Chapter 124 A protective and Obsessive instinct

Chapter 124 A protective and Obsessive instinct
Chapter 124

DARIUS

"And I was thinking we could have at least three children," Selene continued, completely oblivious to my lack of interest. "Two boys and a girl. Or maybe two girls and a boy. What do you think?"

I did not answer. I was not even listening properly anymore.

"The house should be near the pack grounds but not too close," she went on. "Somewhere with a garden. I have always wanted a large garden where the children can play. Do not you think that would be lovely?"

"Sure," I muttered automatically.

"And we could get a dog. Or maybe two dogs. The children would love—"

A sharp tug cut through my chest. I groaned and turned away from Selene, trying to ignore the sudden pain.

"Darius? Are you listening to me?"

The pain came again, harder this time. I gasped and clutched my chest.

Atlas was growling in distress inside my head. Not his usual annoyed growl. This was panic. Pure panic.

"What is wrong with you?" I hissed internally. "Suck it up."

“I can sense danger,” Atlas snarled back. “Distress even, coming from our mate.”

"I do not care what Ravenna is—"

“Go find her!” Atlas pushed against my human side so hard I nearly lost control. “She is hurt! Go now!”

"She is probably having fun with Caleb," I shot back. "She does not need me."

Atlas growled louder and attacked my control so viciously that I stumbled backwards and crashed into Dorian, knocking him to the floor.

"Fuck you, Atlas!" I yelled out loud.

“Get up and find her!” Atlas roared. “She is hurt! She’s fucking losing her pulse! MOVE OR SHE DIES!”

A wall of pain slammed into me like a physical blow. I fell to my knees, unable to breathe.

"Darius!" Dorian was beside me immediately, grabbing my shoulders. "What is wrong? Why are you behaving so strange?"

"Help me up," I managed to gasp out.

Dorian pulled me to my feet, steadying me when my legs threatened to give out.

"Atlas," I whispered internally. "Lead me to where Ravenna is."

“Well, that’s a very difficult request. I cannot track her location because the bond is not strong enough. You have not marked her yet, remember?’

"Then do not disturb me if you cannot help!" I yelled.

Dorian shook me hard. "Darius! Are you alright? Talk to me!"

I turned to look at him and realized everyone around us was staring. The music had stopped. People had backed away, giving us space. I had been speaking out loud. They had all heard me yelling at my wolf.

"We need to leave," I grabbed Dorian's arm and pulled him towards a quieter corner of the club. I totally forgot about Selene but it was none of my business. "Now."

When we were away from the crowd, Dorian spun me around to face him. "What the hell is going on?"

"We need to find Ravenna," I forced the words out through clenched teeth. "She is hurt."

"How do you know that?"

I was silent for a moment, debating whether to tell him. Then another wave of pain hit and I knew I had no choice.

"Ravenna is my mate."

"Holy fucking shit!" Dorian's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?"

"I know it sounds crazy—"

"Crazy? Darius, that is—"

"We do not have time for this," I cut him off. "Atlas is sensing pain from her. Real pain. And if Ravenna is hurt, then Samantha is probably hurt too. They go everywhere together."

Dorian's expression changed immediately. "Samantha? Where are they?"

"I do not know. Atlas cannot track her because I have not marked her yet. The bond is not strong enough."

"Could Caleb have hurt her?"

Rage exploded through me at the thought. "If Caleb has touched her, I am going to cut off his hands and make him eat them."

Dorian stopped and just stared at me.

"What?" I snapped.

A slow smile spread across his face. "You really like her. Actually like her."

"Stop wasting time on unnecessary topics!" I yelled. "We need to find them!"

"Alright, alright." Dorian held up his hands but he was still smiling. "We will discuss this later. Let us find the girls."

We pushed back through the crowd, searching every corner of the club. My heart was pounding. Atlas kept sending waves of distress through our bond, making it hard to think clearly.

Then I saw a crowd gathered near the entrance to the main room. People were talking in hushed, urgent voices. Someone was on their phone, presumably calling for help.

"What is going on?" I pushed forward. "Move. Get out of the way."

The crowd parted reluctantly. And there, on the floor at the base of the stairs, were two unconscious bodies.

Ravenna and Samantha.

My breath caught in my throat. Ravenna's face was bruised and swollen. Blood stained her dress. Her hands were cut and bleeding. Samantha was in similar condition, though she seemed less injured than Ravenna.

"Move!" I roared, and the remaining people scattered immediately.

Dorian and I dropped to our knees beside them.

"Are they breathing?" Dorian checked Samantha's pulse frantically.

I pressed my fingers to Ravenna's neck, feeling for a heartbeat. It was there. Faint but steady.

"She is alive," I breathed.

"Samantha too."

