I cocked my head to listen for noises from Zee’s room. It was silent, so I hoped she was done fighting with Delilah. I stood to go check on her and Mackenzie set a tray, with a plate of cookies and two glasses of milk, on the counter. She smiled at me and shooed me towards Zee’s room. I grinned as I took the snack. Mackenzie had food for every reason under the sun.
I walked in to find Zee in her chair, staring sadly out the window. I followed her gaze to see Tegan and Wyatt chasing each other through the trees. Tegan dashed out of the trees and stood on her hind legs to press her nose to Zee’s window. Zee’s face broke into a small smile, and then a bigger grin. I saw the cause of her amusements. Wyatt was stalking slowly up behind Tegan while she wagged her tail at Zee, seemingly unaware. As Wyatt crouched down to pounce on Tegan she suddenly flipped around in mid-air and landed in front of him. She licked his snout as he stood frozen in surprise, and then dashed off into the trees again. Zee burst out laughing but was clutching her sides as she tried to catch her breath. I just shook my head at their antics.
I pulled my chair up beside Zee’s and sat the tray with the cookies and milk on the small table beside her. She smiled happily as she picked up a cookie and sighed when she took a bite. I had to agree with her sentiment as the warm cookie practically melted in my mouth. Mackenzie could sell the cookies and make a fortune. I didn’t talk to Zee. I let her eat her cookies in peace, and I knew eventually she would tell me what was going on.
“Delilah wants me to come home,” Zee finally said. I nodded my head but stayed silent. I knew she had more to say. Her brow was wrinkled in thought as she continued. “She says I should have gone to the hospital. She also says you are obviously a criminal who is brainwashing me to believe in fairytales. The man who tried to kill me is probably someone you made angry. Silas is apparently in agreement and has also informed her that he thinks Jarren is suffering from paranoia and that he’s stalking Delilah.”
“Did she tell Silas about the pack?” Panic rushed through me at the thought of us being exposed. We would have to do damage control to keep the knowledge of werewolves from spreading.
“Oh, no, you don’t have to worry about that,” Zee waved off my worries, “I asked the same thing and she said, and I quote, ‘Do you think I want people to know you’re insane?’ So, no worries there, I’m just nuts.” She shrugged, but I could see the hurt written all over her face.
“You’re not,” I grabbed her good hand and kissed her knuckles, “But Jarren might be a little paranoid, and he has been following your sister. He still doesn’t trust her boyfriend. I’m surprised that he was noticed, though. Jarren is usually incredibly stealthy.” I needed to get out to the build site and talk to him, something wasn’t clicking.
“I don’t know,” Zee said, looking out the window to where Tegan and Wyatt had been playing before. “Maybe I’m a little crazy. I can’t help but wonder what it would me like to feel the freedom of running through the woods like that. To have such a close-knit family who would be there for you in every moment. To be strong enough to fight my own battles and come out unscathed. To see the world in a completely new way.”
I sucked in a harsh breath to try and calm my heart down. I was completely shocked at her admission. I fully expected Zee to want to stay human, and that I would be completely happy with that decision. Now the thought of her as a wolf had my wolf instincts fighting my human ones. A huge part of me knew that as a wolf she could stand by my side at the head of the pack as my mate. The human in me didn’t want her to make the decision for the wrong reasons.
“Listen doll, you should stay here and rest,” I spoke softly, hoping she wouldn’t assume I was giving her a command. “Eli says you need at least a good week of rest before you start trying too much. We have all the time in the world to talk about everything, but for today, why don’t you just relax.” Zee looked at me skeptically for a moment, but finally nodded her head. I helped her lie back in the chair a little bit and pulled her blanket up over her bandaged body.
I left her snuggled there with a movie on the laptop beside her. I had two wolves to track down. I left the house and shifted, sensing Tegan and Wyatt off in the woods still, I called to Tegan. I trotted to the edge of the woods where I expected her to come out, and I shifted back to human. A white and black wolf with brilliant blue eyes came up and yipped softly at me. I smiled at my adopted little sister as she shifted to human.
“Thanks for cheering her up,” I nodded toward the house. “She’s really upset about Delilah, whether she’ll admit it or not. You made her laugh.”
“She needed it,” Tegan shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Besides Wyatt’s been a butt lately. He needed to have a little fun, too. Now if only Jarren was
