Cherry
Iwake with a start, looking around. When I realize I’m on the couch, curled up with Hunter in his human form, I suddenly remember that he got hurt.
Sniffing at his leg, I can’t find any trace of the injury. I seem to remember him being in wolf form during the night, but he must have woken up and switched back since he’s fast asleep wearing only a pair of boxers.
Seeing him injured had terrified me. They said it was a rogue that did it, and that it’s dead now, but part of me still worries it’s somehow connected to me, and that my being here is putting them in danger.
But even if I wanted to leave, they never let me out of their sight.
Not to mention what happened last time I tried to run away.
I watch the rise and fall of Hunter’s chest and know I couldn’t leave him, leave any of them, not without my heart breaking. Maybe this is how all wolf shifters feel about their packs, that they would literally die to save them, and the thought of not being with them brings them physical pain too.
Or maybe it’s just me.
They are the first and only people to show me kindness in a very long time.
I start to lick Hunter’s leg, where the injury was, wanting to make sure that it’s fully healed. After a minute, I feel a hand on my back and find Hunter now awake, watching me.
He gives me a soft smile and opens his arms to me. “Come lie with me, baby girl.”
I do as he asks, lying alongside his body and tucking my head under his chin as he wraps his arms around me. He starts to rub his cheek against the top of my head as I try to relax.
He’s fine. Everything is fine.
“I’m okay,” he whispers, as if reading my thoughts. “Thank you for staying with me last night.” I lick up the side of his cheek and he laughs.
“Good to see you looking better,” Chase says. I roll to my back so I can see him. He must have just come downstairs with Maddox, as they both stand side by side, looking down at us in amusement.
Hunter rubs his hand up and down my stomach, and it makes my eyes close for a moment. I don’t think any of them have done this before, and it’s so relaxing. No wonder dogs like it so much.
Chase lets out a small laugh as he comments, “I think she likes that.”
“Yeah?” Hunter asks me in amusement. “You like this?”
I hear loud footsteps and open my eyes to find Bain stomping down the stairs. He freezes mid-step when he sees me, then after a moment, shakes his head, mumbling, “It’s too early for that kind of cuteness.”
“It’s never too early for this,” Hunter says as he continues to rub my belly.
“Red, you need to go out?” Bain calls from the back door. And the sudden urge to pee has me jumping up and running over to him.
He doesn’t open the door. Instead, he starts to strip off his clothes in preparation to shift, and I bounce from foot to foot, eager to get out there now he’s mentioned it. My wolf wants to run and play.
I avert my eyes from the very large, muscular, naked Bain beside me as he opens the door.
I run outside and quickly find some trees to relieve myself behind.
After that, I stroll around a little, sniffing the trees and the ground.
I know Bain is close by, watching as he always does, but I want him to play.
Sensing that he’s following only about twenty feet behind me, I quickly dart around the next tree, so I can come up behind him and surprise him, but when I circle around, he’s gone.
My head lifts high as I whip my head back and forth. Where did he go?
Suddenly, he pounces on me from the side, wrestling me to my back before I even know what’s happening.
As he looks down at me, I swear I can see a cocky grin on his face, and when he gets up, I try to nip at his foot to get him to chase me, but he doesn’t move.
He just lets me bite him, knowing I’m not actually breaking the skin or causing him any pain.
Frustrated, I contemplate biting harder, but I know that I don't actually want to hurt him, so instead, I start to run. Without the twins out here, I know he won’t let me out of his sight, and when I dart around a tree and head for the forest, he lets out a bark as he starts to chase after me.
I know I’m not supposed to go in the forest alone, so ten feet from the treeline, I take a sharp left turn and get a glimpse of his blond fur closing in on me. I push myself faster as I turn back toward the house, proud that I’ve made it this far without him catching me.
Suddenly, I notice two familiar gray wolves running toward me, and excitement fills me. The twins.
Unsure what game we’re playing, but unwilling to stop, I make another sharp left turn, back toward where this game started. Bain, Hunter, and Chase almost collide as they turn to follow me.
I weave through the few trees on the property as they split up. Hunter pops up in front of me, making me quickly duck around him. Chase manages to tackle me, and we roll together, but as soon as his weight has rolled off mine, I jump back up and run again, not wanting the game to end.
