Zara's Wolf (Book 1 of the Zara's Wolf Trilogy) BWWM

27. Going Home

I go back to bed, closing the bedroom door behind me and collapsing into a fit of tears. At some point, I fall asleep and wake up hours later to voices on the other side of the wall.

My stomach growls. Pulling myself up, my head spins. I clutch it for a moment, allowing it to pass before I make my way to the door and pull it open an inch. Peaking out, I see Rick and Evan sitting on the couch.

"Are you sure they're trustworthy?" Rick's voice is low, but I can make out the words clearly as I pull the door open.

"Of course they are," Evan says, hushed, as I slip out the door and through the adjacent one to the storage closet.

I close the door behind me and find my mouth watering to a familiar smell.

Oh God, there's beef jerky. Where is it?

Through the pitch-blackness, my hand grazes over the shelves and finds a paper bag. Reaching inside, my fingers brush over the familiar package of jerky and pull it out. Ripping it open, I try not to drool all over myself as the smoky smell intensifies. Quickly, I snatch a big piece and shove it into my mouth, groaning in pleasure at the full-bodied flavor.

I hide in there as I eat all the jerky before venturing out and facing the pair of men.

Evan looks unhappy, but relieved to see that I have eaten something now.

I can't read Rick's face. He's emotionless, cold and distant, but I sense that he's trying to feel me out just as much as I'm trying to figure him out.

Rick's the first to stand up from the couch. He turns towards me, while Evan gets up and goes to the front door. His hand rests on the handle momentarily as he waits for Rick to say something.

"Afternoon," Rick says. "Evan tells me that you want to go back to Portland."

I glance at Evan as he turns the doorknob, pulls the door open, and walks out. The door remains open as I return my gaze to Rick. "Yeah."

"You ready to go then?"

I stare at him for a moment before blinking and lowering my eyes, remembering Evan's warning. I definitely don't want to cross Rick if he's offering to take me back home.

I nod. "Yeah."

"Well then, let's go."

He turns away as my mouth falls open.

Seriously? Evan put up so much of a fight, but Rick is chill about it? Isn't Rick supposed to be uptight or something?

I quickly gather my wits and hurry after him out the front door. I'm not about to argue with Rick if he's on my side.

As I step out of the cabin, I see Evan standing at the end of the path, just a few feet away from the edge of the dock. He looks out over the lake, and although I can't see his face, sadness fills my heart at the sight.

Scowling, I turn my attention back to Rick and follow him to the pickup truck. It's one of those big fancy four-door pickups that are a little roomier in the backseat. I wonder briefly if I should sit in the front with Rick, or hide in the back. Since I don't know Rick very well, and he makes me feel a little uneasy, I decide to forgo the front passenger seat and opt for the back.

I climb in and slam the door behind me. Through the window, I see Evan amble towards the vehicle with his hands shoved in his pockets, and his eyes on the ground. I purse my lips and look away.

When he climbs in, Rick puts the truck in gear and we pull away down a very narrow and bumpy path through the forest.

I should be excited to go back home, and I am, but I'm hurt by our argument earlier. I get that Evan's worried about me shifting, but shouldn't he be more worried about my parents' feelings about all this? I have been missing for about a week.