Page 40 of Fire Bound

Instantly uneasy, my arms drop to my sides from where they’d been crossed against my chest.

Winslow tries to play it off at first, laughing nervously. “What?Werewolf? That’s funny, Whisper. How’d you come up with that?” She used to be good at lying, being blissfully in love and happy with her mate hasruinedher.

“You’ve never asked me for help,” Whisper starts. “I had to practicallybegyou to let me help you when you were hiding from your adoptive parents in New York. In the past year and a half, you’ve come to me on three separate occasions for help. I knew something was wrong. Plus, that man you wanted me to find? Silver, was it?”

“Sterling,” I instinctually correct.

Whisper points at me, nodding. “Yeah, Sterling. That whole situation bugged me. I couldn’t find anything from his name or the small amount of information you gave me. That never happens. So, I got worried about you and hacked into the cameras to make sure you were okay. You really need a new system, by the way, it wasembarrassinghow fast I got into them. A teenager with a Nokia could get access to those.”

“You hacked my camera feed?” Ranger repeats slowly like he can’t believe it.

“Don’t worry.” Whisper grins. “I won’t tell anyone you turn into a giant flea-ridden wolf.” Winslow puts her hand over her mouth and snickers, but when Whisper points at her with an accusatory finger, the laughs halt. “Don’t act innocent. I’m offended you didn’t tell me you were awitch.What the hell, dude?”

Winslow shrugs meekly. “I told you I saw dead people years ago.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think it was true. You were on a lot of drugs at the time. You also thought the blind man in the apartment across the street was a fed.”

Winslow’s mouth opens like she wants to argue, but she snaps it shut after a second. “That’s fair.” She sheepishly looks at Ranger. “Turns out, it was in fact, a seeing-eye dog andnota drug dog.”

In Winnie’s defense, if I suddenly started seeing dead people without any explanation, I too, would have turned to drugs as a way to cope. Good news is, she’s been clean and sober since before she met Ranger. It’s amazing what a guiding hand and some clarity can do for one’s health.

Ranger shakes his head at his mate’s admission. There is no judgment in his eyes, only acceptance. “So, you know all of our secrets,” he deduces, looking back at the hacker, skepticism still written across his face.

“I wouldn’t say all of them.” Whisper’s eyes cut to mine from behind his glasses. “I still havenoidea what you are.”

“Depends on the day and who you ask,” I offer vaguely. “I think I’m awesome, but if you were to ask Pruitt today, she’ll say I’m an ass.”

“If you ask Remi, she’ll say he’s a hellhound,” Winslow supplies unhelpfully.

“Hellhound?” Whisper repeats, eyes lighting up with wonderment.

“Don’t get excited,” Ranger cuts in. “Have you ever met one of those yippy chihuahuas with a pink studded collar? He’s about as tolerable as that. They have similar personalities as well.”

“What? Like he’s clingy and slightly annoying?”

“No,” I interject. “It’s more like on a dime. I will turn on you and bite your fucking finger off, but then I’ll want tummy scratches. You know, just to round out my day.”

Whisper looks at Winslow, giving her a look that screams‘what the hell did I get myself into?’.

Footsteps pound up the stairs and the front door flies open. Ransom and Remi, dressed in the loose sweats and T-shirts they presumably got from the back of Winslow’s car, on high alert. They’ve yet to learn the threat is a skinny human with a fondness for guyliner. I’ll be the first to admit, it’s not a look I’d go for myself, but it works on him.

Ranger gestures with his hand to his brother for him to chill out, silently telling him that everything is alright. Remington’s eyes dart around the room, bouncing between each of us as she waits for an explanation.

“Is someone going to make an introduction, or are we just going to pretend he’s not here?” she finally questions. “If that’s the plan, it’s fine. I can get on board, but I gotta be filled in first. I don’t know if I’m allowed to make eye contact.”

“Remington, this is Whisper,” Winnie begins introductions. “Whisper, this is Remington and Ransom.”

Behind Winnie, Ranger adds, “The hacker,” just to clear up any confusion.

“Yeah, I figured. Strangely enough, I don’t actually know that many people named Whisper.” Remi passes her big brother an unimpressed look before returning her attention to the newcomer. “Bold of you to show up here unannounced.” What she really means is ‘it was really fucking dumb to waltz onto a wolf shifter’s territory.’

“I have almost every government looking for me.That’s scary.” Whisper waves his hand around at each of us in a blasé manner. “A bunch of werewolves, a witch, and a hellhound don’t scare me.”

“Hellhound?” Ransom repeats like a goddamn parrot.

“What? Is that not actually what he is? At this point, one of you could tell me you’re a unicorn and I’d believe you,” Whisper says.

“I’m half wolf shifter and half demon.”

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