CASTRIEL POV:
We watched the six of them leave before going to Rydge's office. I knew Euterpe didn't want to go but I also knew why she was going. Braxton explained what happened and the deal they made but it just made it more interesting. It made it more suspicious. What could they have possibly talked about to the point where they were willing to do what Braxton wanted. The same day it happened Thorn tried checking the school cameras only to get see absolutely nothing. Everything from that day was gone and a virus of fireworks that read 'Try Harder Imbecile.' To say Thorn was a bit upset is an understatement.
"What do they want now?" Thorn sat down on one of the chairs.
I took the other and we waited for Rydge to sit across from us behind his desk. I could tell he was growing upset as the days passed, something is wrong.
"They started Nova again." He spoke emotionlessly.
I sighed looking out his office window and had a deep urge to shoot someone. They have started a war without thinking of the consequences and the outcome will not be in their favor. They think they can do what they want and when they want but it's not how it works. We are in charge and if they won't listen then it's not our problem. They know the rules and the consequence is... death.
"What exactly were Sage's plans?" I turned my head.
Rydge clicked his tongue, "For once I don't know. I don't think it was Nolan who came up with this idea, to be honest. I think it's a cover. There is something else going on, something twisted. Someone is trying to distract us from a bigger plan but it won't work. We are not stupid or naive like the rest of those idiots. Nova will be destroyed and find out who is trying to use us as pawns in their game." He narrowed his eyes at the desk.
"Do you think Euterpe knows something?" I asked with a frown.
"Actually I was thinking about that," Rydge admitted, "I am not sure if you two recall this but when she was younger she spoke of green780." I felt my eyes widen, "I had no idea what it was at the time because we were kids. Euterpe was a kid. I want a close eye on her and that does not even mention the fact of her activities. It's obvious that she was working in some type of way for Nolan, only Smaragdine Shadows know that fighting style. And I highly doubt Nolan would teach her that style for simple bullying at school. She knows more than she lets on and we need to figure it out now." He demanded.
Thorn hummed, "Well we can never be too sure Rydge. Bullying is not the easiest thing to go through and if fighting helped her then it makes sense. There are many reasons as to why she knows that style, her father was a drug supplier. The most sought out one to be specific so maybe he wanted her to be able to protect herself. She was a target. If she was bullied, I believe it. You saw how Braxton is with her and he barely met her." He pinched his nose.
"Yes, we need to have another talk with him it seems." Rydge nodded, "And with Euterpe." He added on.
My eyebrows furrowed, "With Euterpe? What are we supposed to tell her? Do you really think she is going to tell us everything because we asked? To her we're just taking over our legal businesses, she doesn't know who we are. And if anything, Nolan probably drilled a defense mechanism in her brain. She won't talk, she wouldn't rat out her father. Even if he's dead... that's her father, they loved each other. They are family." I pointed out.
Both of them took a minute to think it over and I felt my mind wrapping around as well. It makes sense that she wouldn't talk about anything that would ruin her father's reputation. Just like us, she would most likely protect her father's legacy and if we tried I wasn't sure if it would hurt us or her.
"Fine, we can bush around the subject and if she's willing we will go further. Other than that we still need to get rid of the scum. The auctions haven't started yet but they're already setting everything up for them." He sneered, "They are trying to keep as much information away from the Bratva as possible. I already have multiple people getting us the information we need. They want a girl but no one knows why. Apparently, the girl is very important to the man in charge. I highly doubt that." Rydge scoffed.
"No one knows the name?" Thorn asked confused.
Rydge lightly nodded, "Yes, and no. No one knows her real name except a few but everyone knows her as Raven. That's what he calls her."
Haven't we heard that before?
"Poor girl, being chased by half of the underworld. If they are after her and she is not there willingly then you know something is wrong. She is running, so that means something is terribly wrong." Thorn frowned.
"Thorn I want you to do as much research as you can to find information on this Raven. Hack into whatever you want but leave no crumbs." Rydge ordered.
"Never do," Thorn smirked.
