Dearest Luke

Chapter Six - Bad Party

☽ Nia ☾

Three long weeks have gone by and being away from Luke was taking its toll on me. I missed him more than anything and the realization that I didn’t even have his number had been a disaster. I had no idea how to get a hold of him and when I had approached my parents for help, my wonderful father had put his foot down. Both of them refused to give me Florence’s number (which made me wonder if they even had it) or any other contact number. I knew that my father had a piece of paper around here somewhere with Luke’s details on it but for the life of me, I couldn’t find it. I searched in the drawers of my father's desk and sat back, defeated.

“If I was an important document, where would I hide?” I asked out loud as I scanned the room. I spotted the files on the bookshelf and facepalmed myself. Of course. I got up and pulled out the first file. Nope. Next file. “Yes!” I took out my phone and punched in Luke’s number. I put the file back as I waited for him to answer.

“Hello?” his voice sounded soft and so far away that I wanted to cry.

“Luke!” I cried out, happy to hear his voice.

“Nia?”

“Yes, it’s me,” I said as I blushed. He couldn’t see me, but I was truly over the moon. “I miss you,” I hurriedly said as I slipped out of the office and headed upstairs to my bedroom. He didn’t say anything, and I wondered if he had hung up. Looking at the screen, it showed that the call was still in process. “How are you?” I asked.

“Fine,” he answered. I could hear some noise in the background and then silence. “Sorry, how are you Nia?” he asked me, and I smiled.

“I’m ok, I just miss you so much,” I admitted.

“I don’t know how you expect me to answer,” ouch. That hurt. But then again, I probably deserved it. “I miss you too Nia, but you are the one that said…” his voice trailed off and I cringed. He was right. I had kind of said we should take a break.

“Yeah, I know, I was wrong,” I said. Silence. I sat down on my bed as I waited for him to say something. After a while, I felt the sadness overtake me. “Luke?”

“Nia, I’m sorry, I’m busy right now,” he said apologetically.

“I know, will you come home this weekend?” I begged him. “Please,”

“Um…” silence.

“Please Luke, let’s talk about this. I really miss you and we are mates after all,” I pleaded, hoping he would just say yes.

“I’m sorry Nia, I’ve arranged to work this weekend,” he finally said, and I felt the tears sting, ready to fall.

“Oh, how about next weekend then?” I asked instead of crying, which is what I wanted to do.

“Ok but I have to go now, sorry,” he said before he hung up. Ouch, double ouch. Damn it! I had so screwed up this relationship. I threw my phone behind me and looked around my room. How on earth was I going to fix this mess?

☽☽☾☾

“I hope this party is going to be worth it,” I muttered to no one in particular as Joyce and I made our way to the frat house party. The lawn was already littered with red cups and people. I groaned softly as the sound of the music got louder and became more obnoxious. The front door opened and about four people came out, drunk and having a good time by the looks of it. I already wished I had just stayed home.

“Come on Niaaaaaa!” Joyce wailed out as she grabbed my arm and dragged me through the door. Once inside the music got on my nerves and the sweaty bodies of the numerous people made me want to throw up. The smell of s*x, bile, alcohol, and smoke made me want to die.

“Kill me now,” I whisper shouted at Joyce, who just rolled her eyes in response.

“Let’s get a drink!” she shouted, dragging me into the kitchen area. I looked around at the girls on the countertops with their guys (probably just for the evening but who knows?) between their legs, making out as if it was a competition. I stood next to Joyce at the long island as she poured us a drink from one of the many bottles displayed on the counter. She shoved it into my hand and would you know, she disappeared. Not like into thin air or anything, no, she just left me. I took a small sip of the drink she had made and glanced around the room.

“Hey sexy,” I turned around to find a very smug and somewhat drunk Mitch. Ugh, kill me!

“Hey Mitch,” I greeted back with a small smile.

“What are you drinking there?” he asked.

“No idea,” I replied with a laugh. The night wore on and after three hours of trying to relax and enjoy myself, I gave up. I hated parties. I hated the smell and I hated the noise. I couldn’t find Joyce anywhere and I assumed she’d either left or was upstairs with someone. The drink I had been nursing for the last twenty minutes got left just like that on a random table of some sort. I headed outside and breathed in the fresh air. Without wasting any more time, I headed down the road, past the cars to find my own. Spotting my little red Suzuki swift sports car, I hurried to it, dying to get home. Damn you, Luke! I thought to myself as I unlocked the vehicle. And that is the last thing I remember.

☽☽☾☾

I woke up with one hell of a headache. I groaned as I ran my hand over my tired face and tried to sit up. Holy hell my body was so sore. I looked around the room and frowned. This was not my room. Nope. The dark blue walls with posters of half-naked women and cars were not only disturbing but quite tacky as well. Sitting up, I finally recognized the room.

