Pack Bound: Pack Bound Series Book 1, page 35
She had a flaw, his mate. And she was ever the more perfect because of it.
His grotesque wolf lips pull up into something like a smile. There was hope in her future. That would have to be enough.
‘I think it’s working,’ Skye whispered.
She was right. The terrible grinding, snapping pain as his limbs contracted made him want to scream. But he held it in, even as the patches of fur dissolved from his skin in a heated, hurtful parody of the golden glow of the Were change. His eyes watered, heart pounded under the stress, nostrils flared as he tried to breathe. His legs trembled, but he held on, kept himself upright through force of will.
He would not be weak before his pack.
More of them had arrived to witness his torment, their glowing eyes staring at him out of the dark. He wished they’d go away. Hadn’t he kept himself together all these years without them? He didn’t need them. Didn’t need any of them.
‘River, are you okay?’ The tears in Skye’s voice almost undid him. As the grinding pain in his face came to an end, and he knew the change had finished, he managed to nod.
Jason’s hand left his skin. The warm imprint turned quickly cold, but he didn’t miss it. He missed the sweet glow that had come through that hand from Bronwyn. He longed to feel her hand on his flesh. Longed to have it stroke over him, bringing bliss, chasing the remnants of pain and fear and violence away. But he couldn’t have that and he had to stop thinking about wanting it. He took a deep breath, suddenly aware of the sweat prickling his skin, cold in the spring night air.
‘River. Thank God you’re back. Thank you, Bron.’
He opened his eyes as Skye reached for him. ‘Don’t.’ He stepped back. The pain in her eyes stabbed at him. He gentled his expression. ‘I just need a moment, okay? My wolf is riding me hard.’ It was a lie. A necessary one. They could never know what this had cost him.
His wolf whimpered, ashamed of what it had nearly done. Not you, he whispered to it. Me. It was me. It howled its denial. It wouldn’t let him take the burden alone. We can’t let it happen again. The wolf agreed. River turned to Jason. ‘You need to lock put me back under.’
‘River, no,’ Skye protested. ‘We’ve only just got you out of that cage of drugs Grandma had you in. You can’t think I’d let that happen again? I w—’
‘It isn’t your choice. It’s mine.’
‘I won’t do what your grandmother did to you,’ Jason said. ‘Don’t ask me to do that.’
‘But the drugs my grandmother gave me just suppressed what was growing inside. They might be necessary.’
‘They caused the fracture,’ Skye insisted.
He shook his head. ‘No. You’re wrong. I mean, maybe, in the long run, they made it worse, but that fracture was caused by something else. Or else I would never have hurt Skye when we were ten. Grandmother knew I couldn’t live with myself if I did that again. She loved me enough to know that. So she caged me and my wolf with the drugs.’ He flexed his fingers. ‘But I’m drug free now and I almost killed someone tonight. You can’t put me through that again. So if you won’t give me the drugs, you’ll have to at least lock me up.’
‘But you didn’t kill someone. You stopped. Jason stopped you.’ Her hand fluttered as if she wanted to touch him, but thankfully she pulled back before she did. ‘I’ve just got you back, River. I don’t want to lose you again.’
‘You might not have any choice. If I can’t control the Beast, then I will kill. Do you want to let me be a killer?’
‘No! Don’t talk like that, River. Please.’
‘One of us has to be realistic. There’s something broken inside me. If I can’t change in full, I’ll go rabid. And Jason will have to hunt me down and kill me.’
‘No!’ She turned, gripped her mate’s arm. ‘Jason wouldn’t do that. He’d find another way.’ Jason didn’t say anything, but his gaze was too full of the truth for him to hide it. ‘No!’ she cried, letting him go, her hands clutching over her heart.
River couldn’t bear to see her anguish. He reached out to touch her face, his hand trembling with the strength it took to be gentle right now. ‘You never saw me for what I truly am and you’re not seeing it now.’
‘I am.’ She reached up to press his hand more firmly to her cheek. ‘You’re strong. So strong. It’s you who doesn’t see yourself clearly. You’ve held on for all these years. Can’t you hold on a little longer? We’ll find a cure. We started looking through the diaries today. Shelley and Bron and I. We’ll study and learn and Bron will learn about her healing abilities and we’ll find a way. Won’t we, Bron?’
Bronwyn didn’t answer. He turned. The slight healer was leaning against the big black wolf, her face pale, shadows like bruises under her eyes. And those eyes—the cinnamon irises were almost swallowed by the black of her pupil as she stared at them blankly.
‘Bron?’ Jason said.
‘Are you okay?’ Skye asked.
Bronwyn’s gaze shifted to them, unfocused. She wobbled and gave a faint, drunken smile. ‘I’mokay. Jushtoomushpower.’ She crumpled.
River caught her before she hit the ground. He pulled her against his chest, revelling in the feel of her weight in his arms while worry skated through his veins like cold fire. ‘Bronwyn,’ he whispered.
She looked up at him and smiled again. ‘River.’ Her eyes rolled up, her head fell back.
‘Bron?’ Skye was at his side, her voice shaking and high.
River shifted Bronwyn so that her head lay on his shoulder.
