Page 18 of Bound

I also know I am complete rubbish at catching wild prey. Another thing my wolf is abnormally bad at.

When I finish my meal, and nobody has come in, the need to relieve myself has me once again walking to the mouth of the cave.

This time, my attention is drawn to the twin wolves, Chase and Hunter, who are lying in the middle of the clearing, theirheads turned my way. When they see me, their heads lift in unison, making my hackles rise at such obvious attention.

Slowly, they start to stand as Maddox, who’s still seated at the fire, calls over to me. “The twins will take you somewhere you can relieve yourself.”

I watch as one of the twins, Hunter, I think, passes me, giving me a wide berth as if he’s trying not to scare me. I decide to follow, not wanting to stink up my cave, and hear Chase follow behind me.

Ah, I get it. They don’t trust me not to run this time.

I definitely plan to run, just not yet. My side is healed, but if I can stretch this out to get a few days of consistent, large meals in me, I’ll be in much better shape to make it on my own. I also may need to come up with a plan for what comes next before I try.

The bathroom break is quick, and they give me enough privacy not to make me feel like I’m being watched. But by the time we get back to camp, I’m feeling skittish and nervous again and head straight to my cave to be alone.

As soon as I step inside, I freeze, seeing the black-haired man placing something on the ground where I sleep then standing back up. He turns to leave and stops when he sees me. He stares at me for a moment, his mouth pressing into a thin line before he speaks.

“I’m Gage. I don’t think we’ve been introduced yet.” It’s good to put a name to his face, but I don’t respond; I just continue to stare.

He tilts his head as he watches me, as if assessing me, studying me. It sends a chill down my spine and I take a step away from him.

That wipes the curious look off his face and he nods, as if he understands. “I was just leaving you a snack,” he says, pointing at what he placed on the ground. “Don’t feel like youneed to stay in here all the time. You’re welcome to join us outside.”

When I don’t react, he nods, then walks toward me as I scurry out of his way. He doesn’t look at me as he exits the cave and goes to sit with the others at the campfire. I see the twins have shifted and put on clothes, and as Gage approaches, they all glance up at him before turning their gazes to me.

I duck my head and run into the cave, not liking so many eyes on me, especially when I don't know what they’re thinking. I sniff at the contents of the leaf he left for me, and quickly eat the now familiar berries and nuts.

I decide to rest. Years of captivity and experiments have left me with never-ending exhaustion, and being around these men, I feel safe enough to sleep.

The rest of the day is more of the same. Them trying to coax me out of my cave, me refusing, and them leaving me food anyway.

By the next morning, I realize I’m starting to get used to their presence. Though I’m still not sure what to make of them or what they want from me, and it’s not like I can ask.

In the quiet seclusion of my cave, I try to shift, but nothing happens. It’s as if my magic has gone completely dormant, and I have no idea why. It’s not normal, and I worry I’ve spent so much time in my wolf form that I might be stuck like this forever.

I try to remember the last time I had been human, but the memory evades me. It could have been two years… three? I close my eyes and search my memories for the specific occasion.

“Come over here, zero zero three,” one of the guards commands, his eyes trailing down my eighteen-year-old body. I might have been barely fed here, but it didn’t stop me from changing from child into woman, although I’m pretty sure mysisters were much more curvy at a much younger age. It must be the malnutrition that kept it at bay for so long.

I’ve been lucky, all things considered. Nobody has wanted to touch me like that, and I spend all my time in the lab in my wolf form. But based on the look on these two guards’ faces, my luck might have just run out.

I take a step toward him, afraid of him lashing out if I don’t move, but he gets impatient, grabbing my upper arm and yanking me against him.

He grins down at me as his hands slide down my arms. “Hmm… you are a pretty little thing under all that filth, aren’t you?”

“It’s not like I choose not to bathe,” I throw back at him. I’d give almost anything to be clean; it’s not my fault they rarely take me somewhere where I can actually clean myself off.

“Is that what you want? A shower?” He glances over my head at the other guard who’s suddenly pushing against my back, his hands sliding around to my stomach.

I freeze, unsure what to do or how to answer.

“I tell you what, we’ll make a deal with you. You be a good little slut for us, and we’ll make sure you get all the showers and food you want.”

My eyes widen with horror at what he’s asking from me.

“We’ll even throw in a pillow and blanket, if you’re good at it,” the second guard whispers, close to my ear.

His hands slide up until he’s gripping my breasts hard. I cry out and try to pull away, “No! Don’t touch me!”