Page 16 of Bound

Instead I said, “You can’t stay out here. The moon—”

“Spare me the lecture. I’ve been a wolf longer than you’ve known nightmares were real.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “God. I’m acting like a dick. Just… give me a minute. It’s never been this bad before.”

“Right,” I said sarcastically. “But let’s not talk about it.”

He lowered his head, breathing hard.

“What part of this is confusing to you, Greer? We’re bonded. I didn’t ask for that, and you sure as hell didn’t give consent. The human side of me, the part that can reason, gets that. But on nights like this when I’m not quite human, I want to… do things to you I shouldn’t.”

I dug my fingernails into my palms.

A gust of wind stirred through the alleyway, both of us sagging visibly when the moon went behind the clouds.

“So you haven’t been… seeing anyone?”

“You mean having casual hookups?” he said dryly, and I could see even in the faint light cast by the streetlamps that he was gritting his teeth. “It’s not that simple. We’re not together. But my wolf is bound to yours. And it’s been screwing with my head.”

My throat felt like I’d swallowed a mouthful of sand. “So where does that leave us?”

“Nowhere.” His eyes grew hard. “You should go.”

I laughed sharply. “Like I’m really leaving you here, seconds from going all Night of the Living Dead on someone.”

“You don’t get it. It’s not someone I’m a danger to.” He lowered his head. “We’re bonded, Greer. And on nights like this, when the moon has shot my inhibitions all to hell, you have no idea the things I’m capable of doing. The things that part of me… craves.”

The truth hung unspoken in the heated summer air, a fierce wild energy dancing over my skin as the moon heated my blood and West shook with the effort of holding himself back.

“Maybe I want you to.”

His eyes snapped to mine. For a second, neither of us breathed. West licked his lips, and my gaze dipped to his mouth.

“Topher," he started.

A sudden burst of pressure formed at the back of my skull. My ears burned with a sharp ringing, small pinpricks of light distorting my visual field. West swore under his breath, gripping my shoulders and forcing me to face him.

“Where are they?”

I closed my eyes, trying to shut everything else out. “Apartment building.”

“I’m texting Brody. We can head over to Dark, weapon up and regroup while we wait for the others—"

Shoving him away, I took off down the street at a dead run. A group of teens crowded the sidewalk in front of the ice cream shop, scrolling through their phones as they waited in line, overhead fans blowing the rich smell of hot waffle cones and fudge out into the street. I bolted past them, nearly tripping over a border collie licking up a bowl of plain vanilla under a wrought iron table.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, edging around the rest of the group and hurrying down the sidewalk.

Rounding the corner to the apartment building, I made for the back-alley entrance by the fire escape. Caldwell caught up to me soundlessly. One second, I was scoping out the balconies overhead, calculating how hard it would be to Spiderman my way up there without anyone seeing me, the next he was slamming me into the exposed brick so hard that for a second, I swore I saw stars. My wolf roared to the surface, amped up on adrenaline. I bucked in his grip, snarling and biting.

“The hell? Let me go.”

“You are not going up there.”

I lunged for the mouth of the alley. In one smooth movement, Caldwell twisted my wrist, sending my knife clattering to the pavement.

I bared my teeth. “Let. Go.”

“Bite me.”

“Think I won’t?” I twisted in his hold and he squeezed my wrists harder. The thing is, I was pretty sure I could have overpowered Caldwell. Screw that. I knew I could have. My job as an EMT was hands on. When you were responsible for extracting patients from wrecked cars and carrying loaded gurneys, lifting at the gym at least four days a week was a necessity. But as I felt the hard length of his body trap mine up against the bricks, I realized I had no desire to escape.