Page 17 of Wolf Bound

“What makes more sense, baby girl?” Penn asks, twirling a piece of my hair between his finger tips.

“A few things actually.” I bite my lip, chewing for a half second to settle my nerves before continuing. “Seeing as how I come from one of the original mythical lines, the fact that we’re fated to be together makes a lot of sense. It’s why your pack was targeted for the breeding program. The Croisés did their research this time around, it seems.”

Forrester sputters and coughs in the back seat. “Breeding program?!”

Does he not know what breeding is? It’s okay if he doesn’t. I didn’t know much about it before the doctors started getting me ready for it. Before I can open my mouth to answer, there’s a flurry of movement in the front seats.

Wes is almost completely turned around in his seat now, his dark brown eyes brimming with excitement and awe. “You’ve gotta be shitting us. You’re a mythical shifter?! Like, an honest to goddess mythical shifter from the originals?”

A small laugh escapes my mouth before I can stop it, the pure joy on his face making my insides all mushy and tingly. “I am,” I answer with a laugh, feeling happy about what I am for the first time in my life. “I’m a peryton shifter from the Leighlis line. Although, I’m not technically an original since I was only born twenty-four years ago.”

Alaric whistles low, his eyes meeting mine in the mirror. “Damn, sweetheart. You’re the real deal, aren’t you?”

The real deal? Is he asking if I’m actually here? That can’t be it. This has to be one of those phrases that people use when they mean something else. Living in the prison, I tried to pick up as much of the interesting language that the humans used asI could, but I can’t remember anyone saying the real deal while there.

Penn taps my shoulder, pulling my attention to him with a soft smile. “Are you okay? You went really quiet all of a sudden, baby girl.”

My hand reaches out to touch his, the feel of his skin calming my nervousness. “Yeah, I’m okay. To be honest, I was just trying to figure out what the real deal means. I learned what I could from books and movies before they cut my access to them off and from listening to them all talk to one another, but I still don’t fully understand what some things mean. I think it’s called slang?”

“What about your parents?” Forrester asks, the first words he’s said to me since I woke up. “They didn’t teach you anything before you were captured?”

“No,” I respond, my voice cracking slightly on the word. Swallowing hard, I push myself to continue. “I was born there, actually. As far as I know, my mother was born there as well. She died during childbirth, at least that’s what they told me happened. My father was also killed the day I was born, something about being a liability to them. I tried to block most of their words out regarding my parents because it just hurt too much to listen to.”

“Shit,” Penn murmurs, running a hand over his prickly jaw. “That’s messed up.”

“You weren’t kidding when you said you’ve never had a family before.” Drayton reaches forward, brushing a piece of hair behind my ear sweetly. “You have one now. We’ll be here for you, and you’ll have an entire pack behind you as well. You’ll get the family they stole from you and we’ll make sure they never steal anyone else’s family either.”

“Fucking right,” Alaric cheers in agreement. His hands smack against the wheel enthusiastically along with his words. “They will rue the day they fucked with shifter-kind.”

The rest of the guys voice varying degrees of agreement, except Forrester who just stares at me. His dark brows are furrowed over his bright blue eyes, and I notice for the first time that they’re almost exactly the same colour as Drayton’s. Forrester’s face is actually incredibly similar to Drayton’s, and it becomes more obvious the longer I look.

My mouth opens to ask if they’re related when a sigh of relief comes from beside me. The car turns onto a dark road surrounded by trees on both sides. I shift over to the window, looking outside for the first time in what feels like a lifetime.

It’s extremely dark outside, the lights at the front of the vehicle are the only illumination that I can see around us. I want so badly to reach outside and feel the wind on my face or even breathe in a deep lungful of fresh air. Freedom has been my only wish for as long as I can remember. Now it’s here and I’m almost embarrassed to admit, I’m terrified.

My entire life has been controlled by the hands of others. It was scary, painful, humiliating, and so much more. Yet, it was all I’ve ever known. Being here, outside the walls of that prison, with five men that complete my soul, it’s all new. I don’t know what’s going to happen anymore or what to expect really. It’ll be up to me to make my own decisions moving forward, and I don’t even know where to begin with that.

Drayton takes off the harness he’s wearing and moves over on the seat until his hip is touching mine. His arm closest to me opens invitingly, his head motioning for me to move into him. Without hesitation I dive in, nuzzling my face into his chest and releasing a shaky breath.

“It’s going to be okay, Tal. This is our land and nothing here is going to hurt you, I won’t let it.” Drayton’s voice holds so muchconviction, the rumble of his chest as he speaks soothing some of the fear inside me. “I can feel how scared you are, but I want you to know that with us by your side, you don’t need to fear anything. The goddess brought us together, weaving our souls into one, so that we can protect and love you the way you should have been from the very beginning.”

Pushing my face deeper into his soft shirt, I try and fail to fight the happy tears filling my eyes. Drayton’s words mean more to me than he could ever possibly know.

Freedom.

Family.

Home.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would find all three, yet here we are. The voice from the meadow echoes through my mind, her voice soothing the last of my fears.

“The beginning.”

Chapter Ten

Talia

The vehicle moves towards a large house, illuminated by lights all around. The outside of the house looks like it was built with large tree trunks, the dark red wood accented by dark grey accents around the windows and on the door. It’s extremely tall, with windows at the top that go into a peak. Despite the only houses I’ve ever seen being from the Croises approved list of movies I watched when I was younger, this house is by far one of the most beautiful houses I’ve ever seen.

---