#wanted dead or alive the empty cell

[spawksstuff]

The De Completionist Checklist Part 9

1959

Note on the dates: I will mostly be going by when a show/movie was shot rather than its release date. Variety Magazine will be given first priority.

My score: 14 15 / 19

Need To Find: Bold Venture, The Line Up, Special Agent 7, Man From Blackhawk thanks to @iamenits for the link!, Rogue for Hire

Favorite Movie: N/A

Favorite TV Show:  Mike Hammer – Bride and Doom (The wheelchair scene! More on that later)

Favorite Quotes: “I been dead a year. It’s lonely down there. I’m going to take some company back with me.” (Richard Diamond – The Adjustor)

Good roles and good stories this year.

#deforest kelley #de completionist checklist #richard diamond #black saddle #de got hurt on that set too #the whip struck him but de didn't call the scene #didn't even know he was bleeding until he sat down and left blood on the chair #mackenzie's raiders #looking sexy #wanted dead or alive the empty cell #nice disguise lol #mike hammer

[whumpback-wail]

01 - Make It Out Alive

Trial by Fire (Wriothesley x Reader) - TW/CW in masterlist

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Wriothesley growled and pressed the Fatui agent's face further into the ground "I'll only ask you one more time," fire roared on his left side, "Where is she?"

"Lowest b-basement!" The agent choked out, "the doctor kept her locked in a cage, but I'm not even sure if she's still-"

Wriothesley roughly smashed the villain's head into the ground, knocking him out immediately.

She's alive.

She has to be.

"Wriothesley."  Clorinde gestured to the dark hallway looming before him, "Go. Me and the others will clean off this place."

With a quick nod, Wriothesley shouldered past them and rushed further down the hallway, all rational thoughts abandoned.

He's getting closer now.

He ran down the stairs which lead to the basement. Even so he felt as if he's moving too slowly.

Will he make it in time before she..

He shook his head, not wanting to finish the thought. Not when he's this close to getting her back.

The basement was a stark contrast to the upper floors. While upstairs it was clean and almost hospital-like, with individual rooms for patients- he refused to call them experiment subjects, the basement area looks unkempt, as if it was simply abandoned. It was dusty with cobwebs on every corner, and the cement floor damp in some areas from dripping water.

Running through the basement, Wriothesley opened every door he passed by. Most of them revealed empty rooms, and some cluttered storage areas, but a handful of them opened to reveal rows upon rows of cages that held people in them.

They were kept in terrible conditions, as if they were imprisoned or left for dead. With each room he opened, and each cage he searched, Wriothesly felt his heart sink lower and lower.

After yet another room searched with no sign of (y/n) he gestured for his men to help the prisoners while he continued his search.

If (y/n) isn't here, there's a good chance she somehow escaped, so that should be a good thing, right?

Or dead.

Pushing the thought out of his head, the steely blue eyed duke came to a halt in front of the final door. This one had a door that sagged on its hinges, tilting in a way that did not let it fit into its frame. It was slightly open and a foul sewer stench seemed to emanate from it. Shivering, he pushed the door open and went inside.

The door opens to a long, rectangular room that resembles a prison, like the previous rooms. There were floor to ceiling bars to his left and right.

Wriothesley went further inside and peered into each of the cells.

Empty.

On the far end of the room, however, there was a smaller sized cage. Something used for an animal, big enough to hold a tiger, but too small for a human to stand upright.

The door was slightly ajar, and there seemed to be something inside it. Something dark and unmoving.

Squinting through the darkness with his heart racing in his chest, he peered inside, gasping when he found that the object is clearly a person. Someone very familiar to him.

It was female, with her hair tangled darker than its usual shade. She was only wearing the bare minimum, a sort of hospital dress, but even so, it was tattered and bloodstained, barely enough to protect her from the cold winter. She laid on the floor of the cage facing away from him, tucked into herself at the very corner as if trying to stay as far as possible from the door.

"(Y/N)!"

He quickly shoved the cage door open further, reaching inside. She was cold. Very cold.

No...

His heart plummeted down to his stomach as he reached in and pulled her broken form out the cage carefully, as if afraid she would shatter upon his touch. She was completely limp, showing no response to his voice and touch.

Now he understood why they didn't even bother to lock the door.

"(y/n)," he turned her over, feeling his heart clench at the sight of her face. Blood from a wound on her forehead covered the left half of her face, while her right eye was swollen shut. Her lips, once soft and pink, now split and cracked.

Blue eyes scanned down her body for more damage, found that it was near impossible with the way blood and dirt stuck to her like second skin.

He noticed how much more skinny she had got, nothing but skin and bones.

"Archons, what did they do to you?" he whispered, caressing her face.

Wriothesley felt tears prickling behind his eyes. Was he too late? He quickly removed his jacket and wrapped her in it, hoping it would warm her up even if just a little

"I-I'm here, you’re in my arms now, you're safe. Please open your eyes, (y/n)..." he rocked her gently, "(y/n)... come on sweetheart, it's me, I'm here. I'm right here." No reaction. She was completely unconscious, her head lolling backwards.

No…

Wriothesley leaned down to listen for her breaths, anything. He was only met with the deafening sound of silence.

“No no (y/n), please, don’t do this to me.”

As if handling glass, he placed her gently on the ground and tilted her head back. Pinching her nose, Wriothesley pressed his lips against hers and blew rescue breaths into her. Blue eyes searched her face for any hint of a reaction as he placed his hands in the center of her chest, one hand laced on top of the other. He locked his elbows and began pumping.

“Come on, breathe.” He commanded, her bruised and battered body rocked with each forceful pump.

How long since she stopped breathing?

He felt the crack more than he heard it. One of her ribs had probably cracked or worse, broken. “Fuck!” his voice came out in a breathless whimper.

Again he leaned down and blew into her some more rescue breaths.

I’m hurting her, I hurt her- No. A few broken ribs will heal, but she needs to breathe.

“Come on (y/n), breathe. Come back to me.”

Wriothesley refused to give up, not when she’s right here. His arms burned from the effort of keeping her heart beating. Even so he pushed himself to maintain his steady pace. He was about to blow more rescue breaths into her mouth when she sputtered and coughed.

“(y/n)? Can you hear me? (y/n)?" his breath shook as he gently rolled her to her side until her coughing fit subsided. (y/n)'s arm, the one against his chest, seemed to try to push him off, a feeble attempt considering his stature was like a brick wall.

Before he knew it, she had gone limp again, the arm that tried to push him rests on her stomach.

Wriothesley gritted his teeth and slowly gathered her in his arms. "I'll get you out of here, (y/n). You're going to be okay." 

He walked as quickly as he possibly could, trying not to jostle her too much. But even so it didn't seem to make any difference. (y/n) still remained motionless, her body sagging almost lifeless in his arms.

Walking out of the basement, he was greeted by Neuvilette and Aether. The two had finished battling the meks that went haywire, seeing how so much debris was strewn all about. Their hopeful expressions upon seeing him fell once their eyes landed on the bundle wrapped up in Wriothesley's arms.

"(y/n)? How-" Neuvilette cut Aether off by placing a hand on bis shoulder. Not good. Wriothesley's grim expression and watery eyes told them everything.

"She's alive," Wriothesley spoke past the lump in his throat, "but she will need immediate medical attention. I'm taking her to the hospital." He nodded towards the Aether, who knew immediately he should prepare to teleport them back to Fontaine.

In a flash, Aether, Wriothesley, and (y/n) was gone.

• • •

Neuvilette looked as if he wanted to say more to the three who had just disappeared, but then his eyes landed on Chlorinde, who had stopped beside him.

"I couldn't find her vision," Chlorinde's eyes were downcast, betraying her emotions despite the steely mask she had at all times, "they either ran off with it or destroyed it. The latter is more plausible."

She opened her hand, there rests a piece of golden metal twisted into an intricate frame. Where a glowing red pyro vision stone used to reside, it is now empty.

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.....(つ . •́ _ʖ •̀ .)つ [ ٩(×_×#)۶]

A/N

Whew first chapter! Been a while since I wrote anything so I hope that wasn't too clunky! Chapter 2 coming soon-ish!

#wriothesley x reader #whump #anime whump #whump writing #whump fanfic #wriothesley #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #wriothesley angst #wriothesley x reader angst #hurt/comfort

[vivulapom]

Broken Things

Caretaker rushes into the basement, although "dungeon" might be a better word. It's cold, and dark, and surprisingly wet---the only sounds are that of Caretaker's breathing and the dripping, coming from somewhere.

Teammates are up above, and they'll probably want to pick this place apart, but Caretaker is only worried about one thing right now. They walk quickly, almost running, to peek in every cell.

Most of them are empty. One has something dark and vaguely human-shaped inside of it, and although the noxious scent of rot makes Caretaker's stomach turn, it's slightly comforting---Whumpee wouldn't have been down here long enough to turn into *that*. Right?

Others have similar bodies, in various states of decomposition. Many of them are missing limbs, and one is still faintly warm, surrounded by ashes, burnt so severely that some of their blackened skeleton is exposed. Probably not Whumpee either. Probably.

Eventually, after however many cells, Caretaker finds one in specific. They almost pass it over---the dark form on the floor could be nothing more than a trick of the light. But it's not. Caretaker rushes in. It's Whumpee.

"Mangled" is the first word that comes to mind. Mangled, but in a more deliberate, more *personal* way than being mangled after a long fall, or a car crash. Caretaker can't see any bones that *aren't* broken in one way or another. It breaks Caretaker's heart---how long have they been lying here?

Whumpee is covered in blood, much of it dry, some of it fresh. It looks like they've been covered in red paint. Their hair is almost fused to their skin, with how dirty and matted it is.They *are* breathing, but just barely---it's shallow and labored. Their eyes are open, but they're glazed and unfocused. Alive, but very close to dead. Caretaker, very carefully, takes Whumpee and cradles them in their arms, wiping their bloody brow with a sweaty palm. It's going to be difficult to move Whumpee without further damage.

Caretaker hears footsteps, but from the clomp of the boots and the length of the gait, it's Team Leader. Caretaker calls out: "In here!"

Team Leader rounds the corner. "We're just about finished.." they trail off, their breath catching when they see Whumpee.

Caretaker only now realizes they've started crying. They attempt to speak, but the words lose their footing and fall into a sob.

"They're not dead yet," says Team Leader, ever the utilitarian. Their voice is hard, but Caretaker knows they're probably just as distressed, inside. "You think it'd be easier if we.. oh, fuck it."

Team Leader steps in and reaches down to take Whumpee in their arms.

"What are you doing?" says Caretaker, a bit angrier than intended. "They can't.."

"The only thing I care about right now is getting them out of here, Caretaker." To their credit, Team Leader holds Whumpee very, very carefully, like a piece of pottery that could shatter at any moment. It pains Caretaker to see Whumpee like this, like just another broken thing.

Even if they're not dead, even if they don't die.. how alive will they be, after it's all over? *I guess it is over now*, thinks Caretaker. Very quietly, they follow Team Leader back towards the sunlight.

#whump #whumpblr #whumpee #whump drabble #whump scenario #whump writing

[behindthesoul]

Hello!

Getting back into MK I was wondering how would Kenshi, Johnny and Raiden react if they were told that S/O had gone missing on Mission possible dead, and after a few days their s/o shows up bruised and snapped up but live?

Missing Mission

Masterlist

Warnings: bad injuries, hospitalization, alcohol mentions, not proofread, not my highest quality work

Kenshi

Silent and brooding.

One could practically feel the anger that seeped out his bones. If looks could kill, everyone in Kenshi’s vicinity would be dead; not many would risk their lives by making direct eye contact with him, even though they’re covered in red cloth.

Saying he was pissed off would be a complete understatement. The two of you had been together for about three years now. Kenshi thought of your future together daily - what do you mean it’s being taken away?

In quiet moments alone, Kenshi thinks about where you could be. You must be so scared, so alone, so injured…that is, if you were even alive. He chokes back tears at the pain of not having the closure of knowing what happened to you.

Weeks later, Kenshi’s semi-adjusted to his normal routine. He grieves you daily, but it’s mostly kept inside. He arrives home one day to feel that something’s off; something isn’t right. Sento in hand, he walks through his house, trying to figure out what was happening.

He eventually makes his way to the kitchen where you sat. You nurse a glass of whiskey and smirk.

“Took you long enough to get here. I’ve been waiting all day.”

Kenshi freezes, he doesn’t know if it’s truly you or if this is just some sick joke. You get off the chair you’re in, grunting in pain as your feet hit the ground, and walk over to him. Kenshi knows everything is real when your hand reaches over to caress his face.

He frowns as he feels a bandage wrapped around your hand. His frown morphs into a scowl after he leans over to plant a kiss on your lips, noting how you slightly wince from a small bruise that was planted in the area.

He pulls back and doesn’t know what to say. His breath is a bit shaky and his mind is racing. Words couldn’t explain the anguish of your disappearance, and the joy of your return. Kenshi wishes he could see you again, to be able to get a proper look at your injuries.

Your pain is temporarily ignored when you kiss him again.

Johnny

Uncharacteristically silent. Panic sets in almost immediately. I feel like Johnny would blame himself just a little bit. He already fucked up one relationship, why did he let another slip out his hand? What’s wrong with him?

Days turned into weeks, and Johnny spent each moment wallowing in pity. The pity soon becomes bitterness; no one could recognize who he was becoming.

It’s not long before Johnny forces himself to at least try to return to his normal self. He goes back to being the life of the party, cracking jokes left and right. Though, many notice that his jokes become more dry and lifeless.

He spends a lot of time outside. Home just isn’t the same anymore; it’s devoid of any love and laughter. Johnny only arrives home to sleep, only to feel his heart break once again as he crawls into an empty bed.

A month or two passes before Johnny gets a sudden call. It’s from the hospital, telling him that you’ve been found and-

Nothing else was heard. Johnny immediately raced to the hospital, possibly breaking several traffic laws in the process. Whoops.

He rushes into the hospital and finds your room in record time. Johnny feels his body getting heavier at the sight of you laying in the hospital bed, beaten and bruised. He couldn’t even begin counting the amount of injuries you had. Walking over to your bed and taking your hand in his, Johnny allows a few tears to fall.

You’re home, but you’re not okay.

Raiden

Quan Chi and Shang Tsung had escaped from their prison cells in Sun Do. Liu Kang sent you to Outworld to track them both down. You went alone, as Liu Kang had full faith and your abilities. He also wanted this mission to be completed as quietly as possible; the sorcerers would no doubt flee if they heard many Earthrealm champions were after them.

Your boyfriend didn’t hear about your mission until you already left. Raiden, just coming back from a mission of his own, was a bit upset that he didn’t get the chance to at least say goodbye.

He kept himself busy while waiting for your arrival. He hung out with Kung Lao, ate at Madam Bo’s, and spent time at the Wu Shi Academy. One week, you’d be back in one week. He could handle that.

But a week quickly became a month. Raiden definitely panicked but did his best to ease his own nerves. Lots of deep breathing and redirecting any negative thoughts that try to plague his mind.

Jumps into hero mode when Liu Kang confirms that you’ve truly gone missing. Helps plan an entire rescue mission and plans to find you alone. Liu Kang has to reel Raiden back to make sure he isn’t getting himself into trouble.

Along with a few other allies, Raiden travels to Outworld. He is met by Mileena and Kitana who assist with the search. Millions of thoughts of you being dead run through his mind and he, once again, forces those thoughts away.

The search only lasts for a few days before you’re found near a swamp behind Shang Tsung’s old laboratory. You set up a temporary shelter there so you could nurse your injuries; broken ribs, deep bruises and gashes, and a sprained ankle.

