Page 25 of Bound

Is she…comforting me?

This little wolf… she truly is something else. I caused her pain, and here she is, trying to makemefeel better.

Deciding to be bold and take a chance that she won’t run, I tilt my head down and rub my nose against her head and neck, breathing her in. She smells like vanilla and cherries in bloom, sweet and delicate, with a hint of smoke carried in on the breeze. It’s the kind of scent that softens the edges of the world and makes me want to breathe her in forever.

When she doesn’t move, my wolf instincts completely take over as he indulges himself by licking the top of her head. She wiggles until she’s on her side with her back against us. We give her another lick on the exposed part of her neck.

Does she realize what a vulnerable position she’s just put herself in? Giving me her back and neck like that? I silently promise myself, and her, that the trust she’s giving me right now won’t be taken lightly. I’ll make it my mission to never fail her again.

Lowering my head, I rest it across her neck, protecting her while she sleeps. Bain gives me a nod as he moves to the other side of the fire, taking up sentry for the first shift of the night. I know he’ll watch over us while we sleep.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, inhaling her intoxicating scent. She smells like home. Like her scent belongs with me, with us.

Chapter 13

Cherry

The first thing I think as I wake is how comfortable I am. I’m lying on something warm and cozy, and there’s something soft and heavy across my neck and shoulders. But it’s not confining, it’s comforting.

Slowly, I crack my eyes open and realize I’m lying on a wolf. I’m not sure who it is, but I wonder how I ended up like this, as I’m basically sprawled across the chest of an upside-down wolf. Chase, I think, based on his scent of cedar and honey.

My face is pressed into his neck, and since I haven’t had a good whiff of him before, I breathe in his scent.

How does he smell this good?It stirs up feelings inside me that I never felt before meeting these shifters.

The warmth around me shifts, and I get a hint of another scent: cedar, leather, and ash.Maddox.Suddenly, I remember how I fell asleep last night. After hearing Maddox’s pained howl, my instincts drove me to comfort him. I know he wasn’t trying to force me to shift to cause me pain; he was trying to help. It isn’t his fault I’m broken.

I decide this doesn’t change my new mindset to try to letthem in a little. If anything, it makes it stronger, knowing how bad he feels about what happened. The problem now is how am I supposed to let them in if I can’t shift?

Wanting to see how he’s feeling this morning, I try to flip myself around to face him. I slip off Chase’s chest and onto the ground, but as we’re all lying so close together, Maddox half falls on top of me, the same way I’d just been lying on Chase.

He pulls his head back and looks down at me, almost looking confused at how we got in this position. I see the moment he realizes he’s basically pinning me down, and he freezes, his eyes going wide.

Deciding I don’t want him to freak out again, I do something completely out of character—lift my head and lick his cheek. I let my head drop back to the ground and watch him carefully. Is that going too far?

Not far enough.

I ignore that stray thought and watch as he blinks, twice, then his eyes soften. He leans down to nuzzle my neck, making my body relax underneath him. My wolf loves it.I love it. Those feelings I felt when smelling Chase get stronger. It scares me a little as I’m not sure what it is, but I don’t think it’s bad. Nothing that feels this good can be bad.

Maddox nuzzles me more then he abruptly stops. He lifts his head and sniffs the air, then snaps his head down to look at me.

Do I smell bad?

Slowly, he pushes himself off me and quickly darts away to where the supplies are kept. I watch him shift and pull on clothes quickly. I don’t get more than a quick peek at his ass before he’s walking into the woods.

Well, that was weird.

I’m still on my back and turn my head the other way, realizing Chase is still beside me in the same position, all four feet inthe air, watching me. When he sees me looking, he gives me a big, wet lick up the side of my face, then jumps up and runs off down the trail to the pond. Okay… He doesn’t seem upset, but where did he go?

Deciding it's time to get up anyway, I roll over and stand, shaking out my fur as I notice the other three sitting around the fire in human form.

“Good morning. Breakfast is almost ready,” Gage tells me. “There’s water in those bowls over there. Have a drink before you eat, it’ll ease digestion.” I look where he’s pointing and move to lap up some water.

Standing at the edge of the clearing, I wonder what to do now. I’ve been spending all my time in the cave before last night, because I preferred to be alone. But now… now I don’t know what I want anymore.

I want them.

I want to deny it, but I can’t lie to myself about this. They make me feel things I haven’t felt before, and I’m pretty sure I like it. But trust is still a hard thing to give out so freely.