He struggled against her, screaming, and making loud guttural sounds in the back of his throat. She kept pulling, hoping to shut him up before it was too late, but she soon heard the door opening behind him. He collapsed to the floor and she began to shift, breaking apart the chains on her wrists as her body changed in preparation for what could very well be her first and last fight.
As the door opened, she prepared to launch herself at whoever opened it, but instead, she found him being sent sideways by a large gray wolf she didn’t recognize. It took a moment to realize that the men were quickly shifting to defend themselves, but not against her. There were other wolves here to fight them. This was her chance to slink away unnoticed.
She began walking around the edge of the wall, keeping an eye out for anyone that might glance her way. Then she spotted him, his dark fur glistening in the fluorescent lighting of the old factory. Ryan! He had found her, but who were the wolves with him? His brothers maybe. The answer became clear as she spotted a wolf that was unmistakable in a fight with another wolf near the large metal doors that made up the front of the open space. Her father.
A wolf flew past her, thrown by Ryan. His large body cracked against the wall, but he stood and started back toward his attacker. Lucy abandoned her attempt to escape, instead jumping on the wolf’s back and tearing at the back of his throat. He threw her sideways and she skidded across the smooth concrete floor. She’d done very little damage, but she’d thrown him off his game enough for Ryan to attack again, putting him down, once and for all.
Rather than turning to any of the others that were still fighting, Ryan motioned with his head for her to follow him. They made a quick retreat from the fight toward the opposite end of the building where he pushed against the bar of a side door with his body and opened it, holding it for her to exit. Once she was out, he took the lead in front of her, leading her through the woods that flanked the back of the building for what seemed like several miles.
Finally, they reached a small side road. His bike was parked there, along with several other vehicles. He opened the saddle bag and pulled out a pair of sweats and pull on sneakers for her, then retrieved his own clothes to get dressed.
“How?” she started to ask, but he stopped her.
“No time. Later,’ he said, kissing her quickly. “Get dressed. We’ve got to get out of here.”
She did as he said, yanking on the clothes and hopping on the bike behind him. He cranked it and they roared down the highway, but she had no idea to where as she had no clue where she was. She was just grateful to be alive and have her arms wrapped around Ryan. She closed her eyes and lay her head on his back, enjoying the way he felt, even as the cold night air chapped her cheeks and lips.
Finally, they stopped. Ryan parked the bike behind an old building and told her to get off. She did so and watched as he opened the lock on the large roll up dock door. He pushed the bike inside and motioned for her to follow. It was dark inside, but the moon was high tonight and shined through the dirty broken windows of what looked like an old supermarket.
Ryan pushed the bike behind a pile of old shelving to one side and tossed an old tarp over it where it wasn’t easily noticed. Then he grabbed her hand and led her to a small office sitting to one side. She watched as he pulled up a section of the floor, revealing a stairwell downward. She cringed at the thought of having to hole up in some dusty old basement or storage area until they were safe, but it certainly beat any alternative she could think of right now.
Much to her surprise, Ryan reached over and flipped on a light, motioning for her to climb down and then following behind her, closing the door behind him, and pulling a large bolt across it from underneath. Lucy looked around her in wonder.
“What is this place?” she asked.CHAPTER SIXTEENRyan
“It’s an old safehouse used by my pack,” he told her.
“Why does your pack need a safehouse?” she asked.
“We don’t - not anymore. When I was younger, we dealt with some shady characters and they set this up for emergency situations. There are enough food and supplies down here to last for a month, but what I want to know right now is if you are okay.”