“That’s your wolf, baby.” I open my eyes long enough to see that Ryker is crouching in front of me on the other side of the circle. “Let her take over. Don’t fight her.”
“I’m not trying to,” I growl between clenched teeth.
“I know it’s hard to hand over the control, but she knows what to do.” His voice calm, and I find comfort in his soothing voice.
“It hurts,” I sob as sweat drips down my back.
“I know, but look,” he says, pointing at my hands that have been on fire since this whole thing started, “You have claws.”
“Wh–What?” I stammer as I bring my hands closer to my face so I can see them through the tears in my eyes. Sure enough, razor-sharp claws have replaced each one of my fingernails.
“And your fangs came in too.”
I carefully run my tongue over my front teeth and, yep! Two elongated pointy teeth now sit there. “It’s working…” I breathe, feeling some relief.
“Let your wolf get you through the rest,” Ryker says, reassuring me. “You’re doing amazing, Pru.”
I close my eyes and focus on the other presence that now occupies my mind. I try to visualize letting her take over or giving her the steering wheel. But no matter how hard I try to relax or how hard she pushes at what’s left of the barrier between us, she can’t break all the way through. Her frustration and the anger she feels from being locked away for so long is palpable.
I’m so sorry…
I don’t know if she can hear me, but I apologize to her anyway. I can’t imagine how trapped she must feel, and now the wall caging her refuses to completely break.
“Pruitt?” A voice answers back, one I’ve become very fond of.
“Ryker?” I think back tentatively.
“I can hear you through the pack link!” His voice sounds ecstatic, and when I open my eyes to look at him. His face looks the same, a big smile sits there, a smile full of hope.
“She’s still stuck,” I reveal to him, tears running down my face. “She’s sort of out, I can feel her, but there’s a piece of the wall still up or something.” I wipe my face with a shaky hand and see my claws are still out. “I don’t know… I tried. I really did try, but she’s still stuck.” A sob escapes my mouth before I can stop it. I can’t help but notice how weird my mouth feels when I talk with fangs.
Holy shit, I have fangs.
“I know you tried.” Ryker gets to his feet and steps over the stones. It’s clear to both of us the ritual is over. The pain has already dispersed from my body and the power we both felt left with it. Ryker kneels in front of me and wraps me up in his arms. “I know you tried, and you were so brave.” He kisses the top of my head. “I’m considering this a win.”
“Why? I didn’t shift,” I sniff.
“No, but your fangs and claws appeared, and even though she’s still tucked away, I can sense your wolf’s presence. That’s something I haven’t been able to do until now,” he explains, “and this means we’re that much closer to getting her out. We won’t stop trying. I promise we won’t give up on her. I won’t give up.” There’s a double meaning to his words when he says, “I promise I won’t ever leave your side.”
“Do you mean that?” I push back so I can look into his eyes.
“I mean it. I’ll hold on as long as I can.” He pushes away strands of hair stuck to my sweaty face. “Your wolf eyes are so beautiful,” he murmurs. “You’re beautiful.”
“Even when I’m a sweaty mess with fangs,” I counter with a grin. Even though I feel devastated this didn’t work, Ryker is still able to make me smile.
“Even then.” He presses his lips to my temple. “But you really do need a shower,” he whispers against my face.
“Can you still hear me?” I ask Ryker through the mind link. Again.
“I told you I could two minutes ago,” he snickers back.
“I’m just checking.”
It’s weird to be walking right next to him and be having this conversation with him, in our heads. If anyone else were to walk past us right now, they would think we are walking in total silence. I’m not going to lie, though. I’m a fan of having Ryker’s voice in my head. I’ve already been dreaming about him for ten months, might as well have his thoughts in my head too. Right?
“You don’t have to keep checking,” Ryker says, speaking out loud this time. “Now that this part of your wolf is unlocked, you should be able to do it with anyone else in the pack, not just me.”
“So, I can talk shit about people with Remi, and no one will hear us?” This special little skill just unlocked so many possibilities.
“It’s usually so pack members can communicate while in wolf form, but sure you can use it to gossip with my sister.” Ryker shakes his head at this. “The two of you together have always been trouble.”
“Were we bad as kids too?”
“Worse.” Ryker chuckles. “You guys were always getting into things you weren’t supposed to.”
“I can picture that.” I grin.
I lied to Esme when I said I didn’t care about getting my memories back. I’ve mourned their loss for as long as I can remember, and there was always a smidge of hope that one day I would wake up and they would be back. So, now that I know for a fact there’s no hope of them ever returning, I can’t help but be a little sad.
I wish I could know what Christmases were like before the accident or what it was like to see my parents shift into wolves. I wonder what they were like as alphas? Considering how quickly the pack was willing to submit to me earlier, they must have been well-loved and respected. I can only hope that when the time comes, I’ll be able to live up to them.
As we walk closer to the house, I pause in my steps when I hear something. “Is that a heartbeat? Why is it so fast?” I ask, “and why can I hear it?”
“There’s a deer in the trees right over there.” Ryker points to the dark line of trees to our right. “He’s spooked because he can sense that we’re predators. Your wolf senses must have been released during the ritual also.”