When I dart around the next tree, a black wolf is there, as if he were waiting for me.
Gage.
I bark in happiness to see him finally joining us, and try to pounce on him, but he manages to get the jump on me instead. I roll free and bark in excitement before running off again.
Everywhere I turn, there’s a wolf waiting for me. I keep ducking and rolling and pivoting until I find myself completely surrounded in the middle of a cluster of trees.
I stop running and slowly turn, watching each of them standing there, looking like they might pounce at any moment.
When I finally spin all the way around, I see him.
Maddox’s chocolate and tan fur shines beautifully, and the alpha energy radiating off him has me freezing in my tracks, my eyes glued to his.
He slowly steps toward me, and all I can do is watch, my body frozen in place as if under his spell. I forgot how big his wolf is, nearly the size of Bain’s blond wolf, but his presence has my wolf sitting as he approaches.
He slowly walks around me, as if assessing me, or assessing my reaction to him. And I stay seated as the other wolves move in closer. When Maddox is back in front of me, he steps even closer and rubs his head alongside mine, then licks my neck.
The action is surprisingly intimate, and the way my body reacts confuses me. I’ve cuddled with them in wolf form many times, but something about this feels more intense.
He pulls back and his nose twitches, then he glances at the others before he lets out a small bark and starts to trot back to the house.
I stay there, frozen in confusion, until Hunter nudges me. When I look at him, he points his head toward the door, and I start to move, unsure what just happened.
Once we’re inside and everyone is dressed, Hunter and Chase start to make breakfast as Maddox pulls out a seat at the head of the kitchen table and beckons me over. “Do you want to sit at the table and eat with us?”
I tilt my head in question. They’ve always fed me on the floor, which makes sense since I’m stuck in wolf form, but the idea appeals to me, so I move over to him and jump up into the chair. Luckily, I’m small enough that I fit perfectly in the chair.
Maddox takes the seat on my right and steeples his fingers together as he stares at me. “We thought if you start doing more human things, it might make it easier for you to shift.”
It’s a good theory, and I hope it works. Lord knows I’m tired of being in this form. I’d love to be able to do something as simple as hold his hand or touch his face. He’s wearing his brown hair up today in a messy bun at the top of his head. Is it soft? Would he let me touch it?
“I hope I didn’t scare you outside,” he says, reaching out to rub the fur on my chest. “I wondered if being around all five of us in wolf form would help you somehow.”
Oh, so that’s what that had been about. I’m willing to try pretty much anything at this point, and I really appreciate that they are still thinking of new ways to help me shift. I just hope they don’t get upset if they determine I’m stuck like this forever.
I wasn’t trying to shut them out earlier; I just got in a funk. Not being able to shift is starting to take its toll. When I’d been at the facility, I never wanted to shift. But that isn’t the case anymore.
“We’re just having some oatmeal and fruit this morning, Red,” Hunter tells me. “There’ll be lots of food at the BBQ, so we don’t want to fill up too much on breakfast.” He places a bowl of warm oatmeal under my nose.
Right, the BBQ at Alpha Kane’s house. How could I have forgotten? Kane made it clear we all needed to attend, and since Maddox doesn’t want anyone to know we’re leaving town, we had to go along with it.
I stare down at the bowl of oatmeal. There isn’t really a way to eat it without making a mess, but I do my best, licking up small mouthfuls at a time. It’s got a nice sweetness to it and tastes better than I expected. Between mouthfuls, Bain offers me pieces of banana, which I take happily.
“Alright, get cleaned up, then we'll head out in forty-five minutes,” Maddox tells everyone before turning to me. “Red, would you like to take a bath? In the tub?”
A bath? I tilt my head. So far, they’ve only cleaned me up in the pond. I wouldn’t have to worry about drowning in a tub like I do out there. The idea has me excited, and I dip my head in agreement as I jump off my chair and wait for him to lead the way.
“Come on then,” he says, running his fingers up my neck as he heads toward the stairs.
I hear the others heading into their own rooms, going about cleaning up and getting ready as we head into the main bathroom upstairs.
I haven’t actually been in it before, and as soon as I step inside, I see the giant tub.
It looks big enough for at least two full-grown men, and definitely more than big enough for me.