Page 58 of Freed

“Gage!” My head darts up to find Maddox standing right in front of me, looking concerned.

I glance around and see everyone looking at me. “What?”

“You were growling.”

“I was?” I press my hand to my chest, not realizing I was making any noise at all.

“I called your name four times.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“You’re clearly engrossed in what you’re reading,” Hunter says from the other armchair across from me. “Care to share?”

I nod, glancing back down at the book as I figure out how to summarize the important bits.

Maddox passes me a beer, which I take with a quick “Thanks,” and quickly take a few sips.

“Okay, so the biggest news here is the fact that alphas get a boost in power when they bond with an omega.” I think back to the few times we’d seen that ourselves but hadn’t realized what it meant. “Remember when Maddox and Bain ran through the forest faster than they ever had before? And how they smelled Blaze’s scent way before the rest of us?” I ask as I look around and see all the guys’ eyes widen, but Cherry is nodding.

“You knew?” I ask her in confusion.

“Lexi told me when we had coffee.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Bain asks.

She shrugs, looking a little uncomfortable. “I knew you’d probably have questions and the book would know more than I did.”

“Are you sure it’s not because you wanted to bond with all of us before we found out?” Hunter asks, but she’s shaking her head before he even finishes the question.

“Of course not. What difference would it have made? I already knew you all wanted the bond as much as I did.”

“This is why Lexi’s pack hid the book,” Maddox says, understanding the deeper ramifications of this like I had.

I nod, giving him a grim look.

“What do you mean?” Chase asks.

“If other alphas found out that bonding to an omega would boost their power, they might try to force a bond,” Maddox explains, making Bain growl and Chase’s eyes widen.

“Oh, shit.”

I nod. “This is probably why omegas have been in hiding. That’s if they even know they’re omegas.” I glance at Cherry and wonder how many other women like her are out there, having no idea they have omega blood running through them. That they're a conduit for power.

“There’s more here.” I glance down at the book as I explain, “It says that alphas and omegas stabilize each other’s power.” We had already learned that from Erica’s grandmother, but it made me think about how long we waited to bond with Cherry, fearing it would have overwhelmed her, when really, it’s what she needed to steady herself. She may have stopped the random shifting even sooner if we had bonded to her quicker.

“It also says that alphas are naturally drawn to their omegas, that sometimes they can feel the pull of them even if they’ve never met, especially if they are in danger.”

“Wait!” Hunter says, his eyes wide. “That’s why we were drawn to her cave, the day we first found her.” I remember we had been on a run and we all felt a strong tugging in our chest, only dissipating when we stopped in the clearing outside the cave she was sleeping in.

“Is it the same for omegas?” Cherry asks, and I realize she’s asking me.

“Oh, umm…” I quickly scan the section I'd been reading and nod. “Yes. It’s a bit different. For omegas, it’s not often described as a tugging toward their mates, but more like a deep pressure telling you to trust and let them take care of you.”

I lift my gaze to her but Bain beats me to my question. “Did you feel that with us? Back at the cave in your wolf form?”

She nods, her brow crinkling adorably as she thinks. “Yeah, but I didn’t understand it. I tried to fight it.”

“You tried to run,” Bain reminds her, holding her a little tighter.