Page 15 of Wolf Bound

“Pru!” Remi shouts in our direction, a look of panic on her face.

I growl once when Remington reaches for her friend’s shoulder, but I quickly get my wolf and myself together. “She’s still not awake. She has a pretty nasty head wound. Did you guys happen to bring any first-aid supplies?”

“Pru keeps a box full of stuff in a compartment in the back.” Remi points to where I’m currently sitting. “Go put her in the front seat, and I’ll grab it.”

My wolf protests at the idea of putting her down, but I know it will be easier to reach her wounds if she isn’t intertwined with me.

After carefully placing her in the passenger seat, I keep a watchful eye as my mom and sister work on patching up my mate’s cuts and scratches.

“Dude, what the hell happened?” Ranger asks.

“The fucking rogue wolf I’ve been tracking for weeks found her,” I say, pulling the dark pair of sweats on Ransom handed me a moment before. “She’s lucky he was in his wolf form the entire time she was with him. He’s a nasty wolf but the worst kind of human imaginable. His last victim…” I trail off, not wanting to put those images in my younger brothers’ heads.

“I still can’t believe she’s actually Grey.” Ransom stands at my side, his eyes wide with confusion as he also watches the scene in front of me. “Do you really think she doesn’t remember?”

“Dad talked to Addison,” Ranger answers his twin, having obviously talked more to our father after I left, “And I’m sure he got more insight, but we’ll get all our questions answered when Addison gets back into town. Dad told me she wants to be the one to tell Pru the truth.” Ranger pauses then asks, “So, what do we call her now? Pruitt or Grey?”

“Grey,” I say immediately.

“Pruitt,” Remi interjects, having been listening to our conversation.

“That’s not her name,” I argue, irritated anyone would think differently.

“As far as she knows, her name is Pruitt Bailey. That’s all she has known for fourteen years. She doesn’t remember being Grey, and she may never remember it.” Remi scowls at me. “She isn’t the little girl you remember growing up with either.”

“Remi’s right,” Ransom agrees, but a small smile starts to form at the corners of his mouth. “She was a cute kid, but now she’s a smoking hot woman.”

I’m not the one to punch my brother for his comment, although I was about to. It’s our mom who delivers the blow as she passes him to get something out of the truck my siblings had driven up in.

“Next time, I’ll let your brother have a piece of you,” she hollers over her shoulder. She has also changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. The shirt is a couple sizes too large, which leads me to believe it’s one of my dad’s.

“We’re ready to go home,” Remi tells me as she puts some of the first-aid supplies back into the box. “We got what we could bandaged up, but mom also sent a text to Doctor V, and she’ll be waiting for us when we get there. I’ll drive us back if you want to hold her.”

I look over at Grey and see she looks peaceful. “No, I don’t want to move her again. I’ll ride in the back.” I open the rear door to Grey’s Jeep and climb in. “Let’s get her home.”

Home.I never thought I would call it that again, but now it sounds right.

“I forgot to tell you.” Remi starts the car and looks at me through the rearview mirror. “Guess what we found in her art studio.”

I carefully unfold the piece of paper Remi passes back to me, and my breath catches in my throat when I see my wolf’s eyes staring back at me from the page. His golden eyes look realistic, and the fur is perfectly illustrated, I swear I could reach out and touch it. She had even gotten the white patch of fur that sits on my chest right.

“What do you think that means?” Remi asks.

“It means I have more questions.”

7

Pruitt

The black wolf patiently waits for me across the clearing like always. The cold wind picks up and causes a chill to run down my spine. There is electricity in the air I haven’t sensed before. I’ve lived this dream many times before, but it feels different this time. The air around us buzzes and hums, drowning out the sound of my breathing and heartbeat.

I stand there watching the large wolf, afraid if I move, he will disappear like always. I stand as still as possible, willing him to stay longer. Just a minute longer this time, I plead to myself. But it will never be enough time.

The wolf cocks his head to the side as he watches me—almost like he’s wondering why I haven’t moved yet. I wish I could tell him I’m worried if I do, I’ll lose him, but the humming in the air is too loud to hear anything else. And then he does something he’s never done before.

He takes a step toward me.

I hold my breath expecting to be pulled out of the dream the second his paw leaves the ground, but to my utter shock, nothing happens. Nothing happens as he takes another step forward. I finally release the breath I’ve been holding when he makes it halfway across the clearing. My legs quake when I take my first step in his direction, but with each one, they get stronger.

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