35. Mine

The haze lifted, and I found Cy and Odie asleep on either side of me. Their knots had deflated, and I finally got some rest, but I was ready for a long shower and a platter full of cheeseburgers. I was starving and exhausted even with the snacks and water I ate in between waves of the heat.

I lay there, staring up at the ceiling and listening to the soft sounds of my mates sleeping. My emotions were jumbled. I didn't hate every part of it, but I couldn't say I was okay with what happened. I'd be fine, eventually, but I doubted I'd let a heat come on any time soon. Part of me was thankful that we knew Vaila had tampered with the suppressants and it wasn't my physiology that had fucked it all up. However, that also meant we had to question everything she did to "help." I couldn't dwell on it now because whatever happened happened, but worry sat low in my stomach at the thought.

Finally, I sat up and slowly adjusted myself until I could slide off the bed without disturbing them. I went into the bathroom and blasted the hot water in the shower before adjusting it to a reasonable temperature. I wanted to be scorched, not boiled alive.

I stepped in, letting the steaming water flow over me and ease the aches I felt everywhere. How long had we been going at it? Everything was a blur. It could have been one day or seven.

I washed my hair three times and scrubbed my entire body down so many times I lost count. My skin was red, but I felt better. The tension that I held in my shoulders and back slowly released, and I sank to the floor with the water washing over me and keeping me warm.

If I stayed too long, I'd fall asleep in here, and I was done with resting. Cy and Odie could sleep as long as they wanted, but I was hungry and wanted to check on Ellie.

I wrapped a towel around myself so I could make my way downstairs and to my room without flashing her. I threw on underwear, loose sweats, and a loose tee. My nipples and under carriage took the brunt of the damage, and walking around was far more difficult than I would like to admit. The slick helped, and I would be in a lot more pain if I wasn't an Omega, but that didn't mean I came out unscathed. I did hope their dicks were rubbed raw though. That would be a little win in my box, knowing they felt a little of the pain I was going through.

Ellie's door was ajar, so I knocked before pushing it open a little bit and peeking inside. The screensaver on her laptop lit up the room a bit, so I stepped in and felt around the bed for her. She wasn't there, so I looked in the bathroom. I hadn't seen her in the living room or kitchen, so maybe she was outside suntanning or something.

With urgency, I ran around and checked all the rooms first before running outside. She was nowhere to be found. Had she gone to Gerard's? Wouldn't she have left a note or texted us? Certainly she would have taken her laptop and some clothes.

Running back into her room, I scoured her closet. Everything seemed to be there, but a suitcase laid open and empty on the floor. That wasn't good. Where the fuck was she? Had she planned to go to Gerard's after all? But why was this all still here?

Stepping back out into her room, that's when I noticed her phone on the ground under her bed. I dove for it, bringing it out of the dark and turning it on, but it was dead.

Fuck.

I bolted upstairs to get Cy and Odie. Whatever happened, Ellie didn't go willingly. There didn't seem to be anything broken or out of place in here, so unless someone fixed everything before they left, there wasn't a fight. Had she gone willingly? But why would her phone be here?

I threw open the door, slamming it against the wall, startling Cy and Odie awake.

"I'm up. What's happening?" Cy said as she sat up right.

I climbed onto the bed and showed them Ellie's phone with my eyes wide and panic lacing my moves. I was jittery and breathing heavily as I grabbed my notebook and scribbled a note to them.

Ellie's gone, and her phone was under her bed, dead.

"What?" Odie said, trying to turn on Ellie's phone. She looked around the room for her phone before finding it by the mini fridge. It was also dead.

Odie exited the room with Cy and me on her heels. They were both still naked, but they didn't seem to care. Odie entered her room and plugged both phones in before getting dressed in biker shorts and a muscle tee. Cy had veered off to do the same and came back in, wearing a loose T-shirt dress in gray. I had never seen her in a dress before, so I was taken aback, but shook my head to keep my mind on the important things.

Finally, the phones turned on, and we realized the heat had lasted five full days. My jaw dropped open. It hadn't felt that long, and yet it felt longer.

There were unread messages on Odie's phone but nothing important. On Ellie's, however, there were many messages from Vaila from the day my heat started.

She spoke with Ellie about how Gerard had asked her to pick Ellie up since she was so close already, and Ellie believed her, just as we had done.

