Cherry
Someone kisses the top of my nose, tickling me and making it twitch.
“Come on, darling, open your eyes for me.” Gage’s strong, soothing voice has my eyes opening to meet his gorgeous blue ones. His black hair is hanging across his forehead instead of its usual style as he stares down at me with concern.
“Oh, thank the Goddess, she’s awake,” Chase says from somewhere close by.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” As soon as Gage asks the question, he frowns. “Sorry, I meant, are you feeling okay now?”
I take a second to assess myself as I look around. We’re on the couch back at home. Weren’t we just at the BBQ? What happened?
My mind races to remember the rogue, Maddox saving me, then I was overwhelmed by so many people, so I moved to sit in the shade and I must have fallen asleep.
I readjust myself to sit up and look at the others. Hunter and Chase look at me with concern. Did they carry me home? Why didn’t I wake up and why do they look so worried?
“Do you remember what happened?” Hunter asks me.
I shake my head, unsure what I’m missing.
“You remember being at the BBQ?” he asks and I nod just as several loud sets of footsteps come down the hall. We all watch as Maddox and Bain step into the living room, looking like they’re on edge.
“You’re awake,” Maddox says, sounding relieved. As he steps closer, the smell of copper hits me, and my nose twitches as I search him for signs of injury.
When he steps up in front of me, I nudge his hand, where the smell is the strongest, and he opens up his palm to show me his bloody fingertips. But I pull back in confusion when I realize it’s not his blood.
“I’ll go wash up,” Maddox says as he quickly turns and heads into the kitchen.
“We were just catching her up,” Gage tells him before turning back to me. “Do you remember the rogue wolf attacking?” I dip my head in acknowledgment, and he nods. “We’re not sure what happened after that. Do you remember anything else?”
I let out a soft bark, and he frowns in frustration, making me chuff.
Yeah, me too.
“I tracked your scent to a tree. Did you go to lie down there?” Maddox asks as he dries his hands and moves back over to stand in front of us. I nod.
“Do you remember anything else?” Gage prods.
I think for a second, then shake my head. That’s the last thing I remember.
“A man—a human, took you,” Maddox says, surprising me. “We tracked you through the woods and found you within minutes over his shoulder. Obviously, we got you back, but you were unconscious, so we don’t know what he did to you.”
“Does your head hurt?” Gage asks, and I shake my head. He frowns then asks, “It could have been drugs, do you remember a strange smell or a small prick?”
My head shoots to him as I remember feeling a small bug bite on my neck. I lift my back leg and scratch behind my ear, hoping he’ll understand.
“You felt a prick?” he asks in excitement, and I nod. “On your neck there?” he asks, pointing to the spot I just scratched. I dip my head again. “Let me take a look.” He starts to sift through my fur as I watch Maddox.
He looks more tense than I’ve ever seen him. I wish I could ask him what he’s thinking, but more importantly, I want to know why he had someone else’s blood on his fingers. I chuff at him, and Hunter, thankfully understanding, translates for me.
“I think she wants to know about the blood, Mad.”
Maddox presses his lips together, as if he doesn’t want to share, so I tilt my head, hoping it will encourage him to tell me.
He sighs, then runs a hand through his shoulder-length hair that’s come undone from his usual messy bun.
“The rogue mysteriously escaped from Kane’s guards, even though he was cuffed.
So Bain and Chase brought the human back here for questioning.
” He glances at the others, looking apologetic.
“He told us that Kane hired him to release the rogue as a distraction so he could get you out of there and kill you.”
Hunter wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his side. It takes me a moment to realize I’m whimpering, and I quickly silence myself as I lean into his embrace.
“I’m sorry,” Maddox says with a sigh. “I killed the human, but you never should have been put in that sort of danger.” He shakes his head. “I brought you into our pack and promised you safety. I’m sorry, Red.”
“It’s not your fault,” Chase tells him from where he’s sitting by my feet. “None of us have ever trusted Marcus, yet we all chose to stay here.”
“He has to be stopped,” Gage says as he stares at Maddox, who nods solemnly.
“I know. Right now, we have a slight advantage. He doesn’t know we captured the human and found out his involvement, but it won’t take long for him to grow suspicious when he doesn’t hear from him.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Chase asks, glancing between the two of them.
“We should tell Red about the note first,” Hunter says, and I pull back to look at him in confusion.
He leans forward and grabs a rose off the coffee table, and I swallow in apprehension. As he pulls it close, I can smell the lingering burned vanilla smell and know instantly who it’s from.
Hunter clears his throat before he reads it. “Your fur is red, your eyes are blue, I will kill them to get to you. Yours forever, Blaze.”
I swallow heavily as I stare at the rose. A deep sense of worry fills me. Blaze is clearly referring to my pack, these five alphas. He’s going to try to kill them?
I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if one of them got hurt because of me.
