Page 50 of Bound

Then again, I do enjoy being by the fireplace. After living in the cold for so long, the extra warmth feels like a luxury. I decide I like it here and lie on my side so he knows I’m staying.

He squats down beside me and sighs as he runs his hand over my head and down my neck. I close my eyes and bask in his touch. Maybe it’s just because I haven’t been touched by kind hands in so long, but every time one of them touches me, it soothes some deep part of me.

“I really wish I knew what you’re thinking,” Gage says softly. I open my eyes and look at him, silently wishing the same thing. “I want to know how you’re feeling after what happened at Kane’s house. And why you prefer the floor over the couch. Why you prefer cooked meat, and why you never learned to swim.”

I lick his hand, wanting him to know that I’d tell him if I could. I also wish I could ask them things about themselves.

I still know so little about them, and without being able to ask any questions, it leaves us with this giant chasm between us.

Chapter 24

Maddox

Iwatch from the back porch as Red runs around the backyard with the twins in wolf form. Bain stays close, keeping his eyes on the tree line and her, making sure she’s safe while letting her drop her guard for a moment.

I’m glad Hunter was able to cook the steaks fast. She ate three of them, even if she did choose the well-done ones over the less-cooked options. I’m just glad she’s eating. She already looks better than she did when we first met her.

Hunter and Chase seem to be playing some sort of game of tag with her now, one they seem to be letting her win, as I know they aren’t running at anywhere close to full speed. But it doesn’t matter. All three of them are having fun, and that’s all that matters.

Happiness and safety.

As their leader, it’s important that I give them as much of that as possible. I feel like I’ve been failing at it lately. Especially when it comes to Red. I’m still kicking myself for scaring her when we got home.

Thank goodness for Gage. That’s why he is always the one Igo to first when I can't figure something out. The chances are that if I didn’t understand something, he did.

He recognized her wolf instincts and knew she feared confinement. My hands clench tightly at the thought of her being locked up somewhere. Had she been on some sort of house arrest or was it far worse? Had she been caged?

If she hadn’t shifted in five years, does it mean that’s how long she was held captive for? Where was she even taken from? Does she have family out there looking for her?

“Fuck,” I hiss, realizing how much I’m failing her right now.

“What’s wrong?” Gage asks as he steps up beside me, passing me a beer as he takes a sip of his own.

“What if she has a family out there?”

His bottle freezes halfway to his mouth before he slowly lowers it. “Shit.”

“Exactly. We’re going to have to ask her.”

“What if she does?”

I lick my lips and swallow heavily. “Then we’ll have to figure out a way to find them and reunite them.”

He’s silent for a moment before dropping his voice to a whisper. “We might lose her to them.”

“We might,” I agree, before taking a few long sips of my beer.

We don’t speak anymore. We just watch in silence for the next hour as they run around the yard. The twins get in a few light tackles, which has Bain growling, but Red doesn’t seem bothered by it. She seems…happy.

When the three of them jog over to us, and she takes a long drink from the fresh bowl of water I set out for her, I see pieces of grass sticking out from her fur, and it gives me an idea.

“It’s been a while since your last bath, Red.” She glances up at me and tilts her head. “Why don’t we all go for a swim? Wecan show you our pond.” I gesture toward it, and she takes a long look before giving me the smallest of head nods.

My chest warms, knowing that she doesn’t know how to swim but is trusting me with this. It’s a big step forward.

Hunter nudges her side, then takes off running toward the pond. Chase barks at her, making her follow Hunter with him at her side. Bain follows slowly as Gage takes my empty beer from me to set it inside with his.

When the twins reach the pond, they run in from the shallow sandy end until they’re paddling around, lapping up the water as they go. Bain quickly runs up to her side and swiftly changes into his human form. She jumps back from him in surprise, but before she can argue, he scoops her up and starts to walk into the water.