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CHAPTER FORTY-NINE:Hazel Ellis
Last Updated:
2025-02-25 16:00:22
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Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FIFTY:Hazel Ellis
"Skunk." My dad grunted. "I thought they were using vinegar.""I'm sure the skunk was unintentional," mom said. "We have twenty minutes until we need to be at the house. Want to go for a run?"My dad agreed, and they rustled around, getting ready."Told you." Merrick's voice was teasing, but not cruel. I finally met his gaze again, and was surprised by what he saw.Lines under his eyes, dark and heavy.I inhaled a little deeper and found out he was tired. Really, really tired."Have you been sleeping?" I asked."My bed doesn't smell like you," he said."That's not an answer.""No, I haven't been sleeping." He finally told me the truth, and it sucked. Mostly because I knew my absence was the reason. And no, it wasn’t my fault, but I was the idiot who ran away instead of staying to talk to him that night.Which I wasn’t going to do again, I decided."You should've told me.""I was giving you space. That’s how I was trying for you, Ellis. I left that note telling you to come back to me w
Last Updated : 2025-02-25Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER ONE : Hazel Ellis
"I’m fine, Mom," I said, balancing my phone between my shoulder and ear as I slid off my cherry-red Ducati. After hanging my helmet on the handlebars, I tucked my key into my bra and headed toward the run-down bar.The neon sign above read “OM’S.” The letters were too faded to make out, even under the full moon, so I shifted into my wolf form. It was second nature at this point. My body remained human as I read the full name: Tommy’s."Get back to New York and bite Noah," my mom snapped. "The trials start next week. You know he can save your life, and—""And probably die trying," I cut her off, smoothing the frizz in my hot pink hair.I wasn’t sure what city I was in, but I knew it was in Maine. Thick forests stretched for miles, soothing the wolf in me.After checking into a sketchy motel, I was told the bar down the street had the best food, so I made my way over to satisfy my growling stomach.I was nauseous—not from the food, but because my hot pink hair marked me as an unmated ru
Last Updated : 2025-01-24Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER TWO : Hazel Ellis
Finally slumping onto his stool, Merrick took in a deep sniff of the air. I noticed because, well, it was a classic werewolf move. But I shouldn’t have been encountering wolves here—no way was I anywhere near the Maine pack territory, which was miles away from where I’d ridden my bike.“What are you?” Merrick growled at me as I took a sip of my drink.“Excuse me?” I shifted slightly, letting a touch of menace creep into my stance, while keeping my scent neutral. I wasn’t going to acknowledge him right away, hoping it’d irritate him.“You heard me.” He ignored any manners and stood up, sniffing the air once more. Whatever I had planned to say flew right out of my mind when I saw him.Not because he was ridiculously hot, though he definitely was. No, it was because of his hair.Hot pink.“Who are you?” I demanded, my gaze fixed on his wild pink strands. The sides were shaved close, the top long and messy in a way that should’ve looked disheveled but was somehow just right. Even his stub
Last Updated : 2025-01-24Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER THREE: Merrick Blake
There was something about Hazel Ellis’s scent that struck me unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Women generally have pleasant aromas, but hers was a unique blend of leather and citrus that made it impossible to control my instincts. It was as if the animal inside me—my bear—wanted to burst free.The moment she pinned me to the ground and I inhaled her scent fully, I lost all control. My mind snapped into grizzly mode, and I could feel pheromones I’d never been able to control flooding out, designed specifically to draw her in. Hazel was my True Mate, and I hadn’t even realized it until that moment at Tommy’s bar.For ruby shifters like me, meeting a True Mate is almost unheard of. Nature doesn’t care about fur color, and often pairs us with non-rubies, which makes it dangerous to try to turn them into one of us. So, when we find the person nature intends for us, most of us just walk away.I never thought I’d find my True Mate, so stumbling upon Hazel felt like winning the lo
Last Updated : 2025-01-24Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FOUR : Hazel Ellis
One moment, everything was peachy. The following, the men moved and assaulted each other.I was a warrior, but I had completely nothing at stake in their fight and in this manner, no reason to remain and battle. There were other ruby shifters in the city, and I would discover them the another day… or they would discover me.I snatched my cash and my Ducati’s key off the walkway where Merrick had dropped them, and tucked them profound into my right boot some time recently slipping absent and taking off down the road at a jog.My Ducati would be simple to discover, and my fragrance, simple to track. If I run back through the timberland in human frame, I might lose whoever chased me down—or at slightest send them on a long run that might calm them of any remaining outrage some time recently they found me again.Weaving through the trees, I took the long way back to my motel.When I at long last got back, the room was indeed smellier than I recollected. Not at all like a certain grizzly w
Last Updated : 2025-01-24Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FIVE:Hazel Ellis
