Page 62 of Wolf Bound

“She put up a fight,” Ranger sighs, gesturing to the defensive marks marring her forearms and hands.

“Too bad it wasn’t enough,” Ransom whispers back to his twin.

Dad made most of the pack leave the room where Hallie’s body is laid out. Her mother, who had been the one to scream, refuses to leave her daughter’s side. My mom had tried to get her to walk away, but she declined, so she sits, holding her daughter’s lifeless hand and stroking her hair.

Pru had nearly thrown up on the floor the second she saw the lifeless form lying on the kitchen table. Remi had gone with her to the bathroom, and I haven’t seen either one of them since.

I can’t even imagine what Pruitt is thinking right now. Knowing her, she’ll blame herself for the death of Hallie.

“Kate, I’m so sorry,” I tell the mourning woman. Apologizing for the death of her daughter doesn’t seem like enough, but what else am I supposed to say to her? What do you say to a woman whose daughter died because a psychopath is hell-bent on taking your mate as his own? Right now, saying sorry is all I have to offer her.

Kate shakes her head, tears streaming down her face. “I can’t believe she’s gone.”

“I promise we’re going to kill this fucker for what he did,” Ransom assures her.

“What happens tomorrow?” Kate lifts her head and looks at my father, who stands respectfully off to the side.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean?” Dad’s eyebrows draw together in confusion.

“What happens tomorrow when Pruitt refuses to go to him? Will he kill someone else’s child?” Kate’s voice is cold and bitter when she speaks. Not that I can blame her.

Dad frowns at the woman. “We tried very hard to prevent this, and we’ll try even harder tonight and tomorrow. But we can’t very well go turning over my son’s mate to a man like Nicolai Volkov.”

“So, people will just keep dying,” Kate snaps, “and you’re okay with it as long as it’s not someone you love?”

“Kate!” Mom gasps.

“What Margot!” Kate whirls around to face my mother. “My daughter died because you people refuse to think of the greater good of the pack. If you would just turnherover then—”

“Then what?” I push off the wall I’ve been leaning on and stalk closer. “Then a man will torture and violate my mate, that’s what. We’re incredibly sorry for your loss, and we truly thought we had a plan to prevent something like this from happening, but we failed. We failed you, and we failed Hallie. But that does not mean you get to suggest I hand my mate over to this monster.”

The cold look she gives me is so chilling it has me taking a small step back. “She never should have come back to Montana. We were safer without her here.”

“You’re probably right.” I didn’t hear Pruitt enter the room and spin around to face her after she speaks. A little bit of color has returned to her face, although her cheeks are slightly flushed, and her eyes are wild looking. “I’m sorry that me coming back here—backhome—has caused you to lose your child. I know nothing I could ever say will make this okay or bring Hallie back, but I want you to know we will do everything in our power to avenge your daughter’s life.” Pru now stands behind Kate. She reaches forward and grips the woman’s shoulder. “We won’t let her die in vain.”

Kate tries to keep a stern face, but the second Pru touches her shoulder, Kate breaks down in tears. Pru lets the woman sob against her, holding onto her as she does, and never looks away from Hallie’s body as she tries to soothe the distraught mother.

“You remind me of her,” Kate chokes out after a couple of minutes, then she pulls back from Pru so she can look at her face.

“Of Hallie?”

“No, Genevieve—your mother.”

Tears form in Pru’s eyes, but she quickly blinks them away. “Thank you. I’m sure Hallie was a lot like you too.”

“She was always stronger than me,” Kate sniffs. “I don’t know how to be strong for her.”

“I’ll help you,” Pru assures her.

* * *

We all standaround my father’s office later that day. Everyone has been pretty quiet since we found Hallie’s body. No one knows what to say to each other or how to make the situation better. It’s never easy when a pack member dies. Even though they weren’t your blood, they were part of your family, and they’re still important to you.

Avery and Remi aren’t here since they volunteered to be one of the other patrol teams. Since the attack this morning, we decided to have multiple teams working at one time. I hope Avery and my sister are keeping their cool around each other, both of them have such strong personalities, and I can see them clashing.

“How are we going to stop him?” Pruitt questions from where she stands, leaning against my father’s large desk.

“We could always challenge him,” Ranger suggests. His usually carefully styled hair is wild and sticking up in odd directions on his head. He looks a lot more like Ransom right now because of it.

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