‘It’s okay. She’s just passed out.’ Jason came up behind Skye and hugged her. ‘She channelled an incredible amount of power into River just then. I felt it flow through me.’
‘You should have stopped her,’ River snapped.
Jason’s electric blue eyes were dark with sincerity as he said, ‘I would have if I’d known another way, but for now, that seems to be the only way to bring you back from the edge.’
‘Not the only way,’ River growled. He began to stalk back down the path he’d hunted on only a few minutes earlier.
‘I won’t lock you up. Not while you’re lucid,’ Jason called behind him. ‘That won’t help you or your wolf.’
‘Fine,’ River snarled, turning around to pierce his Alpha with a glare. ‘But you will need to keep a guard on me, because I can’t guarantee how long this lucidity will last.’
Jason nodded.
‘But during the full moon cycle, you will lock me up. If you don’t, I’ll do it myself. This can never happen again.’ And so saying, he continued down the path, past all the wolves who stared at him like he was a curiosity, Bronwyn a warm weight in his arms.
***
To keep reading Moon Bound, you can get your copy here:
Moon Bound
ALSO BY LEISL LEIGHTON
Pack Bound Series
Pack Bound
Moon Bound
Shifter Bound
Wolf Bound
Witch Bound
(A Pack Bound Series Prequel Novella)
Soul Bound
(A Pack Bound Series Prequel Novel – coming 2022)
Gods Cursed Series
Love Cursed
Soul Cursed
Blood Cursed
(Featured in A Perfectly Paranormal Easter Anthology)
Hearts Cursed
(Coming out Christmas 2022 in A Perfectly Paranormal Christmas Anthology)
As well as writing sexy, dark paranormal novels, I write mysterious and emotional romantic suspense novels.
CoalCliff Stud Series
Climbing Fear: Book 1
Blazing Fear: Book 2
Echo Springs Series
Dangerous Echoes: Book 1
Books 2-4 in this series, (written by Daniel deLorne, TJ Hamilton and Shannon Curtis) are also available now at all ebook retailers.
ABOUT LEISL
Leisl Leighton is a tall red head with an overly large imagination. As a child, she identified strongly with Anne of Green Gables, and like Anne, is a voracious reader and born performer. It came as no surprise when she went on to a career as a performer, script writer, script doctor, stage manager and musical director for cabaret and theatre restaurants.
After starting a family, Leisl stopped performing and began writing the stories plaguing her dreams. She now writes emotional stories mixed with mystery and a little bit of what goes bump in the night. Her novels have won and placed in writing contests here and overseas. She is a passionate advocate for the romance genre, was President of Romance Writers of Australia from 2014-2017 and when she’s not writing romantic stories of redemption, she is helping other authors reach their dreams with her Author Services.
You can contact Leisl through her website www.leislleighton.com or sign up to her Newsletter and be the first to find out about new releases, appearances, special deals and exclusive giveaways.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I couldn’t have done this without my husband, Mark, who takes care of all things techie and listens to me ramble about characters and plot-lines that are as real to me as he is. Thankfully he loves me and knows I’m not insane.
Thanks to my two beautiful boys, Jacob and Nathaniel, for doing the same—it can be tough sometimes to have a mum who lives in another world!
Thanks to my family and close friends—especially my parents, Kerril and Jim—for their never-ending encouragement and support and helping me out with the kids when I have a deadline or just want to write a little bit more. Also thanks to my parents for letting me take over the study in your house as my new office—it has helped me be more productive and stop procrasto-cleaning/procrasto-cooking/procrasto-TV watching (it’s just stopped procrastination!) plus it’s just nice to have somewhere to work that’s not my house.
Aside from great family and friends, a writer needs a Coven of writing peeps all their own. Thanks to my friends in my writing groups for encouraging me in this endeavour, through traditional publishing and into publishing my own stories my way—Marnie, Sam, Helen, Laura, Chris, Frana and Anita. I couldn’t have gotten here without you.
Thanks especially to Marnie for all your editorial thoughts and advice.
Thoughts and thanks also to my bestie, Helen, and to the first writing friend I ever had, Liz. You are both gone but never forgotten and a part of you will always live on in my stories. In fact, this series would never have been written without them (especially Liz who gave me endless encouragement and read many versions and gave me amazing feedback that helped get it to this published book right here.) I miss you both so much every day.
And a big shout out to all my friends in Romance Writers of Australia—you are inspiration and mentor rolled into a big ball of supportive writerly love. Thank you.
The final person I have to thank is my agent, Alex Adsett, for believing in me and my work and always backing every decision I make. Your confidence in me helps me believe I can actually do this writing thing. Eternal thanks.
Pack Bound
© 2022 by Leisl Leighton.
Australian Copyright 2022.
New Zealand Copyright 2022
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, alive or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for use in any review.
Published by Leisl Leighton as Permien Press.
For more information, email: leisl@leislleighton.com
First published 2018 by Escape Publishing Australia. Rewritten and republished 2022 by Permien Press.
Cover design – Samantha Marshall
Ebook ISBN: 9781922836007
Print ISBN: 9781922836014
Created with Vellum
Leisl Leighton, Pack Bound: Pack Bound Series Book 1
