Bound Trilogy: Bound: A Supernatural Story (WLW)

Chapter One

"Fish out of water." A boy, maybe seventeen, answered the more brawny man who held Penelope Argyris against the alley wall.

In such a small town, Penelope marveled at the fact that there were so many alleys in which to hide things...or abduct people, which was exactly what had happened to her, yet another reason she never wanted to do any of this in the first place. Regardless, her father's wish was everyone's command as it was law.

As she sat at the only bus stop in town waiting for the fox who was meant to pick her up, she considered finding a warmer place inside of one of the buildings close by. One was a barber shop filled with elderly men seemingly debating things that were either very heated or just lively, and another across the way was a place called When The Fox Calls. It held a constant flow of people coming and going in just the short time she watched. Penelope had wondered what exactly could have been inside for an establishment to hold such an odd name, but never made any moves to actually visit it and couldn't see past the mob of teenagers and young adults who gathered in and around it. Maybe it's some kind of club? She'd wondered as she watched a drunken group of young men leave.

Even in such a small town as Mammoth, Wyoming, the streets were alive late into the night and many came in and out of the building. It was as if everyone knew everybody and none seemed shy about physical contact, much less breeching salacious topics that were not to be discussed. Penelope had even overheard one of the women leaving with a man discussing late night shenanigans planned for when they were home. So, the fox really don't believe in tact, huh? She'd thought as she watched them disappear into the frosty night.

Still, as uneasy as it made Penelope feel to overhear conversations to which she had no business falling privy, she didn't move from her bench. What if she had moved just before her chauffeur arrived and they were left wandering the tiny town in search of her? The fox meant to pick her up was of supposed high stature, so where was the sincerity and chivalrous behaviour she'd heard the foxes held in all the bedtime stories her aunt read her time and time again? Shouldn't her escort at least try to be prudent and keep to schedule?

Well, it wasn't Penelope's place to judge. She knew this and despite the cold, she cast the thoughts aside, no matter how odd these foxes all acted. They were just so...affectionate around each other. A pit had formed in Penelope's gut as she sat there watching the foxes walking around town, reminding her of what she lost and would never have once again. Not if she kept true to her tribe's customs, which was expected of her, or she would never hear the end of it from her father.

However, in the situation Pen found herself currently confined, pinned against a brick wall with a middle aged man breathing down her neck, she felt idiotic for not finding shelter like her instincts commanded.

Her instincts also told her that the boy holding her was a human. That and the ripe smell that wafted off of him, cutting her down each time he breathed or gestured in the slightest. Would it have killed the man to apply some deodorant or perhaps slosh some mouthwash before he decided to abduct her?

Yeah, that's perfect, Pen. Ridicule your kidnappers on their personal hygiene so that the next time they abduct a shifter, or human, they might play nicer against their senses.

"Yeah, that's right boy. A fish outta water. That's what was on the website!" The man exclaimed in a gruff voice, but Pen was determined to not let him see her fear.

Unlike the shifters, he couldn't smell it, nor could he overpower most. Yet, he did overpower Pen, to the point where she was unable to get away and her terror rose to exponential heights. There was no coastal land here. No saltwater source. Without it, she felt powerless against the gargantuan hands that held her in place. Without it, Pen couldn't call to the animals within, the otter and the dolphin alike, for help or safe harbor. Or to find her people and send them her way.