Raiden lets out a huge sigh of relief and rushes over to you. He hugs you as firmly as he can without hurting you more. Raiden looks into your eyes and shows a small smile.

“Just when I thought you were lost forever.”

Mileena and Kitana have you escorted to the palace infirmary where you stay until you’re fully healed. Raiden stays with you the entire time, making sure you never lift a finger.

#mortal kombat fanfiction #mortal kombat x reader #mortal kombat fanfic #mortal kombat headcanons #mortal kombat 1 fanfiction #kenshi x reader #johnny cage x reader #raiden mk x reader

[miniwheat77]

Machine. (König x Reader.)

!König is held captive, kidnapping, violence, mentions of test subjects, blood, gore, you’ve been warned, mentions of SA, proceed with caution!

It’s pitch black out. You’re the only one left out of a group of 5.

You retreated outside when the massacre started and you realized this was far larger than you thought it was going to be.

“We have intel that this group of terrorists kidnapped a Soldier from a military base in Germany. He was stationed there when they were ambushed and he was taken. They haven’t been able to track him until now, but we’ve gotten intel that he’s there. He goes by König.”

Your Captain’s words echo in your head. You were already so close. There was no going back now.

You take a deep breath. Trying to steady your racing heart. If he’s in there, and he’s alive. He can help you. It hard to force yourself to run into danger. You want to slow your heart but the fear of dying alongside your brothers sits like a weight on your chest. They shouldn’t have died like this. You needed to finish this for them.

You rest your hand on your chest. Taking a deep breath. You swallow hard, your collarbones aching because of how hard you’re breathing. You straighten yourself out, following along bushes and old outbuildings to keep yourself concealed. Picking off soldiers one by one. Once you’re sure the outside is clear, you’re onto the inside.

Your shoes pat against the cracked concrete outside. Crouched down and hugging the side of the building to hide away. You’re terrified but you have to do this. You push open the door, noticing a couple lone soldiers, taking them out with ease and moving in further. It’s dark inside. You find a couple of your men, no longer alive. They’re laid on the ground. Pools of blood surrounding them. You settle down for a second. Your heart feels like it’s about to beat out of your chest and you know you have to calm down before you keep going. You grit your teeth. You sit up straight, pushing yourself further and further into the building. You come upon a door with a sign that says ‘Cell Block B.’

You push it open, stepping inside. Unsure if this is where you’ll find the missing soldier. You creep down the hallway, prison cells lining the walls. Some empty, some occupying dead prisoners. You keep forcing yourself to take in deep breaths. Just keep calm. You come to a cell at the end, and notice a man shackled to the wall. He’s got little to no room, and you can clearly see why. He’s massive.

“Hey.” You crouch down, gathering his attention. He turns to look at you. “What’s your name?” You ask. You’re whispering.

“König.” He breathes. You sigh, relief flooding through you.

“König.” You tilt your head, repeating his name. “I’m Sergeant Y/N Y/L/N. I’m stationed on a military base not far from this place, I’m here to get you out.” You start looking around for a key. König sits up. His eyes shine in the darkness and you can’t help but see a hood over his face. “The Captain keeps the keys in his office.” He nods. “Okay. I’ll be right back.” You breathe, continuing your way down the hallway, you see an office at the end of the corridor. There’s a man inside but he appears to be asleep. Luckily you have a silencer. You crack open the door, moving up behind him. You grasp a hold of him, firing into his skull and lowering him down to the ground quietly, tugging the keys off of his waistband. You freeze when you hear footsteps coming your way.

You huddle up against the wall, when the door opens you clench your eyes closed for a second. “What the hell?”

You lunge forward, tackling the man onto the ground, lining your gun up and fighting him, firing into his chest two times. Taking a deep breath. These soldiers were fucking endless.

You hurry back down the hallway, opening up König’s cell door. You step inside and begin unlocking the chains that shackle him to the floor and walls. He rubs his wrists painfully. “Are you well enough to use a gun?” You ask. He nods his head. You tilt your head, walking back into the office. You pass him a handgun and an assault rifle, watching him tuck the pistol into his waistband. Adjusting himself as he holds the rifle close to his chest. “Are there other soldiers?” You ask. He nods his head. “A few, they’re in other cell blocks.” You can’t help but notice his broken English, telling you that English isn’t his first language. You follow him as he makes his way out. “I can go get the other prisoners. We’ll be better off as five rather than two.” He nods. “Okay. I’ll go start clearing out other spaces.” You nod. You split up.

You make your way through more of the dark compound. Heart pounding in your chest. You hope König is well enough to get to those other prisoners without injury.

Just as you relax, you’re hit right in the face with the butt of a rifle. It stuns you, knocking you down. The man moves on top of you immediately and you start to fight back.

He overpowers you, pinning your arms up above your head.

He laughs menacingly.

“My my… look at you.” He grins. You can see it in the dark. “You’re the girl sneaking around killing everyone.” He breathes, inhaling deeply. He lowers himself down, inhaling your scent. You cry out, fighting against him. “Been a long time since I’ve seen a woman. He smirks. You swallow hard, fighting against him even harder. Clearly he did not have intentions to kill you.

He forces both of your hands together, pinning them above you with one hand. Lowering the other to his waistband. You squirm against him, crying out.

“No no no- stop! Get off of me!” You scream. He forces your legs open, moving himself between them. “No need to cry, nobody is going to help you.” He breathes.

You kick at him but he doesn’t budge.

You scream out, trying to force your hands away from him and he starts to unbutton his pants. Just as he’s about to expose himself, someone puts a gun to his head. He freezes up immediately. “Stand up.” The deep accented voice is soothing in your time of need. Once he’s off of you, you’re scrambling away. The other men König had gone to save helping you up from the floor, moving you away from him. “Hey- let’s talk about this.” The man holds his hands up in surrender.

“Brenn in der Hölle.”

A bullet penetrates his skull as König fires the gun. His head is throw back from the force of it. His body hits the ground with a thud and you flinch. “He’s the last one. We cleared out the rest.” Another one of the men says it. You nod your head. You can see now why they had König shackled so much. He’s massive, a killing machine. “I’ll lead you to exfil.” You pick your gun up off of the floor, hurrying out of the room before you get sick.

—

You’re staring ahead, they’ve patched you up the best they can. Your face took a good hit from his gun.

Once you’re good to go, you make your way into another tent. Seeing König is sitting on the edge of a cot. He’s in much worse shape than you. They’ve got him hooked up to a couple of IV’s. You make your way up to him. You can’t help but notice all of the marks on him. They almost look like track marks. “What did they do to you in there?” You ask. “To be honest… not sure.” He breathes. “They would come in and draw my blood. I know they wanted to clone me. But I’m not sure how. Most of the time I was unconscious.” He breathes. You nod your head. “I see why, you’re a good soldier.” You laugh.

He grasps your hand in his. “Thank you. For saving me.” He looks up at you.

“We’re even. You saved me too.” You look down.

“Are you alright, Schatz?” He asks. You nod your head. “I’ll be just fine.” You smile.

You sit down next to him. Ready for the whole story.

#call of duty mw2 #cod mw2 #konig modern warfare #konig x reader #konig mw2 #konig cod #konig call of duty #konig x you

[jenna-ortega]

history of man

pairing - joelmiller x femalereader ratings - 18+ word count - 4k warnings - arranged marriage AU, dubious con(the whole arranged marriage against readers will thing), angst, brat!reader, softdom!joel, kidnapping, jumpscare!david, salt lake but a very different salt lake than the games (aka no cannibalism) , panic attack authors note - thank you for waiting for this! i really hope you enjoy it, no smut in the first chapter :( (ik boooo) but there will be smut to come. cause you know joel miller is nothing if not a seducer of woman. comment, and let me know what you think! lets have a discourse.

SUMMARY - You thought coming to silver lake would be better than your previous QZ living situation. Come to find out, you had more than freedom waiting for you on the other side of the wall. You had Joel Miller, whether you wanted him or not.

series masterlist

Fuck this. Fuck him. They hold you hostage then offer you food and water? This shit doesn’t feel right. Your whole body turns away from him. Pushing the glass further from you as you pout.  “Drink.”  “No.”   “Now. The growl in his voice startles you. For someone who swears they aren’t going to hurt you, it feels a hell of a lot like he is. Your eyes find his, now dark with a scowl on his face.  “I’m not gonna tell ya again, girl.”  You scoff. “What…you’re gonna force me?” 

Nothing you’ve been through thus far could have prepared you for this. 

It’s dark. So, so dark. 

“Get off me!” you screamed while trashing your body in the man's arms. Earning you an elbow to the side that made you groan at the harsh hit. Your body trembling, wishing you could see through the pitch black area ahead. 

You arrived at Silver lake only a short time ago, not realizing how much of a mistake this stop in your long journey would be. You only made it a few hours into nightfall trying to observe the town from the far woods when a bunch of men caught you from behind. Now dragging you across the snowy town and making a scene of it. 

“I will KILL you!” Your empty threats made the man dragging your left arm along laugh, causing you to turn your head and give him a nasty look. 

“Hear that, ted?” the mystery man nodded his head to the man on your right, “we caught a feisty one. Know just who’d like this one…” the men disregarded your attempts at kicking, laughing as they went back and forth as if this was just another day. 

You made it to what looked like some sort of run down restaurant, your brain working over time to think of every possible scenario that could happen here. Worst is you’re dead. Best is they feed you, cloth you, and tell you this was all a prank. But you doubt it’s the latter. 

You huff out a small ouch as you’re being thrown into a makeshift jail cell at the back of the place you surveyed earlier, hitting the grown so hard dust particles float in the bright white light casting above you. 

“Don’t move.” the taller man shouts down at you, 

Your eyes roll at the request, “Nowhere to go in here, jackass.” you cross your arms and death glare at him from below. 

“Fucking bitch,” his hand grabs your hair from in between the bars and drags you to it. Your whole body moved to follow his hand, trying to shield yourself from the pinching pain, 

“HEY!, get off her, man. You know they’ve gotta be in one piece.” the other man warns, thankfully giving your scalp a break from the pull. 

“Whatever.” he scoffs, turning to walk out with his buddy. Both of their backs towards you. You slap the cell bars and scream in frustration. Quickly realizing you needed to figure out your next move. You need to stay alive, you need to get the fuck out of here. Your body pushes itself against the wall, head falling back as you begin to silently cry. Nobody here but you and your thoughts for the foreseeable future. Your head falls against the wall, and your eyes close. Forcing yourself into slumber. 

—

Drool begins to dry on your face before you are suddenly awakened by the loud slam of a door. You gasp, waking up and forgetting this is now where you have been staying. A cold, dirty cell floor. You look up quickly and your eyes find a taller man, one you haven't seen before; walking slowly towards you. You instinctively crawl to the further edge of the cell.

“Stay back.” you warned, as if you had any upper hand in this situation. 

“m’sorry to scare you” the strangers hands raise in defense as he stopped walking towards you. “Just wanted to check on you.” He stands with his arms to his side now. Waiting on your next move. 

“Check on me?” you begin, voice dripping with malice. “I was just kidnapped and thrown into this fucking cell.” his eyes follow your body as you kneel to stand up. Wiping down your pants to get the dust off. Fully standing, now closer to his height. 

His face is flat and stern as he begins to observe how you are acting. Deeply in his own thoughts as he looks down at the ground, only to be brought back by your incessant nagging, 

“HELLO! Can you even hear me?” 

“I want to help you” 

You’re confused by his bold statement, but accept his help by nodding slowly as you walk towards him in your cell.

“You’re not leaving this cell until they think you’re calm enough…and you’re not leaving this town. At least not alive, I’m sorry.” 

“What does that even mean? What do you guys even want from me?” 

“It’s not the right time.” the man turns on his heels and begins walking out, leaving you more pissed than you originally were.

“Please, please don’t leave yet!” you whined,

He turns his head over his shoulder slightly to acknowledge your plea, his back still to you.There is a comfortable silence until he breaks it, “What’s your name?” 

You go back and forth with yourself for a little while, wondering if you should be honest. You have to get out of here, and maybe he is your best bet. If you play nice with him, maybe you can bring his guard down enough to get released and escape. You’ll play this role for now, and you tell him your name in a silent whisper. 

He nods in acknowledgement, and you throw his question back to him. Another silence looming before he breaks it, 

“Joel.” 

—

It’s been hours.

The metallic clang echoed through the dimly lit room as a new man fumbled with rusty keys. You squinted at the sudden sound as he swung the creaking cell door open. His average figure standing at the opening of your cell, beckoning you to come with him.  

“About time," you muttered, rubbing your eyes and standing up.

The man flashed a wry smile, his reddish beard framing weathered features. "Apologies for the delay. We don't get many visitors here in Silver Lake, and security is tight." 

You stay silent as you give him a shy smile. Following him out of the room, and close on his trail as you walk an appropriate distance away from him as he brings you outside. It’s an oddly calm vibe, and you begin to overthink. Is this your chance to run, he’s giving you so much freedom…would he be able to even catch you? He does look kind of older, skinner than the other men you’ve had the pleasure of interacting with. As if he reads your mind, he breaks your thought pattern, 

“Sorry about my guards. They can be protective of this place.” he eyes your bruises, 

“What is this place?”

The man gestured for you to follow again as he led you through town. "Silver Lake is more than just a town. It's a haven for those who survived the apocalypse, a place where people from different walks of life came together to rebuild what was lost."

As you walked, you noticed families huddled in makeshift homes, the sounds of children playing echoing through the air. The aroma of cooking wafted from a communal kitchen, and people greeted you with nods as you both passed.

"It's been a tough journey, but we've managed to create something special here," the man continued. "We have families, we have friends, we’re a community"

“A community that throws people into dark dungeons and leaves them there for days?” you bite back, causing him to stop in his tracks, turning to you. 

“I am very sorry about that. Let’s start over.” he holds his hand out for you to shake, “I’m David. And who might you be?” 

You give him a funny look, face scrunching in disgust, not wanting to do whatever this is. But you remember what Joel had told you. Remember your plan to play along. 

You shook his hand and told him your name, earning a smile from him, “It’s very nice to meet you.” 

The air was thick with a sense of uncertainty the rest of the walk. You both ended up at a rather small house, the look of it just like every single other one. As you approached the house, the wooden boards creaked beneath your feet. The windows, covered with tattered curtains, revealed only glimpses of the dim interior. A sturdy figure with a graying beard stood on the porch, his eyes scrutinizing the surroundings.

"David," Joel called out, a tight smile breaking through the gruff exterior. "Wasn’t expectin’ you so soon." 

“Thought I’d bring her here, have her rest up by you. Get acclimated to the community.” 

You’re confused by David’s words. Was Joel one of his guards? Like the other two men who had caught you? You have so many questions you wanted to ask, but you were insecure. Didn’t know if these were people you could really trust or not, and you just wanted to make it out of here. You had to push through, had to endure whatever the hell this was. Just until you were able to make it out. 

David begins to introduce you both, but Joel raises his hand stopping David’s words– “We’ve met.” 

David looks at Joel in a peculiar way, a way you couldn’t quite decipher yet. Then back at you, grinning widely, “Glad you’re taking this so well, Joel.” he walks back off down the stairs, turning back just once to shout, “You’re in good hands!” 

You sway back and forth slowly, hands crossing over the other as your gaze is glued to the ground. You don’t know what to think, what to do, what to say…

“You can come in.” 

