Angel Blackwood

by Sophie Summers

  “I need to use the toilet, Drake,” I tell him truthfully. He looks at me for a few seconds before nodding and moving to take off the chain around my ankle.

  I move my ankle around, trying to get rid of the stiffness. I get up and move towards the bathroom with him following me.

  “I can’t pee with you watching,” I say. I enter the bathroom and he follows, standing at the doorway and resting his hands on the top of the door frame.

  He turns around. “Drake, please just close the door a little or something.” He turns and rolls his eyes before pulling the door a little.

  Drake doesn’t even give me a chance to finish washing my hands before he’s pulling me out of the bathroom. He throws me a shirt when we enter the bedroom, I pick it up and look at him.

  “What am I supposed to do with this?”

  “It’s mine, put it on, you need something to sleep in.” I stand frozen, looking at the shirt in my hands.

  “Put it on!” He roars, his control clearly slipping. I turn around, unbutton my jeans and pull them off. I can feel his eyes on me the entire time my back is towards him. I pull off my shirt and hear a soft growl from him. I hear his footsteps, but I’m not fast enough putting the shirt on.

  His hands grabs my shoulders making sure I keep still, but I can’t help the trembling. One hand moves my hair over my shoulder so soft and gentle, he now has a clear view of the scars he left on my back.

  I feel his breath on my shoulder blades, then I feel his lips. His hands disappear from my shoulders, moving towards my lower back touching the scars he inflicted.

  “God. I’m so sorry, Lexi. I’m so fucking sorry!” I pull the shirt over and step away from him.

  “If you were sorry, you’d let me go.” I turn and look into Drake’s hazel eyes.

  “Drake, please… I know I’m talking to you now, not your wolf. You’re in control again. Please let me go,” I beg, placing both of my hands on his cheeks and looking dead into those softer eyes.

  “I love you so much, Lexi!” His eyes flicker. I fear that the time I have to get through to him is running out.

  “Please Drake, if you love me, you’ll let me go before you lose control and your wolf takes over again. He’ll kill me. You’ll kill me… Please.” Tears fall.

  “Go!” He says.

  His eyes flicker.

  “Now! Run, Lexi… GO!” I do. I run as hard and as fast as my feet will carry me. Through the woods and back towards Jax’s pack house.

  ****

  As I near the pack house I hear commotion and noise, but I don’t stop running until I hit the clearing and see Jax standing on his front porch issuing orders out to a few of his men.

  “I’ll fucking kill him myself, Jax! We should have locked that fucker up when we knew Lex was back!” Ronny’s yell echoes in the breeze.

  “If he touches her again, I’ll kill him. I don’t care if he’s the Beta!” My mother’s angry voice can be heard over the commotion.

  My bare legs are shaking and my body aches in the cold wind. It actually hurts to walk barefoot on the cold grass, but I continue to keep moving forward. Ronny stops ranting, her eyes meet mine and her jaw drops. Jax follows her line of sight, when he see’s me he starts pushing through the crowd to reach me. I start running towards him, relief driving me forwards.

  I wrap my arms around him and he holds me tight.

  “Ohmigod, Lexi. Chelsea told us…” I push away from him and look around searching for her. The sounds that came from the pasture when Drake and her were fighting. I honestly thought she was dead.

  “She’s alive?”

  “Barely. She’s with the doc now, sweetie. Come on, we need to get you cleaned up.” Georgina says, as Jax pulls me back for a hug. Suddenly the sound of tyres skidding across gravel as a cars breaks are slammed on fills the air. The atmosphere turns heavy as the wolves that surround me start growling. Jax stiffens and holds me tighter against him. I try turning my head, but I can’t due to my current position.

  “Stand down,” Jax calls out over my shoulder. The wolves immediately silence, but the energy in the air thickens. I hear the sound of car doors opening and closing. A familiar scent has me pushing against Jax in order for me to get a better look.

