Page 56 of Claimed

“I like you, Cherry,” she says with a grin. “I feel like there is a long story there.”

“There is. I don’t suppose the not shifting thing has anything to do with being an omega?” I ask with a grimace.

“Not that I know of. My powers worked fine before I met my mates.” She glances at my T-shirt and lack of pants and shoes before asking, “Is that why you’re just wearing his shirt?” she asks. “Did you just shift?”

“Yeah, down the street. We ran into this woman, Juliet, from our old pack. I guess she’s moving here too.”

“Let me guess, she said something about one of your mates, and you flipped out and shifted?”

“Yes!” I say, my eyes widening with surprise. “How did you know?”

“Alphas are insanely possessive, territorial, and, well, obsessive over their omega. But us? We get insanely jealous. Mostly around unbonded women.”

“It’s not a wolf thing?” I ask her and she shakes her head.

“It’s possible it’s a wolf thing too. So maybe it’s worse for you.” She turns around and pulls open a drawer on her dresser, grabs something, and passes it to me. “Here, you can keep these.”

I take them and realize they’re shorts. “Thank you,” I tell her, surprised by the kind gesture as I lean over to slip them on.

I hear Maddox growl, followed by Zach yelling, “I wasn’t looking! I swear!”

“We can hear them?” I ask as I quickly pull them up, trying to keep my privates hidden as I do so.

“Yeah, the spell is one-way, for safety.” She glances at my feet and tilts her head in thought. “Your feet are way smaller than mine, so my shoes won’t be much help.” She taps her lips then adds, “I guess we could pad them out with socks?”

“That’s okay,” I tell her as I pull Maddox’s giant shirt down, realizing it covers the shorts, making me look like I’m still not wearing anything under. “You’ve already helped me so much.”

“Can I?” she asks, pointing to my shirt. Frowning, I nod, unsure what she’s going to do. She steps closer and grabs the hem of the T-shirt, pulling the extra length to the side and tying it in a knot. “I’d offer you one of my shirts to wear, but I don’t think your guys would like that.”

“This is great. Thank you, Erica.”

“Can I give you my number?” she asks.

“Number?” I ask, not understanding.

“Yeah, my phone number. So you can call me if you have any questions, or if you just want to hang out. There is one other omega in town, Lexi. She’s a lion shifter. The three of us should go out for a drink sometime.”

“Okay,” I say, excitement bubbling in my chest. “Does this make us friends?” I ask hopefully.

She laughs and nods. “You’re adorable. Yes, it makes us friends. Where’s your phone? I’ll put my number in it.”

“Oh.” I glance at Maddox, and Erica claps her hands together, making me jump in surprise.

“He can hear you now,” she tells me.

“Maddox, do I have a phone?”

Chapter 21

Bain

“This place reeks,” Chase says from my side as we step inside Mickey’s, the bar where Cody said he can sometimes be found.

“Let’s make this quick.” I step forward and start scanning the few patrons.

I hate being away from Cherry, but she has the other three with her, and I didn’t get any bad vibes from the warlocks or the witch. Still, anything could happen, and I loathe being away from her. But if I’m able to get a lead on where that asshole doctor is, it’ll be worth it.

“There,” Chase says through the bond as he turns and heads toward the bar. I follow behind, letting him take the lead. His natural charisma will get us much further than my bluntness… this time.