Page 68 of Bound

I want to know what they found. What has them so concerned? It can’t just be because I couldn't smell it.

After a few minutes, we exit the vehicle, and Maddox leads me into the house. And when the others come in with no mention of what they found on the doorstep, worry starts to fill me.

What if I’m never able to shift? I’ll never truly be a part of this pack if I can’t speak to them, ask questions, and tell them about myself. Maybe those women in town who called me their pet weren’t too far off.

What kind of pack mate am I if I can’t even contribute?

My wolf isn’t even skilled enough to hunt, patrol, or track. I’m literally useless to them.

A sense of worry starts to expand in my stomach as the worst question of all floods my mind.

What happens when they realize that I bring nothing but danger to their pack?

Chapter 31

Hunter

Ifrown at Red’s position, lying in front of the fire. Ever since we got back from town yesterday, she has refused to sit on the couch with us.

It took Maddox carrying her up to his bed to get her upstairs last night. She didn’t seem put off when Maddox and Chase’s wolves lay with her, but once again, this morning when she woke, she resumed her position by the fire.

“She looks depressed,”Chase says through the pack bond from my side.

“You’re sure she didn’t smell or see the dead rabbit that was left on the doorstep?”I ask Maddox.

“She knew there was something there, but I’m pretty positive she couldn’t see it. Besides, I don’t think a dead rabbit would upset her this much,”he says, motioning with his chin toward her from where he sits in the armchair.

We’re all sitting in the living room, pretending to watch TV when really, we’re talking through the bond, trying to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it.

“It’s probably the mention of the muzzle,”Bain says, joiningthe conversation for the first time since we sat down.“You saw how she reacted.”

It was kind of hard to miss the red wolf in the middle of Main Street howling in pain. We couldn’t get her out of there fast enough. I was slightly worried that Bain was going to murder Juliet on the spot, but luckily, he was preoccupied with getting Red out of there and stopping her from crying.

The fact that her wolf sheds actual tears is just another strange thing on the list of everything about her.

Even though she’s never spoken a word to any of us, she already feels like such an important part of our pack. I couldn’t imagine our lives without her here anymore. And the fact that she’s upset just frustrates the hell out of me.

I need something to snap her out of it. Chase and I already tried to play with her in our wolf forms in the backyard earlier, but she just lay down and refused to join us.

Getting an idea, I stand and move to the kitchen in search of something that I hope will get her moving. It doesn’t take me long to find the jellybeans, and I grab a small handful, then opt to sit right beside her on the ground.

I hold one out in my palm, right in front of her nose. It twitches as she smells it, but she doesn’t take the bait.

I hold it up so she can see it better as I tell her, “It’s a jellybean. You love these, right? Here.” I hold it out in front of her, and at first she doesn’t move, then her mouth slowly opens, and her tongue sneaks out to take it.

A smile pulls at my lips as I offer her another, and another. She eats all six I brought over for her, and when she finishes, I gently stroke down her head and back until she rests her head on my leg.

“She doesn’t seem upset with us,”I tell the others through the bond.“Just sad.”

“All the more reason to get out of Westgrove,”Gage tells us.

Maddox's phone chimes with a text message, and we all look at him, waiting for him to read it aloud. There’s pretty much only one person who’d be messaging him who isn’t in this room.

He frowns at the phone, then lets out a sigh. “There was a rogue spotted on the edge of town.” He looks at each of us before his gaze lands on Red. “Bain, Chase, and Hunter, you’re needed to help track it. Gage and I will stay here and take care of Red.”

“See you later, Red,” I tell her with one last stroke of her soft fur.

It makes sense to send the three of us. Chase and Bain were regularly part of the normal patrol schedule, and I often stepped in when they needed an extra hand.