  I look over Jax’s shoulder and see Georgina snarling and shaking as if she’s about to turn into her wolf form any moment. She’s looking behind me, I manage to turn my head enough to see what caused the change of atmosphere. I find Talon and Tyler standing tall and glaring at the position I’m in with Jax.

  I jerk away from Jax, my feet hit the ground and I’m sprinting toward Talon. He looks shell shocked when I reach him and jump into his arms holding him tightly. I reach over and yank Tyler closer to me as well. I don’t care if they don’t want me to touch them, right now all I wanna do is hold them and keep them close.

  “I’ll tell you everything, anything you want to know I’ll tell you. I promise I’ll tell you everything. No more secrets, no more lies. I promise you…” I sob into Talon’s shirt. I can feel the anger pulsating through him, his chest against my cheek is practically vibrating and his heart is beating fast. His arms tighten around me and a low growl vibrates through me. A hand fists Tyler’s shirt at my side, he doesn’t pull away either. Instead he brings one hand over mine, gently opening my palm to release his shirt and then he pulls me from Talon’s grasp tugging me towards him. He wraps my arms around his waist and holds my head against his chest cradling me close and tight against his warmth; his kindness only makes me sob harder against his chest, my tears soaking his shirt. I pull my head back and pat at his chest.

  “Sorry, I’m making you all wet,” I say through hiccups as I wipe at my tears. I eventually look up to find him looking down at me with angry eyes. His arms still hold me close but they’re stiff. His hands reach up and gently he runs them across my jaw.

  “Who did this?” he growls, his eyes turning dark.

  “Where are your clothes?” Talon asks from beside me as I feel a warm jacket laced with Talon’s scent being placed over my shoulders. Tyler helps me put my arms though the sleeves. I turn to look at him and his eyes search my face, a growl forms as he stands up straighter.

  “Who hurt you?” He says in a deadly tone. Talon takes a step in Jax’s direction.

  “You do this to her?” Talon says, glaring at Jax with his fists firm at his side.

  I hear the questions but I can’t seem to form a response. My mind is still reeling from the fact that the twins are here; my mates are here… in Jax’s territory.

  “Wait. How did you find me?” I look between the two of them, but before either has a chance to speak Jax opens his mouth.

  “You two do realise you crossed territory lines without my permission?” Jax’s response pisses me off and I pull away from Tyler glaring at Jax as I attempt to find my voice. I’m cold, tired, hurt and fucking starving. All I really wanna do is get the hell off this territory and go home.

  “Your Beta just tried to kill me, almost killed his mate and you’re standing there chastising my mates for crossing territory lines to look for me? Jesus, Jax. You need to get your shit straight. Drake is probably already on the run and you’re standing there giving them attitude!” Tyler looks back at me confused.

  “Drake tried to kill you?” He heads for Jax, but Talon stands in front of him pushing at his chest.

  “You allowed your Beta to hurt our mate! I’ll fucking kill him for touching her! I’ll kill you too!” Tyler yells, making the gathered wolves growl and bare their teeth.

  Jax turns to look at his pack members and calls out, “Head towards the east of our territory, there’s a small cottage hidden there, Chelsea says he was keeping her there.” He points to the group on our right.

  He looks at the group to our left and orders, “You see if you can track him, follow his scent or footprints, anything you think is out of the ordinary follow it up. Spread out, but make sure you stay in at least packs of three. He’s unstable and he’s capable o
f anything. Bring him back to me in one piece!”

  The wolves are reluctant to leave, they continue to look between the twins and their Alpha. Georgina, doesn’t want to leave either and she stands looking between me and the twins.

  “I’ll be fine here. We need all our able wolves out there searching for him! Go! Now! You too Georgina.” They all hurriedly scatter into the woods, some changing into their wolf form in plain sight and some heading into the forest in their human form. Georgina passes me and rubs my arm as she walks past. “I’ll find him, sweetie,” she says in assurance

  After I watch her disappear into the woods, I run up to where Talon is trying to calm his brother down. I gently tug on Tyler’s arm. His black eyes look down to me and his posture slackens as he lets out a breath; changing his eyes back to their perfect blue.

