21. Cherry
Cherry
Saved by the bell, I think as I ignore their cries to wait as I jog to the front door.
I’m not actually stupid enough to open it without one of them here.
I just wanted an excuse to get away from Bain.
I’m not sure if the thought of children is a pleasant or painful one for him, and I am slightly too chicken to ask.
Especially as I have no idea how I feel about it right now.
I stop by the front door and wait for one of them to catch up as I contemplate the idea of having kids.
The thought of them trying to get me pregnant, filling me with their seed and growing their child, is a surprisingly pleasant one.
But the thought of what comes next… Diapers, sleepless nights, and screaming babies.
I’m definitely not ready for that yet. Even if I do have five men to help me.
“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Maddox asks as he yanks me in for a hug, like he hadn’t seen me in days instead of seconds.
“I wasn’t going to open it,” I tell him.
“Good,” Bain says, stepping around us and yanking the door open. I can’t see who’s there but I see his back grow tense. Worse, I can feel the anger and rage pouring out of him.
“Who is it?” I whisper, hugging Maddox tightly as we wait for Bain to answer.
But he doesn’t, he doesn’t even move. Finally, Chase and Hunter step forward, glancing over his shoulder then physically pulling him back so they can look. Bain lets them move him around, but his hands turn into fists and his gaze snaps to mine.
“Get her out of here.”
“What! Why?” I ask, my eyes moving to see who’s there. “Who is it?”
“Nobody,” he growls as I watch Hunter bend down picking something up off the front step.
He starts to hold it up, his brows pinched as he asks, “What is—” His eyes widen in alarm, flicking to mine as he realizes the same thing I do. “Oh my Goddess, I’m gonna be sick.” He presses it against Chase’s chest as he steps outside and literally vomits into the bushes.
I slap my hand over my own mouth, as my stomach drops. A noise of distress comes from Chase as he stares down at my fur pelt, the one that Dr. J literally cut from my dead body, in his hands.
“Oh fuck,” he groans, his panicked eyes moving around, as if looking for an answer among the others.
Unable to hold it in any longer, I twist from Maddox’s grasp just in time to bend over and throw up all over the floor between us.
Someone pulls my hair back the second I bend over, not letting so much as a strand get dirty. Two large hands rub my back as another one bands around my chest, holding me solid, even though I feel like I’m crumbling.
I can’t believe Blaze would bring that here.
When he had taken me, he kept trying to convince me that we were mates, that we were meant to be together.
But what kind of sick fuck thinks leaving me my own skinned pelt is some sort of romantic gesture?
Because Blaze is messed up, and I am sure that’s what this is.
He isn’t trying to scare me or anger me.
No. He did this because in his sick twisted brain, he thought I would want it back.
Slowly, I stand and reach for it, not wanting any of them to have to touch it, but the four of them yelling “No!” has me snatching my hand back as I’m pulled back into Maddox’s chest.
“I’ll get rid of it,” Bain says, taking it gently from Chase, before he looks at me. “You do want me to get rid of it, right?”
I nod, my stomach flipping and making my hand rise to my mouth again as I close my eyes, afraid I’m going to throw up again.
I hear the door close as Maddox’s arm bands underneath my butt, lifting me up. I wrap my body around him, pressing my face into his neck as I take a few deep breaths as Maddox carries me to my bathroom.
“Sorry,” Hunter says from behind us. I glance over my shoulder, surprised to see it’s only him there.
“Don’t apologize,” I say, reaching my hand out to him. “Where did the other two go?”
“To see if Blaze is still here, and to check the camera feeds.”
“I guess the wards don’t stop him from walking up to the front door and ringing the doorbell, huh?” I ask.
Maddox shakes his head. “No, living in a subdivision like we do, and with all the deliveries, it’s unsafe to others to stop people from approaching the house. Where the wards are most useful is stopping unwanted guests from entering our home.”
He sets me on the counter, then grabs my toothbrush, wetting it and adding toothpaste before passing it to me. I take it, grateful to get the taste out of my mouth as Hunter disappears, presumably to do the same in his bathroom.
Maddox grabs a cloth and gets it wet with cold water then starts to gently wipe my face. I sigh. It feels surprisingly good. When I’m finished brushing and have rinsed, he wipes my mouth last before placing a quick peck there and offering me a small smile.
Then he lifts me up and carries me out to the living room and back to the couch, sitting me sideways as Hunter appears, passing me my water bottle and sitting beside us. He pulls my legs into his lap and grabs the blanket from the back of the couch, pulling it over me.
“Where did this blanket come from?” I ask, realizing it’s my favorite shade of pink. I’ve never noticed it before.
“I’ll give you one guess,” Hunter says with a smirk. Right. Chase.
Hunter puts the TV on to try to distract me, but knowing that Blaze is so close, along with the fact that three of my mates aren’t here, has me fidgeting nervously.
Eventually, they make it back to us, one at a time.
When Gage comes in, he drops down on the floor right in front of me, surprising me. He grabs my hand and pulls it over his shoulder, apparently just wanting to touch me.
“It wasn’t Blaze.”
“What?” Chase asks from Maddox’s other side in confusion.
“He used a courier.”
“That guy just signed his own death warrant,” Chase grumbles.
