Hounds of War [Yandere Generals x Female General Reader]

20. Pull Yourself Together.

It was late at night. Esclave had several hours to mull over Vanbinicci's request and formulate his plan of attack. After seeing a man as arrogant as he practically beg on bent knee for Esclave to help Meccio made him realize just how important Meccio was to general Arrogari.

He could never understand the close, brother-like bond that some men had with each other. Not only did Esclave not have anyone that he would consider himself close with apart from the general but he also loathed his brothers.

Nevertheless, he agreed with Vanbinicci that Meccio was becoming a serious threat. The Subedict General kept it to himself that he was more worried about Meccio stealing general Denlleonis from him than he was about him killing other Luccian soldiers. Meccio could slaughter the entire army and Esclave would not bat an eye, but since he was also interested in Y/N the brunette had no choice but to involve himself.

Knowing that he had to do something about the ginger pest he spent the rest of his afternoon devising his strategy. Having observed Meccio's erratic behavior to better avoid him, he knew that he always returned to his tent to eat diner before he would continue patrolling the camp.

Esclave's plan was simple. 1. Wait for the redheaded pest to go into the tent and while he was eating set a snare outside. 2. Wait for him to leave the tent and catch him in the snare. 3. Drag him to the edge of the military camp and make him see sense by any means necessary.

. . .

"JUST YOU WAIT UNTIL I'M FREE OF THESE ROPES! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Meccio screamed, writhing on the ground as he was dragged through the city of tents in the middle of the night.

"I don't care," Esclave sighed as he lugged the thrashing general across the uneven ground. Steps 1. and 2. of his plan had gone flawlessly, but he could already tell that step 3. was going to be a real pain.

After what felt like a small eternity, they finally reached the open field passed the edge of the camp and Esclave dropped the length of rope that he had been using to drag the ginger. He stretched out his back until he heard a popping sound, completely ignoring the man that lay at his feet.

"I'LL KILL YOU!! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Meccio continued to chant as he desperately thrashed around trying to reach the brunette, but he had been bound by the rope in such a way that that limited his mobility entirely.

"Oh, shut up," Esclave snapped, coming off as bored rather than concerned about the death threats he was receiving from a clearly unstable man. He had dealt with situations like that before though, a personality as ruthless as general Denlleonis' created plenty of enemies, and he had grown used to handling them. "If you keep thrashing like that you'll break something, not that I would care if you did."

Taking advantage of a momentary pause in the gingers struggling he kicked him onto his back not bothering to be gentle. Then he planted his boot firmly on general Vilu's chest, keeping him in place.

"Can you guess why I dragged you out here?" Esclave asked, his face shadowed as he looked down on Meccio. Meccio only glared up at him, muttering unintelligible things under his breath. "Not talking now?" Esclave sighed. "Well, you can't fool me, you were screaming bloody murder a minute ago so I know you have the ability to answer me."

He leaned forward, pressing more of his weight onto Meccio's chest. "Well, you don't need to talk right now, you just need to listen. You have gone too far and are abusing your power as a general. If you don't stop of your own free will don't think I'm above stopping you myself."

"I WILL NEVER STOP!!! NOT UNTIL I AM A REAL GENERAL VILU!!! NOT UNTIL Y/N IS MINE!!!" He suddenly shrieked as he started thrashing again as though he was possessed. "WHEN SHE LEAVES ME I GO BACK TO THE SAME WORTHLESS WEAKLING I WAS BEFORE SHE SAVED ME - I can't bear it - I CAN'T BE A COWARD!!!!

Meccio's violet eyes were wide and glassy, glowing eerily as they reflected the light of the moon. His pale face was contorted in a deranged grimace as he continued to writhe beneath the confines of the boot. Most people would have been overcome by fear at the sight of him, but Esclave only felt revulsion and disdain for the insanity that had taken hold of the ginger.

Esclave felt a sudden jolt go through him as he repeated Meccio's screams in his head. He suddenly started laughing. What a fool he was. Had Meccio done anything more than what Esclave desired to do in secret? They both longed for power, they both felt overcome by weakness and inferiority. As his blue eyes fixed on general Vilu he realized that they were the same, or at least had been forced to play host to the same madness. "... I know how you feel..." He whispered. "You're just like me..."

"HOW?!" Meccio was still furious at Esclave for tying him up and dragging him across the Luccian camp, but he couldn't disguise the flash of intrigue in his wrathful eyes.

"We both have tasted the madness of what it's like to be away from general Denlleonis," Esclave replied, with no trace of mockery or scorn in his normally condescending voice. "Only I have been fighting to keep the madness from consuming me for years, you surrendered to it in just a few weeks."

He slowly removed his boot from Meccio's chest. Once he was sure that general Vilu was going to stay put, for the time being, he turned around and pulled his tunic up enough to reveal the fresh gashes on his back. Meccio let out an involuntary gasp as he saw the partially healed wounds, luminated by icy moonlight.

"How-how do you control it?" The ginger asked in a meek voice that was much more suited to his delicate frame. He was still struggling to process that the seemingly perfect general Azeeion was plagued by shadows just as dark as his own. "I-I even as we speak I can feel the madness gnawing away at the edges of my mind, prowling like a hungry beast, longing to consume me again."

"Discipline," Esclave replied sternly as he pulled his graey tunic back down. After a moment he bent down and offered Meccio a hand up. "I practice restraint and discipline in everything I do to stay in control. In time you will be able to better control it, for now, we should focus on repairing the damage you caused before general Denlleonis returns and adds your head to her collection."

"Ha, good joke-" the ginger laughed, managing a weak smile as he took hold of the offered hand.

"-Oh, I'm not joking," Esclave stated as he pulled the petite general up.

"Oh..." Meccio's face turned a little bit graey. Regaining some of his composure he asked, "Why-why are you helping me? You know how I-I feel about general Denlleonis... Wouldn't it be better for you to just let me continue on this path?"

Esclave sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, probably, but Vanbinicci asked me to try and help you."

"He did?" Meccio squeaked, surprised.

"Yep, he cares about you," the brunette replied. "And what can I say, you've grown on me too, you little pest." He added as he pulled Meccio into a headlock and tousled his red hair roughly. Meccio struggled to escape as they both laughed. Perhaps this is that brotherly bond that I have observed in others, Esclave thought.

A/N

I'm happy to see that Esclave and Meccio have reached a mutual understanding. I wonder if it will last?

Also, I'll be switching back to writing Loyal Hound so it will be ten days until I update this book again.

Until next time I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~