Page 65 of Bound

Looking up at him, I see his blue eyes peering down intomine. He nudges my neck softly, and I move to my feet as he motions for me to follow him onto the couch.

We find a comfortable position to lie in together, his head resting on my shoulder, and mine tucked into his body. I don’t know if it’s the exhaustion from playing, the fact that it’s the middle of the night, or simply because it’s Gage, but I fall asleep almost instantly, my heart and head feeling happy.

Gentle fingers stroke the top of my head, and I sigh with contentment. The scent of cinnamon and brown sugar surrounds me.

Gage is still here.

Slowly, I stretch my body and open my eyes, finding myself pressed tightly against Gage’s human leg as he runs one hand through my fur, the other clicking away on his laptop, which is perched across his thighs.

“Did I wake you?” he asks.

I lay my head on top of his thigh and look at his screen. It can be hard to read large amounts of text in wolf form, but the wordsStarfall Havenjump out at me.

“Is she awake?” I lift my head as Hunter steps up in front of us, a soft smile on his lips. “Good morning, Red. Would you like to go out and have something to eat and drink?”

I lick my lips and stand, the thought of food making me realize how hungry I am. Hunter steps outside with me, but I don’t dawdle. The worry of being watched by Blaze and the thought of food have me hurrying back inside.

As I’m finishing up my large bowl of cooked steak, I overhear the guys talking in the living room.

“You look better, I’m glad you finally got some proper sleep,” Maddox says.

“Thanks to Red. And as soon as I woke up, an idea came to me about the location of Starfall Haven.”

I lift my head to look over at Gage as I lick my lips. They’ve mentioned that place a few times. I’ve never heard of it before, but I definitely wouldn’t be upset at the idea of moving on from this place. As long as I get to stay with the Silverstorm Pack.

It’s still hard to believe I’m in a pack with these five powerful alphas.

“So what you’re saying is Maddox was right, you just needed a nap?” Chase asks in amusement from the other side of the couch.

“Fuck off,” Gage says, shooting him a glare before he turns back to his laptop. “I keep coming back to that place I told you about, Starfall Animal Sanctuary.”

“That was in South Carolina, right?” Hunter asks as he lifts my empty bowl off the ground and encourages me to join them in the living room. I choose to lie near the fire, the heat from the flames warming my back, and the position lets me see all of them at once. Bain is sitting in the armchair, and Hunter and Maddox stay standing as they listen to Gage.

“Yeah. It would take us a couple of days to drive there.”

I wish I could ask where we are. I still have no idea what state we’re in.

“Is it just the name that has you going back to it?” Maddox asks.

“No,” Gage says, with a shake of his head. “I’ve been reading everything I can find on it, and it gets very few mentions online. But what I could find… is strange.”

“Come on, spit it out then,” Chase says, sounding impatient.

Gage glares at him but otherwise ignores his comment as hecontinues. “So in 2019, there was an article about a polar bear that was captured in a town nearby —”

“What the hell is a polar bear doing in South Carolina?” Hunter asks in confusion.

“Exactly,” Gage says with an excited nod. “It mentions that the sanctuary took him in and took care of him, but then that’s it. No other mentions, not even photos on their website where they list current animals.”

“So what happened to him?” Hunter asks in confusion.

“Well, that’s the question, isn’t it?” Gage says as he leans back on the couch. “Either they are trafficking or killing these animals, or…”

“Or the polar bear was a shifter and was released,” Maddox finishes.

“And what better place to release a shifter than in a hidden supernatural community?” Gage asks, his eyes shining with excitement.

“You said there were other animals?” Hunter asks.