20. Cherry
Cherry
Play it cool, Cherry.
I lick my dry lips and try not to look up at the man carrying me. The man who apparently loves me. I thought after Hunter said that, he was about to confirm it, but instead, he gave me a peck on the forehead and started walking again. Saying absolutely nothing.
Does that mean Hunter is wrong? That he’s not there yet? Cause Goddess knows I am. I think I’ve been in love with him since I realized he wasn’t my enemy, when he was taking care of me in the cave.
Fear keeps me silent. If I ask him how he feels, or tell him how much I care, and I don't get the answer I want in return, it would crush me. I know he cares, obviously. But love is something else completely.
What about what happened in the bathtub?
Well, yes, he was obviously attracted to me, but I knew people could be intimate without love.
A bell chiming brings me out of my thoughts as Maddox steps into a familiar bakery.
“You’re back!” Philip, I think his name was, says in delighted surprise. “Hey, Erica! The wolves are back!” he yells over his shoulder.
Maddox gently places me on my feet then pulls me in front of him, wrapping his arms around me and securing my back to his chest. Hunter steps up to our right and grabs my hand as my free one moves to hold Maddox’s forearm over my chest.
Erica pushes through the door from the kitchen, her eyebrows lifting in surprise when she sees me.
A grin slowly spreads on her face, and she moves to lean on the counter beside Philip. “You’re the red wolf,” she says with a grin.
I nod, feeling shy, and watch as her eyes soften. She takes in my appearance, and I wonder what she thinks, seeing me standing here in nothing but Maddox’s T-shirt as I cling to them.
“I’m Erica,” she says, looking directly at me. “It’s nice to meet you…”
“Cherry,” I tell her, and she smiles.
“Cherry? Oh my Goddess, that’s adorable! It suits you.” She looks at the man beside her and says, “Hey Philip, why don’t you show the guys today’s features? I want to show Cherry something upstairs.”
“She doesn’t leave my sight,” Maddox says, holding me closer.
“You can go too,” Philip says, looking unbothered by Maddox’s protection. “Zack is in the kitchen. He’ll go up with you as well.”
I’m not sure what Erica wants to show me, but I get a really good vibe from her. And if Starfall Haven is to be my new home, then maybe it’s time I started making friends.
I turn in Maddox’s arms and look up at him as I ask, “Can we go, alpha?” I’m not sure why I tag that on at the end, but it feels right.
I see his eyes shine with what I think is approval, whether it’s because I asked for approval or because I called him alpha, I’m not sure. Either way, he nods before looking at my other mates and nodding. I assume they’re speaking through the pack bond.
He unwraps his arms from around me and takes my hand from Hunter as he leads me around the counter to follow Erica into the back. After a few steps, I stumble, so Maddox winds an arm around my back to help support me.
“Hey, guys,” Zack says, wiping his hands on his apron before taking it off. “I’m Zack.”
“Maddox,” he says with a nod of his head before gesturing to me. “This is my mate, Cherry.”
“It’s nice to officially meet you both,” he says with a grin as he opens a door that leads to a narrow set of stairs going up. He goes first, then Erica, then me and Maddox. He keeps both hands on my hips, practically lifting me up each step.
I want to tell him he’s being ridiculous, but my legs feel surprisingly unsteady. I try to recall if they’ve done this before and realize I haven’t actually stood on my feet much in my human form. I’ve always been sitting.
Have I forgotten how to walk?
At the top, we step into a surprisingly large living room where a man I don’t recognize is sitting on the couch, leaning over the coffee table that’s covered in strange ingredients.
“This is my other mate, Jon,” Erica says, gesturing to the man. He looks up in surprise then quickly stands, pushing his black-rimmed glasses up his nose and giving us an awkward wave. “Jon, this is Maddox and his mate Cherry. They’re the wolf shifters we met the other day.”
“Oh!” he says, sounding surprised as his eyebrows raise up his forehead.
“I just wanted to show Cherry something in here.” Erica opens a door off to the left, revealing a large bedroom. She looks at Maddox as she asks, “You aren’t going to let her go in there alone with me, are you?”
“Not a chance,” he grumbles as he pulls me back to his side.
“That’s fine. You can stand in the open doorway.” She steps inside and moves over to the window as she gestures for me to follow. “Cherry, come stand with me here.”
I try to take a step, but Maddox pulls me back. “What is this?” he asks.
Erica levels him with a stare as she explains, “Look, I promise I’m not going to hurt her or lay a hand on her. But I need to place a bubble of silence around us to tell her what she needs to know.”
“You can tell us both,” he says, holding me a little tighter.
“What I have to say is for her ears only. But if she chooses to tell you later, that’s up to her.” He doesn’t respond, and she huffs out a breath. “We’re gonna be right here. She’ll never leave your sight.”
Turning to Maddox, I ask, “Please? I want to know what she has to say. It could be important.”
He sighs, reaching out to gently grasp my chin and tilt my face up to him as he lowers his face to mine and kisses me. It’s brief, but it still sends butterflies chirping in my chest.
When he pulls back, I stare up at him, speechless, until he grasps me under my arms and lifts me off my feet. A squeak of surprise escapes me as he carries me into the room and sets me down in front of an amused Erica.
I place my hand on the window ledge for support, and he nods before moving back to lean against the doorway.
“One second, let me cast the spell for the silence bubble.” I watch in fascination as Erica holds her hands in front of her and starts to whisper a few words. Then she raises her hands over her head in a large arch, dropping them at her sides.
Then she gives me a big, friendly smile. “Much better. Now we can talk without them overhearing.” She gestures her thumb toward the door where Maddox and Zack are watching us.
“They can’t hear us?” I ask in surprise.
