"I thought I wanted away from this life..." Zola sniffled, and I couldn't stop my own tears fromwelling in my eyes from the pain in her voice. "But humans really are evil."
"Not all of them. There are a lot of good people. Please, Zo. Come back with me. I can even help you get paperwork and find a job."
"I thought that's what I wanted, but now... I want to stay here. It's safe here. That's why Mom and Dad decided to live this life. It's safer away from humans." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You can stay... you'd be welcomed back."
He was quiet for way too long, and I glanced over my shoulder to find him staring intently at me. "I have a new family and life now, Zo. I can't stay."
My heart nearly stopped at his very pointed words. I hadn't realized how much his running off upset had affected me. It was as if an invisible weight had been lifted from my heart.
He still wanted me.
CHAPTER NINE
Zayn
The thought of leaving my sister behind again made me want to scream. I could have thrown her over my damn shoulder and taken her back with us surprise adoption style, but the look in her eyes told me I was going to have to let her go.
"I should shift back so you can put the chain back on." Zola gave me a sad smile, and I really was considering forcing her to leave.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Wren moved back toward us, her scent calming me downfrom making any rash decisions. "You can come stay with me."
"You're going to stay?" My heart soared when Wren nodded, and if my sister wasn't watching, I'd have laid the biggest kiss ever on her pink lips.
"I thought I could handle the real world... that I'd find my brother and start a new life. I'm safer here. They might lock me up for a while, but I didn't have to fear for my life or for..." Her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. "I'm not going back there."
Rage boiled inside me, and I clenched my fists. Those fuckers were going to pay with their lives. "If you do decide to leave again... I'm in Crescent Heights."
She lay down without a word and shifted, her wolf staring up at me with eyes that said she was sorry. I couldn't fault her for wanting to stay after what she'd been through. Hell, if I'd been through even half of that, I'd have been right back here too.
"I love you, Zozo." I locked her back leg back up and ran my hand over her head before standing and following Wren outside.
She held out her hand, and I placed the keys in her palm, not moving as she went back to where the keys had been. Looking around, I couldn't believe that nothing had changed in the five years I'd beengone. There were a few more buildings, but it was still as sparse as always.
I looked back at my sister, whose eyes were shut and her breaths even. She was comfortable with this life, way more than I had ever been.
"Hey." Wren was standing in front of me and put her hand on my cheek. "Are you sure you want to leave her? I can carry her."
I put my hand over hers and leaned my face into her touch. I never thought I'd feel her warmth again, yet there she was. My anger and disappointment toward her had all but vanished, but there was still a fear she would leave as soon as we were safe.
"She wants to be here." Grabbing her hand and threading our fingers together, I started walking. "And what do you mean you can carry her? I mean, I know you're strong, but I think I can carry my own sister."
"Nothing." She sighed and looked back over her shoulder. "We should shift and find Sullivan."
"Sullivan's with you?" I practically growled. "He didn't even want to come after you."
She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something but then shut it. I raised an eyebrow, but before I could ask her what the hell she was going to say, she let my hand go and shifted.
Sneaky little vixen.
With a final look back, I shifted and ran after her, surprised at how fast she was running. There were a lot of things we didn't know about her, and as soon as we were home, I intended to find out everything she was hiding from us.
If that meant tying her up to my bed and driving her crazy, then that was how it was going to have to be.
I picked up on Sullivan's scent and wondered where the hell Kingston was. Was he still out looking for Wren?
Wren let out a shrill-sounding bark, and Sullivan stepped out from behind a tree, naked as fuck. Normally I didn't even notice if someone was naked having grown up the way I did, but I noticed Sullivan, and I didn't like it.
Not that I had anything against males being attracted to males, but this was Sullivan. He didn't give a rat's ass about Wren or any of us.