—

You’ve been sitting in silence for the past 30 minutes while Joel is simmering something on the stove. His kitchen table is small, and placed in the corner of his modest sized kitchen. It all looks so..normal. So much like how it was before. You watch Joel as he stirs the big pot, banging the spoon handle on the side to watch the sauce drip back down into the pot. He brings the spoon back down onto the counter, turning towards you to sit. You rip your gaze away from him, pretending you haven’t been observing his every move.

“You’re nervous?” His voice is soft. He is still standing at this point, noticing you flinch as he goes to sit. You get the feeling he isn’t bad…but at this point, you don’t know what to think. You look up at him, biting your lip as you stay silent. 

“m’not gonna hurt you.” he reminds you. Joel grabs a cup from his counter, turning on the faucet and pouring you water. Water. You haven’t seen a stable source of water in…oh god it’s been long. 

Joel takes note of the glint in your eyes as he pours you a cup, taking a deep breath in relief. Seeing you nervous only makes the seed of guilt in his stomach grow. The soft look of fear you’ve had plastered on your face since he’s seen you makes him angry. You shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t have to do this. 

“Here.” He sets the water down in front of you, sitting in the seat next to you. 

Fuck this. Fuck him. They hold you hostage then offer you food and water? This shit doesn’t feel right. Your whole body turns away from him. Pushing the glass further from you as you pout. 

“Drink.” 

“No.”  

“Now.

The growl in his voice startles you. For someone who swears they aren’t going to hurt you, it feels a hell of a lot like he is. Your eyes find his, now dark with a scowl on his face. 

“I’m not gonna tell ya again, girl.” 

You scoff.

“What…you’re gonna force me?” 

“f’i have to.” 

“Then go ahead.” 

You hear him grumble to himself, words that resemble “fucking stubborn.” as he pushes out his chair, pushing it back in roughly. He slams a bowl down on the counter, causing you to gasp. You watch as he scoops a few spoonfuls of food into the bowl, turning abruptly to slam it down in front of you. Rushing off after he does. Leaving you to ponder your own thoughts. You’re looking down at the steamy bowl of what looks like a stew as you hear the front door slam open and closed. He’s left you. Has he gone to tell David about your interaction? Shit. You should have listened to him, you wanted to play this smart. Now for all you know this will be the last bowl of food you’ll have in a while. Will they bring you back down to the cell? Your thoughts frighten you into eating scoops of the food, taking huge gulps of water. Your belly burns from the nutrients you’ve been neglecting yourself for weeks. You sip the last remnants of liquid from the bowl and get up to set it down into the sink. With Joel gone, you were free to roam the house. But you just felt like a scared little mouse, too afraid to disturb anything not familiar. 

You’ve decided against your better judgment to take a look at the place. Just until someone eventually comes back to take you away. 

You look around the living room first, a small brown couch, enough to fit three bodies comfortably sits directly across from a fireplace. A mantle with nothing but dust lays atop of the fireplace, not homey at all. You inspect the room, finding nothing that tells you about the man who left you here. You decide to move on. 

There are 4 stairs that lead up into what looks like a small wing of the house, the last square footage you have left to survey. To your left, a small bathroom. A large tub, one that reminds you of yours from home. Bubble baths and candle lit nights fog your memory. You surprise yourself as you feel water run down your eyes. Tears. Shit. This is all too much. 

Just a few feet down, there’s an empty room with nothing but the sunlight of the open window shining through. Directly across, there’s another room. You break through that doorway and find a bed, a nightstand, and what looks to be a 6 drawer dresser filling the room. So empty, yet you wonder how he lives. You walk towards the drawers, opening up the top left one to find a few pairs of flannels. Of course. You open the top right and find it empty. He must travel light. 

You get bored and begin walking to the bed, sitting atop of it to feel how soft the sheets are. You haven’t sat down on a bed in forever. So comfortable. The sheets stretched over the bed softer than you remember sheets being. The pillows are fluffier than you ever felt. The blanket is so warm…so…inviting. Your body does it before your brain thinks of it. Crawls under the covers. Your head hits the soft pillow, and you feel your eyes closing and your brain settling down. Your shoulders relax into the mattress, and your breathing evens out. You’re gone before you know it. 

…You feel a thump on the bed that startles you awake, darkness engrosses the room and you thrash in bed to find your bearings. 

“Joel?” you rub your eyes and see him standing in front of the bed, you look down to see fresh clothes lying next to you. 

“Take a shower. We got somewhere to be.”

—

You are trying to catch up to Joel as he’s walking ahead of you, “Slow down!” you shouted to him, stumbling over your feet as you grabbed his arm to stay up.

“We’re already late,” 

“For what?” 

He huffs, but begins walking slower for you. Both of you now silently walk into the same restaurant you were kept at just a day ago. Your body goes rigid as you think of all the things that will happen. You fucked up. You did this to yourself, you didn’t follow the—your thoughts pause as you see the place crawling with people. Like a huge get together, chatter and laughs bounce off the walls. It’s so…alive. 

The crowd of people part, and all eyes are now on you and Joel. David at the forefront of the room. “Welcome, Welcome! We’ve been waiting for you two.” he laughs as he walks past the sea of people to you both, grabbing onto Joel’s shoulder and smiling widely,  “Hopefully you were late for a fun reason,” he winks at you two and you shudder, what the fuck was this guy assuming? You rip your hand off Joel’s arm, patting down your dress and making note of all the faces in the room. Your eyes catch the two men from your capture, hand and hand with ladies. How the hell did they land those girls? They were absolute dicks to you. But as you rip those men apart in your head, you notice everyone is coupled up. Kids in the mix as well. Maybe the community wasn’t terrible…seems family oriented at least. 

You follow Joel to the front of the room, wanting to stick by him and not venture off too far. He seemed to be a rigid asshole sometimes, but he was an asshole that didn’t hurt you yet. You stand close to him, arms bumping as you look up at him. He looks down at you, smiling with his eyes turned down, a worried look etched on his face. Maybe he was as anxious at public events as you were. 

“Please, everyone welcome our newcomer into silver lake!” David introduced you by name to the room, the whole room saying hello directly towards you in a cult like manner. 

“Uh–Hi everyone?” you stuttered, heart beating so fast the pounding began to overtake your hearing. 

David’s speech began again, mentioning new updates and new hunts their men had succeeded at. You zoned out again, only brought back to the present by Joel nudging you gently, your head batting to look towards David who had beckoned you to stand on the other side of Joel, sandwiched between the two men. You smiled and nodded, doing as you were told for this one instance. Put on the spot as you got comfortable in your new position, David called upon you, 

“She has been a wonder, ladies and gentlemen. An absolute prize. That’s why I think we should all welcome her with open arms.”

You stood by David's side, feeling the curious eyes of the community upon you. Joel, a stern figure with a rugged exterior, stood nearby. The unease in the room was palpable as David continued his introduction.

"And this, my friends, is a crucial time for us. Unity is our strength, and it's my pleasure to announce that we have a new bond to forge. In the days to come, our friend here will be joining hands with Joel."

Your heart skipped a beat, panic creeping into every fiber of your being. You exchanged a wary glance with Joel, whose expression remained stoic. David's words echoed in your ears like an impending storm.

"Joel," David continued, "our only hermetic guard, will stand as a pillar of strength for our newcomer. Together, they will contribute to the resilience of Silver Lake and ensure the prosperity of our community."

A lump in your throat formed, the weight of the announcement settling in. Arranged marriage—a relic of a bygone era—now thrust upon you in the midst of survival. Your eyes darted between David and Joel, the gravity of the situation sinking in.

"Survival often demands sacrifices," David said, his tone filled with conviction. "And in this new chapter, we come together to build a stronger, more resilient future."

The room buzzed with whispers, but you could only hear the thudding of your own heart. Joel's gaze met yours, and you saw a glimmer of understanding in his eyes, as if he, too, had been thrust into this against his will.

As the community welcomed you both with a mix of cheers and polite applause, you felt the walls closing in. The air grew heavier, and your breaths quickened. This was worse than the cell. This was worse than your impending death. This was something you could have never seen coming. 

As David's words lingered in the air, a suffocating tension settled over the room. The weight of the announcement hung over you like a dark cloud, and you couldn't bear the collective gaze of the community any longer. Without a word, you turned on your heels and bolted from the room, breaths coming in erratic gasps.

The cold night air hit you as you stumbled into the open, the dim glow of lanterns casting long shadows over the uneven ground. Panic gripped you like a vise, and you ran blindly through the narrow pathways, seeking solace in the darkness.

"Wait!" Joel's voice echoed behind, his footsteps closing in. You refused to stop, the desperation to escape overwhelming reason. But he caught up, his hand gently gripping your shoulder. "Stop."

You whirled around, chest heaving, eyes wide with fear. "I can't do this, Joel."

He stepped closer, his gaze softening. "None of us asked for this. But we're survivors, and sometimes survival means making tough choices."

You shook your head, the panic escalating. "I won't be someone's pawn. I won't let them control my life."

Joel's expression softened, and he pulled you into a hesitant embrace. "Shh, babygirl, calm down. Running won't change anything."

The unexpected term of endearment caught you off guard, but the gentleness in his voice began to chip away at the walls of panic. You trembled against him, the tension in your body slowly dissipating.

"We can figure this out," he murmured, his hand rubbing soothing circles on your back. "You're not alone here. We'll find a way out. Told ya I wouldn’t hurt ya."

You took a shaky breath, the warmth of his embrace offering a strange comfort in the midst of chaos. The reality of your shared predicament began to sink in, and you reluctantly nodded. "I don't want this, Joel.."

He pulled back slightly, locking eyes with you. "I know. You gotta smarten up if you want to survive. No more being stubborn."

You wipe your tears from your cheeks, sniffling as you nod at him. “Okay.” 

“If we want to get out of this together. There are some rules ya gotta follow.” Joel began, surprising you with how fast the gentleness in his tone shifted into something more stern…

“This is not a fairy tale. It's about survival. Our survival."

You nodded, a bitter taste settling in your mouth. The harsh truth of your situation echoed in Joel's words.

"First rule," he continued, his eyes piercing through the darkness. "We stick together. There's safety in numbers, and in this world, trust is a luxury we can't afford. You stay close, and you follow my lead."

You swallowed hard, the gravity of the arrangement sinking in. "Fine," you mumbled, my defiance momentarily subdued.

"Second rule," Joel continued, unfazed. "We present a united front. Whether you like it or not, we're bound by this arrangement. Any sign of discord, and it puts both of us at risk. We can't afford internal conflicts."

You bristled at the demand,  frustration bubbling to the surface. "I didn't sign up for this, Joel. I won't be some indentured servant."

He narrowed his eyes, his patience wearing thin. "You're not the only one dealing with shit. I won’t touch you, I won’t make you any kind of servant. You follow my rules, and you don’t fuck with our chance at getting out. Understand me?"

Reluctantly, you nodded, conceding to the harsh reality that enveloped you.

“I said, do you understand me?” he repeats, expecting an answer from you. 

“I understand,” you whispered to him, lips curving down as you felt tears swell in your eyes.

You met his gaze, defiance flickering. "I won't play house just to appease the crowd."

He sighed, the weariness in his eyes suggesting a history of battles fought and lost. "You don't have to like it, but you have to do it. It's the only way we make it out of this mess alive."

As Joel's rules echoed in the silence that followed, you couldn't shake the feeling that your autonomy had been sacrificed on the altar of survival.

taglist - @joeldjarin @love-affair-with-fandoms @punkshort @movievillainess721 @fragilefable

#joel miller x you #joel miller #pedro pascal #joel miller x reader #joel miller smut #the last of us #tlou fanfiction #arranged marriage #arrangedmarriage!joel

[avocadoguru]

He was staring at her in a way no one had in her entire life. She couldn’t read anything in his eyes - not surprise, not fear, not malicious intent - nothing. (wolfrry, werewolf!harry, alpha!harry, ranger!y/n)

Lupus Noctis- Masterlist, Author’s Note & Warnings

Chapter 9 / alternatively, read on wattpad

Chapter 10 (word count: 18.5k) -updated May 31st

“Big mistake alpha. Now your precious little human will end up just like the ranger before her.” 

Harry felt his fangs slice through his gums as his rage built at James’ words. He pounced across the opening. He’d kill the fucker. Rules be damned. He could explain afterward. He wouldn’t let Y/N be hurt or threatened.

Only his stride was halted when two of his men were holding him back, claws unsheathed, “You’ll need to come with us, Alpha,” Roland spoke to him calmly but his growl made it known that they were ready to shift in a moment’s notice.

Harry growled back and bared his teeth, “Get your hands off of me right now.” 

He jerked his arm away but then saw two more of his pack standing at the helm, ready to tackle and detain him if needed. Harry could probably take them. For a moment he paused thinking which of them he’d kill first but then he saw more of them. Their eyes shining, stances tight and prepared. 

Pulling his fangs back in he closed his eyes and realized he wasn’t going to be getting out of this one. He had no choice or they’d likely kill him. Because if Harry did fight, he wouldn’t stop until he was dead. He’d either kill all seven of them or wind up dead himself. But it wasn’t just himself anymore, no. He had Y/N to care for, and if he wasn’t there then who knew what James would be capable of, issuing such a threat. He needed to stay alive if he wanted to get back to Y/N. To keep her safe.

*

Y/N had a lot on her mind when she pulled up to Harry’s new house.

Atop of Irina’s eerie recount of the legend behind the preserve’s name that she couldn’t shake off for some reason, there was also the small revelation about Eddie that she’d remembered. Had he lied to her about him running off? Eddie wouldn’t do that. Would he? And she couldn’t shake the small tingle of having missed something, a rush of awareness. 

Golden eyes? 

But pulling into the drive she noticed that his usual car wasn’t there. He mostly drove his G-wagon around but the only car parked at the front was one of his convertibles. Had he gone out?

Walking to the front door she felt she already knew the answer. Ringing the doorbell and then peeking through the small glass rectangle at the top she didn’t see anything, so she tried the knob. Locked. 

Putting her bag down on the porch she walked around to the back. This felt very much like when she was snooping around his cabin. She didn’t like the feeling she had one bit. She opened the tall gate to get into the back garden and looked around, hoping her gut was wrong. Hoping that he was here like he said he’d be and maybe just in the backyard reading or something.

Empty, aside from the birds that were oblivious to the sudden concern she was feeling. Trying the back door she got the same response as the front. It was locked.

She went back around to the front porch and pulled out her cell phone to call him. Maybe he was on his way back with groceries or something. 

But he didn’t answer. 

Sighing, she sat down on the bench and decided to wait. There could be a myriad of reasons for why he wasn’t home at that moment or why he wasn’t answering right away. She’d give him some time.

After nearly 45 minutes of waiting for him, she decided that instead of being concerned, now she was a little upset. Dialing his number again resulted in the call going directly to voicemail. 

She stood up and grabbed her things. She’d already been through this with him before. Him not calling her back. Suddenly going dark on her. 

She was quite relieved that she still had her apartment to go back to, and hadn’t just agreed to move in with him on a whim, like he’d wanted her to. If she had to sit in his big house waiting for him she’d feel even worse.

*

It was completely dark by the time she got home. She had to stop and pick up a few groceries because her apartment had none. She hadn’t stayed at her place since before her work trip and so she knew her fridge was empty. 

She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was just about to happen. That someone would jump out from behind her car. She felt like she was being watched. Followed. But nothing was amiss that she could tell. Walking to her apartment with her keys between her knuckles, ready to fight back if needed, there was no one around. No sign of anything out of the ordinary.

Perhaps it was just that she was already out of sorts with Harry not calling her back. Not being home like he said he would be. The first time he’d done it was when he had her watch Eddie and he’d gotten sick but was just at his apartment the whole time and then he’d done it again when she was away on her work trip. She had co-workers and a busy schedule to distract her when she felt a bit upset over it. But now? Not being able to reach him for a third time in their, so far, very short relationship? 

