Raphael, who'd just gotten to his meeting hall, felt Phoenix shifting besides him.

"What?" Raphael grunted.

Phoenix glanced up, doing a double take before waving the lead berserker off. Others were gathering at a large table.

"Sera usually texts me back really quickly," he shrugged. Raphael rose a brow, but before he could judge him for being clingy he realized he couldn't blame him.

He himself was awaiting a call or text from his mate, it began putting him on edge.

"Yeah," Raphael spoke slowly while looking at his own phone. "Haven't heard from Juniper. Or Warren for updates with the guards."

The two men glanced at each other, both stewing in their own anxiousness.

They're being paranoid, Raphael thought to himself.

"It... wouldn't hurt to call the guards. It's Sean out there?" Raphael suddenly blurted.

"Yeah no it wouldn't hurt," Phoenix immediately stood up.

Just as he was getting on the phone, listening to the constant ringing Raphael's head began hurting.

Searing pain hit his right temple, his head began throbbing as if he'd gotten his head bashed in.

Lowly, he groaned while gripping his skull.

"Fuck," he snarled lowly. His chest tightened, his other hand flying to rub over his chest.

"Call them," he grunted more urgently.

"I am!" Phoenix's chest heaved. "They're not answering."

"Get them on the fucking phone!"

All the demons around began tensing, the meeting hadn't even started yet.

Raphael hadn't felt pain like this before, dread flooding him.

"Someone get my damn mate on the phone!"

The room fell silent at the declaration as Phoenix kept trying the phone as Zane and Felix came to Raphael's side.

"Something's not right," he snarled while storming towards his car.

Just as he was starting the car, Phoenix ran out frantically.

"We need to get to the fucking house!"

Filling up two cars, the Court of Berserkers peeled away from the meeting back towards Raphael's house.

The dark haired man was trying to keep himself calm, his knuckles turning white until he threw the truck in park.

His heart stuttered when he saw a crowd of demons around his home, rushing forward and shoving everyone out of his way.

A strangled growl came from his chest as he saw his dog lying in the ground covered in blood. Dr. Ainsley, the same doctor that treated Juniper, was crowded over Bear.

"He'll be okay," Ainsley assured. "It was a graze that nicked an artery but I've got him sedated and stitched up. But..." The doctor looked over and saw that a man was obviously mauled to death.

Raphael couldn't breathe for a moment, "Where's Juniper?" he rasped.

No one responded for a moment as Phoenix was frantically looking around for his girlfriend.

"Blood in the kitchen," the silver haired berserker husked as he paled.

"No," Raphael croaked lowly. "No, no, fuck!"

Catching himself on the nearest wall, his chest hurt. His eyes stung as he slid down the wall abruptly, his legs giving out. The heels of his hands dug into his eyes.

Felix came to his side to try and help him, everyone was jarred at the display of emotion.

The dark haired man pushed himself up without Felix's help, making his way to the room that smelled most of his mate.

Where she was nowhere to be found. 

"I can't- I can't breathe," Raphael wheezed quietly. He shoved himself into the kitchen where he saw two pools of blood.

The sight made all of the rage inside of him boil over, the despair getting shoved down. He was furious.

Everyone in the house abruptly covered their ears, Raphael roared as his demon came to the surface.

The roar echoed through the house, shaking the ground, it echoed throughout the island.

~

Juniper was groggy, the ground shaking had awoken her.

Her hands were tied harshly behind her back as she was sat in a wooden chair. On either side of her was Warren and Seraphina. But she couldn't see them, they were back to back behind her and she was placed between them.

A shiver shot up her spine, the sound was familiar to her as the windows of the room they were in shook.

"You're fucked," Juniper spat to the man positioned at the only exit of the room they were held in. "Do you even know what all of this is?"

The man shrugged, "Money talks."

Blinding anger fueled Juniper.

"Money talks when my foots up your fucking ass!" She screamed at him while thrashing in her chair.

This woke up Warren, he grumbled quietly.

"Wake up!" Juniper snapped at him.

"Keep getting mouthy and we'll have to fix that."

Juniper scowled at him, leaning away from him as he approached.

"What the hell?" Warren's head fell back as his head spun.

"You're friends drugged out, he won't be much help."

"Have... have ta' run Juni," Warren gurgled. Juniper shut her eyes tightly as she tried to get her thoughts together. She rest her head back so their heads were against one another, Seraphina's chin was against her chest as her body slumped forward.

"War," Juniper tried to snap him out of it. "You feel okay?"

He only groaned as he shut his eyes tightly.

"What'd you give him?" Juniper demanded.

"A suppressant, he's not dying or anything so don't get your panties in a twist. The only one we were instructed to kill if necessary was you."

Juniper twisted her lips in displeasure, glaring at the man. "Do you even know why?" she rolled her neck as her chest ached.

"We don't get paid to ask questions. We just needed to bring you here, with leverage," he nodded to her friends.

"H-How did you take out the berserker guards?"

"Gyre poison is a bitch," the man adjusted his gun. "Those assholes aren't dead, unfortunately. They're especially hard to kill."

