Page 71 of Bound

They are the first and only people to show me kindness in a very long time.

I start to lick Hunter’s leg, where the injury was, wanting to make sure that it’s fully healed. After a minute, I feel a hand on my back and find Hunter now awake, watching me.

He gives me a soft smile and opens his arms ‌to me. “Come lie with me, baby girl.”

I do as he asks, lying alongside his body and tucking my head under his chin as he wraps his arms around me. He starts to rub his cheek against the top of my head as I try to relax.

He’s fine. Everything is fine.

“I’m okay,” he whispers, as if reading my thoughts. “Thank you for staying with me last night.” I lick up the side of his cheek and he laughs.

“Good to see you looking better,” Chase says. I roll to my back so I can see him. He must have just come downstairs with Maddox, as they both stand side by side, looking down at us in amusement.

Hunter rubs his hand up and down my stomach, and it makes my eyes close for a moment. I don’t think any of them have done this before, and it’s so relaxing. No wonder dogs like it so much.

Chase lets out a small laugh as he comments, “I think she likes that.”

“Yeah?” Hunter asks me in amusement. “You like this?”

I hear loud footsteps and open my eyes to find Bain stomping down the stairs. He freezes mid-step when he sees me, then after a moment, shakes his head, mumbling, “It’s too early for that kind of cuteness.”

“It’s never too early for this,” Hunter says as he continues to rub my belly.

“Red, you need to go out?” Bain calls from the back door.And the sudden urge to pee has me jumping up and running over to him.

He doesn’t open the door. Instead, he starts to strip off his clothes in preparation to shift, and I bounce from foot to foot, eager to get out there now he’s mentioned it. My wolf wants to run and play.

I avert my eyes from the very large, muscular, naked Bain beside me as he opens the door. I run outside and quickly find some trees to relieve myself behind. After that, I stroll around a little, sniffing the trees and the ground. I know Bain is close by, watching as he always does, but I want him to play.

Sensing that he’s following only about twenty feet behind me, I quickly dart around the next tree, so I can come up behind him and surprise him, but when I circle around, he’s gone.

My head lifts high as I whip my head back and forth. Where did he go?

Suddenly, he pounces on me from the side, wrestling me to my back before I even know what’s happening. As he looks down at me, I swear I can see a cocky grin on his face, and when he gets up, I try to nip at his foot to get him to chase me, but he doesn’t move. He just lets me bite him, knowing I’m not actually breaking the skin or causing him any pain.

Frustrated, I contemplate biting harder, but I know that I don't actually want to hurt him, so instead, I start to run. Without the twins out here, I know he won’t let me out of his sight, and when I dart around a tree and head for the forest, he lets out a bark as he starts to chase after me.

I know I’m not supposed to go in the forest alone, so ten feet from the treeline, I take a sharp left turn and get a glimpse of his blond fur closing in on me. I push myself faster as I turn back toward the house, proud that I’ve made it this far without him catching me.

Suddenly, I notice two familiar gray wolves running toward me, and excitement fills me.The twins.

Unsure what game we’re playing, but unwilling to stop, I make another sharp left turn, back toward where this game started. Bain, Hunter, and Chase almost collide as they turn to follow me.

I weave through the few trees on the property as they split up. Hunter pops up in front of me, making me quickly duck around him. Chase manages to tackle me, and we roll together, but as soon as his weight has rolled off mine, I jump back up and run again, not wanting the game to end.

When I dart around the next tree, a black wolf is there, as if he were waiting for me.

Gage.

I bark in happiness to see him finally joining us, and try to pounce on him, but he manages to get the jump on me instead. I roll free and bark in excitement before running off again.

Everywhere I turn, there’s a wolf waiting for me. I keep ducking and rolling and pivoting until I find myself completely surrounded in the middle of a cluster of trees.

I stop running and slowly turn, watching each of them standing there, looking like they might pounce at any moment. When I finally spin all the way around, I see him. Maddox’s chocolate and tan fur shines beautifully, and the alpha energy radiating off ‌him has me freezing in my tracks, my eyes glued to his.

He slowly steps toward me, and all I can do is watch, my body frozen in place as if under his spell. I forgot how big his wolf is, nearly the size of Bain’s blond wolf, but his presence has my wolf sitting as he approaches.

He slowly walks around me, as if assessing me, or assessing my reaction to him. And I stay seated as the other wolves move in closer. When Maddox is back in front of me, he stepseven closer and rubs his head alongside mine, then licks my neck.