Page 3 of Haven
“From what I have learned over many years, I don’t think your wolf is capable of giving you a scratch, let alone tear you apart.” Sadie rolled her eyes, but in truth, she felt terrible. Since they’d been in Ridge, Kentucky, Lily hadn’t been out of this room. “Soon.”
“You said that three days ago.” Lily sat up cross-legged on the bed.
“I know.” Sadie was the one sighing this time. “I think I found the place we’ve been looking for. I need to make sure before I approach them. From what I could tell, they take in wolves. What I don’t know is if it’s Shifters or not.”
“Well, if you’d let me go, I could tell you,” Lily said, then frowned when Sadie shook her head. “I know. I know. It’s not worth the risk to either of us. Blah, blah, blah.”
“I’m not worried about me,” Sadie answered, sitting next to Lily. “You are the one he’s after. And don’t you blah, blah, blah, me.”
“I may be younger by a few months, but come on, Sadie. Mom and Dad taught you better than that.” Lily said with real fear in her voice. “A human never interferes in pack business, and you pretty much broke that rule then spit on it.”
“I don’t spit.” Sadie snorted, then added. “No one hurts my sister.” Sadie growled, then glanced at her flip phone, identical to her sisters'. After they ran, she tossed their phones and bought two burner phones so they couldn’t be traced in any way.
Lily glanced at her, then reached over, pulling her into a hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sorry I was right,” Sadie whispered, meaning every word. Lily had thought she was in love with Colton Kelly. And maybe she had been until Colton showed his true colors by laying hands on her. To see her sister marked by the hands of a man and terrified was enough for Sadie to lose her shit.
“I just want to be loved, Sadie,” Lily whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. “I thought he loved me.”
“You are loved,” Sadie whispered back, brushing Lily’s hair away from her face. “More than you know.”
“By a man.” Lily’s eyes looked up to hers with such sadness Sadie wanted to find Colton Kelly and rip his balls off. The man played with her sister’s emotions, drawing her in only to break her heart.
“And that man is out there, Lily,” Sadie said instead of gagging like she wanted to. Men were a pain in the ass. Men were selfish assholes who thought only of themselves, especially Shifter men. Shifter life was harsh, especially with all their ways and man rules. Even as a human, she had learned that men were the dominant species and had seen it growing up with shifter parents. Though their father had loved their mother with a passion, she saw firsthand what a dominant relationship consisted of and that the man had the last word. Sadie was secretly happy she was human, not a shifter. She did, however, know that finding one’s mate as a Shifter, especially for a woman, was essential to their existence. “You just have to be patient.”
Lily nodded and shrugged. “I know; it's just...why can’t I be more like you, Sadie?”
Sadie snorted, shaking her head. “Hard-headed, loud, and a fat ass?” Sadie stood with a chuckle.
Lily choked out a laugh between the tears. “You always could twerk with the best of them.”
“You little shit.” Sadie faked being offended and then grabbed her in another hug. “You are perfect, Lily. Never let anyone make you feel otherwise.”
Lily nodded, then pulled away. “I’m hungry.”
“We just ate.” Sadie looked down at her with a frown. “Where do you put all that food.”
“My wolf eats a lot.” Lily grinned, acting more like herself. “And she wants meat.”
Sadie stood, turning her back to Lily as she made her way across the small motel room toward her bag. The money was running low, but Sadie knew Lily had to eat a lot. Counting out the money, she turned to see Lily staring at her. “What?”
“Thank you,” Lily said, her beautiful brown eyes staring intently into hers. “I really thought he was my mate.”
“You are my sister; never thank me.” Sadie grabbed her thin rain jacket and slipped it on. She didn’t comment on the mate statement. She herself would have bet her last dollar that Colton was not Lily’s mate, and she would have won that bet. Not wanting to make Lily feel worse, she ignored it and then gave her a fake frown. “I guess you want a hamburger rare?”
“Yep, with two onion rings, a large Dr. Pepper, and something sweet.” Lily stretched as she stood.
“I would love to know what these people at the restaurant think of me ordering all these raw, bloody hamburgers.” Sadie headed for the door, making a gagging face.
“That maybe you’re a vampire.” Lily teased with a chuckle as she followed her to the door. “And you want to suck some blood.”
“You’re weird,” Sadie said as she gave a quick glance out the window before opening the door. “Lock it.”
“I will, and better to be weird than?—”
“Boring.” They said in unison.
Shutting the door, her eyes scanned the parking lot as her good humor and smile faded into nervous energy. She knew Colton was searching for them. The whole pack was searching for them. They hadn’t run far enough to feel at ease. The last text he had sent before she had tossed their phones was thathe would never give up hunting them down, and he would find them. Swallowing hard, she pushed that thought from her mind, hoping she had found the place that could help them, help Lily.