Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Wren
Sullivan's story had left me feeling out of sorts as we headed back toward the path we had been on. I didn't know if my dad could heal his brother's spinal cord injury, but maybe with my help, it was a possibility.
We weren't on that level yet for me to even suggest it or reveal that side of me.
I'd have to talk to my dad first to see if it was even something he could do, so I kept my mouth shut as I shifted and tried to pick back up on Zayn's scent.
It had completely disappeared thanks to the rain, but there was only one path, unless he'd magically shifted into a mountain goat and was climbing the steep rock.
Despite the predicament we were in with Marcos and with Zayn killing two people, I was enjoying my time running freely in my fox form and not slinking around. It gave me a chance to think about what I was going to do with my life now that the coalition wasn't going to be a part of it.
At least, I hoped they weren't.
Coalition agents saw and heard things that made them a liability.
All it would take was one slip up and all the secrets would be out there for the world.
Then there was the matter of being accepted back into shifter society.
Packs did not like coalition agents since we often had to be the bad guys and lock shifters away for making decisions that could expose us.
Decisions like Kingston had made.
Damn it. I didn't like that everything was so black and white with the coalition.
They weren't going to care why he was doing what he did.
All they cared about was the fact that humans were involved with wolves, and it was enough to get the government's interest. The last thing we needed was for the government to find out and want to kill us all, use us for experiments, or combat.
After about thirty minutes, we came to a narrow valley, similar to the one we had been in before. The valley wasn't that wide, but it was long. Without a scent, it was like we were chasing our tails. Something pulled me to the left and Sullivan gave me a confused look.
I barely caught Zayn's scent as we got farther into the area. It was faint and sporadic, but the trees had preserved some of the places he had run. He was probably still miles ahead, but we hadn't lost him completely.
He hadn't said much about his sister, but from what I understood, she didn't want to live in society.
I could see how easy it would be for wolves, or any shifter for that matter, to detach from the human world and live in nature.
It was peaceful and without the drama and risk that came along with living in populated areas.
Which raised the question: how had Marcos gotten his sister? Had she run away like Zayn had? Had Marcos found where the wolves lived? Had she been out hunting and gotten taken?
I slowed down as Zayn's scent got stronger. I couldn't smell his sister's, so it was possible he had hidden out somewhere while the sky had opened up. Luckily, the rain had let up not long after we had exited the cave.
More scents hit my nose, and I stopped, moving behind a tree to shift. Sullivan did the same and moved in close to me to stay hidden. I was very aware that his dick was dangerously close to touching me.
"I smell at least ten wolves." I kept my voice at a whisper. "I can mask my scent, so I'll go see what we're dealing with."
"You aren't going alone." Sullivan grabbed my arm as I started to move. "Did you forget you're a fox and would be a tasty treat to a lot of wolves?"
I rolled my eyes. "I’m faster than any wolf. If you come with me, they'll smell you and know we're here for Zayn."
His brows furrowed in confusion. "You know these wolves?"
I shook my head. "But I think it might be Zayn's family and other families that choose to live as wolves. Zayn escaped them."
"Well, now I'm definitely not letting you go alone." His jaw clenched and he let go of my arm. "What if this is a trap?"
"It's not. You didn't see the state she was in, Sully. They weren't feeding her enough and were beating her." He sucked in a breath and looked away from me. "What?"
"I don't let anyone call me that." Sighing, he shut his eyes for a moment before looking back at me. "But I liked the way it sounded coming from your lips."
His eyes moved to my lips, and my breath caught in my throat. I wasn't na?ve enough to think that something wasn't going to eventually happen between us. He'd watched me with Kingston, and Kingston had pretty much put his stamp of approval on the whole thing.
Whatever that meant.
Now wasn't the time for a naked make-out session behind the tree, as much as my foxy bits wanted to. "I'll be back."
I shifted, and Sullivan cursed under his breath as I ran past him. I made sure my tail brushed his thigh, and he cursed again. There was no reason for me to tease him like that, but my fox had other ideas.
