Page 6 of Wolf Bound

“It’s okay if you’re not ready to tell me,” I say after a bit, relaxing my body to get her to follow my lead. “I can keep talking to make you feel more comfortable. My best friend, Forrester, likes to say I never know when to shut up. He’s right,” I joke with a chuckle. “I really don’t know when to shut up. It’s a curse.”

My mate breathes out an almost laugh, her eyes sparkling as they follow my every move. Laughing with her, I shrug myshoulders and relax more into her. She shakes her head at me, stepping closer to the bars. In my head I fist pump into the air, celebrating the fact that I made my mate laugh and shake her head. My dad always used to saywhen a woman shakes her head at you with a smile on her face, you're doing everything right. My mom was constantly exasperated with my dad, but it was filled with so much love that you couldn't help but smile as you watched them. It's been part of my relationship goals since I was a pup.

Metal clanking shakes me out of my stupor, the sound growing in volume at the end of the hallway. My mate jumps back, her head whipping to the side as her eyes grow wide with fear.

My wolf rises to the surface again, my muscles contracting as I fist my hands at my sides. Apparently it's far too easy to get caught up in my mate; I keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Clearly wherever we are isn't safe which means I need to get my fucking head in the game to get my mate and myself out of this fucking place.

A loud bang sounds from the end of the hall, followed by footsteps and whistling. A man in a security guard outfit comes into view, a shit-eating grin on his face that makes me want to fuck him up.

"Awe, Talia baby. Did you heal your little present?" The guard jokes, a slimy, wanting tone to his voice.

My mate, Talia according to the asshole, recoils harshly, her back hitting the wall with a thud.

Stepping up to the bars, I barely contain my wolf that's tearing at me to get out and deal with the threat to our mate. A growl rumbles through my chest, deep and threatening as hair sprouts up over my bare arms.

The guard looks over at me, swallowing heavily with fear before he tries to cover it with a laugh. That action alone shows how little he understands shifters. I can smell his fear, the putridscent permeating the air enough to send a weaker shifter into a hunting frenzy.

“Big, tough wolfie,” the guard sneers with a laugh, his hand resting on his gun. “Keep growling, boy. I’ll put a fucking bullet through your skull faster than you can say yes, sir.”

Glaring at the man, I step as close to the bars as I can. My anger is palpable, my voice deep and menacing. “You’ll be six feet under the fucking ground before you can even pull the trigger. You don’t know who the fuck you’re dealing with, boy.”

“Why don’t we test that theory?” The guard says with a shaky smile, his hand twitching around his gun.

“Enough!” A quiet, raspy yell catches our attention, pulling my eyes to Talia who’s standing tall and glowing ever so slightly. “Enough. What do you want?”

The guard releases a surprised laugh, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. “So, you do still have your voice! The boss is going to be very happy to hear that. Very, very happy.”

Talia shuts down for a moment, her eyes filling with tears before she pulls back her shoulders and blinks back the tears. “Tell them whatever you want. Don’t think for a moment that you’re going to be safe though. Once we get out of here, and we will get out of here, I’ll make sure you’re one of the first that dies.”

The guard lets out a scoff, his face trying to look cocky as his eyes fill with fear.

Grinning like the fucking Cheshire cat, I crack my knuckles as I stare the guard down. He backs up slowly, before shaking his head and turning around to walk out of our block of cells.

Turning to my mate, I smile normally, happy to see her so proud of herself. “Talia,” I rumble out, happy to finally have a name to put with the beautiful woman. “What deity decided I would be worthy of a mate as amazing as you?”

Talia looks at me, bewilderment in her gaze. “Mate? No, you can’t be my mate.”

“What? Why?” I panic, confused at her words. Am I not good enough? I mean, I know I’m not good enough, but she can’t possibly know that yet. “Do you— do you not want me?”

“No!” she shouts, panic in her gaze, and I feel like a knife is being stabbed into my gut.

She’s rejecting me? In all my visions, over so many fucking years, I saw her with me, with all of us. Rejection? That’s something I didnotsee coming.

Chapter Four

Drayton

My hands grip the arms of my chair, the wood slowly cracking under the pressure, as I try to keep my shit together as much as possible at this moment. Penn, my fucking beta and the best friend of my little brother, has gone missing from my own land, and no one has any news for me. It takes every ounce of self-control that I have to not shift right here, right now and tear the fucking world apart until I find him. No one fucks with my pack.

“How is it possible that the scent ends? Even if they got in a car, you would still be able to smell their scents.” My voice is clipped and deep, my clenched teeth betraying just how on edge I am at this moment.

“I don’t know, Alpha.” The young pup looks down, shuffling his feet from side to side as he figures out how to explain something he doesn’t understand.

Alaric places a hand on my shoulder briefly, letting me know that I need to calm down and think this through.

After a couple deep breaths, I dismiss the young wolf and place my head in my hands. My body is vibrating with excess adrenaline from the anger. How fucking dare someone come onto my land and take my packmate. When I get my hands on whoever did this, death will be a fucking mercy for them.

“We’ll find him,” Alaric grumbles, stepping in front of my desk. “Everybody makes at least one mistake, and I’ll find which one they made then use it to track them. We’re going to bring him home.”

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