Scratch

We're racing toward the mansion frantic over Gages life threatening injuries.

He got stabbed almost straight into his heart by a ruthless gang member who was out for vengeance against Mr. Cabano, Andrew as we know him, for kidnapping his sister and killing her just out of plain old fucking spite.

If we knew how diabolical Andrew actually was we would have never offered him our services to help his ass out like we so stupidly did and in the meantime Gage ended up getting the brunt end of a damn knife plunged right straight into his damn chest. He doesn't deserve this.

With Gages head laying on my lap in the backseat of the vehicle I grimace my face up tightly when River accidentally runs over a bump in the road, he abruptly jostles Gage around in the backseat causing him to suffer through even more excruciating pain.

As River finally rushes up to the driveway of the mansion Des jumps out of the still rolling vehicle headed straight for the mansion to go fetch up Marco to come and help us with Gage.

Brax and Roman open up my door to help me drag Gages helpless body into the mansion. As we struggle to bring him in without trying to cause him any more further damage, River and Micah both rush over to take him from my arms very delicately.

After they get him within their grasp I search the foyer for Edge but apparently he hasn't arrived yet.

As I start strolling over to the staircase in a mad rush to go seek him out, I see him finally exiting out of the north living room looking extremely calm for someone who just found out that their lover was practically on deaths door step.

"Edge! Marco has Gage in the infirmary. He's in pretty bad shape. The knife almost hit his heart." I announce to him anxiously.

Edge just stares over at me inquisitively. Which in itself is strange for me to see. Why is acting so damn stoically?

"Did you hear me Edge? Gage needs you!" I assert a bit louder. Edge finally registers my annoyance toward him. Then without saying a word he walks off to the infirmary at a leisurely pace.

I furrow my brows at his retreating back in confusion while I watch him totter off into the infirmary, I push all of my thoughts of his strange behavior aside for now to go in search of my loving mate. I really need to see her. I need to make sure that's she's okay.

Racing up the stairs I take them two at a time so I could reach her bedroom more quicker.

Entering into her bedroom the informal darkness soon consumes me, without thinking, I flick on her bedroom light switch automatically. The room illuminates brightly causing me to blink a few times for my eyes to adjust into clear focus.

I then see Cherry laying on her bed with her duvet pulled up right up to her head. Thinking I would surprise her and to also tell her all about what happened to Gage I start walking over to her bed stealthily.

As soon as I reach her bedside I look down at the sleeping beauty in her bed sleeping so peacefully, I couldn't resist myself as I begin to smile broadly down at her apparent awe striking beauty.

Reaching down I slide her duvet down to just right below her chin.

She didn't even move a a damn inch as I did it. She didn't even stir.

Worried now, I anxiously slide her duvet down her body even further until it was able to reach to just below her stomach.

When I see what she's wearing I scrunch my face up in bewilderment, completely confused over what she has on.

Why is she wearing Edges shirt?

Dropping the duvet from my hand I start to shake Cherry by her shoulder slightly to wake her up but to no avail.

Damn she's sleeping really fucking hard. It's like she's in a damn coma.

I shake her again with my frustration now spiking.

"Cherry wake up!" I say sternly but Cherry doesn't even acknowledge me.

I shake her more firmly while calling out her name over and over again.

When she doesn't even react to me, I start to really panic. Reaching up I slide her eyelid open just a fraction to examine her pupil and when I see that her pupil is fixed and dilated I begin to get stark raving mad.

What the actual fuck?

I try shaking her again while calling out her name but I don't get a single reaction from her at all. She doesn't even stir.

Something is definitely not right!

Overly panicked now I rush out of her bedroom to go seek out some help. My first destination is to the infirmary.

Storming into the damn infirmary pissed now beyond recognition.

"What's going on with Cherry?" Is the first thing I bellow out as I enter into overcrowded the room.

Everyone that's in the damn room goes stock still while glaring daggers over at me.

Fuck! I unexpectedly interrupted Marco while he is trying his best to work on an unconscious Gage laying helplessly on the infirmaries bed.

"Sorry." I lower my voice down an octave as I approach the rest of them slowly that are standing around Gages bed as they all anxiously stare down at him.

I nearly throw up right into my own damn mouth as I see Gages blood scattered all over his damn chest while Marco is painstakingly working so diligently on him.

Taking a step back away from them I grab ahold of Des's lower arm guiding him out of the room silently. As we exit out of the room I start quickly describing what I seen in Cherrys bedroom.

He doesn't stick around for a second before he takes off running straight off to her room. I chase off after him just trying to catch up with ass.

"Why is she not waking up?" Des ask me hastily.

