32. Chapter 32
Jaxholdsmein his arms, keeping me so close to him that I think he might smother me. Tears spill down my cheeks and soak into his t-shirt. I prayed they would come for me, but I was slowly losing hope that they would ever find where the wolves were hiding.
”I”m sorry... I”m so, so sorry.” Jax whispers into my hair as he runs his fingers through it, trailing them slowly down my back.
We”re both covered in blood, but I don”t care. I just want him to hold me close and never let go. I should still be angry with him for everything, but right now I can”t be. His lips brush across my forehead and down the side of my face, leaving wet kisses on my cheeks until he reaches my lips.
His lips connect with mine and the world explodes around me. The last time he kissed me, it was brutal and unforgiving. He left my lips bruised and my heart broken as he shoved me away from him. He had looked almost feral, and his cock was hard, but then he ran away from me.
Now though, his kiss is soft, yet demanding. His tongue sweeps across my upper lip and I open them for him. Thrusting his tongue into my mouth, he caresses mine with gentle strokes. His hands trail down my back and hold me flush against him.
A throat clearing behind us makes us pull apart, but he doesn”t take his eyes off me as he takes me in. My eyes cut to Bane as he steps closer to me. His hands are covered in blood, but he opens his arms for me and I rush into them. They close around my back and he lifts me off the floor, holding me against his chest. His nose snakes up my neck, breathing me in as my legs wrap around his waist.
I plant my lips on his and his kiss is just as demanding as Jax”s. Moving his hands to my bare ass, he holds me against him as he ravishes my mouth.
”Don”t I get to hold our girl?” Diego”s voice has me splitting apart from Bane as I look over my big guy”s shoulder.
Sliding down Bane”s body, I move to Diego and we clash together, his lips are on mine in the most dominating kiss. He tastes my mouth like he can”t get enough of me, his arms wrap around me. When my lips are thoroughly swollen, he pulls away.
”Let”s get out of here,” Jax calls from his position next to Bane.
I glance over to Lila; she watches us with wide eyes. Rushing over to her, I take her hand in mine and lace our fingers together.
”We”re free, Lila. This is Bane, Diego, and Capt... Jax.” I point at each man as I say their names and they give her a nod. Her grip on my hand tightens. ”Wait, there are more women here. We can”t leave them.” I shriek, dragging Lila toward the door.
”Shush, Demi. Achilles has already gone to free them, he knows a safe place we can take them to.” Diego steps beside me.
Who the hell is Achilles?
Jax takes the lead as he walks us through the tunnels and away from the caves. When we get outside, my eyes take a second to adjust to the light. The sky above me has a vermillion hue, and the moon is entirely red. The sight sends a shiver running down my spine.
The other women are huddled together just outside the entrance wrapped in blankets. There is a man standing with them, with hair as white as snow. His purple eyes cut to me as he gives me a solemn nod. Jax makes his way over to the group, and the white-haired man steps to the side to speak to him.
”Oh my god, Lila, Demi. You”re both okay.” Thea rushes out, ”I thought for sure when they took you both, we”d never see you again.” A sob breaks from her and Lila moves towards her, wrapping her arms around Thea”s shaking body.
”I told you they”d come for us,” I say.
”I know. I heard you in the cave. I just didn”t want to believe it. They”ve had us for so long, the only way to escape was death.” Thea speaks, her voice thick with emotion.
Lila pulls back from Thea and takes her hands. Her face is stained with tears and blood.
”You”re free now, all of you. The guys will help you.” I gesture toward the men behind me and they all nod. Thea steps away from Lila and pulls me in for a hug.
”Thank you, Demi. Thank you so much.”
”Achilles will make sure you are all healed and take you to a women”s sanctuary.” Jax steps forward as he speaks, followed by the white-haired man. I eye him curiously. ”I know you”re all scared, but all I ask is for you to trust us.”
A few of the women look my way and nod, but some look like they want to run. They were brutalized while in captivity; the wolves had used and abused them just like they did with Ginny. Some had died in the same way and some just wished they had; their scars all ran deep.
”I trust you, Demi.” Lila steps forward and Sasha follows her. A few more of the women move to join them, including Thea.
”Jax, I want to go with them. I need to make sure they”re safe.” I can see the look of disapproval on his face. He doesn”t want me to go, but he gives a small nod.
”I”ll make a portal. Stand back, ladies.” Achilles steps away from the women and they shuffle closer to me and my men.
With his hands held out, black and purple mist appears from them, swirling around in front of him. It balls together at first, before circling wider and wider. There is no forest within the circle, but a light-colored room. When it”s wide enough, Achilles drops his hands.
”Please don”t dally. I won”t be able to hold it for long.”
Stepping close to Lila, I link my hand with hers. The women all follow suit, joining together in a chain. Their eyes are wide as they look at the portal before us. Diego and Bane step around our little group and walk straight through. When they get to the other side, Bane thrusts his hand back through the portal, holding it out to me.
Taking it, I let him pull me through the opening, and the others follow behind me. When I get to the other side, I gasp. The room we are in is huge and filled with what looks like hospital beds. The sheets are white and clean. It feels so long since I saw clean sheets and my shoulders relax.
