Shadows (Book 2 of the Zara's Wolf Trilogy) BWWM

6. Meet the Family

Alicia knocks on our door an hour or two after the sun has risen. We can hear voices below of the Silver Star Pack members entering the dining hall and having breakfast, but we wait until someone comes to get us. With the rogue incident, we know it is best to just sit in our room and wait.

Evan has been holding me on our bed with my back against his chest as I stare across the room in silence. Keith is likewise all cuddled up with Emily. Somehow, she has managed to fall asleep, while I remain wide away with my thoughts running a mile a minute in my head.

Both Evan and Keith are awake, off in thought as well. No one wants to utter a word in fear of waking Emily. What is there to say really?

"Hey guys," Alicia says as she steps inside. Her voice is hushed, as she doesn't know if any of us are awake or not.

"Hey," Evan whispers back, while I prop my head up with my elbow, and Keith gives her a two-finger salute.

Emily stirs, which makes Alicia's face soften as she looks upon the girl. "How's she doing?"

"Fine. Finally getting some rest," Keith tells her.

Alicia moves to the foot of his bed and sits down, never taking her eyes off the sleeping teen. "Poor thing. Owen's pissed that a rogue came and spoiled breakfast. This is not how he wanted things to turn out."

"Can't blame him though," Evan says over my shoulder. "Rogues have a mind of their own."

She nods. "Yeah, but he shouldn't have been able to slip past the patrol wolves at the boarder to begin with. He's going to be giving the patrol unit a good talkin' to over this slip-up."

"They have their own patrol unit?" I can't help but ask, thinking about how each of us is responsible for patrolling our territory everyday.

A small smile tugs on the corner of Alicia's lips. "Yeah. The perks of having a big pack."

There's something sad about the way she says that. I don't know whether she just misses her old life as a member of the Silver Star pack, or what, but it tugs on my heart.

She gets up from the bed and flicks her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "Come on you two. Brianna's been bugging me about you since this whole fiasco started." She looks at Keith. "Let her sleep. You can join us if you want."

"I know my way around," he says, closing his eyes.

She sighs as she turns toward the door. Evan and I follow her out, closing the door softly behind us.

The hallway is still with sunlight streaming in through the windows at both ends. There are three bedrooms on each side of the hallway as well as two bathrooms sitting across from each other. We turn to the staircase at the end of the hallway on our left and trot down the steps. From the windows on the landings, I see a thin sheet of gray in the sky with the sun struggling to break through. Pine trees surround the village with a few colored leaves fluttering through the evergreens as a reminder of autumn hovering on the doorstep.

Tomorrow is the Autumn Equinox. The day after that, we will return home. Evan said that the purpose of our trip here was to visit relatives and maintain a strong relationship with the Silver Star Pack. I have a feeling that there's another reason for our visit this time, and it's to introduce me to everyone. Not that I can blame him-it's about time he introduced me to his family.

Down the stairs, Alicia guides us to the dining hall before leaving to attend to some business of her own.

When we step inside the room, Evan's face lights up. There's a group of shifters sitting together at one table and a few stranglers finishing up their breakfasts at other tables. It doesn't take a genius to see the family resemblance in the group of shifters and Evan.