No Escape

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Jackson hadn't wanted the blissful night to end but with the information he had just received, he knew it had. "Lil, we gotta go."

Lily sensed his serious mood, "what happened?" But Jackson didn't answer her, he just looked anywhere but her. "Jackson, what happened?" She was getting desperate. When Jackson still refused to answer her, she grew frustrated, "TELL ME!"

He took a deep breath before telling her, "Charlotte's gone."

Lily sat up, "what?!" She hooked her hair behind her ears. She knew that this might happen, but didn't think it would be so soon. She felt her heart shatter. Not again. I let her get taken away from me again. "Uhm..." she started, but didn't know where she was going with it or what she was going to say. So she stopped, got up and started making her way out of the treehouse.

Jackson felt lost. He felt his mate's heart break when she heard the news and he would have done anything to take it away. She was already halfway down the tree trunk when he started moving to follow her.

She knew he would follow behind her and would catch up as she ran back to the pack house. Lily didn't care though as silent tears rolled down her face. She had thought she would be okay when she heard this news, but she was wrong. So very wrong. There was no guarantee that Nikolas wouldn't hurt Charlie. So when she made it to her room and saw the bed empty, she laid down on it pulled Charlie's pillow into her chest, grabbed Maisie's ultrasound, and sobbed.

Jackson knelt down beside the bed and played with her hair, brushing it back. His heart hurt knowing that his mate was so upset by this. She had let a few thoughts seep through their mindlink and he couldn't imagine what she would do if she found out that any harm had come to Charlotte or worse. "Please, please don't cry. Lil, please."

It took a few minutes, but Lily sniffled then asked, "how did it happen?"

Jackson sighed, "Adrienne put her to bed and guards were posted outside the door. There was rustling from inside and when they came in to check, she was gone."

Lily nodded, "I knew something was going to go wrong tonight. I knew it." She said.

"I'm so sorry, Lil." Jackson told her, but she didn't say anything else.

~

Lily hadn't slept, which was nothing new, but it was for a whole new reason this time. It had only been hours, but the stress of Charlie being missing was getting to her. When she got up at the normal time for training, she told Ty she needed to train longer and harder. So the two of them trained all day. They spent more time working on muscle, defensive, and offensive moves since time wasn't restraining them. And when Ty had to leave, Lily remained. She worked past her limits, but the thought of Charlie in trouble kept her focused and moving.

Jackson watched over her after Ty left and stopped her when he knew her body wouldn't be able to continue anymore. "C'mon Lily. You need to give your body a break."

"No Jacks. I gotta be strong. I need to be strong for her." She told him and continued her movements.

"Lily, you are strong. Wearing your body down like this won't help. You need to rest, hydrate, and eat. You can come back tomorrow, I promise."

Lily slumped and let Jackson pick her up and carry her to her room. He sat down on the couch while she went to the bathroom to shower. She took her time, attempting to gather her thoughts, but she couldn't. Memories of the time she was kidnapped by Nikolas ran through her head a mile a minute. He killed a majority of his own children, including hers. What's to stop him from killing Charlie? When she finished, she pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top then walked back into her Charlie-less bedroom.

Jackson had waited patiently for her to finish; he hadn't wanted to listen to her thoughts, but she wasn't blocking him out so he heard and saw everything she had. As she emerged from the bathroom, he tried to hold back and wait patiently but his mouth worked faster than his brain, "Lily, put your wall back up. Block me out of your thoughts."

Lily was shocked and dreaded the possibility that he could've heard what she had been thinking. She quickly built the wall back up before slowly making her way to the couch. She sat further away from him than usual, making sure that they weren't touching.

She watched her mates Adam's apple bob and his eyebrows furrow as he struggled to speak with her. Instead of speaking, she heard his voice in her head, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that.

Lily jumped in surprise when she first heard him, but then she calmed down. It's not your fault.

Jackson nervously ran his fingers through his hair before continuing their conversation. When the police told us that Charlotte was your sister you said that you wanted them all back. It wasn't the other girls you were talking about, was it? He didn't want his mate to shut down again, but this was important. He wanted to make sense of everything.

No, not them. Lily told him, taking a deep breath. After Carter revoked his rule against his customers, I made sure I was protected. When Nikolas took me and I figured out what he wanted, I lied. He found out and he wasn't happy. I don't know how much longer it was before I found out I was pregnant. The day Adrienne showed up, I discovered that he was abusing the girls. I confronted him and told him that instead of the girls, he should hit me. And he did.

Tears streamed down her face as Lily recalled the bleeding and cramping, wondering what was going on but never truly knowing. I never got to meet them or see them in a picture. When I had the ultrasound, the doctor asked me all these questions about things I may have experienced and she told me that I had a miscarriage.

"Oh, Lily," Jackson said out loud. He scooted over to her and pulled her into his embrace.

"I know it seems stupid. Being sad over losing a child that was forced on you, but I can't explain it. I guess it was knowing that I could've given them a life filled with love, something that I hadn't really known, even if the circumstances were shitty. Then having that ripped away. It... it hurts." Jackson didn't say anything, he just rubbed her back and held her close. "What kind of person am I, Jacks? If I can't protect any of them?"

"We'll get her back Lily, I promise. And you'll be able to give her the life of happiness and love you wanted for your own."