Soul Bonded (8 page)

Though she’d expected him to say as much, Katie’s anger swelled. “So, what, I’m supposed to want to be with you now? You take off my clothes, cuddle with me in bed while I’m unconscious, and suddenly you’re my soulmate? Without my
consent
?”

“I said I’m sorry.” Rafe’s voice turned gruff, as though he was holding back his own torrent of emotion. “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t expect you to stay with me—in fact, I don’t expect
anything
from you. What I said before still stands. Once the road clears, I’ll take you to town. What you do after that is your choice. I’m not going to force you into something you don’t want.”

His kindness only stoked the fire of her fury. “Well, great. Except according to you, if I leave, it’ll devastate both of us.”

He stared at her with a blank expression. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

She didn’t either. All she knew was that she’d nearly died tonight,
again
, and she was apparently connected forever to a werewolf she barely knew. And according to him, leaving him would break both their hearts. That was if leaving was even an option, now that she had an entire forest full of werewolves out to get her. She dropped her head into her hands and exhaled. “I guess…I want you to say this is all a bad dream.”

“I wish it were.”

Katie sniffled, knowing she must seem pathetic but too overwhelmed to care. She wanted to scream at Rafe, maybe even hit him, but that required energy she didn’t have. At least her legs didn’t hurt anymore. Which seemed…odd. She peeked through her spread fingers at her calves, still cradled in Rafe’s large hands. “The pain is gone.”

“Good.” Rafe released her and stood. “Let me know if it starts to bother you again.”

She touched the area next to the more severe bite mark, confused by the lack of sensation. Just minutes ago she’d been in agony. All Rafe had done was flush her wounds and cover them with antibiotic lotion. He’d given her nothing for the discomfort. At least nothing she could see. “Why? What did you do?”

His shoulders tensed as he washed his hands. “I sent you some healing energy. Or at least I tried. I’m hoping it helped.”

Healing energy. Wasn’t that what had caused their predicament in the first place? “Don’t do that again. What if you make it worse?”

“Your wounds? I won’t.”

“No, the…bond.” Katie didn’t want to admit how nice it was not to hurt anymore—not when the price was eternal devotion to a man she knew nothing about. A man whose friends wanted her dead. “You say we can’t undo it, but maybe there’s a way. And if there is, I’m pretty sure it starts with you keeping your damn hands off me.”

Rafe flinched. “I apologize. I was only trying to help.”

“Well, I’ve had enough of your help.” She struggled to her feet, then shot out a hand to brace herself against the wall. She was so tired she could barely stand. “What was the deal before? I stay in the guest room, shut the door, and you won’t bother me?”

Jaw tight, Rafe stared straight ahead. “Yup. That was the deal.”

“Great.” Katie moved to leave, then froze when Rafe caught her by the wrist. She jerked away from him, glaring. “I
said
don’t touch me.”

He stepped into her personal space but stopped short of making contact. “The other part of the deal is that you pull the curtains closed as soon as you get in there, you go straight to bed, and you let me know if you need to leave the room for any reason—even if it’s only because you have to pee.”

Katie deflated as the power of suggestion awakened her bladder. “Actually, I do. Need to pee.”

Rafe edged past her and out the bathroom door. “I’ll put Shilah in your room. He stays with you from now on. Always.”

“Fine.” Her problem wasn’t with Shilah—and she didn’t want to be alone, anyway.
 

“Good night.” He didn’t even look at her as he shut the door. When he left the room, it was as though all the air left with him.

Katie felt the loss.

Lying in bed after washing up, Katie mused that the worst part about being mad at Rafe was how hard it was to
stay
mad. Once again warm beneath his comforter, surrounded by his masculine scent and protected by his faithful dog, she struggled not to succumb to the urge to go to him. The seductive pull of his comforting presence only a room away kept her from tumbling into much-needed sleep. Her body hummed with desire, a buzzing awareness that true peace and satisfaction was hers for the taking. All she had to do to find it was seek out her bond-mate and let him fill up all the emptiness inside her. Here, she was scared and lonely. With Rafe, she would be whole.

