This is book 2 in the "Beautiful Destruction" series. You MUST READ "Theirs to Claim" first in order to understand this one.
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When I was ten, my father told me that all of my dreams would one day come true. Naively, I believed him.
I may have gr...
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Chapter 24 : Madelyn Thursday, December 1st, 2022
I braced myself for the impact of my knees meeting the ground just for it to never come, three bodies moving so quickly I felt dizzy as Xavier looped me up into his arms.
The sudden movement had me recoiling in an unconscious attempt to guard my stomach from being jostled too badly, but not even a second later was Alec there too, tearing at the top of my sweater where my zipper was.
Whatever sense of calmness they had only seconds ago was gone now as Caleb came to my side, pressing his hand against my forehead just as Alec got the zipper all the way down.
Although my equally dark shirt remained beneath it, a sudden chill passed over me at the thought of them seeing what had happened, all of them moving so damn fast I barely had time to protest before hands were tugging at that too.
Peeling the fabric away from my skin, I hid my face at their sharp inhales at the first glimpse of the damage across my stomach.
Even though it was hard to see with the mixture of dirt and blood, I could make out at least two gashes deep enough to consider stitches, at least ten smaller scratches caught in splinters surrounding the area.
It was so much worse than I feared, and based on the paleness of all of their faces, I knew Kara and Imani never called any of them about this. They likely never did realize who they'd been chasing after all.
"Alec, you need to—" Caleb started, but his friend was already turning away to run upstairs before he could even finish.
My shirt remained rolled up to just beneath my bra as my head lolled heavily against Xavier's chest, not understanding why I was feeling the impact of this so intensely all of a sudden but wondering how much blood I possibly could've lost by now.
As droplets of my own started to trickle down my body from the tucked, very much torn shirt below my chest, I started to wager it was enough.
"Jesus Christ, sweetheart. What the hell happened to you?" Xavier pressed as he walked me out of the front hall and into the kitchen, helping to keep my side protected as he lowered me gently onto the cold counter.
I instantly tipped my head back to lean against the cabinets as my arms looped around my center, not protesting as Xavier cradled the back of my neck in his one large hand.
My ears faintly noticed the sound of running water beside me, only realizing it was Caleb filling up a large bowl when it was placed beside me, Alec returning from upstairs with his hands full of supplies I knew was meant for me.
"Off." He said not even a second later, my mind not understanding the order until my leggings were being tugged down before I could say no, seeing the material soaked with my blood too along with a bunch of splinters from where the branch got me.
