The Midnight Foxxx

Chapter 34

BRAX

"Hey. You gotta get up."

A distant voice breaks through the comfortable haze, caressing my mind. It's cold, like the blood in my veins has turned to ice. It takes too much energy to move, as if a weighted blanket is pinning me down. I just want to stay here and sleep for the rest of eternity; slip into the dark void and float through the abyss of nothingness.

“Brax,” the voice speaks again, trying to pull me out of my slumber. I continue to resist. I don’t want to leave this place. It’s peaceful, quiet. “Come on. You gotta get up.”

“Let me sleep,” I barely recognize my own voice, hoarse and gravelly like I gargled razor blades. My consciousness gradually returns to me, my surroundings manifesting back into existence. Or maybe I'm the one manifesting?

“I wish I could,” metal clanking together disrupts the hazy trance. There’s a loud click and then my arms are dropping to my sides, pain exploding in my shoulders. Without the shackles holding my weight, I slump forward, collapsing into a hard body. The ache in my shoulders radiates down my arms and through my back.

“You gotta wake up,” the annoying voice persists and I finally open my eyes. Elliot is looking down at me, holding me up. Fear is written over his face. I scowl at him. He only has that look when he did something wrong.

“What happened?” I croak, my senses beginning to come back to me. Elliot doesn’t answer as he helps me to my feet and sets me down on the bed. A groan makes its way past my lips, pain flaring with every movement.

“Elliot.”

“Silas did a number on you,” the other vampire avoids my gaze.

“How long has it been?” Bits and pieces of memories float around in my mind, but it’s all so broken up. I can’t make sense of it.

“‘Bout six days.”

“f**k,” I run fingers through my hair anxiously. “What’d I miss?”

“Uh, yeah, there’s something I gotta tell you,” he says sheepishly.

“What,” there’s a sharpness to my voice. Elliot finally looks me in the eyes. Fear and uncertainty weigh heavily in his features. “Elliot. What do you need to tell me?”

“It's Vixen," he says hesitantly. Every muscle in my body tenses.

"What about her? What happened?"

"Just relax, okay?" he puts his hands up defensively.

"What. Happened," I demand again and stand from the bed, now looking down at the smaller male.

"She's gone," the world around me slows to a stop.

"What do you mean 'gone'?"

"She left. Just walked out and we haven’t seen her since," Elliot explains.

"Why? What happened? What made her leave?" an urgency was starting to take over. There was no way she left. No way. I don't believe it.

"She saw how beat up you were. She didn't take it well. Blamed herself and just... stormed out of here," Elliot rubs the back of his neck as he takes a step back.

"You let her see me?" my voice descends two octaves, vibrating at a deadly level. Red floods my vision as pure rage washes over me.

"I tried to stop her, okay? You know how she can be!" he takes another step back.

"I gave you ONE order. ONE," I seethe. The smaller vampire drops to a kneel, head bowed in submission.

"I'm sorry."

“Not yet you’re not,” my entire body thrums with anger, replacing the pain with burning hot rage. It surges through my veins like venom, every heartbeat spreading the toxin faster. I stalk past Elliot without another word. He remains kneeling with his eyes glued to the floor. He can be dealt with later, when I don't have the urge to gut him like a fish. Everything around me is a blur as I make my way to Vixen’s room. A few female dancers try to stop and flirt, but they’re curtly shrugged off. Their childish protests are quickly silenced with a glare. When I reach Vixen’s bedroom door, dread pools in my stomach.

Suddenly, I don’t want to know what awaits me on the other side. If it’s anything other than Vixen sleeping soundly in her bed, I don’t think my heart can take it. I want nothing more than to open this door and see her beautiful face smiling back at me, eyes shining with love and affection.

The door opens slowly with a loud creak and my stomach drops. Clothes are strewn everywhere littering the room, draped over furniture, and piled over the bed. The dresser drawers lay abandoned on the floor, emptied of most of their contents. The majority of her weapons are gone along with her leather jacket and boots.

My heart feels like it’s been ripped out of my chest. The world crumbles to dust around me. Without Vixen, I have nothing; I am nothing. The fiery woman with raven hair and vermillion eyes is my sole reason for living. Her laughter and smile warms my frigid veins like the first warm day of spring, melting away the winter snow. I promised myself I would protect her. How can I protect her if she’s not here?

I exit the abandoned bedroom, slamming the door behind me. Silas. I need to speak with Silas. There’s no way he doesn’t know his favorite toy is missing. I descend the stairs two at a time, pushing my way through anyone standing in my way. The warlock’s office door is closed but light shines through the crack along the bottom.

“Silas,” the door is thrust open without knocking, and the blood drains from my face as I enter the room. Silas looks at me with an unimpressed look on his face.

