Page 36 of Bound

I tilt my head as I look at her. Is it unmoving? I sense something at the same time as Bain, who sits up and peers down at her. I move closer and lean forward on my knees, inspecting her side.

What I see makes my eyes widen, and a loud gasp escapes as I try to understand.

“What?” Chase asks, jumping up and moving to my side.

“Her wounds are… healing.” Everyone leans in close to watch as her wounds, ever so slowly, start to close up. The parts of her insides that were exposed, start to pull back inside her. It’s so slow you wouldn’t notice if you weren’t staring directly at it.

“Holy shit,” Chase whispers, as if speaking loudly might stop what’s happening.

Whatishappening? Shifter bodies don’t heal after death. And I checked her pulse ten minutes ago. She was definitely dead.

Bain shifts back, his hands hovering over her, as if he’s unsure if he should touch her or not.

“Check her pulse,” I tell him, as he’s closest to her neck. He presses his fingers there, keeps moving them around, then shakes his head as his shoulders drop. “No, nothing. No pulse. She’s still gone.”

Maddox looks up at me as he asks, “Have you ever heard of a wolf healing after death?”

“Never,” I say, as we share a look. We both knew that already. This isn’t normal, not even close. The moment a shifter dies, their magic is gone. There’s nothing left to do the healing.

“Let me check,” Hunter moves in to feel for a pulse. Then we all take turns checking for one. I check to see if her chest rises at all, but it doesn't move.

After that, nobody speaks as we sit there in confusion, watching her dead body heal. About twenty minutes later, the last of the wounds seals up, then… nothing. She’s still covered in blood, but the wounds are gone.

“I’m not sure what I expected to happen,” Hunter says, staring at her unmarked side.

“So strange…” Maddox says, reaching out and running his hand over her dirty but healed skin.

Suddenly, her entire body starts to glow. My eyes widen inshock and confusion as I move backward, my brothers doing the same. The glow gets so bright that I have to shield my eyes from it. I feel a pulse of magic shoot out from her, then it disappears completely, along with the light.

Opening my eyes, I gasp. She’s still there, in wolf form, but her body is clean. No more blood or dirt. She looks flawless, if it weren't for the fact that she’s dead.

Or is she? My eyes flick to her chest, and I realize it’s moving.

“I think she’s breathing!” I yell as I reach to check her pulse, but suddenly, her face turns upward, making me jerk back in surprise. She releases a pain-filled howl. It’s so quiet, you probably wouldn’t even hear it outside this clearing.

I lean back in shock, so many emotions running through me that I don’t even know what to feel right now.

She stops and flops her head back down, panting heavily, like she’s just run for hours.

“What the ever-loving-fuck is going on?” Chase asks, his voice a mixture of worry and hope.

“Angel?” Bain asks, barely able to keep his voice even through the tears gathering in his eyes.

She tilts her head to where he kneels behind her and lets him gently hold her face. “How?” he asks, searching her eyes. She lets out a soft whine.

He squeezes his eyes shut as if he’s fighting back tears, then he opens them and gathers her into his arms against his chest as tightly as he can without hurting her. He buries his face in her neck, rocking her back and forth as he mumbles something to her about never doing that again.

I look up, meeting Maddox’s eyes as he shakes his head and whispers, “That’s… That’s not possible.”

“No, it’s not,” I agree as we both turn to gaze at the little wolf who’s just risen from the dead.

Chapter 18

Cherry

The stone floor is cold beneath my paws, the damp seeping into my bones. Glancing around, panic grips me.

I’m back in the facility. They caught me!