Thunder cracks above our heads and fat raindrops hit our coats. I barely feel the change in weather. My only focus is finding Grey. I can’t believe after all this time, I may actually end up losing her to a rogue wolf again, just like I had thought all those years ago.
“Ryker?” Remi’s voice comes over the pack link, something I hadn’t experienced in five years. It’s a nice change from only hearing Sawyer’s. “Have you found the Jeep yet?”
“We came across it about half a mile ago, she wasn’t there.”
“We’ll stay at her house in case she finds her way here.”
“I’ll reach out if we find anything.”
The sound of someone yelling in pain reaches my ears, and I growl. The noise came from a female, and my heart bursts at the thought of Grey being hurt by that fucker’s hand. I dig deep for extra energy and strength, leaving Sawyer and Avery a couple yards behind me. I throw my head back again, this time as a warning to the red wolf.
I’m coming for you.
Sawyer and Avery echo my howl, and I hear two more join in from the north—Mom and Dad. I may have been away from them for a few years, but I would recognize those howls anywhere. My wolf barks in happiness at the idea of being with his alphas again. That pang of guilt resurfaces as I think about how hard it has been for Dad to not have his pack around him. But with Grey being alive, I have no intention of ever leaving our pack again.
I slow as I come up to a large rock formation that is part of a small cliff structure. I actually remember running around here when I was younger. I hear whimpering coming from the other side of a large stack of boulders, and a deep growl cuts through the sound of the rain. The thunder above cracks loud in the sky and lightning quickly follows, illuminating my surroundings.
I see the entrance to an alcove, and to my left, a large shadow of the rogue appears on the jagged surface of the rocks. Movement from the top of the boulder catches my attention, and I look up. My parents stand in their wolf forms, hunched down to not draw the attention of the rogue. But it was only a matter of time before he catches their scent.
“She’s hurt,” Mom says through the link. “I can’t tell if she’s conscious, but she’s breathing.”
“Sawyer, you and Avery draw his attention from her,” I order, knowing Sawyer would get Avery to follow his lead. “Dad, can you help them? Mom and I will take care of Grey.”
“He spotted us!” Mom shouts before I hear a bone-shaking growl followed by one that most definitely belongs to my mother. She is a fierce protector. She was never meant to be a tough alpha female, but when someone threatens the lives of the people she loves, she goes all mama bear. Wolf?
I don’t waste any time, I rush around the corner and find the rogue battling with my father. Mom stands over Grey’s lifeless body, gently nuzzling her pale face with her snout. I can smell the blood before I see it.
“She’s bleeding from a head wound, it’s pretty bad.” I watch my mom stick her nose against Grey’s cheek. “We need to get her out of here. She’s freezing.”
It doesn’t take much time for my father to push the rogue out of the small rocked alcove. I see Avery and Sawyer help by surrounding him, and still, the red wolf never backs down. He growls and snarls at each of them, his head low and his haunches tight, ready to spring into attack if necessary.
“I want him alive, we need to know if he’s getting any help.”
“I want to rip his throat out,” Sawyer snarls back, his voice full of aggression.
“Not yet,” the alpha responds, his voice calm as usual.
Knowing they have the rogue taken care of, I turn my attention back to my injured mate. Her head is turned, facing in my direction, but her beautiful green eyes are closed. My wolf whimpers at the bloodied state she’s in. I can see her shivering when my mom takes a respectful step back, allowing me room to go to Grey.
She doesn’t stir when I softly nudge her bloodied hand with my nose and still doesn’t move when I gently place my muzzle to her throat. Her heartbeat is slower than it should be, but it’s there.
I call upon the shift, and my wolf reluctantly disappears into my skin. Now in human form, I tenderly wipe the raindrops off her breathtakingly beautiful face. She stirs a little by this but doesn’t open her eyes.
My mom, also now in her human form, comes up behind me. “I can’t believe it’s her,” she whispers, and when I look over at Mom I see the tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry you went all these years without her.”
