Page 38 of Wolf Bound

“Well, maybe you should have because it would have been easier if you were dead. Instead, you’re defective and can’t shift for shit!”

“How dare you!” I feel the vibrating in my chest, just like I did when Ryker had kissed her. I don’t know if it’s anger or if it’s the power that’s trapped inside of me, but it starts to seep out. I can’t see it, but I can feel it wrapping around me.

“No, how dareyoucome back here and fuck everything up. He was going to be fine without you! It would have taken some more time, but he was going to be okay! But now, he’s found histrue mate,”she emphasizes with a sneer, “Only he can’t mate her because she’s basically a fucking human!” she spits. “And now you’re going to have to watch as he turns into the thing he’s been hunting. A bloodthirsty, hormone-driven monster!”

My hand moves before I know what’s happening. My palm connects with Avery’s face with a loudsmack. It hits with so much force her head flies to the side.

She whips back to face me again, her eyes now glowing bright amber, and her canines have elongated. Her wolf has taken control, and from the looks of it, it’s pissed.

But so am I.

“You bitch!” She lunges at me. Her hands now have claws, and they swipe at me. Just like when I was running in the woods, I move faster than I knew was possible. I dodge her attack, smacking her hand out of the way as I do.

“Really, Avery?” I taunt her. Maybe I should be trying to defuse the situation, but my usually calm self has left the premises, and the part of me that remains wants to rip her face off. “You say you care about Ryker? What will he think if you hurt me? Huh?”

“I do care about him!” Her voice has changed too, it’s deeper and gruffer than it was before. We circle each other, each of us trying to calculate the other’s next move. Each time Avery tries to attack, I easily avoid her by either gracefully stepping out of the way or blocking her swings.

“Yeah, so do I!” I shout back at her.

“You’re only going to bring pain to him and his pack!” She strikes out for my face, her clawed hand moving quickly. But I’m faster, and again, I spin out of her reach. I feel a small smirk grow on my face when she growls in frustration.

“Why would you even say that? I would never hurt Ryker or his pack!”Block.

“You’re putting them in danger by even being here. If this Nicolai guy finds you, Ryker will never let you go, and it will cause a war.”

“As long as Nicolai doesn’t know I’m here, then we’re safe.” I dance out of her reach. We’re now dangerously close to the pool. One wrong move and we’re both going in.

“You’re stupider than I thought you were if you believe that. He’ll find you, and then he’ll kill Ryker to get to you!” she snarls.

A sudden realization hits me, and I stop moving. I stand still and stare at her. “You don’t just care for Ryker. You’re inlovewith him,” I tell her, my smirk disappearing from my face. “You don’t hate me because I’m a human or a defective wolf shifter. You hate me because I’m his mate, and you’re not.”

“No.” She shakes her head vigorously, causing her black hair to fall into her face.

“Yes. It wouldn’t matter who his mate is, you’d still hate her because you want him foryourself,” I press, refusing to let up. She had used her words to cut me deep about Addison, and now it was my turn to retaliate.

“That’s not true.” Her hands are balled into fists at her sides, but I can see they’re also shaking with rage.

“Yes, it is. I’m sorry, Avery, but one day I’m going to be able to shift, and when that happens, I’m going to mate with Ryker because he’smine. And if you think I’m going to walk away from him because of how you feel for him, then you’re insane.” The vibrating in my chest intensifies, and the power floating around us is almost suffocating at this point. “If I thought he felt the same way about you, I would let him go. I even told him so. But let’s be honest for a second.” I lean forward a little bit. “He doesn’t.”

With a battle cry like shriek, Avery leaps at me. I knew that was going to happen, and I had planned for it. I’m standing with my back to the pool, and with one simple move to my left, I’m out of her reach. Her body flies past me, followed by a large splash.

The water from the pool soaks my shoes, but I don’t care. It’s all worth it to see Avery surface sputtering and coughing up water. I stand at the edge of the pool, glaring down at her.

“Are you cooled off now?” I ask her, my voice calm.

“Go to hell.” She bares her teeth at me.

“You’re important to Ryker and Sawyer for reasons I’ll never understand, so I’m going to walk into the house like nothing happened. I suggest you do the same for Ryker’s sake.” I give her one more pointed look before spinning on my heels and making my way up the stairs up to the house.

“You should ask Ryker about that time we fucked!” she shouts after me.

I falter in my steps, the toe of my shoe catching on the stone step. But I quickly recover and straighten my shoulders. I don’t look back at her because I don’t want her to see the look on my face. I don’t need to give her the satisfaction of seeing the hurt that now sits there.

“Go get dried off, Avery,” I call over my shoulder.

17

Pruitt

---