Forever Mine

FORTY SIX

Roxy rolled her head against the wall to check on Cleo again. Her sister continued to sleep, her body naturally keeping itself in a coma to protect her and her baby from the injuries they'd suffered. She now laid on a small pile of straw Roxy had found swept up in the corner. It was old and mouldy, with a slight stench of urine, but it was warmer and more comfortable than the bare stone she currently sat on.

Roxy looked around the dark cells, taking in the iron bars. The wolfsbane was still in her system, continuing to weaken her. Bile rose in her throat when she thought of the one-eyed freak forcing himself onto them and a mouthful of vomit erupted into her throat. Taking a deep breath with her eyes watering, she swallowed it back down, looking out the window which now displayed dark clouds floating across the crescent moon. She imagined Isaac looking to the same moon. Had he created an army and were already on their way?

Roxy sighed heavily. The doubt inside of her made her wonder if Isaac even cared about her anymore. It'd been her decision to leave, to give him what he'd always wanted. But in these perilous times, no matter their strained reality, she had drowned herself in daydreams of him to escape the cold cell. As she'd drift in and out of sleep, she would allow herself to skip between different scenarios. Ones of them dancing with each other all night at the White Moon ball. The two of them unloading her belongings from his truck on the day she finally called Moonlight Ridge home. Her favourite though was the picture of them dancing slowly in the back of his truck. She would be cuddled against his chest, making her feel safer than ever. Wildflowers surrounded them in the bloom of spring. Country music trickling from the radio was their soundtrack.

Then her injuries would drag her out of the blissful dream, bringing her back to the cold and damp cell and she would sit there willing her body to drag her back to unconsciousness.

But the life Roxy craved to return to was only the figment of her imagination. Cleo did have someone who loved her, someone who would miss her and their unborn baby if she wasn't to return home. Roxy's thoughts strayed to the Saltwater Woods Alpha. Trent had always been like an older brother to her, even before him and Cleo had been officially deemed as soulmates. Being the son of the then Alpha, it was always expected of Trent to watch out for the pack members closer to his age. After their father left, and their mother had withdrawn into herself, Trent had been the one to help Cleo care for her. While his friends would leave for school, he would stay behind and help Cleo get Roxy to her lower school. He was the one to drive them around to do the groceries or any commitments. A lot of the pack members believed it'd been the foregrounds for Cleo and Trent ending up together. Except Roxy had always been able to see that he hadn't cared for them out of duty, but the kindness of his heart. They'd become a small and peculiar tight-knit family.

And now Trent was at risk of losing them all, including his unborn baby.

Roxy pulled her knees to her chest, trying to keep as much warmth inside herself as her body began shuddering. She imagined being wrapped up in Isaac's strong arms, his high temperature warming her body as if it were a fire. A smile filled her face at the thought and huddled against Cleo. How she missed him; his rare smile, the green of his eyes and the way her body slotted into his in the rare moments they embraced. Even after everything had happened between them, she hoped she would be seeing him soon, tossing the lifeless bodies of the rogues around like rag dolls when he burst onto the territory. She had to believe that they would be together again.

The past twenty-four hours, or however long it had been, had thrown everything into perspective all over again. Isaac had hurt her, multiple times, and she was afraid of him breaking her heart again. But the fear of being made to be Abaddon's broodmare eclipsed it entirely. Isaac had said he'd wanted her on the last night they'd seen each other. He wanted what she always had. A life of them being together. Roxy grabbed the ball of hope with both hands, tucking it firmly into her battered heart which was reignited with the faintest glow.