Wolf Bonded (Wolfish 1)

The pain of teeth ripping through my flesh is nothing compared to what follows a moment later when those same jaws hit bone—and don’t stop.

My bones make a grotesque snapping sound between her teeth.

I thought I’d known pain before, but I was wrong.

The pain radiates through me like a blinding wave. I half-expect her to rip the limb from my body

, but her jaw suddenly releases.

She lashes out at me again, this time aiming for my exposed abdomen—but she clamps down on something that causes her to whimper and fall back.

In the moments that follow, before I black out entirely at the sight of my own blood and torn flesh, I see her body being pulled down to the ground by three other wolves.

Three other familiar wolves.

The boys.

They finally came.

32

Sabrina

One thing is certain since I arrived at North Port, Washington—nothing, and I mean nothing, turned out the way I thought it would.

When I open my eyes, the florescent hospital lights above are blinding.

The last thing I remember seeing is the green jade totem lying by my feet in the dark grass.

I press my eyelids together several times to try and focus. My arm aches at my side, but it’s no longer a mess of blood and torn ligaments. It’s been neatly set and bandaged at my side, with the rest of me neatly tucked into one of those sterile hospital beds on wheels.

Or, at least I assume it’s on wheels. I can’t see from where I’m laid out.

“She’s up.”

The sound of Kaleb’s familiar voice prompts me to turn my head to the side. Slowly, fading in from the white all around me, their faces swim into view.

Kaleb first, his head so close to my face that I’d jerk away if I wasn’t so drugged up on pain killers. Next is Marlowe, leaning over me. Rory appears last, his face a failed attempt to hide his worry and fear, swimming into view at the foot of my bed.

Both he and Marlowe move closer to me, their hands reaching out to touch me as if they’re still not certain I’m actually here. Kaleb would too, I’m sure of it, if it was possible for him to get any closer than he already is.

The events of before slowly start seeping into my mind, and I try to sit up. The movement is too sudden. My head swims and my stomach churns as the boys try to gently nudge me back down. My body stiffens beneath their touch, my head swiveling around the room until I’m certain he isn’t here somewhere too. Just waiting.

“Sabrina. It’s just us,” Rory says, carefully. His voice is surprisingly nurturing, his guess at the cause of my sudden alarm spot-on. “Your mom is shaken up, but she’s fine. She only just now left to grab some food from the cafeteria.”

My gaze sweeps the corners of the room one last time, confirming that my father isn’t anywhere to be seen, before I allow myself to fall back into the starched hospital sheets.

Each of them has a similar mixed look of worry and relief when I look up at them again. Kaleb smiles as Marlowe squeezes my good hand. Rory has his own hand pressed against my thigh now as if he’s guarding me.

“That was you, wasn’t it?” I ask, looking at each of them in turn. “You saved me from the wolf-girl in the woods.” I tremble as I say the next part. “And, you saved me from my father.”

Rory nods his head, and a terrible thought crosses my mind.

“You didn’t …”

“Kill him?” Rory guesses, then shakes his head. “As much as we would have liked to, I didn’t want to have that bastard’s blood on my hands. At least, not without your permission.”

“Doubt he’ll come back around though,” Marlowe says. “We made sure to send him a little message before he left.”