Page 23 of Wolf Bound

Giggling to myself, I put it back and move on to some of the other stuff. It’s all just too much for me. I don’t know what scent to wear or what product to use. Instead of just standing here being lost, I use the stuff I do know. The rest I can ask about at a different time.

Wetting my toothbrush, I push some toothpaste out on it, using my vague memories of TV commercials to gauge how much. The toothpaste starts gagging me, and the foaming, minty stuff is pouring out of my mouth. There’s so much in my mouthI feel like I may throw up which would be counterproductive to brushing my teeth in the first place.

Spitting out as much as possible, I swish water around in my mouth and rinse my toothbrush. I think I’d rather brush without toothpaste than have to worry about not throwing up that intense mint paste.

After I get done with that, I grab the hairbrush, feeling confident at least with this one. My teal locks are super dark as I brush through it while still damp. It’s always fascinated me how my hair goes from dark to light just based on how wet it is. I’ve always wondered why that is, though no one has ever explained it to me.

Without looking back in the mirror, I head out to sort through the pile of clothes that were dropped off with the bathroom stuff. A soft t-shirt that looks two sizes too big is the first item I pull out, followed by a pair of sweatpants. All of it looks like it should fit someone larger than me, but it’s clean and soft so I can’t find it in me to care.

Once I deem myself decent enough, I open the bedroom door, sticking my head out and looking up and down the hallway for any sign of life. Forrester walks out of a room just a little ways down, looking over at me.

“You ready to head down to the kitchen for some food?” he asks, rubbing his hand on his stubbled chin.

“I’m ready,” I announce, standing up straight and walking out of the bedroom with my head held high. I walk over to him and fall a step behind when he moves towards the stairs. It feels awkward not to talk, so I blurt out the first thing on my mind. “I’m so excited to eat real food!”

Forrester pauses mid-step so suddenly, I crash right into the back of him and fall back onto the carpet.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Talia.” Forrester reaches down, helping me off the ground and holding on while I steady myself on my feet. “Ididn’t mean to stop like that. You just caught me off guard with your comment.”

“Did I say something wrong?” My teeth bite down on my lip in anxiety, the motion instantly making me tense up. Biting my lip was always a one way ticket to the electroshock chamber.

Forrester looks down at me, his blue eyes narrowed at me. “No, not wrong. Just,unexpected. Did they not feed you there?”

“They fed me,” I say, unsure how to explain the eating situation in the castle. “It was just mostly stale or mouldy foods like stale crackers and apples that were half rotten. They fed me better when I was young, but as I got older, food became another punishment. They didn’t like when I showed any perceived weaknesses, so if I showed signs of hunger, they would withhold even the rotten food until I could hide the weakness from them.”

Forrester closes his eyes, his fists clenching at his sides. He’s radiating anger, most likely at the situation, but I can’t help feeling like some of it is at me as well. After the longest minute of my life, he opens his eyes again and places a hand under my chin.

“I am so sorry you had to live through that,” he whispers, lifting my chin until our eyes meet. “You deserve better than that. Fuck, you even deserve better than here.”

“What do you mean?” Pulling back in confusion, I hug my arms over my upper body. “Is this place bad?”

Forrester looks shocked for a moment before he shakes his head back and forth repeatedly. “No. At least, not in the way the Croisés had you living. It’s— It’s complicated. There’s a lot going on within the pack right now, and it’s not the best place to be after escaping a literal torture house. I don’t want to be here, and if it weren’t for you, I’d be gone.”

“I’m not understanding,” I whisper, stepping back from Forrester and looking around. “I thought this was your home? Why would you leave?”

“Fuck, I’m screwing this up. Look, the other four won’t go out of their way to harm you or anything like that. The mate bond wouldn’t let them even if they wanted to,” Forrester explains, leaning back against the beige wall about ten feet away from the stairs. “It’s just that there’s a lot of unease in the pack right now. It’s divided and I don’t blame them. Drayton only recently became the pack alpha. Our father was the alpha before him.”

Ah, so that’s why they look alike. I wonder why there’s so much animosity in his voice when he talks about him?

“Some of the pack don’t like Drayton?” My mind is whirring with all of this, none of it easily clicking together for me.

“No, they don’t. He murdered our father to take his place, and the ones that know the truth about that don’t look kindly on him. Myself, included.”

Forrester glares down at his feet, refusing to make eye contact with me. The subject must be hard for him, losing his father by his brother’s hand. Part of me wants to comfort him, to ease the pain that this memory obviously provokes in him. The other part of me is wary of his story, though.

The problem is that I can’t see Drayton being so cruel and cunning. It doesn’t fit the man I’ve met, the one who took care of me so gently and with so much kindness. I’ve met my fair share of murderers with the Croisés, the kinds that do it for power and bloodlust, and he doesn’t fit them at all.

“You left the pack because Drayton killed your father for his position as alpha?” I ask slowly, making sure I’m getting the details right. His story isn’t easing my confusion or unease at all, if anything, it’s making it worse.

Forrester laughs once, the sound hollow and angry. “You don’t believe me, do you? He’s got you tricked already. Drayton isn’t the man he convinces everyone he is. The sooner everyone wakes up to who he really is, the better.”

“That’s not fair,” I say, dropping my arms to my side and getting defensive over my other mate. “Maybe it’syouthat’s been tricked. Drayton has shown me who he is in the moments we’ve spent together. You’ve shown me nothing of who you are. You haven’t even attempted to gain an ounce of understanding or trust from me. All I see in front of me is a bitter man who’s angry at the world and shuts everyone out. I’d sooner believeyoumurdered someone over Drayton.”

“What did you just say?” Forrester steps closer to me, his voice so cold I’m surprised it doesn’t freeze me where I stand. “Iam not a murderer. You don’t have a single fucking idea who I am, so don’t make accusations you can’t corroborate.”

Laughing, I take a step forward, refusing to back down from him now. “You clearly didn’t listen to me very well. I said I would soonerbelievethat you were a murderer, not that youarea murderer.”

I shake my head at his furious expression. “You seem to already forget where I escaped from. I’ve seen cold-blooded killers up close and in the flesh. I’ve seen passionate murderers as well. The former gets a thrill from the kill, their eyes send a shiver of fear down your spine. The latter has an angry heart and an even angrier disposition. They don’t necessarily look for the kill, but their rage outweighs their sense.”

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