As my worry presses forward, I feel the need to move, so I jump off the couch and head to the kitchen, scratching at the patio door and letting out a small whine.
“You want to go out?” Bain asks as he comes to stand beside me, frowning down at me in worry. I let out a small whine, and his lips press together in worry. “You’re not going to try to run, are you?”
I shake my head. Even though I don’t want them hurt, I know I can’t just run away from them. If last time was anything to go by, they’d be on me in seconds.
Bain steps outside before me and lifts his nose, sniffing the air before he steps aside and lets me out.
I move to one of the few trees to relieve myself, then wander through the yard, sniffing the ground and feeling the grass between my toes. The connection with the earth helps to ground me, and having the large open sky above me makes me feel relaxed.
I stare out at the forest, and for a moment, I consider running. I think about how they’ll be safer if I leave. But I don’t. Whether it’s because I know Bain is watching me right now, or because it physically pains me to think about leaving them, I’m not sure. Probably a bit of both.
But how are we going to get rid of Blaze if we don’t even know who or where he is? The fact that he’s now threatening my pack makes me worried.
No, not worried, angry. Furious.
Who does he think he is, coming to my home and acting like he has some sort of hold over me when I don’t even know who he is?
Maybe it’s time I stopped cowering and crying every time a threat surfaces.
Maybe it’s time I took advantage of being in my wolf form and learned to hunt and fight like every other wolf shifter.
Just because my senses seem weaker doesn’t mean I’m helpless.
These five alphas have done so much for me, rescuing me when I was at my weakest and bringing me back to their home without expecting a single thing in return. The least I can do is protect them and our home.
The hair of the back of my neck starts to tingle, and I sharpen my focus on the treeline, wondering if someone’s out there.
A loud growl reaches me right before the sound of a wolf sprinting, and I spin around just as Bain’s blond wolf speeds right past me, his teeth bared.
When I see why, I freeze with fear. A dozen wolves have appeared from around the side of the house and are charging straight for me. Bain intercepts the lead one, knocking him down before jumping on another. But there are too many and they start to pass him.
“Red! Run!” I hear Hunter yell. It shocks me out of my frozen state, and I turn back to the house and run as fast as I can, just as Maddox, Chase, and Gage run past me toward the attacking wolves.
Hunter stands on the porch by the back door, waving at me frantically to get inside. As I get closer, I see movement behind him. A large gray wolf is slowly sneaking up behind him on the porch, and I have no way to warn him.
Fear fills me and I put on a burst of speed. Not because I’m being chased by a dozen angry wolves, but because Hunter doesn’t stand a chance in his human form with his back turned.
I know the other four in their wolf forms are formidable fighters, though I do worry for them, but Hunter is my main concern right now.
“Come on!” Hunter yells when I’m only twenty feet away. I see the wolf behind him starting to pounce as a growl rips from my throat. Hunter frowns in confusion right before the wolf’s paws connect with his back and he starts to fall forward.
As he lands on his hands and knees, I leap over him, taking the large gray wolf with me right through the open door and into the kitchen. We roll once until I’m thrown from him, my body sliding across the floor and into the kitchen chairs.
Before I can even get up, the gray wolf is on me, his teeth sinking deep into my neck as a pained cry leaves me. My body loses its fight, sinking into the tiled floor. The wolf lets out a cry of its own, and I’m able to turn just enough to see Hunter’s furious wolf, ripping out its throat.
The sight is so shocking that I momentarily forget about my own pain. A loud crash averts my eyes to the door as Bain’s wolf comes barreling in, followed by the others.
He skids to a stop right in front of me, shifting to human in an instant. With his teeth bared, he grabs the dead wolf's jaw, which is still clamped around my neck and literally rips it open. The sound of bone snapping makes me twitch, and I watch as he throws the dead carcass aside.
Someone passes him a towel, and he wraps it around my bleeding throat, his eyes filled with determination and fear.
My breathing grows heavy, and I know, from experience, that this is a death blow. It will be easier if he doesn’t try to help; it will only prolong the pain.
“Baby, I’m so sorry,” he whispers as he bends down and presses his forehead to mine and cups my cheek.
“Red,” Maddox whispers from where he’s kneeling at his side. Only now do I notice the blood covering all of them. It trails down from their mouths as if they ripped those other wolves apart. I hope they did.
I have to turn my head a little to find Gage and Chase standing over us, and when I see Hunter in his human form, too, alive and uninjured, I let out a deep sigh.
“Red,” Maddox says again, getting my attention. “You’ll come back to us again, won’t you?” he asks, his voice full of fear and pain. I try to nod, but the movement causes me to cough up blood.
Only now do I realize I can’t feel my body. Where Bain and Hunter are touching my face is the only thing I can feel. I soak in that feeling of connection and close my eyes.
“Please, come back,” someone whispers, right before I take my final breath.