Page 29 of Freed

“If you like, you can give Erica a call before we get you cleaned up.”

I nod, glancing down at my phone as I find her in my contacts and hit call.

She answers after two rings, her voice worried. “Cherry?”

“Hi, Erica.”

“Oh my Goddess, girl! I’ve been worried sick about you!” she says, sounding genuinely relieved.

“You have?” I ask, my eyes moving to Maddox, who nods.

“Of course I have! How are you feeling? Your guys said it’s normal for you to need a few days to recover after what happened.”

“Yeah, I, um… I’m feeling better. Just tired.”

Bain sets the fork down and wraps his arms around me a little tighter, resting his cheek against the top of my head. I place one hand over his on my abdomen as I listen to her response.

“I’m glad. I think we are long overdue for that coffee date, with Lexi. If you’re up for it?”

I glance at Maddox again, who nods, making me smile as I reply, “I’d like that. And I’d really like to meet Lexi since her guys helped rescue me.”

“She’s excited to meet you,” she says, surprising me.

“She is?”

“Of course! She and I are the only omegas in town, except for you and my Grandmother.” This was the first time I was hearing about her grandmother but decided to save my questions for our coffee date.

“Okay, well, how does the day after tomorrow sound?” I suggest.

“Perfect! One o’clock at Brewed Awakening. It’s on Main Street.”

“Sounds good,” I tell her.

We say our goodbyes, and I hang up, my eyes glancing around at my guys, feeling a little nervous about my next request.

“I’d like to do something nice for Erica’s coven and Lexi’s pack. To thank them for their help.”

“We could bake them cookies?” Gage suggests, which earns him a worried glance from Chase.

“Everyone enjoys a gift card,” Hunter offers as an option.

“I was thinking of something more personal,” I tell them.

“What about if we throw a pool party?” Maddox suggests.

I look at him and smile. “That’s perfect!” My smile drops as I tell him, “But I’ve never hosted anything before. I have no idea how to do that.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it,” Hunter says easily.

“But I want to help. It’s supposed to be my way of saying thank you.”

“Not just yours,” Bain says, giving me a little squeeze. “They helped our whole pack.”

“But it was me they were rescuing,” I argue.

“And you are part of this pack, are you not?” Maddox asks with an eyebrow raised.

“Yes. But I⁠—”