I walked outside of the warehouse and waited for Finn to finish up inside. I pulled out a cigarette and lighter while waiting underneath the only streetlight outside. I inhaled a lungful of smoke and blew out slowly looking out toward the pitch-black parking lot. My vision is still slightly blurry from the amount of alcohol I had earlier.
As I took another hit and blew it out, a hand came around and clamped down onto my mouth, causing me to drop my cigarette. I screamed into the person's hand as I elbowed them in their abdomen. I heard a grunt as they loosened their hold on me just as another person came up and grabbed my waist from behind. I tried to push them off but the first man came back up and grabbed my hands and held them in front of me.
"Aww. What's wrong darling? You're not so tough now, are you?" a smoker's voice spoke behind me as the other man chuckled. They pulled me out from underneath the safety of the street light. I was forced down onto my knees by one of the men while the other held my hands behind my back.
"Don't worry sweetheart. We'll take real good care of you." The man in front of me said while he started unbuckling his pants.
I looked up into the man's cold eyes and immediately went back into time to when I was only fourteen."Don't worry sweetheart. I'll take real good care of you." I felt tears stream down my face at the thought of the memory. I was helpless then and I'm helpless now. Was all these years for nothing? Am I still the same, broken girl that I was all those years ago. And if not, then what changed? I'm still alone now, as much as I was back then. Only now, I don't even have my brother to rescue me.
I stayed there frozen and completely numb as tears silently streamed down my face. I was breathing hard as the man ripped my sports bra off and left me bare in front of them both. I struggled in their grip, trying to break free, but with two grown men, I was basically defenseless. I felt the man behind me, roughly grab one of my breasts in his rough, calloused hand. I cried out in pain as the man in front of me slapped me hard across the face making me fall to the ground. I felt so weak in that moment, living a woman's worst nightmare again for the second time in my life. I was openly crying now as the man grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up from the ground. I felt something trapped inside of me threatening to burst, and yet, nothing happened.
I was so caught up at that moment, that I didn't even notice movement from my right until I heard grunts behind me. I stayed staring wide-eyed at the man in front of me who was still holding onto me by my throat. He was ripped away from me with a groan as he was thrown onto the ground. I collapsed onto the dirty parking lot ground as I stayed there silently sobbing. I was sitting there covering up my exposed breast when I heard a voice that I never thought I would hear.
"Are you okay?" I stayed there silently looking at the ground covered in used needles and condom wrappers. "Kaia? Please tell me you're okay." I didn't move a muscle. I guess some may say that I was in shock. I was aware of everything going on around me but I was unable to respond.
I heard footsteps approaching until my chin was being lifted. My eyes were met with worried-filled, forest green eyes. He looked at me with such sadness and regret. He moved his hand to the neck of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. I sat there frozen while he pulled the fabric over my head and pulled each of my arms through. "Kaia. Please, baby. Tell me that you're okay. Did they hurt you?" His voice was strained and laced with sadness and anger.
I looked at him with a blank and numb expression even as tears were still streaming down my face. "I'm fine."
"Kaia, you're not fucking fine! Why can't you just let down your guard and just be real with me for once? You are not fine, Kaia. It's okay to say it." I could see the tears forming in his eyes as he said every word. "Why can't you just say you're not fine?" He asked with hurt in his voice.
"Because then everything that I've tried so hard to keep inside will break out. I'll drown in it," I whispered.
He didn't say anything but just pulled me to his chest and held me there as I cried. Letting out all of the emotions that I've kept bottled up for years. I didn't even realize that I was talking as he held me. "I'm sorry Milo.... It should have been me. It was all my fault... I should have never called you that night. You didn't deserve to die." I took a ragged breath. "I killed him," I whispered the words so quietly that I wasn't even sure that he heard them. Regardless, he just kept holding me while I bled my heart out right in the middle of the pitch-black parking lot.
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Asher's POV
I walked into the fight club, hardly able to hold in my anxiousness of seeing Kaia again. I just needed to talk to her and fix what I did. She'll forgive me. She has to. I walked towards the side of the stage and waited for her name to be called. I looked in the direction that most people were looking at and saw Kaia. She looked different. Almost carefree in that moment with her guard down. That changed when Finn pulled her aside and started talking. I strained my ears to listen to their conversation but it was too loud in here to pinpoint their voices over the crowd.
I watched as Kaia and her opponent started circling each other in the ring. Kaia stumbled a few times just from walking around. What the hell? I look over towards Finn and see that he can hardly stand on his own. I look back to Kaia to see her get hit across the face. Holy shit. They both ditched school to get wasted? Why the hell is she here fighting then? I watch in horror as she's punched in the eye and then across the jaw, making her fall to the floor. I can smell the blood that's pouring down her chin as her opponent straddles her.
