Deadmen's Queen: A dark college reverse harem romance

Chapter Thirty Six

My eyes fluttered open to a dark blue sky and the first few evening stars as Bast”s arms enveloped me, pulling me from Nate’s embrace. I clung to Nate, wanting his warmth, but he helped lift me up through the car door into Bast’s arms.

“Easy, Paige,” he murmured.

Bast held me close, and I leaned my head against his shoulder as a chill breeze blew across my face, whipping my hair into my eyes. It brought with it the tang of salt, and somewhere in the shadows I could hear the gentle sound of lapping waves.

“Where are we?” I asked, my voice cracking.

“Somewhere safe,” Bast said simply.

I clung to him, as he carried me down a gravel path towards a large house that rose up before us. It was very modern, all wood and glass, and Nate bent down to extract the key from somewhere nearby. He unlocked the door and Bast carried me into the house, heading straight through the main rooms and into a large bedroom.

My fingers tightened around the folds of Bast’s shirt as I saw the bed, and I felt him tense under me as I started to shake.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok,” he whispered, kissing the top of my head. “This room is just for you, princess. So you can sleep and get better. Whatever you need, for as long as you need.”

Nate moved over to the lamp and switched it on. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the light. The room was beautiful. Stripped back wooden floors, white walls and light wood furniture. The bed covers were white and long white sheer curtains hung either side of the window which took up all of one wall. It was too dark to see what was outside, and Nate closed the curtains as Bast laid me gently on the bed.

I whimpered at the deep ache all over my body, curling up into a ball. I was still only wearing Bast’s jacket, and he grabbed a soft pale blue blanket from a chair nearby and laid it over me.

“There’s a doctor on her way, Paige. She’s going to check you over and give you something for the pain. She’s on our books, so tell her everything you can. Let her help you.”

I didn’t reply, I couldn’t think of anything to say. My mind felt numb, detached, though I felt the tears roll down my face as I lay there, staring ahead at nothing. The guys faded into the background of my awareness, but I could hear them speaking. It was like they were talking about someone else.

“Nate, what do I do?” I heard Bast say. His voice sounded so different to normal, like it was broken.

“She’ll be ok, she’s in shock. Just keep her warm till the doctor gets here. I’ll go and get her some water.”

I heard Nate leave, and after a moment, I felt Bast climb onto the bed behind me.

“Paige?”

I couldn’t reply, just kept staring at nothing.

“Paige, please talk to me.” His voice was choked and somewhere deep down inside it hurt to hear him like that, and knew I could stop it, but I just couldn’t speak, couldn’t think.

“God, princess, I can’t bear seeing you like this. I just want to hold you, but I don’t know if you… can I hold you, Paige?”

He was crying. My Bast, my Hades, cold and controlled, was crying because of me. He was hurting.

Reaching for the last tiny bit of strength I had, I whispered, “Yes.”

He let out a choked sob, then moved closer. As gently as he could, he shifted me back against his chest and into his arms. I felt his lower body move close against mine, and for a horrible moment, sheer terror flashed through me, but there was nothing hard pressing against me, and after a moment, the feeling passed.

“Paige, you’re shaking so hard,” Bast said, holding me close, but making sure he didn’t squeeze too tight. It hurt, everything hurt. Every knife wound on my back and legs that his body pressed against hurt, but I wouldn’t have told him for all the money in the world. His warmth began to seep into my body and very gradually I felt the tension start to leave my body, my shaking starting to calm.

I don’t know how long we’d laid there, but then I heard the door open, and the murmur of voices behind me. Soft footsteps skirted the bed and a woman crouched down in front of me. She had soft brown hair pulled up in a crocodile clip, and was in her late thirties or so. She wore a pale pink cashmere jumper and yoga pants of the same colour.

“Hello, Paige,” she said gently. “I”m Dr. Harper. I”m here to help you. Would you be ok with that?”

I forced my head to move, giving a small nod.

“That’s good. I’m going to get the guys to leave us, Paige. So it’s just you and me, ok?”

Another nod as Bast gently pulled his arms out from under me, and climbed off the bed. I felt him lean down, pressing a kiss to my hair.

“We’ll be right next door if you need us, Paige. Dr. Harper, the bathroom is just through that door, but Nate’s brought some cloths, towels and warm water. It’s just there on the table.”

“Thank you, Blake. I’ll call if we need anything else. This might take a while.”

I heard the quiet click of the door as Nate and Bast left the room, and Dr. Harper moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Let”s start by checking your wounds, and getting you cleaned up,” she said quietly. “And maybe when you’re ready, you can tell me what happened.”

