Cherry
Aslight rocking motion wakes me. Am I on a boat? No, that isn’t right. I wait as my body and senses adjust to my surroundings before realizing someone’s holding me while they walk. I inhale, smelling pine and citrus.
Hunter.
Opening my eyes, I lift my head as he tilts his to look down at me, and a small smile lifts his lips.
“Hi, baby girl. Are you feeling a little better?” I try to give him a small nod and he chuckles.
Feeling awkward being carried in my wolf form, I squirm and Hunter gets the message, setting me down gently. Stretching out my legs, I take a moment to look around, wondering where the others are. As if he knows what I’m thinking, he tells me, “They’re all around us, keeping watch.”
I raise my nose and sniff, hoping to catch a whiff of their scents, but I can’t smell anything.
Because you’re broken.
Suddenly, Chase, in wolf form, jumps through the trees to my right and pounces on me, sending me onto my back.
“Chase! Be careful with her!” Hunter yells as I look up at him with wide eyes.
Chase ducks his head and pulls back, making my stomach clench with unease.
I don’t want him treating me like glass.
I might be broken, but him playing with me isn’t going to break me any further.
In fact, having someone want to be close to me, because they seem to genuinely like me, and not because they want something from me, is something I didn’t realize I was missing.
It’s something I’m starting to crave from these five men.
I push to my feet and step over to him, rubbing my head along his neck, letting him know I’m not upset. And I take a few extra seconds to smell his smoky cedar and honey scent.
He presses his face against my neck, and I secretly hope he’ll leave some of his scent behind, knowing it helps to calm me.
When we pull apart, I notice the other three have moved in close in their wolf forms. I glance up at Hunter, the only one in human form right now. “We’re heading home now. Are you still tired? Or do you think you can run for a bit? We’ll be able to go faster if we’re all in wolf form.”
Home? Their home? I look in the direction we’d been heading as nervousness fills me. They haven’t mentioned anything about where they live. Who will I stay with? Are there others there?
Knowing they are waiting for me to make a decision, I decide I’m too anxious to be carried, and that running might help me relax a little.
I bark, bouncing on my feet, and he nods before he takes his bag off and starts to undress.
I quickly turn away before I can see anything, and Chase lets out a chuff of laughter.
I feel the energy from Hunter’s shift and turn back to see him picking up something small with his mouth. Is that a phone? He’s left his backpack hanging on a tree branch, apparently okay with leaving it there.
Bain presses his head to my side, telling me to get going. Maddox leads the way, followed by Gage, and I fall in behind him with Bain at my side and the twins flanking us. We set out on a slow run, the pace steady and even.
After about an hour, I start to slow from exhaustion. I’ve been pushing through for the past twenty minutes, not wanting to let them down or seem weak, but I’m not sure I can go on much longer, and it’s not like I can ask if we’re close.
I hear several howls in the distance and skid to a stop, my heart pounding with worry as I start to back up. Bain stops beside me. He’s so massive compared to my unusually small frame that he’s able to step over me like a shield.
Maddox returns a howl of his own, but I don’t sense a warning there. It feels more familiar, like a greeting.
Does he know the other wolves? Are they friendly?
Another howl pierces the forest around us, then Maddox turns to me and nods. I think he’s telling me everything’s okay. Bain moves off me, moving to my side as we follow Maddox at a much slower pace. The twins are so close I can feel their warm breath on my legs, bringing me a sense of safety.
When we come to the edge of the forest, I peer around Maddox and Gage, noticing a large house about a quarter mile away. Some lone trees and a gazebo fill the open space between us and the house.
Maddox shifts to his human form, and I cast my gaze down, not wanting him to think I’m ogling him, as much as I’d like to.
They all start to shift, and eventually, two feet appear in front of me.
Whoever they belong to is wearing jeans, so I raise my head and see Maddox, fully dressed in a tight, deep green T-shirt and blue jeans, staring down at me with that intense gaze of his.
“Alright, sweetheart, are you ready to see our home?” I swallow nervously. They live here?
Glancing around, I notice all the guys are fully dressed now, each wearing jeans or sweatpants and the same T-shirt in different colors.
Where did they get those from?
Looking around, I notice a small storage box off to the side. They must keep clothes in there for occasions like this, when they return from a run. Smart.
“Do you want to walk there, or can I carry you?” Maddox asks, making me tilt my head at him. He didn’t ask if I needed him to carry me; he asked if he could. My heart hums in approval, appreciating the way he phrased that to give me an easy out.
But I don’t want to burden them anymore, as much as I like being held. So I take a step backward, hoping he’ll understand.
He nods. “Okay, come on then.” He motions with his arm for me to follow him as he starts walking across the clearing, which I realize is actually someone’s backyard. Their backyard.
As we move across their property, I try to take in everything around us.
