Page 49 of Bound

“It was,” he says calmly. “But now it includes Red too.”

“Why is she like that?” she asks, waving a hand in my direction as a small growl escapes me, not liking the way she’s gesturing at me.

Maddox’s fingers keep stroking my head as he tells her, “She’s stuck in her wolf form right now.”

Her eyes widen even further. “She’s arogue?” She says it like a curse word, and I feel my lip start to curl as I bare my teeth at her.

“No, we told you, she’s part of our pack,” Hunter says in agitation.

“Okay, okay, sorry!” she says, holding up her palms in surrender as she takes another step back, eyeing all of us warily now.

Nobody speaks as she takes a good look at me. I can see she’s thinking about something very carefully as her eyes move around. Finally, she sighs and takes another step away from us. “I didn’t sign up for this. There are plenty of alphas out there whoareinterested in me.”

“Good,” Gage says with a nod. “Go find one of them to marry.”

She glances at Maddox, and I can see something change in her eyes as she slowly nods. “Maybe I will.” She gives me one last glance before she turns on her heels and heads back down the hall she came from.

Maddox bends down and kisses the top of my head as he whispers, “Good girl.” Then he quickly leads us outside to the SUV. Nobody says a word, not even through the ten-minutedrive back to their house. I start to wonder if they’re speaking through a pack bond.

There have been a few times when they’ve just glanced at each other in silent conversation, but I always thought that only worked in blood-related families. But now that I think about it, I guess I never asked my parents about it.

There were so many questions I was dying to ask them. Like why the five of them lived together, where their families are, or how Maddox is able to stand up to the alpha of his pack without consequence.Or what is going to happen to me?

When we pull into their driveway and everyone silently climbs out, Maddox turns to face them all, his hands on his hips and a worried expression on his face.

“Red is never to be left alone, understood?” he asks, taking a moment to get a head nod from each of them before he turns to me. “And you are never to go anywhere on your own, even in the house.”

I take a step backward, his command sounding too close to imprisonment. I let out a worried whine as I glance at the others, who are now frowning at me.

“You’re scaring her,” Hunter says before fully turning to me and kneeling down so he’s closer to my height.

“I didn’t mean?—”

Maddox starts, but Gage cuts him off as he drops to sit on his ass right there in the middle of the driveway. “Remember, she’s possibly more wolf than human right now. Or it’s at least fifty-fifty. She’s still driven by wolf instinct most of the time.”

“Why is her instinct to retreat from me?” Maddox asks, sounding hurt.

“You’re talking about taking away her freedom,” Gage says as he holds out a hand toward me, waiting for me to choose to come closer or back away. I do neither, unsure what I want.

“You know that’s not what I meant. I just want to keep her safe,” Maddox says as he watches me with a pinched brow.

“We know that,” Gage says calmly. “And her human side probably understands that too. But we don’t know what situation she’s come from. What you said may be triggering for her.”

Maddox, still watching me, slowly lowers himself to his knees. “I’m sorry, little wolf. You’re not a prisoner here, I hope you know that. We’re just trying to keep you safe, and there is so much we still don’t know about you.” His green eyes bounce between mine. “Earlier, you said you trust me. Has that changed?”

I take a moment to consider that. Did anything happen at Kane’s house to make me trust him any less? The truth is, I trust him more after seeing the way he stood up for me, both with Kane and Juliet. And even now, he isn’t locking me up or muzzling me; he just doesn’t want me left alone, for my own safety.

The tension leaves my body, as if my brain has made peace with what my heart is saying, and I take a few quick steps toward him. His hands come up as I approach, and he gently cups my face and smiles at me. Then he runs his fingers through the fur on either side of my neck. I tilt my head back, enjoying the feeling.

He chuckles, then leans forward and kisses the top of my head as he stands up. “Come on, let's get you inside for some food. Chase, Bain, can you shift and check the perimeter?”

They nod, then head around to the back of the house as the four of us head inside. In the kitchen, Gage pulls out a giant platter of raw steak and sets it on the counter. The smell has my nose wrinkling in distaste, and I trot over to the living room and lie in front of the fireplace, the furthest place from the counter without going out of their sight.

Gage and Maddox exchange a glance with Hunter, whothen nods, grabs the platter, and goes outside. They definitely were speaking through a pack bond that time. I wish I could hear what they were saying.

The smell of the meat starts to bring back memories of my prison, and I rest my chin on my paws as I look around the room, trying to ground myself in the present.

Gage steps into the living room and tilts his head at me. “You don’t have to lie on the floor, you know? You can sit anywhere.” He gestures to the sofa as I lift my head and look over at the soft, comfortable cushions. I’m not sure why I chose the floor. It’s probably because I’ve been sleeping on one for the past decade.