Wolf's Pack (Wolves Next Door #3) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,168

you come at us, you will not like what happens!"

The wolves paused, milled and looked confused. Damon barked something, but I hadn't learned very many of those yet. The tigers, however, raced back to Scott's side, each one pressing against him, and Scott began to walk backwards. It was almost as if the cats were guiding him. Step by step, the three of them held off Damon's entire pack, and I could hear a wolf growling from here.

Lane, Vic, and Jax finally crossed over the last section of fence. "Put them with Heather," I told him. "Fill her up first and she'll go."

Gabby and Olivia were right behind them, and now I was sure the woman with them was Damon's mate. The same woman who'd come to my office. The one who'd wanted out. The girls helped her into Heather's truck as well, and then they split. Olivia climbed in. Jax and Vic helped their converts into the back seat, but Lane went for the trunk. Olivia leaned over the back seat to help as he laid the girl down in the open space, closed the door at the back, and then Lane headed for me.

Then Gabby began giving orders. "Xander, Kim, Jax, with Heather. Everyone else with Mom. Let's move!"

Wolves began jumping into trucks. The bears closed doors. Jax took the front seat beside Heather, and she pulled out, heading up the road without waiting. In my truck, the kids all moved to the back seat. Lane claimed the passenger seat beside me. Scott and the tigers were still making their way backwards, almost to the fence, and the wolves were all getting closer.

"Let's go!" Lane yelled. "Everyone's in."

Scott just turned and ran, heading for the back. He managed to open the hatch just as Lev and Nik jumped through the back door and both men began to shift, but the wolves thought this was their chance. A round of shots burst forth, much louder this close, and someone yipped in pain. In the rearview mirror, I watched as Scott crawled halfway into the back, still hanging out the door with the rifle on his shoulder like some military hero, and then Nik closed the door beside him.

"Go," Scott told me. "Drive fast, Elena, because there's more coming."

A lot more. I eased the truck into motion, terrified I'd drop Scott out the back, but he was good. Just as I hit twenty miles an hour, he leaned out, caught the open door, and pulled it closed, securing himself into the trunk.

"Do we have everyone?" I asked. "Heather? Guys? Is anyone missing?"

There was a long moment while I listened to Heather asking her passengers the same thing. Then, "No, we're good," she said. "Tigers and Scott are the only ones unaccounted for."

"I got them," I promised. "Let's just get home."

Sadly, it couldn't be that easy. "Faster, Elena!" Scott called. "We've got wolves bearing down on us." Then, "Shit, how fast can you fuckers run?"

"About forty miles an hour," Lane said.

"Forty?" I asked, glancing at the speedometer. "I can't do that on a gravel road!"

"Yes," Lane said, "today, you can do a lot more than that."

I turned on my headlights, clenched my hands on the wheel, and tried my best. I didn't bother to look at how fast I was going. I just did what I could to keep this SUV on the road and heading the direction I wanted it. Beneath the wheels, the gravel slipped, making it feel like I was driving on ice, but we'd just stolen four people from Damon's pack.

I knew that wolf was going to be pissed.

Up ahead, I could see the tail lights of Heather's truck barreling down the road the same way I was. In my ear, I could hear her talking to the people in her truck. Then a baby began to cry. That made it five people we'd stolen, and one was Damon's child.

"Shit," Nik breathed. "They're pacing us."

He was looking toward the passenger side of the SUV, but I couldn't turn my head to see. Even that quick glance in the rearview mirror felt like a big risk when going this fast on this bad of a road. Instead, everyone else looked, including Lane.

"Someone check a map," he demanded. "I want to know where they come out, and we need to avoid that."

Which meant they were on the road parallel to us. The one that ran through the trailer park. From what little I could remember, that curved back around