This was all a part of Vaila's plan. She got under our skin, played the close family friend card well, and we didn't blink an eye. She gave us everything we needed, and look where it got us. "Vaila took Ellie… why?" Odie ground out, working through the problem out loud.

I didn't have answers, and neither did Cy, so we all stood there in silence, staring down at the phones on the bed.

Odie started pacing around the room, and Cy sat on the bed with her head between her legs. I remained standing and staring, unable to move my body. I hoped I would wake up from this nightmare and everything would be okay, but I knew I wasn't that lucky.

Had the cure been a lie too? What about the birth control? How fucked were we?

Grabbing Ellie's phone, I typed out a message to Vaila.

Where the fuck did you take her?

I watched and waited, hoping she'd respond to me. When she didn't after a few minutes, I tossed the phone on the bed and collapsed to my knees. All the emotions from the heat and now losing Ellie washed over me. Sobs formed as tears sprang from my eyes, and I curled into a ball.

I know I saved Ellie initially, but I should have left after that. I should have vanished the second Gerard backed off, but they were nice, and I felt like I needed to stay. I hated everything. Was this the curse at play again? Had Vaila lied about how long it would take to affect them? Had I ruined everything again?

Hands rubbed my back, but I sprang up and batted them away, anger filling my eyes.

"Mine?" Odie said with Cy behind her. They both looked at me like I had lost my marbles. And maybe I had.

I shook my head and gripped my hair between my fingers, yanking on it. This is all my fault rang through my head over and over as tears blurred my vision.

"Mine, please?" Odie stepped closer, but I wasn't having it.

I jumped on the bed and leapt off of it and out the door. Next thing I knew, I was slamming the door to my bedroom across the hall. I couldn't be near them. I needed space to calm the fuck down so I would be useful in finding Ellie.

I sat against the door with my head in my hands and my knees to my chest. I let everything come out and didn't hold back. My throat would be raw by the end of it from the snot running down it and my failed attempts at screaming. My eyes would be big red sores, but it didn't matter. I deserved it. Ellie was gone because of me.

Eventually, I calmed down, or the tears stopped because I simply didn't have enough water in me to create more. The hiccups and sobs ended, and my mind cleared a bit.

Vaila had taken Ellie, but why? What was the point? If she had only given us a clue about it. The messages between her and Ellie gave nothing away, and no new messages came from her to Odie. Maybe some had been sent to Cy? No, that wouldn't make any sense. She knew Odie had her phone before the heat and knew where Ellie's would be and that we would find it eventually.

I laid my head back, hitting it against the door. We were missing something, and although the fog was clearing, nothing was coming together.

Vaila took Ellie.

Vaila tricked us.

Vaila was a friend of the family but more specifically Ellie's mom.

Vaila was a Witch.

None of that helped me piece anything together.

With what we had, besides the texts between her and Ellie, we wouldn't even have suspected Vaila, so why would she leave behind Ellie's phone?

I sat forward and crossed my legs.

Was that on purpose? But again, why?

Was Vaila forced to take Ellie and leaving her phone was a clue? No, that sounded stupid, but I couldn't mark it off the list of possibilities.

I was treating this like some crime show, but it was the only thing keeping me going at the moment. The tears were at bay, and I was done with them.

Back to the beginning.

Vaila took Ellie and either left her phone on purpose or by accident.

Vaila tricked us into trusting her and gave us faulty pills and maybe more than that.

Vaila was Ellie's mom's best friend and Odie's ex lover, so of course Ellie trusted her and went with her willingly or otherwise. Given that her phone was left, the latter was more likely, at least in the end.

Vaila was a Witch who concocted birth control, fake suppressants, and a curse cure for me, and I had no way of knowing if the birth control or cure were legit. I had to hope they were, but only time would tell.

Again and again, I went over what we knew for sure and what was hypothesized, but nothing stood out. There were too many theories, and it all started with whether or not she was working for someone or for her own self interest.

Had they let Gerard know? Was he on his way, or were they out looking for her now?

I shouldn't have ran away, but they needed to focus on Ellie right now, and I needed to get my shit together so I could also focus on Ellie. More hell was on the way, and at this point, I would rather not survive it, not if Ellie was gone for good.