“Nope,” she says with a grin before leaning against the window frame. “Now, the first thing I have to ask you is, are you okay? Maddox or the others haven’t hurt you or aren’t holding you against your will or anything, are they?” she asks, sounding much more serious.
“What?” I gasp in shock. “No! Of course not! They’re my mates!”
She smiles again as if that was the answer she had hoped for. “So all five of them are your fated mates? I mean, you guys said as much last time, but I wasn’t sure.”
I open my mouth to respond then realize that maybe we weren’t supposed to tell anyone. My eyes flick to Maddox, but she rushes to reassure me, “Cherry, it’s okay. I have three mates, myself.”
I lick my lips, feeling a little nervous as I whisper, “Are you an omega?”
“Oh, thank the goddess, you found the book!” she says, looking relieved.
“In the library,” I confirm.
“Does what you read fit?” she asks, serious again. “Are you an omega?”
Admitting it makes me feel anxious, but I don’t feel any malice coming from Erica. I think she genuinely cares. And if she’s one, too, then she’s someone I want in my corner.
I nod my head. “I think so, yes.”
“Me, too,” she admits before glancing at her mate watching us.
“As far as I know, you can’t have multiple mates without being an omega.
Luckily, most people don’t seem to know that.
The information might be sitting there in the library for anyone to read, but it doesn’t mean people are seeking a truth they don’t know they need. ”
“Does it ever bother you?” I ask. “That we’re designed to be weaker and reliant on alphas?” It’s something that’s been nagging at me since Gage read that passage in the book. Not because I hate the label, but because it’s how I feel, and I’m strangely okay with it.
I want my mates to take care of me. I like knowing they’ll protect me.
“Look, that information was written a long time ago, in a time when women didn’t have jobs and were expected to sit at home and raise kids. And just because we need the protection of our alphas doesn’t mean we can’t be strong in our own right.”
“What do you mean?” I ask curiously.
“Well, take me for example. I’m better at casting certain kinds of spells than my mates, even if I couldn’t fight to save my life. And they are stronger for having me.”
“Stronger?” I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.
“Yeah, your mates must have felt it, right? The strength the bond brings?” I shake my head in confusion. Her eyes move to my neck, then her brow pinches. “Don’t wolves secure the mate bond with a bite?”
My hand flies to my neck, hot shame burning through me. It’s not like I haven’t told my mates my stance on completing the bond; it’s something I want more than anything. But apparently, they aren’t ready for it yet.
Remembering the way Maddox ignored the whole ‘love’ comment earlier, and his reluctance to bond, a knot of worry grows in my chest. I glance at him quickly before I ask her, “Is it possible for alphas to care for an omega without wanting to actually mate with her?”
Her frown only increases as she tries to understand my question. “Are you saying you haven’t completed the bond with any of your mates?” she asks in confusion. I shake my head. “Did you just meet or something? What’s wrong with them?”
“It’s a little complicated,” I tell her, not wanting her to think badly of them. “I’ve been stuck in my wolf form until, like, a few days ago.”
Her eyebrows disappear behind her bands as she swears. “No shit!”
“Yes, shit,” I say, nodding my head, and for some reason, that has her laughing loudly.
“I like you, Cherry,” she says with a grin. “I feel like there is a long story there.”
“There is. I don’t suppose the not shifting thing has anything to do with being an omega?” I ask with a grimace.
“Not that I know of. My powers worked fine before I met my mates.” She glances at my T-shirt and lack of pants and shoes before asking, “Is that why you’re just wearing his shirt?” she asks. “Did you just shift?”
“Yeah, down the street. We ran into this woman, Juliet, from our old pack. I guess she’s moving here too.”
“Let me guess, she said something about one of your mates, and you flipped out and shifted?”
“Yes!” I say, my eyes widening with surprise. “How did you know?”
“Alphas are insanely possessive, territorial, and, well, obsessive over their omega. But us? We get insanely jealous. Mostly around unbonded women.”
“It’s not a wolf thing?” I ask her and she shakes her head.
“It’s possible it’s a wolf thing too. So maybe it’s worse for you.” She turns around and pulls open a drawer on her dresser, grabs something, and passes it to me. “Here, you can keep these.”
I take them and realize they’re shorts. “Thank you,” I tell her, surprised by the kind gesture as I lean over to slip them on.
I hear Maddox growl, followed by Zach yelling, “I wasn’t looking! I swear!”
“We can hear them?” I ask as I quickly pull them up, trying to keep my privates hidden as I do so.
“Yeah, the spell is one-way, for safety.” She glances at my feet and tilts her head in thought. “Your feet are way smaller than mine, so my shoes won’t be much help.” She taps her lips then adds, “I guess we could pad them out with socks?”
“That’s okay,” I tell her as I pull Maddox’s giant shirt down, realizing it covers the shorts, making me look like I’m still not wearing anything under. “You’ve already helped me so much.”
“Can I?” she asks, pointing to my shirt. Frowning, I nod, unsure what she’s going to do. She steps closer and grabs the hem of the T-shirt, pulling the extra length to the side and tying it in a knot. “I’d offer you one of my shirts to wear, but I don’t think your guys would like that.”
“This is great. Thank you, Erica.”
“Can I give you my number?” she asks.
“Number?” I ask, not understanding.
“Yeah, my phone number. So you can call me if you have any questions, or if you just want to hang out. There is one other omega in town, Lexi. She’s a lion shifter. The three of us should go out for a drink sometime.”
“Okay,” I say, excitement bubbling in my chest. “Does this make us friends?” I ask hopefully.
She laughs and nods. “You’re adorable. Yes, it makes us friends. Where’s your phone? I’ll put my number in it.”
“Oh.” I glance at Maddox, and Erica claps her hands together, making me jump in surprise.
“He can hear you now,” she tells me.
“Maddox, do I have a phone?”