The women stick to small groups, a few walk around the room, a few kneel on the floor crying as they take in everything around them. The compound was crude and unclean but where we were kept was even worse.
A rushing sound behind me has me turning, the portal is closing. Jax and Achilles are now on this side of it. Bane, Jax, and Diego surround me once more, and Achilles stays to one side away from the women exploring the room, but he watches them closely.
The huge double doors at the end of the room open, and a new group of women rushes inside. Most of them have the same white hair and purple eyes as Achilles. They”re all wearing clothing in a variety of colors.
A woman, who looks like she’s in charge, stops in front of our little group. She glances around the women in the room, a look of sympathy on her face. She doesn”t need to be told what has happened, it’s obvious to anyone they have been through hell.
”Jax,” she nods towards him before pulling her gaze to Achilles. ”Achilles, you made it.”
”Were you worried about me, Ursa?” She scoffs at his comment.
”Never. You”re too much of a pain in my ass to die.” Achilles lets out a throaty chuckle, brushing a piece of invisible lint off his bloodstained clothing.
”Always.” He grins at her, and she looks away.
”Ladies, please tend to our guests. My name is Ursa, I lead this sanctuary. You are all safe here, and welcome for as long as you need to stay. We’ll get you healed and then cleaned up.”
The women disperse around the room, leading the women we saved to the hospital beds. After helping them onto the beds, the traumatized group cling to the blankets around their shoulders, holding them close to their bodies. God only knew how long it had been since some of them had seen a setup like this.
”Now, gentlemen,” Ursa looks at each man in turn. ”I must ask you all to leave. I feel our new charges won”t settle until you are all gone.”
Achilles nods, The same magic he used for the portal swirls from his hands. I can see the apartment beyond the smoke, and I want to rush through. My guys move closer to it. I go to follow, but a hand grabs mine and I turn to Lila.
”Thank you.” I can see tears in the corners of her eyes as she holds my hand in hers.
”It was all the guys. I”m just sorry I couldn”t get us out of there myself.” I can feel tears burning my own eyes.
”Because of you, they got us out, that”s what matters.” Lila pulls me into a quick hug before she lets me go again. Taking a step back, she hurries to one of the empty beds and sits on the edge, while another woman tends to her.
”Demetria, we should leave.” I turn to look at Jax and nod.
When I get closer to the three guys, Bane wraps an arm around my shoulders, and Diego takes my hand in his. They drag me through the portal but this time when we get to the other side it doesn”t snap shut. Instead, Achilles shifts his hands until the sanctuary disappears, and the portal displays another location.
”Gentlemen,” he nods to Bane, Diego, and then Jax. ”Miss Demi.” He smiles at me and steps through the portal once more. It closes with a pop and I”m alone with them.
All three guys crowd around me, each one of them touching me. I want to melt into it. I don”t know how long I”ve been gone, but it seems like forever ago since I watched Bane fall to the floor with a needle in his neck and then something heavy hitting the back of my head. When I woke up again, I was already in the compound.
Bane steps behind me, his arms wrapping around my waist as he holds me close. His lips ghost across my neck and I shiver. Placing my hands over his, I can feel the warmth of his skin beneath my fingers. He”s alive, we”re both alive. After seeing him fall to the wolves, I didn”t know if he survived, but he”s here with me now.
”I”m sorry I couldn”t stop them,” Bane whispers close to my ear.
Turning in the circle of his arms, I lay my head on his chest. I can hear his heart beating and I savor the sound. As the events of everything that happened hit me full force, I crumple in his arms, but he holds me up like my dead weight means nothing to him. Tears fall down my cheeks as sobs wrack through my body.
Heat encompasses my back as another body steps up behind me, the scent that hits my nostrils tells me it”s Diego. His hands rest on my waist as he kisses my back and shoulders.
”We got you, Demi. Let it all out.”
There”s one person missing, Jax. Pulling my head from Bane”s chest, I look over to him. He”s standing close, almost within reaching distance, but he doesn”t come any closer. The look of devastation on his face chips away at my heart.
”This is all my fault, Demetria. And for that, I am so, so sorry.” Jax closes the space between us and kisses my forehead before he walks away.
The action and his apology confuse me. Before the wolves took me, he did nothing but push me away, even though I could tell he was attracted to me. My feelings for him are so conflicting. A part of me wants to curse him out, but the other part just wants him to love me. Wait, love? Is that what I feel for these three men?
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I wipe my tears away. Blood still stains my hands. I need to shower and wash it all off. It won”t take away what I went through in the caves, but it will be a start.
”Shower?” I ask. Diego steps back and Bane lifts me from the ground, bridal style.
I snuggle into his chest as he walks through the apartment to my room. He carries me across the threshold and heads straight for the bathroom. I hear the bedroom door shut behind us, meaning Diego must have followed.
Walking into the bathroom, Bane sits me on the counter. The cold marble causes a small gasp as it touches my naked skin. He moves to the enormous shower that is more than big enough for all of us and turns on the water. Steam fills the room, misting the mirror behind me, I’ve never been so happy to see steam in a bathroom before.