Page 19 of Wolf Bound

Drayton’s eyes glow ever so slightly at the challenge in Alaric’s voice. The hint of his wolf pushing forward sends a shiver of excitement down my spine. Looking away from him to catch my breath, I finally glance at the inside of the house and audibly gasp.

This is a long ways from the damp prison cell in the rundown castle that I escaped from. The inside is warm and inviting with beautiful, deep reds and light cream coloured furniture. There’s stairs directly in front of us that curve as they go up.

“Wow,” I breathe out, my eyes darting everywhere and yet not retaining a single item I see.

“Welcome home, Talia,” Drayton whispers into my hair, lightly brushing his nose in the strands. “Let’s get you upstairs to one of the guest rooms. There’s one by me that’s never been used before and I think you’ll love the view. Once we’ve all gotten some sleep, I’ll give you the full tour.”

“That sounds like fun!” Penn runs up beside me, a beaming smile on his face.

Alaric grabs his arm, pulling him away with a shake of his head. “Not for you, it’s not. We are having a chat about whathappened the day you were taken. Security has been buffed up since then, but I want all the details so it can never happen again.”

“Fuck. Fine,” Penn sighs, pulling away from Alaric to come back up to me. “Get settled in and get some sleep. I’ll steal you for the rest of the tour when Dray is done with the house. Sleep well, baby girl.”

After a kiss on my cheek from Penn and a wink from Alaric, they walk away with serious faces and their heads bent together. Drayton places a hand on my lower back, guiding me to the stairs. I walk forward, a sigh of contentment escaping my lips as I step onto the soft, plush stairs.

It’s not until this moment that I realise how disgusting I am. It’s not unusual for me to be in a state similar to this, but it is unusual for me to be around people who actually care. This house is so clean and I’m a dirty, bloody disaster.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so gross. You’ve been touching me and I’ve been touching your stuff and I’m covered in who knows what. I should have been more aware of the state I’m in.” The words fall from my mouth so quickly they string together like one long breathless word. My feet start moving quickly as I try desperately to get up the stairs without making anything dirty.

“Hey, hey! It’s okay,” Drayton easily catches up to me, sweeping me off my feet in a single move. I cringe at how dirty I am and the smell wafting off of me. “Talia, look at me.”

Instead of listening to him, I turn my head the opposite direction and close my eyes tightly. The humiliation from it all is enough to make me want to hide in the valley with my peryton until I can’t anymore. My peryton disagrees and blocks my entrance, grunting and pushing me back into the consciousness of my body.

“Talia. Look at me,” Drayton says again, his voice firm yet kind. His authoritative voice makes me obey without a secondthought. My peryton chirps in my mind, prancing around and rubbing against my consciousness in a strange dance.

A rumbling sound comes from Drayton’s chest that draws me closer to him, pulling me until I close all space between us. Laying my head against his shoulder, I look into his eyes expectantly.

“Good girl,” he growls, brushing his nose against mine. “Do not apologise for being dirty or messy, or anything like that. A mess can be cleaned. All of this.” Drayton waves his one hand in front of us vaguely. “It can be replaced if it can’t be cleaned. You are the only thing I care about, not any of this material stuff. I do want to get you cleaned, but only so you can be more comfortable. You’ve had a lifetime of abuse. It’s going to take a long time to work through that.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, barely audible even to my own ears.

“Always. Let’s get you to your room.” Drayton walks down the soft, wide hallway to our right.

My head rests against his shoulder, silent tears falling from my eyes and soaking his shirt. He took my mindless spill of words and found the direct root of the fear behind them. I don’t know how, but I’m extremely grateful for it.

It hasn’t even been a full night away from that place, and I’m terrified I’ll screw this up with my mates and be sent right back there. I’m not ready to come to terms with any of it, yet. Right now, basking in the newness of being free and having five mates by my side is all I want. That doesn’t mean the fear, anxiety, and habits I developed in that prison won’t come up frequently. Of course they will, they’re all I’ve ever known. I just don’t want to be that girl forever, and this is my first step to being who I should have been all along.

Chapter Eleven

Talia

The door swings open, revealing a bedroom decorated in soft, light colours. It’s the complete opposite of the prison cell I crawled out of. If that cell was the endless darkness of a nightmare, this room is like walking into the bright light of a dream.

Drayton places me down gently on my feet, keeping a hand on my lower back to steady me. My eyes dart from one side of the room to the other, taking in the large, soft bed to the beautiful windows that show the faintest light of the rising sun.

Tears start anew, quickly soaking my face as sobs wrack my body. I’ve never even had a true bed, let alone a bedroom this exquisite. It’s the final piece to send me over the edge. Myknees give out amidst the crying, my body dropping onto the soft carpet beneath me. The noises coming from me are almost embarrassing, but I’m so far past caring.

Voices start up behind me, soft caresses on my back and arms trying to grab my attention. I can’t respond, though. I can’t do much of anything. It’s like all of my emotions are coming out at once and it’s paralysing me. There’s nothing left of me right now except salty tears and shaking limbs.

“What did you do to her?!” Forrester yells directly behind me, his anger palpable in the air. “You motherfucker! You must have done something! She’s sobbing like you killed her favourite pet right in front of her.”

“Forrester,” Drayton growls, his voice much calmer than Forrester’s, but not any less angry. “I suggest you pick your next words very carefully. I didn’t do anything to Talia. She’s just had an extremely rough night. I believe you still know where your room is, so please kindly, fuck right off.”

“He’s right, Forr. We should give her space,” Wes says from farther back. “Drayton wouldn’t hurt our mate. Talia just needs time to process the fact that she’s free for the first time in her entire life. That’s a lot and she doesn’t need an audience for it.”

There’s pacing steps behind me before Forrester spits out, “Fine, but I’ll only be two doors down. If I have to come back in here because you hurt her, I’ll kick your fucking ass.”

Footsteps stomp out of the room followed by the door softly clicking behind them. A hand gently rubs up and down my spine, slowly calming down the sobs to hiccups. Looking over my shoulder, I’m immediately hit with a sense of peacefulness as I stare into Drayton’s blue eyes. He lifts a hand up, cupping the side of my face with so much tenderness I want to cry all over again.

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