Irregular (mlm)

Chapter 30

Owen hated this. He hated the weeks that followed Kai coming back to their cell with blood on his face and a dead stare in his eyes. Owen had tried to clean the blood off his face, but he moved away.

His mate moved away from him.

Kai's father took him for hours upon hours every day for weeks. Owen was left alone as the days grew colder and his body began to waste away, all while his mate was out doing god knows what at the will of his father.

Kai refused to talk about what happened, refused to shift back into his human form. Every day, he'd wait by the door to be taken away. He waited for his father like a damn dog. It was infuriating.

Owen had taken to working out as best he could while in his chains. He refused to let himself be weakened any further. He needed to be able to fight for them, to bite and claw and fight.

He was in the middle of what felt like his thousandth push-up when the door to the cell creaked open and Kai padded inside, stinking of blood and dirt. His fur was clumped and matted around his underside and mouth.

Owen sat and looked longingly at his mate as he walked, no, limped toward the back wall and collapsed onto his belly. There was a puncture wound on his front paw, and what looked like claw marks across his snout. Tufts of fur had been pulled from his body, by the looks of it. Had he gotten into a fight?

Owen shuffled as close as he could to Kai, reaching out to stroke his head. This normally would make Kai close his eyes and sleep after a hard day of whatever it was he did, but this time it didn't.

This time, Kai just stared past Owen, like he wasn't really looking at all. Like he was in a whole different world.

Owen felt his eyes sting as tears threatened to spill out. He was exhausted, they both were. They needed to find comfort in each other. Owen needed to find comfort in knowing his touch lulled his mate to sleep, no matter what he had gone through when he was away.

"Kai?" His voice was hoarse from disuse. "Baby?"

Kai's eyes slid to Owen's, lethargic and tired. Owen stared into his eyes, searching for the warmth that had always spread to his own heart.

Kai's eye watered, just enough for one tear to streak down the fur on his snout and drop onto Owen's hand. The flame that had always burned in his pupils sputtered.

Owen swallowed and cupped his face. "Kai, please. Please talk to me. Please."

His plea fell onto deaf ears. Kai pulled away from Owen, moving to the corner, and sat facing the door. Owen pulled against the chains binding him and felt himself sob.

"Kai." His mates name hung in the air heavy, like fog between rotting trees.

Kai looked at him again, and this time, the flame went out. His irises dulled, his pupils were hollow. Even his fur seemed to wilt.

Owen felt his chest caving in. Something outside their damned cell had finally broken him. His father had finally broken him.

Owen didn't know when he started screaming. All he knew was he screamed and screamed and screamed, until his throat was bleeding and his ears were ringing. He screamed profanities at Kai's father. He screamed words so incoherent not even he understood them. He was angry. He was scared. He had no hope of returning to the life he so very wanted, living domestically with his mate.

All he could do was scream.

And when his voice no longer came out, the sobbing took over. Violent, hot tears and heavy breaths that left his head swimming in the clouds. He didn't even know a person could cry so much, let alone when they weren't drinking enough water.

Owen curled over himself and cried, fists clenched against the cold concrete floor beneath him. He had nothing left without his mate. He was a shell, left behind when the organism that inhabited it died and rotted away.

Owen heaved for air, coughing on his aching throat and unable to catch his breath. He tipped his head up to look at the door blocking him into hell, the only way out. It was impossible. He had no strength left. He had nothing.

Owen dropped his head back down and rested his forehead against the cool concrete. As his breathing slowed and returned to normal, one thing rang through his head like a war drum echoing across a battle field.

He was going to slaughter the bastard who had done this to them.

Whew, that was intense. Genuinely blacked out and wrote this in like 30 minutes which is awesome. School and work and life in general are crazy and writers block is real. Anyway, stay spooky my ghosties, next chapter will be out hopefully before the new year ✌️