There’s a large swimming pool with a small waterfall, and the closer we get, the more I realize it actually looks more natural, like a pond, but the water is clear like a pool.
It appears to be some sort of hybrid between the two.
As we get closer to the house, I take a moment to admire how beautiful it is.
It isn’t exactly a mansion, but it’s still impressive.
A large wraparound porch spans across the back and both sides, with a gazebo attached to one corner.
It’s two stories, and it’s been painted a lovely mid-toned blue. It’s a beautiful home.
Movement catches my attention as a pair of wolves come running from around the side of the house, heading straight for us.
They’re coming to take me back!
Part of me knows that they aren’t from the facility, since I never saw any shifters there, but I press backward anyway, my rear meeting Bain’s legs.
“Angel?” he asks in concern. Fear has me in its grasp, and that one word from Bain has me desperate for his protection.
I turn to him and leap into his arms, praying he’ll catch me.
He doesn’t disappoint. He holds me tight against his chest as the twins step in front of us, blocking me from the two new wolves as I tremble in fear.
A warm feeling moves through me, and it’s so foreign, it takes me a moment to place it. Safety.
As I shake against Bain’s chest, I realize that he doesn’t seem very tense. Does that mean he knows them? That they’re safe? I don’t know anybody else in the world besides these five men. I don’t even know how to tell a friend from an enemy.
“It’s okay, little wolf. They’re part of our pack,” Maddox tells me, putting himself in front of the twins, halting the wolves’ approach. As soon as they reach Maddox, they shift and I yip, burying my face in Bain’s chest, not wanting to see their naked bodies.
I hear the deep rumble of Bain’s chest as he growls, which is echoed among the others.
“Maddox, it’s good to see you’re all back. We were starting to worry about you being gone for so long,” one man says. He sounds friendly, but I’ve been fooled before.
“We ran into something important we had to take care of,” Maddox replies smoothly. My body tenses, realizing none of the guys know where I come from or who could be a danger to me. Any of these people could be connected to the facility and could report me to them, or snatch me away themselves.
If they recognize me, which they would due to my unusual dark red coloring, I have no doubt the doc would send someone here as fast as he could, probably willing to kill anybody to get me back. I whine as my mind fills with worry.
“It’s okay,” Bain whispers, lifting me higher so he can press his face into my neck.
“Is she okay?” Gage asks quietly.
“No, she’s shaking and whining. We need to get her inside. Now.” The command in his voice makes me flinch, but he just holds me tighter as he whispers, “Shh, I’ve got you. You’re safe with me.”
Am I?
My head and heart seem to be in agreement that he’s telling the truth, that all five of them are safe.
Although I’m not sure why I feel that way.
It could be the way they’ve been nothing but a steady presence since I woke up in that cave.
It could be the way they protected me against the bear.
Or it could be the way they’ve fed me, cleaned me, kept me warm, and asked for absolutely nothing in return.
I just hope that none of that changes when they get me into their home. Right now, my instincts are telling me that they are safer than these two new wolves, and much safer than being on my own.
I miss what else is said until I hear Maddox dismissing the two newcomers, telling them he’ll catch them up later. They shift and take off back the way they came.
The twins move aside, letting Maddox step over to me.
He gently strokes my neck as he studies me.
I never realized how much shorter he is than the others before.
Bain must be about eight inches taller than him.
It’s hard to tell how tall any of them are when I’m in my wolf form, but I have a feeling Maddox would still have at least nine inches on me.
Although I don’t even know how tall I am. When I was taken at fourteen, I was five feet tall, the shortest in my family, by six inches. Did I grow much after that?
“It’s okay, they’re gone now. Let’s get you inside,” Maddox says before glancing up at Bain, who nods in return. Then he turns and leads us to the house.
Resting my head against Bain, I close my eyes, suddenly feeling my exhaustion again. The low timber of their voices surrounds me, but I can’t seem to grasp what anyone is saying, as if everything is underwater.
The creak of a door opening has my ears twitching. A few moments later, Bain sits down, and I open my eyes, seeing we’re in a large living room. Soft gray walls surround us. One wall is covered with large bookshelves, overflowing with books.
Bain strokes my head and back as I settle back against him. “You’re safe here. Go to sleep. I’ll watch over you.”
His words soothe me, and I close my eyes, feeling utterly exhausted. Regenerating really takes a lot out of me, and I don’t think I’ve eaten since it happened.
“Is she any better?” Hunter asks from beside us.
“She’s stopped shaking,” Bain replies, kissing the top of my head gently. I wiggle slightly, loving the feeling of being cared for by him. It’s not something I ever expected to experience again, and I have no idea why he’s doing it, but right now, I don’t care what the reason is.
I just let the feeling of comfort and safety lull me to sleep.