Page 75 of Bound

Everyone falls silent as they approach. Looking at Maddox, the first man tells him, “Alpha Kane is ready to speak with you.”

“Alright, let's go,” Maddox says as he stands and beckons our pack to follow, but the man puts out his hand to stop him.

“No, just the five of you. She’s not an alpha. She can’t be in the meeting.”

I tense up, and Bain holds me a little firmer against his side. “We’re not leaving her alone,” Bain growls out.

“Hey, I don’t make the rules, man,” the man says, shrugging his shoulders as he takes a step back.

“We can watch her,” Max tells Maddox.

Before I even have time to freak out about that offer, Maddox is shaking his head. “No, she stays with us.” He glances at Bain and me, then nods. “Bain, you should go since you guys tracked down that rogue. You know more than I do. I’ll stay with her.”

“Alpha wants you all there. He was very specific about that.”

“He can come and tell me that himself. I’m not going anywhere without her,” Maddox says as he sits at my side and Bain stands.

“Fine, whatever. You guys can deal with the alpha when he gets mad then.”

“It’ll be fine. He’ll understand,” Maddox replies calmly. The man shrugs and they turn to lead them back to the house.

“Be good and listen to Maddox,” Bain tells me beforenodding at Maddox. Hunter gives me a little wave, and Chase gives me a wink, while Gage just nods before they all walk across the yard to enter the back of the house.

I watch where they disappear inside, as worry fills me. We should all be together.

“They’ll be okay,” Maddox says, as if reading my mind. He strokes my back and succeeds in diverting my attention as I lay my head across his thigh. I let my mind drift a bit as I watch the six children shift back to wolves and go back to their game in the clearing beside us.

Maddox starts to talk to Trevor and Max, so I move to lie down at the edge of the blanket so I can watch the kids better. There is something so joyous in their behavior that helps me to relax as I watch them.

A movement at the edge of the woods catches my eye, and I sit up as I try to figure out what it is.

It takes me almost thirty seconds until I see it again, and that’s when I realize there’s a wolf peeking out from the forest, his teeth bared and head down as it watches the two youngest boys who are wrestling only a hundred feet from him.

Is that a rogue?

It must be, and after seeing what one did to a skilled alpha like Hunter, I know it will kill one of these pups in mere seconds. I stare with wide eyes, unsure what to do. If I turn around to get Maddox’s attention, the rogue might choose that moment to attack.

I definitely shouldn’t put myself in harm's way. I have no idea how to fight; my wolf has proven that repeatedly. But when I see the rogue take a single step out of the forest, its eyes locked on the young wolves, instinct takes over.

I take off running toward the boys, hoping to reach them before the rogue does, even though I’m slightly further away.

“Red!” Maddox yells behind me, but I continue running asfast as I can. Some of the speed I had at fourteen is finally coming back to me. Although I’ve been running and playing with my pack more and more these days, I haven’t really pushed myself to a full sprint, not like this.

I’m halfway to the boys when the rogue notices me. He bares his teeth at me before looking back at the boys, and taking off toward them. We’re an equal distance from them now, but I think I’m going to make it there first.

I push myself to run faster as the rogue closes in. People are screaming behind me, but I drown that out, my attention on the two little boys who have just noticed the rogue and are frozen in place as it closes in.

I reach the boys first and throw my body on top of theirs, startling them. I just hope my body is big enough to protect them from the rogue. I glance up as it closes in, and see it’s only ten feet away. With fangs bared, it launches itself at me, and a terrified whine escapes my throat.

Suddenly, a large brown wolf sails over me from behind and slams into the rogue, pinning it to the ground instantly. I try to breathe, knowing that Maddox now has this under control, and that’s when all the surrounding sounds suddenly come flooding back in, as if I’d been blocking them out.

I hear lots of wolves and humans close by, and we’re suddenly surrounded by over a dozen pack members. When I see the boys’ parents, I quickly get up as they shift back to their human forms and run into Jenn and Max’s arms. The little boys cry, as does Jenn, as they check them for injuries.

Looking back at Maddox, I see him still pinning the rogue, growling down at him in warning as other wolves start to surround them. I move out of their way to give them room to help him.

As I take a few deep breaths, I realize I’m dizzy, probablyfrom the sprinting, so I move to sit in the shade at the base of a large tree while I wait for Maddox to finish with the rogue.

I pant heavily as I try to calm my racing heart and watch as most of the pack surrounds the rogue, Maddox, and the boys. They’re going to be okay, and I was lucky I didn’t get hurt.