Page 60 of Bound

Downstairs, I step into the kitchen and freeze. Gage has a large tray of chicken thighs out and is sprinkling some strange mix of seasoning over them, making my nose twitch with the strange combination of cinnamon, mustard powder, and… allspice?

I glance at Hunter, who’s watching Gage with concern. Chase is sipping his beer with a pinched brow, and Maddox looks like he wants to step in but is worried about upsetting Gage.

Sighing, I shake my head and step toward the counter. “Gage, go play on your computer. I’ll cook us lunch.”

He looks up at me, confusion covering his face. “What? No, I’ve got this.”

“Seriously, Gage, you should listen to him. Isn’t there a newwebsite you said you found? Maybe you can find out something about thisBlazecharacter?” Chase asks eagerly.

“Guys. I know how to cook,” Gage argues.

“I’d rather not risk salmonella,” Hunter mumbles, but of course, with our shifter hearing, Gage hears him.

“It wouldn’t harm you,” Gage says in frustration. “Besides, I can cook chicken perfectly. You guys can just fuck right off out of my kitchen.”

Chase mouths, “Pizza. Later,” to me over Gage’s shoulder, and I nod, knowing we aren’t going to get through to him right now.

I don’t know why Gage is so insistent on cooking; he’s terrible at it. And there are four other people in this pack more than willing to do it. In fact, we insist on it, but occasionally he still tries, determined that he can make a tasty meal.

I open the fridge and grab a beer as a bowl of cherries catches my eye. I haven’t had those in ages. I grab one and pop it in my mouth, the slightly tart taste exploding on my tongue, making me moan.

“Uh, Bain? You alright there?” Chase asks as he tries to look over my shoulder. “You getting frisky with the fridge again?”

I grab the bowl and turn, holding it out to him. “Try one.” He quirks a brow in amusement but takes one and throws it in his mouth. I watch him chew, then his eyes widen before closing as he lets out a long moan, making me grin.

“Good, right?”

“Fucking delicious,” he says, diving in for more as I kick the fridge door closed, my need for a beer long forgotten.

“Those were just harvested, apparently,” Hunter tells us. “I figured it’d been a while since we had any cherries.”

Red lets out a bark, startling us. I look down to where she’s standing between Chase and me, her tail wagging more than I’ve ever seen it before.

“You like cherries?” Chase asks, and she barks again, turning in a circle. He smirks at me before grabbing one and gently tossing it at her. She catches it in the air, making him laugh.

“You want more?” he asks when she finishes it. But she surprises us by shaking her head. “No?” She turns in another circle, and he tosses her another one anyway, but she steps to the side and lets it hit the ground.

“Hmm,” Chase hums as he stares down at her excited dance, shifting from foot to foot. Finally, he looks at me and asks, “Any ideas?”

Red looks back and forth between us then looks pointedly at the bowl in my hand and barks. I place it on the ground, and again she spins in a circle and snaps in the direction of the bowl, but doesn’t touch it.

“No clue,” I say, watching her strange behavior. She looks back and forth between us before her tail and ears drop, making me feel terrible for not understanding her.

I drop to my haunches and run my hands through her thick fur along her neck. “I’m sorry, Red. I don’t understand.” I tilt my head down, and she gently butts her forehead against mine, making my wolf whine with the desire to comfort her.

Later,I tell him.

He isn’t happy about it, so he stays on alert, ready to shove to the surface if he thinks I’m not taking care of her properly.

I decide to try to see if I can pick up Blaze’s scent outside, although I’m already pretty sure he used some sort of scent suppressor.

I go out the front first, and the scent is there, but very faint. I follow it to the driveway, where it abruptly disappears. He must have come here in a vehicle. Which is strange, but telling. He’s likely not a wolf shifter, but he obviously knows about us if he used a scent suppressant. Unless he is a shifter but took a vehicle to better hide his scent.

Kill,my wolf whines.Yes,I tell him.When we find him, we’ll kill him.

Inside, I head straight to the office and switch on the monitors as I sit down at the desk. If someone was in here, the camera would have caught them.

I find the one angled at the front door and rewind it until I see static. I take a note of the time stamp before and after. It was only out for about ten seconds. I move to the camera in the upstairs hallway and the same thing happens, the static appearing just before the other one stopped. The same thing happens in Red’s room.