I managed a nod, flinching as she gently unfolded the blanket covering me, and then removed Bast’s jacket.

“Looks like you put up quite a fight,” she quietly noted. “Good for you.”

I felt a strange relief at her words - something akin to vindication. I had fought.

She started with a general examination, asking me about any specific hurts or discomforts. Each touch was careful and tender, soothing some of my fears with each passing minute. She cleaned and bandaged the multiple cuts that littered my body, murmuring reassuring words as she did so. Each movement seemed to hurt more than the last, but I stayed silent, not wanting Bast to rush back in and see me in pain. It took what seemed like forever.

Then she took out a small flashlight and asked me to look straight ahead. The light was harsh against my eyes, making them water. But again, I stayed quiet. She listened to my heart, checked my reflexes, and took my blood pressure. As she moved through the checks, I felt my head starting to clear a little, though I kept a strong check on what I was allowed to think about, focusing on what the doctor was doing and her questions. I couldn’t deal with anything else just yet.

Dr. Harper sighed. “I’m sorry to have to ask this Paige, but Bast said that there was sexual abuse too. Is this true?”

“Yes,” I said. She nodded.

“Will you let me check you over completely? I’d like to make sure there’s no internal damage, but I can understand if you’re not ready for that yet.”

“No, it’s fine,” I said. “I want to know if…” I trailed off, not wanting to voice the fear I hadn’t even realised I had buried. I’d never thought about having children. There was so much emotion connected with my own childhood that I’d never considered it, but as it occurred to me that I might never get the chance now, tears slipped down my cheek. Did the guys want kids one day? Would they still want me after this?

Dr. Harper seemed to understand, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “Alright, Paige,” she said softly, her warm brown eyes meeting mine. “Let”s get this over with.”

The examination was just as painful and violating as I”d feared it would be, though she tried her hardest to be gentle. After a while, she retreated and carefully covered me up again. She removed her gloves and smiled down at me.

“There”s some bruising and minor tearing,” she said gently. “But it should heal on its own with time. There doesn”t appear to be any severe internal damage.”

“So I should be ok to have kids one day?”

She nodded. “I can’t see any reason why not. I will send off tests for STIs though, and I”m going to give you a shot now for potential STDs. I would give it a couple of weeks before you resume any sexual activity. Are you on any kind of hormonal birth control?”

I nodded. “Implant,” I whispered.

“Good, then you won’t need any morning after pills. I’ll just leave some painkillers to tide you over.”

Nodding weakly, I watched as she prepared the injection.

”And Paige,” Dr. Harper said quietly as she swabbed my arm with alcohol. “What you”ve gone through... no one should have to endure that. You”re going to need time and help healing. I”m going to recommend seeing a counsellor about everything that happened to you. Blake will be able to find you an appropriate one.”

She looked at me with so much compassion in her eyes that it made the tears spill over once again.

“Paige,” she began slowly, “he may have tried to break you, but look at you. You”re here, you”re alive...you”re stronger than you realise.”

Her words brought tears to my eyes as I lay there in silence letting the events of the day really sink into me for the first time since it had happened.

“You”ve been through something terrible,” Dr Harper continued softly, “but I want you to remember that it was not your fault. You didn”t ask for this or deserve this.”

I nodded, brushing away the tears that wouldn’t seem to stop falling.

“The next few days will be tough,” she warned gently. “You might experience flashbacks, or feel very detached from reality. This is normal for trauma survivors.”

She passed me a couple of white tablets and a glass of water. I took them, drinking the whole glass down. I hadn’t realised how thirsty I was.

“Ok, Paige. I will be back tomorrow evening to check on you. Bast has my number. If you need anything, if you’re worried about anything, get him to message me and I’ll call back as soon as I can. Do you have anything to ask me now? Anything else you’re worried about that I can help with?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so,” I said. “I just want to sleep.”

“That’s a very good idea,” she said, packing up her bag. “Rest, make sure you eat and drink. Be patient and kind with yourself. Those boys out there seem like they’re crazy about you, so let them look after you. It will make them feel better if they think they’re helping.”

I managed a small smile at that.

“Thank you, Doctor Harper.”

She smiled. “I’m glad I could help. Now, lastly, these are sleeping pills.” She tipped a couple into my hand. “You don’t have to take them, but I’ll leave them with Bast in case you need them. See you tomorrow, Paige.”

