Page 17 of Soul Bound

Pruitt and Remingtonwork together to sweep up the broken glass all over the floor. Feeling guilty that I brought destruction upon her home, I stand there wringing my hands. “Pruitt, I’m so sorry about the chandelier and the vase.” I had offered to clean it up myself, but she insisted it was okay.

“Don’t worry about it. You actually did me a favor, I hated this light fixture. My mother-in-law, Margot, picked it out and I couldn’t find a way to tell her it was hideous. I kept telling Ryker that one day the thing was going to mysteriously fall from the ceiling and break.” She shrugs, dumping pieces of glass from the dustpan into the trash bag Remi holds. “Now I can honestly say it wasn’t me who smashed it to pieces. And I have plenty of other vases.” The smile she gives me is so reassuring that some of the guilt starts to fade away.

“Do ghosts do that often? Move and break things?” Remi asks.

“It’s not common, most ghosts are very confused and scared because they don’t know they’re dead. But then there are ones like Thalia, who are angry and have unresolved business. Their anger feeds them, making them stronger, but it usually doesn’t last long since their energy fades fast. Thalia is the strongest spirit I’ve ever met.” I perch myself at the end of the leather sofa. I’m suddenly so tired and I just want to go back to the motel and get some rest, I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in I don’t know how long.

“You said you’ve been able to see ghosts since you were eleven years old, right?” Ransom takes a swig of thethirdbeer he’s downed since Thalia left. “That shit had to be terrifying for a little kid.”

My mind races back to when I first started seeing spirits and how terrified I had been. The worst part was my parents not believing me. “You know when you’re a kid and you were afraid that the boogeyman was in your closet?”

They all nod.

“The only difference was I knew that there actuallywasa boogeyman in my closet. His name was Mr. Davies and he liked to go in there and cry because he didn’t understand why his family couldn’t see or hear him.”

Pru frowns. “I feel bad for them—the ghosts.”

“I’m sorry, did you miss thehorrormovie that just took place in your living room?” Remi waves her hands dramatically around the room.

“For people who literally transform into wolves, you’re not taking this as well as one would think.” I purse my lips. “This can’t possibly be the craziest thing that’s happened to you guys, can it?”

Pruitt nervously scratches her nose, giving Remington a knowing look.

“She has a point,” Remi says.

“This isn’t the craziest thing that’s happened to me,” Pru concedes. “I had a witch steal my memories and lock away my wolf for fourteen years. I didn’t know about any of this—magical wolf shifter—shit until five months ago. And then I was kidnapped—”

“You weren’t kidnapped, you went voluntarily, and you know it,” Remi huffs. “Because you’re a fucking idiot,” she grumbles under her breath.

Pruitt waves her off. “Anyway… I was held hostage by a madman who wanted to use me to breed super alpha wolf babies, but since I couldn’t shift into a wolf yet, he used a demon to torture me with hellfire to force my wolf to surface.”

At this point my jaw is on the ground, I have given up trying to act nonchalant and I’m now fully accepting that this world I have found myself in, is fucking nuts.

“A demon?” I choke.

“His name is Jax and we’re friends now.” Pruitt shrugs, like having a demon as a buddy is totally normal.But news flash blondie, it is NOT.

“Right,” is all I say, because what else am I supposed to say to that? “I have about three million questions, but I’m exhausted. I’m going to call an Uber and head back to the motel. I need to sleep, I’ve been running on pure adrenaline for the past three days and after the shitstorm that I found myself in tonight, I’m done. I have nothing left in the tank. I need to sleep for about a week.”

“You’re leaving?” Ranger’s head snaps in my direction from where he’s been silently listening while leaning against the wall.

“Yeah, fortonight. I’m not going to run awayWhite Fang, so you can relax.” I walk across the room and pick up the jacket I had left on the floor, I don’t put it on, since I don’t want to offend Remington again. “And even if I wanted to, I don’t get the impression that Thalia would let me.”

“Iwouldn’t let you,” he growls.

I snort. “Like you could stop me.”

He pushes off the wall and stalks toward me. I notice he moves like an animal, whichhello—makes sense. “Did you miss the part where I turn into a wolf? I’ve got your scentArizona, now I can track you anywhere.”

“Okay, Mr. Stalker, calm your tits, I told you I wasn’t going anywhere.” I glare at him. “AndArizona? What does that mean?”

He ignores my question. “You’re right. You’re not going anywhere. You’ll stay here tonight.”

“Iwhat?” My feet halt from carrying me toward the exit. “You can’t make me stay here, and besides, it’s not even your home. You can’t offer—or force—someone to stay at a house that doesn’t belong to you.”

“I don’t mind, we have four extra bedrooms,” Pruitt interjects.

I glare at her. “Girl code Pruitt, I believe it’s still a thing.”

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