"We need to get them out of here," I scooped Ravenna up in my arms as gently as I could. "My room. Now."

Dorian lifted Samantha, and we carried them out of the club and back towards the dormitory.

We spent hours cleaning and treating their wounds. I had never been so careful with anything in my life. Every cut, bruise and injury had to be cleaned and bandaged properly.

Dorian worked on Samantha whilst I focused on Ravenna. My hands shook as I dabbed antiseptic on the cuts across her knuckles.

"She fought," I observed quietly. "Look at her hands. These are defensive wounds."

Dorian examined Samantha more closely. "Samantha has a head wound. She was knocked out first, probably. Then Ravenna came in and fought whoever did this."

"How do you know?"

"Look at the blood patterns on Ravenna's dress," Dorian pointed. "And the cuts on her hands and arms. She was fighting. And the only theory to this was, she’s protecting Samantha."

"I need you to find out who did this," I told Dorian quietly. "Whoever dared to hurt them needs to pay."

"I will," Dorian promised. "For Samantha, I will find them."

"They were lying at the foot of those stairs that led down to the hidden rooms in the basement," I continued, piecing things together. "That is where it happened."

"We should go down there," Dorian suggested. "See if we can find anything."

I nodded. "But first, we need to change them into clean clothes."

That proved to be significantly harder than treating their wounds. We had to look away constantly whilst struggling to get them out of their bloodied dresses and into clean nightshirts.

"This is ridiculous," Dorian muttered, his face bright red as he tried to pull a shirt over Samantha's head whilst keeping his eyes firmly closed.

"Just get it done," I replied, not looking at him.

When we finally finished, I stood beside my bed holding Ravenna in my arms. I had never let anyone sleep in my bed before. Never.

"You can put her on Samantha's bed if you cannot do it," Dorian offered.

"No." I carefully laid Ravenna down on my bed and pulled the duvet up over her. "She stays here."

I leaned down and kissed her forehead gently. "Be awake by the time we return."

Dorian had already placed Samantha on his bed and covered her up.

We locked the door securely behind us and headed back to the club.

The lower level was dark and quiet. Everyone had left already. We searched through the shadows, looking for the room where the attack must have happened.

Then I heard muffled noises coming from somewhere to our left.

"Do you hear that?" I whispered to Dorian.

"Yeah. This way."

We traced the sound to a door. I tried the handle but it was locked from the outside.

"Stand back," I ordered.

I kicked the door as hard as I could. The wood splintered but did not break. I kicked it again. And again. On the fourth kick, the lock gave way and the door crashed open.

Two men sat inside, both injured. One had a gunshot wound to his leg. The other was clutching his hand, which was also bleeding from what looked like a bullet wound.

"Thank the Moon Goddess!" the first man gasped. "Please, you have to help us. We were attacked. Someone stole our money and locked us in here."

Dorian stepped forward, his expression sympathetic. "What happened?"

"Wait," I put my arm out to stop him.

"Darius—"

"Wait," I repeated. I breathed in deeply through my nose, letting my wolf senses take over.

Ravenna's scent was everywhere in this room. Her blood. Her fear. Her rage.

"These are the ones who hurt them," I stated flatly.

The men's expressions changed. Fear replaced their false gratitude.

"What? No! We do not know what you are talking about—"

I crossed the room in two strides and knelt in front of the first man. I pressed my fingers directly into his gunshot wound.

He screamed.

"Were the girls blonde and red-haired?" I asked calmly.

"I— we— please—"

I pressed harder. "Answer me."

"Yes!" he sobbed. "Yes! The red-haired girl and the blonde one!"

"The red-haired one is my woman," I leaned in close so he could see my eyes turning gold. "And the blonde one is his. So, after I am done with you, you are going to stay far away from both of them. And you are going to spread the word to all your friends to do the same. Understood?"

The man nodded frantically, tears streaming down his face.

"Good."

Dorian found some rope in the corner and we tied both men to chairs in the centre of the room.

Then we took turns.

I would hurt them. Then Dorian would hurt them. Then I would hurt them again.

We did not ask questions. We did not need answers. We just made sure they understood exactly what happened to people who dared touch what was ours.

By the time we left, morning light was starting to filter through the small window near the ceiling. The men were still alive. Barely.

We returned to our room and found both girls still sleeping.

I walked over to my bed and sat down carefully beside Ravenna. I took her hand in mine and brought it to my lips, kissing her bruised knuckles gently.

"You are safe now," I whispered. "I promise."

I had barely settled into the chair beside the bed when Ravenna's eyes flew open.

"You monster!" she screamed.

Before I could react, she launched herself at me. Her hands wrapped around my throat and her momentum knocked us both off the chair and onto the floor.