His to Protect: Book 1 in the Bound to Him Series by Sandra Antoni (the reading list TXT) 📗

opened the car door and stepped out before I could reach her. She leaned back against the car, and I saw her take a deep, shuddering breath. Then her shoulders dropped, and her head slumped forward. When I got to her, I pulled her into my arms and held her. I knew the moment the tears began to roll down her face. I could smell them.

She cried against my shoulder, and all I could do was hold her. She had held it together all this time, but now she needed this. She needed to release everything she was holding in, and I let her. This was all I could do for her right now, and it broke my heart.

Sobs wracked her body, and I ran my hands over her back and arms, just trying to soothe her. I needed to figure out what was going on and who wanted her dead, but right now, Chelsea needed this. She needed me to just hold her.

I heard the door to the house open, and Brady stuck his head out. When he saw Chelsea’s body shaking with sobs, I nodded at him and he closed the door and went back inside. He knew we were safe, and we would be inside when Chelsea was ready.

When her tears finally subsided, I kissed the top of her head. She tried to pull away, but I held her firmly against my chest.

“I’m sorry,” I heard her whisper, and I looked down at her in surprise. That was definitely not what I was expecting her to say.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Chelsea. Someone shot at us. You have a right to be scared and angry and to cry. It’s natural,” I said softly, running my fingers through her hair.

She looked up at me, and I saw both fear and sadness. I reached both hands to her face and cupped her cheeks, wiping away the trail of tears with my thumbs.

“You are safe here, and we will figure out what is going on. Do you trust me?” I asked her. She did not hesitate to reply that she did, and I could see the sincerity on her face. She trusted me, and I would not let her down.

Taking her hand in mine, I led her into the house. Brady was waiting for us in the living room, and Chelsea and I sat down on the couch. She looked expectantly at Brady, and Brady looked at me. His look said what I already knew. It was time.

“Chelsea, there is still something about me that I haven’t told you. About Brady too, and everyone who you met at his house last night. Everyone who was there, they are like family to us, but we are all different,” I began, and I could see the confusion on her face.

It wasn’t a great start, but this was going to take a lot of explaining. I looked over at Brady and he gave me an encouraging nod. How in the world was I supposed to explain to her what I was? What she was? I closed both of my hands over hers.

“Chelsea, I am what is called a shifter. In Hollywood terms, they would call me a werewolf, but I am definitely not a werewolf. However, I do have a wolf inside of me,” I told her, and her eyes flew open wide.

She pulled her hand out of mine and moved over on the couch, putting distance between us. I could see the fear in her eyes. She was afraid of me. I had to change that. If there was one person in the world who I did not want to be afraid of me, it was Chelsea.

“On the mountain…I saw a wolf. It was…it was huge. Much bigger than normal,” she whispered, and I nodded.

“That was me,” I told her gently. “I ran back to the house and changed to my human form so I could get dressed. Then I made my way back to you. My wolf found you. He smelled your scent on the mountain,” I explained, and she shook her head.

“No…no, that’s not possible. Werewolves don’t exist. This is crazy!” she exclaimed, and I could see pure panic on her face. She jumped from the couch and backed a few feet away from it, but her eyes never left mine.

I longed to go to her and hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay, but she needed time to process what I had just told her. She still thought she was human. I needed to handle this delicately.

“Chelsea, you told me that you trusted me, and I believe that you were serious. You CAN trust me. I have no reason to lie to you or make something like this up. Someone just shot at you. I am not so inconsiderate as to make light of that or what is going on here,” I said sincerely.

She looked at me as if realizing what I had just said was true. I let out a deep breath, but I kept my eyes locked on her. I needed her to not panic.

“Chelsea, there’s more. Your healing ability is unnatural for a human. However, it is normal for a shifter. That was what first made me suspicious. Your ankle should still be bruised and swollen. It was that, and the way that my wolf reacted to you,” I told her. She looked at me in confusion.

“What do you mean? How did your wolf react to me?” she asked. I let out another deep breath. Here goes nothing.

“Chelsea, you are my mate. My wolf knew it immediately. We were made for each other. It’s why we were both drawn to each other from the beginning. I could never do anything to hurt you, Chelsea. I love you,” I finally admitted.

Her eyes flew open wide and her hand covered her mouth. I stood and walked towards her and put my hands on her shoulders.

“Tell me that you don’t feel it. Tell