Home at last

Seph woke up back at the packhouse; she had some vague memories of the drive back here. Theo had been so nervous about giving her an injection of glucose he didn’t want to cause any more pain. J had to get one of the senior warriors, their usual field medic, to do it. They had all been ever so careful with her now. Theo wrapped her in a blanket, sitting in the back of the car and holding onto her, trying to feed her sweets, chocolate and fizzy drinks when she was awake. J drove home.

Theo was still anxious about her health when they got back. He took her straight to the hospital, Kayla and the doctor joining them before he even had a chance to lay Seph on the bed, which he only did reluctantly. “Doc, please help her… The... the monster was beating her… and…he…he…” but Theo couldn’t get the words out. He didn’t want to admit what he had seen. It was J who answered from the doorway.

“He had raped her; there was some kind of spell or something forcing her to orgasm repeatedly. She was in agony with it. Her face is bruised, and her ribs are bad too. She was struggling to breathe as Theo dressed her.” J tried to describe the attack as unemotionally as possible, but everyone could feel the rage coming off him in waves. He was appalled at the assault on his luna. “We don’t know exactly how all the bruises and cuts happened, but it looked like there was a fight. Magic was involved. I think she’s hit her head too, the other guy was in bad shape, but there’s nothing anyone can do for him now.”

Kayla sucked in a harsh breath, struggling to get control of her wolf. Regardless she dashed round to Seph’s other side and took her hand. “Sephie baby, I’m here; you’re safe now. We got you, we got you, baby. Relax now. You’re home. We found you.” She whispered lovingly to Seph. Theo paced the room angrily, tears in his eyes.

The doctor looked between them all. “I need calm in here. If you cannot be calm, I need you to wait in reception. I will have to examine her, which is going to mean cutting this top off her; she will want her own clothes when she is fully conscious; perhaps someone could get some of her pyjamas and underwear, toiletries too?” The doctor said to the room at large. His focus now on Seph on the bed. He lifted her wrist and began to assess her carefully.

“I packed a bag, just in case it’s on her bed,” Kayla told the boys.

“I’ll go get it”, J replied, nodding to Kayla. He knew that Theo would not want him around to see Seph stripped bare again.

Seph didn’t seem conscious; Theo and Kayla stood near the door to stop an intrusion. The doctor had placed the scissors against her slightly to cut Theo’s top off her body when Seph let out an almighty scream, her body thrashing around again as she tried to fight off the doctor, her eyes had flown open, but she didn’t seem to be processing where she was. Almost like she was stuck in a nightmare. She kicked out, managing to catch him in the groin a few times until he was on the floor. She was out of bed and heading for the door before Kayla or Theo actually realised what was happening. They had, too, been caught up in Seph’s fear. Theo managed to catch Seph in his arms. “Seph! Sephie baby, it’s ok, your home now,” Kayla attempted to tell her.

Seph continued to fight for a while before she seemed to catch their scent; it broke through the panic. “Don’t let him do that again, Theo, no more scissors; I don’t want him near me. Just take me somewhere safe until my magic is back”, Seph begged, grabbing onto both her mates.

“Babygirl, it’s the doctor. I promise you that you are safe, and I will not let anyone hurt you while I stand by and watch.” Theo answered, looking over at the doc for help.

“Good morning Persephone, you know me; it’s the doctor. I’m sorry, I should have explained what I was doing, but I thought you were unconscious and wanted to get the difficult bits done while they wouldn’t upset you. I apologise. Please can you come back over here so I can have a look at your ribs? We can try to get the top off you normally while sitting up if that is easier.” The doctor explained. His eyes were kind and understanding; he had put the scissors away out of sight. He didn’t mean to upset her, and he would have acted differently if he knew Seph wasn’t out cold, the twins were sure.

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The examination was finally complete, Seph’s ribs x-rayed and found to be broken in a few places, her cuts dressed where necessary, nothing broken on her face, just severely bruised; it had been iced, which did help with the swelling a little. Painkillers were given. Kayla helped Seph into the shower to wash the stench of her captor off her skin. Seph hadn’t wanted to get out of the shower; once again, the water became her safety blanket as it washed away the blood and smells; if only the memories would be washed away so simply, Seph thought. She and Kayla didn’t speak at all during the shower, not even when Seph had scrubbed scabs off her own wounds like she was caked in filth and grime that water and soap alone couldn’t remove.

She was finally allowed to rest. In clean Pjs and blanket, Theo carried her to her room and set her up in her own bed. The doctor had wanted her to stay in the clinic overnight, but Seph didn’t feel safe enough to stay there. She wanted her own room, so he set up an IV of fluids and meds there, leaving instructions that she should try to eat a little and often and get plenty of sleep.

Theo produced the most fantastic burger Seph had ever tasted. She had no idea where he had got it from because she had seen him cook and tasted the results. This was a man who could burn water. But he wouldn’t tell her who had made it. “That way, you will have to talk to me when you want one”, he had said before, sprawling across the bottom of the bed to guard her he said. Kayla reappeared in the doorway just as Seph was finishing. She was ready for bed. Slowly she climbed into the bed next to Seph, holding onto her hand since she didn’t want to hurt Seph by moving her. They sent Theo to shower. He chose to use Seph’s, and Seph was asleep by the time he came out.

Seph woke up to both of her mates curling around her, trying to touch her and be close but not wanting to cause her more harm and pain. She was pretty reliant on them; as weak as she was, they were fairly exhausted too. The three of them were often found squashed into Seph’s bed, sleeping or just laying in silence while Seph recovered.

The twins had seen Seph’s nightmares; they knew what had happened to her during her captivity. They understood why she had reacted like she did in the clinic now. They had silently agreed that they wouldn’t push Seph to tell them what had gone on unless she wanted to. They didn’t need to hear her describe it; they had watched it happen repeatedly.