Page 93 of Wolf Bound

He puts his hand out, and for reasons I don’t understand, my wolf takes that as a threat, and she growls at him again and backs up even farther, dragging the lifeless man with her. I can’t do anything to stop her. The instinct of a wolf’s prey is strong, and though I would like to let go and check on Ryker, I can’t.

“Pru…” From my left, I hear Ryker’s breathless voice. Immediately my ears perk up, and my eyes shoot to him. Ryker is now in a sitting position thanks to Ransom helping him up. His shirt is completely soaked with blood, and he looks pale, but he’s still breathing. “It’s okay, baby, let him go. You’re okay—I’m okay.”

It’s like something clicks when I see Ryker is still alive. The adrenaline and fear I had been feeling moments before subside and my wolf calms down. I let go of Nicolai and back away from him. I look around at the people surrounding him. Remi has helped Jax sit up, and they’re both staring at me with shocked looks on their faces. The men who had worked for Nicolai have dropped their guns and are looking a little green. Ranger walks up behind Elias, and they both have a look of awe on their faces.

They must be shocked I was able to shift because I sure as hell am. I thought I was never going to be able to do this, and now I stand before them as a wolf.

43

Ryker

My chest still feels like it's on fire, and it’s a little hard to breathe, but luckily, I’m still alive. Since the bullet went through my chest and didn’t lodge itself inside, the effects of the silver will be minimal. If the bullet had gotten stuck in my chest, the silver would have leaked into my bloodstream and caused my heart to stop. Although the small amount of silver from the bullet passing through will most likely leave me weak for a short while, I’ll live. I can’t say the same for Nicolai Volkov, however. My strong mate made sure of that, and now he lies lifeless at her feet.

Even though my body was in shock from being shot, and my vision was a little blurry from the pain, watching Pruitt shift into a wolf was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed, and I know everyone around me can agree because not only is she finally able to shift, but she has shifted into awhite wolf.

Her fur is as white as snow, and her eyes blaze a brilliant green. She’s taller than most female wolf shifters but still leaner than a male. She’s absolutely stunning even with the blood covering her muzzle.

The second Nicolai’s guards saw her shift into a white wolf, they dropped their guns and stood in shock as she crushed Nicolai’s throat. They saw her temper and how fast she is, and I have to assume they were a little nervous about being on the receiving end of her bite seeing how it didn’t work out so well for their boss.

“Holy shit,” Ransom whispers from my side, “she’sthewhite wolf.”

“She’s amazing,” I agree, never taking my eyes off my stunning mate. I’m still feeling weak, and my legs are a little sluggish when I try to stand so I can go to her. Ransom helps steady me once I get my legs and feet under me. “Go check for more of Nicolai’s people, I’m going to try to get her to shift back.”

The scariest part of shifting for the first time is having to shift back to your human form. It can take some young shifters hours to accomplish, and I can tell by the look in Pruitt’s eyes she’s already starting to panic. That’s the worst thing a shifter can do when trying to shift is panic or overthink it. The trick is relaxing and allowing your body to do what it already knows how to.

I push through the pain as I crouch down in front of her. Her eyes stay on me before shooting back to look at the people standing yards away from us.

“Don’t worry about them,”I tell her through our link, “just look at me.Wow, baby, you are so beautiful, and I’m so proud of you.”

Her body stills for a second, and she focuses solely on me.“Ryker, I’m scared. How do I shift back? As cool as it is to finally be able to be a wolf, I would like to be human again right now.”

“It’s okay, just relax. Remember when we tried to get you to shift before, and I told you to visualize paws and fur? This time visualize what you look like as a human.”

A whimper of distress comes from her before she says,“Oh God.”

“What?”

“I’m going to be naked! Your brothers cannot see me naked, Ryker.”Her voice is full of panic when she realizes her clothes are torn to shreds.

“I don’t think either of us would enjoy that,”I agree with her before turning to look at my family that stands off to the side. “Can you guys go do a perimeter check for a minute while she shifts back? And Dad, can I borrow your coat?”

I take the jacket from my dad as they pass us. I wait for them to round the corner of the building before turning my attention back to my scared mate.

“Okay, we can do this. Just do what I said,”I assure her calmly.“Picture yourself in your human form.”

“Okay.”

It takes several minutes before the white fur starts to be replaced by tanned naked skin and long blonde hair. Her vibrant green wolf eyes shift back into their equally pretty human ones, and her fangs and claws retract. As happy as I was to see my mate in wolf form, I’m more ecstatic to see her crouching in front of me as a human.

“Hey,” I say when she looks up at me, and I can’t help the goofy smile that appears on my face.

“Hi.” She smiles back before she launches herself at me. She wraps her arms and legs around my middle and holds me tight in her grasp.

I fall to my butt, and my chest still burns, but it doesn’t stop me from wrapping her up in my arms and holding her close to me. My wolf howls in happiness in my head, having her safe back in my arms. I hear her sniff a couple of times and I feel my own eyes sting with tears of pure joy.

We stay like this for several minutes before she leans back and presses her mouth against mine. I immediately kiss her back, and after the last few days of being away from her, I’m desperate for her touch.

Her fingers travel my back and neck before stopping at my scalp. Her mouth stills, and she pulls away, her eyes narrowing as she frowns and glares at me. “What thehelldid you do to your hair?”

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