  “Calm down, Ty. I’m okay,” I say softly, looking up at him.

  He cups my cheek. “This shouldn’t have happened, no one has the right to put their hands on you. We should have protected you. I should have protected you. I let this happen to you again. I let him hurt you…again.”

  “These are your mates?” Jax spits out, looking between the twins.

  I turn to look at Jax as Talon grabs my free hand and holds it tight in his.

  “Yeah, I’m sure I’ve mentioned them before? Talon and Tyler.” Understanding reflects on his face.

  “Holy shit! I thought they were your dogs?” Ronny’s voice pipes up as she heads down the porch stairs and in my direction. Tyler and Talon move to stand in front of me in a protective stance. I squeeze through the middle of them and reach out to give her a hug. She grips me tight and holds me close.

  “I shouldn’t have left you alone like that. I didn’t think Drake would try anything now that he had a mate. I’m so sorry, honey. I swear I won’t let him get away with this.”

  “Dogs?” I hear Talon say.

  Ronny pulls away from me. “Yeah. Ya know, the tattoo on her ribs? The one with the roses and names. We asked her about the names Talon and Tyler and she said they were her dogs.” Ronny crosses her arms looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

  “Of course she did,” Tyler mumbles at my side.

  “Enough with the introductions. We need to speak inside my office,” Jax says, sounding pissed as he turns and heads into the pack house.

  Drake. A chill creeps up my spine and I look to the edge of the woods. Talon softly runs a hand up my back, pulls me close and leading me into the house.

  “You’re safe now,” he whispers against my ear whilst breathing in my scent. I believe him in that moment; he will protect me. I lean into my mates warmth as it comforts and calms me.

  The peace is short lived as we enter the house. “You! You’re scent.” Tyler’s loud roar has all of us looking in his direction. Talon pulls away from me and reaches out for his brother, pulling him back. Jax’s eyes turn dark and Ronny pulls Jax away towards his office. Jax tries to fight her, but Ronny won’t have it.

  “Get inside the office now! We don’t need our pack mates worrying about their Alpha being killed by you two; they need to find Drake before he does any more damage!” Ronny yells at Tyler.

  “We will find him, don’t you worry and when we do… Not even the Fates will be able to save him,” Talon snarls, pulling me close again.

  Talon convinces his brother to calm down enough to speak to Jax inside his office where no one can overhear, but before the door is even closed, Jax is already halfway across the room and heading for Tyler. Ronny and Talon try to pull each of them away, but it’s no use.

  Jax keeps going for him.

  “Jax stop!” I yell. He freezes and looks over at me.

  “They don’t deserve you! This is your family, Lexi. You belong here with us!” He yells and pushes Ronny away to get to Tyler, but Jax’s words now have Talon all riled up. Jax won’t stand a chance if both brothers decide to attack. I need to stop this.

  Talon gently moves Tyler away and walks up to where Ronny is holding Jax back.

  “She belongs here?” He scoffs, “Not once have one of us ever tried to kill her. Your Beta has hurt our mate, not once but twice now, and you still have him as your Beta? If you hadn’t looked past the first time he whipped and beat her then we wouldn’t be in this situation right now! You still think that she belongs here? You can’t even keep Angel safe from your own, and you think you can keep her safe from other rival packs?” He spits the words as he talks, anger laced with venom in every word.

  The twins are taller than Jax, so he has to lift his head to look up at them. Jax tries to straighten himself up and show that he’s not afraid, but I can see that Ronny is. Her knees are trembling and I’m pretty sure she is close to peeing herself standing in between the two of them.

  I stand in front of Talon with my hands on his chest trying to get him to back down, but these damn wolves are too fucking stubborn for their own good.

  “You don’t want her. She’s your mate and you don’t want her! I want her. I love her!” I can feel his pleading eyes on my back and I’m frozen in place as he speaks.

  “I made a mistake, Lexi. I regret it every damn day. I should never have rejected you, if I could take it back I would. I want you here… I love you. God, I love you so fucking much!” Jax speaks with so much sincerity and emotion, even though my back is towards him. Talon’s struggling stops and he lets out a deep breath stepping away from me. My hands fall and I can’t bear to look either of them in the eye.

