Page 41 of Soul Bound

Remington doesn’t stop for me to take everything in, she just keeps pulling me farther into the house. We pass through a dining room and enter a huge open-plan kitchen. Multiple people stand around the marble island, sipping on glasses of wine and beer. Appetizers have been set out and cover most of the available countertop. I learned quickly shifters canpack awaythe food—the number of calories they eat in a day is astounding.

I immediately recognize Mr. and Mrs. Weylyn. Their four children are the perfect combination of them both. They all clearly get their height from their dad, he’s the same height as the twins and has a similar build. Ryker is a tad taller than them all. He has dark hair that is starting to turn gray around the sideburns. He wears dark-framed glasses over his dark eyes. Their mom is a natural beauty—nothing like my own mother, who is full of Botox and has more plastic surgery than I think she can remember. Their mom has the same chocolate-colored hair as the rest of them and they get their ocean blue eye color from her as well. She’s tan from spending the summer on the lake and looks relaxed as she talks with her husband. She smiles at something he says, and it exudes warmth. Everything about her just screamsmotherly.

Across the kitchen island, Pruitt is tucked under Ryker’s huge tattooed arm. I’ve never seen two people more in love than them. After spending two weeks in their house with them, it’s clear to me they truly were meant for each other. Everything about them was made for the other. The perfect match. They’re standing talking to two people I don’t recognize,

One is a tall lumberjack-like man—he’s got the beard and everything He’s even wearing a green plaid shirt and heavy work boots. His auburn hair is cropped close in almost a military cut. His full attention is on the woman who sits in front of him on one of the barstools. Her back is to me so I can’t see much of her face, but her tawny-colored hair is in a low ponytail and she wears a thick turtleneck sweater even though it’s still sixty-five degrees outside. It’s only September and it’s far from being sweater weather yet.

“You guys finally made it!” Ranger’s mom greets us, rounding the counter to come pull her daughter into a hug. Remington half-heartedly pats her mom on the back, she meets my eyes over her mom’s shoulder and rolls her eyes.

“I just saw you like five hours ago, why are you acting like you haven’t seen me in days?” Remi asks.

“I’m getting all my hugs in since I won’t see you guys for a month.” Her mom pulls back from the embrace to look at her daughter’s face, she tucks a strand of Remi’s shoulder-length hair behind her ear. “I’m going to miss you guys. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so excited to get away from you hooligans, but I’ll miss you nonetheless.”

“Thanks,” Remi says dryly. “And for the record, I’m not ahooligan. That would be those two dipshits.” She points between Ransom and Ranger. “They’re the ones causing all the problems. Just take Ranger’s new extracurricular activity as an example.”

“Yeah, because you’re always so innocent,” Ranger scoffs.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m an angel.”

“So was Lucifer,” Ransom interjects.

I bite back a smile as I watch the family interact with each other. Is this what I was missing? I would watch TV when I was younger and always be jealous of the families in the sitcoms. I wanted the mom who baked cookies and helped me with homework. I wanted the dad who was excited for his workday to be over so he could spend his evenings with his family. I wanted the goddamn golden retriever. Instead, I got a mother who was colder than ice and a dad who did everything in his power to never be home—constantly working and avoiding us… avoidingme.

Mrs. Weylyn rolls her eyes at their bickering before turning her attention to me. A big smile breaks across her face and she walks closer to where I’m standing off to the side. “I’m surprised my crazy kids haven’t scared you off yet. I would be running for the hills if I were you.” She jokes.

I find myself smiling back at her. “I tried once, but Ranger locked me in a bedroom before I could get too far.”

Her face looks appalled as she looks over my shoulder at her son. I knew he was standing somewhere behind me, but I still didn’t turn to acknowledge him. “Ranger, you didn’t.”

I hear him grunt in response.

His mom shakes her head, “I swear I raised them to behave better than they do.” She sighs. “Anyway, I’ve heard so much about you, Winslow. Remington and Pruitt haven’t been able to stop talking about you since you showed up. I’m sorry we couldn’t have met sooner; I’ve been running around like a chicken without its head getting ready for this trip. Who would have thought planning a month-long trip would be time consuming?”

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Weylyn. I’ve been busy at Esme’s shop anyway. I’m learning a lot from her.”

Esme has been trying to teach me some basic magic. Turns out, I’m very afraid of using magic, so I haven’t been the most receptive student. Esme hasn’t given up on me yet and has been taking the lessons slowly. I can however do a spell to light a candle—so that’s something.Yay for being able to make tiny fires, go me! I spend most of my time with her going through journals, hoping I will find the correct tracking spell. I also sneak in some reading on necromancy and dark magic when she’s not looking.

“Please call me Margot, and this is my husband Elias.” The man with the glasses sidles up to her. A reserved smile on his face, I don’t have to be psychic to know this man is leery of me. I can practically feel the mistrust rolling off of him. I’m choosing to not take offense. I’m kind ofa lot. And I brought a lot with me when I showed up at his son’s doorstep. I’d be leery of me too, if I were him.

Elias is a serious man. I can already tell. I don’t get the impression he’s a joker like his son Ransom. Even Ranger and Ryker have their moments of humor. Elias gives me a vibe that says he doesn’t kick back and relax often. I don’t know exactly what goes into being an alpha, but I think it’s safe to say it’s a very serious job. And he excels at it.

“Hello,” I greet him. “I’m Winslow.” I stick out my hand to shake his.

He grips my hand in his much larger one. “It’s nice to put a face to the name. I’ve heard you’ve been through quite the ordeal. It’s commendable what you’re doing for that woman. I hope you’re successful in finding her baby.”

Yup. So, serious.

I bypass the comment about me being through an‘ordeal’because I don’t know if he’s just talking about what happened when I got to Montana or if he’s talking about my shit show upbringing. Shit, he could be talking about it all for all I know. “I’m not going to give up looking for Thalia’s little girl. Granted, I don’t know how I’ll do it, might have to sell my soul or something, but I’ll find her. It’d be easier if we had a place to start looking, but it’s like looking for a teeny-tiny needle in a stack of needles.”

“Still no luck on finding a tracking spell that will help you guys?” Margot frowns. “I just can’t imagine what they could be doing to that poor infant. I wasn’t there when they found Pruitt at Nicolai’s facility, but Elias told me all about it. It sounds like something out of a nightmare.”

“Ranger told me a little bit about it, that’s why I’m so determined to rescue the baby. She deserves to have a happy childhood and she won’t get that living in a medical facility being experimented on.”

“I have faith that you will find a way to save her. Ranger seems to be just as invested in finding her as you are. I’m sure between the two of you, you’ll figure something out.” Margot gives her son a reassuring smile.

“We make quite the team.” I finally slide my eyes to Ranger. “Our communication skills are top-notch, aren’t they, White Fang?”

His blue eyes narrow at me and I see his jaw tic.

---