Page 32 of Shadow Bound

“I don’t care, I can’t be here.” I back away from him. “There’s a window in the bathroom, right?”

“You’re going to crawl out of a bathroom window to avoid meeting my family?”

“Honestly? I’d crawl through a sewer on my hands and knees to avoid the family reunion that’s about to take place.”

“You know, most of the time I don’t think you’re like most girls. And then you go and say dramatic shit like that, and I think,nope, she’s still a girl. She’s just wrapped in leather and has a knack for knives.”

I scowl. “Are you insinuatingallgirls are dramatic.”

“Yeah, Tink, I am.”Tink?I quickly remember him calling me a blood-sucking Tinkerbell earlier. Looks like I acquired a new nickname.Great, just what I freaking needed.He was already pushing it with calling me Beau. “And you’re about to meet the most dramatic one in all the land. Brace yourself.” He gives me a wicked grin before pulling the door open. “Remington.”

I step back into the shadows of the dark room, seeking their comfort. Even though I can’t melt into them like I want to, I let them shield me as best they can.

There’s a bright flash of a phone camera, causing my eyes to go blurry for a second. “Great. Now I have proof of life. Hopefully Mom will stop texting and calling me every five fucking minutes. I swear, she still thinks you’re four years old and incapable of taking care of yourself.” There’s a pause. “But then again, you did get your ass caught in an avalanche today so she might be onto something there.”

So much for her promising him she wouldn’t tell anyone else.

“Nice to see you too, Remi.” I can practically hear the eye roll in Ransom’s voice.

“Of course, it is, I’m a ray of sunshine in everyone’s life.” Remington Weylyn has the same chocolate brown hair and Caribbean blue eyes as the rest of the Weylyns. Her eyes hold less seriousness in them than all three of her brothers. There’s a mischief in them that carry the promise of trouble and maybe asmallattitude problem. “So, do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

She hasn’t noticed me yet, thank god.

“Why is there always bad news?” Ransom asks. “As long as Doc is here, I don’t care.”

Remi purses her lips. “Okay, just keep thinking that.” She turns and waves at something behind her out of my line of vision. When I hear the doors open and close, I know it’s a vehicle and when Ransom’s chest rumbles with a low growl, I know this little reunion is about to get more interesting.

“Remington,” he snarls.

“I told you! It’s her plane, I had to tell her and then she insisted on coming because she wanted to see you were okay with her own eyes, which meanshehad to come too.Youtry telling him to leave his mate’s side. It’d be easier to tell him to dowse himself in gasoline and then light a match.” Remington shoves her way past Ransom. “You’re just lucky I convinced Mom to stay in Montana. I couldn’t tell if she wanted to skin you alive or coddle you to death. Now where the hell is Sawyer, just how messed up is his—” Her words die on her tongue when she sees me standing there. “Well…shit.”

Yep. That’s my cue to leave. With one fleeting look at Ransom I duck under the arm he holds against the doorframe, stalking back into the cool night air. I instantly regret coming this way when I walk right into two more people.

Fuck. Me.

I recognize them. Besides Ransom, they’re the two I have the most history with. Ranger and Winslow stand before me with equally shocked looks on their faces. Winslow more than Ranger because, much like me, the brooding wolf is good at schooling his expressions. Meanwhile, Winslow’s jaw has about hit the concrete below her combat boots. Her eyes, one pale blue and one moss green, are wide as she gapes at me. She wears an oversized flannel, the front tucked into the front of her cut off shorts. Her legs are bare, which seems like completely inappropriate attire for a snowy mountain town, but somehow, the look fits her.

She looks healthier than the first time I saw her. She was really thin and frail back in New York at the auction. But over a year later, she looks to have gained a healthy amount of weight. I guess that’s what happens when you’re in a happy and safe place. Or having people—or a person—that loves you unconditionally like she has now.

Still gaping, she throws her arm back, elbowing her mate in the ribs.

Ranger grunts. “Fuck Winnie, why are you hitting me? I didn’t do anything.”

“I don’t know,” she stammers. “I didn’t know what else to do and I panicked.”

Footsteps sound behind me but I don’t turn around. Ranger is looking at me like I’m his biggest enemy to date. Which, frankly, I don’t think is fair. Yes, I was part of the reason he ended up with a bullet in his chest and he ended up dying.Temporarily. Also,yes, I was the one to put a bullet in Pruitt’s chest, but I did that to save her and myself. Sterling should be his biggest enemy, but he’s not here and Ranger’s anger has to be directed somewhere. And it looks like I’m the lucky winner.

I plant my feet and square my shoulders, prepared for any kind of attack from him. Even though I know I’m weak and won’t stand a chance against a pissed-off wolf like him, he doesn’t know that. His eyes flash silver, his wolf pushing through the thin barrier between them and his hands drop to his sides. I don’t have to look down to know his claws are out.

That’s fine, he wants to play, I’ll fu— Big, warm hands drop onto my shoulders and I’m suddenly tugged backward. My dazzled brain struggles to keep up with the abrupt movement and when the cloud lifts, I find myself staring at Ransom’s broad back.

“Ranger,” Ransom warns.

“She shot Pru and she’s one of Sterling’s soldiers. What the hell is she doing here, Ransom?” Ranger growls his question at his twin.

“We talked about this ten months ago, she shot Pru to save her—I don’t agree with her methods, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. All that matters is Pruitt is safe and because of Isabeau, she still is.” Ransom doesn’t look back at me as he defends me to his family. My insides twist with unease at his actions. Not only did he put himself between his twin and me, he’s defending me. “And Beau isn’t working with Sterling anymore.”

“You’re honestly taking her word for it? She was raised in Sterling’s organization, why the hell would she just turn her back on the people she’s known her whole life?” Ranger sneers at me when I peer around Ransom’s large frame. I make a move to step out from behind him, but Ransom’s hand reaches back, wrapping around my forearm and effectively stopping me. He barely turns his head to look at me, but I don’t miss the slight shake of his head. Gritting my teeth, I stay put. “How could you possibly trust her?”

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