Page 92 of Freed

I sigh, a feeling of freedom suddenly washing over me. For some reason, that has me shifting, midair, and I scream as I plummet from ten feet up toward the ground.

But I shouldn’t have worried. Bain shifts, catching me as gently as he can muster in his strong arms. “Omph!” I cry as he pulls me into his chest.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” he asks, his wide eyes roaming all over me.

I nod, trying to catch my breath as I tell him, “Yeah, thanks. I didn’t mean to shift like that. Thank you for catching me.”

He pulls me closer, surprising me with a quick kiss before resting his forehead against mine. “I’ll always catch you, angel.”

A hiss of pain has my head jerking to the side to see that Chase has shifted back to his human side, his entire left side blistered and burned.

“Chase!” I yell, flinging myself from Bain’s grasp as I run over to him.

My hands hover over him, unsure where to touch him without causing him pain as he tries to stand up tall, but is unsuccessful and plops down to his ass. “Oh my Goddess, Chase!” I gasp, tears instantly pooling in my eyes.

Gage drops down beside us as he places his hand behind Chase’s head and tells him to, “Lie back, Cherry will help you.”

My eyes widen in shock as I glance at Gage.

How was I going to help him?

Gage, seeming to understand my freak out, gives me a small smile then encourages me to lean forward over Chase’s burn.

“Shed your tears for him,” Gage explains, and suddenly I remember how I did that for Gage when he was injured.

My tears have the healing power of a phoenix. Of my phoenix.

I look into Chase’s strained face as he tries to pretend he’s okay, and that helps to let a few tears slip free, hating seeing him like that.

“Good girl,” Maddox says, placing a hand on my shoulder as Hunter drops down to Chase’s other side and grabs his free hand. I’m not sure when I grabbed Chase’s other one, but I pull it to my lips and start kissing each of his fingers, loving the way his eyes get lighter with each touch.

We sit there for a while, watching as Chase’s side slowly mends itself, and when the skin is finally all pink, and no wounds remain, he lets out a deep sigh, closing his eyes as a huge smile splits his face.

I throw my arms around his neck as tears of happiness trail down my cheeks. “You’re okay,” I whisper, rubbing my face against his shoulder, trying to get his scent on me.

Grabbing my arms, he slowly pushes me back, smiling at me.

“Cherry, you are a miracle—” He cuts himself off as his eyes open. They widen as he stares at me, trailing up and down my naked body. “Holy shit!” He gasps, pushing up to a sitting position.

“What is it?” Hunter asks, clearly as confused as I am.

“Your heart marks. They’re gone!”

Chapter 36

Gage

Bain gently lifts Cherry to her feet then grabs her shoulders as he stares down at her. We all move in, surrounding her as he spins her, our eyes taking in every inch of perfect skin.

Even Cherry is staring down at herself in stunned silence.

“Where did they go?” she asks in confusion.

My mind flashes through everything I’ve read about phoenixes. There isn’t much information since they were assumed to be mythological, so it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s made up.

But my brain comes to a halt as I remember that she shifted into a phoenix.

“I think shifting somehow cleansed your body,” I tell her.