Page 31 of Wolf Bound

“Will you shift for me?” I want to see the wolf when it’s not busy ripping the throat out of something. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about him for months now and want to see him again. He’s basically all I dream about anymore.” I pull back from Ryker and bite my lower lip, worried I’ve asked for something I shouldn’t have.

“Of course.” He kisses me one last time before climbing to his feet and helping me up. I keep eye contact with him the whole time he removes his clothes, throwing them off to the side. Just like at the lake, his amazingly built body and his many tattoos captivate me.

“Do they all mean something to you?” I ask him, reaching out to lightly trace a dark swirling line on his shoulder.

“Most of them.” He puts his arms in front of him and inspects the artwork. “Many I’ve had for so long I don’t really think about them,” he admits before taking a step back from me, his skin glowing in the moonlight. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

The man in front of me crouches, and the sound of snapping bones quickly follows. In seconds, the man is gone, and a large black wolf stands in his place.

When we were in the clearing earlier, I didn’t get the chance to really look at him, but now I see he’s the exact same as in my dreams. Even the white patch of fur on his chest is the same. I smile when I see his right paw also has white fur on the toes. He’s much larger than a regular wolf I have no idea how they have been able to keep their existence a secret from humans.

The wolf walks closer to me and presses his large head into my chest. I reach up and scratch behind his ears. “Well, hello there,” I say to him, and a happy sound comes from his throat, almost like a cat purring.

He looks up and with a quick swipe of the tongue, licks me across the face. “Yuck! Dog breath!” I wipe at my face, trying to remove all the slobber.

Ryker takes a few steps back from me and does something that makes my heart soar. He throws his head back and lets out a low, drawn-out howl. It echoes through the night, cutting through the trees around us.

Since moving to Montana, I’ve heard many wolf howls in the night, but Ryker’s is different. It pulls me in and hypnotizes me.

It’s the sounds of hollering that draws my attention away from the black wolf in front of me. When I look up at the house, I find the rest of the Weylyn siblings, Sawyer and Avery, all shedding their clothes.

“Fuck, yeah!” I hear Ransom yell down at us, before he flies down the patio steps, naked. He leaps down one of the small flights of stairs on the tiered patio and lands in his wolf form.

His twin follows close behind him, also shifting. The two large gray and black wolves nip and bite at each other. Playful growls come from them as well. Remi shifts next and joins in the fun, grabbing onto the scruff around Ranger’s neck, or at least Ithinkit’s Ranger.

A soft whine draws my attention away from the commotion. Ryker is staring at his siblings, a look of longing in his eyes. “Ryker, go over there,” I say with a push on his shoulder, his black coat engulfing my hand. His fur is as soft as I thought it would be, maybe even softer. “I’ll be fine.” He snorts and shakes his head, refusing to move from my side.

“Ryk! Are you coming?” Avery calls down at us, still in her human form. She stands with her hands on her hips, unapologetically naked.

He still stands at my side, but I know he wants to go to his friends and family. “Ryker, I’m not going anywhere. Go have fun with them. I’ll be here when you get back.” I softly brush his face with my hand and look into those bright gold eyes. “I promise.”

That finally does it. I watch as Ryker takes off across the yard, his powerful body moving with such ease. I laugh out loud when he tackles the sandy-blond wolf that had jumped into the excitement. I assume its Sawyer since I no longer see him standing on the patio. Moving as one, they all take off toward the woods, Ryker leading them as they disappear beyond the treeline.

I feel a pang of jealousy I’m not able to join in. I wish I could be out there, running and playing with them. I never thought I would wish I could shift into a wolf, but right now, I want nothing more.

With a huff, I march back to the house, intent on learning as much as I can about my past and now my future.

14

Pruitt

My feet are tucked underneath me as I sit on the patio, curled up on the loveseat. The early morning sun beats down on my bare shoulders, and I tilt my face up, enjoying the warmth it brings.

I had come inside last night after I watched my friends take off into the woods to find Addison had fallen asleep on the couch. I figured she was tired from her travels, so I didn’t disturb her and decided to go to bed myself. I slept in the guestroom again, and when I woke, I found Ryker asleep in the leather chair again. Instead of waking him up, I pulled a soft blanket over him and left the room.

I didn’t dream about the wolf last night like I have for the past ten months. Instead, my dreams were filled with Ryker and his tattooed body. I was a little bummed at first when I woke up, and my head wasn’t swimming images of my black wolf, but that feeling went away the second I saw Ryker’s sleeping form across the room.

Margot was already awake when I entered the kitchen, and she suggested we drink our coffee on the patio. “I love sitting out here in the morning. It’s quiet and peaceful.” She smiles over the rim of her coffee cup. “I didn’t get many quiet mornings after having four kids. There was always someone who needed something.”

“I love looking at the water,” I tell her. “Our condo in San Francisco was over the marina, and I used to love watching the boats come in.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Not really. It never felt like home. I never really belonged there. Don’t get me wrong, Addison provided me with an amazing life. I went on spectacular trips, and I never wanted for anything. But I never felt like I was in the right place. That was until I moved here.”

“This is your home.” Margot grins at me. “This is where you belong. I’m over the moon happy you’ve found your way back to us. Back to Ryker.”

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