Chapter 24

Cole's POV

I wake up groggily on the floor, my head pounding.

"Cassie?" my voice is hoarse and rough.

I look around the empty room, trying to piece together what the hell happened and why I'm on the floor. The memories slowly start coming back to me, piece by piece.

The attack.

The Volki.

Cassie.

I sit up and sprint downstairs. The living room is destroyed, bullet holes and broken glass everywhere. The door is wide open and then I realize that what happened wasn't a nightmare like I had hoped.

No.

My heart drops at the same time as my knees give in, just as Carlo walks through the door with Livia.

"Figlio?"

"What happened?"

They ask at the same time.

"They- They-" The words refuse to leave my lips.

"Where is she? Where's Cass?" Liv asks.

She's gone.

No.

No no no no no no no.

NO!

"Sh- She- They-"

I'm so lost I can't even form a proper sentence.

I'm so anger at myself for letting them take her.

I need her.

She can't be gone. She just can't.

"No." I can hear the hurt in Liv's voice without even looking at her.

"NO!"

She drops to her knees and starts crying. The hollow house is filled with her sobs.

The determination to get Cassie back mixed with the burning anger within me overwhelms the feeling of despair.

"Call a meeting, we're getting her back." I say to my zio.

I will not let her go that easily.

I refuse to.

Without waiting for a response, I find my phone and dial my father. I wait impatiently for him to pick up the call.

"Sei già partito per il tuo volo?" [Have you left for your flight yet?] I ask as soon as the phone picks up.

"Hello son. I'm good, thanks for-"

"There's no time for this!" I rush out, infuriated at my father's timing with his sarcasm.

Now is not the time.

"No Cole. We're packing now. Che c'è?" [What's wrong?]

"There's no time. I'll tell you when you get here. Get everyone packed and on a flight out as soon as possible." I say authoritatively.

"We're going to war..."

Cassie's POV

I wake up, wrapped  in warm arms and silk sheets.

I feel a few soft kisses being placed on my shoulder and I smile lightly.

"Good morning to you too, lupo." I say, turning around to greet him with a morning kiss, only to be met with Viktor and furrowed brows.

"Pochemu ty nazyvayesh' menya volkom, malyshka?" [Why are you calling me wolf, baby girl?] 

Shit.

Last night really happened.

"I- I-" my voice is shaky and I'm unsure of what to say.

I try to create some distance between us, shuffling backwards, but Viktor uses his arm -which is still wrapped around my waist- to pull me back to him. My hand collides with his chest and I end up becoming even closer to him than I was before.

I sigh in defeat, closing my eyes and lowering my head.

"Mne zhal'." [I'm sorry.] I whisper.

He already know who my lupo is, he just wants to hear me say it. But I refuse to give him the pleasure of doing so.

Viktor grips my chin and forces my head up. I keep my eyes shut, scared of the fury I'll be faced with.

"Look at me." he tells me sternly.

I shake my head 'no' rapidly. 

"Cassandra." 

The use of my whole name used with his tone makes me flinch. Viktor's grip on my chin tightens when I don't listen to him.

"Look. At. Me."

Inhaling a shaky breath, I reluctantly open my eyes, meeting his.

"There she is." he smiles.

He presses a soft kiss to my forehead, causing my eyebrows to furrow in confusion.

"I'm not mad at you, malyshka. I know it'll take time to readjust back to me." he whispers, brushing the tip of his nose against mine.

After a few awkward moments of silence, my stomach growls, echoing in the quiet room.

Viktor's laugh fills the room straight after, his voice still rough and deep from sleep.

"I'll go get you some breakfast, malyshka. Stay in the room and don't leave. I'll be back soon."

He presses yet another kiss to my forehead and leaves, leaving to laying in the bed in complete confusion.

Oookay. Who is he and what has he done with the cold, monstrous bastard I last saw?

What is he playing at?

Is he planning something?

Surely this must be a trap.

My thoughts run wild as I lay in bed, facing the spot where Viktor lay. The bedroom door opens from behind me but I don't bother turning around, assuming Viktor came back with food. The door shuts ever so quietly, and I know instantly...

That's not Viktor.

I jump out of bed and run to the en-suite as soon as I hear the first footstep. I slam the door shut and lock it as fast as I can with shaky hands. The handle begins to shake aggressively as I lean my body weight against the door to try and keep it shut.

