Sacred Flame: His Enemy, His Mate (BL)-Chapter 55: Patching up his man

Kain Locke

"Don’t go," Kael whispered.

I froze. I thought he was unconscious, but his fingers curled weakly against my arm. His eyes were barely open, but I fought against him, there’s an old woman out there... there’s....

"If you go out there, they’re going to kill her. And you. And me." His voice was so faint it almost got lost in the muffled noise above us. "Do you really wanna risk that?"

I swallowed hard. My hands clenching into fists on my lap as I sank back down, pressing my forehead against my knees at the weakness that curled into me almost immediately, he’s right, going out there is basically suicide, but maybe I can still work something out.. maybe I can still stop them somehow.

However, before I could stand up again, there came barking from the door, the door being forcefully kicked and crashing loudly against the door.

The dogs had gotten inside with them.

"What do you think you’re doing? You can’t just barge into my house and start searching! I told you, no one is here!" The old woman snapped out loud.

"You’ll shut up, old woman!" A man’s voice snapped back angrily and so arrogantly,

"No one is in here, if anyone is here, I’ll say it... no one is here young men." She stammered.

"Stand there, you hear me? If you dare stand in my way again, I will rip that tongue out of your damn mouth!"

"You can’t go in there you..." the words were cut off midway, and what followed next was something being pushed hard against the floor and being dragged away.

Then, footsteps and barking was coming closer

The dogs were sniffing, scratching the floorboards and then the door was pushed open.

My hands shook. My breathing grew uneven as a loud crash snapped me back into the moment. The basement floorboards were yanked open, and light from their lamp flooded in.

The dog barked wildly, claws scraping against the wooden boards as it was suddenly opened. I barely had time to react before the four men were stomping down into the basement, their weapons drawn, followed by the dog.

And then they saw us.

"There they are!"

Everything happened fast. One of them reached for Kael, grabbing his injured arm and yanking him up. He barely made a sound, his body limp from exhaustion and blood loss.

"No!" I shot forward, grabbing Kael’s other arm.

A fist rammed into my stomach before I could yank him away from them, knocking the air right out of me. Pain exploded through my ribs, but I refused to let go.

"Get off him, you bastard!" I snarled, throwing a punch at the nearest guy. It landed square on his jaw, snapping his head back.

I barely had time to register the hit before another set of hands grabbed me from behind and threw me to the ground.

"Stubborn little shit!" One of them sneered, his boot slamming into my ribs.

I gritted my teeth against the pain, twisting around and kicking at his legs. He stumbled back, cursing, but another guy took his place, grabbing the front of my shirt and punching me across the face.

Kael groaned as they pulled him up the stairs, his legs dragging uselessly behind him.

"Kael!" I shouted, shoving off the ground and trying to lunge for him.

But all I got was another hit. I hit the floor hard, my head ringing from the impact.

Before I could register what happened next, a set of hands grabbed me and yanked me up, shoving me out through the space ahead and I was on the floorboards above.

Kael was pushed up as well, looking at him, he had lost consciousness.

What sort of stuff is he high on? How could he be losing consciousness at a time like this? How could he?

Two of them climbed out quickly, followed by the rest two as they dragged me by my legs, pulling me on the floorboards towards the sitting room

"Let the boy go!" The old woman screamed, damn it, she was trying to stop them. As she rushed closer. She should’ve just stayed silent there, at least they would spare her.

She was shoved by one of the men, sending her stumbling backward. She hit the table in the room with a sharp gasp, and the table broke immediately, her frail body trembling from the impact as she cried out of pain.

Must they push her that hard? She’s old, an old innocent woman!

Burning anger erupted inside me as I forced myself up, pushing the guy holding me away, ignoring the pain in my ribs, and lunged at the other guy who shoved the woman. My fist slammed into his face so hard his nose cracked under my knuckles.

He howled, staggering back holding his nose as blood rushed out of it.

"Fucking omega!" Another one hissed, throwing a punch at me, I caught it just as quick, twisting his arms and shoving him into the ground below and quickly slammed the floorboards shut.

