part0024

Sierra woke slowly, her eyes barely lifting open as she tried to peer around her. The suffocating darkness was gone, replaced instead by a bright white room where sun light beamed in through the window, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she remembered why.

The Crean brothers had come for her. They had dug her out from beneath the iron cage that had crushed her back and pulled her away from the danger, away from the basement, taking her to safety at long last with promised words of protection. Warmth flooded through her as she remembered each of them saying their piece, the way they had handled her so carefully, swore to look after her, care for her, be there for her. She couldn't help the small smile that played around her mouth as she felt their affection warm her from the inside out; how could she have gone from so much terror to being so cherished so easily? A small part of her niggled at the thought that it could all fall apart on her, that they could still turn on her or change their minds at the drop of a hat. After all, they had only known her for a little over a month, how could they promise so much based on that?

She suppressed a sigh, deciding that, for now, she would not look a gift horse in the mouth and would happily accept this change of events that currently worked in her favour. If it did fall apart...well, she had plenty of practice at picking herself back up again, didn't she?

She shifted beneath the cosy covers until she was sitting up, pressing a palm to her head as the room swam before her eyes. She took deep breaths, willing herself to settle and to not allow herself to pass out again. It was only then that she realised her body didn't hurt, not like it should do. She was slightly stiff, but nothing that leaving the bed and moving around wouldn't fix. She looked down at her arms before lifting the covers to peer at her legs, and then pulled up the t-shirt she wore to check her torso.

Nothing, not a single mark. She gripped the t-shirt in her fist as she thought about Josh's powers-had he healed her? Could he really heal injuries that large? There had been a moment, however brief, where she thought that death would come for her, yet it would seem that Josh had prevented it doing so. If he had done this, then she owed him her life.

She also owed someone some clothes, if the blue t-shirt and boxers that she wore were any indication to go by- clothes that were most definitely not her own. She blushed furiously as she realised that meant at least one of them had seen her naked in order to change her, yet she still appreciated being able to wake in fresh clothing regardless of what it implied. More over, she smelt clean, as in soapy and fresh. Had they bathed her too?

She glanced quickly around the room, realising that it was most definitely not a hospital room but was, in fact, a neat and bare bedroom. Aside from the bed she currently lay in, the only other furniture was the chairs scattered around the bedside-chairs which, she suddenly realised, the guys had likely used to keep watch over her. They had brought her to their home, healed her injuries, bathed her and changed her clothes and then watched over her for...well, she didn't know how long.

The sound of thundering footsteps halted her thoughts and she looked to the doorway, a small smile playing on her lips as she knew, without really knowing how she knew, that the guys were coming to her.

Nik burst through first, the door banging off the wall and leaving a small mark as he grinned at the sight of her sitting up in bed, his lip ring glinting in the light as his green eyes crinkled from his smile. He was pushed unceremoniously into the room and Sierra watched as Leo spilled in behind Nik, followed quickly by Josh and Theo. Logan came last, his face seeming almost apprehensive as he peered at her. She smiled brightly at their obvious relief, feeling a lightness inside of her that she hadn't experienced in a very long time. Smiles kicked up their lips, their eyes shining as they drank her in, the twins dimples popping out as even Theo gave a full blown grin in her direction. One by one they entered the room and sat on the chairs around the bed, with only Logan remaining in the doorway.

"How're you feeling, doll face? "

Her eyes flicked to Nik, enjoying hearing the term of endearment as she replied.

"I'm okay, a little stiff but nothing a good walk won't fix."

Josh nodded at her, his face serious once more as he assessed her with a critical eyes.

"You've been out for a week," he explained. "You'll likely feel a bit sore from that, but I've healed your injuries so you at least won't have those to worry over."

Healed, he had healed her. Even though she had already expected as such, having it confirmed boggled her mind in a whole new way and she shook her head.

"Thank you, Josh." she murmured. "You saved my life."

