Page 15 of The Lost Ones

Tears start to tumble down her cheeks and both Kai and I lean forward to wipe them off.

"My mother."

"Fucking hell!" I curse.

"It started when I was nine. She wasn't the best mom, she tended to forget about me a lot, but she never hurt me. When I was nine, she started drinking. That was the first time she hit me. I can't remember why but I do remember thinking that my Imprint Tattoo made sense then."

I look at her wide eyed, she got an Imprint Tattoo when she was nine!? She doesn't notice my look and carries on.

"It got worse from then on.” Her eyes start droop as she yawns.

Jax opens his mouth, no doubt to ask about what she meant about her Imprint Tattoo, but quickly shuts it when Levi shakes his head.

"Thank you for telling us, Beautiful Girl." Kai tells her, gently kissing her on her forehead.

I watch him closely. This is too close to his past; he's going to break, I can see it. I watch him quickly leave the room, going down to the basement and to the gym and sparing area we have down there.

Maverick leans over Sage and kisses her on her cheek.

"Get some rest Titch.” He says quietly before following after Kai.

Next, Jax picks up her hand and kisses it.

"You're safe here Little Star.” He promises before he too follows Kai down to the basement.

Sometimes it takes all of us to calm Kai down and I have a feeling this is going to be more difficult than usual.

Sage's eyes are already closed and her breathing soft. I kiss her on her cheek surprised when Levi does the same. We gently cover her with a blanket before the first crash sounds from downstairs. I put the television on to block out some of the noise,hoping Sage is a sound sleeper or at the very least the TV will block out the sounds from the basement enough.

Kai would hate for her to see him like this, this isn't him, it's his demons.

At the sound of the second crash Levi and I rush down to the basement to take in the damage and to spar with Kai for as long as he needs us to, to help him force his demons back.

Chapter Six

Sage

Islowly wake up feeling much better. My ribs still ache but the combination of the painkillers and for once peaceful sleep somewhere that I, surprisingly feel safe, have done wonders. I slowly open my eyes and glance around the room. I was in too much pain earlier to notice anything about the room they placed me in but now that the pain has been considerably dulled by the pain meds, I'm pleasantly surprised.

The walls are a cream colour with a hunter green accent wall that has a giant flat screen TV secured to it. Underneath are various game consoles and a cabinet filled with DVDs and games. The floor is dark hardwood and has been polished until it's left gleaming. There's a rug the same colour as the feature wall in the middle of the room with a coffee table the same colour as the floors perched on top.

I'm pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness of the room considering only men live here.Well, I’m assuming they’re the only ones that live here, a parent would have intervened by now and I’m not being funny but there’s absolutely no way that these men are under twenty years old. I know there is something going on with them, but they don’t give me any bad feelings so for now, I’m not going to ask and trust my instincts.

I'm brought out of my musings as I hear a crash come from somewhere behind the couch I'm still lying on. I get a strange tugging feeling in my heart and instead of feeling scared like I normally would be when something crashes around me, I just know one of my guys needs me. My instincts have always proven to be right. The last time I didn’t listen to them I ended up with my ex. I've vowed never to ignore my instincts again.

I quickly get up from the couch, ignoring the slight twinge in my ribsand I’m extremely grateful that the painkillers are still working. I follow the tugging in my heart out of the arched doorway and down a wide hallway before coming to a door that I'm assuming leads to the basement.

Taking a deep breath, I open the door and make my way down to a surprisingly bright and airy gym. I ignore everything else for the moment and focus on the destruction at the end. There are weights, mats and all manner of gym equipment thrown around. There are a couple of large holes in the walls where a few of the thrown pieces have struck them with enough force to break the plaster.

My guys are all sweaty and out of breath. Each sporting various small injuries, like a cut lip, split eyebrow or bruised cheek. As much as I want to run over to them a make sure they're ok, I don't.

Kai needs me more.

My heart constricts tightly as I watch him beat the ever-loving shit out of what appears to be the fourth punching bag, judging from the three split ones on the floor.

The tugging in my chest urges me forward.

The guys haven't noticed me yet too focused on their conversation, their heads bent together, each one of them keeping a watchful eye on Kai. I’m grateful that they’re distracted. I have a feeling that they would try to stop me, but Kai needs me.