I turned back toward Kael to see two men still had him.

One was already pulling him toward the door, gripping him like dead weight. The other aimed a kick at me, but I dodged just in time, rolling to the side.

I scrambled up, ignoring the burning pain in my ribs, and lunged forward. My fingers barely brushed against Kael’s arm before something slammed into the back of my head.

A dull ringing filled my ears. The room tilted.

The bastard had hit me with his gun.

"Stay down omega," the man snarled, pressing the barrel against my temple.

I clenched my teeth, my breathing heavy. My vision swayed, but I forced myself not to fall.

Kael’s body swayed in their grip. He was barely conscious, his head lolling forward as they dragged him toward the exit.

.I can’t just let this happen... I can’t...

I tried to push myself up again,

But a boot crushed against my shoulder, shoving me down.

"Move again, and I’ll put a bullet through your head." The threat was cold, and this time, I felt the gun press harder against my skull. It turned out to be the third one.

The old woman groaned from the pile of tables she had fallen. She wasn’t moving much, her body curled against the broken table.

Damn it. I was helpless.

For the first time in a long while, that realization hit me, creeping into my veins.

I wasn’t strong enough. I can’t even protect an old woman, no less myself or him.

I was still downing in my hopeless thoughts when the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked sounded,

Then another. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

And another. Then heavy footsteps.

I blinked. Was there still more?

The men dragging Kael froze.

Slowly, I turned my head toward the entrance.

A group of people stood there, their weapons raised. The dim lighting caught the glint of gun barrels and knives, all aimed at the intruders.

One of the men in front stepped forward. "Irene, hope we didn’t come late?" He asked in a cool voice.

The man holding Kael stiffened, his grip tightening around Kael’s arm. The guy who had his boot on me hesitated before shifting away, lifting his gun slightly but not aiming it anymore.

The group at the door moved in a little further, blocking any easy escape.

The one who spoke, their leader, probably, tilted his head, his sharp gaze scanning the room, taking in the scene. His eyes landed on Kael first, then flicked toward the old woman still groaning on the floor, and finally settled on me.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breathing.

The bastard who had hit me with his gun shifted nervously, then spat to the side. "This ain’t your business."

"Really? Because from where I’m standing, it looks a lot like our business."

His men adjusted their grips on their weapons. One of them had a blade in his hand, flipping it lazily as if already imagining using it.

"Let him go," the leader continued, gesturing toward Kael. "Before we turn this into a mess you really don’t wanna deal with."

One of the intruders hissed under his breath, his fingers twitching on the gun in his hand.

I shifted slightly, pressing my hand against the floor, ready to move the second an opening presented itself.

The leader must have noticed because his eyes flicked to me briefly before he spoke again.

"You have three seconds to get out of here, starting from now. One."

The guy holding Kael shifted uncomfortably.

"Two."

The one standing over me took half a step back.

The leader’s expression didn’t change.

"Thr—"

"Fuck!" The man holding Kael snapped, shoving him forward.

Kael hit the floor with a thud.

I lunged forward before he could roll too far, catching his arm and pulling him toward me. He was conscious again, but he looks too weak to move on his own,

"Smart choice," the leader said, nodding. "Now get the hell out."

The intruders hesitated again.

But they knew they had no choice.

One by one, they backed away, their hands still hovering near their weapons. But they didn’t fire because they knew they’d lose.

The second the last of them stepped out, the leader’s men moved swiftly, blocking the doorway completely.

Then, finally, relief crashed into me.

I exhaled heavily, my arms still wrapped around Kael as I tried to steady my shaking hands.

The old woman groaned again, and one of the newcomers rushed to her side, helping her sit up carefully.

I looked back up at the man who had spoken earlier. He was still watching me, his expression unreadable.

"Who are you?" I found myself asking.

A small, amused smile tugged at his lips.

"Friends, I suppose. Be glad Irene pressed the emergency button."

Then, his gaze flicked down to Kael, who was barely hanging on.

"But you might wanna patch up your man there before he stops breathing altogether."