Page 42 of Freed

I frown, looking around the table Gage and Maddox are sitting at but— “I only see Erica’s mates over there.”

“Oh, that’s ‘cause Finn is sitting under the table.”

My eyes drop to their feet, but I still don’t see him. I shake my head, making Lexi laugh. “No, not their table. Ours.” She points down, and I dip my head to the side, seeing a cute little fox sitting under the table, leaning against her legs.

My eyes widen in surprise. “Oh!” He glances at me and I give him a little wave. “Hi Finn.” He dips his nose and I sit up straighter.

“Sorry,” she says with a wince. “I tried to convince him to sit over there. It’s not like he doesn’t have great hearing. But he refused.”

“It’s fine,” I reassure her. “It actually helps me to relax, knowing we have so many friends close by.”

“How are you doing with all that?” Erica asks as I take a sip of my drink, which turns out to be a mochachino. I glance at Gage, who’s watching me, telling him, “Thank you,” through the bond.

I feel the two girls watching me and realize Erica had asked me a question. “Oh, well, how much do you know?”

“Everything, I think?” she replies and I nod. I wasn’t sure if she knew about the phoenix thing, but she had known about my mates’ bonds being severed, so she probably did.

“I’m worried,” I admit quietly, even though I know all the shifters in here were likely to hear me. “Blaze is out there, and I doubt he’s done looking for me.”

“Have your mates figured out a way to kill him yet?” Lexi asks and I shake my head.

“No, but Gage hasn’t stopped looking.” I glance over at him and Maddox again, as a deep feeling of longing pulls at me.

I’m startled when Erica places her hand on my arm. “Hon, how are you feeling? Seriously?”

I frown down at my drink, unsure how to answer. Erica and Lexi are both omegas, like me, so if anyone understands having multiple mate bonds, it’s them. Although neither of them have experienced losing one.

“I sealed the bond with Chase and Hunter,” I tell them. “And I’m back in our pack bond now.”

“That’s good!” Lexi says happily before she sees my face and hers drops. “Isn’t it?”

“It is,” I tell her. “But I still feel the loss of the other three. It’s like a deep open wound inside me that won’t close.”

“You don’t think it will come back?” Erica asks gently.

I shrug. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of a wolf getting a second bond.”

“But it’s different,” Lexi says, clearly trying to give me hope. “It’s not a second bond, it’s just reestablishing the first.”

“I suppose,” I say, trying to think of it that way.

“I think you should speak with my Grandmother,” Erica says, surprising me with the abrupt change of conversation.

“Uh, okay.”

“She’s a very gifted witch. And she’s a bit clairvoyant. She might be able to help. Plus, she’s an omega, like us,” she says a little quieter.

“Okay, I’d be happy for any help at this point,” I tell her as I take a sip of my drink and let my eyes bounce between my three guys, whom I’m desperate to reconnect with.

“So,” Lexi says, a grin pulling at her lips. “Have Hunter and Chase noticed the changes yet?”

I frown and shake my head. “What changes?”

Erica levels her with a small glare. “They don’t know about that.”

“About what?” I ask, worry filling me.

“Oh, shit, right,” Lexi says, looking a little guilty. “I may have been hoarding that particular book so it didn’t get in the wrong hands.”