Page 63 of Shadow Bound

“Okay, you’re good. Fire when you’re ready.”

With one last excited look pointed in my direction, her finger pulls the trigger. The sound of the gun going off zips through the trees. A big black bird that’d been perched in a tree above us flies away in fear. The bullet rips through the plywood, directly in the outline’s shoulder. For her first time shooting a gun, it’s not bad.

She spins around to look at me, waving the gun as she does, making me jerk backjust in caseshe fires. Just because I can be shot doesn’t mean I want to be. The happy look on her face instantly falls when shouting, angry voices come from the house, followed by the sound of doors slamming and heavy footfalls.

“Uh oh.” She cringes. “Brace yourself.”

I’m leaning against the counter in Ranger’s kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee and texting Sawyer when both of my brothers stalk inside, pulling shirts over their heads. “Go for a run?” I ask, looking up from my phone for a brief second.

Ranger pushes me out of the way so he can pour himself a cup of coffee while Ryker takes a seat in one of the funky metal barstools Winslow had picked out. The whole house is funky modern with rustic features like exposed brick and wood beams. It’s a cool mix of my twin and his mate’s styles.

“We were going to ask if you wanted to join us, but I heard you getting your exercise in this morning.” Ranger gives me a knowing look.

My response to him is to mimic one of Isabeau’s blank stares. I know she’s better at it though.

A low rumbling sound comes from Ryker, pulling my attention to him. “What are you doing with that girl?”

“That seems like a personal question.” I scowl at him over the rim of my coffee cup as I bring it to my mouth. “But if you really want to know, I bend her over the bed and—”

“Shut the fuck up, Ransom. You know that’s not what I’m asking,” Ryker snaps. “What are you doing wasting your time on her like that? You knowwhatandwhoshe is.”

Anger bubbles in my blood, the need to defend Beau suddenly strong. My wolf perks up, surging to the surface knowing his girl is being dragged down again. As gently as I can, I place the ceramic mug onto the counter, but I fail when it makes a loudclanknoise against the white and gray marble counters. “I’m getting really fucking tired of having to defend her to my family—I thought I made it pretty clear yesterday when my wolf kicked your ass that I don’t tolerate hostility toward her very well.” I stuff my hands in the front pockets of my jeans to hide that my claws have broken through. It gives the illusion that I’m calm, relaxed, even when I stand like this. It’s a trick I picked up at an early age.

“You don’t trust Beau? Fine, buttrust me. Trust that I know that she isn’t this evil person you’ve made her out to be. And Ryker? I think it’s really fucking hypocritical that you can sit back and judge her for being a killer when you spent eight years of your life hunting down rogue wolves. For five of those years, you didn’t come home once because you were so busy killing shit. The only difference between what Beau does and what you did, is you had a fucking choice. You chose to heal your grief by killing. Beau didn’t have that choice. She was born into a life of blood and death, and she’s been fighting for her life since she took her first breath. She’s been viewed as nothing but a murderous pawn her whole life, and now she’s trying desperately to change. Mind you, it’s not a fucking easy change either, being the good guy isn’t what comes naturally to her. But she’s trying, and you’re not helping her by constantly rubbing the bad things she’s had to do to survive in her face. So, I warn you Ryker, talk shit about her—either to her face, or to me—again, and I’ll make what I did to you yesterday look like a motherfucking papercut.”

Ryker sits frozen, shocked by my rant. He holds my gaze, but I don’t blink or look away. Proving I’m not backing down from this.

Ranger finally lets out a drawn-out whistle, shaking his head. “Damn. I thought you had it bad, but I didn’t realize you were this far gone.”

I’m well past gone. I’ve passed the point of any return. Waking up with Beau in my arms today just cemented what I already thought I knew. She’s going to push and shove me away, adamant she’s going to leave me when we take care of Nessa and Noah. She’ll keep putting up the wall between us, but I’ll keep knocking it down until I’m waking up every day like I did today.

“You’d get between her and your brother?” Ryker asks.

Lifting my chin, I scowl at him. “Already have and I’ll do it again without a second thought. I’m fucking serious Ryker, don’t test me. I’ve been holding back a part of myself from you for years for a reason. Don’t make me show you why.”

He pauses for a minute. I can practically see the thoughts written across his face as he thinks. Finally, he nods stiffly. “I don’t like her, and I don’t trust her, but I trust you. If you believe she’s changed, then” —he lifts one of his thick shoulders— “then you know best.”

Ranger snorts. “Oh, he fucking knows her best alright. You didn’t hear them going at it this morning. That’s brand-new bedding in that room and now I’m going to have to burn it all.”

Rolling my eyes, I punch my twin in the arm. “You both are just jealous because you’re both all wifed up and your sex lives are now boring as hell.”

“Seeing as I only get to see my wife for a couple of hours every few weeks, it’s anything but boring. We have to fit as much into the time we have together as possible.”

“You said you meet for two hours?” I ask Ryker, fighting back a mischievous grin.

“Yes?”

“So, when you’re done giving her the best five minutes of her life, what do you do with the rest of the hour and fifty-five minutes? Cuddle and play Scrabble?”

“You’re a tool,” Ryker growls while Ranger bends in half next to me, his whole body shaking as he laughs.

“So are you.” My response is instant. “Don’t worry, dude, you contacted Jax, he’s bringing Pruitt home as we speak, right?”

The bitter scowl leaves my older brother’s face at the mention of his beloved mate. “Yes, they’re taking a bunch of crazy routes to make sure they aren’t tracked and ambushed on their way home. They’ll let me know when they’re close.”

“Should someone go meet up with them? Act as a security detail?” Ranger asks once he stops laughing.

“No, Jax is wicked smart and powerful. He’s got Pru covered.” I brush off his concern. “Even Beau seems slightly impressed with Jax and not much gets a reaction out of her.”

---