Chapter 727 Chapter 727
Zain set his laptop on the table and opened it. He should at least check his email and the tracker again. Not everyone would know he wasn’t at his desk. The king’s tracker had moved when he’d checked it. That meant they hadn’t found and removed it.
“Do you want the bed or the sofa?”
He looked up to see Oaklyn in the doorway. “Doesn’t matter to me.” It didn’t. He doubted he’d sleep much at all. Until he had answers, he couldn’t.
She continued to look at him for a moment and then nodded and came in and sat at the table across from him. “Would you feel better if we took turns keeping watch?”
“I don’t see anyone finding us here, but I still won’t sleep.” He leaned back in the chair. “Until I have answers—” He shrugged.
“Is it something you can ask Calum? He seems to be well informed.” She leaned on the table and watched him. She looked tired.
“I doubt it.”
“You could ask.” She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “You could tell me. I may not have answers, but sometimes, if you release the demons inside your head, you feel better.”
“The demons inside my head?”
She nodded. “Your fears, worries. If left to fester, they turn into demons.”
Zain cocked his head to the side. “Do you have demons?”
“Everyone does. I’m at peace with mine. You are not.”
He chuffed. That was an understatement. “I won’t be until Shepard is found and explains how someone that was dealt with had been walking around free and working for Aiden Tomas.”
“What do you mean?” She leaned over the table more. He wondered if she was that tired or interested in what he had to say. “You have to trust someone, Zain.” She shrugged. “Who am I going to tell?”
She had a point. From what he understood, the only one she communicated with was Calum, and if what he told her wasn’t safe with Calum—they were all screwed. Closing his eyes, he blew out a breath and tried to think how to say it. As soon as he thought about saying it, his whole body tensed. Opening his eyes, he looked at her. “Okay—the wolf I saw as a kid—when I saw him, he had just come back from helping the Tomas family kill a bunch of the neighboring cheetah clan.” Her eyes rounded. “I found out later that one of my teammates lost his family that day.” Her eyes welled up, but he kept going. “I don’t know what Shepard did at that point, other than send me away so I was safe—but that same wolf and a younger one were the ones that took Illias and my mom and sister.” He blew out a shaky breath. He’d never said this out loud to anyone before. Not like this. “Asher—my teammate from that clan found his mate—who had followed others with that wolf to an island—” He looked at the floor, still haunted by the details. “They closed down the island.” He added, so he could finish what had him running as fast as he could. When he connected with her eyes again, he could see how concerned she was, and it made him feel better, in a bizarre way. “There was an op and they had Journee, Asher’s mate, watch it on the camera and she identified that wolf from that day…”
“The one that took your family and friend?” Her brows rose.
He nodded. “Yeah, the older one. The one that Shepard had dealt with.”
“How was he there then?”
“I don’t know. This is why I need to find Shepard.”
“The wolf. The Alliance has him now?”
Zain nodded and then shook his head. “There’s more.”
She blinked but didn’t say a word.
“I went to see him where they’re holding him…”
“You did not.” She gaped at him.
“I did. Barack wouldn’t let me speak with him, so there’s that.” He was going to tell her what no one except Illias and Shepard knew. “He saw me, and he had that look, you know, the one where you recognize someone, but can’t place them…”
“How? You’re an adult now.” Her mouth crinkled. “I’m sure you didn’t look the way you do now.”
“I don’t know. It was just a feeling that if I stayed there too long, he’d put the pieces together.” He leaned on the table. “Barack said my name, so now they know my name, and if there’s still spies at the Headquarters…”
“Surely they knew your name before, Zain.”
He nodded. “They did, but not this name.”
She pursed her lips together and studied him. “You changed your name.”
“Probably sounds like a dumb thing to do, but Shepard suggested it…”
“No. Changing your name gives you a chance.” Her expression blanked out for a moment. “I’ve done it several times.”
That surprised him. “Oaklyn isn’t your—birth name?”
She shook her head. “No.”