She couldn’t begin to think too deeply about it all. Her mind immediately wanted to assume he was with someone else or doing something he shouldn’t be. More secrets. More mystery.

She attempted to eat dinner but the thoughts of what Harry could be doing were making the idea of feeling hungry impossible. She had been hungry. When she left work and shot off a quick text to tell Harry she was headed his way she was ready for something to eat. 

Tossing half of the food from her plate into the trash she checked her phone again. It didn’t even look like he’d seen her text. Going into her bathroom she looked around at everything. The bathroom wasn’t in bad shape after Eddie had wrecked her apartment, but even it had been redone and repainted. Every room she went into, every piece of furniture was a reminder of where she wasn’t and who she wasn’t with.

Suddenly she had an idea. Maybe he was at his old apartment. There was a chance he still had it since everything happened so fast, so maybe his lease wasn’t up. He had no reason to be there, and she figured it was a wild goose chase but she wanted answers. Wanted to know if perhaps he was there. It was late but she wouldn’t be able to sleep if she didn’t at least try.

*

Standing in front of the apartment door she took a deep breath before rapping her knuckles on the wood. 

When she heard movement and then the clicking of the door lock her breathing halted and she felt a jolt of relief, of hope, and then of dread. Why was he there… Who was he there with?

However, as the door swung open, standing there was a sleepy Niall wearing cotton pajamas and messy hair. His eyes widened when he realized who it was knocking at his door.

“Niall?!”

“Y/N?”

“Yeah. Uh… Is Harry here?” She asked looking behind him into the apartment. The lights were off. He was clearly sleeping before she arrived.

“No. Uh. It’s just me here.” Niall scratched the back of his neck and looked up at her before realizing his manners, “Would you like to come in?”

Nodding, Y/N walked in and looked around. It looked exactly the same. All of the furniture that Harry had was still placed around the living room in the exact same spots, “Why are you here?” She turned and asked him. It was all very odd but she felt something click into place suddenly without him even needing to answer. She recalled the picture of Niall on the dresser and how now, in this moment, with him standing in the living room as he turned on a lamp, this place felt like him. Like Niall. The medical books, the knick-knacks…

“Oh… uh- well that’s because, um… I needed a new place. So, I am, uh… taking over the lease. Yeah, and it just worked out perfectly,” he laughed nervously as Y/N eyed him suspiciously.

“Really? Interesting…” She wanted to comment more about that knowing he wasn’t being honest with her but her immediate concern was Harry. “So, I know this may sound a bit overly dramatic but I don’t know where Harry is. I was supposed to see him after I got off work today. I got to his new house and no one was there. I’ve called him and nothing. And now it’s hours later and still, I haven’t heard from him. It’s just… not like him.” A lie. But he didn’t need to know she’d been through this before with him. “So you don’t know where he is?”

Niall cinched his brows together in thought. It would be very unusual for Harry to not be somewhere he said he’d be. Especially when it came to Y/N. He knew how the alpha felt about the human. So now, Niall was concerned as well.

“I haven’t heard from him today at all actually. Umm…” he pursed his lips before continuing, “So, what time were you supposed to get to his house?”

“At 8. He said he’d have dinner ready for me when I arrived.”

“Hmm… And when was the last time you saw him?”

“This afternoon. We drove back from his uncle’s this morning and when we arrived at his house I left right away so I could make it to work on time.”

Niall sat down on the couch and rubbed his palms over his face, “That doesn’t make sense,” he spoke quietly, mostly to himself but Y/N heard him.

Sitting down next to him on the couch Y/N wondered if Niall did know something. His response to not knowing where Harry could be was concerning. She half expected him to joke about how Harry was probably fine or something. But Niall seemed actually concerned. 

“Do you know something, Niall? Anything? Is there something going on I should know about?”

Niall shook his head and kept his eyes down toward the floor, “Nah. It’s probably nothing.” 

There it was. The response she expected of him at the beginning except now it had come too late and she’d watched the way he responded initially. 

“Then why do you seem so concerned?”

Looking into her eyes Niall tried to feign confidence in his words, “Oh… I mean. I was just tired and I was sort of out of it. But you… he’s fine I’m sure.”

She could see right through him. Niall was a terrible liar. She smiled and patted his knee before standing up, “If you say so. But will you please call me if you do know something or you hear from him?”

Niall stood up and nodded, “Of course, Y/N.”

*

Niall had insisted on driving Y/N back home but since she’d driven there she really didn’t want to overcomplicate things. She assured him she’d be alright, and was extra careful on her way back inside her apartment at such a late hour. Part of her had grown used to being in Harry’s presence, feeling safe and protected, she’d naturally let her guard down. Now that she had to be on high alert by herself again just emphasized his absence.

Before finally crawling into her bed she dialed Harry’s number once more. Just in case. Her nausea built the moment the recording of his voice chimed through the receiver, his voicemail reminding her he wasn’t picking up.

Where the fuck is he?

Sleep didn’t come easily. She imagined every bad scenario in depth. Everything from him cheating on her with someone prettier, to him being dead in some kind of rival mafia fallout. 

She really didn’t think he’d cheat on her. That one was hard to believe given their great chemistry and satiated libidos, but her vulnerable and sensitive brain allowed her to imagine it as a possibility. Rationally, she didn’t see it. But lying in her bed by herself in the dark bedroom, that no longer felt like her own, she let the images eat her up. 

When her brain and her body were too exhausted to stay awake any longer she dreamt of dark figures with fangs and thick dark fur, glowing golden eyes, guttural rumbling growls. Violent scuffles. Howling.

She shook awake, her eyes blinking open at the sounds from her dreams. The howling was so real. So close to her but the moment she sat up, chest heaving there was nothing but stark silence. Darkness. 

She looked at the clock noting that she’d only been asleep for a few hours. She was sure she wouldn’t be able to lie back down and close her eyes again so she got up and checked her cellphone, hoping against hope that Harry’d called her or texted her, but nothing. 

During her hours awake, as the sun crept up and began to filter through her windows she contemplated going out to his cabin in the woods. She knew of the dangers and all the reasons she shouldn’t but what if Harry was out there? Hurt? No one to hear him or to help him.

But she’d seen how well he navigated the forest firsthand. It was very unlikely that he’d found himself in such a predicament, and she was fairly certain that he’d have told her if he was going to the cabin, seeing as how that would’ve meant he’d had to spend the night there when he was expecting her back at his place when she got off work.

She would give it one more day. If she didn’t hear from him by the end of her shift that day, she’d make a plan to go into the woods and search for him even if she was putting herself in danger. Her mind wouldn’t let her rest until she knew where he was, even if it meant checking off all the possibilities one by one.

Y/N’s shift started at 7, and she felt like she was a walking zombie. She didn’t bother to shower or eat even. Her stomach was a ball of nerves. She just hoped that her work day went by quickly and that Harry would be waiting for her after in one piece. 

But when she arrived she found it odd that Tom’s car was there. He’d been the one to relieve her last the evening before as he took the overnight shift. Why is he still here?

Walking into the station she heard a few voices speaking from the small break room area. The hushed voices suddenly stopped when they heard someone walk in.

Her superior, Charles, popped his head out from the hallway, “Oh. Hi Y/N,” he said as he looked behind him to indicate to whomever he was speaking to who it was that arrived.

Y/N immediately noted the odd behavior of Charles. The odd circumstances of Tom’s car being out front when it shouldn’t be. Something was going on. 

Just then Nick and Lindsy entered the station behind her and she turned to see them but Nick didn’t look her in the eye as he walked past. Lindsy only gave her a weak smile.

“Great- everyone’s here that I need,” Charles spoke, “Y/N? Will you log into the computer for me? Some news has come to my attention by everyone here,” and at that moment Irina and Tom walked into the room, standing with their backs to the hallway. “And I’d like you to show me something.”

She couldn’t figure out what it could be or what he was talking about. 

Sitting down at the chair as everyone stood around her she logged into the system with her username and then turned to look up Nick and then Charles.

“I’d like you to open up the tracking system,” he gestured toward the computer, “and then open the log of every animal you’ve entered that you’ve tagged with a chip.”

Her face went numb as her heart ravaged her rib cage. Her skin prickled with mortification.  She suddenly understood what this was.

But how did they…? Irina. 

Irina had to have said something about how she entered Eddie into the system after chipping him. Y/N hadn’t told anyone else. She looked over her shoulder at Irina who looked back at her with a scary grin on her face.

She swallowed and turned back to the computer, taking a deep breath and trying to calm her shaking hands as she pulled up the system and then her file with everything she’d logged.

“Thank you. Now, will you go to your second entry, the first one you did once you got your badge?”

Clicking the line, the page opened up with very few details about the wolf cub she’d chipped.

“Nick, I’ll let you start since you were the first to see it.”

Nick began his story about seeing Harry with the odd-looking pup. That looked too much like a wolf pup to be a coincidence. Then Tom confirmed that story. Stating how he’d also seen the man with the pet, that shouldn’t have been a pet. Clearly, a wild cub stolen from its mother or perhaps even abandoned.

Then Irina stepped forward. She leaned her bottom into the edge of the desk and looked Y/N directly in her eyes as she spoke, “Yesterday, Y/N told me about how she first met her boyfriend. He was in the woods with the wolf pup and that very night she chipped it. I checked the logs after she told me and confirmed it. I saw the history of the movement from the tracker into the forest in various places, which was normal but then back here again, and if you look at the dates, the night before we left on our weeklong training trip the wolf cub was here all night. With her and with her boyfriend. I don’t have proof that the boyfriend was here all night, but Lindsy told me that when Y/N arrived that evening to relieve her from work, the boyfriend was with her and then the following morning he was still here, wearing the same clothes.”

Lindsy cleared her throat when Irina looked at her, “Yeah. Um, he had the pup with him. That’s the first time I saw the pup and when I tried inspecting it, because I had a feeling it was no ordinary pet canine, her boyfriend interrupted me because he knew I’d find something. That this was no normal pet. I mean. I didn’t think much of it but Nick and Tom started talking and it had me thinking too.” Lindsy looked down at her fingers. 

Irina continued, “So we’ve surmised that Y/N has given this wolf pup to Harry to keep as a pet. Which is against the law. Not only that, she didn’t notify the vet the following day of the chipped pup so it could be looked over and then safely returned to the wild. Y/N hasn’t been here much longer than I have and if she’s already giving away wildlife to friends then what other weird games would she be willing to play with vulnerable creatures she’s meant to protect?”

“Is this all true Y/N? I’ve got four people corroborating on a story here and so I’d prefer you just be honest with me.”

Y/N sighed and looked at Irina. It was her who’d told. She had trusted her too.  

She shook her head and turned to look at her superior, “No, that last part is false. When I first chipped the pup I didn’t know what breed it was. I also didn’t know Harry at that time, and…” she huffed to calm her nerves, “There’s no way I would give a wild wolf pup to someone under any circumstance!”

“How did you look at that pup and not have some inkling that it wasn’t a domesticated puppy, Y/N? And why did you even chip it if you thought it was his pet? Your story doesn’t make sense,” Nick spoke again. This time he looked at her in the eyes.

She had essentially been cornered with the questions. She couldn’t explain everything without getting herself into more trouble, “I was just trying to help. I know I shouldn’t have chipped the pup and I made a mistake with that. He didn’t have it chipped and it was a favor, but now I see that was a bad idea. And the pup is so well behaved I just didn’t feel there was any way it wasn’t domesticated. I don’t know. Okay? But I promise I would never take any animal from the wild to give to anyone. And Harry seemed to really be taking good and appropriate care of Eddie and-” She stopped when she said his name and felt tears burn from the backs of her eyes. “Irina has made up the part where I did anything to harm any animal. I would never–”

“But you should be able to recognize that the wolf cub wasn’t a pet. Correct? You’ve been trained for this Y/N,” Charles spoke.

Y/N nodded and wiped her face. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her.

“And where is the pup now? It appears to be outside of our range.”

She would need to lie once again, or at least omit the full truth, “I don’t know exactly. Harry’s family has a farm and the pup is there now. It’s a good place for him to be. But I don’t know exactly where.”

Her superior nodded, “It’s just hard to believe your story, Y/N. We have a wolf cub, identified as such by multiple trained rangers that’s been chipped but vital information has been left out of the system. That’s a red flag. And now the cub is suddenly out of range and these are the things we look for when it comes to wildlife trafficking. And because of that simple fact, and your co-worker’s corroborating stories of seeing said wolf cub and determining that by a single glance, they could tell, I’m going to have to let you go.”

The last part of his sentence hit her like a brick to the gut. She’d lost her breath and felt dizzy. She’d worked so hard to get where she had. Her job was the most important thing to her. Years of training, schooling, hard work, and sacrifice- all out the window because she hadn’t followed protocol when she knew she should have. Her intentions had been good but she didn’t follow the rules.

Gripping her hand over her stomach she couldn’t hear Charles’ next words as her vision blurred with red spots and her ears muffled the noises around her. The only thing she could see in that moment was Irina looking back at her with a smirk as her eyes glowed in luminescent gold. Y/N blinked her eyes to compose herself but when she opened them back up the gold in Irina’s eyes was still vivid. She hadn’t imagined it. Suddenly the gold faded back to her eyes’ normal brown shade, staring right into her own. Looking around the room to everyone else she realized no one else had seen it. All eyes were on her and Irina had done it on purpose. 

Standing abruptly from the chair, the wheels at the bottom allowing it to roll into the wall behind her, she put her hands on the desk to steady herself before looking at the door to exit. She needed to get out of there. She’d never been so angry, hurt, and humiliated in all her life. And Irina’s eyes had given her yet another shock on top of that.

“We’ll take care of the exit paperwork and have it ready for you to sign tomorrow. I’ll need your badge before you leave.”

A small sob left her mouth when she heard him tell her to hand over her badge. It was like her whole life was coming down around her, crushing her and holding her hostage to what was happening. She didn’t deserve this but she wasn’t totally innocent either. There was nothing she could do to change the circumstances now. 

Removing the badge from above her breast pocket, she held it in her hand for a moment. Her badge was something she was proud to have. Had never been more proud to have anything in her life. She had certificates and degrees, but nothing meant as much to her as the badge. 

She handed it to her superior and looked at him, wanting to plead with him but she couldn’t. She didn’t have the words she needed. Tomorrow. Tomorrow when she returned to sign her exit papers she’d have a speech ready for him. She’d convince him one on one that he should keep her on. She’d take a suspension, but to be fired? It was devastating. She couldn’t accept it. 

In her car, she reached into her purse to pull out her cell phone. Still nothing from Harry. Nothing at all. As angry as she was at him, as upset about him going dark on her, she still wanted him there. Wanted to talk to him and have him hold her. Tell her everything was going to be alright. If she had Harry then it would be better. But as it was, he hadn’t yet read her text or called her back. 

Wiping her face and taking a deep breath she started her car and began her drive back to her apartment. She considered stopping at Harry’s to check if he was there but she’d do that later once she could wrap her mind around what had just happened at work. Just as she was a few minutes from her apartment her phone rang but she couldn’t safely get it while she was driving. A moment after the call cut off from voicemail she heard her phone chime with a text. 

Now her heart was pounding even more, thinking it could be Harry. Putting her car into park she reached across to her purse and dug her phone out as she closed her car door and jogged toward her building, pulling the text up.

It was from Niall. Maybe he knew something. 

Please call me before you get home.