“Why? He didn’t know,” I say in the man's defense.
Chase levels me with a glare as he grits out. “This is Starfall Haven. The guy who delivered that knew it was an animal pelt. Whether he knew it was from a shifter or not, he should have known better than to deliver it. He only did it because he was probably offered a large sum of money.”
“That can wait until tomorrow,” Maddox says, stroking my side. “I think we should relax for the rest of the day.”
Chase finds the TV remote, and as he lifts it, Bain speaks. “Wait.”
“What is it?” Maddox asks as we look at him in the armchair I’m facing.
“I need answers.”
“What kind of answers?” Maddox asks, but Bain’s eyes stay on me as he speaks.
“I need to know how many and what they’re for.”
I frown, shaking my head slowly in confusion.
“How many what?”
He licks his lips then stands, stalking toward us. Wordlessly, Hunter slides down to the floor to sit beside Gage as Bain takes his place on the couch beside me, his eyes never leaving mine.
Slowly, he reaches out a hand to cup my cheek, and I press my face into his touch. He strokes my cheek, then his hand moves down and back, until his fingers are touching the skin just below my right ear.
“I want to know how many of these there are and how they did it. How they killed you.”
My eyes widen in surprise, realizing he’s touching my heart marks. He wants to know… how I got them? And how many? I’m not even sure I want to know.
“Bain, I don’t think that’s a wise idea,” Hunter warns.
“We can’t ask her to relive that,” Maddox agrees.
“Will it make you feel better? Will knowing help?”
“I want to know what you’ve gone through,” he explains. “You don’t have to go into details. I just need to know. Your pain is my pain.”
“Our pain,” Chase corrects as he squeezes my shoulder from behind me.
“What’s the worst thing they did?” Gage asks.
“Skin me,” I say instantly. The memory of that is still fresh in my mind.
I swear his eyes flash red before he nods. “How many times?”
“Only one other,” I frown, adding, “that I know of.”
“What else?” Bain asks, his eyes boring into me. He looks like he’s on edge, and I worry that hearing this will freak him out.
“You’re sort of losing it,” I say in worry. “I don’t think I should.”
“Please,” Bain begs, his hand coming back to cup my cheek. “I need to know what you’ve been through. It’s killing me that I don't know.”
I nod, deciding to just rip the bandage off. “They burned me, shot me, cut me open, and gutted me. They tried stabbing each organ, one at a time and in different combinations. They gave me different poisons. They cut off my legs a couple times and, uh, they suffocated me.”
They all look murderous, even Gage and Maddox no longer look calm. My gaze bounces between all of them, knowing they won’t hurt me but scared of their reaction nonetheless.
A low growl starts in Bain’s chest, making my eyes widen in surprise. It gets mirrored in Chase as Hunter whispers, “Oh shit.”
The sound of fabric shredding is the first thing I notice. Then it’s the twin growls filling the room. Maddox curses, and I blink, seeing Bain’s large blonde wolf and Chase’s grey one standing where they each used to be sitting.
“What’s happening?” I ask with worry, my gaze pinging between the two wolves on either side of me.
“It’s okay,” Maddox says, giving me a hug of reassurance. “They won’t hurt you.”
I try not to roll my eyes at that statement. “Of course they won’t, they’re my mates.”
“They need to go for a run,” Hunter says, getting up and jogging over to the back door to slide it open. While he’s doing that, I reach out and stroke Bain’s head, marveling at how pretty he is. And huge.
This might be the first time I’ve seen him in wolf form when I’ve been human. Chase starts to press against my side, clearly wanting pets as well, and I chuckle, stroking his head with my free hand as he rubs along my side.
Then, in unison, the two of them turn to the back door and sprint outside.
“They’ll be fine,” Maddox says. “They’re just running off some steam.” But he doesn’t need to tell me that because they both tell me individually through the pack bond.
“Sorry, angel. I need to run to settle my wolf. I won’t be long. Stay indoors.”
“I’ll be back soon, pretty girl. Love you.”
“Love you,” I tell them all through the bond as I settle back against Maddox.
He tucks my head under his chin and holds me tightly. I close my eyes as Hunter and Gage take their seats on either side of us.
Even without speaking of specific events that caused all that pain and torture I went through, I feel a bit raw and unnerved. Being surrounded by them soothes me, and when Maddox’s chest starts to rumble, it helps me even more.
“Are you purring?” Hunter asks, making Maddox stop. I tilt my head up to him, placing my hand on his chest.
“I like it.”
“I read about it in the book,” Gage tells us. “It’s called an alpha purr, and it’s done to soothe your mate.”
I nod as I tell them, “It is soothing.” Instantly, Maddox starts purring again, and I try to snuggle even closer, letting the sound and his scent sink deep inside me. Someone puts on a sitcom on the TV as we settle back on the couch.
Although sleep doesn’t come, I’m just happy to be here with my mates. And if I want to check on Bain and Chase, I just have to look inside to see how they’re feeling. Their anger and rage are starting to lessen now, and that helps me relax even further.
I just hope that we can soon find a way to end Blaze and stop this once and for all. I’m ready to live my happily ever after. And for that to happen, he needs to be out of the picture… for good.