Soul Bound

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

It takes a while, but the truck finally fades out of earshot and the natural quiet of the woods returns. I go back inside and clean up the water and soil on the floor, then flop into my hammock. Wolf urges me to circle around in it, to find the perfect spot, but I resist.

Reaching a toe down to the floor, I push to get the hammock rocking. It's too early to sleep, but I'm supposed to stay in after sun down. I watch as the shadows in my room start to stretch and grow as the last of the sun disappears.

Struggling out of the hammock, I grab a cloth from under the sink to occupy myself with cleaning. There's not much in my house to clean. The old armchair, a few rugs that get grass and sticks stuck in them, a low table I sometimes eat at, and a dresser that occasionally needs dusting. Drawings from T.K. and Niki cover most of my walls.

Wolf urges my gaze up to the back window, to the view over the garden and into the woods. She flashes an image of the tire tracks from last night through my mind, knowing full well where I'll go with it.

Shit. There's no way they'll come back so soon. It's going to storm the next few nights. They won't hunt in that. Right?

If they're back, out there cutting down trees, setting up hunting blinds, poaching in my forest, then I need to be out there to catch them. The hairs on my arms stand. Wolf and I growl in unison.

Tension bubbles beneath my skin as a breeze blows through the back window, charged with the electricity of a coming storm.

Just as I consider breaking my promise, returning to where we found the tire tracks, the sound of the Hummer rumbles loudly over the sound of night.

I rush outside to wait on the porch for them, blowing away the mosquitoes that hover around my face.

They pull up in front of the house and I walk to meet them as they exit the Hummer, throwing my hands up.

"No, no, no. You can watch me during the day, but I get the evenings to myself."

"Yeah, well, until we hear from Finn you can't be left alone," Dunn says, walking around me.

I need to be alone tonight. All this weirdness is too much. It's been a long day and the night before was even longer. I just need some space to breath. "I won't shift outside this clearing, I swear. Not shifting is already screwing with me and Wolf."

"Sorry, princess. No shifting. Until Finn gets back that's the deal he—"

Dunn's phone rings and he stops. He pulls his cell from his pocket, immediately opens it, and whispers so I can't hear him.

He snaps the cellphone shut, his eyes wide. "Well, Finn's back. He needs us at the Bank. He says lock your doors and he'll be over as soon as possible. Don't leave your house."

He's worried. I can hear it in his voice.

"Why didn't he want to talk to me?" Whatever Finn had to do, it didn't take long. I'm not sure whether that's a relief or not.

"He'll come by later. He needs all security at the Bank right now." Dunn motions to Hicks, who pulls a cellphone out of his pocket and hands it to him. "He said to give this to you. If someone calls, answer, yeah?" He holds the phone out to me.

It's hard not to grimace. I've never had a phone and certainly don't want one now. Then I'll be plugged into the human world at all times. Then they can always find me.

"I don't want it." I take a step back.

Dunn exhales loudly and throws his hands in the air. "Newsflash, this is all for you. To keep you safe, yeah? So get over it."