“Finally, you’re back to the land of the living, or whatever your kind wish to call it,” I don’t dare respond as I eye his guest wearily. “Brax, you’ve met Wilder Bishop before, haven’t you?” The warlock’s says conversationally, though the tone behind it is threatening. I nod, never taking my eyes off the red head.

“What’s up, asshole?” He says cheekily with a knowing smile. The f*****g snake.

“Would you care to tell me why a very not dead Mr. Bishop is sitting here in my office when I was told he was... disposed of?” Silas raises a brow at me. I remain silent. “Hardily matters now, I suppose. Vixen shall be punished later for lying to me.”

“She didn’t lie, she thought she finished the job,” I jump to defend her.

“Doesn’t matter to me. She failed her assignment and will be punished accordingly. For now, Mr. Bishop here is of use to me.”

“I know where she is,” Wilder says arrogantly, c*****g his head towards me.

“Then tell me so I can go get her,” it was meant to be a request but comes out as a demand.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Brax,” Silas interjects. “Vixen has taken refuge with Alpha Drake. This is the perfect opportunity for her to get nice and cozy with him.”

“Are you crazy? I need to bring her back. Now,” I plead, and the warlock’s eyes darken.

“Excuse me? I don’t know what has gotten into you lately, but it WILL stop. I indulged you last time, allowing you to take Vixen’s punishment, but I will not allow it again. If you continue to be insubordinate, I will rip her pretty head off her shoulders while you watch, then force you to stare into her cold, dead eyes every day for the rest of eternity.” A shiver runs down my spine and nausea coiling in my stomach, threatening to expel bile. Wilder smirks smugly from his seat in the peanut gallery. I glare daggers at the other male, praying for hellfire to rise up and swallow him whole.

“My apologies, sir.”

“That’s more like it. Now, Mr. Bishop is willing to help you get into pack lands without being detected. We will use this to our advantage, so you can switch out Vixen for Imogen when the time is right. In exchange, he wants full VIP access to Vixen whenever he pleases,” my jaw clenches as I stifle a growl. This little f*****g weasel bastard. It takes all my strength to hold back. The urge to punch that cocky smile off his face is hard to resist. Instead, I remain silent, not trusting my tongue to behave. My knuckles turn white as they clench tightly, finger nails dig into my palm until they break skin and draw blood.

“I want you to check in on Vixen in a couple of days, see how she and the Alpha are getting along.”

“Yes, sir,” is all I manage to spit out with a glare directed at the redhead, smug smile sitting carefree on his lips.

I will kill him if it’s the last thing I do. Slow and painful. I will make him regret ever being born. He will beg for mercy. He will beg for death.

The office door slams behind me, rattling the walls and startling a few bystanders. A confusing mix of anger and despair twists in my gut. The world around me feels dim with muted colors and muffled sounds like an old silent movie. My ears ring and my skull buzzes like an angry hive of bees. Nothing feels real anymore. This has to be some horrible nightmare that I can’t wake from. Lost among the echos and whispers of broken dreams.

I find myself in Vixen’s room again. The already small and pathetic room that's more of a closest feels even smaller without the little spit fire occupying it. I sit down on the ratty twin mattress that lies on the floor, not even on a box spring. Her scent still lingers, a diluted vanilla and lilac. It was the most heavenly scent I’d ever encountered the first day she walked into this place, only for Silas to lock it away when he collared her. When I made the deal with the warlock, serve him with unwavering loyalty in exchange to be reunited with the love of my life, this was not what I had envisioned. Though, I suppose I should have known better.

Vixen shares my wife’s face, but not her soul. She’s a doppelgänger created by Silas. He hexed an unborn child to be the spitting image of Astra. Had I known, I never would have agreed. Vixen’s mother managed to escape. She gave birth and left the baby at an orphanage in the hopes Silas would never find her. It took fifteen years, but he eventually did. When I refused to take her, disgusted by what he'd done, he adopted her, wiped her memories and molded her into what he wanted her to be. I should have just taken her. Maybe her life would have been better. I could have raised her as my daughter. I figured the damn warlock would have left the child alone, leave her where he found her. That’s what I had hoped for anyway. I was a fool. I had to watch Silas abuse her, starve her, exploit her, and all I can think every time she’s hurt is that it’s my fault. All my f*****g fault.

I tip my head back and gaze up at the ceiling, hoping the Alpha has stayed true to his word; help her the way I never could. The one thing I promised to do and I've failed. I couldn't protect Vixen. She's out of my reach, and even once she's back within my orbit I still won't be able to do anything. Not without risking her safety. Silas may be a scheming snake, but he will follow through on his word. Vixen may currently be his favorite toy, but he has his eyes set on a bigger prize, and he always gets what he wants. The house always wins.