Page 48 of Bound

Maddox leans slightly forward as he calmly tells him, “Every. Damn. Day.”

A strange feeling of comfort fills me. Is that what he really thinks? It’s not like I’ve been able to ask them about their feelings, or if they see me as a pack member or something more. The fact that there are five of them, and they’re all treating me equally well, makes it ten times more confusing.

Kane is silent for a moment before he finally concedes. “I’ll let this go for now. But I want weekly check-ins to see how she’s doing, and I expect you all at the monthly pack BBQ.” He glances down at me behind Bain before he adds, “And Maddox? If there is a single word of her acting feral, I will have her removed. Do I make myself clear?”

The tension grows so thick you could almost cut it with a knife as several growls ring out from the men in front of me. Chase pulls out a switchblade from his pocket, but keeps it down at his side, his body practically radiating with anger.

Maddox's voice turns deeper, as if his wolf is straining to get out. “If you touch a single hair on her head, I will rip you to shreds. Do I make myself clear?” My body starts to tremble, and I have to press myself further against Bain to stop myself from falling over.

“I think we’re done here,” Kane says before his retreating steps echo down the hall. After a minute, Maddox finally turns around and sees me cowering behind Bain.

Hunter steps to the side to let Maddox through. He squats down low as he whispers, “I’m sorry about him, Red.” He strokes my head, and I press my face into his hand, hoping he knows that he’s not the one who scared me. What I really want to ask is if he meant what he said, that I am part of the Silverstorm Pack now. The idea that it might be true makes me feel lighter than I’ve felt in years.

Their pack could be a new home for me, a new life.

“Let’s get out of here,” Gage says as he crosses his arms over his chest and glances around.

Maddox stands and nods. “Agreed, I don’t want Red to spend another minute here.”

“Let’s go,” the twins say in unison as we quickly head for the door.

As we enter the main foyer, the clicking of high heels greets my ears a moment before I hear a woman speak. “So it’s true, you’ve all returned.”

I glance around Hunter and see a beautiful, tall brunette enter from a side hall. She’s thin and wears a pretty blue dress that accentuates her figure. Her hands are on her hips as she glances between the guys with an unreadable expression, not even noticing me standing with them.

When her eyes lock onto Maddox, she smirks, but not in a flirty way, more amused. She steps up toward him, and with her high heels, she must be two inches taller than he is.

It doesn’t seem to bother him at all, though, which makes him all that much sexier in my opinion. Just because he’s shorter than the others doesn’t make him any less amazing.

“We were just leaving,” Maddox says as he takes a step to the side as if to move around her, but she side steps, putting herself back in his way.

“So soon? I thought we could catch up?” I fight my instinct to growl at her, wishing I could bite her for just looking at him.I’ve never felt jealousy before, not like this, and I’m not sure I like it.

“There is nothing to catch up on,” Maddox says a little more firmly.

“Besides,” Hunter says as he rests his elbow on Chase’s shoulder, feigning nonchalance. “We all know you’re not even interested in him.”

Her eyes trail up and down Chase’s body, making my hackles rise. Is Chase the one she’s really after?

Eyeing Maddox, she frowns. “It’s true, Maddox isn’t really my type.” She glances at Chase and smiles. “You, on the other hand, are, except for the whole pink-haired psycho thing.” She waves a hand encompassing Chase’s whole body as I try to understand what she means by that comment.

Chase isn’t a psycho.

She lets out a sigh and shakes her head. “No, Maddox is the better match. He’s the one who will be running this pack one day.” She only wants him for his status? Even I know that’s messed up.

“Well, I’m not interested,” Maddox says, shutting her down and making me preen a little in delight.

She rolls her eyes like she expected that. “We all know you’re going to end up marrying me one of these days. It’s not like you have any better offers.”

The mention of the M word has me stepping around Hunter and moving to Maddox’s side, where I sit right beside him, leaning my body firmly against his leg. His fingers find my head at the same time her eyes float down to me.

Her head pulls back a bit in surprise, and she takes a couple of slow steps backward. “Who is that?” she asks in confusion.

“Red,” Maddox says as he looks down at me. “This is Juliet.” He looks at her as he tells her, “Juliet, this is Red, the newest member of the Silverstorm Pack.”

Her eyes widen and her lips part in surprise as she stares at me in shock.

“Your pack?” she asks in confusion. “I-I don’t understand. I thought it was just the five of you alphas.”