Chapter 24 - Elle
The safe house was exactly what its name implied—a place of safety in a world that had done nothing but mistreat these women and show them cruelty.
Elle laid down on the makeshift bed in the medical van and watched through the windows as they pulled up to the building. Warm lights streamed through the windows, reflecting on the garden. It looked more like home than a safe house.
Six women out of the fifteen women they saved were in the same van as Elle. Some cried in silence, others looked at nothing, while the rest looked at Silas, August and Rael anxiously like this were a sick game and they’d be taken back to those cages.
Elle understood that feeling. She herself had experienced a great deal of it when Silas bought her and took her to the pack against her will. The bone-deep certainty that nothing good could come from the people who held power over you.
But she discovered that Silas wasn’t like that. In fact, she realized that not every powerful man was like that. That, occasionally, it was the one that you thought was the enemy that was trying to rescue you.
She wished that these women would realize that as well.
“Here we are,” Rael announced gently. “This is a safe house and a rehabilitation facility. You will have your own rooms, healthcare, counseling when you feel like it, and help in getting back to your families or start your life afresh.”
“You’re not going to hurt us?” A young blonde asked with a shaky voice.
“Never,” Rael promised. “You’re safe now. I swear it.”
The rest of the women got out of the other van with Javi. The lady in charge of the safe house was an older woman with chestnut hair and brown eyes called Cristina. She received them with the warmth of someone who was experienced with this, who understood the trauma and how to help.
“Welcome,” Cristina greeted warmly. “I know you’ve been through a horrific event, and I
understand that you are afraid and have been hurt and you are most likely unsure of who to trust. That’s okay. You do not need to trust us immediately. But I assure you, this is not a bad place, and we will do anything that we can to assist you.”
The women came out of the van slowly and carefully, guided by Cristina’s staff.
Carter was the last to get out, looking numb, and he had a faraway look in his eyes. He was quiet on the entire ride here.
“You will stay here too, for now,” August said to him. “Sleep, eat, let the healers watch over you. Okay?”
Carter nodded mutely.
Elle watched it all from her position in the medical van, where Silas had insisted she remain until a healer could properly examine her wound.
The bleeding had mostly stopped, held at bay by the pressure Silas had maintained during the entire drive.
But the knife wound in her side throbbed with each heartbeat, a persistent reminder of how close she’d come to something much worse.
“Ready to get that looked at?” Cristina looked at her.
“I am okay,” Elle said. It was the automatic reaction of a person who had spent too long having to force herself to be strong because there was no other option.
“You are not fine,” Silas grunted. “You were stabbed. You’re getting treatment.”
Elle would have liked to protest. She would have liked to say that she could wait until all the rescued women were properly attended to, but the look in Silas’s eyes made her bite her tongue—the panic in his eyes, the tension on his jaw, and the way his hands were trembling a little in spite of his efforts to look composed.
He was terrified, and Elle knew that getting treated wasn’t just for her sake. She wanted to reassure him that she was going to be alright.
“Okay,” Elle said softly. “Let’s go.”
August kissed her forehead, saying he’d check on her soon, while Rael nodded tightly.
Helen took them to the medical wing in the facility, which was really well-kept with white sterile walls and the usual sterile smell, which reminded her of the emergency rooms in the human world.
“Get on the table,” Helen instructed, patting the examination table.
Elle climbed up carefully, wincing as the movement pulled at her wound. Silas immediately moved to her side, his hand finding hers and gripping tightly.
“I will have to cut off the shirt by the side. There’s too much blood, and I cannot work around it.”
Elle nodded, and the doctor delicately removed the fabric that covered the wound, exposing the injury underneath.
It was ugly—a jagged cut four inches deep in the left side of Elle, just under the ribcage.
“It is not as bad as it looks,” Helen explained. “It is deep enough to cause a lot of blood loss, but it did not hit anything important. It will
require some stitches, though, and I will check that there is no internal hemorrhage.”
What followed was thirty minutes of cleaning and stitches. Helen carefully described every step she took. Maybe she knew Elle was the type of person who dealt better with her fear when she knew what was happening.
Silas tightened his grip on her hand. His presence was like an anchor. He also paid close attention. He was almost hovering.
