He shifted as I passed and fell into stride with me, nearly bumping into my shoulder. I snapped at him, and he growled, increasing his pace to get closer to Wren. I was exhausted after all the running but pushed myself, trying to keep up.
Damn him and his athletic abilities. I had to handit to him, he was built for running and fighting, where I was built for a more relaxed wolf life, lying in the dirt and napping.
As we turned to run down the very narrow valley back toward civilization, I stopped and looked back. Life was so much simpler living in the wild. Now that I'd experienced the world as an adult, I could see why my parents chose to live the life.
But in a lot of ways, it was more restrictive. Maybe if we'd lived as off-grid humans with tiny houses part of the time, I wouldn't have left. But we hadn't. We'd lived as wild animals without lives outside of our small pack.
Wren came and sat next to me and put her head against my flank. She was a tiny thing, and I wanted nothing more than to protect her. I'd killed for her, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
I wanted to stay with her pressed against me longer, but the longer we stayed close by, the more at risk we were of being caught. There was no way the three of us could fight off a pack of wolves.
With a quick lick of her snout, I turned and headed back toward my freedom.
We'd been runningfor about an hour when we finally arrived back at the cabin. I wasn't sure what time it was, but I was exhausted and collapsed near the small porch as I shifted back to protest running any farther.
Wren came and looked down at me, her whiskers twitching and her eyes scanning down my body as if assessing me for injuries.
"I need a break." I felt like the weakest pup in the world, lying spread-eagle in front of my girl, admitting that I didn't have any more stamina. Sullivan, on the other hand, looked like he could go on for hours.
She shifted and lay down next to me, taking my hand. "Let's take a break then. Do you think we're safe here?"
I snorted. "They won't come this far to get me. I'm not even sure why they locked me up. They didn't even speak."
It made me sad that my mom and dad had looked at me as if I were a stranger. I guess I was now that I'd been away for so long.
"I'm sorry." She squeezed my hand and scooted even closer to me. Sullivan stood on the other side of Wren, his dick hanging there for all to see.
"Can you cover up or something? I don't want mywoman to get her eye poked out." I looked back at the night sky.
"Jealous?" He chuckled. "She's already watched me stroke it for her."
I bolted upright and growled. "Excuse me?"
Sullivan stepped back, putting his hands up. "Uh, just joking." He looked a little frightened, and then what I'd done smacked me in the face.
I'd killed two men. No wonder he was scared of me.
Burying my face in my hands, I processed the day. It was all a blur, as if someone else had possessed me. They'd deserved to die, but that didn't change the fact that I was now a murderer.
Wren put her head on my shoulder and gently stroked my back. Did she know what I'd done? If she did, she wouldn't have been sitting next to me.
Jumping up, I moved away from her and Sullivan, my hands tugging at my hair. Jesus, I'd actually used my bare hands to rip them apart.
"Zayn, what's wrong? Do you want to go back? I'll understand..." Wren was right behind me, her hand touching my back again.
"No!" I wrenched away from her and turned to face her. "I killed two men today!"
I should have gone back to living in the wild. Ididn't deserve to live among humans. Not when I went around ripping out throats and piercing hearts. What if I flipped out and hurt Wren?
Wren's eyes softened. "I know, and they deserved to die."
"What?" My voice sounded like a teenager going through puberty. "I didn't even hear what they had to say. I-"
"You did what you had to do." Sullivan stood next to Wren with his arms crossed. "Your wolf took over."
I glared at him. "Iammy wolf! Why are you even here?"
Sullivan lunged forward and took me by the throat, pushing me against a tree. Pinning people to trees seemed to be his favorite thing to do. "I'm here because for some fucking reason I can't stop thinking about you or her!"
