Page 33 of Claimed

Cherry

“Ican’t believe you made this happen so quickly,” Chase says as he runs his hands along the top of the couch. “That must be the fastest closing ever.”

“I think things work a little differently here,” Gage tells him as he moves to check out the massive fireplace. “And since I paid in cash, we didn’t need to wait for the banks or anything like that. The sellers were motivated to close quickly since they’ve apparently been in a new home for a couple of months now.”

“You did a great job,” Maddox says, nodding his head at Gage. “I’m happy to have more space. Those hotel rooms were cramped.”

“Can you guys email me a list of any furniture you still want from Nebraska?” Gage asks. “I’ll ‌have the movers bring that along with all our boxed items and vehicles.”

Apparently, after they hit up the library, got an account set up, and took out a dozen books, Gage and Hunter went to Starfall Motors and arranged to have all of their vehicles driven here by their crew. It was expensive, but cheaper than buying new vehicles.

“Chase, can you organize getting us some food?” Maddox asks after opening the fridge and seeing it completely empty. “We’ll need all the basics, too, like condiments, spices, and drinks.”

“I’m on it!” Chase says before jumping over the back of the couch and pulling out his phone as he gets comfortable.

Maddox closes the fridge and turns to Bain. “How about you and Hunter check out the security of this place? Order whatever you need to get it up to our standards.”

Bain nods. “I’ve already taken note of several cameras. I just need to figure out their system and see what we’re working with.”

“The security system is one of the reasons I love this place,” Hunter says with a nod. “Let’s go to the office. I think that’s where the feeds lead.” He gestures for Bain to follow him toward the office.

Maddox glances at Gage and Chase, busy on their phones, then turns to me, where I’m sitting in the middle of the living room, watching him curiously.

“You want to pick your bedroom?” he asks, and I tilt my head in interest. As exciting as that is, is he implying it will be only my room? Because I want them all with me.

He beckons me to follow him toward the hallway that leads to all the bedrooms. We take our time going through each one. They are all huge, and I get the feeling large shifters must have lived here before. Each has its own ensuite, and they are all pretty equal.

Except for the one in the middle of the hall. It has a large bay window with a view of the backyard and the forest beyond. It’s also decorated the most feminine of them all, with soft pinks and purples. But what draws me here most is the gigantic bed, at least the size of two kings pushed together. Bigger than anything I’ve slept in by far. I could see it easily fitting all of us.

“You like this one?” Maddox asks with a smile, and I bark, then jump up on the bed and make a few circles before lying down in the middle. He laughs. “I take that as a yes.”

I want him to join me, so I roll over, giving him my belly, and he takes the bait, moving to sit beside me and gently stroking his hand through my fur.

“I think we could be really happy here,” he says quietly. I look at him, wondering what he’s thinking. “We’re going to figure this out.” He gives me a tight smile, then continues. “We’ll have you shifting in no time, just you wait and see. I have a good feeling about this place.”

I wiggle closer so I can press my head against his thigh, and his smile grows warmer. I hope he understands what I’m saying. That I hope for that too.

As the sun shines down on my fur, drying me after my time in the pool, I let out a long sigh of contentment. Bain shifts beside me, his large wolf pressing against my back as I lie on my side.

After he and Maddox continued my swimming lessons, he brought me over to the grass where we could watch the twins splash each other in the pool while also getting a good view of the forest beyond. He shifted and lay with me while we let the warm sun dry out my wet coat.

Gage is inside, likely still with his face buried in a book. He’s been like that since we got settled in our new home yesterday. My new bed is so comfortable that I fell asleep before he made it up. When I woke up this morning, he was already in the living room, reading again. The only reason I knew he’d come to bed was because I could smell his scent on me, which means he was snuggling me at some point during the night.

As much as I like shifting to my human form, I know it’s a pain for them, and those library books have Gage fully enthralled. I’m not about to distract him from his research. Especially since I know he’s doing it for me.

Movement in the forest has me sitting up, my heart thumping wildly in my chest.

Maddox, who’s sitting on my other side, runs his hand down my back, trying to soothe me. “It’s okay, Cherry. That’s just the neighbor.”

I look at him in question and he explains. “I met them this morning.” He points at the house to the left of us. “The couple that lives there, Leonard and Janet, are black jaguar shifters, and they have a teenage son, Craig. I think it was him we just saw.

My body relaxes, realizing there’s no threat, and I lean against him, letting him wrap his arm around me. Secretly, I hope some of his scent transfers to me. All of their scents help to relax me, and if I spend too long without touching them, and the scent fades, I start to get a little anxious.

It’s a strange feeling, and I keep forgetting to ask about it when I’m in my human form. I’m also a little nervous to tell them. I already feel like I’ve been overly affectionate with them. I already told them I want to secure our bonds, but they keep telling me we have to wait until I can shift at will.

I’m afraid to ask what happens if that never happens. Part of me thinks I need the completed bonds to give me the strength to shift. Which just puts us at an impasse.

They know I’m ready, though, so I’m trying not to stop myself from literally throwing myself at them, like I did to Bain. I haven’t even kissed my other mates yet, and they haven’t attempted to kiss me. If I’m being honest with myself, it makes me nervous that they don’t want me like that. Like they can’t accept me this way.