He gave a half shrug as he smiled shyly back at her. A clearing of a throat interrupted their moment and she broke their eye contact to raise an eyebrow at Leo, who stared at her indignantly from where he sat to her left.

"Excuse me miss, but I'm pretty sure we all helped to get you out of there, you know."

"Did you now?" Sierra mused, crossing her arms and tapping one finger on her chin as she pretended to ponder his words. "I could have sworn it was only Josh who came to me."

Leo's eyes darkened as Nik grabbed her ankle from where he sat at the end of the bed, causing her to gasp at the contact but he didn't let go. He stared at her intently.

"Make no mistake doll face, it took the whole team to get you out of there and none of us could have done it alone."

She smiled warmly at him, offering him an apology with her smile.

"I'm teasing Nicholas, don't worry." He let the nickname slide and sat back in his chair, keeping his hand on her ankle as he did, but she didn't mind that.

"What happened?" she asked quietly, not quite wanting to know but needing to fill in the gaps in her mind.

Josh sighed from her right and rested a hand on top of hers, stroking his thumb across it gently as he explained.

"You had built up a lot of power by the time we found you and it was bursting at the seams to escape. There was no way you could have tampered that down again, not when you haven't had training in control. It exploded out of you and knocked us out of the way. Thankfully we were all just dazed," he reassured her when a stricken look passed over her face. "None of us were injured.”

"The room began to shake around us and I thought it was going to cave in. We ran to you as you collapsed but we weren't quick enough-the cage collapsed on top of you, crushing you beneath it in a tangled mess. We couldn't move one bar without others falling on you more, so we had to do them piece by piece."

"When you became unconscious your powers halted, allowing the room to stay intact." Logan continued from the doorway, causing Sierra to crane her neck slightly to look at him. "But those bars were crushing you, and we had no idea if you were alive or not."

"I couldn't feel you," Theo whispered from beside Leo, his eyes wide behind his glasses. "Not a thing. There was just, nothing." He reached out as his voice choked and gripped her hand, palm to palm, and she returned the pressure, reassuring him how she could that she was alright .

"I couldn't hear you." Leo murmured, gripping her hand over Theo's so they both held a side of it. He ran a thumb across her skin as he stared at their joined hands. "I tried to get into your mind to see if you were okay, but it was just darkness. No awareness, no thoughts. Nothing."

"Nik began to pick up the bars," Josh continued. "He's the strongest so it made sense at first, until we realised that we would have to hold them out of the way. The way they had fallen," Josh shook his head and Sierra turned her hand so that she could grip his, too. "It was like a mesh, all of them somehow trapped by other bars. We had to lift them one by one, whilst Nik held them up each time we passed them."

"It was easier when we knew you were awake," Nik muttered, staring at her with a wry smile. "When we knew we could still save you, it made it easier. I've never been so relieved in my life..."

Logan moved into the room, taking the seat between Josh and Nik as he stared at her with a haunted expression, his mouth set in a grim line. She had no idea what to say to him, to her teacher, but he spoke for her.

"We have never been so scared, Sierra, as we were in the moment where we thought we had lost you." He shook his head and ran his hands up his face and through his hair, gripping it tightly. "The moment we heard you, it was like a light had come back on. As soon as we heaved that mess off you, when we could see you breathing and looking back at us, it was like something clicked for us all."

He reached out hesitantly, his hand hovering for a brief moment before he lay it on her bare ankle just as Nik had and gripped it tightly. His eyes bored into hers intensely, captivating her attention in a way that meant she couldn't break it, even if she wanted to. Which she really, really, didn't.

“This is right where we were always meant to be Sierra, each and every one of us. I have taken care of things to make sure you never have to leave us again-if that is what you want.”

Sierra realised that it was not so much of a statement as it was a question, and a quick glance around the room showed her that the other guys were all waiting on her to reply, to know whether she wanted to be here with them. She smiled shyly and gave a small nod of her head .

