Page 21 of Bound

Movement has me glancing up as Maddox pauses in front of me, his hand gently stroking down the back of my head, freezing me with his intense green eyes.

“Are you okay, little wolf?”

I swallow nervously, but don’t respond. His eyes flick back and forth between mine before he nods, as if finding the answer there, then he stands up tall and walks past us farther into the pond.

That's when I realize he’s not wearing any clothes. I stare through the clear water at his bare ass in shock. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man’s ass before. But ass didn't seem like a big enough word for what I’m looking at. It’s perfection, and I'm glad I’m covered in water so nobody will notice if I drool a little.

What is wrong with you?

It’s beyond rude to stare at him like he’s a piece of meat. I turn my head to the left, letting the side of my nose rest against Bain's bicep as I look back toward the waterfall. I watch the twins splashing under it and washing themselves.

They’re naked too!

Oh dear lord, I couldn't look anywhere. I turn my head again so I look to the side where nobody’s in my view and close my eyes tight, waiting for whatever comes next.

Chapter 10

Bain

Ican’t believe I’m holding her. After days of smelling her smoky, dark cherry and vanilla scent around the campsite, my wolf has been howling in my chest to get closer to her, to hold her in my arms, to protect her and keep her safe.To love her.

I’ve tried to tell him he doesn’t know that she’s our mate, but my wolf is already claiming her as his, regardless. He doesn’t seem to care about confirming that there’s a fated mate bond there; he already sees her as his to protect. And it’s pissing me off.

She can’t possibly be my mate. I know for a fact that the others feel a pull toward her too. And outside of twins, females can’t have multiple mates.

I wouldn’t have been surprised if Hunter and Chase shared a mate, but to also share one with Maddox, Gage, and me? It’s impossible.

At this point, I think any of the others would be crushed if she wasn’t their mate. My wolf tells me the same, but I try toignore him, knowing the likelihood of her being our mate is slim to none.

I came to terms a long time ago with the fact that someone like me would never be given the gift of a fated mate. Strong enough to lead but no desire to do so. I’m an enforcer at heart: brash, hard, and strong. There’s nothing soft about me. Women want someone like Chase or Hunter, able to fight when needed but know how to treat a woman with softness and kindness.

I frown down at the quiet little wolf in my arms, the one I seem to be holding…gently. Even that word feels foreign in my head.

Shaking my head, I tell myself not to get attached. We don’t even know anything about her yet, and Alpha Kane isn’t about to let some unknown rogue into the Westgrove Pack.

It’s not that I am completely unaffected by her sweet scent; I am just the only one being realistic about it. Well, Gage seems to still have his wits about him, thankfully, but mostly because he’s had his nose stuck in the book he asked me to bring here for him when I went to grab the other supplies. That guy can’t go a day without reading, even out here.

I just didn’t expect the first time I held the little wolf to be because she jumped into a pond when she didn't know how to swim.

I’d been watching her closely, and as soon as I saw her start to jump, I dove in after her, a feeling of unease pushing me into action. I’m glad I listened to my instincts and was there to pull her up. When I saw her under the water, struggling to reach the surface, I immediately realized she was panicking and couldn’t swim.

I start to sway her back and forth, watching the dirt trail off her fur and into the water. When was the last time she bathed?

“Here,” Gage says from the shore as he tosses Maddox theenvironmentally friendly soap we use to bathe with in the wilderness.

Maddox wades over to us, standing in front of me so she’s between us in my arms. “Okay, little wolf, we’re going to wash you now,” he tells her softly. She keeps her eyes closed and doesn’t move. “We’ll keep your head above the water for the time being and clean that last, so you don’t need to worry about holding your breath right now. Just relax and let us get you cleaned up.”

After squeezing some soap into his hands, Maddox gently starts running his fingers through her fur. We both watch in surprise as a large dirt cloud fills the water around us.

I shift my arms so one supports her neck, keeping it above the surface while the other bands under her stomach. I let that arm drift deeper so her entire back is an inch under the surface.

Maddox starts running his fingers back and forth across her back a little firmer, loosening the dirt. Eventually, the water grows so murky that we have to move to a different spot just to see her body again.

We repeat this a few times, him using his fingers to scrub through her back, legs, stomach, and neck, until finally the water stops turning brown. Then I carefully dunk her back down while Maddox runs his hands through her fur to rinse out all the soap.

We do it several times, making sure to get her good and clean.

“Let me take her so you can clean the side that’s against you,” Maddox says as he slides his arms beside mine to pull her from me. As he does, she turns her head toward me.