Feral Bonds

Chapter 49: Weighted Words

It was late one evening, a week after Cernunnos had taken Akecheta in. The fire crackled low in the hearth, casting long shadows across the cabin. Outside, the forest whispered in the cool night breeze, and the cabin felt like a small, safe cocoon nestled in the heart of the wild. Cernunnos sat in his usual chair, his eyes fixed on the omega curled up on the couch, wrapped in blankets like a fragile bundle.

Akecheta had changed in the past week. The terror that once consumed him had receded, though it still lingered at the edges. He was starting to heal—physically, at least. His back, once riddled with gashes and scars, was finally closing, thanks to the Wendigo's care and the food that had gradually brought strength back to his body.

But Cernunnos knew that Akecheta was holding something back, a darkness he hadn't yet shared. There was still a wall between them, an unspoken weight that Akecheta carried. Cernunnos had sensed it in the omega's silences, in the way his eyes would sometimes go distant, filled with something darker than fear—something like guilt.

Tonight, Akecheta was different. He wasn't trembling or flinching away from Cernunnos's presence. In fact, for the first time, he seemed... still. Almost as though he had made a decision. His red, augmented eyes glowed faintly in the dim light of the fire as he stared at the flames, his face shadowed by the quiet turmoil in his mind.

Cernunnos watched him closely. He could feel something brewing in the air between them, an unspoken confession that Akecheta was finally ready to release.

"Akecheta," Cernunnos said softly, leaning forward, his tone gentle but probing. "There's something you've been holding back. Something weighing on you."

Akecheta didn't flinch at the words. He remained silent for a long moment, his fingers tightening slightly around the blanket draped over him. His jaw tensed, and his eyes flickered briefly to Cernunnos before returning to the fire.

"I don't deserve this," Akecheta muttered, his voice low and broken. "Any of it. The safety. The care."

Cernunnos frowned but didn't interrupt. He could feel the omega's internal struggle, the war between the part of him that wanted to trust and the part that couldn't forgive himself.

"I've done things," Akecheta continued, his voice raw with emotion. "Things that no one should ever have to do."

The Wendigo remained quiet, his expression calm and patient. He knew this was the moment Akecheta needed to say what he had been holding inside for so long. The moment the omega needed to face his own darkness.

Akecheta swallowed hard, his voice thick with shame. "I've... eaten human meat."

The admission hung in the air like a heavy, dark cloud, and for a moment, the cabin seemed to hold its breath. Akecheta's fingers dug into the blanket, and his eyes, now wide and haunted, refused to meet Cernunnos's gaze.

Cernunnos didn't react with shock or disgust. His face remained impassive, his heart aching for the broken creature in front of him. He had knew of the wolf's transgressions. The humans gone missing, the massacred hunting party. He knew the wolf was ashamed and allowed his omega to believe it was a hidden secret. 

He suspected that more than he knew of, terrible things had happened during Akecheta's time alone in the woods, but he hadn't pressed for details. Now, he finally understood what had been gnawing at the omega's soul.

"It wasn't your fault," Cernunnos said quietly, his voice filled with an understanding that Akecheta hadn't expected.

Akecheta let out a bitter laugh, one that held no humor. "You don't understand. After a while, I did do it. I chose to do it. When I couldn't find anything else to sate the feral hunger... when I couldn't survive on what the woods gave me, I turned to humans. Hikers. Innocent people."