Page 92 of Soul Bound

The second the plane speeds down the runway, I allowed myself to relax. Ranger had leaned over the armrest and kissed my cheek before kissing the top of Ella’s head. “You’re safe now,” he had told her. Seeing him interact with her makes my heart swell with love. Not only is Ranger incredibly protective of me, but he is when it comes to Ella too. A woman had come up to us when we were waiting to board the plane, she commented on how cute she was and reached out to take Ella’s little hand. Ranger had tucked the baby closer to his chest and pulled away from the woman before he practically ripped her head off verbally. I had awkwardly laughed and said he was a nervous new dad, trying desperately to defuse the situation.

Remington had met us at the airport in Montana with a car seat for Ella so we could safely drive her home. There were so many items we didn’t have for Ella, and we both felt completely unprepared. Luckily, the second Margot and Elias heard about what happened, they had flown home. Margot has been a godsend with helping us with Ella.

Both Margot and Elias hadn’t reacted well when they learned Ranger had died. Margot had started sobbing over the phone and Elias had bought one-way tickets home immediately. Ransom and Remington reacted even worse. Ransom lost control of his wolf and shifted in a fit of rage in the middle of Pruitt’s house. Remington went on a ten-minute tirade about how she wanted to be the one who killed Vance in revenge, vowing to skin him alive. She reacted even worse when she learned Jax had already taken care of the problem and started growling on and on about‘stupid fucking demons’, her words not mine.

I’m actually a pretty big fan of Jax’s. He did save my life after all. I thought Pruitt was crazy for being friends with him when I first learned about him, but now I understand. Jax is the kind of loyal friend you want in your corner. I can pick up on his internal turmoil though, he hides it well, but I can still feel it. The demon’s got his own demons he’s trying to fight off.

Jax decided to come back to Montana too but refused to sit on a plane for hours, opting to teleport there.Lucky bastard. Flying with an infant is no joke and parents who do it should get a free drink card from the airline. The air pressure had hurt poor Ella’s ears and she fussed the whole flight, I felt horrible I couldn’t help her.

I’m not what you would call anaturalwhen it comes to babies, meanwhile, Ranger thrives. He is completely calm and always knows what she needs or why she’s crying. I’ve been referring to him as the baby whisperer.

Everyone has become obsessed with the little dark-haired baby,even Ryker. After we brought her home, he was eager to jump in and help out with her. I see the baby fever storming in Pru’s eyes when she watches her mate. I’ll be the first to admit he looks good with a baby.

He just doesn’t look as good asmymate though.

I finish warming the baby bottle and turn around to find him entering the kitchen with the baby. Ella’s in her pale pink onesie Margot had bought her. It came with a matching bow, but Ella refuses to keep anything on her head much to Margot’s dismay. I had high-fived Ella for it because I don’t do bows either. She’s taking after me already.

My mouth dries at the sight of him holding her to his bare chest, the only thing he wears is a pair of low-slung gray sweatpants. His hair is disheveled from when he towel dried it after he got out of the shower. “Why are you shirtless?” I smirk at him but continue to enjoy the view. What is it about a man holding a baby that makes women go crazy? I’m this close to dragging his sexy ass into the bedroom and having my wicked way with him.

“I’ve given up trying to wear shirts around her, some bodily fluid is always coming out of her and I’m sick of doing laundry.” The late morning sun streams through the windows, making the glowing aura around him intensify. I never get tired of seeing that shimmering light around him, I’ve caught myself staring at it more times than I can count over the past week. His eyes shine when he looks down at her while he sways back and forth the way she likes. “It’s a good thing she’s cute.”

I reach up and push some of her feathery dark hair off her forehead. “That she is,” I agree. “I’m going to miss her.”

Ranger and I had both looked at each other the night we landed in Montana, each of us realizing we didn’t have a plan past finding and saving Thalia’s baby. Neither one of us thought about what we would doafterwe found her. Ranger’s first thought was we would keep her and raise her as our own, and while the idea of doing that made me panic because I’m not so sure I’m cut out to be a mother, I was still willing to do it. I would have taken Ella and acted as her mother. I knew with Ranger by my side, we could do it, we could be good parents to this baby. Plus, I feel so connected to her already, I don’t know how I’m going to let her go.

Thalia had appeared not long after, and I had asked her what she wanted us to do. She had stood over her sleeping baby and smiled down at her, not answering my question. It was hours later when I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when the mirror glass frosted over. In the frost, a phone number with an Arizona area code had been written. I didn’t know exactly who I was calling when I dialed the number, but a woman named Nadia Deluca answered on the third ring.

I had to vaguely ask her if she knew someone named Thalia, and that’s when I learned Nadia is Thalia’ssister. I felt horrible having to explain what happened to her sister over the phone, the conversation would’ve been so much better to have in person. But really, is there ever a good way to tell someone their sister is dead? Nadia had cried when I told her she had a niece. She didn’t hesitate though. She said she was going to drive up and get Ella.

It was a bittersweet moment for us when we had to tell everyone Ella would be leaving to live with her biological family. We are all excited Ella will be growing up with someone who can tell her stories of her mother’s past, but we’re all sad to have to let her go. Margot had cried when we told them all the news.

I’ve already had Whisper acquire them new identities. We didn’t want to risk Sterling figuring out we would take Ella to Thalia’s family because while the plan is the best one for Ella, it’s also the most obvious. It wouldn’t take Sterling’s people long to put it all together. Nadia had no qualms about starting over somewhere with a new name. She said there wasn’t much tying her to Arizona and a fresh start is just what she needed.

“When will Nadia be here?” Ranger asks.

I make faces at Ella, earning me a gummy smile. “She texted me twenty minutes ago saying she was an hour away.”

Ranger tucks her into the crook of his elbow, cradling her before taking the bottle from me. I smirk when I watch him test the temperature of the milk on his wrist. He’s going to make an amazing dad someday.

The front door opens and closes, and the sound of raised voices has both of us turning in that direction. Ranger sighs and places the bottle back on the counter, deciding to wait for a second to feed Ella.

“Just a teeny-tinybit,” Remington’s voice begs.

“Absolutely not,” Jax responds.

“I’m not talking a full dose, just touch us with your pinky finger or something,” she pleads. “I want to see which one of us can withstand it longer.”

“How did I get dragged into this?” Ransom growls. “I never agreed to let him use hellfire on me.”

The three of them enter the kitchen. Remi bounces on her toes behind Jax with her hands clasped together. “Come on.” Her eyes shine with excitement as she looks between Jax and Ransom. “I want to prove Ransom is a little bitch baby.” She grins mischievously.

Jax narrows his eyes at her. “No.”

I chuckle at their antics. “I see you guys had a good run,” I muse.

Remi shrugs. “Would have been more fun if Pru was there, but she’s off taking care of alpha duties,” she says quickly, but I can tell she’s missing her friend. Pruitt hasn’t been that available lately to hang out with Remi. Between being the alpha, having a mate, and spending as much time with Addison as possible, Pruitt’s free time is limited. From what I’ve gathered, before Pru learned about her true identity earlier this year, Remi and her were inseparable. She jabs her thumb at Jax. “And he wouldn’t shift with us.”

Jax is a demon wolf shifter hybrid. I believe he has some warlock DNA as well, but I haven’t confirmed this.

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