Wild Side [h.s au]

Chapter 48

Elena

I put on my clothes in a haste, gathering my hair in a ponytail in frenzy, my fingers brushing over the bruised area on my neck, making me wince. I ignore the emptiness I feel in my chest as I finish getting ready, all of my motions being almost robotic. After Seth finally left my room early in the morning, I took a shower and almost scraped my skin till blood, wanting to remove the feeling of his touch on me.

When I leave my room, I run toward the cellars where Harry and the rest are, wanting to make sure Seth is going to let them go. As I run out of the building, multiple hands grab my arms, pulling me back, almost making me stumble. A few soldiers surround me, my eyes glancing at them in both anger and confusion. Seth soon enters the circle, a smirk making its way on his lips.

"Ah, I've been waiting for you. What's the hurry, sweetheart?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.

"I wanted to make sure you'll honour your deal," I say, tugging my arms from the soldier's grip, but they won't budge.

Seth rolls his eyes. "Oh, right. Well, let's get this over with then." He motions for the soldiers to remove their hands, freeing me.

My eyes widen slightly, relief washing over me. "You're letting everyone go? We need to make sure the children have a way of transportation back-"

"Children? Nobody said anything about children," Seth tells me flatly.

I frown. "What do you mean? You said you'll let everyone go!"

"Yes, I said I'll let all the prisoners go. Prisoners as in those three morons locked down there."

"You can't do this!" I step toward him so there's barely any space between us, my eyes glaring into his. "You will let everyone go!"

"Of course I can, sweetheart," he mocks, earning a few chuckles from the soldiers around us. "You're in my territory now, this is where I give commands. You're lucky I didn't rip his heart out the moment he dared to come to my base, I was waiting for you."

"You knew I will come," I say and release a sarcastic laugh. Of course, what a better way to lure me than to use my weakness against me? I didn't know Harry has been captured before coming here, but those children were reason enough.

I won't let it happen. I won't let him keep them here, turn them into ruthless monsters with little to no remorse. I don't even want to think about all the methods used to train them, my gut twisting at the thought. Alex and I went through it all when we were brutally separated from our parents. We were six years old and our parents were deserters, people who had decided the army life was not for them, especially since mum gave birth to the two of us. 

It was a clear day, one of those where the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, with a few white clouds scattered over it. Our group had just moved away from the Eastern territory where we had been staying for as long as I could remember, finding a sanctuary in the desolate city. We found a complex of empty buildings, still standing tall and proud after years of being bombed and unkept. One of those buildings had become our new home, an empty, dirty flat serving as our shelter. It wasn't much, but it was enough, especially since it wasn't a permanent solution. Our parents had been planning to leave the country for a while now, trying to find the perfect opportunity. 

"Mummy, can we go out and play?" Alex tugged at the sleeve of her shirt, making her look down at him, a beautiful smile appearing on her lips. 

"No, baby I'm sorry, but it's not safe," she replied. "Maybe we can all go later."

"You always say that," he said with a pout. "We've been in here for days. We want to play outside."