Read Online Out of the Shadows by Bethany Shaw - Free Book Online Page A

her how wrong she was. But the more he
thought about it, the more he realized she was right.
    Her strength and determination was
alluring. Even if she clearly had no clue what she was getting into. If Lark
felt that strongly about Rick, Gene, and Preston, even Emily, it made her so
much more tempting. Loyalty was one of the things he’d always wanted, but never
had.
    Still he stood firm in his stance
to protect his family. Until this was over, Emily would be a target if she left
the property unsupervised. Emmett wasn’t going to just let her go.
    Devon rounded the top step into the
second floor living room. Vincent lay lounging on the couch, a bag of chips
beside him, the TV blaring.
    “You’re back,” Vincent greeted. Devon
ignored his brother hoping to avoid any conversation. He needed time alone to
think, and to get Lark’s intoxicating cinnamon-vanilla scent out of his
senses.
    “Well, while you were off getting
a cake for our lovely sister, I had to go dress shopping. She wants it to be a
surprise for Marcus.” Vincent said as he popped a chip into his mouth. “How was
the lovely Lark?”
    “Fine,” Devon grumbled, pushing his
brother’s legs off the couch so he had a spot to sit. It would be easier to
have this chat now. Vincent was not above following and pestering him until he
had procured all the information he wanted.
    “Really, because you seem
irritated?” Vincent said. He scooted into a sitting position. “You have a thing
for her don’t you?”
    “No,” he ground out. Vincent
chuckled, eyebrow raised, and Devon knew there was no use lying. “Does no one
care about the severity of our situation? We could go to war! By socializing
with humans we put them in danger and Emily is my first priority.”
    “True, but from what I understand
they aren’t exactly looking at the situation with blinders on. They know about
us, they accept us, and Rick isn’t going to let anything happen to them. As for
Em, we have the whole pack behind us. Dad will lose all interest in her when he
finds out about the mating,” Vincent assured him.
    “Do you really think Emmett is just
going to let all this go? He’s been focused on this alliance for the better
part of a year. It’s important to him,” Devon reminded Vincent. He knew this
wasn’t close to over Rick realized this too. Everyone else seemed to be looking
at this with a blind eye.
    “You worry too much, Dev. Now tell
me about the hottie you spent the afternoon with?” he asked, a devilish smirk
on his lips.
    Typical Vincent response. He loved
his brother but he seldom took anything seriously. It was a flaw, but it would
be nice to be carefree every once in a while. He envied that about his brother.
    “Did Emily find a dress?” he asked.
Devon didn’t feel like discussing the irritating and arousing argument he’d had
with Lark.
    “She did, and we had lunch. It was
a productive day. Em wants to invite Lark to the ceremony. They really hit it
off the other night,” Vincent smiled smugly.
    “Of course she does,” he sighed,
leaning back into the couch. He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “She does realize
that Lark and her sister won’t understand the actual ceremony, right?”
    Vincent shrugged, a Cheshire cat
grin spread wide across his face. His brother was having entirely too much fun
teasing him.
    “Does it matter? It may be
different from what they’re used to, but none of us have ever been to one
either. Hell, Marcus and Em are only learning the Latin they have to. I doubt
they will understand half of what they’re saying. Besides weddings are great
places to hook up.”
    Devon scoffed and ran his hand through
his hair. “We could go to war and you’re worried about me hooking up?”
    “You must really like her, Dev,”
Vincent continued. “Not only have I seen the way you look at her, but the fact
that you are running from her instead of chasing her says it all.”
    “She’s a beautiful woman, who
happens to be like a daughter to