26. Cherry
Cherry
Standing in my bedroom, I stare at myself in the mirror.
I’ve seen myself in my human form several times now, but standing in front of a full-length mirror wearing nothing but a new pair of panties and a bra that Chase and Bain bought me feels completely foreign to me.
I place my hands on my hips and realize I have curves.
I definitely didn’t have those when I was fourteen. I’m not even sure I had them two months ago. Thanks to being well fed and taken care of by my mates, I think I’m a lot healthier than I was back then.
And happier.
I glance at my closed door and frown.
When Chase and Bain arrived home, they showered me with bags full of clothes and all but shoved me in here and shut the door. Telling me to try everything on.
Didn’t they want me to show them my new clothes? I have a feeling they want to talk to the others without me around. And the only reason I can think of why they’d do that is because they don’t think I can handle what they are discussing.
Which means it’s either about my stalker, Blaze, or about the facility. Did they find another note on our doorstep when they got home?
I don’t want to be treated as a precious treasure—well, at least not all the time. I rummage through the bags for something else to wear.
I can’t help but smile at all the pretty clothes they bought me, my frustration at being left out of their meeting quickly fading to appreciation. Besides their shirts, I haven’t worn real clothes in a decade. I’ve literally never worn any as an adult.
I find a light green dress that I think will look great with my hair and pull it on. It has cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, fitting tight to my body with a slight flare at the hips.
Standing in front of the mirror, I see it comes to mid-thigh. It feels a little short, like if I bend over… I turn around, bend low, and—yep, there’s my ass cheek peeking out. I’ll have to be careful in this one.
I find the bag they said had “hair stuff” in it and dump it out on my bed. Excited to see a hairbrush, clips, headbands, and hair ties. I take my time brushing my hair out, thinking about how I want to try showering soon. Maybe someone could help me…
I pull a chunk of hair from the front of both sides of my face and clip them back together at the back of my head, liking how my face isn’t as covered now.
My eyes move down to the ring hanging around my neck, and I place my hand on it, my heart jumping at the memory of Bain giving it to me while down on one knee.
It’s pretty much the most romantic thing I’ve ever witnessed in real life.
I rummage through the bags for a pair of white socks and white sneakers. I notice all the footwear is practical, and there isn’t a heel in sight. Probably a good idea considering I smashed my head on the glass door this morning.
Glancing at my forehead, there is no trace of the injury. Gage had been right; it was completely gone by the time we finished breakfast. My embarrassment from tripping on nothing took a little longer to dissipate.
Turning back and forth in the mirror, watching my skirt twirl, I’m pleased with my new look and decide to go find my mates. Now that I’m human, it's time I start using my voice.
It’s not hard to find them all leaning on the kitchen counter, exchanging low, heated words.
“Hello mates,” I say loudly as I step into the room, my hands clenched behind my back as nerves fill me. Will they like the way I look in these clothes?
Everyone stops talking as they all turn to me. I freeze in place as their eyes roam over me, taking in my appearance.
“Is this okay?” I ask when nobody speaks.
“Baby girl,” Hunter says, the first to step toward me as a smile spreads across his face. “You look fantastic.” He grabs my hand and lifts it. “Twirl for me.”
I do a quick spin, and several growls ring out from the kitchen. I glance over and see Bain shaking his head. “You’re not wearing that in public.”
I press my lips together, trying to hide my smile before I tell him, “You bought this for me.”
He nods as he moves closer. “So I can see you in it. Nobody else can, unless you’re wearing pants under it.”
My hand flies to smooth the dress over my ass as he steps up in front of me. “Did-Did you see my butt?” I whisper.
His lip twitches as his hand reaches out to touch the ring hanging at my chest. His finger trails up my neck, tilting my chin up toward him as he leans down and presses his lips to mine, in the briefest teasing of a kiss. Then his lips move toward my ear and he whispers, “Yes.”
It takes me a second to remember what I asked and my cheeks heat. He grins proudly and steps away.
Hunter pulls me to his side and guides us further into the kitchen, where the others are still staring at me.
“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” Maddox says with a soft smile.
“Hot as hell,” Chase says with a grin, making me blush as I smile back at him in thanks.
“That color suits you,” Gage says, his eyes still roaming up and down my body.
I lean on the counter as I glance around at them. I clear my throat before asking, “So, what are we all talking about?”
They all start to exchange nervous glances, and I slam my palm down on the counter.
“Nope.” I shake my head. “No talking through the bond without me.”
I give them each my best attempt at a glare as I explain, “When I was stuck as a wolf, I couldn’t speak up for myself. But now that I can, and I’m part of the pack bond, you have to stop leaving me out all the time.”
“Baby,” Hunter says, his arm squeezing me to his side. “We aren’t leaving you out. We just don’t want to upset you.”
“Do you think I’m fragile?” I ask, turning to him. “Do you think if I hear what you’re talking about that I’ll crumble and freak out?” I glance at Maddox as I ask, “Is this because of my nightmare the other day?”
