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

loading the dishwasher, while I put the remaining food away. I could hear the others laughing and talking in the living room. When the food was all in the fridge, I turned towards Chelsea and found her watching me.

“Zeke,” she said softly. “If there is a wolf in me, how do I find her?” she asked in a timid voice.

I studied her face for a few moments. She seemed completely serious, and I walked forward until I was standing in front of her. I wasn’t sure if she was ready for this just yet. Reaching up, I put my hands on her shoulders.

“Are you sure you are ready for this?” I asked her gently. She quickly nodded her head. I reached for her hand and pulled her towards my study.

“Have a seat,” I told her, pointing to the small couch along one wall. I shut the door behind us, and then I sat down beside her and took her hands in mine.

“Chelsea, this is going to seem very strange and unnatural. Your wolf is a part of you, and yet, she is separate. First, you will sense her presence. It will feel like there is another mind inside of yours, and it might scare you at first. But you don’t need to be afraid. Your wolf cannot hurt you,” I told her, and she nodded.

“You need to reach for that mind until you can enter it. Become one with it. Try to figure out what it’s feeling and what it’s thinking. Do you think you can do that?” I asked her, and she nodded again.

I could see some fear in her eyes, but I also saw determination. She was ready, and I was proud. I gave her an encouraging smile, and then I squeezed her hands, holding them tightly. She was not going to do this alone.

“Okay, now close your eyes and open up your mind. I am going to call to your wolf. As mates, she will answer to my wolf,” I told her softly. Her eyes opened a bit wider in surprise, but then she closed them. I closed my eyes and spoke to my wolf, and then he called out to her.

I opened my eyes and watched Chelsea’s face. At first, nothing happened, but then I saw her eyes moving behind her closed lids. Her hands gripped mine even tighter, and finally, I sensed her wolf’s presence. My wolf quieted, and we both waited patiently. This was something that Chelsea needed to do on her own, but I would be right here with her.

Chelsea was discovering who she really was. It was like a new birth. Her wolf had always been a part of her, but because Chelsea had no idea what she was, she had never recognized her wolf for what she was.

The room was quiet for a long time as the minutes ticked by, and then Chelsea gasped and her eyes flew open. I studied her face, but I could not tell what she was thinking. Then her lips turned up in a smile. She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly, and then she laughed. It sounded like music. When she leaned back, she was radiant.

“It was wonderful. I mean, she is wonderful. She has been waiting for me,” Chelsea exclaimed, and I grinned down at her.

“I feel whole, Zeke. Not only for finding my wolf but for finding you as well. There’s so much I want to know and learn, and she does too. I just can’t describe this feeling inside,” she continued animatedly.

“Thank you. Thank you for doing this for me,” she said softly, but I knew that she was being sincere.

“You always seem to be thanking me,” I told her on a chuckle. She laughed again. “Come on. Let’s go join the others,” I told her, taking her hand and helping her up from the couch.

When we were seated in the living room, the conversation around us was continuous. However, Chelsea remained silent. I watched her closely, and she seemed distracted, but I knew why. She was getting familiar with her wolf.

I heard her wolf call out to mine, and I remained quiet as the two of them discovered each other. Now that her wolf was aware, my wolf wanted to claim her. It would be the same as how I mated Chelsea, but we would both need to let go and let instinct take over. It would be rough and intense, and I wasn’t sure if Chelsea was ready for that yet.

When the doorbell chimed over an hour later, Chelsea looked up at me with an expression of alarm. I patted her knee.

“It’s okay. I’m expecting someone,” I told her gently. She relaxed against the couch once again. I stood and made my way to the entry hall and opened the front door.

Governor Adams stood in front of me, and there were two men who I knew to be his personal armed guards standing beside him. He held out his hand, and I hesitantly shook it.

“Governor, I’m Ezekiel Daniels. It’s nice to finally meet you,” I told him stiffly. I wasn’t sure that “nice” was the word I was looking for, but he was Chelsea’s father, and I would not mess this up for her. He told his guards to remain outside, and then he stepped inside the house.

“Governor,” I said softly. “This has all been a lot for her to take in. She was adopted and raised by humans, and she had no idea what she was until coming here to Tucson for a vacation. Her wolf has been suppressed all these years, and she just discovered her today,” I informed him.

Then I saw something that I had never expected to see on his face. Regret. His shoulders slumped and a series of emotions passed over his face.

“I wish that I had known she was alive. When I found out that Marissa had been killed, I just assumed that she had been as well,” he said, running