26. 26 - Zella
I wake up alone.
Stirring, my eyes blink open to the clean white ceiling overhead. I turn my face to the side, but there’s no one there. Ryder escorted me to my room last night, refusing to engage further after our argument in the kitchen and nudging me into my bedroom with a clipped ‘goodnight’.
I did not, in fact, have a good night. I had a sleepless one, tossing and turning mixed with nightmares.
I saw Ethan, reaching out for me with his hands on fire.
Ryder, small and frightened in a dark room as people advanced on him.
Dante, his smooth face twisted and tortured as if he could feel the fire crawling over him as his face melted into grotesque shapes.
My whole body aches as I try to roll out of bed, but I’m stopped by a sharp and sudden pain in my abdomen that makes my body hunch over. It lasts a few seconds, enough for me to realize exactly what this is. My eyes squeeze closed just as I feel the wetness between my legs.
Oh, no.
Ripping the covers off, I let out a mortified squeak at the drops of red covering the clean white bedding, frantically counting days in my head until I come to the inevitable conclusion that yes, this is that time of the month already.
Just in time for me to fold over at the second spike of agony that drags across my lower half, reverberating up into my back.
It spreads down to my thighs, and I stumble into the bathroom, holding onto myself so I don’t make any more of a mess than I already have.
It takes me a few tries to work out the shower, and my hair trails out as I yank off my dress and climb in, letting the water wash over my stomach and thighs.
When the pain hits again, this time working up my upper thighs, I can’t hold back my groan.
I sit down on the floor of the shower, and the water flows over me as I contemplate my options. The pain continues until tears track down my face, washing away in the spray of the shower when I tilt it up.
Finally, the water begins to run cold, and I climb out. I’m shivering all over, the pain starting to increase in waves of agony that make my eyes blur as I grab my dress from the floor and try to tie it around myself. I don’t have any packs here to help.
“Stupid,” I groan as I stumble back to my bed. “Stupid, Zella.”
I fold over from the pain radiating from my abdomen, losing track of time until there’s a banging at the door. “Zella?”
Maverick sounds worried. I didn’t come down for breakfast. Weakly, I raise my head. “Don’t come in!”
“Why?” he calls out. “What’s the matter?”
I’m too embarrassed to answer him, burying my head into the pillows instead.
The banging intensifies. Much to my mortification, I can hear Ryder and Enzo out there too, demanding to know why the door is locked and calling my name.
“Please!” I shout out, and they quiet. “Just… leave me alone!”
The agony spikes, and I curl over with an audible groan. Silence comes from behind the door, and I silently pray that they’ve left me alone.
But then there’s a thud.
Another thud.
And I choke out a shocked cry as the door flies open, splinters of wood everywhere. Maverick storms in, followed by the others, and his eyes find me immediately, scanning over me in the bed and filling with concern.
“Zella?”
I can’t stop the agonized whimper that falls from my lips as he strides over, his hand feeling my forehead. “Are you sick?” he asks softly, his brow creased in worry. Ryder and Enzo crowd the space around us, all three of them staring down at me.
Humiliation heats my entire body. “Please… I’m fine. Just leave me alone.”
“You’re not fine,” Enzo says shortly. Ryder scans me in silence, his brows lowering. “Tell us what the matter is, little prey. Now.”
I shake my head mutinously. I just need them to leave me alone.
“It happens every month. Just leave it alone, please.” My words sound wobbly, and Ryder nudges Maverick aside.
“Princess,” he says firmly. “We need to know what’s wrong. If you’re sick, you need a doctor.”
“I’m not sick!” I say feebly. “I’m just… not feeling myself.”
“That’s sick,” Enzo points out drily. “Let us see, prey.”
Mutinous, I shake my head. “No. Absolutely not.”
There’s absolutely no way I’m showing them. I’ll clean the bedding… somehow. I just need to work out how they wash their own clothes.
My hands clutch on the bedding when Enzo reaches out. He peels off my fingers with ease, lifting my arms up as I stare at him in horror. “Ryder.”
Ryder drags down the bedding before I can do more than wriggle, and my moan of dismay is swallowed by the frantic activity that follows.
“Fuck.” Enzo swears, his hands dropping down. “She’s bleeding.”
His hands move down as if to move my makeshift dressing, and I slap them away feebly, stopping when another wave of pain ripples through my stomach. He stares down at me in horror. “She needs a doctor.”
“I don’t,” I whisper. “I’m sorry about the bedding. I’ll fix it.”
“Zella,” Ryder pushes Enzo out of the way and kneels next to me, putting his hand out and squeezing mine as I avoid his eyes. “This is completely normal, sweetheart.”
I pause. “It is?”
My voice sounds tiny, and he actually smiles as he pushes my hair back. “You didn’t know? Happens every month, right?”
Enzo makes a noise, and I glance at him. He’s still glowering down at the stained bedding, and shame tangles my chest.
“I’m sorry I made a mess,” I apologize quietly. “I can clean it up.”
Ryder strokes my hair back, and it feels so nice I have to close my eyes. “Don’t be silly. We’ll do that.”
