Page 43 of Under Dark Skies

Ivy sucked in a breath of the stale air. "I'm very sorry you had to find out like this. Is she still alive?"

Rafe pulled his hand off her shoulder and grunted back at Ivy in disdain. "Even if she was, do you think we'd tell you? You'd probably take off to go kill her."

"No. No, I wouldn't," Ivy stared back at Rafe with such intensity that he finally backed down. "Darla was a smart and likable person from what I knew of her. She is the last person that I would've expected to be on the kill list."

Layla removed her hand from her mouth and settled down to recall the events written in the letter. "She was following someone named Galen Trent. PEACE had suspected him of being a rogue alpha that she might have had to take out."

"She trailed him to Crescent City and talked with some lycans there." She sighed a moment and tried to put the events in order to the best of her ability.

"Her letter also said that Galen isn't who PEACE thinks he is. She discovered that he was trying to help broker peace between the humans and wolves, but then they were found out and had to go on the run from both factions."

Rafe chimed in and took over for a second. "Darla told Layla that she had fallen in love with Galen and was going to go on the run with him. Together they would try to help end this crazy-ass war."

Layla felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes and she held them back with some difficulty. She wiped at her eyes and shot a wan look at Ivy. "After I read the letter, Rafe and I began asking around. Little by little, along with Darla and Galen's notes, we discovered more corruption at higher levels."

"That's when we went on the run," he sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "The hunter became the hunted, by the likes of you."

Layla glanced at Rafe to see if he had anything more to add to his accusation of Ivy. When she was satisfied that he was finished talking, she looked back at Ivy. "Yeah, just like that we were being chased and shot at by wolves and PEACE officials. Hiding out wherever we could."

Ivy walked away and then back to her. Hesitantly, she peered over her shoulder then back into Layla's eyes. "You're on the level about this corruption? That Darla isn't a traitor?"

"I'm absolutely certain that the corruption is far more reaching than anyone guessed and Darla isn't a traitor."

Ivy peered over her shoulder again and her eyes widened. She turned to see agents sneaking covertly in the distance. She motioned for Rafe to come closer.

"You guys get going," she pulled her weapon and nodded toward a dark alley. "I'll hold them off."

They took off in the direction of the alley, never looking back.

The last thing they heard were shots being fired.

Thirty-Eight

Rafe

He took Layla’s hand, marveling at how delicate and small it felt wrapped in his, and eased her toward him. “We’ve only got a small window of time here, so let’s, as they say, get the fuck out of Dodge,” he said. He pointed toward the nearby woods.

“Make like a tree and leave? Get out while the getting’s good? Excellent plan,” she replied. Her smile was shaky, but it was there and that’s what mattered. Though she hadn’t been physically trading blows, he suspected she’d been fighting her own pitched battle and deserved a mental break, however silly and small.

He gave Layla’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Lead the way, my lady,” he said and matched his pace to hers when she started to walk. He didn’t look back.

Trusting the other wolf to honor—the momentary truce or reprieve or whatever the hell they’d started here—was all he could do. Anything else would land them back at square one. He put on a bit more speed, Layla followed suit and soon pushed ahead.

They ran the last few yards, slowing only after they’d slipped in behind the first line of trees. He’d been a city boy for ages, but the wild hadn’t lost any of its power to draw him in. The feel of the soft earth beneath his feet, the rustle of leaves, and the fresh green scent of growing things spoke to a special piece of his soul.

Rafe strained to pick up any signs of pursuit coming from any direction. So far, they were in the clear. He steered them toward a narrower path through the trees offering better cover.

He knew all too well the margin for error was razor thin. He’d made it through the last fight all right, but he wasn’t confident he’d make it through another. Pain and stiffness were already setting in.

Rafe followed his internal compass and adjusted their course. Finding Griffen was a top priority. If nothing else, joining even the barest version of a pack would give Layla the best chance at safety.

I promised we wouldn’t be on the run forever. And I fucking meant it.

“You doing okay?” he asked. Layla didn’t look elated to be out here, but she didn’t look utterly miserable either. And, he was pleased to see, she was impressively surefooted.

Some surprise must have leaked into his expression because she huffed with good-humored indignation. “Summer camp survivor, here. Maybe I hid in Arts and Crafts every chance I could, but I’ve been out—in, um, nature—before,” she said. She skipped over an exposed tree root and dodged a low hanging branch to substantiate her claim.

“Duly noted. I didn’t mean to underestimate you—and I’m looking forward to discovering every single one of your formidable skills and talents,” he replied. He waggled his eyebrows in a only-half-joking display of lewd innuendo.

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