Thorns And Roses

Chapter Sixteen

Demi picked up his head to groan low in his throat as he felt hands on his tied wrist. The pain in his shoulders felt like fire licking at him. His hands were tingly and numb from being hung up above him, latched on by a hook in the ceiling.

"Hey, little kitty." Demi closed his eyes and ignored the man that had put him in the situation he was in. Demi has hated plenty of people in his life, but he has never despised someone as much as he does Christopher Jones.

"Don't ignore me, you bitch." He was backhanded and Demi whimpered at the pain. His whole body was nothing but a throbbing ache that flared up at anyone's touch. And they had tried to touch him, a lot. Jones had given Demi mercy though, telling his men not to do anything sexual toward him.

Jones knew what would happen if he allowed his men to rape Demi. Theo would slaughter every last one of them. He still may if he ever saw Demi in the state he was in.

Blood and saliva dripped out of his mouth from where he had sliced his cheek with his teeth when Jones hit him. His lip was split right down the middle. The t-shirt he was brought in wearing had been cut off so Jones' men could beat him and laugh at how easy it was to make Demi bruise. He was caked in blood. It was so uncomfortable and itchy when it dried against his pale skin.

"Whatever, you stupid whore. I guess it's time to give you back to your Alpha." Demi was so out of it and delirious from the pain that he didn't have it in him to acknowledge Jones' words. Once the rope that had silt his wrist to ribbons was untied, he dropped to the ground with a groan of agony. Fuck. Everything hurt.

"Stand up." Demi tried, damnit. He fucking tried to stand up. To obey, so he wouldn't get hit again. His legs just wouldn't corporate with his brain. Unable to make the connection to make his dead limbs move.

"Fucking useless Omega." Demi winced at the insult, remembering a time when Theo had called him 'useless' once. It was probably the worst type of insult to call an infertile being.

Jones, not so kindly Demi might add, picked him up and threw the weak Omega over his shoulder. Demi groaned as his stomach connected with the man's body. That hurt.

"Be quiet." Jones' scolded. All Demi could do was hang there like a rag doll. His eyes grew blurry the longer he stared at the ground. Fuck, he was going to pass out. He could feel it.

Before the black dots in his eyes were able to take over, Demi was pulled off of Jones' shoulder and let go. His legs couldn't hold up his weight. Demi fell to his knees, his hands between his thighs the only thing keeping him up.

Demi could faintly smell the familiar scent of leather and vanilla as his vision began to clear of the spider webs. He whimpered when his hair was taken into a tight fist and jerked back. His throat bared to whoever wanted to slit it. It was a position that no one wanted to be in.

"I told you he would be in one piece, Mateo. Now, what do you have as a trade?" Mateo? The name filtered through Demi's head in a slow trickle, until he realized who that name belonged to. Theodore.

Demi pulled his head away from Jones' hand, ripping a few strands out by the roots so he was able to search the room for his mate. He lost all the breath in his lungs when their eyes locked.

He went to stand up, to run towards Theo at full speed but his legs collapsed underneath him. Demi fell back down as another moan of pain left his mouth, a snarl from Theo right behind it.

"What did you do to him? He can't even walk." Demi, who was very determined to reach Theo tried to stand up again. He was able to get his feet on the ground but a hand in his hair brought him back to his knees. He lost all strength after that.

"I didn't do anything to him." He whined as Jones dragged Demi by the hair, planting him right at Jones' feet. It was absolutely humiliating to be kneeling at another man's feet.

"Sign the fucking contract and let him go. That was the deal, Jones. Now stick to it." Jones sent one of his men to grab a piece of paper from Quinn who stood beside Theo. They were the only ones there in the building that they were in. Demi expected Theo to raid the place, killing every last one of Jones' people. Leaving Jones for Demi to kill off last. Wouldn't that be a dream come true?

Demi's hair was let go so Jones was able to read over the contract. Letting out a noise of approval, he snapped his fingers at one of his men for a pen to use. Demi kept his eyes pinned on Theo the whole time. They never once looked away from each other.

"There. Signed and checked. I'm not happy about only getting forty-five percent of your business, but it'll do. Now off you go little kitten." Jones dug his foot into Demi's back and pushed him forwards. He lost his balance and face-planted the ground.

The scent of leather and vanilla grew stronger as rough steady hands lifted him off of the ground. Theo carried Demi's limp body bridal style, allowing the Omega to bury his face in Theo's neck to breathe in his scent.

"Oh, God. Babydoll, what did they do to you?" It was the last thing Demi heard before he passed out from the pain riding him.

~~~~

When Demi woke up, he was in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar bed. The only indication that it belonged to Theo was the scent that layered the space. He tried to sit up to look for the man in question but he couldn't move. Not because he was tied down, which he wasn't, but because every inch of his body burned. Felt like he was being tortured all over again by Jones' men.

"You're awake? The doctor said you wouldn't wake up for another day or two." Demi turned his head so fast to the side that he was surprised he didn't get whiplash. There leaning against the doorjamb of his bathroom, stood Theo.

He wore a pair of sweatpants that hung low on his hips, displaying the waistband of his underwear. Theo looked like a model that came straight out of an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog. The black boxers he wore even spelled out the words in block letters. It was fucking hot.

Demi swallowed the spit that had accumulated in his mouth as Theo watched him. No way, no how was he going to get hard by a very shirtless Theo while he was in pain. So wasn't happening. Over his dead body.

"Easy there baby. I can smell your arousal mixing in with your scent. Don't get me riled up if you know what's good for you. Wouldn't want to hurt you anymore than you already are."

As if Demi's sexual desire was all his fault and not the man staring at him with a predatory gaze in his golden eyes. Yup, it was Demi's fault. Stupid men and their stupid bodies.

"Sorry." He choked out. Demi coughed a few times and flinched at the raw feeling in his throat. His voice was nearly gone. Probably from all of the screaming he did at the hands of Jones and his men.

Theo was at his side in seconds, all teasing out of his expression as he helped Demi sit up so he could drink some water that the man provided for him. The cool liquid going down his throat hurt but it also soothed the ache.

"Thank you." He mumbled. Theo pulled the glass away from his lips and set it back down on the nightstand. He then sat on the side of the bed, gently taking Demi's bandaged hand in his. Why was his hand bandaged?

Demi followed the white bandage from his hand, down his wrist, and up his arm. It finally came to an end once it reached his elbow. He looked at his other arm and it was dressed the same way. Seeing the puzzled look on Demi's face, Theo offered him some answers.

"Whatever they had tied you up with cut into your wrist and arms. You also have three cracked ribs and a scalp laceration on your head from where Jones pulled out your hair. You also have some cuts and bruises that are going to take a little while to heal. But all and all, you're okay."

Demi felt some type of relief at Theo's soft confirmation that he would be okay. That Jones' men didn't beat him too badly. That they didn't ruin him beyond compare.

This time at least.