Page 45 of Soul Bound

I almost feel intoxicated from our kiss. My legs feel wobbly and unsteady when he returns me to the ground. My vision tilts slightly and I have to blink a couple of times to refocus my vision. I tuck my hand in the pockets of my jean jacket to hide the fact they’re shaking.

“I’ll see you inside?” This is so fucking awkward. Now would be a wonderful time for the earth to split open and swallow me whole.

His blue eyes look like they’re ablaze when I look at him again, “I’ll be there in a second. I’m going to go on a walk first.”

“Yeah, okay.” I turn around to leave and I only make it a few feet before he speaks up again.

“This is why I’ve been avoiding you. You’re a distraction I can’t—Thalia’s baby—can’t have right now.” He clenches and unclenches his fists at his sides like he’s itching to grab me again. “When I’m around you all I can think about is what you taste like, what you’d feel like pressed against me. I’ve been thinking about it since the day in the bathroom. I can’t focus on anything else.”

I press my lips together and rock back in my boots, “Well now you know.” I shrug, because what else am I supposed to do with that information. I refuse to allow him to see his rejection hurts more than I care to admit. Or that there is a pit in my stomach from knowing he wants me but refuses to do anything about it.

“And now I know.”

* * *

After sittingthrough an incredibly uncomfortable dinner where the conversation was forced and no one really looked at one another, we finally said our goodbyes after dessert and headed back to Pru’s house. Remington and Ransom still live at home, so they stayed behind. I opted to ride back with Pruitt and Ryker, instead of Ranger. They didn’t ask why, but I felt them looking at me through the rearview mirror, clearly confused why I didn’t want to ride with Ranger. Once home, I didn’t stick around with everyone in the living room when they said they were going to watch a comedy special on Netflix, I pretended I was tired and locked myself away in my guest room.

I’ve been lying in my bed, staring at the ceiling for hours at this point. I heard everyone go to bed over an hour ago. My mind is going a million miles an hour. I’m trying to think through my own problems, while also trying to come up with a plan to find the baby. All while trying not to think about Ranger.

And I’m failing miserably.

I swear my heartbeat is just now starting to return to normal and even after showering I can still smell his cologne on me—the spicy masculine smell fills my senses every time I move. It’s like he’sonme.

Pushing the hunky, highly frustrating werewolf out of my mind, I focus on Thalia. I haven’t seen her in days. She’s been quiet lately. When she does show up, she just stands off to the side staring at me, her head slightly cocked to the side. I’ve tried asking her if she knows where her child is, but all I ever get is a sad shake of the head. You’d think if she was able to find me in Rhode Island, she would be able to find her baby. Or at least give us a semblance of the direction of where she might be.

But so far, she’s been zero help.

I can’t be mad at her though. It’s impossible to feel anything but sympathy and pity when it comes to Thalia. I don’t know what her life was like before she was taken to the breeding facility and experimented on. I just know her baby was cut out of her while she was conscious, and she died in a pool of her blood.

Blood…

“Holy shit!” I fly out of bed and scramble around the dark room looking for a jacket or my robe, justsomethingto cover my bare shoulders since I’m only wearing a thin white tank top and blue sleep shorts. My hands land on a thick cream-colored cardigan and I yank it on. I stub my toe on the bed frame in my rush and curse like a sailor while bouncing around the room on one foot.

Ignoring the pain that’s coming from my poor little toe, I shove my bare feet into my boots, leaving the laces untied. I don’t want to waste time lacing them up, I need to get to Ranger.

I grab a flashlight from the kitchen before I slide out of the side door of the house. I hear a squawking noise in the big pine tree above me when I walk across the lawn. I whistle in response to Poe. He’s been sticking close by, refusing to leave. Remington still bitches about his constant squawking, but I’ve seen her leaving blueberries on the back patio for him when she doesn’t know I’m looking.

It’s well past midnight and dark as hell out. The moon is only a sliver in the sky, so there isn’t much light coming from it. I flip on the flashlight when I walk into the trees. I’m not exactly sure where Ranger’s trailer is parked, but Ransom had told me it was in this direction one day when I asked. I figure it will be hard to miss.

I walk as fast as I can through the woods. I try to ignore the ominous noises that come with being in the woods at night as I carefully weave between trees. I’m looking ahead of me and not looking down when the toe of my boot catches on a rock, making me stumble forward. Luckily, I’m able to steady myself before I fall on my face.

It takes longer than I thought it would to get to Ranger’s silver Airstream trailer. By the time I get there, I’m out of breath and I feel a little sweaty despite the cool night air. The trailer has an awning on it and strands of lights are strung under it. A couple of wooden Adirondack chairs sit under it, with a small table between them. Yards behind it is where his cabin will one day be. The framing looks like it’s well on its way to being completed. I can’t make out much about it in the dark, but it looks like it’s going to be a fairly small, simple structure—afarcry from the giant home he was raised in.

The lights are off in the trailer, a part of me feels guilty waking him up, but this is important. I need to talk to him.Now.

I knock lightly on the trailer door, knowing his sensitive hearing will pick it up. After a minute of knocking, I hear rustling coming from somewhere in the trailer and a light turns on somewhere, illuminating the previously dark windows.

The door swings outward, so I have to take a step back when he appears at the door. “Winslow?” He looks genuinely shocked to see me out here. “What are you doing out here? It’s late. Did you walk out here in the dark by yourself?”

My mouth dries because he’s only wearing a pair of loose pajama pants that sit low on his hips, his perfect V on full display. Again, I know I’ve seen him naked… twice, but I’ll never tire of looking at his body. It’s perfection. And to think, I could have had my hands all over it earlier if he hadn’t stopped me.Damnhim.

“I wasn’t alone, Poe was with me.” As if on cue, I hear the sound of wings above me. “I know, I’m sorry it’s late, but this couldn’t wait.”

“What’s going on?” He pushes the door open farther, silently inviting me inside. I slip under the arm he uses to prop open the door and enter his home. It’s a basic Airstream trailer, nothing exciting to write home about. Small kitchen with the smallest appliances I’ve ever seen on one side and a small couch on the other. There’s a door in the back I assume leads to a bedroom. I look back at Ranger and have to bite my lip to keep from laughing, he looks huge in this space. Men well over six feet were not meant to live in a tiny space like this. Hell, I’m just over five feet tall and I feel like I’m taking up too much breathing room.

“This is cozy,” I offer.

He scowls. “It’s temporary.” He leans against the small countertop and looks me over. I realize I must look ridiculous wearing my boots with my pajamas. I can’t even imagine what my hair must look like right now with all the tossing and turning I was doing before the idea struck me. “What are you doing out here?”

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