"How the hell should I know? That's why I went to get you." I toss out at him getting irritated over his ridiculous questioning.

"We need to take her to Marco." Des suggest.

"Marcos a bit busy right now with Gage." I remind him.

"I don't fucking care, there's definitely something wrong with her and I'm going to find out just what the fuck it is." Des demands as he lifts Cherry right off of her bed. He carries her bridal style right out of her room with urgency.

It doesn't take us long before we are both entering back into the infirmary room with an unconscious Cherry in tow.

I quickly note that Gage is now resting on another bed at the the opposite side of the room with tubes running out of him from his arms along with a heart monitor thats connected to his chest.

"What's wrong with her?" Brax urgently ask when he finally notices Cherry in Des's arms.

"I don't know, that's why I brought her in here. Marco can you check her over? She won't wake up no matter what what we do to her. I think she might have been drugged." With that accusation from Des the entire room goes deathly quite with the exception of the sounds coming from Gages heart monitoring machine.

"Sure just lay her down here." Marco agrees.

Des lays Cherry down on the bed that Gage was previously occupying while Marco starts to check her out.

"Edge what happened to her while we were gone?" I ask him curiously. I'm actually surprised to see him sitting down in one of the little plastic chairs on the opposite of the room far away from where Gage is now laying. Just casually playing on his damn cellphone like he doesn't have a single care in the world. I would have thought that he would have at least of been right by his bedside holding on to his hand. He just seems so disinterested.

"I guess she just drank too much." He replies remotely while still concentrating heavily on his phone in his hand.

"She wasn't drinking when I went off to bed." Marco insists as he draws blood out from Cherrys arm with a tiny needle. The sparkling blood captivates my full attention as I watch it flow right into the little tube that's in Marcos hand.

"She started drinking right after you left us." Edge argues back, I swiftly detect a slight edge to his tone.

"Cherry doesn't drink Edge." Brax offers while glowering over at Edge.

"Well she did earlier." He defends.

"What did she drink?" Roman inquires.

"I don't know. Maybe it was whiskey or tequila? I can't really remember." Edge insinuates.

"Cherry doesn't drink either one of those drinks. If she did drink anything it would of been a simple wine cooler or some fruity drink." Micah disagrees with him sternly. He's absolutely right though Cherry wouldn't drink something so damn strong. She's not a heavy drinker.

"Edge who made the drinks for her tonight?" I question. My thoughts automatically run to Charlie and Spike.

What if they somehow manage to bypass our high tech security to get to Cherry?

"I don't fucking know what's with the damn third degree? We watched a movie. Whatever Cherry drunk was totally all on her." Edge states while lacing his tone venomously toward us.

I walk over to Edge to set down right next to him on the seat directly beside him.

"Calm down brother. I was just worried that maybe somehow Charlie or Spike might of have found a way to get to her. Why are you being so damn sensitive?" Edge takes his attention away from his cellphone finally to peer over at me.

"I'm not being sensitive Scratch. I just don't like being questioned. All of you act like I did something wrong. I watched over her. O did my damn job. I can't help it if she drank too much. That shits on her." He grouses roughly before he springs up from his seat. He then searches the room while glowering at everyone in it.

"I thought all of you trusted me? You're acting like I did something to her. If you would just stop spoiling her ass you would see that she's not the innocent little girl that she proclaims to be." He bellows at all of us before he storms out of the room without even bothering to take a second to check up on Gage.

"Why is he acting so damn strange?" Brax ask as we watch Edge quickly leave out of the infirmary.

"I have no idea but something is definitely up with him." I murmur lowly mainly to myself.

"I can't get a good reading off of her blood results. Maybe it's because of her rare blood? I don't know but I agree with all of you. Cherish was definitely drugged. I think she was maybe given the date rape drug, Rhoypnol." Marco proclaims as he entered back into the room.

"You're kidding? How would she even get that into her damn system?" Des disputes.

"It must of have been slipped into her drink at some point. When I left her in the north living room to go to bed she was only drinking a pink lemonade, not alcohol and Edge is the one that brought her the drink." Marco accuses.

"Are you trying to tell me that my own damn brother did this to her?" River growls over at Marco. Shit this is beginning to become overly stressful. The tension in the room could be cut with a damn butter knife.

"River just calm the hell down. There has to be a reasonable explanation for all of this." I insert as I stand up
from my seat to join all of them. My brother would never do what Marco is apparently insinuating that he did to Cherry.

"Then how do you explain it Scratch? Marco ask.

"I don't know but I don't believe Edge did this to her. Why would he? He has Gage and he loves Cherry. It doesn't make sense." I dispute firmly.

