Chapter 25 - Maddox
"What are your plans today?" I asked Jillian as she set her dishes into the sink.
"I have a project on North Court Street. I should be home before four today." Jillian grabbed her keys and walked over towards me. She leaned in, placing a kiss on my cheek.
I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her tightly against me, and pinned her against the counter. Her eyes widened as I pressed against hers, inhaling her scent. "And what if I don't want you to leave?"
She smirked, placing a hand on my chest. "I'll make it up to you when I get home."
My mind traveled to last night. We were both exhausted from a long day.
I had meetings with the guys, and she'd been busy with training with the witches and projects for work.
We were both working so hard, but we had so much pent-up energy that we fucked for an hour before finally going to bed.
I never seemed to tire of her, never wanting her to go.
"Is that a promise?" I asked, leaning my lips close to her neck. I ran my nose over her skin, feeling her shiver.
"It is," she said softly, wrapping her fingers around my shirt. "Now, let me go to work, Maddox."
I kissed her roughly, making sure to bite onto her lower lip, which made her moan. Her fingers tightened on my shirt as she sank into me. I smirked, leaning back. "You could always stay. I'll make it worth your while."
She chuckled. "Maddox, I can't call out of work again to have sex."
"Why not? It's way more fun."
She laughed as she rolled her eyes. "You have an important day of meetings. You can't spend it getting laid."
I groaned. "Don't remind me."
She chuckled, placing a quick kiss on my cheek before breaking free. "I'll call you at lunch."
She left the house, leaving me with a hard-on. I ran a hand over my face, knowing I needed to focus. I had a long day ahead of me and a meeting with the guys.
I left the house soon after and headed to the building where we always had our meetings. I was the first to arrive and took my seat with my coffee. I looked outside the window, staring at the woods.
A shiver ran down my back, thinking of just a few weeks ago and how close I came to losing it all.
The guys and I had decided that enough was enough.
We were putting our heads together and looking at every angle, every detail we possibly could to find this guy.
We weren't going to sit and wait for the Council to tell us anything because they seemed not to care enough.
"You look irritated," Jay said as he stepped into the space.
I shrugged. "Just tired."
"Not sleep well?"
I smirked. "I was up all night fucking."
He rolled his eyes as he pulled a chair out and sat down. "You said that to rub it in, didn't you?"
I smirked as I took a sip of my coffee. "Just a little."
"What are we talking about in here?" Jones and Frank entered next, both looking high-spirited.
"Just that Jay has no sex life now that he has two kids."
Frank laughed as he took his seat. Jones is sitting down next to him. Before Jay could even respond, Aaron and Henrik stepped into the room.
"Morning, guys."
"Morning," We all said in unison. Jay was throwing daggers at me. "I'm going to get you for that."
I chuckled as everyone took their seats and the meeting began.
It was the same every day. We all went over what we figured out, and what we would do for the next steps.
We had already gone through every single person in our pack and were trying to nail down abandoned houses.
We were deep diving into the libraries and searching through any documents.
We were asking people about what happened and looking for any information that anyone could offer us.
We were conducting interviews and collecting information from people who might know something. We were looking for anything.
Whoever this guy was, he was careful to trace his footsteps. He left little behind. Anyone we asked about the darkness said they never saw it coming and had no idea where it went. People who had lost family members stated they knew nothing but would offer up anything they thought would help.
We were coming to a dead end.
"This is frustrating," Frank said, leaning back in his chair with a huff. "Where the hell is this guy staying? Why is it we can't ever seem to find him?"
"What if he's not in a pack?" Jones asked, looking at the map of our packs together. We had X's all over the spaces we were sure were clear. The only area we hadn't checked was the woods.
It was the silent possibility we were all aware was possible. The only problem was that to search the woods, we needed numbers, and that was where the darkness seemed to be the most. There were so many things that could happen, so many things that could go wrong.
I ran a hand over my face. "What if we asked the witches to help look there?"
"That's not a bad idea."
"Would they agree to that idea?" Henrik asked.
"I don't see why not. It's a huge ask for us, though."
"We don't exactly have time to sit on this." Jay said, "We've already lost so much time. We all know this is only getting worse, and we need to take action now."
"I can ask Hope when I see her again. I'll chat with Jillian and ask her when I get home."
We all nodded in agreement, and I felt my stomach dip thinking about having to check the woods like we had the packs.
I was just getting into my car when my phone vibrated. I pulled it out, stunned to see if it was Jillian. I smiled as I answered it. "It's a little early for a lunch call."
"Where are you?"
I froze, hearing how worried her tone was.
"I'm leaving the meeting. Why?"
"Do you remember my vision? That I had when we were leaving the Council meeting?"
I thought about what she'd said. Her vision of a woman in the woods. "Yeah?"
"She's here."
I swallowed. "Where?"
"She came out of the woods from where we are doing my project."
"Did she give you a name or anything?"
"She's not really answering any of my questions. Can you come here? She seems confused."
