Page 7 of Bond & Protect

“Hmm, yeah,” I admit. “I think that’s why I’m so frustrated.”

Much to my surprise, Sydney reacts by tossing his head back with laughter. Roaring laughter. “Are you some sort of masochist? You know I have something far better for you waiting in my bed, right? You just got a little glimpse of that.”

I know he’s joking, but I blush anyway. “You might, but I don’t have anything to bring to the table.” He looks at me, confused. “I’ve never been in anyone’s bed before.”

He purses his lips for a moment, seeming to consider something, and then tells me: “I’ll let you in on a secret if you promise not to tell anyone.” I wait with bated breath for whatever this will be. “I am a virgin too. So, I guess we’d have to figure it out together.”

Whoa, as if this night couldn’t get any crazier, this smoking hot God drops this bombshell on me. I’m speechless, but it’s kinda nice. Something of a similar bond forms between us. It isn’t the same feeling I get with Elias, but it’s definitely just as strong.

“Well, we can always be one another’s firsts,” I mumble before I even realize what I’m doing. As soon as reality catches up with me, humiliation burns in my soul. “Sorry, I don’t know what the hell is going on with me. I’m losing my mind here. Am I going crazy?”

Sydney swallows, face heating, no longer looking like the intimidating man he was before. “I’m not sure, but it’s best if we talk about it another time. You know, when we’ve both had time to cool off. I don’t think either of us wants to end up doing anything rush.” He glances towards the cabin. “Come on, let’s get you back inside. I don’t think running around like that is the best idea. You don’t know what monsters are roaming around here at night.”

This time, I think I might listen to him.

Inside I notice a rickety-looking staircase, which I presume will lead me to some kind of bed. I’m absolutely exhausted now, and just need to lie the hell down already. I don’t even care about being back at my apartment anymore. I just need to sleep.

“What the hell?” I rub my eyes as I stare at the dog in the bed. No, not a dog. A wolf. A tame wolf with dark fur and intelligent-looking green eyes. Without even worrying, because I’m just too shattered for that, I climb into the bed with the wolf and snuggle into its warm fur. I would prefer to be with anyone right now, rather than alone. Especially since Sydney, Liam, and Elias have all left me here by myself. Some company is better than no one.

Or maybe I am just too tired to think straight.

Either way, it feels nice as I finally succumb to sleep properly, no longer plagued with worries about what happened to me before and what a crazy day it’s been. I can block out everything. I always knew that this town was going to mean something to me. It’s why I’ve always wanted to come here, and why I ran here even though I don’t have anyone I know w here.

I don’t know what it is I’ll end up finding here, but it’s something, I’m sure of it. Who knows, I might even find myself.

3

SYDNEY

“Amos? What the actual fuck? What are you doing here? We’ve been searching all over for you. We thought that something had happened to you because of The Rift…”

I really can’t believe that I’m sitting here, staring at him in his wolf form, at the end of the bed where Mila has very clearly been sleeping. She’s in the shower now. I can hear the water running, so I’d much rather focus on this bizarre turn of events.

If I allow myself to daydream, then I’ll lose myself in what Mila might look like naked. It’s hard because I’m supposed to hate her. She might well be the enemy here––because there has to be a reason that she was found covered in wolf’s blood––but the palpable effect she has on my body is unbearable. I honestly don’t know how I kept away from her last night.

I thought being apart from one another might cool us both down and allow us to think straight. That definitely hasn’t happened for me. I just hope the same can’t be said for Mila. One of us needs to be thinking rationally, and apparently, I’m incapable.

Amos cocks his head to one side, looking at me curiously.

“Shift to human,” I snap. “I know you prefer to be a wolf, but I can’t talk to you like this, and I need answers. Liam said something happened to you, and I need to know what.”

If it wasn’t Amos’s blood on Mila’s knuckles, then whose was it? All the wolves in our pack have been accounted for, which means it could be another…

Yeah, I don’t like that idea. I don’t want to have to get into a fight over territory. That’s always a bloodshed and wolves will be lost on both sides. I don’t want that. This shit with The Rift is bad enough. We don’t need any more drama, that’s for sure.

Not that we’ve located The Rift yet. But I guess that’s because we’ve been distracted by losing Amos. He’s going to have a lot to answer for here.

“Where have you been?” I demand the moment the strapping young lad appears in front of me. I can tell he’s a little uncomfortable in his human form, which would be funny… if we weren’t in the middle of a shit show here. “Did you know we were all looking?”

He points to his head. “I couldn’t hear anyone. I guess I was out of range. I didn’t mean to wander too far, but it’s hard to always focus when I’m tracking food.”

I cluck my tongue angrily. This is Amos showing his immaturity here. I suppose I was probably the same at eighteen years of age, but I can’t remember ever doing anything this dumb.

“Well, Elias and everyone else has been searching for you. You picked a bad time to go missing, Amos. The Rift has opened and we are being threatened with monsters.”

“Like the stories?” he asks curiously. “I didn’t think they were real.”

“Well, they’re real all right. So we need to get it sorted out. We have coordinates, but we need to seek out The Rift. We need to have security around it at all times, and to make sure that nothing bursts free. You have come back right in the middle of drama.”

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