“Mitch?” I called out softly, I glanced down and let out a loud shrill scream as I saw myself tangled up in his white sheets. Naked. Completely naked. What the hell happened last night? I closed my eyes as I clutched the silk against my chest, trying to remember. I had left the party, walked down the road, and unlocked my car. And then what? I couldn’t remember. I started to panic as I looked around the floor for my clothes. The black one-shoulder mini chiffon cocktail dress with ruffles I had worn was in shreds with my black lace panty and a strapless bra. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream but I needed to understand what the hell had happened. I spotted my satin stiletto heel shoes in one corner with my purse. I slowly got up and that’s when it hit me. I was bloody sore between my legs. I ran a hand down and cupped myself. “Ouch!” it hurt like a b***h. I continued to slowly get off the bed and collect my things. The silk sheets flowed behind me as I made my way as carefully as I could to the bathroom. Once inside I locked the door and sat down on the toilet. I searched through my purse for my mobile phone and called Joyce.

“What?” she snapped sleepily when she finally answered. I couldn’t hold the tears in anymore.

“J-Joyce…I-I…” I gave up trying to talk as I cried.

“Nia? Is that you? What the hell happened to you last night? Your car is still parked…are you crying? Omg! Where are you?”

“M-Mitch,” I managed to choke out his name.

“On my way,” she said before hanging up. I realized talking was useless, so I sent a text to my mom.

☽☾Nia – Mom, something happened, can you and dad come, please?

I sent the message and waited. It wasn’t exactly early, checking the time (09:24 am) I knew they would be awake.

☽☾Mom – What happened? Where are you? We are on our way!

☽☾Nia – I am at Mitch’s place, hurry please mom!

I tried to get dressed but aside from the pain, my clothes were ruined. I had no idea if Mitch was somewhere in his apartment, but I wasn’t going to leave this bathroom. After a good ten minutes, my phone started ringing and I quickly answered.

“Nia, open the door,” Joyce said before she hung up. I slowly got up, wiped my tear-streaked face, and unlocked the door. I waited, trying to listen as best I could before opening the door and peering into his bedroom. With no sign of Mitch, I quickly made my way from his bedroom into the open plan sitting room and kitchen and ripped open the door. Joyce didn’t waste a second before coming in and pulling me into her arms. I broke down and cried. “Sshh baby, what the hell happened?” she asked as she brushed my dirty hair away from my face. I shook my head and when my phone started ringing again, I handed it over to Joyce.

“Hello?” pause. “Oh, hello Mr. Ronan,” pause. “Yes, I am with her now,” Joyce was pacing, and I wasn’t able to hear anything over my sobs. “Ok,” I watched her hang up and turn to face me.  “Your dad is here, he’ll be up in a second,” she pulled me back into her arms and hugged me close while I continued to cry. I wanted to remember, no, I needed to remember. All the indications pointed to one thing and I didn’t want that to be the truth. I was suddenly grateful that my father was so strict. When I had been dating Mitch, my parents had insisted on knowing his address. The already open door revealed my father. He looked worried as he eyed the room and when his eyes landed on me, he was by my side in seconds.

“Nia, what happened?” he asked.

“Dad…” I mumbled as he pulled me from Joyce and hugged me close.

“Your scent,” he started but he didn’t have to finish. I already knew what he was thinking. Mitch's scent was heavy on me. Zion turned to Joyce and gave her a cold look. “Sherie is downstairs, get Nia down there, and get back to the pack as quickly as you can. She needs to get to the infirmary,” he instructed. Joyce and I didn’t waste any time as my father wrapped me up in his black coat. I held onto the material as we rushed out of Mitch’s apartment and took the stairs. My mother was sitting in the passenger seat, waiting. When she spotted us, she got out and pulled me to her in a quick hug before helping me into the back seat. Joyce closed the door and I laid down, making sure my father's coat covered my shivering body. Sherie got behind the wheel and we were soon on the road. It didn’t take too long for us to reach the pack but instead of heading to the packhouse, Sherie pulled up alongside the infirmary. Two females came out and helped my mom get me out and into the infirmary. Doctor De Silver quickly ushered us to a private room. I gazed around me and started crying all over again.

“Check her!” Sherie demanded. Annie quickly pried away the coat and I was being probed and prodded whilst the check-up was being done. Annie then left and Sherie helped me put on a hospital gown and get into bed. Exhaustion took over and I fell asleep.

☽ Luke ☾

I heard the ringing of my phone and quickly jumped up from the bed to answer it.

“Hello?” I greeted lazily as I laid back down on the bed.

“Luke?” a female voice asked.