“I’ve found her.” My voice is thick and full of emotion. I have spent the last fourteen years mourning someone who lies before me, injured but alive. My eyes burn thinking about all the years I’d spent wishing she was here.
I still have many questions about where she has been and why she was taken away in the first place. But right now, all I can do is tenderly reach down and pull my sweet mate into my arms. And the moment I have her protected against my chest, I can practically feel a piece of my broken and battered soul mend.
“I’ll run ahead to warm up her Jeep so we can get her out of here,” Mom whispers, her voice also shaky with emotion. “I’ll call Remi and tell her to meet us there with a change of clothes for you.”
I feel her slender fingers squeeze my shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Ryker, we will figure this all out soon. Her aunt will be back in a few days, and she promised to give us answers then.” Mom gives my arm one more squeeze before shifting and running into the dark woods. She gives my father a soft bark as she passes, letting him know she is leaving.
Grey’s head rests against my chest as I carry her away from the small, rocked-in area. I find my friends and father have the rogue wolf cornered, and I fully trust they will not let him get away.
“Get him back to the house and get him to shift back to his human form. I have some questions I want to ask him,” I tell them sternly as I pass.
Grey shivers. I hold her tighter to my chest, but her clothes are soaked, and the cool wind has picked up isn’t helping her current state. Holding her as tight as I can, I take off in a light jog, knowing I need to get her to the warmed up Jeep soon.
As I run through the uneven terrain, I can’t help but repeatedly look down at her face. Even with leaves and debris in her light-blonde hair and a scratch across her dirt-covered cheek, she is still beautiful. I smile when I see she still has the light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. I used to tease her about those relentlessly growing up.
Grey lets out a soft whimper, I freeze and look down to make sure she is still unconscious. The last thing I want is to have to explain to her why I’m butt-ass-naked carrying her through the woods. That is a conversation my father had promised Addison we would wait to have when she got back in three days.
I still don’t understand how Grey had never shifted into her own wolf form all this time. Even though we can’t fully shift when we are kids, our eyes can still shift into wolf form, and for some kids like myself, fangs and claws can make an appearance at a young age. Grey used to be jealous when I would show off my claws, she always wanted to do it too but hadn’t quite mastered that skill when I last saw her. I do remember, though, on many occasions, her bright-green wolf eyes would appear.
She should have shifted by now. But my family never sensed she was a wolf, and even now, as I carry her, the only wolf scents I smell on her are my mother’s, the rogue’s, and mine. Ransom’s scent is also amongst them because she is wearing one of his old band t-shirts. I can’t help but growl at the fact another male’s scent is on my mate.
I stop jogging as I come to a small hill leading down to the road where the car is parked. I see the headlights are already on, which means Mom is down there waiting for us. I take careful steps down the incline, ensuring I don’t slip and fall with Grey in my arms. She’s already pretty banged up, and the last thing I want to do is add to her pain.
I pick up my pace when we are finally on a flat surface and make it to the Jeep in no time. Mom stands at
the rear with a thick blanket in hand. “Here, I found this in the back.” She knows I would refuse to put Grey down, so Mom carefully wraps the blanket around both of us. “Go sit down, honey, you must be exhausted.”
Until Mom says that, I didn’t realize how tired I am. I actually can’t remember the last time I slept, but I imagine it was probably those few stingy hours I got at the shitty motel we stayed at in Alberta a couple days ago.
“Is Remi going to meet us?” I ask her as I cautiously take a seat on the rear of the Jeep. I shift Grey’s weight in my arms but still refuse to put her down. If I had my way, I would never put her down again.
“Yes, they should be here any minute. Remi found her some clothes to change into, and the boys are bringing you something to put on as well.”
My mother hesitates, then says, “Ryker, your sister is worried about her friend, even though Pru is your mate, she is also your sister’s friend. Please try not to bite her head off if she puts herself between you and Pru.”