Juniper was moving her arms around to loosen the ropes, confusion hitting her. The island screened for gyre and it was also insanely rare.

Swallowing hard, Juniper's breath hitched as another wave of panic hit her. If she stayed here longer she was going to die. There wasn't a question about it.

Her eyes stung once again, gritting her teeth she tried to hold them back. She missed her mate, she missed her dog.

Suddenly beside her, Seraphina jolted awake. Quickly, Juniper threaded her fingers into Seraphina's behind their backs as she abruptly began crying.

The nymph's headached, anxiety riddling her mind as she sobbed.

"Juniper-" the nymph sniffled as she gripped her friends hand tighter.

"It'll be okay," Juniper croaked. "It'll be okay, take a deep breath," she comforted.

"But they-" the nymph panicked. "What if they h-hurt you?" Sera was beginning to hyperventilate.

The demoness shut her eyes tightly but paused when she felt a ring on Seraphina's finger. She knew what ring it was, an old one that was from some antique store she liked when they were younger.

It had jagged edges around the gem in it, slowly she began sliding it off her friends finger.

Seraphina halted as well, her breath hitching nervously before helping her get it off.

"You don't know anything do you?" Juniper suddenly piped up to the man.

"I know you're supposed to get knocked up with some snotty kid. Now if you don't shut the fuck up you're going to regret it," the man was finally growing annoyed.

"You can't do shit," Juniper was trying to get more reactions for him.

The man hissed, flipping out a knife and pressing it to her cheek abruptly.

"Please don't hurt her!" Seraphina begged while trying to get out of her chair desperately.

Juniper sucked on her teeth as the blade was dragged down her cheek.

"I hope he tears you apart," she hissed quietly. As soon as the knife was taken off of her cheek Juniper threw her forehead into the man's face.

As if on instinct, the man stabbed the knife down into her lower thigh.

Crying out, Juniper tensed up as he left the knife inside in her leg. She knew it was so she wouldn't bleed out.

Her head fell back as the shock of the pain threw her into a cold sweat.

"Fucking bitch! Just wait until this old hag gets here and your dead!"

He leaned over her intimidatingly, snarling in her face.

"I'll personally slit your little fucking throat," he surged his fist into her stomach. Juniper coughed as the wind was knocked out of her. "And I'd pay to be able to wring that little brats neck if it was possible."

Juniper's lips wavered with mild fear but she refused to look away from him.

"If I hear anything from this fucking room," the man hissed. "I'll come back and put a bullet in your friends brains."

The man stormed out of the room while holding a hand to his bleeding nose, leaving them unattended.

Juniper's face scrunched up in pain as she managed to loosen the holds, wedging her hand out.

Whining lowly in pain, she gripped the handle of the knife.

"I need a plan," she whispered to herself.

"Seraphina can you walk?" she asked.

"Yeah I-I'm okay," the nymph assured.

"Warren," Juniper turned her head to look at him.

He rolled his head to look at her with low lidded eyes. "I'm okay," he panted.

Nodding slowly, she looked at the window closest to them. She could tell they were still on the island, it'd be impossible for them to get off the island without magic.

Inhaling deeply, Juniper pulled the knife out of her flesh. Gritting her teeth to stifle her cries, Juniper now had a weapon.

Quickly, she cut her friends binds.

Juniper didn't waste time to begin unbuckling Warren's belt.

He mumbled confusedly, "I don't want to be naked right now."

Juniper scoffed and used his belt to tourniquet her bloody wound. Lifting him up, she pointed for Seraphina to put the chair by the window quietly.

"Okay," the demoness took a deep breath. She glanced at the door nervously, it was a wooden door as it looked like they were in a basement. The windows looked to be just enough room to squeeze through.

Quickly, she wedged another chair underneath the door handle.

"Time to go. Warren first," she whispered.

"No," the blonde man shook his head slowly as the world spun around him. "You first Juniper."

The demoness heard none of this, gripping his shirt and dragging his body over to the window and pointing to it sternly.

"Take the knife, we don't know if they're outside-" Juniper's breath hitched at any noises that sounded around them.

"I don't want to go next," Seraphina whispered as they helped Warren through the window.

"Seraphina you need to go," Juniper hissed.

"Juni you should go next they don't want me," the nymph hissed but Juniper shoved her towards the window.

"Now." A slender hand pointed to the window and the nymph relented. They both stood on the chair as Juniper guided her out into the grassy area. Warren was on the other end to hoist her out.

Juniper grimaced quietly as her body began to ache, both her friends gripping her hands.

Her head was just breaching through the window when multiple hands snagged her legs.

Juniper yelped as they began dragging her back in, both her friends holding her arms.

"Juniper!" they screamed and tried to win this tug of war on who would get the demoness.

The blue haired woman cried out in pain, feeling her wrist pop in Warren's grasp

Shouting from behind her sounded and Juniper was ripped from her friends grasped.

She screamed while clawing at the wall, kicking the men off of her causing them all to drop her.

Her back landed harshly against the floor, everything around her blurred and her ears rang. The air was knocked out of her as all she could hope Warren and Seraphina were able to get away.

~

intense 🫡

ITS FRIDAY LMAO AH