Page 94 of Dark Sold Mate

They’d won, and Silas had never been so thankful and terrified in his whole life.

Chapter 24 - Elle

The safe house was exactly what its name implied—a place of safety in a world that had done nothing but mistreat these women and show them cruelty.

Elle laid down on the makeshift bed in the medical van and watched through the windows as they pulled up to the building. Warm lights streamed through the windows, reflecting on the garden. It looked more like home than a safe house.

Six women out of the fifteen women they saved were in the same van as Elle. Some cried in silence, others looked at nothing, while the rest looked at Silas, August and Rael anxiously like this were a sick game and they’d be taken back to those cages.

Elle understood that feeling. She herself had experienced a great deal of it when Silas bought her and took her to the pack against her will. The bone-deep certainty that nothing good could come from the people who held power over you.

But she discovered that Silas wasn’t like that. In fact, she realized that not every powerful man was like that. That, occasionally, it was the one that you thought was the enemy that was trying to rescue you.

She wished that these women would realize that as well.

“Here we are,” Rael announced gently. “This is a safe house and a rehabilitation facility. You will have your own rooms, healthcare, counseling when you feel like it, and help in getting back to your families or start your life afresh.”

“You’re not going to hurt us?” A young blonde asked with a shaky voice.

“Never,” Rael promised. “You’re safe now. I swear it.”

The rest of the women got out of the other van with Javi. The lady in charge of the safe house was an older woman with chestnut hair and brown eyes called Cristina. She received them with the warmth of someone who was experienced with this, who understood the trauma and how to help.

“Welcome,” Cristina greeted warmly. “I know you’ve been through a horrific event, and I

understand that you are afraid and have been hurt and you are most likely unsure of who to trust. That’s okay. You do not need to trust us immediately. But I assure you, this is not a bad place, and we will do anything that we can to assist you.”

The women came out of the van slowly and carefully, guided by Cristina’s staff.

Carter was the last to get out, looking numb, and he had a faraway look in his eyes. He was quiet on the entire ride here.

“You will stay here too, for now,” August said to him. “Sleep, eat, let the healers watch over you. Okay?”

Carter nodded mutely.

Elle watched it all from her position in the medical van, where Silas had insisted she remain until a healer could properly examine her wound. The bleeding had mostly stopped, held at bay by the pressure Silas had maintained during the entire drive. But the knife wound in her side throbbed with each heartbeat, a persistent reminder of how close she’d come to something much worse.

“Ready to get that looked at?” Cristina looked at her.

“I am okay,” Elle said. It was the automatic reaction of a person who had spent too long having to force herself to be strong because there was no other option.

“You are not fine,” Silas grunted. “You were stabbed. You’re getting treatment.”

Elle would have liked to protest. She would have liked to say that she could wait until all the rescued women were properly attended to, but the look in Silas’s eyes made her bite her tongue—the panic in his eyes, the tension on his jaw, and the way his hands were trembling a little in spite of his efforts to look composed.

He was terrified, and Elle knew that getting treated wasn’t just for her sake. She wanted to reassure him that she was going to be alright.

“Okay,” Elle said softly. “Let’s go.”

August kissed her forehead, saying he’d check on her soon, while Rael nodded tightly.

Helen took them to the medical wing in the facility, which was really well-kept with white sterile walls and the usual sterile smell, which reminded her of the emergency rooms in the human world.

“Get on the table,” Helen instructed, patting the examination table.

Elle climbed up carefully, wincing as the movement pulled at her wound. Silas immediately moved to her side, his hand finding hers and gripping tightly.

“I will have to cut off the shirt by the side. There’s too much blood, and I cannot work around it.”