She pinched her brows together at the odd request and just then noticed her front door ajar. Her heart leaped as she shoved her phone into her purse and hastened her pace. The only person who had her key was Harry. 

He was here. 

She felt a mixture of excitement and relief. Mostly relief. She just wanted to be in his arms and tell him about her day and about the weird thing that happened with Irina. She was still shaking from the news of losing her job as well. 

“Harry?” She called out as she pushed her door open and rushed inside.

But the man she came face-to-face with was not her Harry. Her heart stopped as he began to pace toward her, “Ahh here you are. The alpha’s little human. What’s it like being caught up in such a messy relationship?”

She darted her eyes around the room in hopes of seeing Harry but the dread deep in her gut told her that Harry was not there and the man standing in her living room was not a friend.

“Who are you? How did you get in here?” She backed up toward her door, ready to make a run for it when he suddenly moved so impossibly fast and hooked his hand around her wrist to stop her.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he tutted, “You’re not going anywhere. Why don’t you sit down?” He looked at her as he closed the door and pushed her toward the couch.

She felt helpless. The man was strong and fast. She realized that the way he’d crossed the room to her was not normal. And she knew she was in danger. The horror of losing her job earlier seemed very dim in comparison to what was currently happening.

The man pulled a chair out to sit facing her. He folded his hands together and leaned forward with his forearms resting on his knees, “My name is James. I’m an… associate of Harry’s.”

Y/N’s brows shot up, “Harry? Is he okay?”

A dark laugh fell from his mouth as he smirked, “Right now? He’s alive. Soon, though? He’ll be dead. Along with you. Because I’m going to take over position as alpha and rules are rules. As pretty as you are, for a human, you’ll need to be done away with because of what you know.”

Shaking her head she looked down at her lap in confusion before looking back at him, “What are you talking about? Where is he?” She had a million questions suddenly. Why was he calling her human? What did she know that would have her in danger of dying? 

“I think you know more than you’re letting on. You’ve gotten pretty serious with the alpha. There’s no way you aren’t aware of what he is.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Please tell me where he is!” 

James sat upright, leaning his back into the chair, and tilted his head, “You’ll know where he is soon enough. I’ll take you to him. But I need you to tell me everything you know. About us. About the pack. About the dead ranger.” 

She pieced together his words and recalled Irina’s story about the silver wolf, the werewolf, her eyes… “The pack? Like…” she scoffed and carded her fingers into her hair in frustration and disbelief. It couldn’t be real. But too many things didn’t make sense. 

“Yes, the pack. Like werewolves. Like what your boyfriend is.”

Blinking her eyes in shock she shook her head again. How was this happening? She knew something was going on with Irina. She could still see the glowing golden eyes and the way her smirk made her skin crawl. 

“What is going on here? I don’t understand.”

“So you’re not going to tell me what you know?”

“I don’t know anything! I have no idea what you’re talking about. I just got fired from my job and I haven’t seen Harry so I don’t know where he is, and… I don’t know. I don’t know!”

James sat silently as he watched Y/N fidget in her seat uncomfortably, “I think you know but you’re just playing dumb. I hate it when people play dumb with me,” his voice got louder and angrier. He stood from his seat and yanked her upward.

She gasped and looked up at him as she tried jerking her arm away but stopped short, nearly losing her balance when she saw his eyes. Same as Irina’s. But then she saw his teeth reposition in his mouth before her eyes and wolf-like canines were bared at her.

But the most unsettling part was the claws he suddenly forced into her arm as he held her tight. The sting from her skin being torn into and the blood that dripped down her arm. 

Everything in her was alarm, hysteria, danger… She screamed as loud as she could manage, her only hope to have a neighbor alerted by her shrill, blood-curdling call for help.

But in less time than it took to blink her eyes, she was on the floor and her mouth was covered with a clawed and calloused hand, a knee jammed into her side. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. She watched in complete disbelief, terror, as James' flesh and his bones were reshaping, shifting, expanding. His mouth narrowed and extended, his nasal cavity slowly split into two large nostrils, elongated, dark, thick skin replaced his light flesh and thick, wiry hair covered everything that beyond his snout but his size was larger than a human and the knee in her side cracked and deformed itself until there was a beast above, sharp claws scraping the side of her head as a paw covered her mouth for silence.

The low inhuman growl and weight of him overwhelmed her, stunned her. She was in shock. Looking into the eyes of the monster above her, glowing, piercing, she understood everything. 

And just as quickly as the transformation of his body turned him into a wolf, he reverted. Hair pulling back into flesh, bones breaking, contorting, moving… until he was just a man over her with his hand covering her mouth.

“If you ever want to see Harry again you will not scream and you will not run. Do you understand?”

Y/N blinked the tears from her eyes and nodded frantically under his palm.

“Good. Now listen carefully to me. I’m going to remove my hand because we are going to leave here together. And you will go with me quietly and not look at anyone else we pass by. If you dare to alert anyone I will kill you before you get the chance to see your loverboy ever again. Yes?”

She nodded again as he removed his hand.

James pulled her to standing and frowned when he looked her over, “Well, we’ll need to cover you up first. You look a bit… bloody.”

Y/N couldn’t respond verbally. She was in a daze. A nightmare. She knew she couldn’t get out of whatever this was. Not if this man was… what he was. She was no match for him. She knew he’d kill her. 

She had wanted to see Harry before all of this. Before she saw the creature who appeared as a human but was actually a monster ready to kill. Is this really what Harry was? Her shock and her stupor wouldn’t let her think straight. She barely felt as James blotted her face and then draped a sweater over her arms as her mind swirled with the idea that this man before her was just the same as Harry. It didn’t make sense but she’d seen it with her own eyes. It was real. And maybe she’d known all along that Harry was unlike her in more ways than she originally thought.

After he felt like her face looked somewhat presentable (he’d scratched her up pretty good with his claws) James gripped her wrist and pulled her with him out of her apartment, not even bothering to close the door behind them as they walked away from the building and to his car in the parking lot. 

And it somehow came as no surprise as she watched him thread through the preserve and made their way to the very top, where no ranger dared venture off. So the Silver Wolf legend was real. These were all descendants of his pack that claimed the preserve, and they were the ones to kill her predecessor in cold blood.

 And now she was next.

*

It had all been bearable until he smelled her scent.

When they first grabbed him, they brought him in for interrogation. When they weren’t satisfied with his answers, they threw him into the holding cell at the preserve, which has hardly ever had to be used. Everyone knew better than to break the laws- and it very seldom came as far as having to imprison somebody. 

But the council of elders had decided to incarcerate him pending his trial. The accusation that James had brought against him was grave: disclosing their secret to a human. Try as he might to negate it, James promised the council proof. And there was someone else to corroborate his story- the alpha female he was supposed to mate. Irina. 

Harry was beside himself with worry. Y/N was alone out there, clueless to all of this. He didn’t know what James was planning, and he surely didn’t trust Irina either, but they were certainly up to no good. 

The first night in custody was brutal because of that, his mind never silencing with all the different scenarios he was envisioning. The council decided that Harry wasn’t cooperating and had withheld food and water as a means to get him to talk- or so he initially thought, but there was nothing to be said. He’d said it all. He hadn’t told the girl anything. And there were no rules against dating humans. The council weren’t pleased with this last statement- because true as it may be, he was alpha leader, and there were certain things to be expected from him. He was to mate with an alpha female and start a lineage, not waste time outside the pack with humans. They expressed their displeasure with him and how absent he’d been, although he’d attended every meeting- he was always taking his leave as soon as they were over and was never around. He wasn’t taking his attributions as alpha seriously. Therefore, Harry’s credibility shrunk in their eyes and James’ grew.

Harry cursed himself. He’d been so close to renouncing the pack altogether, alpha title and all, he’d been just short of a few days to do so. And maybe the council was right. He wasn’t on top of his game if all this scheming James and Irina had been doing had just gone over his head like that. Had he been there more, he’d have sensed it coming. But he wasn’t. He was preoccupied. He’d fucked up.

With a whole day gone by with no sleep, food, or water, Harry was brought in for questioning again. But this time, he didn’t even make it out of his holding cell before he went berserk. Upon catching a whiff of Y/N’s scent, he shapeshifted immediately, breaking out of his handcuffs and they had to sedate him with a dart gun before he could wreak havoc.

He woke up in the interrogation room, back in his human form, and chained to the chair there. They all knew it was useless, and that he’d just break free from his confinements again if he so pleased, but it was a silent warning and he understood its meaning.

He was in physical pain as her scent was heavy all around him. They’d brought her in there. She’d been sat in that very chair. He held back a whimper, not wanting to show any sign of weakness.

“Why is she here, why have you brought her here?! Are you insane?!” Harry growled at the council that sat impassive at the other side of the desk in front of him. “She didn’t know! She didn’t! You’re the ones to break the rules, not myself! You’re the ones who should be sitting in this chair instead of me! Fucking hypocrites!”

“Now, Harry. I’d be careful what venom you spew if I were you. James brought her in. And he’s adamant that she knew all about us. Irina is also corroborating this story, she’s been working as a ranger at the Silver Wolf station and has compiled evidence to support this accusation.”

Harry recalled Y/N being excited about her new colleague and he gritted his teeth at the perfidy of the situation. 

“The girl isn’t talking, though. It would be in her best interest if she did.”

“She isn’t talking because she doesn’t know anything! She’s probably scared senseless! And what best interest ?! We all know well enough what you’re planning to do with her. And with me, for that matter, no matter what either of us says or does!”

“You’ll be tried, nobody can accuse us of not being just. If you’re found innocent–”

“And what about her? She’s still a human that now knows of our existence because of you lot! Which is against the rules! Don’t tell me you’ll just let her walk, don’t fucking dare lie to my face! James concocted this whole plan, and you’re falling for it, and frankly, part of me thinks you’re doing it in good conscience! You never agreed with me being alpha, and you know well enough I was gearing up to renounce the pack. I’d hinted at it on several occasions. Your precious protégé could’ve had his position as alpha without this whole circus, had you come to me first! But you decided to go against me behind my back, knowing the pack will fall for this charade, because, let’s face it, they’re not the brightest lot.”

“Enough, Harry–”

“It’s alpha to you. To all of you! Until I renounce the title myself or draw my final breath, you’re not to call me otherwise.”

“Alpha. You are wrongly accusing us. We’re simply following procedure here.”

“There is no such procedure. Any ol’ bloke off the street comes in accusing the alpha of treason and you incarcerate him?! My title is worthless to you, and your mocking tone isn’t lost on me. I know you’re in cahoots with that worm, it’s evident to me by the way you’ve gone about it. The question is, why aren’t I dead already, since you didn’t care to go about this the correct way from the get-go? The fact that you’re willing to trial me after leaving me with no food and water for a whole day makes me think something changed. What is it?”

The council gave each other a knowing look and eventually one of the elders cleared his throat, “An ex-member along with an alpha from another pack have expressed their concern regarding the fairness of this trial. They will be attending and even taking the stand as witnesses in your favor. And we, ugh, didn’t know about the lack of food and water. We’ll rectify this. Justly.”

Niall and Lester. But how did they find out? Harry didn’t know but he was beyond grateful for them, knowing that he’d have been long gone if not for their intervention. As for Y/N… she probably wouldn’t have even been brought in for questioning, but killed on sight. The mere thought made his fangs unsheath and his claws sharpen. 

Back in his cell, awaiting his trial, Harry was partially grateful for having been sedated, though the effects were long-lasting and his body was sluggish. They’d clearly given him a rather high dose. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been out of it, but it was the only sleep he was going to get. Shifting had been an impulsive reaction, one he regretted, having wasted a lot of his already low energy. Just then, he heard and smelled James approaching his cell before he could even see him, his foul stench overpowering that of the tray of food he was carrying. 

He placed it out of Harry’s reach just outside the cell bars, with a mocking look, “They had me bring you food. Said you were onto us.” James feigned worry, “Whatever shall we do?” He laughed sardonically. “You should’ve accepted my proposal when I was willing to negotiate this, alpha. It’s your own fault. You were too cocky for your own good, and look where it brought you. You didn’t even want to be alpha, so it was a fair deal, really. I would’ve let you keep your little secret in exchange for the position as leader. Too bad your ego is bigger than your brain. You just had to have it your way, didn’t you? Have your cake and eat it too? That’s not how the world works,loverboy . You of course had no way to know this, growing up an orphan as you did, though, did you? Just like that little freak, Edward. You should’ve known from your own experience that you can’t turn out worthy of being alpha leader when you lack a proper upbringing, with no parents to guide you properly. Thankfully, I’m no orphan, and I’m of age and more than capable to take over. It should’ve been me, not you. And it will be me, and only me–”

“Too bad you’re the one who outed our secret, not me. And that, you piece of shit, is going to ensure you’ll never be alpha leader.”

James flared his nostrils, “Nobody will believe your word over mine. Irina is backing me up too. And the council, of course, as you so keenly caught on, will be sure to subtly tip in my favor as they preside over the case.”

“Oh yes, Irina. You’re well aware of course that if I were to even look her way she’d drop your ass sooner than you could blink. She’s doing it out of jealousy. And maybe she’s just power-hungry, wants to be the alpha leader’s mate no matter who it is. Quite desperate and pathetic, but if that’s your preference…”

“Are we really discussing preferences? You chose a human. That’s the most laughable thing I’ve heard of, an alpha and a measly human. You know if I really were as bad as you say I am, I could’ve had my way with her and none the wiser–”

Before he could make any sense of it, James was being yanked against the cell bars by the collar, Harry’s grip unrelenting. “The only reason I’m not killing you right here and now is because I want to see you squirm later. We both know how this is going to play out. I’ll make sure everyone sees how worthless you truly are before I finish you off in front of everybody.”

Harry let go and had James squirm on the ground on the other side of the bars, gulping for air. He growled, kicking the tray of food and water away from the cell and Harry’s reach, “We’ll see how you manage that after not having a sip of water or a bite to eat for days, you fucking imbecile. All you had to do was keep your mouth shut for once, but your ego wouldn’t stand it–”

Just then they could hear someone approaching and Harry’s senses zeroed in on his little human before she even came into view. A guard was escorting her, and when he pushed her inside the cell with Harry, she wouldn’t even look at him.

Harry paid no heed to James leaving along with the guard, the latter explaining that the alpha that was visiting requested it. Lester. After what James had hinted at, Harry was beyond grateful. Who knows what that worm would’ve been capable of, especially now that he’d really riled him up.

Y/N cowered into a corner, averting her eyes and hugging her lithe frame. She was disheveled, bruised, scratched, and trembling slightly. Harry slid against the wall opposite from where she was standing, giving her space, but not having the energy to stand up for much longer. Truth be told, he was feeling lightheaded. The sedative, lack of sleep, food, or water were really getting to him, but seeing her in this condition was killing him.

“Y/N…” he murmured, but she winced and folded in on herself even more, visibly recoiling from the sound of his voice alone. His heart cracked at her reaction to him. Having her fear him or hate him had bile building in his throat. His sweet girl never deserved any of this. It was all his fault. If only he could have stayed away from her like he knew was in her best interest. In his best interest. But when he fell for her it was as if it were against his will. As if it happened to him. It couldn’t have been stopped.

“Please, Y/N… You must know, I never meant for any of this to happen…”

Harry’s heart sank at the way she refused to acknowledge him. The Y/N he knew would’ve been furious, mad at him, would have screamed and accused him of all sorts of things, blamed him for everything, but her silence was worse than anything she could’ve told him.

They’d broken her. And this would break him. If he couldn’t save her he’d have no reason to continue or fight to live.

