Wolf Bound (The White Wolf Prophecy Book 1)

by Kayleigh King

  “Pru’s not going to want to stay here,” Ranger starts once Avery is passed the nearby treeline. “She’s already going to feel like she’s over-extended her welcome. You know how she gets.” He looks at my father, who nods in agreement.

  I feel a pang of jealousy that my family knows my mate better than I do. I remember the young girl she once was while my family knows the woman she’s grown into. I know I will get to know her again once her aunt comes back and gives us all the answers. But until then, I’m going to have to make do with what I remember. For example, the honey on pancakes thing at breakfast. My heart soared when I saw the look on her face as I handed her the bottle. I was lucky she still enjoyed it, but it was worth the risk to see that look.

  “Well, I’m not letting her out of my sight, we’re going to have to come up with something because she can’t leave this property.”

  “I’m sure Remi will come up with a plan on how to keep her here,” Ranger offers.

  “Yes, your sister can be very persuasive.” Dad nods in agreement.

  “And if that doesn’t work, we can always just tie her up in here since that seems to be working out so well for us.” Ranger grins.

  “Let’s call that plan B,” I jokingly say.

  “Kinky.” Ranger wags his eyebrows, a sly smile on his face. He isn’t quick enough, and my fist connects with his shoulder. “Worth it!”

  “Camping?” she questions, her forehead wrinkling in confusion. “You want to go camping?”

  “Yes, a sibling camping trip! We haven’t had one in five years since Ryker was off brooding. But now he’s back, and you’re here, it’s going to be perfect.” Remington bounces in her seat on the couch as she explains her plan to Grey.

  “Umm, not to point out the obvious, but I’m not a sibling.” Grey leans forward in her seat, resting her forearms on her legs. “And I’ve already been enough of a burden, I don’t need to get in your way anymore.”

  “Pru shut your face. You’re coming. End of discussion.” My sister shuts her down.

  “You’re not supposed to be alone anyway, doctors orders,” I remind her. “And since your aunt won’t be back until the morning, you’re stuck with us.” With me. But I don’t add that part, figuring it’s best to not add to her confusion right now.

  “I’ve never been camping.” Her green eyes widen in worry. “I grew up in the city! The closest I’ve ever been to camping is a tailgate before a concert or football game!”

  “It’s going to be fun,” Remi exclaims, “I promise. We’ll take the jet skis out on the water for a bit, and then we’ll cook some dinner over the campfire. And of course, there will be the roasting of the marshmallows.”

  When Remi got back from picking up some things for Grey at her house, we told her about the pack-wide lockdown we were on. She was a little upset about having to be constantly supervised but understood why we were doing it. She quickly came up with the idea of going camping as a way to keep everyone on the property but also entertained. We will be camping a mile away from the house, so close enough that we’ll be able to get back quickly if something happens.

  “Okay, fine!” Grey throws her hands up. “I’ll go, but only if you promise I’m not intruding on family time.”

  “We promise.” I smile at her. I’ve never been more excited to go camping than I am right now. “We want you here.”

  I need you here.

  “How many times do we have to tell you that you’re family?” Remi gets up from her end of the couch and moves closer to Grey. She plops down hard onto the cushion, bouncing both of them.

  I can’t help the grin that comes over my face when I hear Grey laugh. I haven’t heard that laugh in fourteen years, and it’s music to my ears. It’s the same musical sound I’ve thought about often, but now hearing it for real, it’s even better than I remembered.

  I wish I could tell her now she’s more important to me than family. That she’s more than that. But that’s another conversation we need to wait till Addison is here to have.

  The waiting is going to kill me, but I know dropping this information on Grey without her aunt present would be too much for Grey to understand. I hope she doesn’t freak out too much when she learns the truth. But I also know there’s going to be an adjustment period.

  “I’ll go help the twins get packed up. Be ready to leave in twenty minutes, okay?” I reach over and squeeze Grey’s shoulder. “It’s going to be great,” I say with a quick wink, loving the shade of pink her face turns.

  9

  Pruitt

  “Why don’t you ride on the back with Ryker?” Remi suggests as she pulls her t-shirt off, revealing a bright yellow bikini.

  We made it to the campsite by riding in on four-wheelers, then spent the next hour setting up our things and unpacking the large bags of supplies Margot had sent with us. You would think we were spending a week out here based on the amount of food and provisions she packed.

  The bulk of the time had been spent setting up the biggest tent I’ve ever seen in my life. It has to be able to fit at least ten people, and it has rooms in it. What kind of tent needs rooms? I was told Remi and I will be in one room while the boys are in the other.

  And now we stand in our bathing suits on the lakeshore, getting ready to take the jet skis out. I’m wearing the black and white striped bikini Remi loaned to me and trying my best to not feel self-conscious. The Weylyns all look like they walked off the page of a fitness magazine, and I suddenly wish I hadn’t spent most of my days hiding away in my art studio because I’m so pale, I nearly glow in the dark.

  “What? Are you crazy,” I hiss at her, not understanding why she would suggest such a thing. I’ve been doing everything in my power to not gawk at a shirtless Ryker Weylyn for the past ten minutes, and now she wants me to go wrap myself around him on the back of a jet ski?