She wanted him—all of them—which was interesting since we were different species and all. I would have thought that part of me would abhor the fact I was sleeping with wolves, but instead, the feisty vixen wanted to come out and play.
I don't know why I was so surprised. It wasn't like there were any male fox shifters around. Those that were still around were older. There hadn't been a fox shifter born since me, and even I was an anomaly since I was only half fox.
The small population of foxes was my own kind's fault. A human and fox shifter could not produce a fox shifter. Foxes had stopped caring who they mated with, but it wasn't like there had been a big population in the first place.
Wolves, on the other hand, were like the rabbits of the shifter world. Every time I turned around, there were more wolves added to the database. There was even a dating app.
My mind returned to the task at hand, and I sniffed the air as I got closer to the wolf scents. Despite all the traveling we had done and how my morning had started, I had a lot of energy, thanks to my nap and the food we had eaten. It made it easy to conceal my scent.
The sky was already darkening from the setting sun and the mountains blocking its rays. Even though we could see in the dark, the darkness did provide some cover. Even our animals' eyes sometimes played tricks on us, and I hoped if I was spotted, they would think I was another animal out and about.
The clearing up ahead didn't look too big, and I moved carefully through the remaining trees to get a closer look. I found the perfect tree to climb with a clear vantage point to view the small establishment that was set up in the area.
There weren't houses exactly, but there were structures that had been built. They had three walls with a roof and a flap of animal hide, giving a small amount of privacy.
Zayn had told me there were four families, and there were four clusters of the wooden structures that were no bigger than half the size of a small bedroom that would be in a house.
They might not have liked being in their human forms, but they still liked some luxuries, like a stable shelter.
But the word luxury was putting it nicely.
There wasn't a lot of movement, most likely because they were taking shelter from the storm that had just rolled through, or they were out hunting since the sun was going down.
I moved to a different branch in the tree, careful not to make any sounds. At least if they heard me, they would think I was a random animal.
The saddest howl I'd ever heard came from one of the shack structures. I hadn't heard Zayn's howl before, but somehow, I knew it was him and my heart leapt into my throat.
When there was no movement after his sorrowful song, I climbed out of the tree and made my way closer, hoping it would be easy to get him out of whatever predicament he was in.
Zayn and his sister's scents were strong, meaning they were both there.
Other wolf scents mixed with theirs, but I could tell no one else was in the area.
They'd left them unguarded, not thinking anyone would be coming after them.
Zayn was lying with his head resting on his paws. They'd locked him up like he told me they had done before when he tried to escape. As I rounded the side of a shack and got a clear view inside, I could see Zola was chained up too, with one around her back foot and one around her neck.
Zayn's eyes widened as I darted into the shack and tried to keep myself concealed behind the small drape that was covering half the entrance. It provided some privacy, and if someone happened to return, it wouldn't be immediately obvious there was an intruder.
With a whimper, Zayn bit at the chain attached to his back leg before looking out of the shack and to one across the way.
Taking that to mean that was where the key was, I double sniffed to make sure no one had come back and darted across the small gathering area that was nothing more than an empty space in the midst of the structures.
There was a larger covering on the front of the shack, and inside was the scent of a male and female wolf. That was it. There was no furniture. No bedding. No personal belongings. I guessed when they were in their human forms, they still lived like wolves.
The thought saddened me, but also made me appreciate Zayn that much more. The fact he had escaped this life and was a functioning adult said a lot about how smart and resilient he was.
Spotting the keys wedged between two slats, I jumped and knocked them to the ground. I grabbed them in my teeth and ran back.
Shifting would take a lot of energy I didn't want to waste, and my fox was perfectly capable of using a key. I wished I could communicate with Zayn because he was giving me a side-eye as I went to his back foot and put the key in the lock.
The pin inside the lock moved with ease as I turned the key, and the lock and chain fell with a clink. Zayn nuzzled me as I moved to the chain on his neck. The key was harder to turn, but soon he was free and jumping to his feet.