11. Cherry
Cherry
As I slowly wake up, the scents of all five of my mates fill my nose and I inhale happily. I feel a warm chest under my cheek and slowly open my eyes.
The first thing I see is my hand, resting on that bare chest, and the smooth skin of my wrist, where a mate bond should be.
A deep pain hits me in the stomach, as if I’ve been punched in the gut, making me groan.
“What’s wrong?” Maddox asks with worry, and I tilt my head up to him, realizing it’s his chest I’m lying on.
I look into his green eyes as I search inside myself for our bond, but it’s not there. The tightness in my stomach increases.
My eyes fill with tears, and he hauls me up his chest so my face is right in front of his. His hand cups my cheek, his thumb wiping my tears away as he searches my face.
“Sweetheart, tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”
“Our bond,” I say with a sniffle. “It’s really gone.”
He pulls me in tight, hugging me against him as he whispers, “You will always be my mate, Cherry. Bond or not. He can never take that from us.”
I nod against him in silent agreement. No matter what Blaze and Dr. J took from us, they can’t take away how we feel and what we do next.
“Besides,” Maddox whispers as he rubs his hand up and down my back. “I still have your mate bite.” I pull back in surprise and he shows me his neck. Gage had said the same thing, but somehow I forgot.
I run my fingers over the scarred skin as I ask, “Can you feel that?” He nods with a satisfied smile.
That has to be a good sign. Maybe there is a way to mend the bond with some sort of magical spell.
“I need to talk to Erica.”
“You can text her and make arrangements to see her, if you like? I know she’s been waiting for you to message her.” She has?
“Is she awake?” Chase asks as my bedroom door is pushed open.
“She’s up,” Maddox says as he helps me sit up.
Glancing down, I realize I’m in a clean T-shirt, one of Bain’s, if I’m not mistaken, and nothing else. They must have changed me when we got home.
I must have really been out of it because I don’t remember much of the car ride either.
“How long have we been home?” I ask as I stretch my arms over my head.
“Two days,” Gage says, entering after Chase as his eyes scan my body.
“Two days?” I ask in shock as Gage steps over and leans down to kiss my forehead before rubbing his thumb along my cheek in a gentle caress.
“Yeah, and you better get out to the kitchen and eat before Bain comes in here and force feeds you,” Chase says with a grin.
His lighthearted attitude is exactly what I need right now, and the need to be closer to him forces me to reach out my arms to him as I ask, “Will you carry me?”
His eyes light up just the way I hoped they would, and he springs toward me, scooping me up and marching me toward the kitchen. “With pleasure, m’lady!”
I lean my cheek against his chest, enjoying being close to him as he announces my entrance. “Presenting the love of our lives, the keeper of our hearts, our mate, Cherry!”
Bain and Hunter turn to watch as we enter the kitchen. Hunter hurries over to give me a quick kiss before asking, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay,” I tell him, unsure how to describe how I feel right now.
The clanging of a plate being set down on the table has me turning to where Bain is setting down an enormous plate of food.
He must be hungry.
He takes a seat, but instead of turning toward the table, he motions toward me. “Bring her here,” he tells Chase, who easily passes me over.
Once I’m sitting on Bain’s lap, he turns us toward the table and picks up his fork, stabbing a piece of breakfast sausage and holding it out toward me.
“I can’t eat all that!” I exclaim, looking at the large plate full of food.
“Open,” he commands, and I do as he instructs, letting him feed me the bite of sausage.
He doesn’t address my concern; instead, he keeps feeding me as the others come to take their seats around us.
I guess they’re not eating. A quick glance at the clock tells me it’s ten a.m. I guess they already had breakfast.
“Has anything happened while I was… asleep?” I ask.
“We’ve been talking with Philip and his coven, getting their help on some protection and defensive spells,” Maddox says, making me glance at him in surprise.
“Erica’s coven?”
“Yes, they’ve been really helpful. Finn also said they’re willing to help anyway they can.”
It’s been a long time since I’ve had people I could count on. I’ve never had friends outside of my sisters, so knowing these people we’ve only known for a matter of a week are willing to repeatedly put their necks out on a limb for us is a little overwhelming.
“Our stuff from Nebraska arrived,” Gage says, changing the subject.
I swallow my mouthful of eggs before I ask, “Oh, that must be nice, to have all your stuff again?”
“I’m happy to have some more clothes,” Chase says as he glances down at his white shirt with a motorcycle on it.
“Does that mean the vehicles arrived too?” I ask.
“Yep,” Hunter says with a nod. “Even our bikes.”