“This is why I didn’t tell you. Because there are consequences… and I was too far gone to back out… I couldn’t,” he let out a shuddering breath, feeling his eyes well up, “couldn’t give you up. Selfishly. I just couldn’t… and I knew you’d never look at me the same. Just like you’re doing now… You can’t even look at me.”

Y/N felt tears roll down her cheeks but she was too numb to bother wiping them away. He was right. She couldn’t look at him. This wasn’t her Harry. This wasn’t the man she’d fallen in love with. He was someone with a terrible, dark, secret, someone that had strung her along into this mess, this very dangerous and monstrous mess. And she blamed him for it. 

But what was worse was that she’d fallen so hard for him so quickly and she was fooled by his lies. She believed him and he let her believe it all. But he deceived her and it was unforgivable. Not that any of that mattered. She was being sentenced to death so her last remaining hours on earth would be spent in a dark cold cell with someone she’d given her heart to but who had only tricked her, knowing she’d fall for it.

The moment they sat her down and brought men in, werewolves, to get her “to talk” she realized this wasn’t a dream. This was really happening.

She’d been interrogated for hours. She told them that Harry had never told her anything. That she’d only ever first heard about werewolves from Irina, and then James told her that Harry was one too, and she wouldn’t have believed him either if she hadn’t seen him shifting in front of her own eyes.

They didn’t believe her. So she just stopped talking. Shut down even more than she had been. 

But they did threaten her. Told her she was most likely going to be killed off because humans can’t know about them.

She’d accepted her fate.

She was going to die.

“Lester and Niall are here. They’ll vouch for us, they know you were in the dark about it. I’ll get you out of here, Y/N. I promise. Please… Please, look at me.”

Y/N didn’t believe him. She’d never believe a word out of his mouth again.

He couldn’t stop his own tears from wetting his face. He would do anything for her. If she didn’t want him he’d have to abide by her wishes. He knew she’d react this way if she found out like this. He had hoped that if she ever did find out it was only once he was ready to tell her, when they were both safe and prepared for this conversation. But as it was, she had been forced into all of this in a horrific show by James and now she didn’t want him anymore because she knew he was no better than the man who’d kidnapped her. Just like that, she’d slipped from his hands.

He was desperate to see her pretty eyes and caress her soft skin and soothe her. Hold her. Not only did he want to hold her to keep her safe and warm but he needed it. Needed to touch her so he could feel safe, feel her warmth and her heart beating in her chest and melt into her. He needed her comfort because he was terrified as well. But she wouldn’t even so much as look at him.

“Please, Y/N.” his voice cracked. “I’m begging you. I had a plan… You’d have never found out. I would have never done this to you. I was going to renounce the pack, give up my title as alpha. That’s why I bought the house. And then we went to Lester’s farm… and you loved it there so much… and he invited me to move there, and I was going to proposition that to you. So we could get away from all this… And they’re different, their pack is different… they would’ve treated you as their own… and… and maybe one day…” Harry threw his head back, bumping it against the concrete wall, trying to stifle his tears, to get the pain to distract him, but to no avail, “Maybe one day I would’ve found the courage to tell you the truth about what I am. I felt like maybe you’d… want me, even knowing the truth of it. I thought…”

Y/N wasn’t showing any signs that she was even listening to him, much less that she cared about anything he had to say. He could hear her heart beat fast, could smell the way her sweat was lined in fear. Fear of him. She was scared of him, which made his heart break even more. 

“I thought… but I was wrong,” he murmured to himself in a small voice.

Y/N squeezed her eyes even tighter, tears fighting their way out between her lids. She was holding her breath trying to not make any sound, trying to stifle her sobs and her shaking. She was feeling lightheaded and her body was shutting down. It was simply too much to handle.

He watched her slump into the wall and her eyes flutter shut. She’d passed out. From fear? From the exhaustion of everything? He slowly approached her body and held his breath as he stood over her. Her face was splotchy from crying and the small frown on her face covered in scratches made his knees buckle. He collapsed next to her and choked out a sob as quietly as he could. 

He didn’t want to wake her and scare her further but he needed to see her up close. Make sure she was okay. He lifted a hand up and ghosted his knuckles along her wet cheek. She’d been trying to hold her tears in but that prospect was futile when the man she was stuck in the cell with was the monster who’d gotten her into all of this. 

“My love. My sweet girl. What have I done?” He whispered his words, barely louder than the breaths he drew into his lungs, “I’m so sorry that this has happened to you. I’ve been careless with you and now I’ve lost you for good.”

He stretched his fingers out and touched the scratches on her face. He lowered his gaze to her uniform and noticed her shirt was ripped near the shoulder. Prodding the material gently the fabric fell away. It was a tear. A large one, exposing most of the top part of her arm and large scratch marks. He could see where someone, James most likely, had lightly clawed into her arm in three long stripes.

His cheeks and neck burned hot with anger and sorrow. This wasn’t fair. His intentions had always been good. He only loved her and wanted to keep her safe at all costs. But he had failed. Nothing else mattered to him but her and yet, he’d failed her. He didn’t try hard enough. He hadn’t been paying attention. 

He bowed his head and let a small deluge of tears fall into his lap silently. His own fault. All of it.

When he’d composed himself enough to look back at her, to take her all in he put his palm over her arm and the cuts underneath were hot to the touch. Had they not even bothered to give her something to disinfect? But of course they wouldn’t. They didn’t intend for her to be alive for much longer.

“Y/N,” his lip quivered as he moved his hand back to her face and tenderly brushed at her temple, “I’ll never forgive myself.”

*

She inhaled deeply, the scent comforting and familiar. She flinched eventually, and jerked away, scurrying off the floor and standing upright. To her side lay a tray, untouched. A full glass of water and a sandwich. She hadn’t eaten at all that day, not having been able to stomach any food before she left for the station in the morning. But she didn’t want it. 

She noticed Harry’s shirt, folded where her head had rested, and a quick glance towards him proved her suspicion right. He’d placed it under her head as she’d fallen asleep, probably from emotional fatigue more than physical exhaustion. 

Harry was sitting up with his head leaned into the cement wall behind him, but he was slumped slightly. His big chest was shallowly rising and falling. He appeared to be asleep. But then he spoke, “Y/N…”

She looked away from his frame and pressed her back into the wall behind her.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…” his words came out slow and slightly slurred. Had he been injured somehow?

But she didn’t have time to think about it further as the cell door swung open, three men entered and one spoke, “Get up. You’re both coming with us,” then he looked toward Harry, “Heard you haven’t had anything to drink at all, alpha. That’s a big mistake. Should have taken the water offered to you earlier like a good boy,” he taunted.

Two men struggled to lift Harry, he was practically dead weight but once he was upright he seemed to be standing tall and steady. The third man pulled Y/N upward and then plucked the shirt from the ground, tossing it at Harry, “How sweet of you. I’m sure the human appreciated the last kind gesture she’ll ever get.”

Harry slipped his shirt on and growled as he was pulled from the room with Y/N behind him. 

The man holding Harry’s right arm mocked, “Man, they really did double up on the sedative, didn’t they? Thought you’d put up more of a fight. S’like dragging a submissive omega around.” The three guards laughed together, pulling the alpha and the human with them down the long hallway toward their final fate.

*

The space they were brought to was about the size of a small courtroom. There was a bit of a familiar setup to what Y/n had seen on those live court shows that aired on daytime TV. The front of the room was elevated with seating for a handful of people and to the side was a gated area with more seating behind it. There were rows of chairs facing the elevated portion at the front and a large wooden podium on the floor that appeared to be for one person.

“Sit.” The man who’d been gripping her arm tightly barked at her as he shoved her toward one of the seats that was obviously meant for her.

Harry growled lowly at the man and gave him a look of warning. Not that any of it mattered, but he was still very protective of her. Still wanted her to be treated well even if they didn’t intend to keep her alive for much longer.

The pair were forced to sit next to one another, well, to Harry that was a relief. To be able to check in on her and if by chance she should need his protection he’d be close enough. 

Despite the dreadful circumstances, the light that came in from the large frosted window behind the elevated seating area made everything feel more dreamlike. Pretty, even. As if this was a joyous event.

Filling in the seats in the gallery were all the members of Harry’s pack. The room was crowded. They were there to witness and then vote on the outcome of the trial. He also noted the scent of his nephew and his aunt somewhere in the vicinity, though he did not see them. He imagined that Lester had brought Alma and Edward for support. To say goodbye to Harry if it came to that. It wasn’t often that this room was used for trials or proceedings such as this. In fact, this was the first time anything like this had ever happened.

Typically, the kind of hearings that took place here were only before the Council of Elders. Spectators were not normally invited into the room. But for this momentous occasion, not only would Harry and Y/N be going before the council, there would be an audience watching and deciding their fate, as well as witnesses to testify for or against them. 

Just then the door to the gated area at the side of the room opened and began to fill in with people. James, Irina, Niall, and Lester. Y/N watched in surprise when she spotted Irina. She heard Harry tell her that Niall and Lester would be there, even though she made no attempt to act as if she heard. She did. But Irina. That surprised her. Although thinking back at how she flashed her golden eyes at her, it all made sense now. She was one of them. She’d infiltrated the station as a ranger, somehow, all in an effort to hurt her and gather information on her. She realized getting her fired was probably just the cherry on top for Irina. She must’ve known she’d be getting kidnapped right afterward, so really, this only served as a personal jab at her. 

Harry watched James as he and Irina sat in their positions opposite from Lester and Niall. He’d love the chance to humiliate and then murder James in front of all the people in this room. Of course, the idea of doing such a thing in front of Y/N made him pause. She would surely think him a monster after seeing him tear James apart. But it was the best he could hope for. Perhaps he could make a deal with the elders when he was the victor in a fight against James to spare her. And he was sure that was the direction this whole thing would be heading. 

Suddenly a loud voice from behind called out, “Council of Elders approach the bench.”

A group of men walked swiftly through the center of the room and each stepped up onto the elevated partition and took a seat. 11 of them. The one at the end sat the tallest on a raised block with a table in front of him and began to speak. 

“To the gallery, your role here is important today but, please heed the rules of the committee and the council and refrain from speaking during the proceeding. You will be removed should you break protocol, thus annulling your vote. To our witnesses,” he waved his arm toward the side of the room, “you also will heed our rules. If you are out of line you will be removed and your statement struck from the record. To our accused,” the man looked at Y/N and then at Harry, “do not interject or cause a disturbance. Any such disruption will result in immediate removal and any witness statements on your behalf will be struck from the record and the consequence of such will not be in your favor. Y/N will not be permitted to give a statement as her testimony is baseless to the council based on the fact that she is a human. Our judiciary system is only effective amongst our own kind. Should the defendant be proven guilty, your sentence will be death penalty, by default”

He swung his large mallet down with a heavy thud and stood from his seat, the council following suit and everyone else in the room after, “We are here today because we have been supplied with some very troubling information about our very own alpha leader. We have claims of insubordination of his duties, consorting with a human female in lieu of a pack alpha female as is tradition for continuing the distinct familial lineage of his ancestors, and the most severe accusation, that he has been traitorous and disloyal to our pack by revealing our sacred covenant to a human, putting our entire pack and our way of being at risk,” he paused dramatically as a few people in the gallery gasped lightly. Harry rolled his eyes before the elder continued, “As was agreed upon in our treaties and the vows our alpha took upon adulthood this is a crime punishable by death if evidence proves him guilty.”

The presiding elder rose his hand and looked at the crowd, “Quiet. I will not warn again.” Everyone hushed their voices and the elder turned and faced Y/N, “And just to reiterate for full disclosure and clarity, as part of our sacred pact and agreement, any human aware of our existence must be put to death for the protection and preservation of our pack.”

Y/N gulped and felt her heart rate pick up. She could pass out again. She didn’t see any way out of this. Not only was everyone in the room with her a werewolf, but she was also very much aware of their existence. Why hadn’t they just killed her right off the bat?

Harry felt the shift in her emotion, in her physical state. He couldn’t help himself when he discreetly moved his arm to press the back of his hand into the side of her thigh. He didn’t turn to look at her, not wanting to chance being called out by the presiding elder. But he did hope it helped her calm. At least a little. Or maybe he did that for himself. To just touch her to make sure she was still really there. Alive, whole. 

James was called to the podium at the center that faced the elders. 

“James, you are here today to give a statement against our accused. You may commence.”

“I came to learn that Harry was hanging around a human, Y/N there,” he turned and gestured toward her before turning back to the elders, “when I kept smelling her on him. At first, it was just a hunch but then I kept smelling the same human female on him. And not just the light whisps you collect when you stand near a human. No, this was scent. He was covered in her. And then that’s when I saw it with my own two eyes,” he nodded as he spoke, “They were in his car together and I saw them turn into the drive-in theater. I didn’t follow them in but everyone knows what goes on at a drive-in theater, “ he snorted at his lame joke.

The presiding elder raised his hand, “Please stick to the subject and keep your statement concise.”

James tilted his head and stared the elder down before slowly nodding his head, “Ever since the alpha met this girl he’s been neglecting his duties as well. Everyone else is trying to pick up his slack,” he turned to the audience, “Right, guys?”

A few in the crowd made some quiet grunts of agreement, to the chagrin of the leading elder, but nearly all of them nodded at him in consensus. 

“So then I confronted him a few days ago. Wanted to bring to him an offer,” he turned his head to the gallery nodding, and then back to the council, “Our alpha doesn’t even want to be leader! But do you know what he did when I told him I had a proposition? He attacked me,” he pulled his collar aside and showed the small wound on his neck that had mostly healed thanks to a werewolf’s natural ability to recover from physical trauma faster than a human. “He did that.”

A gasp from the audience and a thud of the mallet on the table, “Silence. And James, with all due respect, please get on with the statement. The council is waiting.”

James scoffed and shook his head, “As I was saying, he attacked me when I approached him with an offer for me to take over as alpha and he’d get exactly what he wanted too; To not be alpha. Our own alpha despises us so much that he would rather go off with a human than bear the responsibility of his own pack. But the final straw was learning what Irina told me. About the human. She knows everything. Harry has told her all about our affairs. And thatin and of itself is grounds for being stripped of his title. Which brings me to the other reason I’m here today. Because when Harry’s title is removed, I’d offer to you, the council,” he turned toward the gallery and spoke, “and you, all of you,” before turning back again to the elders, “to take over as alpha. I will be your leader. I have the trust of nearly the whole pack, I’ve brought to you proof of our alpha’s misdoings, and I’m willing to fight to the death for the position of leader if necessary.”

In a small shock to Harry, he noticed Y/N’s head tick toward him just the slightest and her lips subtly parted. He glanced toward her and could tell she was looking in his direction from the side of her eye.

“Does the council have any questions for our first witness?”

An elder stood, “Can you please give us the details about what happened when you left the alpha after he attacked you? I believe there was more that we need on the record.”

“Oh yes. Well, luckily there were some other pack members nearby and they were able to detain him. You know, stop him from killing me. And so, uh, they decided to bring him in because they were concerned about who he might hurt next.”

The standing elder nodded, “So you’re saying you had not notified any of these other pack members that were nearby beforehand about you confronting the alpha at his home? They were just coincidentally there?”

James nodded, “That is correct. It was only me going to the alpha, one on one. To give him a fair offer. I didn’t know he would attack me and boy was I thankful that the others happened to be there.”

The elder sighed, “I suppose if others can back up your statement we have no choice but to support your testimony.”

Y/N understood the tone of the elder as doubtful. He didn’t believe James. She sat up straight at this realization. Was there a chance for hope? Was James so dumb that he’d dug his own grave on this one? If there was one elder who didn’t believe him that could possibly mean there were others. Maybe the pack would turn on him.