Edge wouldn't hurt her, I'm sure of that. Not my brother. He's far too compassionate and loving to ever do some thing this diabolical. He knows that it would hurt all of us if he did do something as vile as this to her.

"Someone had to do it to her. I don't think that she would do this to herself." Micah complains.

All of us in the room turn our attention to Marco with accusing glares aimed at him.

"Whoa. No way. It wasn't me guys. I have a damn girlfriend. I don't need to lower myself to do something like this. Especially to Cherish. You're looking in the wrong damn direction. When I left her to go up to my room she was perfectly fine." Marco defends himself while holding up his hands in mock surrender but we keep looking on at him guiltily.

"Check the security tapes if you don't believe me." Marco suggests. Fuck why didn't we think of that earlier?

"Good idea. I think I'll do just that." I voice as I turn on my heels to go to Rivers office with determination now set in my steps.

The security tapes that River and I are both viewing in his office are now displaying the kitchen on the screen from the camera we placed in the kitchen earlier. River is sitting right in front of the screen that's located right behind his desk in a hidden bookshelf that he had made just for all of this.

I'm half way leaning in behind him with one hand on the top of the back of his chair and the other is balled up into a tight white knuckled fist at my side.

I watch the screen with valid interest never once flagging away from it. Edge is at this moment making the drinks that they had earlier for him, Marco, and Cherry.

He goes to grab some snacks out of the cabinet that's located right behind him then he places all of the snacks beside the glasses that he has situated on a little silver tray that's currently sitting on the kitchen island.

As I observe my brother on the tiny little screen I get the biggest damn shock of my entire life when I see him drop a tiny little white pill into the pink lemonade glass that I know for a fact was made for Cherry.

"The fuck?" I keep glaring over at the screen as I watch my own brother mix up the little white pill with a tiny little red plastic straw. He stirred the poisonous mixture up while smiling deviously down at the glass.

"Why?" I lowly murmur in astonishment while creasing my brows.

My own damn brother gave my mate, his fucking former mate, a date rape drug! I'm going to kill him.

Standing upright I continue to watch the screen as I observe Edge finally exiting out of the kitchen with the disgusting concoction on the tray that he is gladly carrying that will eventually render my mate completely immobile and ripe for his own plucking.

"He's dead!" River growls out fiercely as he rises up from his seat with a deadly glare.

"We have to inform the others River. We also need to know what happened after he gave Cherry the drug. How do you want to handle this?" I inquire with my own rage flaring.

"First, we will tell the others exactly what happened to Cherry. Then we will all go and have a little talk with Edge. He had to do this for a reason Scratch. I can't believe he would do it to her just for kicks! That's not like him." River tries his best to chase after a plausible explanation as to why his own brother, that he dearly loves, would do something as disturbing as this.

"Maybe not but we have undeniable proof that he did in fact drug Cherry. Whatever reason he gives us will not be a good enough explanation for him to do something as cruel and as vile as this." I try to sway River into at least trying to believe that our own brother could in all actuality do something as revolting as this.

"No it's not but what am I suppose to do about it Scratch? He's our brother. I can't just kill him. Besides, before we do anything to rash to him we need to hear from him exactly why he would do something as disturbing as this." I halfheartedly agree with him but something deep down inside of me wants to go to Edge and tear his limbs right off of his body for his traitorous behavior toward us and especially toward our Cherry.

If he did end up having his way with her like I truly hope he didn't I wouldn't have any other option but to kill him. It's not something that I'm particularly looking forward too but if he did in someway end up having sex with my mate while she was just laying there all helpless and defenseless against his attack I will no doubt kill his ass.

Brother or not.

River and I leave his office with both of us feeling our anger boiling up to a steaming mass of intensity.

As we both enter back into the infirmary our mood is beyond reprehensible. I stonily catch a glimpse of Cherrys figure still laying unconscious on the infirmary's bed.

With my fury still bouncing all through me I make the rapid decision to storm over to the side of her bed. I quickly lift the little white sheet off of her body that she was covered with to observe exactly what she's wearing.

Without any regard for the others I grab the hem of Edges shirt to peer down at her fully. When I notice that she has nothing on her with the exception of my brothers damn shirt I drop the sheet back on top of her then turn my attention back to River.

"She is only wearing Edges shirt." I inform him sternly. That is basically all the damn proof that I actually need to know that Edge most assuredly had something sexual to do with my mate.

"What do you mean?" Roman asks me.

I'm far too angry to even offer him up a reply in return I allow River to fill everyone in on what we both witnessed on the security tapes.