“Will you show them to me?” I ask, curious to know more about something Hunter and Chase enjoy so much.
“Of course. We can even take you out for a ride if you’re feeling up to it.”
I feel my eyes widen in excitement, but I quickly glance at Maddox, as if wanting his approval. He gives me a small nod and I smile at the twins. “I’d love that, after I take a shower and get dressed?”
“Would you like me to help you?” Maddox says, making my gaze snap back to his. “You’re still recovering,” he reminds me. Licking my lips, I nod in agreement before Bain offers me another bite of food.
I am still feeling a bit tired, and I’m not sure how to feel about our missing bond. Will sex still feel the same with him? I can’t imagine it’s as good without it, but this is Maddox I’m talking about… It can’t possibly be anything but spectacular.
Even now, the way he’s staring at me as I eat has my cheeks heating.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a phone, passing it over to me. Taking it, I realize it’s mine.
“If you like, you can give Erica a call before we get you cleaned up.”
I nod, glancing down at my phone as I find her in my contacts and hit call.
She answers after two rings, her voice worried. “Cherry?”
“Hi, Erica.”
“Oh my Goddess, girl! I’ve been worried sick about you!” she says, sounding genuinely relieved.
“You have?” I ask, my eyes moving to Maddox, who nods.
“Of course I have! How are you feeling? Your guys said it’s normal for you to need a few days to recover after what happened.”
“Yeah, I, um… I’m feeling better. Just tired.”
Bain sets the fork down and wraps his arms around me a little tighter, resting his cheek against the top of my head. I place one hand over his on my abdomen as I listen to her response.
“I’m glad. I think we are long overdue for that coffee date, with Lexi. If you’re up for it?”
I glance at Maddox again, who nods, making me smile as I reply, “I’d like that. And I’d really like to meet Lexi since her guys helped rescue me.”
“She’s excited to meet you,” she says, surprising me.
“She is?”
“Of course! She and I are the only omegas in town, except for you and my Grandmother.” This was the first time I was hearing about her grandmother but decided to save my questions for our coffee date.
“Okay, well, how does the day after tomorrow sound?” I suggest.
“Perfect! One o’clock at Brewed Awakening. It’s on Main Street.”
“Sounds good,” I tell her.
We say our goodbyes, and I hang up, my eyes glancing around at my guys, feeling a little nervous about my next request.
“I’d like to do something nice for Erica’s coven and Lexi’s pack. To thank them for their help.”
“We could bake them cookies?” Gage suggests, which earns him a worried glance from Chase.
“Everyone enjoys a gift card,” Hunter offers as an option.
“I was thinking of something more personal,” I tell them.
“What about if we throw a pool party?” Maddox suggests.
I look at him and smile. “That’s perfect!” My smile drops as I tell him, “But I’ve never hosted anything before. I have no idea how to do that.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it,” Hunter says easily.
“But I want to help. It’s supposed to be my way of saying thank you.”
“Not just yours,” Bain says, giving me a little squeeze. “They helped our whole pack.”
“But it was me they were rescuing,” I argue.
“And you are part of this pack, are you not?” Maddox asks with an eyebrow raised.
“Yes. But I—”
“Getting you back benefits the entire pack. Helping us was literally the most important thing someone could ever do for us,” Maddox says, cutting me off.
“We’ll need your help planning it,” Hunter says, offering me a reassuring smile. “We’ll split up the tasks between us, and you can offer your input on everything. How does that sound?”
“Thank you,” I say, letting out a small sigh of relief at being able to help.
“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and dressed,” Maddox says as he stands up and moves around to us as Bain pushes our chair back, turning us to face him.
Maddox doesn’t even give me the chance to stand; he just leans down and scoops me up out of Bain’s lap as my arm moves around his neck.
“You know I can walk?” I say in amusement as he carries me down the hall.
“I know,” he says, giving me an amused smirk. “But I prefer this.”
“Me too,” I whisper quietly as I lean my cheek against his chest. He carries me right into my large bathroom and sets me down in front of the toilet.
My cheeks heat as I suddenly realize how bad I need to pee.
“I won’t look, I’ll get the shower ready,” Maddox says, as if sensing my embarrassment. I don’t really want him to listen to me pee, but I also don’t want to be left alone. So when he switches the water on in the shower, I quickly sit down and relieve myself.
Once done, I wash my hands, noticing that there are many more products here than last time. I spin around and see an array of shampoos and soap in the shower.
Those aren’t the only new things. The bath mat and towels are a familiar shade of pink, making me think they are Chase’s doing.