Page 37 of Out of the Darkness

Colby covered the side of his face with his hand, trying to stem the bleeding. He rose to his feet and then kicked Xavier square in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him and cracking two of his ribs in the process. “We are going to take our fucking time with you, freak,” he spat angrily. “I hope you are ready because this is really going to fucking hurt!”

Colby backed away, ripping his shirt over his head to press the cloth against his face, and the first group of guys stepped forward. A man named Keith was the first to strike, a swift and hard kick in the same place Colby had kicked him just moments before. His ribs snapped under the force of the blow, and he roared in pain.

The beating began in full force then, each guy taking the opportunity to either punch or kick him. One even dislocated his hip joint, and there was nothing he could do to stop it, thanks to the sedative. He almost wished it had been enough to knock him out. While he had inflicted more than enough pain on others, being on the receiving end was a different thing entirely.

After what felt like an eternity of being beaten, having bones broken, tufts of fur yanked out, and being stabbed by various objects, the guys finally began to back away. Blood filled his mouth, and his body throbbed painfully. He blinked the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut and watched as Colby stepped up next to him, twirling a metal bat in his hands. He smirked at Xavier, a look of triumph on his face.

“Not bad for the first round,” he sneered. “And when you come to, we will do this all over again. This time, I win, Xavier.”

Colby raised the bat over his head and brought it down with enough force to kill him had he been human. The bat cracked against his skull, but he mercifully blacked out before the pain of the blow could register, and he welcomed the darkness with open arms.

Chapter Seventeen

TWO WEEKS LATER

Madelyn

Madelyn hated to admit it, but she was depressed. Not to mention pissed. She had fallen asleep in Xavier’s arms, exhausted from the intense but incredible sex, with him making promises of forever, only to wake up the next morning alone with his side of the bed cold and empty. That had been two weeks ago, and she hadn’t seen or heard from him since. His bag was still sitting on the bay window, and the only things missing were his keys and his phone. Naturally, she was starting to think that everything he had said to her was a goddamn lie, and it hurt more than she cared to admit.

Despite her better judgment. She had fallen for the guy. His dirty mouth and the depraved games they had played had become a staple in her life, and she didn’t know what to do without them anymore. She didn’t know what to do without him. He wasn’t even watching her from the shadows anymore because she was once again back to feeling completely and utterly alone. It was suffocating and damn near debilitating.

The only thing she could do was try to keep herself busy to keep her mind off of the soul-sucking darkness that threatened to consume her. Staying busy meant that she couldn’t get lost in the dark depths of her mind. She wouldn’t get stuck trying to figure out what she did wrong to make Xavier leave her the way he did. Focusing on how angry she was at him helped, as did the fact that she was seemingly fighting off a really bad cold.

A couple of days ago, she woke up feeling like she had been hit by a dump truck. She was nauseated and dizzy and was having a hard time keeping anything down. She had thought it would have gone away or at least started to ease up a bit, but it was staying steady. So, after throwing up for the third time that morning, she made a call to her doctor to set an appointment. Thankfully, she managed to squeeze her in for later that afternoon.

Madelyn was sitting on the couch in a shirt and sweats, waiting for Bernie to show up to take her to the clinic. She didn’t trust herself to drive as lightheaded as she was feeling, and she couldn’t call Melanie since the two of them still weren’t talking. In hindsight, she still couldn’t believe she had blown up an amazing friendship for a guy who just ghosted her once he got what he wanted from her.

A part of her wondered if maybe it was the chase that had kept him interested. Maybe he only wanted her when he couldn’t have her, and it pissed her off that she had fallen for it too. She was furious in fact and wanted nothing more than to give Xavier a piece of her mind. It was that desire that had her texting and calling him a couple of times a day and had her pulling up his number again now.

Once again, the phone just continued to ring over and over again, only fueling her frustration further. She growled and was just about to hang up when she suddenly heard the distinct sound of someone picking up and sighing heavily.

“Yeah.”

Madelyn blinked and glanced at the phone to see if she accidentally misdialed. She knew Xavier’s voice as well as she knew her own, and the voice that answered was unmistakably female.

“Hello?” the voice pressed, sounding irritated.

“Uh, I’m sorry. I was looking for Xavier?” she stammered.

“He’s… unavailable at the moment. Who is this?”

“Madelyn.”

Her answer was instinctive as her mind was still trying to process what was going on. Everything Xavier had said to her had been a lie to get into her pants, it had to be. She wasn’t his mate or soulmate, or whatever. It had all been a way for him to get her into bed and he had obviously moved on already. However, why he had left his duffel bag with some of his clothes and some other interesting toys behind was still a mystery to her. Not that it mattered. She should have known better than to give in to him, and she should have listened to Melanie from the very beginning. She should have turned the prick in to the police when she had the chance.

“Madelyn? Oh, yeah. I’ve heard about you.”

“Uh-huh. And who are you?” she countered, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

“Oh, I’m Isabelle. I’m a… friend of Xavier’s.”

Her stomach soured in an instant, bile rising in her throat. Xavier had admitted that he and Isabelle had a history, a sexual history. It had been yet another lie when he told her that she didn’t have anything to worry about when it came to Isabelle because he had run right back to her once he was done with her. How could she have been so stupid?

“Listen, Madelyn. There’s something you should know,” Isabelle began, her voice softening. “About Xavier.”

“No, I think I know enough,” she snapped quickly. “Sorry I bothered you.”

Without giving Isabelle the chance to respond, she ended the call and immediately blocked Xavier’s number. She was done with him. She had to be for her own sanity.

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