Page 10 of Soul Bound

Once again, my body decides it can’t move, and I watch as the tops of the trees start to fall right over me. And all I can think as I watch is,‘Wow, I really wish I was back in my jail cell at Cresthill right now.’I raise my hands above my head and brace for impact, but it never comes. At lightning speed, Ranger is spinning around and scooping me up. With me pressed against his chest, he moves back ten feet and we both just watch as the branches smash to the ground,rightwhere I had been sitting.

I feel Ranger’s chest vibrate with a growl under the hand I had placed on his chest to steady myself. It matches the same sound the girl had made before she had spontaneously combusted into a fucking wolf. A chill goes up my spine when I look up and find his eyes glowing silver, the glowing orbs track the movements of the other two wolves battling it out across the way.

He roughly puts be back on the ground, my shaky legs barely keep me up. “Shit!” he snaps, throwing his arms up in frustration as he runs toward the wolves.

“Wait, don’t—” I start to warn him to stop so he doesn’t get hurt as well, but my voice catches in my throat when he takes off in a sprint, and with a running start, he leaps over the fallen trees. And then the craziest thing happens, when he lands on the other side, he’s no longer a man. Instead, he’s a huge dark gray wolf.

My hand shoots up, covering my mouth in shock as I watch the new wolf—Ranger—join the fight. Instead of going after the white wolf, he snaps his teeth at the other gray wolf. I drop my hand and look up at the night sky, tilting my head back.

“What. The.Fuck?”

Thiscannotbe happening.

I’ve spent the better part of my life seeing some crazy things. While on a family vacation to Hawaii when I was in middle school, I saw some of the dead soldiers from Pearl Harbor. They still thought they were under attack and were running about, dodging invisible bombs. They were bloodied and broken, still in pain from the wounds that had inevitably killed them. Then there was the time I visited the hospital when my grandpa was dying and I saw deceased patients still roaming the halls, calling for someone to help them. That was the last time I ever went to a hospital. But seeing these people turn into wolves takes the cake for craziest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m a believer in certain things—obviously,I have to be—but come on,werewolves? There’s always been a small piece of me that was filled with doubt because maybe I am batshit, coo-coo-bananas crazy like they’ve always said I was. But I have never believed them more than I do now as I watch these wolves growl and bite at each other.

A flickering behind them draws my attention. Slowly coming back into focus, Thalia stands behind them. She still wears the long, bloodied, white hospital gown and her face is still ghostly—no pun intended—pale, but for the first time, I see that she is smiling. Her mouth curves up at the corners as she watches the wolves, and even from across the yard where I stand from her, I can tell her eyes are lighting up with excitement.

“Well, I’m glad someone is enjoying this…” I mumble under my breath. I wince looking down at the palms of my hands that have scrapes on them, as softly as I can, I pick pieces of dirt off the pieces of broken skin.

When someone puts their hand on my shoulder, I about jump out of my skin in surprise. Whirling around so fast I almost lose my balance again, I come face to face with the brunette girl. I completely forgot she was here during the whole ordeal.

“Welcome to the madhouse.” Grinning, she waves her hand around with a flourish. “Boy, did you choose the wrong night to show up here. We aren’t usually this crazy, I promise, you just caught us on a bad day.”

I clear my throat and wrap my arms protectively around my waist. “I uh—”

She cuts me off, “So, I know you’re probably freaking out and planning your next escape, but I highly suggest you don’t. Wolves tend to want to chase things when they run away from them.” She throws her long arm around my shoulders and starts leading me toward the house. I hesitate at first, but when her much stronger arm tugs me harder, I have no choice but to follow. “I’m Remington, by the way, but you can call me Remi.”

Remi is taller than me, which isn’t hard to do since I’m only five-three. She’s also crazy pretty, like Instagram model pretty. That isn’t surprising though, since everyone I’ve seen at this house looks like they belong on the cover of magazines. The blonde was stunning, even when her features twisted up in anger. Even covered in blood, Ranger isveryattractive.

Remi holds a striking resemblance to Ranger; with the dark brown hair and the clearest blue eyes that I’ve ever seen. “Are you his sister?” I find myself asking her.

“Ranger’s? Yup, he’s one of my big brothers.” She opens a large glass door with black trim and pulls me into one of the prettiest houses I’ve ever seen. It looks like it had been recently redone, I can still smell the fresh paint on the walls. It’s very contemporary but with an industrial side with the metal and reclaimed wood features. The back wall of the house is made of floor to ceiling windows so you can look at the lake out back.

“How many brothers do you have?” Not exactly the question I should be asking since there are more pressing matters at hand, but I ask anyway.

“There are three of them, but between Pru and I, we keep them in line.” She stiffens when a vicious growl comes from behind us. “Well, for the most part.”

When we reach the kitchen, she pushes me to one of the barstools and motions with her chin for me to take a seat, not feeling like I’m really in a position to refuse her, I sit. She starts opening cabinets, looking for something specific. She mumbles to herself when she can’t find what she’s looking for. By the fifth drawer, she grins. “There it is!” She holds up a bottle opener shaped like a bottle of beer.

She moves to the stainless-steel fridge, the sound of glass bottles moving is the only sound in the quiet house. I nervously bite at my bottom lip as I sit there waiting for her to say something about what had just happened outside. I want to jump to my feet and screamwhy aren’t we talking about it! But instead, I sit quietly, my leg bouncing slightly.

“Do you want a beer? Or I think Pru has some of those nasty hard cider drinks.” She makes a gagging noise, her head still in the fridge. “What a waste of calories, am I right?”

“I don’t want anything,” I decline. I have never in my life been happier to be sober. I need a clear head to deal with the shit show I had just found myself in.

Her head pops around the door of the fridge. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Remi jumps up onto the counter so she can sit, her movements fluid and graceful. She takes a long drink of her beer, her blue gaze never leaving me as she does. “So, little wanderer, what’s your name?” she asks, placing her bottle on the countertop.

I’m tempted to lie and say my name is Sally or Jane, something generic because if I’m being honest, I don’t know if I want these people to know who I am. There is still a high possibility that the second this girl’s head is turned, I’m going to make a break for it. But the little voice in my head is telling me that I need Ranger’s help to find Thalia’s baby and I shouldn’t run, so I don’t lie. “Winslow.”

“What brings you to Montana, Winslow?”

I clear my throat before answering. “As I said, I need Ranger’s help with something.”

The reason we are talking about me and not that there arewerewolvesoutside is beyond me.

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