The Midnight Foxxx

Chapter 26

VIXEN

Pain. So much pain. It starts in my core and radiates out to the rest of my body. My arm throbs and aches. I feel movement beside me as I start to writhe.

"Vix?" Brax's low voice calls to me.

"Hurts," is the only thing I'm able to get out, and it's all I need to say. The vampire is up in an instant, rummaging around my room looking for something. It doesn't take him long to find it, and he's back at my side with a glass of water and painkillers in hand. I open my mouth and the pills are placed onto my tongue. The glass of water is brought to my lips and I take a big sip, gulping down whatever it is he gave me. A familiar light-headedness creeps in, but the pain starts to fade to a mild discomfort.

"What did you give me?" I question.

"Love Haze, but a small amount. Just enough to take the edge off, but not make you high," a hand brushes the stray hairs off my forehead. The chill from it feels nice and unintentionally lean into the touch.

"Thank you," my voice is a whisper. The bed dips as he crawls back into bed beside me.

“Feeling better?” he murmurs into my ear, and I nod my head.

“It’s still early, you have a few hours before we open,” I groan loudly.

“How am I supposed to dance tonight? It hurts just to breathe,” anxiety starts coiling in my stomach.

"Maybe I can convince him to give you more time to heal," Brax suggests.

"You know he won't," I sigh, "I don't want to do this anymore. I'm so tired.”

"I know," strong arms wrap around me protectively.

"The Alpha... he said he would help me."

"I know," the big arms around me tighten.

"Do you think he meant it?" a sigh tickles the back of my neck.

"I do, but I'm sure he can," sadness sinks into my chest.

"You're probably right," I close my eyes and drift back to sleep.

The harsh spotlights are blinding as I hobble my way onto the stage. Every step hurts, and my knees want to give out from under me. My broken arm hangs loosely at my side. Silas forced Brax to remove the cast, saying it was ugly and would 'put off' the patrons. It aches and throbs as I try to make its movements natural looking. My abdomen burns and the skin stings as each hip sway pulls on the stitches. The room starts to spin, causing nausea to fester uncomfortably in my stomach. I stumble, but manage to slide down into a split to hide the misstep. Pain immediately burns throughout my body. I bite my lip, drawing blood trying to hold back a scream. A warm wetness starts to spread over my stomach, and start to panic, realizing the wound is reopened and bleeding. I try to lift myself back up, but with only one functioning arm and the immense pain, I can’t.

The audience is suddenly cheering and whistling. I have no idea what’s happening as hands are hooking under my armpits and gently lifting me up until I’m back on my feet. Muscular arms pull me back against a bare hard chest, and then they're grinding against me.

“Are you okay?” a male voice whispers discreetly into my ear. The voice is vaguely familiar.

“Hurts. I don’t think I can walk on my own,” I whisper back.

“Hold on,” is the only warning I get before being lifted up and turned to face the other man. He’s one of the male dancers. I’ve only talked with him a handful of times, but he was always kinder than the rest. I wrap my legs around his waist to stabilize myself and hook my good arm around his neck. He’s supporting all of my weight so I don’t have to strain to hold myself up. I feel my cheeks turning red as he continues to grind against me, his barely clothed member rubbing between my legs. Our audience continues to go crazy, yelling and whistling at us.

For the rest of the performance, the male dancer handles everything, keeping me fully supported while making the movements look completely fluid and natural. When it finally comes to an end, I’m carried backstage where Brax is right there waiting for us.

“You’re bleeding,” he says gruffly, taking me from the other male immediately.

“No s**t,” I groan, “Thanks by the way.” The male dancer just smiles before walking back towards the changing rooms. Brax is already sliding my shirt up to expose my stomach and inspect the reopened wound.

“s**t. I need to re-suture this,” he slides my top back into place, “How’s the arm?”

“f*****g hurts,” I say through gritted teeth. The vampire clicks his tongue in frustration.

“What the HELL was that?” Silas’ voice breaks through the loud music playing the background.

“I’m sorry, I-“

“All you have to do is dance around, look pretty, and make me money. Are you too incompetent to even do that?” He continues to berate me.

“I was in pain. I’m sorry. I tried to-“

“Who was that on stage with you?” The warlock demands.

“I don’t know,” I say, mostly truthful.

“Tell me who was helping you. Now,” dark eyes burn into my own.

“No. He was just trying to help, leave him out of it,” I spit back at him defiantly. Those dark eyes narrow and then freezing cold fingers dig into my mind. They start to pry at my memories, forcing their way inside and it’s absolute agony. I fight against it, trying to keep him out of my head only for him to pry harder. It feels like my skull is being split open. Tears start to stream down my face.

“You little b***h,” Silas seethes and the hands retreat, “How dare you defy me.”

“f**k you,” my heart thunders in my chest. He steps forward, hand raised, ready to hit me, but Brax takes a step back.

“Brax. Put her down,” his voice sounds deadly. There’s a short pause.

“No,” Brax says firmly.

“Excuse me?” The air around us chills, every breath becoming visible.

“No. I’m not letting you hurt her,” the vampire holds his ground.

“Brax, stop. It’s fine,” I whisper, but he ignores me, instead glaring holes into the warlock.

"Need I remind you of the contract you signed? I own you. I own BOTH of you. You will obey me," shadows contort and bend, enshrouding the backstage area in darkness.

"I will take her punishment. She needs to heal. Let me fix her stitches and let her rest for a couple days, and I will take whatever punishment you see fit in her place." It's deadly quiet as Silas thinks over the proposal.

"Brax, no! It's fine," I start fighting to get out of his grasp, but his arms tighten and hold me in place. "Dammit Brax, let me f*****g go! I'm not letting you do this," I plead with him, but it falls on deaf ears.

"BRAX!" I scream at him, struggling harder despite the pain. There's a sharp pinch on my leg that halts my movements. I look down to see a needle imbedded in my thigh. "The f**k? Brax... Did you...?" the room starts to spin as the all too familiar fog clouds my mind.

"I'm sorry," he whispers as my eyes close.

"I hope you're ready to experience Hell," Silas' maniacal voice is the last thing I hear before everything goes dark.