I know it sounds like a reasonable request that I should allow my own sister near my mate, but my wolf is still very much at the surface, and I know if anyone were to try to touch her right now, I might rip their hand off their body. Even if they were just trying to help. Unfortunately, my wolf won’t understand the difference. He’ll just see someone touching his mate, and that isn’t okay with him.
After a couple minutes of me staring at her face, I see bright headlights headed in our direction. The truck parks, and doors open and slam shut quickly after. The engine is barely off before Remington is sprinting to us, the twins close on her heels.
“Pru!” Remi shouts in our direction, a look of panic on her face.
I growl once when Remington reaches for her friend’s shoulder, but I quickly get my wolf and myself together. “She’s still not awake. She has a pretty nasty head wound. Did you guys happen to bring any first-aid supplies?”
“Pru keeps a box full of stuff in a compartment in the back.” Remi points to where I’m currently sitting. “Go put her in the front seat, and I’ll grab it.”
My wolf protests at the idea of putting her down, but I know it will be easier to reach her wounds if she isn’t intertwined with me.
After carefully placing her in the passenger seat, I keep a watchful eye as my mom and sister work on patching up my mate’s cuts and scratches.
“Dude, what the hell happened?” Ranger asks.
“The fucking rogue wolf I’ve been tracking for weeks found her,” I say, pulling the dark pair of sweats on Ransom handed me a moment before. “She’s lucky he was in his wolf form the entire time she was with him. He’s a nasty wolf but the worst kind of human imaginable. His last victim…” I trail off, not wanting to put those images in my younger brothers’ heads.
“I still can’t believe she’s actually Grey.” Ransom stands at my side, his eyes wide with confusion as he also watches the scene in front of me. “Do you really think she doesn’t remember?”
“Dad talked to Addison,” Ranger answers his twin, having obviously talked more to our father after I left, “And I’m sure he got more insight, but we’ll get all our questions answered when Addison gets back into town. Dad told me she wants to be the one to tell Pru the truth.” Ranger pauses then asks, “So, what do we call her now? Pruitt or Grey?”
“Grey,” I say immediately.
“Pruitt,” Remi interjects, having been listening to our conversation.
“That’s not her name,” I argue, irritated anyone would think differently.
“As far as she knows, her name is Pruitt Bailey. That’s all she has known for fourteen years. She doesn’t remember being Grey, and she may never remember it.” Remi scowls at me. “She isn’t the little girl you remember growing up with either.”
“Remi’s right,” Ransom agrees, but a small smile starts to form at the corners of his mouth. “She was a cute kid, but now she’s a smoking hot woman.”
I’m not the one to punch my brother for his comment, although I was about to. It’s our mom who delivers the blow as she passes him to get something out of the truck my siblings had driven up in.
“Next time, I’ll let your brother have a piece of you,” she hollers over her shoulder. She has also changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. The shirt is a couple sizes too large, which leads me to believe it’s one of my dad’s.
“We’re ready to go home,” Remi tells me as she puts some of the first-aid supplies back into the box. “We got what we could bandaged up, but mom also sent a text to Doctor V, and she’ll be waiting for us when we get there. I’ll drive us back if you want to hold her.”
I look over at Grey and see she looks peaceful. “No, I don’t want to move her again. I’ll ride in the back.” I open the rear door to Grey’s Jeep and climb in. “Let’s get her home.”
Home. I never thought I would call it that again, but now it sounds right.
“I forgot to tell you.” Remi starts the car and looks at me through the rearview mirror. “Guess what we found in her art studio.”
I carefully unfold the piece of paper Remi passes back to me, and my breath catches in my throat when I see my wolf’s eyes staring back at me from the page. His golden eyes look realistic, and the fur is perfectly illustrated, I swear I could reach out and touch it. She had even gotten the white patch of fur that sits on my chest right.
“What do you think that means?” Remi asks.
“It means I have more questions.”
