Page 4 of Shadow Bound

Pruitt’s face is ghastly pale and her lips tremble as she looks up at Ryker with wide unfocused eyes. If I had to guess, she’s in shock. Good, that hopefully means she isn’t feeling any pain right now.

An animalistic growl cuts through the night air, originating from deep inside Ryker’s chest. His large tattooed hand brushes Pru’s hair off her face with a softness we aren’t used to seeing Ryker have. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”

I lift my chin, looking at the trees again.Fuck!Why didn’t I speak up sooner? I knew someone was out there. I sensed them, but I still did nothing. I allowed this to happen.

Anger and bloodlust bubble in my chest, spreading through me like fire.

“Ryker, you need to get her inside. The shooter is probably still out there.” I stand to my feet, my wolf snarling and lunging in my head to be let loose so he can hunt the fucker who did this. “Remington, help him!” I order her.

Finally, my sister’s blue eyes that look just like mine shoot up and look at me. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go find who the fuck did this,” I vow, already reaching for the hem of my shirt so I can remove it and shift into my wolf.

“Ransom, no! Not by yourself. Take Ranger,” Ryker bites out as he lifts a limp Pruitt off the ground. Remington stands too, her eyes wide and her hands stained crimson.

I lose my pants and call upon my wolf before I can agree. I’m not asking my twin to join me. He needs to stay here and protect his mate—her safety is his priority now, as she should be.

My wolf breaks through my skin with a vicious snarl, his ever-present and insatiable longing to hunt and kill his prey eclipsing away any other emotion.

With a howl into the night, I warn my prey I’m coming for them before charging into the trees.

* * *

I triedto track the faint boot prints left in the snow and earth I’d found in the woods, but after about five paces, they disappeared—vanished into nothing. In all my tracking experience, I’d never seen anything like it. The only thing left besides the prints that proved someone was up on the ridge is the faintest smell of honey and something metallic—almost like copper. It’s an odd scent and it made my wolf bristle and bare his teeth.

I know one thing for sure, they weren’t a shifter.

Whoever is up there is long gone now, but my wolf now has a lock on their smell and if I ever cross paths with them again, they’re as good as dead. No one comes into his territory and attacks his family like the shooter did and lives.

With my blood boiling with rage, I push the door to the emergency clinic open with such force it slams against the wall behind it with a loud bang. My wolf still sits close to the surface, his low displeased rumble echoes in my head. He’s even more upset we weren’t able to find the person who’d shot his alpha female. It’s taken a couple of minutes to convince him to let me shift back into my human form, once he has a target in mind it’s hard to regain control from him.

I have no idea what I’m going to learn as I stalk farther into the facility, the smell of bleach and antiseptic strong. It’s not very often that as wolf shifters we need a doctor, but for really bad injuries we have the clinic and Dr. V. She’s a trained trauma surgeon and runs a family clinic here in town with a secret operating room in the back if we need it.

I only hope Ryker was able to get Pru here in time for the doctor to help. We can survive a lot, but Pruitt’s gunshot looked terrifyingly close to her heart, and as Ranger learned months ago, we can’t survive a bullet to the heart. Lucky for him, he had Winslow who is part necromancer and was able to bring him back. Unfortunately, the gift is a one-off kind of thing and she can never resurrect someone again.

My head is buzzing, the cloud of anger making everything else hazy, when I walk into the waiting room to find Ranger and Remington sitting there with matching emotionally drained looks on their face. Winslow sits next to Ranger; her two-toned eyes shoot to mine when she sees me standing there. They narrow in silent question, and I stiffly shake my head. Iwasn’t able to find them.That twinge of guilt in my chest returns.

I’m the best hunter and tracker in the pack. How the fuck wasn’t I able to find them?

Remington’s hands and sleeves are still stained in blood. She’s hunched over with her head resting in them. I walk closer and grip her shoulder, pulling her attention to me. “Any news?” I ask when she lifts her head.

She blinks a few times and clears her throat. “The bullet missed her heart by this much.” She holds up her bloodied fingers, making a small amount of space between her forefinger and thumb. “She’s incredibly lucky.”

I exhale a breath I feel like I’ve been holding since Pruitt’s body hit the patio. I don’t even want to talk about what could have happened if we’d lost her tonight. We probably would have had to put down Ryker. There’s no way he would have survived losing her twice in one lifetime. Not only is she an integral part of our pack and family, she’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. Selfless and loyal to a fault. Not that long ago, she turned herself over to a man that promised nothing but pain and misery to save the pack.

“Where is she now?” I ask them. Remington moves her jacket so I can take the spot next to her, but I shake my head. I’m too wired to sit down.

“Dr. V decided to stitch her up to help her heal faster and Ryker is back there with her,” Ranger answers.

“Is this how our life is going to be until we find Sterling?” Remington asks, her voice full of sorrow. “We can’t even go onto our back porch without having to dodge bullets?”

I’d think that too but…“If they wanted us all dead, they could have easily stuck around and taken us all out from up there.” I sigh, running my hand over my face before reaching up to pull at the strands of my hair. “None of it makes sense. Why didn’t they just shoot for Pru’s head if they really wanted her dead?”

“Maybe they’re just a lousy shot?” Winslow offers.

“Yeah, maybe,” I say, even though I don’t buy it. Sterling has some of the best and most skilled men at his disposal, and he sent a shitty marksman to kill Pruitt?

I look at the clock on the wall and find it’s close to ten p.m. “Are they having her spend the night here?”

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