  “You should ride with Ryker,” she repeats, like it’s no big deal.

  “Are you kidding me?” I squeak.

  “Don’t act like you don’t want to. You and I both know you want to saunter your pretty little ass over there and hold onto him for dear life.” She smirks. “I’ve seen you staring at him, and a couple times, I think I saw some drool… Actually, I think you’ve got some right—”

  “Oh, my God! Stop it.” I slap her hand away from my face with both of mine when she mockingly tries to wipe my face of imaginary dribble. I narrow my eyes at her when she starts laughing at me. “It’s not funny!”

  “Honey, we so don’t care if you have a thing for my brother. Trust me,” Remi says after getting herself together. “And if it makes you feel any better, he’s been staring at you too.” She looks behind me at something, and I turn to find Ryker walking in my direction with a life vest in hand.

  With wide eyes, I turn and look back at my friend, who just grins at me. “Go get ‘em, tiger,” she whispers before slapping me on the ass as she darts away.

  “Ready to go?” his deep voice comes from behind me, and I gulp before turning to face him. He looks good in his clothes, but holy shit, he looks even better shirtless. Every muscle on his chest and stomach is defined and strong. The roadmap of various tattoos swirls over his tanned skin.

  “Yep!” I quickly nod, trying to hide my nervousness. “Is that for me?” I point at the black and blue life jacket in his hand.

  “Yes. Everyone is required to wear a life jacket on the water. I thought I’d help you since the buckles can be tricky,” he explains as he holds it out to me. I swiftly put my arms through the armholes, and his hands make quick work of loosening and tightening some straps and connecting buckles.

  It fits snuggly across my chest, and I laugh. “Lucky, I don’t have big boobs, or this would be really uncomfortable.” I immediately regret what I say and want to slap my hand over my mouth or go drown myself in the lake. “Please just ignore me. It seems I can’t control my words when I’m around you.”

  Ryker’s hands still from working the buckles, and his gaze meets with mine.
He stares at me so intensely I swear he’s looking at my soul. One of his hands rises from where it held the vest and softly pushes a strand of blonde hair behind my ear.

  “You’re perfect. Don’t ever think differently.”

  I bite my bottom lip and nod because I don’t trust myself to speak right now. I know I’ll say something that will ruin the moment.

  He takes my hand and leads me to the waiting jet ski. Just like before that electric current shoots up my arm, and I find myself holding his hand tighter.

  We stand in about a foot of water as Ryker climbs on the jet ski in one graceful motion that I’m jealous of since I’ve never been very coordinated. He puts one hand out and quickly pulls me up behind him. My front is crushed against his back, only a few thick inches of life vest separate us now, and I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.

  “You had better hang on tight. We wouldn’t want you to go flying off the back now, would we?” Ryker jokes as he reaches back and grabs hold of my arms, wrapping them around his center. I don’t hesitate to tighten my grip around him, mainly because I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of him more than I already have. But also just on instinct. It feels nice to be this close to him. Something inside of me almost purrs in satisfaction at our close proximity.

  “Let’s go!” Ransom yells before revving his engine and taking off at full speed across the water. His twin shouts something I can’t make out over the roar of the engines and swiftly takes off after him. I watch in amazement as they fly across the water.

  “Try to keep up, love birds!” Remi calls over her shoulder before shooting after her siblings, easily catching up. I’m thankful my face is hidden from Ryker, so he can’t see the blush that works it’s way up my face from her words. I’ve known Ryker for less than a day, why would she say something like that?

  “Ready?” Ryker asks, and I feel his chest vibrate when he speaks.

  “What are you waiting for?” I ask, trying to sound braver than I am.

  I barely get the words out of my mouth before we’re zipping across the water, the jet ski bouncing slightly from the small waves the others have caused.

  As if my death grip on him already wasn’t enough, I can’t help tightening it more. It’s a lot bumpier than I’d originally thought it would be, but it’s also exhilarating. I can’t help the squeal of delight that escapes my throat when Ryker takes a quick turn and water sprays all over.

  Looking around him, I can’t see his siblings anymore. “Sorry, you can’t keep up with them with me on the back of this thing,” I shout over the sound of the engine.

  “Who says I’m not exactly where I want to be?” he calls out over his shoulder. I can only see the corner of his mouth from this angle, but I can see that it’s curved up in a grin.

  “If you say so. You’re more than welcome to dump my ass off back at camp if you want to go after them,” I can’t help but offer, afraid I’m holding him back.

  “Trying to get rid of me already?” I feel his chest rumble as he laughs, and his shoulders shake slightly.

  “Never.”

  And I honestly mean that.

  Ryker and I fly across the water. All my nerves from earlier have dispersed, and I’m now fully enjoying my time on the water, but mostly, I’m enjoying my time with him. He teases me every time I shriek when he makes a turn too fast or when the jet ski shakes us too much for my liking. I’ve also been laughing more with him than I have with anymore, even when it’s at my expense.

  “Okay, you’re doing that on purpose now!” I whine when another splash of water hits us. The first couple times he caused it to happen were funny, but now I’m soaked head to toe and look like I’ve been caught in a torrential downpour of rain.

