionate about,” Natalia mused as she bent down, inhaling the sweet perfume of the red and blue azaleas.

“I always thought it would be fun to be a lawyer,” Gene replied.

Natalia quirked a brow, turning to stare at Gene. A giggle escaped her lips, and she covered her mouth as heat flushed her face.

“What?” Gene asked, grinning.

“I just...I do not picture you in a suit. Are lawyers not stuffy and stuck up?” Natalia asked.

“I clean up nice, thank you.” Gene chuckled. “I don’t know, I thought it would be nice to work for the people. You know, help people who genuinely deserve it, and truly need help.”

Natalia pursed her lips, and nodded as she sobered. “You like to help people?”

Gene shrugged. “Yeah. But, I’ll just have to figure other ways to do it.”

“You cannot be a lawyer?” Natalia questioned as they resumed their walk down the cobblestone path.

“No. The ranch is my first priority. It is how we keep the pack afloat. Especially now. With new members coming in, we may need to increase productivity in order to have the revenue to pay everyone.”

“Oh.” Natalia stammered, her eyes flitting around the dense green shrubbery as they entered a treed section. “How does that work exactly?”

Gene glanced around before he continued. “The majority of the pack lives on site. They get free room and board, but they also work for the ranch, and earn a salary.”

“And this is something you must do?” Natalia questioned, scrunching her face up in disgust.

“No. Most people choose to because we crave the closeness of other wolves. Three members of my pack live in Abilene, and have their own jobs—but they still respond in emergencies, and come to meetings. Everyone else chooses to live at the homestead, and do that type of work. We’re our own community, of sorts, and function best working together.”

“So you do not mind it?”

“No. It’s our way of life. Each pack has its own way of supporting themselves. Ours is horses.”

“And what exactly do you do with the horses? I thought other animals were spooked by us. One of my best friends had a cat, and, when I would go to their house, it would always hiss and claw at me,” Natalia said as she stopped to look at a bush designed in the shape of a humming bird.

Gene stopped beside her. “The horses at our ranch are born and raised there. We breed, train, and sell them. Because they are born there, they get used to our scent from an early age, and it doesn’t bother them. Otherwise, yes, it would be an issue. As for cats, well, I don’t think they’ll ever like us,” Gene teased.

Natalia licked her lips, suppressing her smile. Her eyes flicked up to his, and her heart sped up. Instinctually, she leaned toward him, his plump lips calling to her.
NO!
Looking away, she turned abruptly, and continued down the path. She could not allow herself to fall for him. If she were certain of one thing, it was that getting close to Gene would be a mistake.

“If we’re going to eat dinner at the house, we should head back,” Gene suggested, looking at his watch. “Although, there is this nice Mexican restaurant in town.”

“Is it authentic?” Natalia asked, rolling her eyes as she bit her lip. She’d fallen straight into that. Why didn’t her head function properly when she was around him?

“I think so,” Gene said.

Sighing, she turned back to him. She should say no, go back to the house, and eat Ramona’s meal. But she couldn’t; there was something about his chocolate eyes that lured her in. Before she could stop herself, she said, “I suppose I will have to see for myself. But they had better have tamales and chili rellenos. They’re my favorite.”

“Well, then, I hope they have them too,” Gene remarked as he led the way out of the botanical gardens.

L
ark jolted awake as Devon’s phone blared beside him. Sitting up, she bit her lip as he answered it. The man on the other end yelled into the phone, but she couldn’t entirely make out what he was saying.

“Sound the alarm and fan out into the woods,” Devon snapped, locking eyes with her as he hopped out of bed. “Alert the men at Gene’s house. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Punching the end call button, he dragged her up by her hands. Winding his hands through her hair, he cupped the back of her head. “Get Sarah and Emily, and get down to the living room. If things look bad, take the car and get out of here.”

Tears pricked her eyes as he pulled her into a tight hug. Heart hammering in her chest, she clung to him like a lifeline. “Be careful,” she whispered into his ear.

Devon pulled back, kissing her on the lips. “I love you, Lark. Promise me you won’t take any chances.”

A tear trickled down her face as her bottom lip trembled. “I love you, too.”

Devon placed one more kiss to her lips before darting out of the room. Fighting back a sob, Lark got out of bed, yanking a sweater off a hanger in the closet. She turned to the drawer and dug out her handgun, then sprinted down the hallway towards Sarah and Emily’s rooms.

Marcus opened the door to the room he shared with Emily as Lark stopped in front of Sarah’s door. Emily followed him out as he ran toward the stairwell. Lark linked her arm with Emily’s, and opened Sarah’s door.

“Sarah, get up,” she yelled as she raced into the room.

“What?” Sarah bolted up. “Oh,” she sighed as she took in the two of them. Throwing the covers back, she got out of bed.

Howls filtered in through the window, and Lark looked out at the moonless night, her heart clenching in her chest.

“Come on we have to go downstairs,” she said, wrapping her arms around Sarah.

Hurrying down the stairs, they rounded the corner, heading toward the living room. This put all three women near the garage entrance, so that they could get away fast, if needed. She really hoped she wouldn’t have to make the choice to flee or stay.

Glass shattered, causing Lark to jump as something struck the wall to her right. The front door burst open, and a scream bubbled up in her throat as an unknown man entered. Before the man could step over the threshold, a black wolf pounced on him, tossing him to the floor.

Devon!

Devon bit into the back of the man’s neck, turning his head from side to side until all life left the man’s body.

“Devon,” Lark screamed as a grey and white wolf darted toward him.

The wolf lunged at Devon, but another wolf caught him midair, dragging him to the ground. Devon gave her a stare, nodding to the garage with a whine before rejoining the fight.

Lark stood horrified as the wolves rolled across the front lawn. Growls and snarls filled the air as more wolves joined the fight. Tears streamed down her face, and she had to force her mind to focus. She clutched the gun tightly in her hand, unsure of who to shoot. The only wolf she recognized was Devon, his black alpha coat standing out amongst the rest. The wolves he fought moved too quickly for her to get a clear shot.

Emily cocked her head as yowls filled the air. Another wave of wolves darted in from the direction of Gene’s ranch. She could only hope that they were friendly.

“We should leave,” Sarah urged, tugging on both Lark’s and Emily’s hands.

Lark shared a look with the other woman. Emily shook her head slightly, and Lark sympathized with her. She was torn between protecting Sarah and staying to protect Devon. They both had men who they loved out there. Neither of them wanted to leave.

“Lark,” Sarah said, yanking harder.

Lark stumbled as Sarah pulled her closer to the door, Lark’s gaze fixated on the fight outside.

“We have to go,” Sarah pleaded.

“There is no need,” Emily sighed after a long moment. Smiling, she closed her eyes, letting out a breath. “We have won. Those are Gene’s men. The other’s are grossly outnumbered and are retreating.”

Lark sagged against the wall, biting her lip as she fought down the panic that had been bubbling inside her. Devon leapt back into the house in his wolf form—hurrying to her side—and nuzzled her leg. Stooping to his level, she hugged him close.