"Dorogoy."  I shiver in disgust at the name.

"Otkroy dlya menya, dorogoy." [Open up for me, sweetheart.]

"Nikogda." [Never.] I spit at him.

It's silent for what feels like forever, so I slowly back away from the door and walk towards the toilet so I can sit down. All of a sudden, I hear loud footsteps -like someone's running- and the lock busts open with the door. 

I scream, backing myself as far away as possible when I see the monster at the door, and I suddenly become extremely aware that I'm still in nothing but Cole's shirt and a pair of underwear. His eyes darken as he takes in my appearance. My back hits the wall and he smirks.

"Vse gotovo idti za mnoy, dorogoy? Takaya ty khoroshaya devochka." [All ready to go for me, sweetheart? Such a good girl you are.] his words make me want to physically throw up.

"Net. Net! NET! DERZHITES' OT MENYA OT MENYA!" [No. No! NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!] I scream from the top of my lungs as he starts moving towards me.

He lunges at me, pinning my hands behind my back and spinning me in one quick motion, my face pressed against the cold marble wall, causing a grunt to leave my lips from the harsh movements.

"Shhhh. Teper' net neobkhodimosti vo vsem etom shume, ne tak li, dorogoy?" [There's no need for all that noise now, is there, sweetheart?] he says tauntingly.

I whimper in revulsion as he grinds his hips into me, forcing me to feel him.

"God I've missed you, dorogoy." he whispers horridly into my ear.

His wet tongue meets the flesh of my ear and I don't think I've ever felt the need to vomit so badly. Tears begin to form from the flashbacks playing rapidly through my mind.

"We're going to make up for lost time. Obeshchayu." [I promise.]

I scream from the top of my lungs, praying that someone hears me, but he clamps his hand over my mouth mid-scream.

"Shhhhh, dorogoy. That's not the type of screaming I love to hear from you, and you know that." he whispers.

My tears are now flowing freely down my face. I feel him move his hand down and under my shirt, and I begin to wriggle in his hold, desperately trying to break free. Just as he's about to make contact with my core, he's ripped off of me and my knees buckle, giving in. Before I can hit the floor, two strong arms encircle me.

"It's okay, malyshka. Breathe. You're okay, you're okay." Viktor says, lowering my onto the floor slowly. 

I do the unexpected, turning around and circling my arms around his neck, pulling him impossibly close to me. The move surprises us both, but he quickly recovers and wraps his arms around my waist. I cry into his chest, everything around me becomes a blur and all I can think about is going back to Cole and safety, yet I know that I could never go back, for his safety, as well as Carlo's and Olivia's.

For now, I settle with the only sense of security I can find. 

In Viktor's arms.

He lifts me off the ground and holds my legs, carrying me bridal style.

"Ty v bezopasnosti, malyshka. Obeshchayu." [You're safe. I promise.] he says lowly, placing me on the counter.

He presses a kiss to my forehead and turns to leave, but I don't want to be left alone after what just happened. I grab his arm, gaining his attention as he turns back to face me.

"Pozhaluysta. Pozhaluysta ne ukhodi." [Please. Please don't leave.] I beg him, my voice coming out shaky, matching my uneven breathing.

His eyes soften at my request and he nods his head.

"Otvedite yego v kameru." [Take him down to a cell.] he call out to someone is the bedroom, who replies with 'yes, boss'.

"YA razberus' s nim pozzhe." [I'll deal with him later.] he says under his breath and I nod in response, even though I'm not sure he was even saying that to me or to himself.

"Do you need anything? You want a bath?" I nod my head, needing to unwind in the most peaceful way possible.

"Okay."

Viktor places yet another kiss to my forehead and walks over to the bath. I watch as he turns the tap on and pours rose scented bubble bath into the tub. He comes back over to me and he places a hand on my arm, rubbing it up and down in an attempt to comfort me.

"I'm gonna get you a change of clothes, towels, and a robe, okay malyshka?" I nod my head yes and watch as the bath slowly fills up.

Viktor places another kiss on my forehead before he leaves to get the items. Just as he reaches the door, he turns to look at me.

"I'll knock on the door three times before I come in, that way you know it's me." he says softly, then closing the door behind him.

