Page 24 of Wolf Bound

Forrester glares down at me, his breathing shallow and quick as he fights to contain his rage. This right here, the utter intensity of these negative emotions, is why I could never believe him over Drayton. His anger outweighs everything else in him. It’s there, ready to explode at any moment.

“I don’t think you’re a bad person or a murderer.” I sigh, pulling some of my hair into my hand and twisting it back and forth. “What I’m saying is, I can tell you’re angry and I can feel your bitterness towards Drayton and the pack. I don’t know what happened, or really any of the story except the few thingsyou tried to use to scare me. It sounds like you don’t know as much of the story as you think you do, though.”

Forrester scoffs, rubbing a hand down his jaw in annoyance. “I know enough,” he growls after a moment. “I know that I looked up to my brother. I thought he walked on water and could do no wrong. I also know I saw him standing over our father, drenched in his blood with a look on his face that still turns my stomach when I think about it. That’s more than enough of the story to know.”

Reaching out, I place a hand over his heart, feeling it race under my palm. Behind all that anger, there’s anguish and grief. Not only did he lose his father, he feels like he lost his brother as well. The anger is a shield he’s using to valiantly protect himself, only I don’t think he has it facing the right way.

“You’re in pain. That’s a feeling I know all too well,” I whisper, stepping closer to Forrester and pressing my palm harder against his chest. A warmth fills my palm, the telltale chords of teal magic encasing my hand and dancing along his black t-shirt.

Forrester looks down, intently watching my magic dance around on him. The warmth sinks into his chest, easing the pain around his heart. Healing a physical wound is only one way to heal someone. The mental and emotional wounds need tending as much as a physical wound does. They’re deeper and more intricate, like a poison hiding in your blood.

“It’s time to heal some of that pain, Forrester. Holding on to so much of it is poisoning you,” I explain as my magic weaves around his body, drawing the darkness out. “Healing these wounds won’t take away your grief. It won’t take away your memories or your feelings. It will, however, leave you with a clearer mind so that when you look at things in front of you, like the brother you knew and the one you think he became, you’ll be able to see the cracks that the anger let you look past.”

The warmth fades from my hand, my magic snapping back into place once it’s done its part. The rest will be up to him. He can renew the pain and the anger, letting it control him and his life. Only he can choose how his story continues and ends.

Forrester stares at me, his mouth slightly agape as if he can’t quite figure out what he wants to say to me. He lands on shaking his head and walking away without a word. Quietly, I follow behind him, reaching inside of me for my special sight. This house was so beautiful to me just hours ago, and now I see why I’ve been brought to my mates at this time.

The threads of magic and life are strained here, their colours faded and frayed. My mates are the brightest of the threads, but even still, I can now see why they’re transparent compared to my own. There’s a lot of healing that needs to be done, not just with Forrester, but with the pack as a whole. There’s something deeper going on and it’s hurting my head to try and think about it.

The voice from the meadow implied that more of my magic would awaken as a champion of Adessa. This insight into the deeper, invisible bonds seems to be a part of that. When I opened my sense, I didn’t imagine I would see so much of the pack and its inner workings around me.

The kitchen opens in front of us and Forrester heads to the counter, still silent as ever. Penn grabs me from behind in a bear hug, his frame wrapping around me like a heavy blanket. I jump and freeze, then slowly relax as the comfort of my mate seeps into me. The other three are sitting at a large table, eating and staring at me intently.

“Hi,” I say, waving awkwardly as Penn’s weight holds me in place. “I think we all need to talk.”

Alaric’s gaze swings to Forrester, his eyes glowing instantly. “You motherfucker! I’m going to kill you.”

“Fuck you, asshole!” Forrester flips Alaric off, starting a string of chaos that has Penn whisking me out of the kitchen as fast as possible. There’s food flying everywhere as two large wolves now take up the space, torn fabric floating down.

“Come on, baby girl. They all have some shit to work out,” Penn mumbles, looking over his shoulder with an annoyed look. “I’ll take you on that tour, starting with my mom’s house. She always has tons of food ready to go.”

“Oh, okay.” Looking back over my shoulder, I sigh when I can’t see what’s happening in the kitchen anymore. “Why are they fighting? What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything, baby. Forrester has been a massive dick for a while now. His rejection of the bond has nothing to do with you, it’s all him and Drayton.” Penn kisses my head, pulling me close to his body.

“Rejection? What rejection?”

Chapter Fourteen

Talia

My heart stops and starts back up again, the rhythm chaotic and fast. Did Alaric think Forrester was rejecting me? Is that why he went off the handle in the kitchen? Did they all think he was going to reject the mate bond?

“He, ah, didn’t reject the bond?” Penn stammers, pulling back to look at me only to wince at my expression. “Shit. I fucked this up. Fuck, shit, fuck.”

“Forrester is going to reject the mate bond?” I whisper, stopping just past the front porch and looking up at Penn. “How did all of you already know?”

Penn sighs, ruffling his messy blonde hair and grimacing. “Fuck, I’m not even sure where to begin.” He shuffles his feet,kicking at the grass and dirt on the ground. “Drayton and Forrester are brothers. Well, half-brothers. Same father, but different mothers.”

At Penn’s pause, I jump in so he knows that I at least know this part of the story. What I don’t know is how this leads to a rejection of me. “Forrester believes that Drayton killed their father to take the spot of alpha of the pack. He believes Drayton to be a cold-blooded murderer who gets off on the power and that led him to leave the pack for some time.”

Penn shakes his head with a laugh. “Leave it to Forrester to at least tell you that much. He never misses a chance to try to tear his brother down,” he explains, a sigh of frustration following his words. “The problem is that Forrester doesn’t actually know much of what happened. He bolted before everything could come out after spreading some pretty fucking awful rumours about Dray.”

“So Drayton didn’t kill his father?” I ask, my need to fix this pack far outweighs my anxiety of rejection.

“No, he did. It just wasn’t for the alpha position like Forr assumes. It also wasn’t in cold-blood,” Penn murmurs, his grey eyes looking conflicted. “It’s not really my full story to tell, it’s Dray’s. That said, I know he’ll tell you all of it anyways so I’ll give you some of it. Just promise me you won’t ask for more, okay? Drayton deserves to tell you his story himself.”

“I promise.”

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