“Damn him,” Katie whispered. She didn’t
want
to need him. It wasn’t fair that she did. Based on his dark good looks alone, she would date Rafe in a heartbeat. But
love
him? A werewolf? One who lived in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by other, murderous werewolves? He wasn’t exactly her dream guy.
 

And yet she had to will herself not to crawl into bed with him. She was exhausted but every time she closed her eyes she saw those wolves—those naked men—and felt their teeth and hands all over her body. Unable to sleep, she had nothing to do except stare at the moon’s glow creeping in beneath the curtain, and worry. How many more were out there? Did the rest of the pack know about the one Rafe had killed? Were they coming to exact revenge at this very moment?
 

She really would feel better with Rafe next to her.

No. Katie closed her eyes, determined to stay in her own bed. She was mad at Rafe, after all. He’d married their souls, for lack of a better term, while she was unconscious. He’d probably ruined her for any other man. That meant he’d also ruined her chance for a normal life, with kids and family vacations and 401k retirement plans. What was she supposed to do now? Move to the middle of nowhere? Or perhaps they could they find a little apartment in the city. One with enough room to build a giant cage to contain Rafe during his “time of the month”. Katie smiled despite herself. How
would
she manage a relationship with a werewolf?

“Stop it.” Katie kept her voice too low for anyone but Shilah to hear. “You won’t. You can’t.” She took a deep, measured breath, then exhaled. “Besides, I hate him.” She knew that was a lie—a huge lie, actually—but it helped fan the flames of her dwindling anger to say the words. “I
hate
him.”

Beside her, Shilah sighed. She was pretty sure he didn’t believe it, either.

A low growl pulled Katie out of fitful sleep. Her eyes snapped open and she battled momentary disorientation before she remembered where she was. She sat up, then froze at the sight of Shilah crouched at the foot of the bed. His fur was raised in a line down his back, his tail held rigidly at attention. Holding her breath, she followed Shilah’s gaze to the curtained window. It was still dark outside. She was beginning to feel like this night would never end.

Katie’s heart pounded when Shilah growled again. The last thing she wanted to do was search for some sign of movement outside, but she couldn’t look away. The curtain swayed lightly, caught in a subtle draft, revealing bare glimpses of moonlit sky and snow-covered trees. She could barely stand to watch, afraid that a shadow would pass across the window and literally frighten her to death. Just as the thought occurred to her, a muted howl arose from somewhere in the distance. Her breathing hitched as adrenaline surged through her body.

She needed to go to Rafe. Now.

Slipping out of bed, Katie nearly made it to the door before she stopped, conflicted. A howl outside didn’t mean they were in danger. Of course there were more wolves in the woods—some of them were even Rafe’s friends. If she went running to him now, it was as good as forgiving him. And she wasn’t ready to do that. Not yet. Not unless she absolutely had to.

She turned and studied Shilah’s body language. He was still on high alert, attention fixed on the window. Katie took a deep breath, then crossed the room to stand at his side. She put her hand on his head and stared at the window with him. As quietly as she could, she murmured, “What do you hear, boy?”

He uttered a soft half-bark and growled once more. Then he took a few cautious steps forward, planting himself squarely in front of the window. Before she could stop him, Shilah poked his nose beneath the curtain and peered outside. Time stood still as she waited for chaos to erupt. But nothing stirred, and at length she released a shaky breath. A lazy tail wag from Shilah relaxed her further, though she wasn’t about to let her guard down. There was no way she was getting back to sleep now. All the exhaustion she’d felt earlier was gone. Her entire body crackled with nervous energy. Like any good prey animal, her fight or flight instincts were on high alert.

Rafe wouldn’t be upset if she woke him. She knew that. He wanted to protect her and if she allowed him to do so, he would give his life for hers. She was certain of that not because of what he’d told her about their bond, but because she could
feel
it deep in her soul. He would die for her. All she had to do was ask.

“No.” Katie straightened and took a tentative step closer to the window. She had some self-respect, didn’t she? Even after what those wolves had done to her, she wasn’t without dignity. She wasn’t going to let the craziness of the past few days turn her into a weak little girl who needed a big, strong—
gorgeous,
her mind supplied—man to help her make it through the night. “Woman up, Katie. Go look out the stupid window.”