I stare at the tub and think about how drastically my life has changed in the past few months.

I went from being a woman who suffered from PTSD and refusing any and all physical contact with people, to a brave confident woman who is in love a man who was initially a jerk, to feeling like I was in a loving family, finding and torturing Adrik, I've been practically kidnapped, and now almost raped... again.

God. Could my life get any worse?

I snap out of my thoughts just in time, the bath now full with the perfect amount of water. I check the temperature to find that it's just right and I almost sigh in content. I look around the bathroom for somewhere safe for my top. 

It's the only thing that I have left of Cole.

I find a small compartment that appears to be neglected and I decide that it's the perfect spot. I neatly fold the top and put it at the back of the compartment, strip of my underwear, and slip into the bath with my hair tied up. As I settle in, my body is consumed by bubbles, disappearing beneath them.

Moments later, there's three knocks on the door and Viktor comes in with the things he went to get, telling me that the clothes are in his room on the heater. He stands there awkwardly after he sets the other things on the counter.

"Something wrong, Viktor?" I ask him.

"I- ummm. Fuck." he runs a hand through his hair in frustration and I furrow my brows.

"I'm so fucking sorry Sandra. If I had just gotten someone to bring food up, then he-"

"Hey." I say softly, interrupting him, grabbing his attention.

"Don't blame yourself for what he did- or at least tried to do. You don't control his actions." I say to him, to which his nods in head in agreement.

"Besides," I sigh.

"I should be thanking you. If you hadn't got here in time- God." I bury my face in my hands, not  wanting to say or even think about the 'what ifs'.

I lay my head back against the edge of the tub, looking up at the ceiling to try and keep the tears at bay.

"I told you, malyshka. I will never let anyone touch you again. So help me God, I'm going to kill him for this." he says, crouching down next to me.

Viktor carefully takes the clip out of my hair, letting my waves flow freely. He runs his hand through the locks delicately.

"Rest, malyshka. You've had 24 stress filled hours. Get dressed and then we can order in or cook, and then if you want we can watch a movie before you sleep." he says quietly, like he's afraid someone might hear him.

My stomach growls at the thought of some authentic Italian pizza, so I tell Viktor who then leaves the bathroom to get his phone and place the order.

After a while, I get out feeling clean and refreshed. I dry myself off with a towel and wrap the fluffy robe around my now dry body. The warmth engulfs me and I gladly accept it.

I walk into the bedroom and freeze at the sight in front of me.

The lights are off and the TV is the only thing giving the room lighting. One large box of pizza sits on the bed. Two sweet scented candles sit on the nightstands, along with a couple of drinks. I continue to walk into the room and see two fluffy pillows resting against the headboard, and an extra large fluffy blanket that sits underneath the pizza box. I turn to look at the TV and see the The Vampire Diaries is loaded, paused on the first episode, 'The Pilot.'

My favourite.

I notice that the man in question for this isn't here, but I don't think anything of it. I walk over to the door and lock it, walking towards the radiator where my clothes are. The closer I get to the radiator, the more I realise that these are my clothes from when I used to live with the Volki in Russia, meaning that Viktor didn't throw my things away. There's something so sweet yet creepily strange about that. 

I take the new underwear out of the bag that sits next to my clothes and slip them on. I decide against the bra for now as I'll only be uncomfortable in it when I all I want is to relax and binge watch my favourite TV show. I take the leggings off of the radiator and slip them on, cosying up to the warmth it radiates. I put the vest and hoodie on, grateful for the warmth it provides my body with.

I'm startled when the door handle rattles, someone clearly trying to open it. I approach the door when I hear Viktor's voice. I open it to see him standing there in joggers and a hoodie with my favourite chocolates in his hand.

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaim.

"Gimme gimme gimme." I reach out for them, pouting like a child when Viktor pulls the behind him and out of my reach.

"You need food first, malyshka." he chuckles.

"Come on." I pout but go back inside regardless.

I mean, I hate to admit it, but he is right.

I sit down on the bed, tucking my legs underneath myself as I dig into the pizza. Viktor grabs the remote and presses play. We both lay back against our pillows and watch the show while stuffing our face with pizza.

If this is how everyday is going to be, then maybe it might not be all that bad...

Just maybe....

Word count: 2,541