Page 38 of Bound

Wanting to ease his pain, I try to move toward him, but overestimate my energy and barely move before crashing back down.

“I think she’s trying to go to you,” Hunter says, and I try to nod.

Chase moves forward and gently lifts me into his lap,supporting me so I don’t have to hold myself up as I lean against his chest.

“Blue?” he asks, almost nervously, as he stares down at me. I tilt my head up to look at him, then give him as big a lick as I can muster up the side of his jaw.

He lets out a masculine giggle, which is a sound I didn’t even know was possible. It makes me do it again, loving the happy emotion from him. He turns his head side to side like he doesn’t like it, but I notice he’s still holding me close, not pushing me away.

Finally, feeling exhausted all of a sudden, I slow my licks, and after giving him one last long one up his neck, I drop my head and rest my nose against his neck. I hope he understands what I’m saying, that I’m glad he’s okay.

He lets out a deep sigh, wrapping his arms around me to hold me close. My body warms from the connection. It’s been so long since anyone has hugged me. These guys are bringing all these feelings to the surface, and I’m not sure what to do with them.

After a minute, Chase whispers, “You aren’t going to leave us again, are you?”

Am I?

I remember how I felt when I was running—stupid. I’m not sure how I expected to get away from five alphas who seem to want to keep me around. Not that I totally mind… Maybe I ran because a part of me wanted to know they actually wanted me here, and not just because they stumbled across me and felt obligated.

But the way they immediately came after me tells me what I need to know for now. That they want me here, though I’m still not entirely sure why.

Could one of them really be my fated mate? The thought of finding out which one fills me with dread. Notbecause I don’t want to be with one of them, but because I don’t want to find out I’m not fated to the other four, which is inevitable. I think my heart would break four times over.

What if none of them are my fated mate?

What if all of them are?

I take a deep breath and try to tell myself to calm down. If I ever want to shift, I need to be in complete control of my emotions. And if they want to stay in the forest with me until that happens, well, that’s up to them. I’m not forcing them to stay here. Thanks to my run through the forest, I know that to be true now.

They could have been free of me, but instead they came after me, rescued me, and grieved my death. Maybe being a part of their pack wouldn’t be so bad for now, even if it does end with me being heartbroken and alone.

Chapter 19

Bain

“She looks tired,” Gage says, as we watch her eyes close without responding to Chase’s question.

“Her head just got heavier. I think she’s asleep,” Chase says in confusion as he holds her against him.

Fuck, I wish that were me.

After the pain I felt from her death, there is no more denying how strongly I feel for her. I don’t know how this will all play out, with all of us seeming to feel the same way. We will just have to wait for her to shift before we know anything for certain.

“Let’s get her back to camp. That bear could come back any minute,” Maddox says as he stands up, then bends down to lift the sleeping beauty off‌ Chase and into his own arms.

I should have done that. She’smymate. Probably.Definitely.

Heading back to our temporary camp on the outskirts of our land, I take up the rear, keeping my eyes open for any more threats. I had gotten a good slash across that grizzly’s snout. Idoubt he’ll be back anytime soon. I think he realized he was outmatched. But it had been close for a minute there.

If it wasn’t for her stepping in to save Chase, we might have lost him today. I try to swallow past the knot of guilt growing in my chest. It’s my job to protect him, to protect her, and I failed.

Never again.

As we step into the clearing, Maddox gently lays her by the firepit. Gage is already moving to start the fire, to keep her warm and comfortable, no doubt.

Taking a seat on the ground right beside her, I lean back against one of the large boulders I’d moved around the fire. I stretch out my legs, letting my right one rest against her back, craving her contact.

Suddenly, I feel utterly exhausted. So much happened today, and I seem to be crashing now from the adrenaline rush.