He turned to me, "I want you to find where they're planning the first auction. We need to have plans done as soon as possible. Grandfather would not be happy if we let it continue after all he did to shut it down." He looked at the portrait on the wall.
I nodded and got up to leave but our phones went off at the same time.
Othello: Euterpe just told me they're planning to leave in about twenty minutes. She will text us before she leaves the Manor just a heads up.
I frowned tilting my head, "It's been less than an hour and they're leaving. That's... odd but I knew she didn't want to go." I murmured.
"Well, it's better that way. She'll be home instead of being around alcohol and drugs or those vile creatures they call students. She'll be safe." Thorn sighed in relief.
I patted his shoulder because I knew he was worried about her. Ever since Braxton brought out the party Thorn has been giving him glares. Thorn had mama bear air around him and he felt Euterpe's hesitance about going. He wanted to make up an excuse to keep her there but Braxton being Braxton, got his way as always.
"Hmm, interesting." Rydge muttered before putting his phone down, "Keep your phones close by." He sighed going back to work.
Both of us left to our own offices and I immediately got to work looking for possible places. I started by looking here in the UK first but I didn't find a single thing. I thought about it for a minute before I started looking in Russia, our home. Right when I was about to actually start going through stuff I felt a cold chill travel down my spine. I immediately straightened and furrowed my brows looking at my watch. It's been thirty minutes since Othello texted us but there was nothing from Euterpe. I thought that maybe she decided to stay but I felt a heavyweight on my chest and stood up quickly. It's an instinct we have when something is wrong in the family, and I knew that it was about Euterpe. I shouldn't be worried because of anything, she can fight, I can't do anything rash.
"Dove is fine," I told myself.
I stood up and walked out to see Rydge coming out of his office with murder on his face.
"You felt it, let's go." His eye twitched.
As we neared the foyer I saw Thorn pacing while calling someone but he cursed colorfully.
"Come on, come on..." he muttered.
Again he cursed and turned to us, "Euterpe isn't answering her phone." His voice was panicked.
"Call the Twins and Othello," Rydge ordered before taking out his phone.
I called Othello and he picked up after the first ring, "Othello, where is Euterpe? Something is wrong. Did she decide to stay?" I asked quickly.
"No, I felt it. We've searched everywhere but we can't find her nor the other two." He spoke loud over the music.
I sucked in a breath, "Are you telling me that there were three of you at that party and no one knows shit?" I growled.
"I'm sorry Cass, I was getting information about the girl they want. Braxton was the one being a fucking idiot!" He yelled probably to Braxton.
There were shouts and a lot of commotion which meant they were fighting.
"They can't track her," Rydge growled at his phone.
My heart skipped a beat, "JUST COME HOME NOW!" I snarled into the phone before hanging up.
"Rydge," Thorn paled, "What do we do?"
He was about to speak when a knock sounded from the door and I walked over. I opened it and immediately paled at the three teens in front of me. Miles was carrying Euterpe while August was leaning on his side. All of them were bloody but what made me panic was Euterpe herself. She looked... dead, she was hardly breathing. I took her out of Miles's arms and ran to the living room with them behind me. Thorn gasped and Rydge's face turned to the worst I've ever seen. I laid her down on the couch and checked her breathing.
"JENSEN CALL THE DOCTOR!" I shouted, "She's not good." I looked at Rydge.
He turned to them, "What the fuck happened?" He snarled walking for them.
Both of them look like hell with cuts and bruises all over their faces. What worried me was the pale and horrified look on their faces.
"We- we found her with him. He was on top of her and she couldn't fight back. He drugged her." Miles stammered looking at her.
"The stupid fucking bitch Vicky thought she was distracting us! She was helping him!" August exploded.
Thorn took a step forward, "Did- did he rape her?" He choked out.
They went silent, "We don't know." Miles looked down sadly.
I turned my attention back to Euterpe and I realized that she wasn't wearing the clothes she left in. She was in a large t-shirt and some oversized sweats. I moved her hair out of her face and sucked in a breath looking at the damage. Half her face was purple and a tear ran down my cheek.
"Euterpe wake up," I grabbed her hand.
She made no movements.
"Stay calm," Rydge muttered.