With a frown, I turned my head slightly toward him and sniffed.Shit, he really did smell better than the steak. I’d officially taken a turn toward crazy-town.What the hell had he done to me?“Do your pheromones change the way things smell?” I asked, biting into a fry.“True Mate pheromones do, but it only affects the way I smell to you. I probably smell better than either of our meals, right now.” He nodded toward my food, his hands wrapped around the giant burger. “You sure as hell smell and taste better than this.”My cheeks reddened.Dammit, I was like a blushing teenager. Because of my ruby wolf status, no man had ever touched me as anything more than a friend. I knew how to charm the pants off most of them, but they tended to be either too intimidated by me or too afraid of my parents to risk touching me. I was twenty-two and still had virgin lips, of all things. Hell, even my fingers were virgins, since I’d never held a guy’s hand or anything.I took a big bite of steak so I
Last Updated : 2025-01-24Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER SIX : Hazel Ellis
I didn’t get any sleep that night. Liv had to stop for a little shut-eye an hour from Shifter City, so I was on my own. The grizzly squashed up against my door was surprisingly silent. The only reason I even knew he was there was because his smell didn’t grow fainter, and I could see part of his huge body if I peeked out the window.Since I couldn’t sleep, I spent a few hours running through exercises and drills I didn’t need equipment for. It wasn’t my favorite way to work out, but it distracted me and that was the point.The noise from Liv’s yellow Ducati, lovingly named Banana, had me striding toward the door. I stepped over the bear. It was more of a lunge, because he was huge, but I flew down the stairs afterward and met my best friend at the bottom. She threw her arms around me, hugging tight, and I squeezed back even harder. Her dark, collarbone-length curls were wild around her head.Liv’s eyes must’ve caught on the bear watching us from the top of the stairs. “What the hell
Last Updated : 2025-02-25Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER SEVEN:Merrick Blake
My eyes followed Darius and my female through the clouds. All the other bird shifters answered to him, and they were on our side in the war, but I’d never really trusted him. The claws at the tips of my fingers gave away my itch to damn the consequences and remove his head.I’d known other unmated ruby men would come after Hazel. Why wouldn’t they? The wolves were meant to lead the city, and she was damn sexy. Many of those assholes would do anything for power, and if it came with a body like hers, they would fight to the bitter end.So would I.Hazel’s friend slid off her bike, walking to my side. She leaned up against my truck’s grill, tilting her head up to the sky.“Too bad you don’t have wings. Hazel’s an adrenaline junky; if you had wings to go with your yummy scent, she’d probably mate with you right away,” Liv remarked.I scoffed, glaring at the griffin overhead. “There are better ways to get her adrenaline up.”“True. But flying is pretty cool.”My fingers twitched, claws gro
Last Updated : 2025-02-25
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Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FIFTY:Hazel Ellis
"Skunk." My dad grunted. "I thought they were using vinegar.""I'm sure the skunk was unintentional," mom said. "We have twenty minutes until we need to be at the house. Want to go for a run?"My dad agreed, and they rustled around, getting ready."Told you." Merrick's voice was teasing, but not cruel. I finally met his gaze again, and was surprised by what he saw.Lines under his eyes, dark and heavy.I inhaled a little deeper and found out he was tired. Really, really tired."Have you been sleeping?" I asked."My bed doesn't smell like you," he said."That's not an answer.""No, I haven't been sleeping." He finally told me the truth, and it sucked. Mostly because I knew my absence was the reason. And no, it wasn’t my fault, but I was the idiot who ran away instead of staying to talk to him that night.Which I wasn’t going to do again, I decided."You should've told me.""I was giving you space. That’s how I was trying for you, Ellis. I left that note telling you to come back to me w
Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FORTY-NINE:Hazel Ellis
I laughed at another of Liv's stupid jokes as I slid out of her car, glancing down at the backpack in my hand to adjust my grip on it."Good luck," Liv yelled after me as she pulled out.I waved over my shoulder, finally looking at the motel room door I was headed to. My eyebrows lifted when I saw Merrick sitting on his ass on the pavement in front of it, his back leaned up against the door like he'd been that first night we met. I braced myself for a fight and kept walking.He'd probably smell my excitement at seeing him, because dammit, I’d missed the big grizzly."Please tell me that's lingerie, and you're planning to use it to lure me into your bed," Merrick called out as I approached.I refused to let myself grin. "It's not." It wasn't even all that sexy, considering what I usually wore. Just a simple black bikini: high waisted bottoms, and a top with an under-wire."Nope." I stopped in front of him, putting a hand on my hip. "What are you doing here?"Merrick lazily lifted his h
Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT:Hazel Ellis
I didn't hear from Merrick the next day, spending my time meeting tons of shifters, breaking up fights among the asshole werewolves who had already migrated to Shifter City, and talking with the city's council about boring shit.He was giving me space—the opposite of what I actually wanted—and I hated it. His apology note pissed me off. And the key to his house? We both knew he never locked the damn door. He should've followed me home to fight with me until we figured out a solution that made us both happy… and I shouldn't have left in the first place.But what had happened, happened, and it was too late to go back in time.So, after a day of radio silence, I decided to do something about it the next morning.Liv and I crept around the side of his house, wearing backpacks, bikinis, and nose plugs, while doused in enough vinegar to hide our scents from even Merrick. He'd know it was me when he read the note I was leaving him, but I didn't want to give him the privilege of smelling me i
Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN:Merrick Blake