They pop back open. “What?” My voice is a yelp. “You can’t!”
Ryder gives me a firm look. “Princess. You think we’re going to just leave you here, in pain and alone, when we can help?”
I manage an embarrassed smile. “See?” I whisper. “There you go again.”
A dull flush stains his cheeks, but he still turns, hissing instructions to Enzo and Maverick that have them moving around me.
The pain returns, and Ryder strokes my hair as I curl into myself with a groan.
“We’re getting you some painkillers, sweetheart.
But… I can help with the pain, if you’re comfortable with that. ”
At this point I’m about as embarrassed as I can get, so I nod. But I regret it immediately when he shifts, nudging at my closed knees. “Open.”
“What?” I yelp. I immediately press my legs closed. “No!”
Enzo’s face appears over Ryder’s shoulder. “Do as he says, prey, or we’ll do it for you.”
Ryder’s finger rubs soothing circles on the outside of my bare knees. “You think we’re going to sit around while you’re in pain? Let me help, Zella.”
His voice dips lower. “You wanted me to choose. This is me choosing.”
The bed dips on my other side, and I glance up at Maverick. His jaw is tight, but he gives me a comforting smile as he takes over from Ryder, stroking my hair across my head. “Do as he says. Remember your promise.”
The slight teasing tone makes me half-smile, before another cramp doubles down in my stomach. Ryder seizes my momentary weakness, wedging himself between my thighs and unwrapping the clumsy knot I tied to try and keep the dress around my hips.
My cheeks flush in mortification, and I scrunch my eyes closed as he pulls it away gently. “I promise you, sweetheart. None of this is embarrassing for us. We just want to help.”
“Hurry up about it,” Enzo snaps behind him. “She’s hurting.”
“Painkillers first,” Ryder snaps back over his shoulder. “Maverick lifts a little white button up to my mouth, a glass of water in his hand. “Have you ever taken these, Zella?”
I frown. “I think I did, once. I had a fever.”
He makes me take two, holding the back of my neck as I choke down the cool water. Enzo gives Ryder a cloth, and I moan as he presses the warm material against me right there, moving the cloth over me in firm strokes.
“Does that feel good?” he asks me softly, and I nod. I can’t look, so I bury my face into Maverick’s side instead. He smells amazing, a little musky, and although he stiffens, he keeps stroking my hair as I hide from the fact that they’re looking at me and touching me down there .
Ryder takes the cloth away, and I inhale as his fingers stroke up and down, barely brushing my slit. “There, now,” he murmurs. “This will help you until the painkillers kick in, princess.”
He pushes my lips apart, spreading me open with one hand as his fingers press down, moving in a circular motion that makes my hips buck.
Everything feels more sensitive, my body swollen as he rubs his fingers back and forth, scraping the same place over and over until the agonizing pain in my stomach feels less than the sensation he’s drawing from me.
“Ryder.” I try to say his name but it comes out on a garbled moan, my face still pressed against Maverick’s chest.
“Shhh,” he soothes me, still playing, not letting up for a moment. “Let it happen, Zella.”
My hand reaches down, and I jerk when a hand closes over my wrist. Enzo settles in on my other side, lifting my arm and pinning it in place.
My legs are spread, my hands held, and I can’t move, can’t pull myself away as Ryder continues his slow assault that brings a slow licking of flame, the pain muting in the face of something much stronger.
“Use your tongue,” Enzo prompts, and I gasp as his hand reaches down, cupping my breast. He rolls my nipple between his fingers, tugging and pulling softly. “She tastes like honey.”
Ryder’s face looks almost tortured as he glances up, and our eyes lock. The ghosts of our last conversation are in his gaze, and I hold it. “Ryder,” I croak. “Please.”
I’m not sure what I’m asking for. I don’t know if I want him to stop, or if I never want him to stop as the flames curl at the base of my spine. He hesitates, his hand pausing where he presses into me before he dips his head.
The first swipe of his tongue lifts my back from the bed.
Maverick and Enzo press me back down, and my eyes lock on to Maverick as he cups my cheek.
He looks hungry, his blue eyes traveling across my face, tracing my features as Ryder groans.
The sound vibrates against me, and I cry as his hands move under me, lifting me and holding me to his face like an offering.
The pressure builds, and builds, the pain almost forgotten as Ryder’s tongue dances over me. His teeth graze, just a little, and the precipice feels so close I start to sob.
“Hush, Zella,” Maverick murmurs. His eyes flicker down the bed, and they’re full of heat as he turns back to me. “This is about pleasure.”
I can’t speak, my mouth open in a silent scream as Ryder gently bites down on my most sensitive area and Enzo pulls on my nipples, twisting them as I spiral into an abyss of feeling.
Wave after wave of pure ecstasy wash through me and they never stop moving, their hands constantly on me until I sink back into the bedding with a depleted gasp.
Ryder pulls back, and Enzo releases my nipple with a final graze as I sag into the covers.
“How do you feel?” Maverick asks me, and I blink.
“I think I’m dead.” Ryder’s lips curl into a small smile as I stare down at him, and he shakes his head.
“Oh, little thief. If anyone is dead here, it’s me.”