“Oh, that’s great. I can do everything wolf shifters can except shift.” I throw my hands up in frustration.
“I told you. We’re aren’t giving up on that,” he says before glancing back at the house. Warm light shines out of the big windows that cover the rear, “Okay, let’s practice. Close your eyes and try to figure out who’s in the house.”
“What? Why?” I raise a brow in question.
“Humor me. I want to see how awesome my mate is at this wolf stuff.” My heart skips a beat every time he refers to me as his mate.
“Okay, fine,” I relent before closing my eyes. I take a deep breath and try to focus on the house. At first, all I hear is the sound of Ryker’s heartbeat and his breathing, but when I push past that, I also hear movement inside the house.
I hear footsteps on the hardwood floor. They’re too heavy to be Remi or Margot. The person stops walking, and I hear the sound of bottles clanking together, followed by a twist top beer being opened.
“Ransom’s in the fridge getting a beer,” I tell Ryker with my eyes still closed.
“How do you know its Ransom?”
“Elias only drinks beer when it’s on tap, and Ranger found this artisanal beer that he only drinks now, and he was bitching about how it’s been sold out at the store. Which means it has to be Ransom,” I tell him proud of myself.
“You know my family better than I do,” he jokes, but I hear the slight twinge of hurt in his voice, so I open my eyes and look at him.
“That’s only because I’ve basically been living with them for the last ten months,” I say with a sigh. “You’ll get close to them again now that you’re home.”
“I hope so,” he anxiously rubs the back of his neck. “I really messed up by being gone for so long.”
“It’s not too late to fix it.” I reach up and run my hand down his cheek. “You’re planning on sticking around for a while, aren’t you?’
�
��Good luck getting rid of me.” His expression is full of adoration as he looks at me.
22
Ryker
It’s been a month since the night of the ritual, and ever since, Pruitt has become a natural when it comes to everything wolf shifter. Everything but shifting that is. We spend a lot of our nights out by the lake trying to call her wolf out. Pruitt is beginning to get more and more frustrated she can’t fully shift. Her hearing and sense of smell are remarkable, better than anyone in my family. She can pick up on whispered conversations two floors away.
One night, I needed to go for a run and let my wolf out, and she decided to join me. Even when I’m in my wolf form, I struggle to keep up with her when she runs now. And every time she beats one of my siblings or me in a race, my chest fills with pride for my little mate.
She is absolutely extraordinary.
And now, as I walk up the stairs to her art studio for the first time, she blows me away yet again. Every surface of the small space is covered in her drawings and sketches. Many of them are drawings of my wolf, but there are other portraits and landscapes here and there. Each line drawn is perfectly placed and looks like she drew them with such ease.
“You’re an amazing artist,” I tell her as I move around the space so I can see each and every drawing.
“Thank you.” She grins. “I know I look like a crazy person with all these pictures of your wolf, but he was basically the only thing I could draw for a while. I was a little obsessed with him…” She bites her bottom lip as her gaze slides away from me.
“Well, the feeling’s mutual. He’s a pretty big fan of yours as well.” I smirk at her as I make my way over to a painting easel with a big canvas on it. My black wolf stands there, his golden eyes staring at the ghost of a figure next to him where Pru has the outline of a wolf that hasn’t been completed yet.
“I didn’t know what color to paint her, so I left her like that,” Prue explains, coming up behind me.
“You’ll be able to finish it soon,” I assure her as I pull her close to me.
Even though the past month has been filled with the frustrating fact she hasn’t been able to shift, it has also been the best month of my life. I’ve gotten to know the grown-up Pruitt, not just the little girl that I remembered. She’s still the headstrong and independent girl that I recall, but she’s also so loving and caring toward all the people in her life. She’s refused to sleep at my house since the night of the ritual, not wanting to leave Addison alone at nights, and she spends a lot of her days helping Addison run her business since her aunt hasn’t had the energy to do it all.
I love how Pru jumps into everything she does headfirst, whether it’s my crazy supernatural world or taking charge of a fairly large brand. She’s even been holed away the last couple days working on clothing designs for the company. I haven’t been able to see her much, and it’s been making me crazy.
“I’ve missed you.” I push my nose into her hair and breathe in the scent of vanilla that always accompanies her.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to spend much time with you,” she mummers against my chest. “Addison hasn’t been having a good week, and I can’t leave her alone.”
“I know. That’s why I asked Noah to come over so we can have the night to ourselves.”
“You did what?” She pulls back from me, a questioning look on her face.
“Noah is going to come over in about an hour so I can take you on a proper date tonight,” I repeat. Even though we’ve been out to lunch or dinner a couple times over the past month, I haven’t taken her on an official date.
“Really?” she asks, her face lighting up with excitement.
“Really. I know being mates means we bypassed a lot of the usual dating that comes with relationships, I feel like we missed out on the first date experience.”
“True, but it’s pretty awesome if you think about it. We won’t have any of that first date awkwardness,” she says, smiling. “I’m excited.”
“Good. Go on and get ready. Noah should be here soon.” I nudge her toward the stairs.