"CALM? CALM? THIS IS BRAXTON'S FAULT!" August screamed.
Rydge broke, "I wasn't talking to you!" He snapped.
No, he was talking to himself.
"Euterpe," I touched her cheek.
Again, she showed no signs of life. If it wasn't the faint breathing I heard I would swear she was dead.
"Dove, please." Another tear ran down my cheek.
Just then the boys walked in and froze looking at her like I did. Axton's mouth opened and closed multiple times before he slowly walked over. Othello looked around for an explanation but all of us didn't want to talk at all. Braxton's face was pale and had nothing but guilt all over it.
"Dove," I tried again.
We heard rushed footsteps and our family doctor gasped seeing her. He came over and I moved out of the way so he can see what's wrong.
"May I?" He looked at Rydge while gesturing to her shirt.
Rydge nodded and we watched as Doctor Nicholas gently lifted her shirt up. Miles and August turned away confusing me but my mouth dropped looking at her skin. Her stomach was black and blue with a few cuts and Rydge cursed. Othello closed his eyes turning to the wall while the twins just gaped. I covered my mouth since I felt like vomiting and my eyes watered.
"We need to get her to her room. It will be better I work on her there so we don't have to move her after she's bandaged." He spoke sadly.
I was going to step up but Rydge beat me to it and gently cradled her to his chest. Both of them left and Rydge came down a few minutes later with a blank face. He sat down and rubbed his face but didn't say anything at all. The silence was just making the atmosphere more tense as it continued.
"Where is he?" Rydge asked calmly, "Who is he?"
August sighed, "We don't know. Vicky was being weird and we were already suspicious of her since we met her. She claimed to have seen Euterpe somewhere before but Euterpe knew that wasn't true. We locked the stupid girl and a bathroom and went looking in different rooms. When we got to the room it was dark and we just saw a glimpse of her face in the moonlight. We pulled him off and we started fighting. Two others walked into the room and while we took care of them he jumped out the window. She was practically naked and she passed out from a panic attack." He explained slowly.
"She said she didn't want to go!" Othello shouted at Braxton.
He blinked, "She didn't have to go! We gave her a choice Othello! She is the one who doesn't want to tell us anything!" He protested stubbornly.
"Tell us stuff? Braxton, she's known us for less than two fucking weeks! Did you think she was just going to be an open book and do whatever you wanted! It makes no sense! She doesn't know us! She doesn't trust us yet and you keep pushing her away more than she already is! She is our sister!" Axton yelled angrily.
"Stepsister! She is our stepsister!" He yelled back.
Othello punched him in the face, "She is our half-sister arsehole! She is our blood! She is not some random girl that was brought along! She is part of the fucking family!" He seethed.
Braxton scoffed, "Part of the family?" He laughed mockingly, "We didn't even know she existed three weeks ago. She doesn't talk to us and sure as hell doesn't want to be here! She is planning on leaving and you want me to accept her into the family? She is a fucking visitor and that's it!"
Rydge stood up and grabbed him by the shirt, "I have had it, Braxton," he snarled, "She is our sister and that is fucking it. It doesn't matter if she is only our half-sister because she is our sister period. She is physically and now most likely mentally damaged and you're here whining about something so fucking trivial. You don't think I know that she wants to leave? That she plans to leave after the gala?" He hissed darkly, "I know!" He shouted, "But what doesn't help is you being a complete asshole to her! You acting like this doesn't make her feel welcomed so if she wants to leave then why shouldn't she? She needs our help now more than ever and you're going to quit your shit. Do you understand?" He tightened his grip.
"Yes, I'm sorry," Braxton muttered with guilt.
Miles and August had shocked faces and I realized Rydge said we knew about their plans. Thorn sort of heard them talking about it and told us after. We weren't pissed, we were more disappointed, not in her but ourselves. We didn't make her feel welcomed and she was still trying to run away.
"You'll apologize when she wakes up." Rydge let go.
He sat down and sighed tapping his foot, he was on edge and worried. Rydge would never allow his emotions to get out like this but she's more important to us than we make it seem. I need her to be okay now before we hunt the bastard who did this to her.
