Wolf Prince [Moon Bound Book 2]

1 ➤ Bond

WHEN ELEANOR PUSHED open the window, the cold night air brushed her face and pushed her long brunette hair back. With a sigh, she folded her fingers around the window frame, inhaling the relaxing fragrances of the forest. She stared out into the endless wooded landscape, feeling the wolf within craving for a run.

At the cracking of wood, she raised her hands and stared at the sharp claws as they slowly changed back to human nails. She didn't have to see her teeth to know they had changed to razor-sharp canine teeth. A soft rumble escaped her lips as she regained control of the beast that lay beneath the human.

Sometimes she wondered if her father was trying to drive her over the edge. No wolf should be locked in a house all his or her life. Yet, Eleanor had managed to keep her sanity all these years, but how much longer could she withstand everything?

She was holding by a string, a string that was slowly thinning as the days passed. Soon it would snap, and when it did, she was petrified of what could happen. There were many stories of wolves that lost all sanity and had to be put down.

Even if her life was far from perfect, she didn't want to die.

At the creaking of the door opening, she turned and couldn't help smile when her sister walked into the room. Physically, they had nothing in common. Adeline had skin as white as snow, eyes the color of the sea and raven hair; Eleanor had brunette hair, olive skin, and deep brown eyes.

"I'm trying to convince Father to let me take you out on your birthday tomorrow," she said after closing the door behind her.

"Good luck with that." Eleanor faced the window again, trying her best to maintain the façade that nothing fazed her anymore. Not the beatings her father gave her. Not the fact she couldn't go on runs like everyone else. Nothing. "There is nothing special about tomorrow anyway. It's just another day."

"Nonsense. It's your twenty-first birthday. At that age, Gregory chose me to be his wife. Maybe, someone will choose you." She stood beside Eleanor, their shoulders brushing against each other.

Eleanor turned to look at her sister and meet her gaze. "Nobody from this pack will ever choose me to be his wife."

Adeline averted her gaze. "You never know."

"Besides, I don't want a husband."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm fine single."

"What if you were to run into your mate?"

A humorless laugh escaped Eleanor's lips. "My mate? Adeline, I stopped believing in fairy tales long ago." For years, Eleanor had believed that maybe someone would come and save her like in the stories she read when she was a child before her mother died.

But she stopped waiting. If she wanted anything to change, she would have to do something herself. One of her first ideas was to run away into the human world, but her father would move every stone until he found her. Then, she would probably get berated for entering the human world without permission.

"I don't believe in mates either. Gregory is not my mate, yet I have been the happiest woman by his side."

"You were terrified when he chose you."

Adeline nodded, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Of course I was. The man has a look that kills and he is...He has a history of being cruel—But every Alpha acts that way."

"I'm glad he treats you well." Eleanor put a hand on her sister's shoulder and gave her a genuine smile. "But just because it worked out for you, it doesn't mean it will for me. I could end up with someone worse than our—" Eleanor stopped abruptly, but she didn't have to finish. Adeline knew what Eleanor's fears were. She knew Eleanor like the back of her hand.