Page 8 of Soul Bound

“I know.” Pru grins wickedly. “That’s why I brought her. She’s your punishment.”

Pruitt insisted on driving my 4Runner home, leaving me to ride home with Remi. This means for the long hour and a half it took for us to get back, my younger sister yelled and chastised me for my involvement in shifter street fighting. Once we pull up to Pru and Ryker’s mid-century modern lake house, my head is pounding—not just from the fucking baseball bat, but from my sister’s loud reprimanding.

I moved out of my parents’ house a month after we rescued Pruitt from the facility in Vancouver she was being tortured at. I bought an old Airstream trailer that barely has running water and functioning electricity, but I much prefer to hide in there than have my parents’ concerned eyes on me at all times. Ryker and Pru were nice enough to gift me a couple of acres of their property to park it on. I’m still over a mile away from their house, so it’s not like I’m intruding on them.

They’re newlyweds, so I find it best to avoid them at all costs. They’re so in love with each other, it’s sickening, honestly. Of course, I’m over the moon happy for them since they were separated for fourteen years since Ryker had thought she had died. He got quite the shock when he returned home to find she was very much alive but had zero recollection of him or her life before she was seven years old.

I plan to build a small log cabin on the parcel of land they had given me. Nothing special, just a simple structure with the basic necessities. And I got this crazy-ass idea that I was going to build it myself. Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I have the framing almost completely done. But in the meantime, I still have to shower and cook meals in Pru’s house.

“Remi, seriously, shut up,” I growl at her as I climb out of the passenger seat of the lifted Jeep. My shoes crunch on the gravel driveway as I stalk toward the front door, not waiting for my sister or Pru who had pulled in behind us.

I’m halfway to the door when I hear Remi call me back, “Uh Ranger?”

“Yeah?” I ask over my shoulder, afraid she’s about to lay into me some more.

“Are you expecting a guest?” Her voice sounds weird and it alarms me. I turn around to find both her and Pru staring off to the side yard.

“What are you talking about?” I walk toward them, scanning the yard, but I don’t see anything until I get closer to them.

Standing in the grass, fifty yards away, is a woman with long dark hair and wearing a trench coat. She doesn’t look at us, instead, her head is turned and she’s talking to herself.

“Who is that?” Pru whispers.

Remi shrugs her shoulders dramatically. “How thefuckwould I know?”

“Is she talking to herself?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at the woman who is gesturing with her hands now as she talks.

“Uhh yep, that’s a bucket of crazy wrapped in a trench coat—Pru! What are you doing? Get back here!” Remi hisses as Pruitt starts to walk toward the mystery girl.

“Shh, it’s fine.” Pru waves her off while she continues to walk forward. She moves slowly so she doesn’t alarm the woman. “Excuse me?” She lifts her hand, trying to get the girl’s attention. “Hello?”

The girl doesn’t look up at first, she keeps talking, her voice almost too low for my shifter ears to pick up.

I just want to go take a shower and climb into bed, so I’m not as patient as Pruitt is trying to be as I march forward, brushing past her as I go. “Hey! Crazy cakes, what are you doing? Why are you talking to yourself?” I grab her shoulders and force the girl to look at me.

The first thing I notice is her eyes, how could I not? They’re two different colors, one is a light moss green while the other one is the palest blue I have ever seen. They’re also the biggest eyes I have ever seen, almost doll-like. While she looks innocent enough, I see the darkness swirling around those two-toned orbs. She’s a tiny thing too, barely coming to my shoulder, and even through the coat she wears wrapped around her, I can tell she’s thin as hell.

My wolf growls at that, not liking she’s clearly been missing a few meals.

She blinks up at me a couple of times. “I’m not talking to myself,” she says before shrugging my hands off her and taking a few steps back from me.

“Are you sure about that? It sure as hell looked like you were.” I give her a pointed look.

“I wasn’t,” she insists.

“Right,” I drawl before shoving my hands through my hair, pushing it back off my forehead.

Pruitt steps forward, still eyeing the girl warily, “Are you lost? Can we call someone for you?”

“Umm…” The girl bites her bottom lip, her two different eyes dart nervously between us. “I’m looking for someone?” She phrases it like a question, like she’s not completely sure why she’s here.

“Okay? Who?” Pru prods.

“He’s supposed to help me with something,” she says vaguely. “She said his name is Ranger.”

Pruitt’s green eyes meet mine, her brow furrowing in confusion. I have never seen this girl in my life, so why she’s come here looking for me is beyond me. I rub the back of my neck, something I only do when I’m nervous, and this girl is making me nervous. I drop my hand with a sigh, not knowing if what I’m about to say is the right move. “Well, I’m Ranger Weylyn.”

Her face blanches as she takes me in, no doubt looking at all the blood smeared on my face and my T-shirt. She takes a large step away from me, her eyes darting all around her like she’s looking for an escape route. In her hasty retreat backward, her foot catches on something and she falls to her butt with anoof.

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