Bound

Chapter 18 - Protection

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Dmitri

I stop rubbing her arm, scared the action will just end up waking her. Quietly, I head outside through the sunroom. Ivan should be here in a couple of minutes. I mind-linked him to meet me here just after Sky fell asleep. That was half an hour ago.

Once outside, I use my Lycan senses to assess my surroundings. No strange smells or noises except for Ivan, who has just appeared through a clearing in front of me. I doubt the Hunters would try again so soon, but that didn't mean I could let my guard down.

"Not too loud. I don't want to wake Skylar," I tell Ivan as he approaches.

We head over to a large tree stump off to the side of the sunroom, within my hearing distance in case Sky wakes up, before taking a seat.

"How is she?" Ivan looks at me, concern written all over his face.

"She is in shock. To be expected after everything. She is taking Ruan's death badly, blaming herself." I pick up a pinecone, tossing it off into the distance.

"How is Meridith?" I ask, even though I can feel her pain through the pack link. The whole pack is mourning, but her pain is on another level. She was bound to Ruan, his death resulting in a pain I only read about in books. It is said that when one of a bound pair dies, the other usually follows not long after from a broken heart.

Ivan looks away and off into the distance before answering.

"Meridith knows it was Ruan's duty, and she isn't angry about his death. But she is torn up with sadness. She says it feels like her heart is broken and all the light has been sucked out of her life."

I know Ivan feels this more now that he has found Rene and has started binding with her. He now has something he didn't have before. Rene and fear. Fear that something could happen to her. Or him. Leaving her in the state Meridith was currently in.

"Give her all the support we have. See if she will see Dr. Lancerti for counseling and have one of her friends stay with her for a while." It was the least we could do, but her survival would depend on her own will to live.

I lean over and give Ivan a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Have we managed to get anything out of the Hunter or from the cell phone he crushed?"

"You know how they are, Dmitri. He is zipped up tighter than a sleeping bag in winter. As for the phone, it wasn't registered to anyone. We found one number on it, and that was for what we assume is another burner phone which is no longer in service. Dead ends all around." Frustration is clear in Ivan's voice. At least if we had something, Ruan's death wouldn't be in vain. Though, he had potentially saved Sky.

"Touch base with our intel team tomorrow and let me know if they have discovered anything new. We must know the connection between Skylar and the hunters before it's too late." I get up from the tree stump, ready to return inside. I don't want Sky waking up alone.

"I'm leaving for the conference late tomorrow, so between you and Kira, handle things in my absence and keep me updated. And tell Rene to handle the shop tomorrow. Skylar needs rest, and I have more to discuss with her before I go."

This seems to ignite more suspicion from my closest friend.

"What's the deal with you and her Dmitri? I've never seen you so personally protective before. You're not binding with her, are you?"

I look over at him, unsure how to answer a question I don't have an answer to. It can't be binding as humans and werewolves, let alone Lycans and humans, cannot bind. Humans cannot scent us, making it an impossibility.

"You know that's not possible. I honestly don't know what is going on." I sigh, turning around and heading back inside.

There was no doubt I needed to figure it out, as the more time I was spending with Sky, the more attached and attracted to her I was becoming.

Her scent aside, there are things about her I really like. She is shy. Apparently, more so when I'm around, but nonetheless, it is something I find appealing, coming from her. She has an innocence you don't often see in a woman her age. Her personality intrigues me, and I like that she is unpredictable. Physically, I found her very attractive, and I liked her dress sense. Casual, not needing to be all dressed up. She carries simple in a sexy way that is hard for regular people to do. The fact that she doesn't even know how attractive she really is makes me want to show her just how much in my own way.

I like that she wears little, if any, makeup. A personal preference, as I have nothing against the stuff. She doesn't need it. The freckles on her face do what makeup would, accentuating her natural beauty. She possesses a wisdom that makes me think she has an old soul. Her love of nature and empathy hint at that.

The thing is, all of this was just scratching the surface of who and what Sky is all about. Where would that leave me if I continued to become more and more exposed to her, getting to know her better? Considering this is how I felt with just a tiny bit of her essence. I'd say doomed.

As I lock the sunroom doors behind me, I realize just how inadequate her security is. Fair enough, at some point in her life this would have been sufficient, but for the situation she is in right now, it is dismal. I'd have to remedy that. After walking around her house and making mental notes of what would be required, I turn off the main lights, leaving a small lamp on in the lounge.

I sit on the other couch, giving me the perfect view of her sleeping face. I wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. 

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