Her Lights

Angelique’s POV

I’d never get used to it.

I didn’t mean the random flashes of memories from five years ago.

I meant this. The sight of drunken customers getting flung into chairs, buried beneath the shatters of wood.

And I had one man to thank for that.

Mikael.

There I stood behind the counter and sighed.

The rundown tavern was always infested with drunks, and Mikael, a friend I didn’t ask for but got anyway, was the terminator.

“Mr. Bronn is gonna be so pissed. Mikael!”

“Yes, Angel.”

With a smile, the tall, brown-eyed, curly-haired man faced me.

He grinned wide, regardless of the blood 

dripping from his knuckles. Heck, some of it even painted his cute face.

I kept staring at him, palms flat on the counter, lips tugged to one side.

“Must you always do this?” I asked, ending up chuckling.

He drew closer, settling on a high stool, leaning in until our noses brushed.

“He touched your arm last week,” Mikael sneered. “He deserves this.”

First, I glanced at the unconscious man, then burst out laughing.

A tear almost escaped my eye from how hard I laughed, but the tavern bell chimed, followed by rushed footsteps.

“Maman!”

That word came in unison.

Both Mikael and I turned our heads toward the sound, and three little beings came rushing in.

They acted blind to the half-dead man on the floor.

Even Mikael was ignored.

The three darted behind the counter, and soon I was on my knees, arms wide open but still unable to contain my babies.

“Stop crawling on Maman, Lilou,” Lucien snapped, drowning out both my giggle and Liora’s.

Now I held my golden-eyed, four-year-old pup in my arms while rising to my feet.

“He’s such a baby,” Liora rolled her green eyes, eyes that looked far too much like mine.

“I’d love to be your Maman’s baby too.”

Automatically, the three whipped their necks toward Mikael, glaring at him with identical fiery looks.

Still, his snicker didn’t melt off.

His teasing was constant, but my dear triplets would never get used to it.

“No.” Lilou pouted in my cradle, scrunching his nose in disgust.

“You’re too old to be a baby,” Liora folded her little arms.

And Lucien?

He had climbed the counter and now stood on it like a tiny warrior, pointing a finger straight at Mikael’s face.

“Maman isn’t strong enough to carry your fat self,” he sneered, his mismatched golden and green eyes gleaming.

“I know.” Mikael’s grin widened.

“I’ll be the one to carry your Maman. She’ll be my baby.”

The triplets froze, eyes popping.

“What!?”

---

★

“I really do want a Papa”

Those words were whispered, but I heard them loud and clear.

I paused in my stroll, glanced down, and her stare collided with mine.

“I want a Papa, Maman” Liora repeated more firmly with a slow blink.

This was the first time she had ever said anything like that, so of course, I was shocked.

“I don’t!”

Her brother, Lucien, seemed infuriated as he shouted.

“Maman’s all I need!” he added with a huff, leading his sister to frown.

“You act like you love her most”

Lilou’s mumble made both his siblings glare at him.

“I love Maman the most!”

With that, the three erupted into a bicker, and I into confusion.

Their mixed words filled the street, swallowing the sound of distant sirens and even crashes.

This part of the country was rugged but unknown to many. Mother included, and I was glad.

It had been five years since I left the house that was never a home.

Five years since Mother sold me to that perverted dwarf.

I had searched for a ray of hope in Beatrix.

But as morning came and went, the light dimmed.

Without a choice, I fled further into the country.

I believed I left everything behind; my unaffectionate Mother, my sister, and even Malakai Phantom.

My single intercourse with him was something I wished to erase from my brain.

But he had already imprinted himself in my soul, heart, and life entirely.

As I glimpsed at the three bickering pups, I smiled.

They were a reminder of that bittersweet night, but I cherished them insanely.

“Stop this unless there’s no cake tonight”

With a turn, I faced the wooden door of our little abode.

My warning had never worked, and the triplets usually continued. Or they’d whine.

But afterwards, the clicks of my bunch of keys became the only sound.

Did they finally listen?

I smirked, feeling proud of their obedience.

Yet a gust of wind blew suddenly, and goosebumps ran through my skin.

“Babies?” Unsettled by the silence, I spun around quickly.

The sight I beheld made both my eyes and heart bleed.

“My babies!”

I almost screamed out my lungs, but the cry remained in my chest.

Just like my dearests remained in the arms of three masked men.

They had their arms wrapped around their throats.

 It was tight, and my babies dangled from the hold. They were unconscious, with saliva gliding down their mouths.

Every part of me heated, and my bones trembled.

“Let them go!” Again, I shrieked, then lurched toward them.

My arms were stretched madly, claws out and ready to strike.

But I never touched them.

I never touched my babies as an unexpected punch landed on my cheek.

“Ugh!”

I felt my organs bounce inside me once I crashed against the wooden door.

Broken wood rested on my throbbing body, and blood spilled from my mouth.

But all I tasted was bitterness.

“N-no! Please!”

Still, I rose from the rubble, reaching for them.

Those eyes that brightened my world were shut, and I felt darkness enveloping me slowly.

“Three million”

A figure blocked the view of my kids, then marched forward.

I lifted my shaky eyes to his face, and oh, the devil had an ugly scar.

“Three million for their lives. You’ve got one month”

With that, he turned and left.

When he did, I lost sight of my kids.

I lost them.

They took them from me!

★

I ran in darkness.

But no matter how many times I tripped or crumbled to the ground, I rose again.

The flesh of my knees was scraped, stung, and even bled. But how could I see them when I was in the dark?

How could I do anything after those masked bastards took my lights away?

The streets were always cold, but my pups’ love had warmed me.

With each shaky step I took, cold and pain stabbed into me like a knife.

“Three… three million!”

My ears rang with only the kidnapper’s demand.

He needed three million, and I’d get it.

From where? I had no idea.

Mikael popped into my head, but he couldn’t be found anymore.

My last option was my place of work.

To think I’d find hope in a damn tavern.

Laughable.

Once I drew closer to the building, I rested my weight on the door, and it swung open.

The stench of ale never churned my stomach, neither did the sight of rowdy patrons.

But seated cross-legged on one of the high stools, his presence upset not only my stomach, but my entire life.

My lungs didn’t need air anymore since he polluted it.

My eyes wished to fall out of their sockets just to never see his face.

The ringing in my ears grew louder, desperate to block out his voice.

“Why are you here?”

My hand on the doorknob clenched until my knuckles whitened.

Why?

Tears welled in my eyes, but his lustful leer and stupid grin didn’t blur.

“Feisty as always.”

Then he jumped down from the stool others usually stood up from.

“And you’re still short and perverted,” I shot back, glaring irritatingly at Kross Salvador.

He was the man Mother sold me to.

My ‘owner’