Page 45 of Shadow Bound

I find myself frowning at him.Why is he lying to her?It’s clearlynotgoing to be okay. The girl is at death’s door, if he wants to do the right thing he should just put her out of her misery. There is no reason she should suffer, feel the pain of her attack for the remaining minutes of her life. Then I reason, this is that little thing I’m new to… compassion. He’s being compassionate, to her and her pain.

“Ransom.” Kneeling down on the opposite side of the wounded girl, making a conscious effort to breathe through my mouth. The scent of blood is strong and makes my monster stir to life. “She’s dying.”

“Don’t say that,” he snaps at me, his eyes flashing a metallic silver color. His wolf is pushing to the surface. “She’s going to be fine.”

Her heart is slowing, the already sluggish beat is becoming sporadic. Both eyes are closed, and I hope for her sake that she can’t feel anything anymore. Ransom’s hands don’t let up, he keeps pressure on her wound, the blood seeping through his fingers. His whole body shakes, but I know it’s not from adrenaline. It’s rage.

I can sense it building in him, although I don’t think it’s coming from him.

It’s his wolf.

The girl wears snow gear and looking around, I find discarded snowshoes. It looks like she was just out enjoying her Sunday when she was suddenly attacked. Hopefully someone knows that she went out here and they’ll know that she’s missing. Unfortunately, Ransom and I can’t waltz into the police station and admit we found her. That would lead to them asking us questions we can’t answer without incriminating ourselves. Plus, there is no record of my existence in any government system. I don’t have an ID or birth certificate. Sterling made sure I really was just a shadow in this world.

“Ransom.” I put my hands over his trembling ones. “She’s gone.”

Eyes like liquid chrome fly to mine. “No, we can still save her.” His hands go to her chest like he’s about to perform CPR, but I stop him, gripping his wrists tightly.

“She’s gone, Ransom.” I shake my head softly at him. “You can try to pump her heart as much as you’d like, but there isn’t enough blood in her body to move through her veins.” My eyes scan the crimson snow. “Just let her be, there’s nothing else you can do.”

“Fuck!” he roars, his voice deeper than it usually is. He tries to jerk his hands from mine, but I hold on tight. His palms flip to grab onto me in return and I feel the tips of his claws dig into my forearms. Ransom’s mouth parts as his chest heaves in angry breaths, revealing the sharp ends of his own fangs.

I haven’t seen this side of him. Just like me, he tries to keep the monster at bay, but it appears it’s coming out to play right now.

“Ransom, it’s okay.” My lame attempt to comfort him fails when an animalistic growl rips through his chest and he yanks his hands from my grasp. He springs to his feet. The knees of his jeans are soaked in blood and blood drips from his clawed fingertips into the snow below.

“Beau.” His voice is barely an angry rasp. “Whatever you do…don’t run.”

And that’s his final warning before the man standing in front of me disappears and a wolfripsthrough his skin. I knew wolf shifters were larger than normal wolves.I knew thisbut I still find myself sucking in a breath as I come face-to-face with Ransom’s beast. His giant head comes to my chest, making him stand at over five feet. His fur is variations of dark gray and silver with white patches around his muzzle, eyes and chest. His huge paws are pitch black, making it look almost like he’s wearing socks. If his lips weren’t pulled back in a vicious snarl, I might even find that humorous.

His head lowers and his ears pin down as he growls at me again. I know the animal and the human minds in shifters are separate, but Ransom is still in there somewhere observing what’s happening. I just cross my fingers that he has more control over his beast than I do mine.

Slowly backing away from the deceased victim and him, I hold my hands up, indicating I mean no harm. His eyes zero in on the blood that transferred to my hands when I’d touched Ransom’s just a minute before. Slowly, he looks back at the poor girl then back at me.

Oh shit, does he think I did this?

“Ransom...” I barely get his name past my lips when he leaps over the body and barrels toward me. I’m half a second away from turning and running from him, but Ransom’s warning floats into my head.Whatever you do… don’t run.Forcing myself to plant my feet and brace my body, I prepare for the impact.

His huge paws land on my chest, instantly knocking the air out of my lungs. I land on my back with a grunt, his large body pressing me into the ground. It seems we keep finding ourselves in this position. This time instead of Ransom’s warm muscular body pinning me, it’s his snarling wolf. His claws dig into my chest, breaking the skin and making me bleed, but I don’t feel any real pain. He lunges for my jugular and my hands fly up, pressing into the thick fur on his neck just in time. I shove his head away from mine, the sound of his teeth snapping together won’t be something I soon forget.

I push him with all my strength, thankful Ransom had given me my fill of blood today or else I would be screwed right now. He’s strong right now, fueled by his anger and grief for the dead girl. There is a touch of guilt there too, I’m sure. He’s been hunting the wolf for weeks and hasn’t been able to stop him, Ransom probably thinks it’s his fault another person died.

My arms are able to shove him back just enough that I twist my body out from under him. My gut reaction after years of training is to go for the kill. It would be the fastest and easier thing in this scenario, but I don’t want Ransom dead. The thought of spilling his blood sends a wave of panic through my body that I’m not suspecting.

Back on my feet, he launches himself at me again, but I easily sidestep him and the swiping of his massive paw. The wolf goes for my lower leg, his intention to make me lose balance so he can go for my neck again, but I’m prepared and slam my booted foot into his snout before his strong jaw can clamp down on me.

While he’s stunned for a second, I turn and sprint toward the nearest tree. He told me not to run from him, but I have a plan. Even with my head start, Ransom is quick in his wolf form and I can feel him hot on my heels. Picking up speed, I reach the tree trunk and use the momentum to run halfway up the trunk before launching myself backward. Doing a swift backflip in the air, I land on the other side of the wolf.

He slips in the snow, trying to stop in time, but ends up running into the trunk headfirst. I want to smile at thethudnoise his head makes against the bark, but the moment passes when he’s turning and snarling at me again, foam forming at his mouth like he’s rabid.

When he attacks, his huge body flying at me, I’m prepared. I move to the side just in time and my arms wrap around his neck. We barrel to the ground, landing in a heap of snow, fur, and snarling. My arms tighten on his neck, keeping his deadly teeth at bay. I don’t want to do it, but I don’t see how else to get him to calm himself and get Ransom back. I increase the pressure on his neck, constricting his airway. The wolf fights me, his hind legs kick out and the sharp claws dig into my thighs, tearing my pants and cutting me, but I still don’t let up.

Guilt like I’ve never felt fills my chest that I’m doing this to him, but I don’t want him to hurt himself or me any more than he already has. I’m aware that the human side of Ransom wouldn’t want it either. I’ve never hurt someone I care about before, and I hate it. Nessa would be so disappointed in me right now that I’m doing this instead of just snapping his neck like I could have done by now. Maybe the fact that Nessa would be disappointed means I’m actually doing the right thing?

After a minute of constant pressure, the wolf finally relaxes and goes limp in my arms. His stillness makes me panic. Worried I may have accidentally killed him after all. Scrambling out from under him I press my hands to his chest, my fingers sinking into fur that is shockingly soft. Holding my breath, I listen, and relief washes over me like a soothing balm. His heart is beating strong and I feel his chest rise and fall as he breathes under my palms.

Letting the breath I was holding out, I hang my head and drop back to sit on my heels. Closing my eyes, I softly sift my fingers through his fur, savoring how warm he feels. I want to crawl into it, become one with it.

I’m not sure how long I sat like this, running my hands over him while listening to his strong heartbeat, but eventually the beast shifts underneath my touch. The fur I was enjoying touching disappears and becomes hot, smooth skin.

---