“What? I can’t wear paint smudged clothes?”
“I’m confused… Why are we headed toward your house?” she asks from the passenger seat of my truck. Pru had changed into a pair of ripped black skinny jeans and a plain white tank top. She’s wearing her hair down, and while I miss her usual braid, I like the way the long blonde locks fall down her back in a waterfall of waves.
“Will you please just let me surprise you?” I beg her.
Sawyer and I had spent most of the day setting up the surprise for her, and I don’t want it ruined before she can see it.
I was lucky Sawyer was even able to help me since he’s been out hunting rogues with Avery all this time. He was also more understanding than Avery when I told them I wasn’t going to go with them. But to my surprise, Ransom offered to go with them as backup. From what I’ve heard, he’s a natural at tracking and hunting down rogues. Sawyer is always good about sending me updates on their progress. I told him if things go bad, I’d be there to help them out, but only if the situation was dire. Sawyer understood why I didn’t want to leave Pruitt; Avery, however, did not.
It was probably for the best I didn’t join them again. Avery knows I’m upset with her about her fight with Pruitt and has been avoiding me for the past couple of weeks. The only reason I know she’s upset is through Sawyer.
“Don’t we think I’ve had enough surprises this month?” She gives me a pointed look, and her dark-red painted lips are held in a smirk. “I mean the whole werewolf thing takes the cake as far as surprises go.”
“Wolf shifters,” I correct her.
“Whatever,” she drawls, rolling her bright green eyes.
“Trust me, I think you’re going to like it.”
I make a turn onto a back road that leads to a driveway I swore I would never go down again because it brought back so many memories I’d rather have forgotten. But now, as I drive down the dark drive, the beacon of light that sits in my passenger seat casts away all the shadows that used to haunt this place.
The Thorne’s white mid-century modern house looms in front of us. Instead of looking dark and vacant like it has for so many years, soft light glows out of the windows. I come to a stop and cut the engine, then turn in my seat, so I’m facing her.
“Ryker…” Pru breathes when she looks at the house. String lights and lanterns hang from the large trees that surround the walkway up to the front door. Candles line the stone path as well. “How did you… How is this possible? Doesn’t someone own it by now?”
“I do,” I announce. “As of yesterday, it’s mine.”
“What!” She yelps.
Instead of answering her question, I hop out of the cab of the truck. I quickly run around the car to open the door for her. When I do, she’s still sitting there with her mouth agape. She doesn’t say anything when I help her out of the raised vehicle or when I take her hand and lead her to the candlelit pathway.
“I want it to be ours,” I say, taking a breath before I continue. “Even though your parents’ story ended tragically, the time they spent here together and then with you, were happy times. And I believe this is somewhere we can live and be happy. Together.”
“Ryker…”
“No, let me finish,” I plead. “I’ve spent a lot of years consumed by anger. I was angry at the world, angry at the rogue wolves I thought killed you, angry with myself for holding onto that anger. But I don’t want to feel that way anymore. I want to build a happy life with you, one where I wake up every morning with you next to me in bed, in a house that already holds so many happy memories. And I want us to build our own memories here in this house.” I stroke her knuckles with my thumb as I hold her small hand in mine. “So, what do you say?”
She turns her gaze away from the house and looks at me, her bright eyes filled with tears.
“Oh, no, are those sad tears?” I ask, scared I’ve made a huge mistake.
>
“No. No, I’m happy,” she sniffs. “I can’t believe you did this. It’s…”
“Too much? Totally crazy?” I fill in for her.
“No.” She laughs. “It’s perfect. I would love nothing more than to create more happy memories in this house with you.”
And that’s all I need to hear before I’m swooping her up in my arms and pulling her face to mine.
23
Pruitt
While some aspects of the house are dated, it’s still the kind of home you drool over online. The layout is perfect, with tall ceilings and big windows that cover the whole back of the house. It has a perfect view of the shimmering lake below, and I have a gut feeling my parents used to sit on the patio at night watching the sunset over the water.
I’m heartsick I don’t actually have those memories, and I must rely on people like Ryker to tell me about them. But if I close my eyes, I can almost imagine what my parents’ life here was like. I imagine them laughing in the kitchen while making dinners together, I imagine them cuddled up on the couch in the living room watching movies on a cold night, and down the hall where the bedrooms are, I imagine my mom’s voice coming through the doors as she reads me a bedtime story. And I imagine my life with Ryker here can be as happy as theirs was.
“We will have the kitchen and bathrooms redone before we move in,” Ryker tells me as he whisks me around the house, giving me the grand tour. “And the floors probably need to be redone,” he says out loud, but I think he’s speaking more to himself.
“Ryker, how are you affording all of this?” I can’t help but ask. I know for a fact that lakefront properties aren’t cheap, and this one is on a fairly large lot.
“My grandfather was an oil tycoon and invested wisely in different companies like cattle and construction. When he died, he left a good chunk to each of his grandkids,” he explains. “I invested in some profitable companies and real estate myself and have been able to make some pretty good money off of that.”
Wolf Bound (The White Wolf Prophecy Book 1) Page 17