Page 24 of Hadley's Heroes
I crawled over to her, each movement making my chest scream in pain. I had broken ribs but I had to block out the pain. It was crippling, but what would be more crippling would be if I was like this for no reason and Hadley didn’t escape.
“Hadley,” I whispered as I got closer. But she didn’t respond. I could smell blood. They had hurt her. Anger flared through my system as I moved faster, the pain causing my vision to blur, but the fear of losing Hadley pushed me on. I cupped her head in my hand. I choked back a sob at her lifeless body. Her face was covered in blood.
“Hadley, wake up. Please,” I begged her as I wiped the blood from her face as best I could. I heard a horrible sound from Jaemay and knew then we were losing this fight faster than I had hoped. I sat up on my knees, sucking breath through my teeth. I used my lower left and upper right arms to scoop Hadley up. They were the only ones not completely broken.
I used my knees to walk and slowly made my way from the hut. I wouldn’t get far. I needed to walk, but I knew my ankle was broken. I heard the males now, they were coming closer.
“Please wake up, please,” I begged her. She might have a better chance if she ran from me and left me here to fight them off with whatever strength I had left.
I rose up on my good leg and tried to place my left foot down but the pain was unbearable on my left ankle. I couldn’t walk. When she didn’t move in my arms I decided to try and use my tails, as if they were a leg, to support me. I twisted them together. It was hard to move with my good leg and tails, but I limped forward. Every inch was another that Hadley was away from them, the pain was worth it.
“Aalee, Hadley.” I turned. Someone had called our names. Was that…
“Here,” I screamed out, my chest constricting in pain. Vetok. He found us… he found Hadley. I collapsed on the ground but cradled Hadley to my chest, breaking her fall.
“Here we are… Jaemay,” I called out the other male’s name. They needed to go back for him, he wasn’t safe with those males.
“Aalee?” someone questioned. I could sense them all now, my clan had found us. They came… I couldn’t see them, it was as if my eyes wouldn’t work now. I held Hadley, protected her. I couldn’t speak, words were lost as I felt Hadley being taken from my arms. I called out to her, reaching for the emptiness I now felt. I needed to be touching her…
I touched Hadley.That was the last thought I had before I passed out.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Hadley
Ihad been through so much in my life, but nothing prepared me for death. I was young… too young to have someone I know die. And worse… die for me.
“My heart, my heart. Please.” Vetok rubbed gently on my back but I couldn’t stop crying. I woke up in my own bed, in my hut, with Luna and Elle sitting with me. Jaim and Axoh tried to help me, but when they told me that… that Jaemay had died protecting me, I cried and I hadn’t been able to stop since.
At first, I thought it might be the hormones making me so worked up. But then I realized it was everything. I had been running from my ex who had treated me bad. I ran to a whole other world to get away from him. I escaped those Aashi assholes that had been chosen for me. I finally met the men of my dreams, then fell down a cliff… only to find more amazing guys and be kidnapped by others.
How the fuck did this keep happening to me? What did I do to deserve so much pain in my life? I had no family I could turn to… no friends until I came here.
“It’s okay, Hadley. He would have done that for any of us. It wasn’t your fault.” Luna kept trying to make me feel better, but it wasn’t happening. I was in a downward spiral that didn’t have an end.
“Aalee?” I finally had the courage to ask. If Jaemay was dead—I didn’t even know he was there—then maybe they weren’t telling me about Aalee because he was dead too.
When no one answered me, I sat up, my head spinning before I laid down again. Everyone was fussing, telling me to lay down. But if they weren’t going to give me an answer then I was going to find him. I needed to find Aalee, now.
“He is… not good,” Elle finally said. I choked back another sob.
“Can I see him?” I asked, but really, whatever their answer was I was going to see him. I was just being polite in asking.
“Yes,” Adee said as Vetok said, “No,” at the same time. I eyed Vetok, and I could see the sadness in his eyes. Not jealousy. He was trying to protect me. It was so bad that he didn’t want me to see him. My heart sank.
“I will see him now.” I had to see him, if only to say thank you, and goodbye. I couldn’t stay here a moment longer without seeing him.
He was in the original hut of his, but he had Jeralk in there with him, the pink Zalli warrior. He smiled at me. He wasn’t that badly injured. I was glad. He healed fast like Aashi and would be out of here by tomorrow from the looks of him. But when I looked over to Aalee, I gasped.
I had never seen an Aashi covered in so many wraps and so injured. I moved away from my mates, but I still felt dizzy with the headache I had woken with. Being hit in the head so many times did that to a person…
I lowered myself to the floor and crawled to him, my hands hovering above his body, not knowing what to do. I wanted to help him in any way I could. Even if it was just sitting here and talking to him, I would do that until he was healed.
“Aalee?” I whispered. “You have to get better, you hear me? You can’t leave me, okay? I need you.” Tears streamed down my cheeks, I could taste the saltiness of them on my lips. I didn’t think I would ever stop crying.
Axoh moved in beside me and started to look at Aalee’s injuries. Luna’s mate was the best healer in the clan and if anyone could fix him, he could. I just knew it.
“He is healing very slowly. It is taking longer on his body to heal with the new mating hormones.”
