Page 27 of Bound

I lift my head and glance around. The twins are kicking a soccer ball with Maddox, while Gage reads a book a few feet away. He must sense me looking at him because his eyes lift to meet mine.

“Did you have a good nap?” he asks, his voice smooth, calm, and deep. I quickly scramble out of Bain’s lap, feeling embarrassed.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. You actually looked peaceful in your sleep for once,” Gage says, trying to reassure me, but I still feel uneasy about it. Did I crawl into Bain’s lap while I was asleep? Or did Bain move me there?

Deciding to give myself something to do, I trot over to the water bowl and take a long drink. I go to relieve myself, and when I return, I sit at the side of their makeshift field and watch Maddox, Chase, and Hunter play soccer.

“Come on, blue. Join us!” Chase yells as he runs past with the ball, his pink hair flying around with the movement.

Even if it does look fun, I feel too nervous to join them, so I lie down with my head on my paws and watch them instead. It gives me something to do, and, boy, is it something to watch. Chase has removed his shirt, and the revealed skin is something I can’t look away from. He’s bulkier than his twin, though not as big as Bain, and as he runs, I see every muscle in his chest and back moving.

He has tattoos running across his muscular chest and up his left arm, making him look like a work of art. It’s mesmerizing.

After lunch, we go to the pond to bathe. The memory of Bain and Maddox holding me in the water is still burned into my brain, so I decide I can’t let myself go in the water with them. I’m stuck in my wolf form and have never wanted not to be more than when I’m being held by a naked god of a man.

Watching them in the water is almost as bad as being held by them. I end up turning to face the forest, unable to control my thoughts when I watch them bathe. I manage to avoid seeing any of their lower halves, but knowing they are naked in there makes my heartbeat increase.

When they are finally done torturing me, we head back to camp, where Hunter and Chase cook some sort of bird they caught. I’m jealous of their wolf’s ability to hunt and catch prey so easily. It’s something I’ll need if I ever try to make it on my own.

Do I want to go out on my own?I hadn’t even thought of trying to run off today. Since I decided to try and trust them, hoping it will help me shift, all thoughts of escape have left me. Every day that passes without them demanding anything from me or harming me, I start to believe that they are the good men they appear to be.

Later that night, when I start to get sleepy lying around the fire, I stand up, stretch, and yawn then head into the cave. I still feel safer sleeping in the cave than out in the open. However, Ihope that at least one of them joins me tonight. If I could speak, I would ask.

At the entrance, I glance back over my shoulder and see them all watching me. I hold each of their gazes for a moment, silently begging for them to follow me. When nobody moves, I drop my head, move to the back of my cave, curl up in my usual position, and close my eyes.

A minute later, I hear the sound of pebbles moving across the cave floor and look up to find the twins, in wolf form, walking toward me. Hunter lowers his nose and presses the top of his head against mine in greeting, then moves to lie right against my left side. Chase presses his nose into my neck then lies at my other side, essentially sandwiching me between the two of them.

A strange feeling of joy moves through me. Without being able to speak, they knew what I wanted. Either that, or they wanted this too.

As I start to settle, I hear Maddox and Gage come in, which tells me Bain will take the first shift at standing guard, something I’ve noticed they do throughout the night. Maddox lies near my head, and Gage moves in close behind him, creating a large puppy pile. Or is it called a wolfy pile?

Whatever it’s called, I love it. I haven’t felt this connected to anyone since my family was alive. Even then, it didn’t feel likethis. Like I was the center of something special.

When I’m able to shift, I doubt we’ll continue to sleep like this. They must have their own homes with their own individual beds. Whose bed do I hope to share?

Maddox, with his powerful energy and his green eyes that seem to beg me to obey his every wish? Or Bain, with his strong arms and protective spirit? He’d be the type of man to make sure my pleasure comes before his own. Or Hunter, with his calm, playful energy and serious brown eyes? Or Chase, whofeels like he’d be my best friend and lover wrapped in one exciting, drool-worthy package? And finally, my thoughts go to Gage. His bright blue eyes, not too dissimilar from my own, trap me. When he looks at me, it’s like he can see all the way into my soul. He’s both intense and sensitive.

I have a feeling that I won’t be lucky enough to be fated to any of them. Not that they’d want a broken wolf like me, anyway.

Chapter 14

Cherry

The next week goes by the same way, and I find myself plagued with thoughts of them all the time, in the way they hand-feed me, run their fingers through my fur while we sit around the fire, curl up in wolf form to sleep beside me.

I even think about them in lighter moments, like when they beg me to join their daily soccer game or when I listen to the stories they tell about their lives around the campfire at night.

The more I think about them, the more I worry. I’m not sure we can maintain this lifestyle much longer. They must have lives to get home to. I’m still not convinced that none of them have mates, although none of them have said anything either way. But I know they are all alphas. So, isn’t their pack wondering where they are or needing them? Do they not want to take me back there? What are they waiting for?

They’re waiting for me to shift.

I sigh as I consider my predicament. If I could shift, I would have done it by now. I’m not in a high-stress situation anymore, but every time I try, and I try daily unbeknownst to the others,nothing happens. I’m worried it means I’m trapped as a wolf forever.

I might be stuck,but they aren’t.

They need to go back and leave me here. The forest seems like a pretty safe area to live in. I’ll be fine. Between the pond, the cave, and this forest, I have all I need as a wolf. I can hunt on my own… Well… I could learn to… Probably.Maybe.

How can I tell them to go, though? I can’t write anything in the dirt. I actually tried once with a stick in my mouth two days ago, but I have no dexterity there. I could try to push them out of the camp, like I’m herding them away. But I don’t think they’d understand.