I lay there quietly as she left, hearing them talking outside my door as she gave them instructions. Doctor Harper had cleaned my body as well as my wounds, washing away the blood and other foul substances that had clung to me, and even that had made me feel so much better. Bast had left clean sheets as well, and after I was clean and dry and my wounds dressed, she’d changed the bedding. I had begged for a shower or a bath, but she’d explained that some of the knife wounds needed to heal further before she’d advise that. I hadn’t realised how many times he’d cut me, until she’d cleaned every wound. Many would heal, but many would scar as well. I didn’t want to think about that right now.

Pushing myself up on my side, I took the tablets. I probably could have fallen asleep on my own, but I could already feel the dark thoughts prowling around the outskirts of my waking mind, the shadow of a man, the flash of a blade. I laid back down, letting the coolness of the cotton sheets calm me.

The door opened and Nate came in. I looked over at him.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

He came over and sat down on the side of the bed, careful not to touch me.

“For what, baby?”

“For coming for me.”

He smiled. “Fat lot of good we were. Our badass girlfriend was the hero today.”

My body trembled, but I forced a small smile.

“Girlfriend? I thought I was just your Persephone?”

He leaned down, touching his forehead gently to mine.

“Oh baby girl, you are so much more than that to me. To all of us.”

He was quiet for a moment, before speaking again.

“I’m sorry Paige, we should’ve been there sooner. Got you out quicker.” He sounded haunted, the guilt heavy in his voice.

“No,” I said, placing a shaking hand on his wrist. “You saved me. So did Bast. I had just about given up when you got there, but seeing you both… I couldn’t let him win… I wanted…”

“What did you want, baby?”

“I wanted to come home,” I said, the tears starting to fall again. “Home to you, and Bast and Tristan. Is he really ok?”

“It was touch and go for a few hours,” Nate admitted. “But he pulled through, and he was awake when we left the hospital this morning. Bast got an update twenty minutes ago, and the doctors are happy with how he’s progressing. He was the one who told us what we needed to find you.”

“I want to see him,” I said, blinking to keep my eyes open. The sleeping pills were starting to work, and my body felt heavy.

“You will, as soon as either of you are well enough. We need him to get better, and then as soon as they clear him to leave the hospital, we’ll get him here, ok?”

“That sounds good,” I said sleepily.

The door opened and Bast walked in, his eyes instantly moving to me.

“Hey princess,” he said gently as he reached out to touch my hand, “how are you feeling?”

I managed to muster a small smile at his voice. “Tired,” I replied honestly.

He nodded understandingly. “Get some rest Paige,” he said, tucking a loose lock of hair behind my ear. “We”re going to be right outside the door if you need anything.”

“No, please don’t go!” I said, starting to sit up and wincing at the pain.

“Hey, take it easy,” said Nate, pushing me gently back down on the bed.

“Please don’t leave me,” I begged. “I don’t want to wake up on my own again. I kept waking up and finding him… please… I’m scared.”

“Then I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I can’t sleep without you anyway, Paige. You’ve kept my nightmares away for so many months. It’s my turn to hold you.”

He slid off the bed, and quickly stripped off, dropping his clothes to the floor in a heap, before climbing under the covers.

“I’ll go lock up,” said Bast.

“Then you’ll come back?” I pleaded, and he nodded.

“Paige?” Nate asked as Bast left the room. “I’ve been here and I understand if you don’t want us to touch you…”

I turned on my side, gritting my teeth at the pain, and wriggled backwards until I felt his large body pressed against my back.

“Please hold me, Nate. Don’t let me go.”

“Oh, baby,” he said, his arms coming around me and pulling me close as Bast had earlier, nuzzling into my hair.

Bast came back in and undressed quietly, turning the lamp off and climbing in with us, facing me. I leaned forward a little, laying my head against his chest, wrapping my arm around his waist, and I heard him take a shaky breath as he did the same. I closed my eyes, focusing on the feel of their warm, strong bodies enclosing mine. No one could reach me here.

“Can I hear waves?” I asked sleepily.

“The house is built on a private beach,” Bast said. “The sea is only a few hundred metres away.”

“You have nice houses,” I mumbled and he laughed quietly.

“This belongs to a friend, but yes, I do. And when you’re better, I’ll have one built just for you, princess. Any where, any style you want.”

My eyes fluttered open, and I met his dark gaze, barely perceptible in the moonlight.

“You still want me to stay with you?”

“Yes, Paige. I want you to stay forever.”

“Forever sounds perfect,” I murmured as my eyes closed again, and warm darkness took hold.