In a weird way, that made him feel better. About her, and the situation he was in. “What’s your real name?” He watched her process whether she was going to tell him or not.
“Lily Maye Green.”
Tilting his head, he looked at her for a moment. Really looked at her. “You don’t look like a Lily Maye.”
Her smile was slow. “I am not that girl anymore.”
“You should keep Oaklyn. It suits you.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Thank you. I might just do that.”
He nodded slowly.
“What’s your real name?”
He smiled, more to himself than her. He hadn’t said it out loud in all these years. “Charlie. Charlie Huffman.”
She raised a brow and gave him a once-over. “You don’t look like a Charles.”
Zain snorted. “Not Charles, Charlie. My twin sister was Marley.” He shook his head.
“Charlie and Marley?” Her mouth quirked. “Your mother was brave.” Her expression blanked and then turned to one filled with compassion. “Your sister was your twin.”
Zain nodded. “Yeah.”
“I’ve heard that twins…”
He brushed his hands over the leg of his jeans. “I don’t suppose it’s any different losing any sibling.” It still hurt, twin or not. He shrugged and looked back at her. “So, now you know my demons.”
“They make mine seem slight.”
Zain leaned closer to the table. “No one’s is better or worse than someone else’s.”
Her approval was clear in her eyes. “I bet your teammates call you just to talk.”
He frowned. “How did you know?”
“Because you say the right things.”
Zain laughed. “Not always.” He recalled the times he’d said the wrong thing to one of the women on his team. “I’ve learned it’s better to say nothing sometimes.”
“I feel like there’s a woman behind that lesson.”
“A few.” He watched her expression change three times before it was completely blank. “Teammates.” He said quickly before she got the wrong idea. She may not want any part of having a mate, but he still wasn’t taking any chances. His wolf stirred inside him, and Zain was about eighty percent sure it was because he agreed with him.
“I see.” She drew in a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. “I need to get some shut-eye. My mind is roaming all over the place.”
Zain nodded. “Yeah. We should head out before dawn.”
She stood up. “That sounds good. I’m going to take the couch. I might not want to get out of a comfy bed.” She stood there for a few seconds and then stepped quickly to stand beside him. She put her hand on his shoulder and nodded. “Thank you for trusting me.” Her smile was genuine but hesitant at the same time.
Zain’s wolf was right there under the surface now that she was closer. “Thank you for finding me. Without you, I’d be in Chicago trying to figure out what the hell to do.” He smiled at her. “Take the bed. I’ll probably pace around half the night.”
“Alrighty.” She removed her hand and held it in her other one. “We’re going to find the king and answers for you.”
He nodded slowly. “We just have to make it to the factory.”
“It couldn’t be in a nice warm snow-free place.” She said softly as she walked out of the room.
Zain smiled and watched the empty door for a few seconds. He looked at the laptop. Telling her made him feel—not so alone was the only thing he could think to describe it. He’d been alone in this since the day it happened. Sure, he had Illias, but they weren’t allowed to visit each other or be seen together for long, so yeah, he’d been alone.
Opening the laptop, he put his hands on the keyboard and squinted at it. He wanted to check his email, and Shepard’s tracker—again, but now that he knew more than he had about Oaklyn, he wondered if he could find any clan with the last name Green in the lists. He didn’t have updated ones, those weren’t accessible to him now, but he had the original ones still. He opened the file and then glanced at the door as he typed, Lily Maye Green. Was she with a clan that had been misplaced, or was it by choice? If it was by choice, that was a game changer. He held his breath as the associated word results listed.
Leaning forward, he stared at the screen. Ten results. Clicking on the first one, he exhaled. Wrong kind of clan, unless there were wolves that flew. The next nine were similar situations. No wolf clan had the last name Green registered. He looked at the door. She was from a misplaced clan or—he hated his mind for going there at all—or her clan worked with the Tomas organization. Blowing out a breath, he closed the search and opened up his email. Now, he had one more thing to do once he got to the factory. Finding out more information about her clan.