“I would like that.” she said quietly. “I'd like that very much.”

Relief broke across the room and the guys settled back in their chairs, each of them maintaining their skin on skin contact with her with varied levels of pressure. Somehow she found it comforting and she couldn't help but sink into the pillows behind her as their touch-the first gentle touch she had experienced in a long time-relaxed her.

“So, what next?”

Logan pondered her words for a moment as the others looked to him for an answer; their apparent leader, making their choices and guiding them along.

“There is a lot we have to tell you.” He said slowly. “From what you-we-are, what we can do, what our purpose is, to what it would mean for you to join us and the...implications of you being here.”

He hesitated over the implications in a way that made Sierra raise her eyebrows and question his words.

“What do you mean? What sort of implications? ”

Logan shifted uncomfortably in his seat and Nik gave a sharp laugh. Logan shot him an annoyed look and his hand tightened on Sierra's leg briefly.

“Not to worry, brother,” Nik laughed. “I've got this one.”

He turned to Sierra, rubbing a thumb lightly across her ankle as she watched him, waiting for the explanation to what had made Logan so uncomfortable. In moments, she joined Logan's discomfort.

“The implication is that, in these circumstances, a Hex-that is, a group like ours- will often turn into more than just friendship or allies. They'll become family or, to be more precise, lovers. It is not unheard of for them to share partners and, for us at least, it is possible that we may develop relationships to the point that we-” he pointed at the guys “want to share you. If you would be willing.” He added the last part as an almost afterthought with a small tilt of his head ,and Sierra felt her cheeks flame instantly.

They would want to share her? Why? Why on earth would they limit themselves to just a small part of one girl like that? What if they got bored? What if they hurt one another? What about jealousy?

“You're over thinking it, beautiful girl. ”

She looked up to see Leo's cheeky smile inches away from her face and she reared back, startled, and made him chuckle.

“For one, I very much doubt any of us would get bored of you and we wouldn't share just anyone. There is something distinctly special about you, and not just because you are a part of our Hex, although that helps.” He smiled at her, clearly trying to put her at ease.

“You have to understand that we all enter this willingly Sierra, or we don't enter at all.” Josh said sombrely. “Because once-or if- you join our Hex, once you are part of our bond, it is for life-it cannot be broken, you cannot walk way. To try would be to cause pain unrivalled on this earth. That means that anything we do relationship wise? It has to be done knowing that we can't leave if it doesn't work out.”

The guys all exchanged a quick glance, oblivious to the pounding of Sierra's heart as the truth settled on her.

They wanted her, all of them, wanted her. But they also wanted an immediate promise of forever, and she wasn't sure that was something that she could do. Panic settled inside of her and Theo squeezed her hand in reassurance.

“It's okay, Sierra.” He murmured. “We don't expect you to commit right now, but we do want you to know the stakes if you choose to. Take time, think it over, we aren't going anywhere. We are here for you, always.”

“And if you do choose to join us, then great. If you choose to date us?” Leo smirked. “Even better.”

Sierra couldn't help but smile at that and allowed herself a small chuckle.

“I will...consider what you have said and take it under advisement.” she said slowly. “But whatever happens, whatever it is, it will take time and patience. I don't want to rush into anything, I want to get to know you all properly first, and I don't want to risk ruining our...Hex.”

She used the last word hesitantly before she peeked up at them through her eye lashes and was relieved to see them all nod their agreement. Relief fluttered in her chest and Theo squeezed her hand once again, making her heart flip slightly at the gesture as butterflies flew in her stomach. She peered at him out of the side of her eye and saw a faint blush creeping up his cheek and repressed her own chuckle; he most likely could feel her gratitude to him right now and, beneath that, a smidgen-okay a bit more than a smidgen- of attraction.

Logan cleared his throat.

“So now that we have settled- that, ” he ignored the chuckle that came from Leo and Nik. “We have a few other things to explain to you. Starting with the Hexagon that we make up and what the bond entails.”