When Helen finally finished, she drew back, staring at her work. “You’re lucky. No significant harm, no marks of infection. The stitches will heal in a week or two. You will also have a scar. That should heal up nicely as well.”
“Thanks,” Elle replied.
“You will have to make sure she rests for a couple of days,” she said, facing Silas. “No strenuous activity. No training. Nothing.”
“Yeah, she will not be doing any of that. I will make sure of it.”
Helen smiled. “Good. Now I will grant you two some privacy. Elle, call me at once should the pain become more severe.”
Then she left, shutting the door behind her and leaving Elle and Silas in silence.
Neither of them said anything for a while. Silas simply stared at her, and his eyes flickered from her face to her bandaged side, her hands still in his hand, almost reminding him that she was alive.
“You scared me,” Silas finally spoke, his voice thick with emotion. “When I saw you bleeding, I thought I had lost you. I-I cannot lose you, Elle. I can’t. I’m not sure I’d be able to survive it.”
“But you did not lose me. I’m right here. I’m okay.”
“You almost weren’t.” Silas raised her hand to his mouth and planted a kiss. “You ran off alone, into danger. You discovered that auction all by yourself. You could have been killed.”
“But I wasn’t. And we rescued fifteen women because of that.” She used her free hand to cup his face. “It was worth the risk.”
“Not to me,” Silas said fiercely. “Not if I lose you. Nothing is worth that.”
Elle felt her heart skip a beat. This fierce, protective Alpha, who had been the bane of her existence, had become the person she trusted most in the world.
The person she loved more than she’d ever thought possible, and she was carrying his child.
Speaking of, she still hadn’t told him she was pregnant.
But looking at Silas now, the fear and love in his eyes, the way the bond pulsed between them, the way he wore his heart on his sleeve, it made Elle realize she couldn’t hide it from him any longer.
“Uhm,” she cleared her throat. “There is but something I must tell you.”
“What’s wrong? Is it the wound? Did the healer overlook anything?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m fine. Better than fine, actually.” Elle took in a shaky breath. “I’m pregnant.”
Silas went completely still. He did not move or react. Elle wasn’t even sure if he was breathing. He just stared at her blankly.
Elle’s heart started to race. Was he angry? Upset? Did he not want a child? Did her fear of telling him come to pass?
“Say something. Please.”
“You’re... we’re... there’s a baby?”
“Yes. The pack healer said I am about four weeks long.” Her eyes searched his face. “I found out a few days ago. There was too much going on, and I didn’t know how you’d react, and I thought—hmph.”
Silas kissed her, cutting off her anxious rambling. It was soft and sweet and full of so much emotion that Elle felt tears start to fall.
When he drew away, he was sporting a huge ass smile, and his eyes glistened with unshed tears. “We are having a baby. Shit. You’re carrying our child.”
“You’re not upset?”
“Upset?” He shook his head, chuckling. “Elle, this is the best news ever. You’ve given me everything. Your forgiveness, your love, your trust. And you are now giving me a family. How could I possibly be upset?”
Elle sighed in relief, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I was so scared you would not want it. That you would think I trapped you or you didn’t want a child from a human or—”
“Stop,” Silas said, wiping away her tears with his thumbs. “Elle, I want to have everything with you. A Life, a family, a child. I want it all.”
“Even though the baby is going to be a half-human?”
“Especially because the baby will be half-human. It is going to have your strength, your courage, your unbelievable heart.” Silas gently placed his hand on her stomach, just over the place his child was developing.
“This baby is already the most fortunate child in the world, because you’re his or her mother. ”
Elle covered his hand with hers. “We’re really doing this. We’re really having a baby.”
Silas’s body shook with laughter. “Oh, we’re having a baby, all right.”
They remained like that for a long time, getting used to their reality. A baby. Their baby. Their future. Something they had never dreamed of or expected.
“I love you,” Elle said with a watery smile. She could say more, but in that moment, it conveyed even more. “I love you so much, Silas Weston.”
“I love you, too, Elle Jones. More than I ever imagined I’d love someone.” He pulled her into a hug, mindful of her injury. “You and this baby are my everything. My whole world.”
Elle nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent, while feeling his heart beat against her own. This moment felt like the beginning of something new.