Page 18 of Freed

Her unusually red fur, how she loves lying by the fire, the smoky tint to her scent, the way she can literally come back to life, and now, the way her tears just healed me.

“Cherry,” I whisper, my heart growing stronger by the second. “You’re not just a wolf shifter.”

“I know,” she says, with a soft smile as she clutches my hand and wipes the tears from her cheeks. “I’m an omega.”

I slowly shake my head. “No, I mean, you’re a hybrid.”

She frowns at me, clearly not understanding, and I pull my hand from hers, pressing it to her cheek as I explain, “Cherry. You’re a phoenix.”

Her eyes widen as she stares at me, clearly stunned into silence.

“A phoenix?” Chase asks in disbelief, and I nod, moving my gaze to my chest as the last bit of skin heals over.

“It makes sense,” Maddox says, nodding. “Why didn’t we figure that out before now? The regeneration makes it so obvious.”

“Because phoenixes are a myth,” Alaric adds, unhelpfully.

“And yet, here she is,” I say, squeezing her hand as I turn back to her.

“Huh, I wonder if dragons are real too,” Chase says and Hunter laughs.

“Of course they aren’t. We would have seen them flying around if they were. They’re far too big to stay hidden for hundreds of years.”

“Gage,” Cherry asks tentatively. “How do you feel?”

I guess she’s going to ignore that little revelation for now…

I rub my hand over my chest, smearing my blood. The wound is completely gone, the pain along with it. “Good,” I say, sitting up. “All healed, thanks to you.”

Her eyes grow glossy, then she launches herself at me. I catch her with an “Omph!” as she straddles my lap, pressing her face into the crook of my neck. I inhale her sweet scent, letting it soothe my wolf and me as I hold her tight.

“I’m okay,” I tell her. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

She sniffles as she pulls back and shakes her head. “Our mate bond,” she says, holding up her hand. “It’s gone.”

Gently, I take her hand and turn it over, seeing only smooth skin where my mating mark should be. Somehow, even though I felt the bond was severed, I’d hoped she somehow would still bear my mark. Seeing it gone guts me.

Looking into her beautiful blue eyes, I can see how devastated she is. It’s mirrored in me. But I don’t want to scare her, so I pull her wrist to my mouth and kiss it. “Then I’ll just give you another one.”

“But wolves don’t get second chances at bonds.”

“Where you’re concerned, there doesn’t seem to be a rulebook to follow,” I tell her. “I promise we’ll figure this out. Besides…” I tilt my head and pull my shirt down a little to show her the place where she bit me.

She gasps. “My mark is still on you!”

I nod as I smile at her. “Yep. I’m still yours, Cherry.”

She looks at me with those big blue eyes filled with hope as she whispers, “I love you.” Then she presses her lips to mine for a far too brief kiss.

I pull her back in for another hug, grateful to finally be holding her again. “I love you, my sweet little Cherry.” I look around and see the others all exchanging restless glances.

I glance at where Alaric and Philip were kneeling and frown. “Where’d the others go?”

“They are rounding up all our prisoners so we can… deal with them,” Maddox tells me.

Right. We’re still in the middle of the facility. Not only do we have to deal with all the guards, but I haven’t even had a chance to make sure Cherry is actually okay.

Pulling back, I cup her face as I look it over and ask, “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”