Harry noticed it as well. But then again, the elders were typically by the book. They might have a bias and Harry clearly saw that they were mostly on James’ side, but the scrutiny of the one elder did not go unnoticed. Though it could be a ruse to throw defending witnesses off. 

When James was told to return to his seat, Irina stepped up to the podium and looked around at everyone in the gallery and then at Harry. She didn’t even glimpse in Y/N’s direction.

“Irina, you are here today to give a statement against our accused. You may commence.”

“I met Y/N in the preserve. She works as a forest ranger. I took a job so I could get to know her and find out if she knew about the pack. Because once we learned she was seeing the alpha we figured we needed to do something about this. Just in case. I mean, it was really just a matter of protecting our pack and taking matters into our own hands since it’s not like we could take this information to our alpha.” Irina turned to look back at Harry again, “And it pained me when I learned this. Truly. I never wanted to get you in trouble, alpha.” She looked back to the council, “But I had no choice. I had a duty to the pack.”

The elders nodded as she continued, “But I learned, from Y/N’s own mouth, that she knew about us and our pack. At the time she didn’t realize I was one of us. She just thought I was a human like her,” she smiled, “but she told me she knew about Edward too. And of course, she divulged some things that I think you all can just imagine about his, well, his bed habits,” she laughed, “ because we all know there isn’t any human that can do it like our kind.” 

Her last statement pulled out some stifled chuckles and peeps of laughter before they hushed themselves. For Y/N it made her face hot with embarrassment. Not only had Irina completely invented her story, but she was also attempting to humiliate her.

The mallet slammed against the wood, “Order in the gallery! Our next witness, please approach.”

“Niall Horan, we will address you as such, using your full civilian name, since you chose to renounce the pack and therefore you will be treated as an outsider, you are here today to give a statement in favor of our accused. You may commence.”

“Before I begin with my official witness statement, I think it’s important for me to say that last night Y/N let me know that Harry was missing, which concerned me. Then, first thing this morning, I called Lester to see if he knew anything and he immediately told me to warn Y/N not to go to her apartment alone. He had a feeling that this pack was up to something. And when I couldn’t reach her I went to her apartment and found that her door was left open and she was nowhere to be seen. Her bag and cell phone left behind. If Y/N hadn’t come to me about Harry, Lester and I would not be here right now to speak on behalf of these two innocent individuals.” Niall turned to look at Harry and Y/N briefly as he gestured at them before facing back toward the council. 

He cleared his throat before continuing, “I met Y/N when Harry brought her to me for a sprained ankle. As most of you know I’m a doctor in the civilian world amongst humans. But I treat humans and werewolves alike. Harry was adamant about her not knowing that we are werewolves. And then he just started bringing her around more. So I’ve had the opportunity to meet her and assess her up close. I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, that she never knew about this pack. Harry was meticulous in making sure she didn’t find out. He never wanted to risk having her learn the truth. And so yeah, it was not favorable of him to be with a human but there aren’t any specific rules that forbid that. But he abided by the sacred law of loyalty and secrecy. He kept his word. His honor is intact. I personally vouch for it.”

“And can you provide us with an example of why you are convinced he kept his word?”

Niall took a deep breath and nodded, “Yeah, a few actually. The first is that Harry used my condo and pretended it was his place. Because she was getting suspicious about why he never took her to his house. So he pretended he was just a regular guy living in a condo in the city. And he always maintained that Edward was just a pet. A pup. She was convinced he was the alpha’s pet.”

Y/N turned her head slightly, keeping her face forward but moved her eyes to look at Harry in her peripheral. Eddie. 

“Oh, and then he bought a house too because he could only keep staying at my place for so long. He just went out of his way to never tip her off about anything. He even asked me a lot of questions for pointers on how to act like a human around her - like a normal guy. He just wanted her to think of him as someone like her. The way he went out of his way to not have her suspect anything was amiss confirms to me that he never intended to tell her.”

Next, Lester was up.

“My nephew brought Edward to live with me. Edward needed a place to live and thrive and not be held back. Your pack kept him traumatized and did nothing to help him or nurture him back from his shifted state. I think this is well worth mentioning, albeit off topic so to say, but when Harry is also accused of not being a good pack leader I feel it’s necessary. He is the only one here who truly cared about the lineage and survival of this pack’s legacy since he was ever only going to be alpha for the interim until Edward came of age. I repeat, Edward- your alpha one day. I will not go into detail about how you all conspired against him since he is present here with us–” the crowd gasped and one of the elders used the mallet to reinforce silence once more, “But you all know how you handled this situation. It is not lost on me, nor any other pack leader in the country, I can assure you. Coming back to the matter at hand, Y/N always thought that they were bringing him to live with me so he could have space to run on my farm. Because she thought he was a pet.”

Y/N was reminded again of the chip that she put in Eddie that first night. It was one of the reasons she was fired from her job but perhaps could also be proof that she didn’t know. She knew she wasn’t getting a chance to make a statement but maybe somehow she could mention it. It was something to cling to.

When Lester had finished his statement the door behind the witness gate opened and a young boy stepped forward and approached the podium, standing next to it so he could see the elders as he was not quite tall enough yet to see over it.

Harry’s body language changed and Y/N realized at that moment when she saw the boy that this was Eddie. She knew it was. He had his hair combed to the side and wore a small suit. He stood up straight and looked back at the gallery and then at Harry and Y/N with a small smile.

And when the elder gave his introduction, Y/N gasped quietly in surprise. She knew it was him the moment she laid eyes on him, a gut feeling deep down, but now it was confirmed. It seemed that only the elders and Lester were aware that Eddie would be giving a statement. The audience made a small quiet commotion at the shock of his human state.

Eddie began to speak and inconsistent with his smaller stature and childlike appearance, his voice was loud and clear. He was confident and well-spoken. A true alpha if there was ever any. Harry smiled at this. Proud of Edward.

“Hi. I know some of you are surprised to see me here but when I found out that there would be a trial and that Y/N and my uncle were in danger I knew I needed to help. In fact, this was the reason that I was able to finally shift back. I wanted to be here. I had to. Uncle Lester was going to leave in a rush to get here as soon as possible and… it was now or never. Because I know that she was never aware of us. Harry never told her. She always treated me like a pet, a dog, and even tried to give me dog treats sometimes,” he smirked as he looked back at Y/N.

She was unable to hold in her tears as she listened to Eddie with her mouth covered to keep quiet but her sobs were heard by everyone in the room. Y/N was beside herself to see Eddie as a boy and speaking on her behalf in hopes to save her life. To save his uncle. This little man speaking was the pup she had grown so fond of. It was no wonder she had been so attached to him because he wasn’t a mere canine. He was a sentient being with deep feelings and emotions.

“Even when they took me to live with Lester, Y/N always thought that I was just a dog or a pet. She’d pat my head and hold me in her lap and scratch my ears. Y/N and Uncle Harry don’t deserve any of this. It was a setup. By James. And I’ve never trusted him, to be honest. He is one of the reasons I never wanted to shift back to my human form. He scared me and I didn’t feel safe around him. I know that he wanted to have me done away with too. And you guys agreed with him,” Eddie looked around the audience and back to the elders, “So I’m glad I’m not part of your pack anymore. I’m safer and happier where I am now. There’s still a long way to go until I’m old enough to be leader, but I really don’t think I’ll ever change my mind about not wanting to return and rule over this pack. Maybe I could one day get over how most of you treated me like I was broken, but I can’t forget how you’ve treated my uncle and Y/N.”

Harry and Y/N watched as Eddie walked back into the room behind the witness gate. He gently nudged at her with his elbow and peeked down at her face. He could feel the way her heart lobbed in her chest with love for his nephew. The notion that his little human felt so deeply for Edward made him ache with affection for her. 

When it was Harry’s turn the elder gave a slightly different introduction.

“Alpha leader, you are here today because you are being accused of the very serious crime of speaking of our existence to a human. Can you offer us a statement to counter that accusation?”

“Well, given that this is a setup and you’ve already made up your minds, I’ll certainly try. Everything I’m about to tell you here today and everything I’ve been saying since you’ve wrongfully detained me is the truth. I haven’t told her anything. She never knew about us. I would never. In fact, James was the one to tell her. And Irina. And anyone who took her into interrogation. She was not privy to our secrets before that. What Niall says is true. I bought a house to keep her concerns at bay. I wanted her to just think I was a regular human. And she always thought that Edward was my pet.”

An elder stood, “Why would you go through such trouble for a human, alpha? I think we all want to know your reason for such a departure from your character. Your lineage runs deep and continuing it is important to our pack. Now that Edward is promised to The Pack of the Western Plains we are relying on you to continue the bloodline.” 

Harry cleared his throat, “Because I wanted to be with her. There’s no one else I’ve ever felt this way about. No one else I’ve felt this pull towards. Not to any alpha female, from this or other packs. I know nobody here will understand or even believe me when I say that I know it in my bones that Y/N is my true mate." The audience gasped loudly and the elder using the mallet had to exert it for a long while to regain order in the court. “I was going to give up everything for her. Even my title. But I would have never told her,” he looked at each of the elders for a moment before continuing.

“I know how important the lineage is to the pack but to me, it still lives on with Edward. He’s a strong alpha already, as you’ve just seen, and destined to be leader. But, I would have given up continuing the line or having children of my own for her. She’s worth denying my lineage, my title, my natural urges.”

Y/N shifted in her seat as she listened to Harry’s confession. All the new information was stunning to her. Edward and then… they couldn’t have babies? But the fact that he would give that all up for her... Would have walked away from his pack… there was too much to unpack but regardless her heart drummed within her chest as he continued to speak about her as if she were the most precious thing to him. 

Another elder stood to question him, “You would seriously deny yourself the instinct to mate with someone and produce offspring just to be with this human?”

Harry nodded, “Yes. I’d already resigned myself to that. If it meant I could have her I would give that up.”

She looked up at him now. To the side of his head with its mess of matted curls. He loved her. Even if everything was in shambles and he’d lied to her and kept this big part of him a secret, his feelings had always been real. He had only been trying to protect her.

“She’s worth it. Worth any sacrifice. And certainly worth renouncing you sorry lot,” he snarled and everyone in the audience went even more quiet, heads bowed down at the way he commanded respect even in his weakened state. “I’ve had to endure a lot from you all, overlook your shortcomings, try my best to bring this pack back to what it once was in its glory days- but what happened here now reaffirms that my choice would’ve been correct. You’re not worth the sacrifice. The way you treated my nephew, and now me, your leaders by birthright, is  testament to that. And with that, I am ending my pleading here: if I have to fight to death, let it be for her. I’m not fighting to be your alpha. I don’t want to be your leader. You’re undeserving. I will fight for her to be spared. Because she is innocent in all this. And I did not break any rule, I did not disclose anything, it’s your own fault she’s learned about us. James’ fault. Irina’s fault. The council’s fault for allowing this to even happen. You can vote for me to walk freely, with Y/N of course, with no harm done to her, and you can have your beloved James to be your leader for all I care. You’re a lost cause anyway, to me. Let him fuck it up entirely. Or, vote for us to fight to death. But be warned, you will be left leaderless by the end of the fight, that I can assure you.”

“Or they can just vote to have you both killed!” James stood up, snarling.

“Order! Order!”

Harry chuckled mockingly, “Just order, huh? Thought whoever interrupted would have their stance annulled. Vote carefully, since it’s blatantly obvious that the council is biased!”

“That is enough, alpha. You’ve made your point.”

When Harry returned to his seat next to Y/N the elders each spoke amongst themselves as the pack voted. Y/N turned to look up at Harry while they were deliberating. It was the first time since they’d been detained that she looked him square in his eyes. Harry could have melted off his chair and into a gooey puddle of adoration under his feet when he saw her tender expression. She was still with him. He knew the look in her eyes. He hadn’t lost her yet.

She wished she could talk to him. To find out if he was really going to be made to fight to the death. She didn’t know if she could bear it if anything happened to him, even after everything. Especially not at the hands of James. Yes, Harry had deceived her, but after seeing what was at stake, she realized he’d been right, back in the cell- there really had been no other way about it. He could’ve either given her up entirely, or lied to her to protect her. 

And even as she was risking a death penalty, she still wouldn’t take it back, any of it. She didn’t regret it, even now. Because she loved him.

She looked deep into his eyes and wished she could utter those words. Before it was too late. If they were really going to fight to death, this could be her last chance. The rational part of her brain argued that he could have trusted her with their secret, that he should’ve known she would never tell anyone and risk their lives like that- but she knew that, above everything, Harry had been scared of losing her. Of scaring her off with the truth of what he was. And she didn’t blame him. It was a tough pill to swallow, and she still couldn’t even wrap her brain around him being a werewolf. And all the implications that came with that. He’d been scared to tell her, and rightfully so. Scared to lose her. 

And maybe, had she told him how she felt about him, he wouldn’t have been scared. And they wouldn’t be here. 

But it was too late.

There was so much she wanted to tell him. To ask him. She wanted to ask him about Eddie too. She had so many questions about that. She had not been privy to whatever had happened to him so most of what was said during the statements given made no sense to her. But she did gather that something bad had happened to Eddie and that he was probably sent to live with Lester and away from Harry’s pack for safety. 

But there wasn’t any time. It was only a few more moments until the presiding elder spoke, “Alpha and James… please step forward.”

Harry looked over at Y/N before standing and walking to the front before the elders, with James joining him to his left.

“As you know, a unanimous vote is needed in order to determine guilt or innocence. In this case, we have some pack members who would like to see a physical expression of loyalty to gain reward and so therefore we are willing to arrange a fight for honor. A duel between the two of you, as you’ve both expressed being open to this probability. Are you still in agreement with this path?”

Harry nodded as did James.

“You are aware then, that one of you will lose his life at the conclusion of this?”

James turned to look at the room packed with bodies behind him and spoke mockingly, “Who’s it gonna be, guys?” 

The crowd slowly grew louder. Y/N could hear that most of the people in the room were not on Harry’s side. Which was absurd because James was an absolute moron with a huge ego. Not only that, but it was blatantly obvious to her that Harry was the strongest out of the two, even seeing James in his wolf form. It dawned on her that she would probably soon see Harry in his wolf form as well. She had a feeling he’d look absolutely ferocious yet majestic. She realized that if she didn’t feel dread fill up her every pore she’d actually feel excited for the reveal. 

The presiding elder hushed the crowd and James before continuing, “Alpha, what are your terms?”

“If I’m the victor she gets to go free,” he turned and gestured toward Y/N. “Spare her life. I’ll leave here with her and never look back.”

The elder nodded and turned to the council to speak before looking at James, “What are your terms?”

“I’ll be your leader. And the lying human is put to death. I’d also love to do the honors.”

Once the elders discussed the terms and came to an agreement the main elder spoke to everyone in the room.

“Terms are set and a consensus is made. We will have a judicial combat of honor between our accused alpha and James, the one who is bringing the charges. Forthwith we will ready the training room for the contest which will commence in thirty minutes' time.”

Y/N was suddenly struck with nausea and despair. Not only was her life in danger but Harry might very well be murdered right in front of her eyes. He was clearly not fit for such a feat. He’d been heavily sedated and from what she’d heard from the guard, hadn’t taken a drink of anything since he’d been detained. She remembered also, the tray of food sat next to her in the cell, untouched. Harry hadn’t even considered eating her sandwich or drinking her water even though he knew this might have been the outcome. She wished he would have taken some. Even if only a little. He would need all the energy he could get and yet he chose to leave it for her. 