“No,” he says, shaking his head. “To all of your questions. Don’t mistake our need to protect you for thinking you’re weak.”
“Don’t use protection as an excuse to keep me in the dark,” I fire back.
His lips press in a thin line before he nods. “You’re right.” He looks at Chase as he tells him, “Would you like to fill her in on what you found?”
I turn to Chase, who’s leaning on the island to my left and wait as he looks me over and gathers his thoughts. “Bain and I have been trying to track down Dr. J.” My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. I nod, encouraging him to go on, even though my stomach tightens at the mention of him.
Bain, who’s standing between us on my left, places his hand on my lower back and starts to rub small circles there. I remember he can feel my emotions through the bond, and I’m just happy he’s not stopping Chase from filling me in.
“Earlier today, we met with a fox shifter named Finn,” Chase continues. “He was captured by a facility, like yours.”
“We don’t think it was the same one you were at,” Bain adds quickly, probably sensing my heart rate picking up.
“He said the man who experimented on them was called Dr. Arnold Hammond.”
“Did you ever hear that name mentioned?” Bain asks and I shake my head.
“When Finn escaped, he killed Hammond.”
I lick my lips as I ask, “How does any of this help you find Dr. J?”
Chase glances at Bain quickly before he continues. “While Finn and his mate—”
“His mate was in there too?” I ask in surprise horror. “What did they do to her?”
“It seems Hammond was interested in their ability to heal and pushed that to its limits. But he never killed them.”
I nod, looking down at my hands. So just me then.
Hunter places his hand over mine as he whispers, “There’s still a lot we don’t know about these facilities.” I realize I said that last bit through the bond, and I nod, unsure what else to say.
“So while Finn was being held captive, he sometimes overheard the guards speaking about other facilities and doctors. No locations, but he did hear a few names.” That gets my attention, and I look at Chase as I flip my hand over and squeeze Hunter’s.
“Tell me,” I beg.
“One name he remembers was Dr. Jahan Jovanek,” Chase watches me for a reaction as the name tumbles around my mind. Have I heard that before? All I ever remember anyone ever calling him was Dr. J.
“Did he say anything else about him?” I ask.
“He never saw him, but it sounded like he worked at a different facility, one where they conducted different sorts of experiments.”
I inhale deeply through my nose as Bain keeps rubbing my lower back and Hunter squeezes my hand.
“There’s one other thing,” Chase says and I glance at him in question. “Finn is a hybrid. He’s a fox shifter, but he’s also half vampire.”
My chin drops open in shock. I’m not even sure what part of that statement to ask about first. “Did-Did Hammond do that to him?” I ask nervously, thinking of what Dr. J did to me.
But he shakes his head. “No, he was born that way. Apparently, his mom is a fox shifter, and his dad’s a vampire.”
“Vampires can have children?” I ask in surprise. “Aren’t they like… dead?”
“No,” Gage says, giving me a small smile. “That’s a myth. They are very much alive, just very long-lived. They don’t age. And although there are ways to kill them, old age isn’t one of them.”
Shifters have long lives, but they aren’t limitless. I glance around at my guys and suddenly realize what my immortality means. Eventually, I’ll have to watch each of my mates grow old and die. And if I’m immortal, I’ll be left alone.
“Cherry?” Maddox asks, his concerned eyes boring into mine. I know he can sense my heartache and worry, but I shake my head, not wanting to get into it now.
Wanting to distract myself, I turn to Chase and ask, “Is Finn’s mate a hybrid too?”
He shakes his head. “No, Lexi is a lioness shifter.”
“Lexi?” I ask in surprise. “She’s an omega!”
“How do you know that?” he asks in confusion.
“Erica told me. She said her and Lexi are the only omegas in town, well, besides me now.”
Chase glances at Bain and nods. “That makes sense. He mentioned her meeting her other mate, but I didn’t want to ask in case he didn’t know about omegas yet.”
“Is this a coincidence?” Hunter asks, looking around at the others. “Two facilities, two omegas?”
“If they knew, they never used that word around me,” I tell them.
“We can’t rule it out, but I’m not sure it helps us make a plan,” Gage says, his fingers strumming on the counter.
“So what do we do now?” I ask, scanning their faces as they exchange glances.
“Gage is going to do some research on Jovanek,” Maddox explains. “If we can find him…”
“We kill him,” Bain finishes for him. I look up at him and thread my arm around his back and press my body into his side.
“Thank you,” I tell him before making eye contact with everyone else. “All of you, thank you. You don’t have to do this. I think we’re safe from him here, but I appreciate you wanting to remove that threat.”
“It’s not just that he’s a threat,” Chase explains. “It’s the fact that he hurt you, and he’s still breathing.”
“Nobody hurts our mate and lives,” Bain grunts out, pulling me against his chest in a full hug.
“Ditto,” I whisper, knowing I’d feel the same if the situation were reversed.