Cherry #3
“Be gentle with her, okay? She’s never played with rambunctious pups like you before,” Jenn adds before glancing at Maddox, who gives her a nod, telling her she is correct.
“Do you all understand?” They all yip together.
“Okay, go on back to playing. She’ll join you in a minute.
” The six of them turn and dash away, seeming to pick right back up where they left off in their game.
Chase starts to pull off his shirt as he tells them, “Hunter and I will join her.” I instantly start to feel better, knowing my twins will be there with me.
They strip and shift so fast I don’t even get the chance to see their bodies or be jealous that anyone else does.
Hunter starts to nudge me toward the wolf pups as Chase playfully nips my ear before running into the group.
I take off after him and quickly realize he’s making up his own game, but nobody seems to care as they chase him or get chased by him.
I join in and soon enough, the twins and I are chasing all the others.
Internally, I laugh at the little kids' antics of trying to gang up on one of the twins, or hiding behind a tree and jumping out at us. I even help them pin Chase down at one point. And even though I’m positive he let us do it, the kids love it.
Soon, I forget all my worries and just let myself have fun, knowing my pack is watching my back.
Eventually, Maddox calls us over to eat some food.
Someone found us a picnic blanket, large enough for the six of us to sit on, and placed it under a large oak tree.
I lie down in the shade between Bain and Gage as the twins shift and redress.
Burgers, sausages, and chips sit in the middle of the blanket, and I take the offered pieces from Bain and Gage as the twins make small talk with Trevor, Max, and their mates.
Lacey and Trevor are on a blanket in front of us with their three kids, two girls and a boy, and Jenn and Max are beside them with their three boys. They all seem pretty happy, which makes me wonder if this pack isn’t as bad as I thought.
I didn’t care for Maddox’s uncle as the alpha, and he doesn't seem to either; however, he hadn’t done anything outright bad or wrong, as far as I knew. And besides Juliet, nobody else had been mean, and even she isn’t that bad. I just don’t like the way she spoke to my pack.
But I’m still glad we’re leaving. Even if this pack is perfect, someone knows I’m here and is coming for me.
I shift a little closer to Bain, pressing my body against his leg, and he rests his hand on my back.
I glance at the forest and shiver. Is Blaze out there right now?
Watching and waiting? Who even is he? One of the guards?
I didn’t know the doctor’s first name, but the note didn’t sound like something he’d say.
Bain’s hand tightens a fraction on my back, and I lift my head to see where he’s looking. Two men I recognize from sitting with Alpha Kane when we arrived walk toward us.
Everyone falls silent as they approach. Looking at Maddox, the first man tells him, “Alpha Kane is ready to speak with you.”
“Alright, let's go,” Maddox says as he stands and beckons our pack to follow, but the man puts out his hand to stop him.
“No, just the five of you. She’s not an alpha. She can’t be in the meeting.”
I tense up, and Bain holds me a little firmer against his side. “We’re not leaving her alone,” Bain growls out.
“Hey, I don’t make the rules, man,” the man says, shrugging his shoulders as he takes a step back.
“We can watch her,” Max tells Maddox.
Before I even have time to freak out about that offer, Maddox is shaking his head. “No, she stays with us.” He glances at Bain and me, then nods. “Bain, you should go since you guys tracked down that rogue. You know more than I do. I’ll stay with her.”
“Alpha wants you all there. He was very specific about that.”
“He can come and tell me that himself. I’m not going anywhere without her,” Maddox says as he sits at my side and Bain stands.
“Fine, whatever. You guys can deal with the alpha when he gets mad then.”
“It’ll be fine. He’ll understand,” Maddox replies calmly. The man shrugs and they turn to lead them back to the house.
“Be good and listen to Maddox,” Bain tells me before nodding at Maddox. Hunter gives me a little wave, and Chase gives me a wink, while Gage just nods before they all walk across the yard to enter the back of the house.
I watch where they disappear inside, as worry fills me. We should all be together.
“They’ll be okay,” Maddox says, as if reading my mind. He strokes my back and succeeds in diverting my attention as I lay my head across his thigh. I let my mind drift a bit as I watch the six children shift back to wolves and go back to their game in the clearing beside us.
Maddox starts to talk to Trevor and Max, so I move to lie down at the edge of the blanket so I can watch the kids better. There is something so joyous in their behavior that helps me to relax as I watch them.
A movement at the edge of the woods catches my eye, and I sit up as I try to figure out what it is.
It takes me almost thirty seconds until I see it again, and that’s when I realize there’s a wolf peeking out from the forest, his teeth bared and head down as it watches the two youngest boys who are wrestling only a hundred feet from him.
Is that a rogue?
It must be, and after seeing what one did to a skilled alpha like Hunter, I know it will kill one of these pups in mere seconds. I stare with wide eyes, unsure what to do. If I turn around to get Maddox’s attention, the rogue might choose that moment to attack.
I definitely shouldn’t put myself in harm's way. I have no idea how to fight; my wolf has proven that repeatedly. But when I see the rogue take a single step out of the forest, its eyes locked on the young wolves, instinct takes over.
I take off running toward the boys, hoping to reach them before the rogue does, even though I’m slightly further away.
“Red!” Maddox yells behind me, but I continue running as fast as I can. Some of the speed I had at fourteen is finally coming back to me. Although I’ve been running and playing with my pack more and more these days, I haven’t really pushed myself to a full sprint, not like this.
I’m halfway to the boys when the rogue notices me. He bares his teeth at me before looking back at the boys, and taking off toward them. We’re an equal distance from them now, but I think I’m going to make it there first.
I push myself to run faster as the rogue closes in. People are screaming behind me, but I drown that out, my attention on the two little boys who have just noticed the rogue and are frozen in place as it closes in.
I reach the boys first and throw my body on top of theirs, startling them. I just hope my body is big enough to protect them from the rogue. I glance up as it closes in, and see it’s only ten feet away. With fangs bared, it launches itself at me, and a terrified whine escapes my throat.
Suddenly, a large brown wolf sails over me from behind and slams into the rogue, pinning it to the ground instantly. I try to breathe, knowing that Maddox now has this under control, and that’s when all the surrounding sounds suddenly come flooding back in, as if I’d been blocking them out.
I hear lots of wolves and humans close by, and we’re suddenly surrounded by over a dozen pack members. When I see the boys’ parents, I quickly get up as they shift back to their human forms and run into Jenn and Max’s arms. The little boys cry, as does Jenn, as they check them for injuries.
Looking back at Maddox, I see him still pinning the rogue, growling down at him in warning as other wolves start to surround them. I move out of their way to give them room to help him.
As I take a few deep breaths, I realize I’m dizzy, probably from the sprinting, so I move to sit in the shade at the base of a large tree while I wait for Maddox to finish with the rogue.
I pant heavily as I try to calm my racing heart and watch as most of the pack surrounds the rogue, Maddox, and the boys. They’re going to be okay, and I was lucky I didn’t get hurt.
No, it wasn’t luck that saved me; it was Maddox.
A bug chooses that moment to bite my neck, and I shake my head trying to dislodge it.
Suddenly, I feel completely drained, as if my adrenaline has just started to crash.
I lie down, trying desperately to find Maddox through the chaos in front of me, but before I know it, my eyes close, and I lack the energy to open them again.
I must be more tired than I thought because I instantly fall into a deep sleep.