“Yes?” I asked, unsure of who was on the other line. I didn’t recognize the voice at all.

“It’s Joyce, Nia’s friend,” she offered. “Can you come to the pack? Something has happened and Nia needs you,” at her hurried words, I sat back up.

“On my way,” I said before hanging up. Luckily, I wasn’t at another pack, but rather I was at the council apartments. I didn’t bother packing a bag as I locked up and ran down the stairs and once outside, I headed to my truck. It would take a good solid hour, if not longer, to reach the pack. My mind was going crazy with worry as I wondered what had happened that would cause Nia to need me. Did she have an accident? Did something happen to her parents? The closer I got to the pack, the more my nerves and worries went up. I could already feel that something was wrong. The second I entered the pack's territory, Sherie reached out to me via the shared pack mind-link.

“Luke, come to the infirmary,” she ordered. I wasted no more time as I turned left instead of right and soon pulled up alongside the other vehicles scattered around the hospital. I didn’t even bother to close the car door behind me as I jumped out and ran inside.

“What’s going on?” I shouted out at the wolves standing around. Sherie came rushing towards me and unexpectedly threw herself at me. I quickly embraced the older female as I tried to wrap my head around what was going on. “Sherie, tell me,” I asked softly as I felt her body shake as she cried. I looked up and saw Zion exiting a room. When he saw me, he shook his head and I knew something terrible had happened. I could feel that Nia was in distress and that she was upset but she was alive.

“Luke, come this way,” Zion instructed, and I gently pulled away from Sherie, not entirely letting the frail wolf go as it was obvious that she was also distraught. I placed my arm around her shoulders and guided her in the direction where Zion stood. He let us pass into a room and then quickly closed the door. Joyce was sitting on the dark charcoal grey sofa fiddling with her fingers. She avoided looking at me and once again I wondered what the hell was going on. “Tell him,” Zion spat out. Joyce nodded but still didn’t look at me.

“We went to a party last night, I hooked up with this guy that I’ve had a crus-”

“The point,” I snapped, irritated. I didn’t need to know her life story, I wanted to know what happened to Nia.

“I wasn’t with her,” she said softly. “I was distracted, and she left. When I left the party, I saw her car still parked there, but I…” she paused as she took a deep breath, I noticed her small frame shudder and I frowned. “But I didn’t think anything of it, you know? But when she called me this morning, I just knew something had happened,” she finished.

“What happened?” I growled out, looking at Zion.

“She doesn’t remember anything, the last thing she remembers is heading to her car to leave and then this morning she woke up…” Zion hesitated but I nodded, urging him to continue. “She woke up at her ex-boyfriend apartment,” silence filled the room as I tried to process what they were telling me. “She doesn’t remember going to his place, she has no idea what happened but this morning, when she woke up, she…” Zion grimaced and turned away. Panic started to rise up as I put together the pieces.

“She was raped!” Sherie suddenly blurted out between sobs. She confirmed my fear and I looked back at Zion.

“How? Who?” I asked, not really knowing what to ask. All I could feel was anger. I wanted to kill that asshole that dared to hurt my mate.

“We don’t know yet, because of our genes and our healing abilities, it isn’t easy. Doctor De Silver has taken some tests and soon she will be able to explain. Well, as best as she can anyway,” Zion explained. I turned my attention back to Joyce.

“Who is this ex-boyfriend?” I asked. The words tasted bitter and I wanted to throw up.

“Mitch Owen,” she whispered. Well, Mitch Owen is a dead man.

“We’ve called the police. They are currently searching for the bastard,” Zion offered. “They’ve searched his apartment for evidence. Luckily the Mayor knows who we are, and our good Doctor will be able to give the results from the rape test,” he said as he ran his fingers through his hair. There was a knock on the door and then a female walked in, closing the door behind her. I knew immediately that she was the doctor just based on her outfit. Dark blue scrubs, pants, and top with a white jacket. Around her neck hung a stethoscope as well as a clipboard in her hand.

“Sorry to interrupt but I have the results,” she said.

“Go ahead Annie,” Zion said as we all turned our attention on the female.

“Nia was definitely raped, I am sorry,” she started, and I flinched. “Without going into too much detail, there is some damage, obviously she had started to heal and she will be alright physically very soon. However, there is something else,” she nervously looked around the room and I wondered just how bad it must’ve been if a doctor was anxious. “We found traces of Rohypnol in her system, although barely, her body has probably rejected most of it and that too will work out of her system,” the doctor turned to Zion and gave him the clipboard. “Here is the results and examination in detail. I have already given a copy to the police officer, although he would like to talk to you,” Zion nodded, and the doctor opened the door to call attention to the officer. However, there were two things on my mind. Firstly, Nia and secondly, Mitch.