7
Pruitt
The black wolf patiently waits for me across the clearing like always. The cold wind picks up and causes a chill to run down my spine. There is electricity in the air I haven’t sensed before. I’ve lived this dream many times before, but it feels different this time. The air around us buzzes and hums, drowning out the sound of my breathing and heartbeat.
I stand there watching the large wolf, afraid if I move, he will disappear like always. I stand as still as possible, willing him to stay longer. Just a minute longer this time, I plead to myself. But it will never be enough time.
The wolf cocks his head to the side as he watches me—almost like he’s wondering why I haven’t moved yet. I wish I could tell him I’m worried if I do, I’ll lose him, but the humming in the air is too loud to hear anything else. And then he does something he’s never done before.
He takes a step toward me.
I hold my breath expecting to be pulled out of the dream the second his paw leaves the ground, but to my utter shock, nothing happens. Nothing happens as he takes another step forward. I finally release the breath I’ve been holding when he makes it halfway across the clearing. My legs quake when I take my first step in his direction, but with each one, they get stronger.
With every inch closer, I expect to be jolted awake. And even as I’m standing a foot away from him, I’m bracing myself for when I’m inevitably pulled away, but it never happens.
When I put my shaking hand out, and he presses his large head against it, the air around us stills, and the rain that had been pouring down on our backs freezes. The deafening buzzing sound silences and I can once against hear my pounding heartbeat.
It’s the calmness and feeling of completeness that settles in my soul that shocks me the most. My fingers dig deep into the fur at his neck, holding on tight to him.
All I can do is stand there and stare at him. I already have his face memorized, but I still take it all in, from the way his ears twitch and move when he hears something to the way his fur feels against my fingers. I take it all in, wanting to remember everything about him. And this time, when my surroundings swirl and grow dark, I don’t panic about leaving him. Because I know in my heart this isn’t goodbye.
When I wake from the dream, I notice a few things. The first thing is I actually woke up in a bed instead the woods like I have the past couple of mornings. The second is I have the worst headache, and my body is sore and tender. The third is I know I’m not alone by the soft breathing I hear c
oming from across the room.
I stifle a groan as I slowly pull myself into a sitting position on the bed. I take a quick scan of the room I’m in and find I’m in one of the Weylyns’ guest rooms. I have never actually slept in here but have passed this room many times when walking to Remi’s.
In the far corner, Ryker sleeps in the dark leather accent chair, his thick tattooed arms crossed over his chest. His head hangs at an awkward position, having fallen asleep sitting up. The only part of this scene that concerns me is the golden glow still surrounds him as the bright morning sun dances across the room.
Great. I really did see it yesterday at the party before I left.
Wait! Memories of last night flash through my mind. The red wolf I had foolishly chased after, the wild wolf hunted me through the woods, the other wolves that showed up after it had attacked me. All of it comes crashing back to me, and I cringe when I remember the sound my head made when it hit the rock. I flinch when I reach back and feel stitches under the bandage that sits there.
Oh no, please tell me they didn’t…
“They didn’t shave your head,” a deep, sleepy voice murmurs from the corner of the room. Looking over, I find equally sleepy blue eyes looking back at me. “If that’s what you were wondering.” A small smile appears on his face as he shifts into a more upright position.
“Read my mind.” I can’t help the shy smile growing on my own face. “Did you sleep here all night?”
“Yes.”
“Why would you do that?” I blurt before I can stop myself. “Sorry. I mean, wasn’t the chair uncomfortable?”
“I’ve slept in worse places.” Ryker grins at me. “How do you feel? You were pretty banged up when we found you.” He moves from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed, our legs brushing against each other. It’s impossible to ignore the electric feeling that shoots from my leg and up my spine. It’s similar to the zapping feeling I experienced when I first saw him in the backyard at the party. But this time, I don’t feel the nausea that followed.
Wolf Bound (The White Wolf Prophecy Book 1) Page 6