36. Gage
Gage
Bain gently lifts Cherry to her feet then grabs her shoulders as he stares down at her. We all move in, surrounding her as he spins her, our eyes taking in every inch of perfect skin.
Even Cherry is staring down at herself in stunned silence.
“Where did they go?” she asks in confusion.
My mind flashes through everything I’ve read about phoenixes. There isn’t much information since they were assumed to be mythological, so it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s made up.
But my brain comes to a halt as I remember that she shifted into a phoenix.
“I think shifting somehow cleansed your body,” I tell her.
“But why now? Why not when I died?”
I shake my head. “Some questions don’t have answers.”
She looks at me in surprise. “Really? You are going to just let that go, not search for the reason behind it?”
I smile at her then pull her firmly against me in a tight embrace. “Some things are better left a mystery. And some blessings you don’t question.”
Seeing her skin free of the marks really is a blessing.
And not because she looks better without them, but because they were a visual representation of every time she was tortured.
And if they hadn’t mysteriously vanished, I’m sure she would have been able to eventually look at them without remembering what happened.
Perhaps one day we would all be able to do that. But now, we don’t have to.
Now, she is free to move on with her life without being reminded about those ten torturous years every time she looks in the mirror.
“We should get home and make sure all our friends are okay,” Maddox says, which has Cherry gasping.
“Oh no! I hope they’re all okay.”
“Don’t worry, little wolf,” Maddox says as he lifts her up against his chest, her arms and legs circling him as he starts heading back to our house. “Finn could probably kill all those rogues on his own in a matter of minutes.”
We start to walk silently through the forest as we make our way home, but after a few minutes, Maddox speaks. “Bain, Gage, why don’t you two shift and run ahead to make sure the coast is clear and check on the others?”
“I can shift, too, so we can run,” Cherry says, surprising him.
I grin at her, feeling proud to call her my mate. She’s gained so much strength since the day we found her in the cave, malnourished and on the brink of death. She just ran for miles from her deranged stalker, shifted into a new form, twice, healed Chase, and still she hasn’t crashed yet.
“Are you sure?” Maddox asks her.
She nods. “Yep.” She wiggles, unhooking her legs, and he sets her down. Instantly, she shifts into her wolf form, letting out a happy yip as she starts circling us.
Within seconds, we’ve all shifted, and Maddox leads the way back home. It saves us a lot of time being in our wolf forms, but it still takes over half an hour. We traveled pretty far in the chase.
As we break through the treeline, the only people I see standing are our friends, who immediately turn in our direction, pushing the women behind them.
When they realize we aren’t rogues, the tension fades from them. I move ahead, toward our box of spare clothes on the back deck, quickly shifting and pulling on a pair of sweatpants before grabbing pants for the other guys and tossing them at each of them as they shift.
I grab a shirt and pants for Cherry and open the back door, beckoning her inside.
As soon as I shut the door, she shifts, and I pull the T-shirt over her head, not wanting anyone but her mates to see her naked.
She grins down at me as I kneel before her, holding her joggers open for her to step into. She holds my shoulders as she whispers, “Thank you, Gage.” Then, as they are halfway up her legs, she leans forward and kisses me, pulling back before I can respond.
I finish pulling them up her legs, standing as I go. Then, once she’s fully clothed, I step closer, forcing her to back up until her butt is pressed against the kitchen island, then I place my hands on either side of her on the countertop and lean in.
Her breath hitches and her cheeks grow red, making me grin.
“I love that you still have such a visual reaction to me,” I tell her as my lips move to hers, but then I twist to the side right before they make contact, making a soft gasp of surprise escape her. I do it again, loving how desperate she feels right now.
I press closer, eliminating all space between us as my hands find her hips, my lips hovering above hers.
“Gage! Stop fooling around and get out here!” Maddox calls, making me grin, my lips ghosting across hers.
“You heard the boss,” I say with a grin. Then I grab her hand and pull her outside after me. She gives an indignant huff, so I tell her through the bond, “Later, little omega.”
She bites her lip, her cheeks turning even more red, making me laugh.
But that humor dies when we step outside, and I find several strangers standing there.