Page 36 of Claimed

“They do say the way to a girl's heart is through chocolate,” I say, shaking my head in surprise.

“I don’t think it was just that,” Gage says as he looks at her like a puzzle he’s trying to solve. “I think it was that in that moment, she had totally let her guard down.”

“She’s let her guard down around us before,” Hunter reasons.

Gage nods. “True, but she told us herself that she’s felt her magic returning lately. Whether it’s this town or… us, it’s clear she’s growing stronger.”

We all watch her as Maddox praises her. “I told you it would come back to you. I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.”

What we hadn’t told her was that the other night in the hotel, when she was in her human form, she had leapt at Bain to hug him, and Maddox had lost his grip on her. But she didn’t shift. We all clocked what happened but decided not to tell her as he placed his hand on her leg, not ready for her to switch back yet.

It just proved that she was gaining the ability back to shift at will. But only when her guard is completely down. Now, more than ever, I have faith that she’ll eventually have full control again.

Selfishly, I hope it’s sooner rather than later. I hate not being bonded to her. The only thing stopping us from completing the bond now is the fact that we don’t want her shifting in the middle of it. She needs to be fully human throughout the entire thing, for several reasons.

My mind flashes back to watching her shift mid-jump. We’ve never seen her standing in her human form before. Although she’s tiny, probably only five foot-one, she’s all woman. The quick glimpse I got of the curve of her hip and her breasts solidified that for me.

My fingers ache to hold her. And not just a hand on her leg or arm, but her entire body, against mine. The image has me adjusting my dick in my pants. A sudden smack on my shoulder jolts me out of my thoughts.

“Knock it off, perv,” Bain says through the bond as he walks past me. He nudges his head in the direction he’s walking. “Come with me.”

I take one last look at Cherry, who’s now resting her head against Maddox’s chest, her eyes closed, and I swear I see a smile on her lips.

Smirking, I turn to follow Bain down the hall and into the office.

“What’s up?” I ask after closing the door behind me.

He paces the room twice before stopping at the window and looking into the yard. “I’m worried about her safety.”

I frown in confusion. “Because she shifted?”

“No, because seeing all those marks on her body just now reminded me that the people who did that to her are still out there.”

My mind flashes back to the trail of death marks across her chest and stomach. “Well, don’t tell her that. She’d be devastated to know that’s what you were thinking,” I tell him as I drop down onto the small sofa and let out a long breath.

“I’m not an idiot,” he says, shaking his head. “But I can’t just sit here and do nothing, knowing that Dr. J guy and his lackeys are out there somewhere, still breathing and possibly searching. For her.”

“What do we do, though? Gage said there is no trace of them online.”

Bain turns to me with a calculated glint in his eyes. “That was before we got to Starfall Haven.”

“You think there is info in those books that can help us?” I ask, gesturing to the closed door, but he shakes his head.

“No, what we need won’t be in there. There are men out there, kidnapping shifters and experimenting on them. Don’t you think someone in this town of supernaturals would have heard about it?”

My eyebrows raise in surprise, and I slowly nod. “You’re right. Our chances of finding someone here who’s heard of them or even had a run-in with them are pretty good.” But then a thought occurs to me and I shake my head. “But I don’t think it will matter. Gage says the facility moves every time someone escapes.”

“That’s why we don’t aim our search at the facility.”

“What do you mean?” I ask in confusion.

“We search for the man behind it. This Dr. J. He probably doesn’t live at the facility, right? He’s probably a real doctor with real credentials. We just have to find out more about him so we can track him down.”

A grin pulls at my lips as the thought of vengeance fills my mind. “And when we do, we’ll make sure to put him through everything he put our girl through.”

Bain grins. “So you’re in?”

“Definitely. Where do we start?”