Page 26 of Claimed

A let out a small huff aimed in his direction. It wasn’t jealousy. I just didn’t like him being so close to her, that’s all.

Gage looks at me in surprise. “You were jealous of her?” I shake my head, refusing to reduce what I’m feeling down to something sounding so harmless.

“She doesn’t like any of us being close to other women,” Hunter explains.

“I think it’s adorable,” Chase says. I pretend to accidentally step on his foot, but that just makes him laugh.

“I think it’s time Cherry and I work on her shifting,” Maddox says, changing the subject. “Chase and Gage, you want to grab some takeout and bring it back to the room?”

“On it, boss!” Chase says, excitedly rubbing his hands together before slinging an arm around Gage’s shoulder and leading him across the street to the diner.

Maddox leads the rest of us back to our hotel room, where I jump up on the bed, eager to get started.

He pulls a chair up to sit right in front of me as Bain and Hunter sit behind me, on the other side of the bed, watching us with interest but making sure they are far enough away not to cause a distraction.

Maddox rests his elbows on his knees as he asks, “Is your magic any different from yesterday?” I nod excitedly.

“Yes? Is it bigger?” I nod again. “Excellent. Why don’t you try shifting on your own first?”

“Wait!” Hunter yells. I watch him jump off the bed and rummage through a bag until he pulls out a T-shirt and comes over and puts it on me. I try to smile at him in appreciation. I‘d actually forgotten about the whole naked thing again.

“Much better,” he says before kissing the top of my head and resuming his seat behind me somewhere.

“Okay, whenever you’re ready, Cherry,” Maddox says with a nod.

I close my eyes and reach for the magic. Pretty quickly, I realize it’s not going to work. It’s like trying to hold on to sand, slipping through my grasp over and over.

After a minute, I give up and open my eyes, shaking my head at Maddox.

“That’s okay, there are other things we can try.” I tilt my head in question as he starts to explain. “When you try to shift, are you trying to grab your magic and pull it forward?” I nod. “Okay, this time, don’t try to pull it. Instead, try to imagine it growing, slowly rising up and infusing every cell in your body.”

I dip my chin, close my eyes, and try to picture what he’s talking about. I don’t yank on my magic this time; I try to imagine it bubbling up and expanding. For a second, I think it’s working as it seems to shake a little, but nothing else happens. It doesn’t rise or spread.

After several minutes, Maddox speaks, and I open my eyes to look at him. “That’s okay, don’t tire yourself out. I want you to try something else. This time, don’t think about the magic at all. I want you to picture something you like doing in your human body that you can’t do as a wolf.”

Inside, I grin. I stare at his lips, knowing exactly what I like doing most in my human form. I close my eyes and imagine reaching out with my human hands to touch Maddox’s face, to thread my fingers through his hair, and seal my lips over his.

My body starts to feel a little warm, and I wonder if it’s working until Bain swears. “Fuck, bad idea, Maddox.” Then he gets up and moves to the bathroom, shutting the door quietly. I hear the shower start, then turn back to Maddox in question.

He gives me his signature soft smile before he tells me, “That’s okay, sweetheart. We’ll try again tomorrow, yeah?”

“There’s one thing you didn’t try,” Hunter says, but Maddox quickly shakes his head.

“I’m not using my alpha command. You saw the pain it caused her before.”

“But you can ask her permission this time,” Hunter says in explanation.

“I don’t care. I can’t cause her agony like that again, whether she approves of the method or not.”

“Alright, I get it,” Hunter says with a sigh. “Cherry, want to come cuddle while we wait for food?” Hunter asks and I jump up, almost tripping on my shirt as I walk across the bed where he’s stretched out and lie against his side. He gently strokes my back as I rest my head on his arm and close my eyes.

I feel Maddox move to my other side as they sandwich me between them, and their combined scents have me falling into a pleasant sleep in no time.

Chapter 9

Gage

“We can’t live in either of those houses,” Chase says as we pull onto the road and follow Peggy’s purple Mazda down the street.