Page 8 of Haven

“You’re sisters?” Eric asked with a frown, looking between the two women.

“Yes.” They answered at the same time.

“One of your parents was human, and the other Shifter?” Cole asked as Kile waited for the answer.

“No,” Sadie shook her head. “Our parents adopted me. My stepfather was good friends with my dad. When he died suddenly, they took me in since I had no close relatives.”

“How old were you?” This question from Eric.

“Five,” Sadie replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. Kile watched as she reached up and touched the bruise on her cheek with a wince.

“So you grew up as a human child in a Shifter world.” Cole’s eyes widened as he stared at her. Then he looked toward Lily. “You two close in age?”

“Yes,” Lily answered, then grinned and glanced at Sadie. “I’m a few months younger than the old lady there.”

Sadie rolled her eyes but laughed, shaking her head. Kile’s heart thumped painfully in his chest at the musical sound of herlaughter. His mouth went dry, and his cock jerked, making him shift uncomfortably.

“What Pack allowed this?” Eric’s question had a specific tone that Kile knew all too well. He wasn’t buying it. No pack that they had ever belonged to would allow such a thing. Were they being lied to? Kile felt he was a pretty good reader of people. He watched both women closely, not seeing deceit on either of their faces.

Sadie and Lily glanced at each other before Sadie spoke. “They had a choice,” she said, looking at each of them before shifting to the ground. “Me or the Pack.”

“And they chose you,” Cole said, then whistled.

“They chose me.” She sighed, and Kile could see the guilt in her beautiful green eyes.

“They chose right,” Lily said with a definite nod.

“They suffered for it in many ways, but I never once felt blamed or unloved,” Sadie said with a smile to Lily. “You suffered for it also and still are.”

None of the Shifters in the room said anything because they were sure that was true. Shifters without a pack, especially females, were open to various dangers. Humans mixed into the pack also was rare, not that it didn’t happen. That’s what made Gemma so unique in what she did for their kind. Kile never had problems with humans; it was humans who had issues with their kind.

Kile observed Sadie. He was picking up on her emotional habits. When she was nervous, she flicked one of her fingernails; when she was trying to think of something, she bit her bottom lip, which was starting to drive him fucking crazy, and when shelooked at her sister, all he saw was the love and protection she felt for Lily. He knew that feeling well. As much as his brothers pissed him off daily, he would die for either one of them and not regret a second of his death.

“It’s obvious why you ran, but how are you connected with that asshole.” Cole nodded toward the door, indicating Colton, who was long gone if he knew what was good for him.

“Because I have terrible taste in men,” Lily said, and Kile watched Sadie agree with a smirk and nod. “I met him one night. I thought he was cute, and we started texting. Next thing you know, I’m meeting his pack members and welcomed in with open arms. Being naïve to the way of pack life, I didn’t realize I was his property once I accepted his invitation and was welcomed into the pack.”

“Your parents never taught you the Shifter way?” Eric frowned when Lily shook her head, looking a little embarrassed. “Even though that is old school. Not many packs practice that anymore.”

“Guess they figured no pack would accept Sadie, so what was the point,” Lily said with a shrug. “They taught us certain things, both human and shifter ways.”

“Where are your parents?” Kile asked, looking at Sadie.

“They died in a car accident.” Sadie’s bottom lip trembled slightly, indicating it was probably recent that they had passed.

“Sorry for your loss,” Kile said, giving her a nod of respect.

“Thank you.” Both Sadie and Lily replied.

“You found what you were looking for,” Eric told Sadie after a long silence.

“What?” Sadie looked up from her hands, confused.

“The Sanctuary,” Eric replied with a nod. “You found it.”

“So it is real?” Lily said, her voice full of hope and excitement. “We didn’t really know if it was or not.”

“My mate Gemma, her grandfather started the place, and when he died, she took over,” Eric answered, then looked at Sadie. “Why didn’t you just walk up instead of sneaking around? There are many dangers in this area.”