Shilah turned his head at the sound of her voice. His soft, brown eyes gave her the courage she needed to close the distance between them. She knelt at his side and very carefully pushed the bottom corner of the curtain away from the glass, creating an opening just large enough for her to peer through.
 

Outside there was snow. And trees—lots of trees. Trees and snow surrounded them, stretching as far as Katie could see from her vantage point. Rafe’s truck was on the other side of the cabin, as was the path she’d taken into the woods. The nearly full moon cast an eerie glow over the forest, illuminating the immediate area while creating impossibly dark, sinister shadows in which evil undoubtedly lurked. When one such shadow shifted, melting into the shape of a man, Katie’s palms went damp. A second shadow moved close by—another man, standing beside the first.

Katie fell backward and landed hard on her ass. Then she scrambled to her feet, a single thought racing through her mind on endless loop.

Rafe. She needed Rafe.

Katie flung open the guest room door, slamming into Rafe as soon as she ran into the hallway. He caught her in impossibly strong arms and held her against his bare chest, and she buried her face in his neck before she could remind herself that she shouldn’t. He tightened his embrace, then smoothed a hand over her hair and shushed her panicked breathing.

“Someone’s outside.” Katie clutched at Rafe’s shoulders, battling a mixture of gratitude and embarrassment about how effortlessly his touch soothed her. “I saw two of them.”
 

Rafe pulled her into his bedroom and closed the door after ushering Shilah inside. “I want you to hide in the closet. Do you know how to shoot?” Before she could process the question, he had pressed a large revolver into her grip. “Katie, do you know how to use this?”

“I…” The gun looked strange in her hand, and holding it made her feel like a child again. Her father had taught her to shoot a .22 when she was eight years old, but this was the first time she’d handled a weapon since high school. “Yes.”
 

“Good.”

Of course, taking out soda bottles perched on fence posts hadn’t exactly prepared her to face murderous werewolves. Frightened and years past her last round of target practice, she had no faith in her ability to protect herself. Rafe, on the other hand, seemed calm and in control. He was probably a good shot, too. “Don’t go. Please.”

“I have to check it out.” He nudged her toward the closet. “Get in there. Be quiet, no matter what you hear. Shilah will stay in the bedroom with you, and I promise he’ll give you plenty of warning if anyone comes in who isn’t me. If they manage to open the closet door, I want you to shoot them. In the head.”
 

The thought made her sick to her stomach. “You’ve got silver bullets in this thing, right?”

“What?” Rafe paused, then chuckled. “No.”

Feeling a little stupid, Katie stumbled on her way through the closet door. “Another myth?”

“Yeah. Katie, hey.” He took her by the shoulders and turned her around. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I promise.”

Tears welled and threatened to spill over. She didn’t want anything to happen to Rafe, either. There was no reason why she should care so much about a man she just met—no reason except the bond he’d created between them. The pain in her chest at the thought of letting him walk into danger was so staggering it convinced her to set aside the anger that wasn’t doing her any good, anyway. Katie wrapped her arms around Rafe’s shoulders and brushed her lips over his in a quick but intimate kiss. “You come back to me. Okay?”

He gave her a gentle squeeze. “I will.” Startled by something she couldn’t hear, Rafe cocked his head. Shilah mirrored the pose beside him, eliciting an unthinking smile. It faded when Rafe walked her backwards into the closet, tension written all over his face. “Hide, Katie. Now.” He reached for the gun as he guided her into the back corner. “Safety’s off.” Ready to fire, he pointed the gun at the floor and handed it back to her. “We’ll both be fine.”

He shut the door and left her in the dark. Katie blinked, waiting for her eyes to adjust, and leaned back against the row of shirts that hung behind her. She held the gun in both hands, ready to bring it up and pull the trigger the moment Shilah alerted her to an intruder. She said a quick prayer that she would be able to aim and fire under pressure. Despite being a Civil War buff and battle reenactment aficionado, her father had never prepared her for an actual life-or-death situation.