By the time he was finished filling them all in on what happened to our mate needless to say everyone of Cherry mates was storming and understandably mad.

"That's why you lifted up her shirt?" Brax ask me.

"Yes. Since she's not wearing anything but Edges shirt I think he may have done something to her. I don't want to think that about my own damn brother but the proof is right there and on those damn tapes." I grimace when I think of what he may have done to her.

"Edge wouldn't. There has to be another explanation for all of this." Brax states my own thoughts that I was having earlier.

I was about to reply back to him but quickly halted my own words when I start to hear Gage mumble lowly from across the room.

"Cherry." Gage lowly mumbles my mates name.

"Did he?" Roman starts to ask but gets cut off by Gage mumbling out her name yet again. "Cherry." What the fuck? Why is he calling out for Cherry?

Shouldn't he be calling out for his lover Edge instead of her?

"Cherry!" We hear someone yell out her name loudly from the outside of the infirmary doors. That definitely wasn't Gage this time.

"Is that Dax?" Brax questions as he strides over to the doors.

Just as Brax gets close to the door it quickly opens revealing non other than Dax with Teagan straggling along wearily behind him.

Dax looks extremely flustered and Teagan looks down right pissed.

"Where's Cherry? I need to talk to her." Dax relays hurriedly. He seems rather anxious as he searches around the room. Once his eyes lands on Cherry laying on the bed he takes
off in a rush over to her.

Once he gets near her bedside he rudely pushes Des out of his way to finally get to her.

"What happened to her?" He ask us frantically but his eyes never leave Cherry once. He automatically grabs ahold of her hand into his own sending off a wave of jealousy all through me.

"What the hell are you doing here Dax?" His brother ask him.

"And why the hell are you holding my mates hand?" I growl fiercely at him.

"He's been raving on and on all night long about her. Saying he had to get to her, that something was wrong with her. He's been talking about her for nearly two weeks now. He can't seem to get her out of his damn head. He's even been having elicit dreams about her. We have done nothing but fight continuously over her and I'm getting damn sick it." Teagan busts out angrily as she stares over at Dax with a visceral glare.

Then she notices that Cherry isn't the only one on a bed. When she spots her brother laying on the bed across the room she starts to panic.

"What happened to Gage?" She rushes while running over to his bedside.

"He was stabbed but he's going to alright. He just needs some time to heal." I inform her staunchly.

"Dax why are you so desperate to see Cherry?" Des inquires curiously.

Dax doesn't answer Des for a few minutes, that is until Des nudges him on his shoulder harshly.

"I don't fucking know okay! I just can't seem to stop thinking about her. She's been on my damn mind constantly. I even dreamt about her. It's driving me crazy!" Dax admits to us agonizingly.

"What kind of dreams?" I ask as I pull his hand away from Cherrys roughly.

"Sordid sexual dreams. I don't mean to do it. It just comes naturally. It's like I have this strong ass pull to her that I can't seem to be able to even control." Dax confesses. I stand there stunned as I glower over at him.

Sexual dreams? He's been having wet dreams about my own mate? With the way that Edge has been acting with Cherry and along with Gage suddenly calling out her name while he lays unconscious on his bed it all suddenly starts to come together in my mind.

"All of her former mates are having the same issue. Gage called out her name, Edge stooped so low to even drug her to do whatever he did to her and now Dax is admitting that he can't seem to get her out of his mind. I am starting to think that this all has something to do with their mate connection to her. Taz might have removed the connection with them all but by the way it's looking now and judging by the way they are all acting toward Cherry I think there may be a problem with her spell." I reach my conclusion while basically startles everyone in the room along with me.

"Then we need to get ahold of Taz and fast. If what you're thinking is true Scratch then this may end up being a major catastrophe for everybody." Romans input is wisely.

"I'll call her. Someone needs to go and drag Edges ass back down here. We need some answers from him now." River demands authoritatively.

"We will go." Micah volunteers him and his brother as they both rush off to grab my brother.

"Marco do you think you might be able to me a favor?" I ask him as I keep my eyes locked onto Teagan standing right beside Gages bedside.

I sharply noticed when her and Dax walked into the room that Teagans claim about being pregnant with Dax's child may be a little bit deceiving.

Since she is apparently not showing even a tiny fraction. Then she must be lying about being pregnant by Dax, it may or may not have something to do with their mate connection to Cherry and if that's the case then I want undeniable proof of her deception. If not then that's all on me.

"Sure what is it?" Marco agrees.

"Can you do an ultrasound?" My question grabs everyone's attention immediately.

"Sure why?" He inquires.

