Home... (Book 2)

Tres (3)

⚠️⚠️⚠️WARNING⚠️⚠️⚠️

Mentions of torture (psychological and physical) and implied self harm.

If you have hurt yourself please stop. If you're working on stopping, keeping going. If you have stopped or if you know someone who is hurting themselves, keep supporting those who haven't stopped yet.

If you DON'T think you can stop, just remember.

We're all standing behind you, and with the world behind you, and the ones who care beside you, who can stop you?

If you can relate to anything you read please get well soon.

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Keith lay curled up in the back of his cell.

Eyes wide, death grip on his legs, entire body trembling, tear stains down his cheeks, breathing sharp and fast, not quite to the point of hyperventilation.

In other words, he was about to have another panic attack.

He remembered the screams were still echoing in his head.

He remembered the begging still ripping his heart apart.

He remembered the hopelessness still had him in its iron grip.

Then he remembered the silence... Oh, God the silence!

You could break Keith's bones. Make him fight for his life in the arena every day. Cover his body in scars till there wasn't a piece of smooth skin left and he looked worse than Deadpool. Keep him awake while they gave him a prosthetic. Hell! You could rip off every one of his limbs! Keith would ask you to.

But if he had to sit through all of those hours of Lance's screams again, Lance begging for Keith, for anyone really, to save him, to show him mercy, Keith would lose his mind.

Knowing his boyfriend was in so much pain, and he couldn't do anything about it. It made him feel like nothing was worth it. If he couldn't protect Lance, his boyfriend, from that pain, what use was he to the universe as one of it's defenders?

"Hello, Paladin."
Keith blood boiled, a deep, instinctive, murderous growl ripping through the silence. Livid violet eyes burning into the damn door separating him from the bastard he most wanted to rip apart.

"I hope you enjoyed Blue's lovely show, he has quite a voice," she purred, "I hope it helped change your mind."
"Where is he," Keith demanded, his words holding the same tone as a wolf about to rip a trespasser on its territory to shreds.

Haggar shook off the chill in her spine, refusing to let her fear control her, "You will see him when we allow it."
Keith growled again, "I don't give a damn what you allow, unless you want a lot of dismembered corpses and robots, you're going to bring me my mate!" Keith shouted, the fur on his back raising aggressively, the whites of his eyes turning a shade of vibrant yellow.

"I do not fear you Red Paladin."
Keith chuckled lightly to himself, "Then that's your second mistake," he whispered, but Haggar heard every word.

"And what, Paladin, was my first mistake?"

"Touching my mate."

Haggar smiled to herself, "May I propose that possibility that you're mate would be fine, safe in your castle, with you, had you not been foolish and been captured..."

Keith froze. Her words cutting his heart like she'd thrust a sword through his chest. He hissed at her.

"You know I'm right Paladin. You are the cause your mate this pain. You. Not me. Not the Empire. You," Haggar said.

Keith glared down at the floor, fighting back tears.

She was right...

She was completely right...

If it wasn't for Keith, Lance would be safe...

The witch left him. Smiling to herself at how well this was working.

Keith looked down at his claws.

After all, if he couldn't keep Lance safe, his own boyfriend, what use was he to the universe?