"What information did you get?" I asked distractedly.
Othello blinked, "Not much, just about the same amount that we have. They call her Raven, the big man wants her, she just turned seventeen, and she knows how to run and hide well." He shrugged.
My eyes narrowed at Miles and August who shifted uncomfortably, "What do you know?" I gritted out.
They looked at each other for a few moments before sighing with a nod.
"Look, normally we wouldn't do this new cause her trust means everything but... it's for the best. After what happened tonight it just means that they're getting closer..." Miles frowned, "The girl they're looking for, Raven..." he took a deep breath, "They're looking for Euterpe." He looked at me.
"What?" I breathed.
August nodded, "If you want to know everything then you'll have to ask her. We are only telling you this because we want her safe. You're the only ones who can protect her and they're scared of you guys. This was the reason she ran away that first night here with you guys. She was trying to leave before they found her again but... you know." He bit his lip.
"Fuck!" Braxton punched the wall, "She was running to stay safe, to keep us out of it and we dragged her back." He rubbed his face.
"There's another thing..." August spoke up, "The reason we agreed to the deal," he hissed at Braxton, "Is because Headmaster Chadwick is a fucking spy for the people after her. He indirectly threatened us and said it would be fun watching over her." He rolled his eyes.
Rydge's face gradually grew darker, "He is dead and no one will touch her, ever." He sneered talking his phone out.
While Rydge made orders for the headmaster to be dragged and thrown in a ditch we waited. It seemed like forever and I absolutely hated it. I felt so useless while my sister almost died and was about to be raped tonight. I couldn't help her. Doctor Nicholas came down with a grim face as we stood up.
"She is still sleeping due to the exhaustion of a panic attack but she should wake soon. I have done what I can to take care of the open cuts and bandaged them but they will need to be cleaned daily. She has heavy bruising and four of her ribs are broken. I want you to be careful with her physical activity because her hip has a terrible bruise that will hurt when walking. If I had to guess it was from a strong force, she was either hit with something extremely hard or she was thrown into the wall. I have left a few painkillers for her that should last for about two days but this is her prescription." He handed Rydge a paper, "It is best to get those right away for her because they will work better than the ones I left. I did not check if she was sexually assaulted for two reasons. One being I was not sure if that was appropriate and did not have your permission. And two I believe it would be better to ask her when she wakes. That way she can choose to see a female doctor if she prefers." He explained sympathetically, "Do you have any questions?" He asked looking around.
"No thank you, Nichols," Thorn nodded slowly.
"I'll take my leave. Oh, she has a great number of scars and would check up on that." He walked out with Jensen.
I sighed shakily, "He threw her into a fucking wall... her ribs are broken... she has scars?" I paled.
Rydge looked at Miles and August and opened his mouth but stopped when we heard a crash. All of us looked up and took off to Euterpe's room. We pushed through the door to see her lamp on the floor next to her as she was on her knees crying.
"Strawberry?" August slowly walked forward.
She looked up at him and I felt my heart physically break at the tears running down her cheeks. Her lips trembled and he slowly held his hand out while she looked at it cautiously. Her hands slowly went up and my heart hurt even more watching her hands shake badly. Her fingers finally touched his hand and he slowly moved forward with sad eyes. He wrapped his arm around her and she cried into his chest.
"I'm so sorry," tears ran down August's face, "I'm so fucking sorry." He repeated.
Soon she was asleep and he lifted her onto her bed before tucking her in.
"You two can stay in the guest room across the hall, it will be good to have you here for her," Rydge told Miles.
He nodded, "Let's let her rest. Tomorrow will be a long and difficult day." Thorn motioned us out.
I walked over to heard and kissed her head before leaving the room.
It hurts so fucking bad.
My dove is hurting, I'm hurting.
~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
Hey cuties, I'm sorry I've been missing for the past week. I have been doing all my work and with babysitting it was crazy. Thank you guys for understanding. Next week I should be going back to daily updates so yay! I'm so excited! Also if you see typos I will fix them soon so don't worry. Hopefully, all of you are okay and staying safe! Love you, see you soon.