"Because I like you to do one on Teagan here. I don't actually think that she's pregnant like she says she is." I accuse her while firmly standing my ground.

"How dare you! I'm pregnant Scratch why would you think that I'm not." Teagan grumbles while I just smirk over at her.

"You're not showing Teagan. By now you should be showing somewhat. You're a supernatural so that would speed up your pregnancy. Yet, you don't even have a tiny baby bump. Why is that?" I coyly ask her.

That grabs Dax's attention completely.

"Are you actually pregnant Tea?" He questions her as he strolls closely over to her.

"Yes Dax. I wouldn't lie to you about something like this." She whines innocently.

"Well then do the ultrasound for us. Prove it to me." Dax lays down his ultimatum with her sternly.

"Fine. If this is what it will take
to prove it to you then I'll do it." Teagan finally agrees. She strolls over to Marco slowly as they both exit into the next room.

"If she is pregnant then I think you may owe her an apology." Dax asserts.

"If she is indeed pregnant Dax then I will apologize to her but if she's not then I think that you have dug yourself into your own damn grave. She has you by your dick and she's enjoying every damn minute of it." I argue back wanting him to see how much he has fucked up with trusting someone as devious and conniving as Teagan is.

As we all stand around and wait for Edge and the rest to return I go over to check up on Gage. I blow out a relieving breath knowing that he's going to pull through at least. I'm just glad that one thing is going in the right direction tonight.

"Cherry." Gage mumbles lowly again.

I shake my head at him while feeling my rage bubbling up inside of me yet again. I really hope that Taz can come up with a resolution to all of our current problems.

It didn't take long before Marco and Teagan reappeared into the infirmary.

Leaving Gages side I determinedly strode over closer to them waiting on bated breath for the impending result.

"You're absolutely right Scratch. She's not pregnant. She never has been." Marco confers.

I fucking knew it!

"What? Are you fucking serious? Why Tea? Why did you lie to me especially over something as important as this?"  Dax ask her barely keeping together.

"Because I wanted you Dax. The only way that I could get you away from her was to lie. You wouldn't have left her otherwise. I did this for us. You are much happier with me than you have ever been with her." Teagan boasts.

"No Tea. That woman laying right there on the bed gave up her own mate bond just so that you and I could be together. You took advantage of her kindness. You fucking lied to me about my own baby. How could you? We are completely done Tea. I don't ever want to see your fucking face ever again. Get the fuck out and don't ever come back!" Dax bellows out at her. I can't say that I'm not happy over the outcome of all of this. Teagan deserves whatever she may get.

"Fine. You don't have to tell me twice. But just know this Dax, you can never have her again. I have your mate bond now that you had with her and if I reject you then she will suffer from it since your connection with her is still holding on. So I have the upper hand. I'll give you time to get over my lie but I expect you to be back at our home in a couple days with your loving arms wide open for me and wanting me." Teagan threatens him before she abruptly leaves Dax standing in the room looking on at her completely perplexed.

As she was leaving the room Edge, Roman, and Micah enter into the room looking all disheveled.

"What happened?" Brax inquires.

"We had to actually fight with his ass to get him back down here." Micah pipes in angrily. So that's why they all look like they have been just put through the damn wringer.

"Edge we want some answers and we want them fucking now. What exactly did you do to Cherry? And don't fucking lie. We saw the security tapes of you putting a little white pill into her pink lemonade." Des challenges.

Edge starts to look a little extra flustered at Des's challenge. But he still holds his tongue.

"Whatever you did to her Edge we will find out eventually. Maybe you don't remember but Cherry has two little spirit friends who will tell her everything that happened between you and her. So you need to fess up right now." I give him my own challenge.

When I see Edges mouth fall fully agape and his eyes suddenly widen as big as damn saucers that is the instant that I knew.

"You had your way with her didn't you?" I ask him flabbergasted.

"No I didn't fuck her if that's what your implying. My dick never slipped into her cunt." Edge's half admission of vulgarity toward my mate only manages to increase my rage for him further.

"Then what exactly did you do to her?" River tags in aggressively.

Edge begins to bounce his eyes all across the room not being able to look any of us directly in our eyes.

"Ijackedofftoher." He rushes out quickly in a low murmur.

"What?" Roman fiercely ask.

"I jacked off to her alright. I didn't have sex with her. I couldn't control myself. I have this damn strong ass pull to her that's all consuming. I'm so sorry. I know you all must hate me now." Edge finally admits.

Before anyone could even react to what he just told all of us in a rush, a strong gush of wind passes by me quickly.

When I finally get all of my bearings back I quickly notice that Des has Edge on the floor now beating the complete shit out of him.

Well Fuck!