Page 42 of Lycan and Lark
Leah headed toward the Dolgur. Lark moved to follow, but the ground began to sway. His eyes blurred as the air became stiflingly hot.
“Lark!” Gideon grabbed onto one of Lark’s arms, pulling it behind his neck, supporting the other man’s weight.
“I’ll help Leah.” Romani joined Leah in the shadow of the mountainous Dolgur. Leah’s black wolf ripped from her skin and began to glow.
“Release it…now!” Romani cried. Leah pounced the moment Lark lowered his electrical shield. Through Lark’s fading vision he could just see the two disappear from sight with the Dolgur in tow. They reappeared, moving straight for the Wraith who hovered ten feet above the ground. Lark tried to wait for Leah’s signal, but his powers tapped out and the electrical barrier fell. The Wraith shrieked once before flying away, vanishing in a matter of seconds.
“Dammit!” Leah cursed.
“Can we track it?” asked Gideon, his voice tense.
“No. It’s long gone by now.” Leah’s indignant gaze fell on Lark. It softened when she noticed his battered state. “Romani, get us back to the complex.”
Lark was barely conscious as he changed locations beneath Romani’s touch.
“Lark!” Aria’s voice cut through the fog. She was running toward him, covered in blood. Lark was weak, so weak. His inner beast took control. It rushed to the surface and released a feral snarl.
“Clear the area!” Gideon commanded as he gripped Lark’s shoulders. “Fight it,” the Alpha urged. Lark snarled ferociously in his hold. And then it happened. Lark’s wolf openly challenged Gideon from beneath his skin.
“No!” Aria cried out. She fought to clear a path to Lark. Aaron restrained her and she thrashed in his arms. Resentment stewed within Lark as he witnessed it. Seeing that cowboy dick putting his hands on Aria just fueled the wolf.
The Alpha released a snarl of his own. “If this is what it’s going to take, so be it.” Gideon’s wolf burst from his skin. The enormous beast towered over Lark. The world was spinning faster and faster. Lark blinked once and his own animal broke loose.
ChapterEighteen
Aria looked on in horror as the two massive wolves squared off. Gideon’s brown wolf was the taller of the two, barely. Lark’s white beast stalked toward Gideon. What the fuck was he thinking? He couldn’t challenge the Alpha. He would never win. And even worse, what if he did win? Lark would become the Alpha and her brother would be dead. But surely Gideon wouldn’t kill Lark unless he had to. Her heart beat so violently her bones rattled.
The white wolf leapt first. He was fast. Gideon was faster. The Alpha wolf charged forward with explosive speed, slamming into Lark’s wolf and pinning it to the ground. Lark’s wolf howled as he struggled beneath the Alpha’s weight. But Lark’s wolf was nearly feral, and it seemed in this challenge he was not afraid to fight dirty. Frothing jaws ripped into the base of Gideon’s throat. The brown wolf howled in anger as he retreated, circling the crimson-muzzled white wolf.
Aria knew Gideon was buying a few moments for his accelerated healing to kick in. Lark’s wolf rushed the Alpha again. This time, Gideon’s wolf went low at the last minute, ducking beneath the white wolf’s long strides. The brown wolf slid across the ground, head tilted upward, and sharp teeth tore into Lark’s belly. Gideon latched onto one of Lark’s hind legs as he emerged from beneath. He gripped the leg hard before shaking it violently.
Aria heard the crunch of bones between Gideon’s powerful jaws and her heart nearly ruptured. “No!” she cried out. Lark’s wolf yelped and howled as it dropped to the ground. Blood was pooling beneath its body. Surely the fight was over? Aria’s heart sank to its lowest, most terrified depths as that stubborn, feral wolf started to move again. He needed to submit. If he didn’t, Gideon would be forced to kill him.
In any other direct challenge she knew Gideon would kill the instigator without a thought. Gideon would do anything to protect his pack. But she trusted her brother to see that something was wrong with Lark’s wolf. It didn’t want to be Alpha. Lark’s wolf didn’t truly know what an Alpha was. This wasn’t a regular fight and Aria wasn’t sure what the outcome would be. She couldn’t lose either of them.Please find a way to get through this.
A sticky, wet sound filled the air as Lark’s wolf began to crawl toward Gideon. Its left hind leg was twisted unnaturally as it dragged along the blood-smeared floor. The white wolf was releasing small, sad cries as it inched closer to Gideon. It was the saddest thing Aria had ever heard. They were the sorrowful sounds of an animal on the brink of death. It reached Gideon’s wolf and swiped out a front paw. Gideon’s own paw slammed down on it hard enough to make the white wolf howl again. Gideon’s wolf towered over the injured animal.
This was it. The next few seconds would decide Lark’s fate. Gideon released a wave of Alpha energy that could be felt by everyone in the room. It was a command to submit. Lark’s wolf whined again and the pool of blood surrounding him continued to spread. The Alpha wolf leaned down, opening his jaws wide to deal the killing blow.
Aria’s entire life flashed before her eyes. Everything that had happened, and everything that was to come. She saw Lark in the cabin, sun streaming in over his angelic face while they drank Sunday morning coffee in bed. She saw his hands on her belly as it grew round with his child. She saw white birds and a rain of flower petals as Lark stood on the end of an aisle lined with their closest family and friends. She saw their life, their future.
All of this would disappear if he died. She screamed out to him, praying to break through the feral fog clouding his wolf’s mind. “Lark!” Her voice had never sounded so desperate and pleading. Red eyes shifted toward her from where Lark’s wolf lay. “Please,” she whimpered. Aria thought she saw a flicker of multicolored eyes before they returned to their dominant crimson.
Time passed so painfully slow that Aria thought her heart may stop beating between one second and the next. Her breath was trapped in her throat and she felt unable to inhale. The wolf stared at her and the pool of blood grew to a terrifyingly large size. “Please.”
Lark’s wolf let out one more mournful howl, and then rolled over, baring its throat up to Gideon’s bloody jaws. Aria’s breath remained trapped in her body. The seconds ticked by. Gideon’s wolf hovered over the submissive wolf before it let out a satisfied huff. The Alpha wolf raised its head and released a triumphant howl. The pack responded with howls and cheers of their own. Aria sucked in a deep breath and howled her own cheers of joy.
Gideon shifted back into his human form and a pair of sweatpants were quickly handed to him. Aria’s eyes were glued to Lark. He hadn’t shifted back. His eyes had fallen closed and his body was still. She wrenched herself free from Aaron’s arms and dropped to Lark’s side.
“Lark?” She was shaking the white wolf’s muzzle. “Lark!”
“Get Dr. Sawyer.” Gideon was kneeling by her side now. He looked over Lark’s injuries as Aria hyperventilated next to him.
Dr. Sawyer appeared with a worried look on his face. He quickly assessed Lark’s wounds. “He’s lost a lot of blood. He’s not healing himself.” The doctor checked Lark’s vitals.
“He’s probably energetically drained.” Gideon’s voice was tight as he helped the doctor roll the massive wolf over to check for damage. “He did a lot of work in the rescue and recovery before we got back. I’m surprised his wolf held out for as long as it did.”
The wolf’s pale tongue lolled out as it remained unconscious.