I slammed the door of my truck harder than necessary, the impact vibrating through my hand as I settled into the seat, letting out a long, frustrated sigh. The weight of the situation sat heavily in my chest, squeezing the air out of my lungs. My knuckles ached from gripping the steering wheel too tightly, but it didn't matter. I was used to that feeling—the constant pressure of wanting to fix everything, even when I had no idea how to.I reached into my pocket, yanking out my phone, and punched in the familiar number. Blake was my only real source of advice these days. Sure, I had other friends, but when it came to matters of the heart—well, Blake was the one who seemed to know how to make sense of my mess. The phone rang twice before she picked up."Hey, Blake. Is everything okay?" Her voice was clear and sharp, not muffled by sleep like I expected it to be. She was a schoolteacher, after all, and normally crashed before 10 PM to get up for her early morning classes."No," I replied
Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FORTY-SIX:Hazel Ellis
Riding my bike without Merrick in front of me or behind me was fun, but it was a different kind of fun. There was more adrenaline, less comfort and thrill. That probably doesn't even make sense, but I don't know any other way to put it.When I rode on my own, it was more about the rush. The excitement of me and my bike leaning together, flying down the highway at ridiculous speeds.But when I rode with Merrick, it was different. When he drove, it was a chance to let our bodies move as one, riding together. When he sat behind me, it was more of a challenge. I had to work harder to keep the bike up and had to be more careful with every movement.And I liked that better.We rode side by side, but it just wasn't the same. The adrenaline felt cheap compared to the comforting thrill of riding with my body plastered to my grizzly's.When we headed back, neither of us reached out mentally to each other. We were both aware of the danger of driving distracted, and didn't want to crash.When we
Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE:Merrick Blake
Hazel's mom, Henley, crossed to the small sink on the side of the little motel room. She and Roman were set up in one of the motel’s small suites, which had tiny kitchens in them."I need to do some dishes. Want to help?" she called over her shoulder.My natural response would be to pass and make a break for it before she could glare at me anymore. But I suppressed it and met her at the small sink. There weren't too many dishes, but there was no dishwasher.She washed two dishes in silence, handing them to me when they were clean. I dried them and put them away, having to rifle through the four cupboards dedicated to the kitchen to put them away.The moment felt like déjà vu. Up until she died, I'd helped my mom with the dishes almost every night when I was a kid. It had stopped when I moved out, but without fail, every time Chandler and I met at their place for family dinner, mom and I did the dishes together.The memories had my throat swelling a bit even as I accepted the third dis
Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR:Hazel Ellis
My body flushed, and I pushed away the desire I could feel building in me to match his.But when he wiggled the taco toward me, I took another bite. Not just to hear him idle, but because it tasted good.Fine, because I wanted to hear him idle and smell him wanting me. I was a sucker for the grizzly."You like the way I smell too," he told me, before chomping into his taco and idling again, just like I'd wanted."Of course I do. I love steak, and you smell better than any steak I've ever had." I lifted my booted feet to his dashboard, reclining my seat just a little. I wanted to talk to my dad, to get advice, but I'd rather listen to Merrick idle a bit first. In the long run, ten or fifteen minutes wasn't going to make a big difference."Does that mean you want to eat me?" He unwrapped a new taco and held it out for me."Does your question mean you've already forgotten that I did eat you?" I countered, then bit into the taco."Fuck, no. If you knew how many times I've remembered the l
Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FORTY-THREE-Hazel Ellis
"Can you drive to the motel? I need to talk to my dad. He'll have advice… I hope." My fingers were clenched tightly with Merrick's as he buckled himself in with one hand—and then buckled me in with the same hand when I made no move to do it myself."Sure." He pulled away from the small dirt parking lot. We were the last to leave, and I wasn't positive my parents had gone back to the motel, but it was a safe assumption. Unless they had shit to do, they were often homebodies."What do you think I should do?" I asked Merrick a moment later. He knew the city—he led the place. It would take time for me to completely know and trust him, but he knew as much as anyone and would be a damn good source.Hell, he'd controlled the room when I couldn't. Maybe he was more than a source—maybe he was the answer. I wasn’t ready to jump on that yet, but it was a possibility."I don't know," he admitted. "This hasn't ever happened before. The fighting was normal, and to be expected, but the ruby… it's ne
Bound by Blood: Last Ruby Wolf and Her Fated Mate CHAPTER FORTY-TWO-Hazel Ellis
"What do you want me to do in there?" Merrick checked as we walked down a perfectly-packed dirt trail toward the heart of the city. There were flowers on either side of the path, surrounding trees that were well-trimmed without looking overly-manicured."I don't know. I haven't met everyone yet." I paused. "Do you know if Noah was invited, or if he doesn't count since he hasn't passed the trials yet?"Mine and Merrick's hands were connected, fingers laced and biceps brushing each other. I was itching to shift and had wanted to run there in wolf form, but didn't want to be naked in front of all the other ruby shifters the first time I met them all. Fishnets and biking boots were my first line of defense, after all."It's protocol for a shifter who's signed up for the trials to attend ruby meetings, even though they usually don't survive long." He glanced at me, apologetic. "For his sake, I hope he does, but…""I know he doesn't have much of a chance, but he says he wants to lead the wo
