Chapter 4: Bloody Love

Ours?

Maximilian seems to relish in watching me figure out what he meant; his wicked smile now reaches his eyes.

"So if I were you, I'd be a good girl and try to make this whole thing more pleasant for everyone involved," he says and leaves the room. I hear the key click behind him.

I sit there, still trying to make sense of the situation I'm in.

Not only am I a hostage, but I'm meant to bear him children. Of course, that was the whole reason for marrying me off to Alpha Jack in the first place. But I had been so sure that I would be able to escape him before I had to sleep with him... And he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would just take me by force.

Maximilian, though... 

I get up and head to the door at the back of the room. Thankfully, it's an equally modern and pristine bathroom, and I get a shower going. There are piles of white, fluffy towels, and all sorts of shampoos and lotions in a corner. 

The water that pours down from my body is brown, possibly from them dragging me around the dirt yesterday. 

I can't believe it's been almost a day since my almost-wedding. Flashes of the whole ordeal flood my mind. Hopefully, no one besides my father's henchmen got hurt. 

I desperately wish I could talk to Joan. She's the only one I can be honest with, who doesn't judge me, and who would probably die before sharing my secrets with anyone. She's also the only one with whom I was ever able to mind-link successfully. 

I can't help but envy her now. As the beta's daughter, she's part of this same ridiculous system that oppresses women, but Beta Sander isn't like my father. He's kind and willing to see different sides to everything. 

When I exit the bathroom, there's a bag of clothes on the bed next to a tray of sandwiches and orange juice. My wedding dress is gone.

I hadn't even noticed someone coming in while I was showering.

My stomach growls in response to the food on the bed, and I instantly gobble it up, still wrapped in the towel. While I eat, I hear noises from outside, and I quickly rummage through the bag, eager to get some clothes on. 

I don't want anyone to walk in here and see me like this, so quickly put on some jeans and a t-shirt, snapping the tags off. The sizing is just right, which makes me realize that these people probably know a lot more about me than I thought. 

The rattle outside intensifies, and people begin to shout. After very long bangs and crashes, it goes silent. 

I try the door. Surprisingly, it is no longer locked. 

The food I just ate threatens to leave my body when I see the disaster scene before me.

Two bloody bodies lay sprawled on the floor, their limbs in awkward angles. What was once a modern living room is now a mess of feathers, broken furniture, and glass.

"Go back inside." A naked Alexei enters through another door, one eye barely open from a nasty bruise. He’s got scratches all over his chest, and a deep cut on his thigh.

Averting my eyes from him, I try to see if these men might be my father's henchmen, but they're so banged up that it's hard to notice the details on their clothes. Their distinguishing feature would be a crescent moon pin they usually wear either on their sleeves or lapels. 

"Helena, if you don’t want to end up like these men, go back into that room," Alexei growls at me, heading towards the kitchen and opening the faucet.

Before I can move, the big white door at the opposite end of the room opens.

I freeze.

It can't be him.

His white shirt is torn, revealing a bloody gash on his chest running down from his clavicle to his stomach. Blood gushes out of his arm.

It can’t be.

He doesn’t seem to notice me at first, as he stumbles in, holding on to the wall for support. His wounded arm hangs limply to his side as blood drips from his fingertips.

“Thomas?” I whisper.

His eyes widen as he catches sight of me.

“Helena?” he says, as he falls to his knees and groans.

Without even looking at the mess around me, I run to him.

“What the fuck?” Alexei says, and he continues to yell at me but I’m not listening. I almost trip on the bloodstained floor and I feel glass shards pricking at my bare soles, but in an instant, I’m at Thomas’ side.

"Do you know each other?" Alexei starts walking toward us, but I ignore his question. 

Why is Thomas here? What the hell is going on?

Thomas, the boy who broke my heart. The one who disappeared without a trace three years ago after he almost got caught sneaking into my bedroom.

He’s now lying on the floor, struggling to open his eyes.

“He needs a tourniquet,” I say. 

Alexei roughly pulls me by the arm, almost sending me flying backward.

I steady myself and launch back onto the ground, immediately going for Thomas’ belt. I can't take my eyes off of him. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Alexei growls.

“He’s losing too much blood,” I say, finally managing to get Thomas’ belt off. I quickly wrap it around his arm, though it’s difficult because now my hands are drenched in his blood. “Call an ambulance!” I cry out.

“No one is coming,” Alexei says. “We need to get him to the pack healer.”

“Healer? He needs a hospital,” I say, ripping off a piece of Thomas’ shirt, trying to cover his wound. It’s bleeding less now, but his skin is a deathly white and his breathing has slowed down so much that it’s barely perceptible.

“That’s not how things work here.” Alexei disappears into another room and comes back wearing jeans. “Move.”

He kicks the door open and picks up Thomas' limp body as if he weighed no more than a pound, rushing down a spiral staircase. 

"You go back to your room," Alexei yells at me, but I don't listen to him. I follow him down to a loft-like area. At the foot of the stairs, there's a parked car with a cracked windshield. 

"I'm coming with you," I say, as I rush to the car and open the back door.  

Alexei lays Thomas' body onto the back seat and grabs my wrist, pulling me towards the stairs.

"If you don't want your friend to die, go back upstairs."

"No," I say, struggling to wiggle my wrist free from his grasp. "I promise I won't try to run away. Please." 

He rolls his eyes and lets go of me, getting into the car and switching it on. I rush to the back seat and get on just as he's pulling out of the garage, barely managing to close the door before he swerves onto a deserted road. 

"Maximilian is going to give me so much shit for this." 

I want to ask him so many questions, but there'll be time for that. Right now, as the car speeds through miles of trees and nothingness, all I see is Thomas lying next to me in the car.

I gently place his head on my lap and brush away his dark blonde hair. It's matted with blood. 

Maybe I shouldn't show so much affection for him within site of Maximilian's guy, but I don't care. I still can't believe Thomas is here, and that just when I find him, he might be dying.