  “A little water never hurt anyone!” Ryker snickers back at me while he continues to direct the jet ski into tight circles. We spin and spin around, over and over again, until I feel sick to my stomach.

  I squeeze him tight and rest my head against his shoulder blade, my eyes closed tight to avoid getting any more lake water in my eyes. “Ryker!” I plead. “Stop!”

  “What’s the magic word?”

  “Seriously?”

  “Nope. Not even close.”

  “Ryker!” I squeal when he goes even faster.

  “Wrong again. Are you even trying?”

  “Please!”

  “Wrong, but since I’m such a nice person, I’ll stop anyway.” The jet ski slows, and finally, we come to a complete stop. Ryker cuts the engine, and for the first time in almost an hour, it’s silent. I hadn’t realized how loud it was until now. “By the way, the correct answer was Ryker Weylyn is the most amazing and handsome person I know.”

  “You said magic word, not words,” I remind him, grinning. My face actually hurts from how much I’ve been smiling.

  Since we had been moving so fast, I hadn’t been able to really look at my surroundings. The water is beautiful and glittering in the sunlight, almost like the glow around Ryker. The trees are so green, and they reflect off the water, creating a mirrored effect. Something I would love to draw someday if I can ever get myself to draw something other than the black wolf from my dreams. My eyes scan ahead of us, and I notice a house.

  Unlike the Weylyns’ large log cabin-style home, this one is more modern with large windows and contemporary architecture. It looks like whoever owns it now hasn’t taken care of the property. The shrubs are overgrown, and the trim paint around the large windows is faded and chipping away. But the house looks like it could be bright and happy again with a little bit of love.

  “Who used to live there?” I ask him. “Can we go closer?”

  The happy look that had been on Ryker’s face all day slips away. “That was the Thorne’s home.”

  “Grey used to live there?” I loosen my hold on him, removing my arms from around his waist. “Do her parents not live there anymore?”

  “Her parents also died. It’s been empty ever since the accident.” He stares straight ahead. “I used to sneak in there years ago when I was missing them. Well, missing her.”

  “She must have meant a lot to you since you had to leave Montana all together to get away from it all.” I know I’m pushing now, but for some reason, I feel a deep need to understand how important she was to him. And why? “I understand you were good friends with her, but it seems like she meant much more to you.”

  Ryker is silent for a minute and I start to get anxious I’ve once again crossed a line, but as I’m about to take back my words, he says, “Do you believe in fate?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it. Addison used to say ‘everything happens for a reason’ when she was trying to console me about my accident. But it never really made me feel better.”

  “I believe everyone has someone out there for them, that they’re meant to be with. Sometimes it takes decades to find that person, but sometimes you find that person when you’re just a child.”

  “And that was Grey for you? Ryker, you were just a kid. How were you supposed to know for sure?” The idea of finding a soul mate is far fetched enough for me, but the fact that Ryker thinks he found his when he was only a child worries me. When you’re a child, you’re not supposed to be thinking about whom you’re going to end up with or marry.

  “It’s instinct. When you know, you know,” he says, not offering up any more information. “Are you ready to head back to camp?”

  “Sure.”

  As we ride back to camp, I worry my connection with Ryker is pointless if he’s still hung up over his childhood crush.

  10

  Ryker

  It’s strange talking about Grey with Grey. But I guess they really are two separate people. The little girl I remember and the girl that rides behind me now on the jet ski aren’t the same person, and it’s a tough reality to accept. But if I want any kind of future with this Grey—Pruitt—I’m going to need to stop looking at the past.

  As we ride back to camp, I think about
the Thornes’ old house. I was always terrified someone was going to buy it, and a new family would move in. When I was still living at home, I used to sneak over there at night and sit with my eyes closed in the silence. I would imagine that I could still hear Grey laughing or Genevieve humming as she baked something. And sometimes I swore I could still hear them, but when I opened my eyes the place was devoid of life.

  “Hold on tight!” I call over my shoulder. I pick up speed, so we’re able to glide onto shore without having to climb off while still in the water.

  “Wow, that was so much fun!” she exclaims. “Thank you for including me in this today.”

  I look back at her for the first time in a while and see her light green eyes are sparkling bright, and a smile has covered for face for the past hour is still there.

  “It wouldn’t have been the same without you,” I assure her, wishing she would stop feeling like she’s intruding on us. “I’ll go get us something to drink. Why don’t you go change into some dry clothes.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” she says, agreeing with me. I watch as she struggles with the buckles of the life jacket, and I can’t help the smile that appears on my face. The frustrated look on hers is comical.

  “Good Lord, is this thing made by the same people who created straight-jackets?” She yanks hard on a strap, and it makes the vest tighter. “Shit, I’ve made it worse. Help me,” she pleads, turning toward me.

  How could I ever say no to those big green eyes?

  I easily unclasp the buckles and have her free in no time. “See, was that so hard?” I tease her. I almost fall over when she simply sticks her tongue out at me before turning toward the tent with a huff. I chuckle at her antics and yell after her. “You’re welcome!”