Page 65 of Soul Bound

“Isn’t Ransom up there too?” Pru asks.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t count as company.” Remi scrunches up her face. “He’s up there texting some coyote shifter like some lovesick fool. I swear that dude will stick his dick in anything. Like, come on, a coyote shifter? Aim higher Ransom,aim higher.” Remi plops down on the tree next to Pru. Her blue eyes slide to me and a mischievous smile grows on her face. “Speaking of brothers sticking their dicks in things—”

“Remi!” Pru gasps.

Remi grimaces and nods at Pru. “As it was coming out of my mouth, I knew it was bad. That was gross, wasn’t it? Too much, right?” She looks at me apologetically. “You know that filter between your brain and mouth? I was born without it. I swear sometimes I say shit and I surprise myself.”

“It’s never boring when Remington is around.” Pru bumps shoulders with her friend.

“Of course, it’s not,” Remi scoffs. “I keep shit exciting. You would all be lost without me.”

“I can’t imagine what your house was like when you guys were kids.” I can just picture four little dark-haired kids running around, causing mayhem. “I bet the twins were a handful.”

“Ranger liked to draw on the walls and Ransom was a biter.Iwas a perfect child—absolutely angelic and a complete delight to be around, much like I am now.” Remi tosses her hair over her shoulder for effect. “But let’s talk less about me and how perfect I am. I have to ask you a question…” The mischievous look is back.

Oh no.

“Okay…” I drawl.

“Are you boning my brother?”

“Remi! You can’t just ask her that!” Pruitt scolds.

“Why? We were all wondering it, I’m just the one who asked.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. I can’t believe they’re all talking about whether Ranger and I slept together. I didn’t think we were acting any differently around each other when we got back earlier, but apparently, I was wrong.

“Look at her face!” Remington points a slender finger in my direction. “They are! Goddammit, I owe Ransom money now. He bet they would sleep together while in Canada, I said it wouldn’t happen until they got back.”

My mouth gapes open in shock. “You were betting on whether or not we would have sex?”

“Yeah, and Itotallylost.” She pouts.

“That’s horrible.” I shake my head in disbelief.

“You’re telling me!” Remington throws up her hands. “Why does everyone want to fuck my brothers? I don’t get it.”

* * *

I feelrestless and find myself tossing and turning when I try to sleep later that night. The anxiety of not knowing if the spell will work when Esme adjusts it weighs heavily on my mind. I try coming up with other ideas on how we could find TBD, but I’ve come up with jack shit.

I don’t want to admit it, but I think the main reason I can’t sleep is that Ranger isn’t here. After dinner, he went off to his trailer in the woods, saying he needed to work on some things in his cabin before the sun went down.

It’s been hours since I’ve seen him, and I don’tlike it.

I knew I didn’t like being away from him during the weeks he was avoiding me, but now that I’ve spent two days solid with him, I like it even less. I just feeloff—my own body just feelswrong, like something just isn’t right in my skin. And there’s this little voice in my head urging me to go to him. His presence is an addiction I don’t know how to combat. My craving for the actual drugs I was on pale in comparison to the craving I feel for Ranger Weylyn. I don’t know how I will ever be able to detox him from my system.

Is there a ten-step program that helps you get over sexy wolf shifters? I will need to find one when it’s time for me to leave here.

I’m going to need to find a way of breaking my new bad habit if I’m going to be able to walk away from Ranger when the time comes. I need to protect myself for when Ranger inevitably shoves me to the side without a second thought. Everyone else important in my life has done it, why should he be any different. I will need to leave before that even becomes a possibility. It’s best this way—there’s no need for me to grow more attached than I already am.

I give up trying to sleep and kick off the covers I’m twisted up in. I pull my hoodie over my sleep tank and leave the bedroom in search of a glass of water. The house is dark and silent when I slip into the hallway, the only light comes from the moon, its light beaming through the floor to ceiling windows that cover the back of the house. I walk as quietly down the hallway, not wanting to wake Ryker or Pruitt. I pass the wall of photographs I was looking at the day Ryker threw me up against the wall and pause.

The picture of the pregnant woman catches my eye and I feel the color drain from my face. The blonde from the woods smiles back at the camera, her green eyes, the same color as Pruitt’s, shine with happiness as she cradles her swollen stomach. The same calm energy that is captured in the picture is the same energy the ghost was giving off today.

The woman in the woods today was Pruitt’smom, Genevieve.

“Holysh—” I start to whisper, but my phone ringing in my hoodie pocket interrupts me. Startled by the sudden noise I jump almost a foot in the air, my hand flies up to my mouth to muffle the alarmed noise that starts to escape from between my lips. I pull the phone out of my pocket as fast as I can to silence the obnoxious ringtone, so it doesn’t wake the rest of the house up.

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