I am about two seconds away from going into that ring and beating the shit out of the girl who is hurting my mate. I grit my teeth in anger at the cocky attitude coming from the girl. "Got anything to say before I pummel your pretty little face in?"
I watch, almost breaking into a smile as my little mate spits blood into the other girl's face. "Fuck you." Kaia punched the other girl so hard that she fell off and to the side. That didn't stop her though. It was like she didn't even know what she was doing. Everyone watched in fear as she began to punch her opponent over and over again, not stopping once. After the bell rang, I knew I needed to go get her before she permanently damaged the other girl's face. I ran onto the ring and picked Kaia up from behind and started walking with her to the back, so no one could see or hear us.
Kaia turned to look at me as I was leading her to one of the back walls and pulled her arm from my grip. "What the fuck do you think you're doing here?" She asked me, slurring the words as she spoke.
"You're fucking drunk! I was worried about you all damn day, and I came to see you. What the hell Kaia? You just left yesterday after you blew up on me...and...fuck!" I pulled my hair with both hands and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. "I really like you, Kaia!" I yelled the last words at her.
She stood there frozen in place as she let the words sink in. When she spoke next, I felt my heart breaking with every word. "You don't even know me, Asher. How could you possibly like me?" I thought about what she was saying and couldn't just say, "It doesn't matter that I hardly know you, because we're destined soulmates!" I looked back at her as she said, "Listen, I'm sorry. But we're just two different types of people. It's never going to happen." I didn't know what to say, so I stood there and watched her walk out the doors.
I sighed and rubbed my face angrily. It's as if the universe doesn't want us together. I keep trying to make an effort to talk and get to know Kaia, and yet, she keeps shutting me down every chance she gets. I walked over to Finn, "Hey, man. Please make sure Kaia gets home safe will you? I don't want her walking home drunk at night." Even though Finn was obviously drunk, I still trusted that he would keep Kaia safe. I mean, I was still going to follow them both home, but I wasn't going to let him know that.
"Yeah, no problem. Hey, can you go tell her that I'm gonna be another 20 minutes?" I sighed, knowing that she isn't going to want to see me again after that exit she made but I agreed regardless. I walked out towards the doors leading to the parking lot. I looked around the dark parking lot, straining my werewolf eyesight for a sign of where Kaia might be. I looked down to see a lit cigarette laying on the ground, still burning. I immediately got a bad feeling.
As thoughts were swirling through my head, I heard a scream come from around the building. I knew...I just knew it was hers. I raced around the building and came to a halt at the most horrifying scene that made my vision go red. I could feel my wolf at the surface as I gazed in horror and fury at the sight in front of me.
Kaia. My little mate, crying, half-naked, and being choked by a man with his pants undone. I moved so fast towards the other man that was approaching Kaia, that he didn't even see me coming. I punched him in the face so hard that he blacked out. I turned around and physically ripped away the man who was choking my precious girl. I didn't stop hitting him till he passed out too. I calmed my breathing, looking at the two men on the ground. I turned my gaze towards Kaia and my wolf immediately retreated back at the sight of her.
She was sitting on the ground, crying, trying to hide her exposed breast. I started walking towards her slowly and spoke for the first time since coming out here. "Are you okay?" Silence. "Kaia? Please tell me you're okay." She didn't move or speak. I walk towards her and bent down. I grabbed her chin gently as I met her, wet, sad, broken eyes. My heart broke just at the sight of her so vulnerable. She didn't even look like herself. I kept waiting for her to snap at me with a sarcastic comment. I realized that she still didn't have a shirt on, so I removed mine and pulled it gently onto her shivering body. "Kaia. Please, baby. Tell me that you're okay. Did they hurt you?" My voice came out strained as I tried not to break down right in front of her.
She looked at me with a blank expression even as tears were still streaming down her face. "I'm fine."
I looked at her with anger and sadness in my voice, "Kaia, you're not fucking fine! Why can't you just let down your guard and just be real with me for once? You are not fine, Kaia. It's okay to say it." I could feel tears threatening to spill as I looked at her. "Why can't you just say you're not fine?"
"Because then everything that I've tried so hard to keep inside will break out. I'll drown in it," she whispered softly. I knew she wasn't waiting for a response from me, so I just pulled her to my chest and held her there as her body rocked with sobs.
I held her as she whispered so softly, that if I didn't have special hearing, then I'm sure that I would have missed it. "I'm sorry Milo.... It should have been me. It was all my fault... I should have never called you that night. You didn't deserve to die." I ran my hand over her hair as I held her. "I killed him," her voice broke in a barely audible tone. I didn't know what to say to comfort her, so I just held her head against my chest and let her have a moment to process everything.
What do you guys think about Asher's protectiveness towards Kaia? Will this change anything between them?