Rogue ✔

Chapter Twenty-three : Lost and Found

"Wondering if I dodged a bullet or just lost the love of my life."

Paige POV

He was here.

My wolf could feel him. He was here. She tried to heal my throat, allowing me to reach him. It was too late.

I opened my mouth, trying to call out. Instead I was met with only a quiet whimper of pain. I couldn't speak. I tried again. And again. And again.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Come on! He was so close! You can't give up now. Not now that he's almost here. Keep trying.

My chapped lips opened yet again to released a quiet mewl. So quiet that even a werewolf couldn't hear it.

What if Melody got Damian too?

That was her plan after all. To hurt me enough so that it might kill me. If one mate dies, the other follows. It's been this way forever.

My mother died that way.

That was why I had to live.

"Damian" I whispered into the darkness, it was pathetic. "Please..."

Looking back in that moment, I would have prayed to every known deity as thanks.

I would have prayed because it was enough. My desperate pleas had been heard.

"PAIGE?"

Damian POV

"PAIGE, IS THAT YOU?" I screamed as I rammed my foot through a now unlocked door.

I heard something, I know I did. A small whisper in the back of my mind. Not quite audible, but packed with a tremendous urgency.

Is was her. It had to be.

On the other side of the door sat a long row full of unused cages. That's right. This was a animal  cage industry.

Some crates in this hall seemed to be big enough to comfortably  fit an elephant. They were stacked, one on top of the other, all the way to the ceiling. The hallway of crates seemed to stretch on forever.

That same desperate plea filled my senses again. Damian, I'm here.

"PAIGE! BABY, I'M COMING. WHERE ARE YOU?" I screamed into the open air. I suddenly bolted down the long line of cages. I noticed that the longer I ran, the shorter the distance between each cage. Soon, I would have to squeeze through just to walk by.

She was close... so damn close. My wolf could feel her, begging for us to help. I had to get to her soon.

Who had taken my precious mate? We had already figured out that Rapheal had something to do with it, but we know he wasn't here. Torturing her. That isn't his style, no he would most likely call me afterwards to brag. He does that every time be managed to find and catch a Rouge. In his sick mind, it's like bragging.

Who did he team up with? Someone from Paige's past. Maybe a released prison inmate that she had had trouble with.

Didn't matter. Whoever it was... they weren't going to live long.

I stopped dead in my tracks when it happened. The smell of blood, fresh blood. It was wafting towards me from exactly 4 cages down.

I dashed towards it, expecting the worst.

There she lay, shivering and weak, chained down by a silver collar on her neck. Her entire body looked broken. The knife wound on her thigh was still gushing, and her hair was tangled and matted.

Her big doe eyes sparkled up to me in hope, filling with unshed tears.

I burst through the cage door in seconds. She was in one of the strangely huge cages, cowering in the back corner where the shadows were darkest. She looked so broken, so hopeless.

I rushed to meet her. Her mouth opened up but only strangled mewls emerged. I gently patted some of the hair away from her clammy face. Her skin was sweaty and had a sickening ashy tone to it.

She looked like she was about to pass out.

First things first, the collar.

I knew that this was going to hurt like a bitch.

I wrapped my hands around the thick silver collar, and forced myself not to wince. My hands burned as I slowly but steadily ripped the damn thing. I snarled at what laid beneath.

Her skin was rubbed raw, burn marks covered everything. In some places, tiny drops of blood formed. Just above the excruciating sight were self inflicted claw marks. The marks of someone trying to tear off a silver collar.

Oh, god Paige.

I had to force myself to check all of her other injuries. They were all still a mess.

Why wasn't her wolf healing her? She has a wolf. I wouldn't have felt her pain if she didn't.

"Paige, why aren't you healing?" She only gasped, relieved to regain oxygen. I doubted she could even speak if she wanted to.

Those Indian black eyes stared at me, conveying all the emotions that she's experienced these last few days. I wanted to break down and cry. I wanted to tell her how guilty I was. How much I regretted leaving her.

I'm so sorry.

I gingerly picked her up in my arms, careful not to agitate any of her injuries. I held her bridal style, keeping her head close to my chest. She sighed a small sigh of contentness.

That's my girl. We'll get through this together.

"Is she okay?" Asked a tender voice from behind me. Paige's eyes flitted to Phillip before widening in panic. She met my steady gaze and started to wheeze in her anxiety. She was scared of him.

"Baby, your okay. He won't hurt you. This is Phillip, he helped me find you." I told her. Her shoulder released some of her tension, but only marginally. She still gazed over at him with distrust.

I turned my head a fraction to the right to answer him.

"She's hurt. Real bad. We need to get her out of here fast." I stood up with Paige still nestled against me. I took slow, careful steps as to not accidentally jostle her. 

My head leaned forward to give her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Its time to go home, baby."

She smiled.