I nodded, starting my car up. "Yeah, I'll be there in a little bit."
I drove straight to where Jillian said she would be and found her and her team sitting around a woman.
There was this thin-looking woman who was as pale as possible.
She was wearing a pair of dirty jeans and a ratty t-shirt.
She looked exhausted as she sat there looking around at everyone with wide eyes.
I walked closer, pausing just a foot away from them. Jillian walked towards me, seeming uneasy.
"What has she said?"
Jillian shrugged. "Not much. She said her memory is clipped like it's been wiped."
I knew instantly who could have done that, and it didn't sit well with me. "Do we think she's dangerous?"
"Possibly," Jillian said, chewing on her lower lip. "But she clearly needs help. We should take her home."
I looked at the girl, and as uneasy as I was feeling, I didn't feel like she was dangerous. If anything, she looked like she'd had it hard.
I nodded. "That's probably a good idea. What's her name?"
"Natalia." My head snapped as the gal spoke up in a soft voice. Her dark brown eyes stared at me. Confusion flickered across her face. "You're Maddox… aren't you?"
I stared at her. "I am."
She nodded at that and looked at Jillian. "I'm tired…"
"Let's take you to our house. Get you a hot shower and some food, and then you can sleep." Jillian reached for her, and Natalia moved like a slow, injured animal. My stomach twisted up. I looked at the guys. "Where did she come from?"
They all shrugged. "She just emerged from the woods."
I stared into them, questioning where she came from, but I didn't have long before Jillian was calling for me.
We took Natalia home, and Jillian set her up for a shower while I made up lunch. Natalia ate slowly, seeming to flinch if we moved too fast. Jillian and I were both unsure of how to handle it. I spotted bruises on her hands and felt my stomach dip with anger.
"Natalia, do you remember anything?"
She paused mid-bite and looked at me. Her lips pressed together, and I could see concern and worry flicker across her eyes. She shook her head. "I remember darkness. I remember I was doing something, but I don't know what."
"Do you remember where you came from…. where you were working?"
She shook her head. "Just darkness…and cold. I remember anger. He was always angry."
Jillian froze. "He?"
Natalia nodded. "Yeah…I don't remember him…or his face…but he was always angry." Natalia shook her head. "I'm tired…Can I sleep now?"
Jillian pulled herself up and nodded her head at Natalia. She took her upstairs to a bedroom, and I put everything away.
Jillian came back downstairs after a while and sighed. "She's broken."
I nodded. "Do you think she knows…him?"
Jillian rubbed her hands on her arms and shrugged. "There is a possibility of it. But look at her? She's…"
She didn't have to finish the sentence to know that whoever Natalia had been with didn't treat her right. She had the bruises and pale, skinny body to give it away.
Jillian walked closer to me, wrapping her arms around me. She sank against me, and I inhaled her scent. I held her, feeling lucky that I had her. I kissed the top of her head. "I'm going to clean this up if you want to head up to bed."
Jillian nodded, giving me a squeeze back before pulling herself free. I put the rest of the food away and cleaned the counters. I headed up the stairs and found Jillian in bed.
"Is she all situated?" I asked, shutting the door.
She nodded. "She's already asleep."
I walked closer, pulling the sheets up, and crawled into bed. I pulled her to me, pulling her onto my lap. "Good."
Jillian placed her hands on my chest. Her eyes sparkled. "You know, seeing you being soft made me think."
"About?" I asked, placing my hands on her hips.
Her lips curled up. "A family."
My eyebrows rose. "Really?"
She nodded, running her fingers closer. One of them hooked the strings of my sweatpants.
"I know that we still have a lot to figure out, and that there is a lot going on, including a woman in our guest room, but.
..I don't know..." Her fingers twirled around the string. "I think we would be great parents."
I grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to me. Her breasts were tight against my chest, and her eyes stared deep into mine. "Well..." I curled my fingers around hers. "I'm down for that if you are. But you'd have to go off your birth control."
She smiled softly. "I already did."
I flipped her, yanking at her nightgown. Jillian pulled at my sweatpants and my shirt. We threw our clothes off, staring at each other in the nude. I slid her onto my lap, and Jillian wasted no time sliding herself onto me.
I kissed her deeply, inhaling each breath she released. She ground into me slowly while I placed my hand low, finding her clit. I worked my thumb in slow circles, feeling her tighten slightly.
"Fuck, I love you so much," I growled as I bit on her neck, running my teeth along her collarbone.
Jillian braced her hands on my shoulders, her hips grinding in rougher motions.
"I love you, too," she said through pants. Her eyes locked on mine. I gripped tightly onto her ass with my free hand, bucking up deeper into her. Jillian moaned loudly, and I moved my thumb faster. I felt her tighten up, and a moment later, we both came together.
I cupped Jillian's face as she leaned back. Her face was glowing with happiness. I stared at her, remembering this feeling. I knew we still had a lot to figure out, but I had her, and that was all that mattered.
*****
THE END