  The secret is out.

  “You were rejected.” I hear Tyler’s soft voice, but it’s not a question, he’s simply stating the fact.

  “He rejected you?” Talon says in a voice so deep, chills go down my spine.

  “We’re your second chance mates,” Tyler whispers.

  Chapter 20

  The silence in the room is deafening, my heart is pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears. My hands are shaking and my body feels so heavy. Tyler takes a step towards me, but I step back. I look up at him and all I can see is his pity and sorrow. He’s most probably rethinking every little nasty thing he’s said to me these past few weeks. I look up to Talon, he has the same look.

  Yeah they’re definitely rethinking things.

  Ronny comes up to my side and places an arm around my waist as she leads me to the sofa.

  “Shhh come on… let’s get you seated. You must be exhausted, Lex.” I flinch when the cold leather hits the back on my bare legs. It’s freezing and the shock seems to awaken me from my thoughts.

  “I think the three of them need to talk; alone.” Ronny looks up to Jax and he’s shaking his head.

  “No, what we need to do is get her out of this fucking place. We can talk when we get you home and safe.” Tyler turns to look at Jax emphasising the word safe, then he walks up to me and reaches out to grab my hand.

  “Come, Angel.” His voice is firm. I look to Talon and he nods his head. “Let’s go, Angel.”

  “Lex- Angel.” Jax shakes his head running his hands through his hair. “Angel, don’t leave like this. Please. Just give me two minutes.”

  I look to Talon, because I know I have no way in hell getting through to Tyler right now.

  “Please can you two give me a few minutes alone with Jax.” Talon’s jaw clenches and he looks from me to his brother.

  “No fucking way. That is not gonna happen, Angel. We’re leaving now,” Tyler says. I look down at my feet knowing that would be the answer; I don’t even have the energy to argue with either of them.

  “Tyler.” Talon’s firm voice has me looking up. He glares at his brother. “Angel needs to speak to Jax. After everything she’s been through tonight, I think she deserves whatever the fuck she asks for.”

  Tyler lets out a sigh of frustration, then points at Ronny.

  “If she stays with the two of them, I’ll agree to wait outside of the room,” he says, looking back at Talon.

  “I know she won’t let any-fucking-thing happen to Angel,” Tyler
says.

  Ronny nods. “You know it.” Tyler heads straight for the door and leaves.

  Talon looks back at me, then back to Jax. I can tell he’s reluctant to leave, he wants to say something but he doesn’t, he just quietly leaves the room shutting the door behind him.

  Ronny leans against the door looking at her feet.

  “Don’t leave Lexi. Stay with me, stay with us… be part of this pack.” Jax grabs my hands and holds them within his.

  I look up at him and shake my head. “I can’t, Jax.”

  “Is it because of Drake? We will get him help, he won’t hurt you again.” I frown at that and pull my hands away from his.

  “Get him help? Are you fucking kidding me right now, Jax? Drake has completely lost it, there is no helping him. He can’t control his wolf, he’s out of control and no amount of help will fix that. Can’t you see that? Maybe once he finally kills me, you’ll open your eyes and see what he’s become!” I yell at him, shaking my head.

  “What do you want me to do, Alexia? Lock him up? Kill him? He’s my brother, blood or not… He’s my brother.” I stand there quietly looking at him.

  “Say something!” He roars, making me flinch. Luckily the office is sound-proofed, otherwise the twins would have brought that door down by now. I see Ronny at the corner of my eye take a step forward.

  “You’re the Alpha now, Jax. It’s must be hard, but these are decisions you’re gonna need to make.”

  “You don’t have any fucking idea!” He yells, using the back of his hands to wipe at his eyes. He turns around, tilting his head up to face the ceiling; he doesn’t want us to see the tears and his struggle not to break down right now.

  “This is exactly why I can’t stay here, Jax,” I whisper, pulling the jacket tightly around me.