Thorns And Roses

Chapter Thirty-six

Demi searched the whole dining room for Theo and couldn't fucking find him. Was he hiding in their bedroom? But it wasn't like Theo to just up and disappear without telling Demi first. He was freaking out just a little and he didn't know why. A gut feeling kept him on edge.

Through all the scents mingling around the room, Demi finally caught a whiff of Theo's leather and vanilla. He tracked the smell to outside of the dining room, his worries tampering off as he started to believe that Theo had gone to their bedroom. Until he saw two figures standing at the end of the hallway.

As Demi drew closer, the faces of the figures started to become more clear. He stopped and paled when he saw who it was. Theo was standing there allowing some man to kiss him. The said man's hands trailed up and down his bare chest. His dress shirt was in tatters as it hung off his shoulders.

A white-hot flash of jealousy went through Demi and he was about to fucking explode, then he really looked at Theo's face.

Theo's golden eyes were clouded with fear, tears tracking his cheeks and Demi knew the whine that slipped out was one of pain instead of desire. Realization dawned on Demi and that jealousy was covered up with pure rage.

"What the fuck are you doing?" The man that had his hands on Theo jumped back from his mate and glared at Demi. All the Omega did was snarl in retaliation. Without warning, Demi lunged.

He knocked down the man and Theo and grabbed the front of the man's jacket. He forced him away from Theo, who had scrambled away from them as Demi started to punch the man in his face.

"How fucking dare you touch what is mine! You fucking son of a bitch!" More curses spewed from his mouth and he kept wailing on him. It felt good.

Demi grinned at the sound of breaking bone crunching under his fist. Blood stained his white suit and wetted the petals of his peony. He probably looked insane. But later on, when he asked Theo what he looked like, his mate called him an avenging angel.

When arms came to wrap under Demi's and pull him away, he snarled and snapped his pointed teeth at whoever it was.

"Let me fucking go! I'm going to kill him! Bite his fucking throat out with my teeth and bathe in his blood!" Demi yelled loud enough that people started coming out of the dining room.

"Shit." Something in the back of Demi's mind recognized the voice of the person holding him but it didn't register. He still fought against Quinn's hold.

"Get them back inside River," Quinn commanded over Demi's yelling. There was a commotion but that was all that passed through Demi's head.

Demi's vision was red-tinted at the edges as he seethed in repressed anger. How fucking dare this man touch what isn't his. What right did he have to touch Theo? As the thought passed through his head, his eyes swung toward the man in question.

The withdrawn and frightened look on Theo's face just riled Demi up even more. This fucking bastard touched him. Pressed their lips together like they were fucking mated. Demi growled loud and in warning as he tried to pull out of Quinn's arms.

Around the blur of rage and anger in his mind, Demi could hear Quinn talking. To who and about what he couldn't tell. Demi snarled again as the man started to sit up off the ground. Blood gushed out of his nose and covered his face. Demi grinned at the sight.

"Demi." The voice of his mate jerked his brain out of it's rage-induced haze and he looked over at Theo who stood beside him. Every one of Demi's muscles started to relax as Theo reached for him. The Alpha laid a hand on his blood-stained cheek and Demi nuzzled against his palm.

"I'm okay." Demi knew it was a lie because as soon as Theo said it his bottom lip wobbled and tears fell from his eyes. Seeing his dragon, his mate in pain had Demi settling down completely. Quinn let Demi go, so he was able to wrap Theo up in his arms and hold him.

Theo's knees buckled and they came crashing to the ground as the Alpha held him in a clenched fist. Sobs were smothered in his shirt and all Demi could do was shush him. Pet Theo's hair and try to calm him down.

"It's okay, baby. It's okay." He pressed Theo's face in his neck and held him even closer to his chest. Demi rocked them back and forth to try to soothe Theo.

"You have got to be fucking joking. I thought Theo killed you, you son of a bitch." Demi lifted his gaze away from Theo to glance between Quinn and the man. He has never seen Quinn angry before. The green dragon looked positively livid.

"Like that little boy could kill me." The man sneered at Quinn as he stood up. He stumbled a bit and leaned against the wall to glare at them. Demi snarled as he felt Theo wince in his arms.

"Don't fucking talk about him, you fucking dick." Demi was running out of insults the longer he spoke but he wasn't afraid to get creative.

"And you must be the mate. You have quite the swing for an Omega." Demi just growled at him and spit in his direction. He knew it was the utmost disrespectful thing he could do to an Alpha.

"Stupid fucking asshole." He cursed and kept Theo hidden from the man's eyes.

"Like I'm scared of you." Demi didn't get the chance to say or do anything as Quinn punched the man instead. He went down like a pile of bricks but didn't go unconscious. Which fucking sucked.

"I'll let Theo deal with you, Joseph. I'm not one to betray his trust by killing the man that ruined him." So this measly Alpha was Joseph Anderson. The one that held Theo down and raped him.

That anger boiled over and he let Theo go to fall on top of Joseph and hit him again. Demi lifted his head by his hair, exposed his throat, and with feline-like teeth reached to bite into him. To tear his trachea out.

"Stop." Demi froze, pulled his face back, and turned to look at Theo who had spoken. The Omega slammed Joseph's head down with a sickening crack and grinned as more blood sprayed. Joseph finally passed out.

Demi stood up, wiped his bloody hands on his white pants, and stepped toward Theo. His dragon didn't flinch away from him as Demi helped him up off of the floor. He pulled Theo back into his arms where he belonged.

"Don't kill him," Theo mumbled against his shoulder, while he stood in Demi's arms shaking like a leaf in a strong wind. He felt anger but it was subdued as he pulled Theo's face out of his neck.

"Why not? He touched what is mine and he did things to you when you were younger. I have every right to kill him." Demi watched as Theo's eyes filled with tears and his dragon wiped his face.

"Because I fucking deserved it. I deserved all of it." The fuck? Rage shimmered under Demi's veins at what Theo just said.

"You deserve it? Is that what I'm hearing coming out of your mouth?" Demi felt Theo flinch under his hands and the man gave him a sullen nod.

With a grip harder than what Demi intended, he took Theo's jaw in his hand and pulled his mate closer. He didn't mean to point his anger at Theo but what he said just pissed Demi off to no end.

"You do not deserve the shit that man has put you through. Do you understand me?" Demi shook Theo by his jaw, eliciting a whimper to form in his dragon's throat. A heavy hand landed on Demi's shoulder but he didn't take his eyes off Theo's.

"That's not what he needs right now, Demitri. You're scaring him." Demi looked at Theo and saw that Quinn was right. His mate was breaking down right in front of him.

Demi let his face go and tugged Theo into the hard line of his body again. He mumbled apologies to him. Fuck Demi was so stupid.