Soul Bound

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

I haven't laughed this much in a while. Even Wolf has returned from the deep to enjoy the fun and happiness. Burying Dunn in the sand up to his neck was much more satisfying than I thought it'd be. Especially when T.K. decided to give him a seaweed moustache by sticking it up his nose.

If I could stay in this moment forever, I would. With my pack and the only people who I know, without a doubt, are on my side. But the sun is perched on the horizon and the evening is getting darker by the second. The kids need to get home and I figure I've made River wait long enough. A few times I checked to see if he was still standing under the sea grape, and each time he was, looking out at the ocean.

Dunn just finishes brushing off the last of the sand when I take him aside.

"I have to go talk to River. Can you guys wait with the kids for a second?"

Dunn's scowl sits deep in his face. "Just let him stew, yeah? Will be good for him to think about what a tool he is."

"Don't worry, I plan on telling him," I say.

Dunn smiles a bit. "Yeah, whatever. Go talk to him."

He shoos me away so I jog to where I last saw River. He's not there. Maybe he got sick of waiting. Then I feel an upwards pull in my gut that makes me look into the sky. There's an osprey circling above me. It's definitely River. He dives down and throws out his wings at the last second, slowing himself down enough to shift and land lightly on his human feet.

"I wasn't sure you were going to talk to me," he says, kicking a bit of sand around.

I cross my arms over my chest. "I wasn't sure either. That was like, 'how to be an ass 101.'"

River smiles and rubs at the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry. I just..." he eyes the sand, "I've been alone a long time now. And I can't—I'm still having a hard time remembering what it's like to be part of, well, a group. Especially one with humans in it."

"River," I say, taking his hand. "You're pack. If you'll have us. And I mean all of us: Hicks, the kids, Blythe, even Dunn. Finn too."

What was once a smile is now a hard grimace. "Finn..." River takes his hand from me and shoves both in his damp pockets.

"Will you ever tell me?" I ask, hopping up onto the low sea grape branch, trailing my fingers along the tendrils of its soul. It seems ecstatic to have the both of us so near, pulsating its soft glow from dark to bright.

"Tell you what?"

"How you know Finn? Why you're here? Who you are? I trust you because my gut tells me I can. And if I've learned anything, it's that sometimes the gut is a lot wiser than the brain. But a big part of trust comes from honesty."

"Worry about Wolf first," he whispers, tipping his head back as a cool breeze whips past us. "There's plenty of time for the truth."

My hands grasp my head, "Argh, you're a pain in the ass, you know that?"

"It's part of my charm," River says, signature smile beaming in the low light.

The sun is split in half by the horizon and it really is time to go home, but I sit on the branch, swinging my legs back and forth, enjoying the warmth from the sea grape soul.

River touches my shoulder. "Hey, let me make it up to you."

I peer at him from the corner of my eye. "Yeah? How?" I ask, bare skin burning where he touched me.

"There's a construction site that needs seeing to," he grins.

Wolf's interest is piqued. I'd completely forgotten about it. With the "missing" poachers and the brief forest search, construction had been halted for a bit. But they'll be getting back on schedule now that everything's blown over.