She imagined the worst, unable to keep her mind from spiraling to scenes of him collapsing to the ground, his soft eyes looking for her in the audience for comfort, and then heaving his last breath.

As people began to file out of the room, tears welled in her eyes as she stood from her seat, “No! It’s not a fair fight!”

Harry twisted around quickly to look at his little human who was in distress. He hadn’t expected it but she continued, “Wait! He hasn’t had any water and was given a sedative! This is not fair! Please!” She turned to look at the gallery of people behind her in hopes of getting them to listen but she knew that this was their plan all along.

Harry began to walk quickly toward Y/N before he could even think. She wanted him safe, wanted him alive. When he was only a few feet away he was stopped by guards, but he managed to tell her before they pulled him away “All I need is your support. Have faith in me.”

Harry was being pulled away toward a door as Y/N’s arms were grasped to stop her from following, “Harry!” 

She watched him disappear behind James through a door and the elders behind them, “Where are they going? Wait! I need to see him! Please!”

One of the men who was holding her squeezed her arm tight, “Calm down. Everyone’s going to the same place to watch. Not sure you actually will enjoy what you’ll see, though. We all know he’s going to die. We’ve made sure of it.”

*

The training room looked like a gymnasium without equipment. Chairs were lined up along the walls and the middle was cleared with plenty of room for two men, or werewolves in this case, to fight. Y/N was placed in a seat, a guard sitting next to her. She watched the room fill in. Niall and Lester with Alma and Eddie following behind. Pack members sitting anywhere they could find space, some standing at the back where there were no seats for them. It was quite a social gathering.

The elders took their spots in their designated seats and the presiding elder stood at the center. She had to do something. She just had to. Someone had to listen. She directed her sights to the elder who seemed to not fully believe James’ statement as she stood, “Your alpha has not had anything to drink!”

Her arm was yanked and she was pulled back down to her seat. The guard said something to her but she realized that the elders were looking right at her now so she continued, totally disregarding whatever the guard was trying to tell her, “He’s been given a sedative! This fight is not fair! You must give him rest and time-”

Her mouth was covered as the guard plucked her from her spot and dragged her toward the side of the room where she would be front and center to the fight, “You’ll keep your mouth shut or I’ll throw you in the middle of the fight so James can finish you both off.”

The room was noisy with chatter and the air felt humid. The elders continued glancing her way but gave her no response. The cowards.

Suddenly the main elder began to speak loudly, hushing the crowd, “We will begin once our contenders step foot onto the floor. You know the rules,” he gestured around him as he spoke, “No interference or foul play from spectators will be tolerated. You will stand back and move out of their way if you do not want to wind up injured because they will not be penalized for accidentally harming anyone in the audience if you are too close. The only ones permitted to shift into their wolf in this room will be our contenders. Should these rules be broken, our guards have approval to kill on sight if necessary.”

No one in the room seemed phased by these parameters. In fact, most seemed quite jovial about the whole thing.

When James stepped into the center Harry followed. He caught sight of Y/N immediately. She was too close to where the action would be taking place. He didn’t like this at all. 

And as disoriented as he felt, every time he looked into her eyes he felt his resolve strengthen. He could do this. They’d tried to make this an unfair fight but Harry was far stronger than James ever was, even in his weakened state. The only reason James was confident about this fight was that he knew Harry had not been fed and had not had water in nearly 2 days. The sedative of course was the cherry on top and would put Harry at a disadvantage. But his determination was stronger than ever. He couldn’t die and lose to James because Y/N’s life hung in the balance. And for that fact alone, he would win this fight and save her life.

Y/N caught Harry’s eyes just before the fight commenced. He told her everything she needed to know in that one look. And she hoped she’d done the same, because as much as she trusted him… this might be their last interaction.

James was the first to shapeshift. Y/N didn’t even have time to blink and take the unfamiliar sight in when she saw Harry follow suit as well. Only Harry was far more majestic than James could ever be, as per her hunch. She had very little time to take in his wolf in all its splendor, but she noticed Harry’s fur was silver, no doubt a sign of lineage to the original silver wolf after which the preserve had been named. 

Both of them were large, massive, much larger than usual wolves by far, in fact, they were very much akin to large bears. Only more ferocious and canine. But Harry was definitely larger than James. 

Both had golden eyes, although Harry’s shone brighter, and she realized she’d seen his golden eyes before, she just didn’t know what she’d been looking at, for the split second he’d allowed her to see them, without his intention, no doubt.

James bared his fangs first and the two began slowly circling each other but when Harry did the same, Y/N yelped audibly. He was ferocious. His growl was otherworldly. She’d only heard something as terrifying in horror movies, and even then there was no comparison- this was real life. A real-life creature had emitted that growl. His fangs were long and shiny and pinpoint sharp, and as they continued circling she got to see him from every angle.

She couldn’t believe that was Harry. Her brain was just refusing to process it. It was impossible. Sure, Harry had always carried an air of danger and she’d always thought he was very masculine and strong and intense. But he was also soft when he wanted to be. Gentle. Loving. Affectionate. His laugh crinkled his eyes. He pouted adorably. And she recalled referring to his upper incisors as bunny teeth, even if never out loud.

This was such a far cry from the man she’d grown to love that she felt immediately light headed just from watching him alone, her heart hammering in her throat. She knew she had no reason to fear him, but it was hard to trick her brain into thinking that when the natural instinct was to run as far away as possible from such a creature. 

Though she was infinitely grateful that although ferocious, he wasn’t… sinister? She’d seen cartoons and various depictions of werewolves, of course, and they’d all looked a lot more macabre, walking on hindlegs and whatnot. 

But this was not the case. They were just… huge wolves. She could really see nothing different to the regular species. But being as large as they were, they were of course a lot more scary. Wolves were generally terrifying but a 7 foot wolf was… Something else entirely.

James was the first to pounce, as expected. He went straight for the jugular, and Y/N screamed in terror. Nobody else around her did, of course. She wasn’t used to this sort of display of violence. The animalistic growls were so loud she could feel her body shaking just from the sounds alone. 

But Harry had already anticipated James’ premature advance. He knew the fool would begin the fight too early. And because of that, James was not in proper position, nor was he warmed up for the real fight. He’d gotten ahead of himself and assumed Harry wouldn’t be prepared but instead was answered by Harry ripping him from his neck and knocking him back a good distance.

A thick tuft of fur was pulled from Harry’s throat, the skin underneath unscathed so far.

Harry’s thick tail waved slowly as he made ground circling James. His eyes were sharp on his opponent as he watched him right himself and plant his four legs back into place.

The low rumble coming from Harry and the way he retracted his lips, wrinkling the top of his muzzle and exposing his fangs was unsettling. The truth was, though, that he did need a moment to settle into his wolf form. The shift made him feel discombobulated from the energy it took. But he couldn’t show any weakness or fatigue. He didn’t want James to feel like he had the upper hand. 

The sudden lunge caught Harry off guard and he had been unable to turn and block the blow in time before they were both launched to the floor, James on top with his forepaws holding him down, claws just puncturing the surface of the thick skin at Harry’s chest.

Y/N gasped and teetered forward as her legs nearly gave out. The guard kept his grip on her arm and pulled her back, steady on her feet. 

She couldn’t believe her eyes. She looked from James’ smaller, squirrely form attacking the alpha’s broader, graceful one. He held Harry down solidly but the moment he lifted his chest and left forepaw the counter-attack from underneath came in the blink of an eye. Suddenly James was slammed onto his side and Harry was snarling over his rival, his muscles tensed as he quickly snapped his teeth and buried his sharp fangs into the space between his shoulder and flank, tearing his flesh and causing the crimson liquid to spill out onto the floor under.

Hisses and grumbles from the boisterous spectators grew loud in the room and Y/N could almost feel the floor shaking beneath her from how rowdy the crowd was. But the only thing she could focus on was the way Harry was ripping into James’ dense flesh.

The sounds coming from the pair were something from her nightmares. James’ inhuman wail was something she would not soon forget. But she knew instantly what he was trying to say with his horrifying cry. That he was terrified he was going to die.

The shift in the fight happened when James was able to kick Harry off of him. His hind claws cutting into Harry’s foreleg, causing him to back off long enough that James could catch his breath and attempt to dominate his alpha again by pouncing on him before he’d even gotten into position to counterattack. 

This put James on top of Harry’s back. He growled as he reared himself to fling James off but not before he bit into the alpha’s shoulder blade. The two rolled on the floor and Harry had some difficulty prying his rival off his back, fangs attached with his jaw tensed and unyielding.

Y/N noticed the amount of blood surrounding them on the floor. The gory scene was horrific as was the sound of their cries and guttural growls. But she was quite aware that most of the blood was coming from James. Harry had torn him up very badly. His dark flesh was flayed open with blood pouring from his side and his chest. 

When Harry heaved his body up and finally rid himself of James' attack he leaped onto him and ripped into his neck with his teeth- fur, skin, and blood flying, covering Harry’s muzzle and chest, as well as the floor. 

She covered her eyes for a moment until she heard a howl. A high-pitched scream of pain coming from James as Harry shook his head back and forth, ripping his skin apart in deeper gouges.

A hindleg reached up and claws impaled Harry’s flank near his stomach, causing him to disengage his jaw and release his opponent. The sound from the alpha scared Y/N. He too was in pain. Severely injured from the last hit.

“Harry!” Y/N shrieked, tears welling in her eyes, her vision blurred and all she saw was brown, and silver, and red and blurry movement before her.

“Stand back!” The guard who had been holding her shouted as he let her go and moved away quickly to safety.

She turned instantly, not quite aware of what was happening, or why the guard let go of her as she saw him back away.

Suddenly her body was slammed into the ground, accompanied by a searing, overwhelming sensation of pain from her chest upward to her ear. She tried to put her arm out to protect herself and stop the blows from coming but by the time she was aware it had been too late.

Harry roared and wailed as he saw James grasp Y/N by her head and pull her down to the ground, slamming her to the floor, his claws ripping into her chest and then his sharp teeth punctured her neck, and shredding into her flesh, her jugular vein the target.

The alpha assailed James and immediately tore his neck and jaw as the rest of his life drained from his body. He’d successfully dispatched his opponent and won the fight. But he’d been too late. Y/N had been brutally attacked. Lying in her own blood as more poured from her small body, he shifted back to his human and shouted as he covered her with his large frame, “Help! Someone!” He cried with a shaky voice.

To anyone in the room, it was obvious what had happened. James was on the cusp of death as Harry pushed him off of himself one final time, sending him flying to the opposite corner, close to where Y/N was being held. Seeing the opportunity there, he wobbled toward Y/N and used the last of his energy to murder the only thing Harry cared about in the world. His last effort to hurt Harry in the only way he could.

Harry was weak after everything he’d been through but the sight of his mate on the floor with her neck stripped of its flesh and her chest deeply carved into, life slipping from her body, caused his lungs to collapse as he wept over her, “Y/N… my sweet girl. Please. I’m here. Hold on!” 

He yanked his shirt off from over his head and pressed it into her neck as Lester and Niall arrived at Harry’s side to help. But that damage was too great. There seemed to be little hope that she could be saved as Niall reached for his friend to help him up, “Come on, alpha. We need to stitch you up before you lose more blood. We’ll get her sorted.”

“No!” Harry growled and pushed Niall off, “She’s my mate! You cannot let her die! Take her first!” The alpha was hysterical as he continued petting at her hair and pushing his now blood-soaked shirt into her neck.

“Nephew. She’s going to need extreme intervention which we do not have the means nor time for right now. You can still live if you let Niall patch you up before you lose too much blood.”

Harry was losing a lot of blood. Anyone could see it. The lacerated skin on his stomach was troubling to Niall. He could have a ruptured bowel and internal bleeding, and the way Harry was exerting far too much energy along with the loss of blood, he was bound to pass out. He needed him to remain conscious so he could get him to safety and operate immediately. Dragging an unconscious body to another location would be too time-consuming. They needed to move fast.

Harry gasped as the pain emanated from his breaking heart. He knew he was losing too much blood and that Niall and Lester were right, but he would not leave Y/N lying on the floor by herself.

“Give me your shirt!” He spoke quickly and put his hand out as he kept his eyes on his mate. Niall pulled the material off from over his head and Harry grabbed it and swiftly placed the fresh, dry cloth to her neck as he scooped her into his arms and stood up. He was bringing her with him. He would not leave her behind for the pack to discard of her body. If it was the last thing he did, he’d leave with her and never look back. Just as he promised he would do after gaining victory over his accuser.

Chapter 11

A/N: (@fkinavocado and @gurugirl here) WE’RE BACK!! BUT ALSO, OOPS SORRY YOU GUYS 🫣

please remember to like & reblog if you enjoyed this, and most importantly, come share your thoughts on it with us here 💌

if you feel so inclined, you can buy us a coffee here☕

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#wolfrry #harry styles smut #werewolf!harry #werewolf harry styles #alpha!harry #alpha harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fic #lhh #werewolf!harry x y/n #werewolf!harry x reader #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles writing #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you #harry styles imagine #harry styles reader insert #harry styles au #harry styles #harry x reader #harry x y/n #alpha!harry x reader #alpha!harry x y/n #harry styles angst #lupus noctis #lupusnoctis #fkinavocado #gurugirl #avocadoguru

[lokisswiftie]

Bittersweet Revenge

Loki x Reader

A/N: alright, Ik this is a lot more intense from what I’ve written before on here, but I just had this idea and had to get it down. This is mostly in unedited so I also apologise for any mistakes. This is going to get a little gruesome but I tried to hold back from getting too descriptive. Also I do know this isn’t what would happen in real life I just wanted to write this scenario. Please give me any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism that you have. Sending love to all of you!!💗 (also requests are open.)

Warnings: Mentions of past torture, Trauma, Angst, detailed Descriptions of violence, eventual fluff

Summary: many years after your past as a former Hydra agent, the same agents who tortured you are brought in by S.H.I.E.L.D. You take the only chance you have to rectify what they did to you, but how will Loki react once he finds out what you’ve done?

Enjoy!!

———————————————————————

It was supposed to be a celebration. The team had finally managed to bring in the hydra agents that had escaped so many times. Everyone was supposed to be happy. But not you.

The moment the group of hydra workers were escorted through the doors it was like all the air was sucked out of you. Your eyes bore into the back of their heads as they were walked away from you. You hadn’t realised you were still standing there frozen until Nat came up behind you to check on you.

“Are you alright Y/N?”

She inquired, and you reluctantly broke your gaze. You fought to maintain a casual facade, but the rage filled you and the distress of seeing them again was sinking into your veins. You exhale slowly, before meeting her eyes. If you’re going to go through with your revenge you can’t have her figuring it out.

“Everything’s fine, Nat. I’m just tired.”

She doesn’t believe you, but leaves it be. From then until the time when everyone else is leaving the office, you’re on your own. Doing paperwork, and thinking deeply. Loki wasn’t here with you, but if he knew… he would be horrified of your plans to get revenge. You were usually so level headed, even on missions. if he saw you like that… the thoughts kept plaguing you.

If it weren’t for the nightmares, the terror and everything you’d done to collect yourself after all they put you through you might’ve let it go. They destroyed everything, and now was the only chance you’d get.

So, when most people had left to go home, you snuck down to the holding cells. There was a dagger gripped tightly in your hand, but you most likely wouldn’t use it. Despite your being trained to not be messy.. to make every kill efficient and clean.. you might just take your time with this one.

As you approached the door you paused. You could turn back now. It might be for the best. You could just go back upstairs and finish the paperwork you’d been assigned. Maybe grab a coffee. Let them go.

No, you decided. After everything they’d taken from you? Everything and everyone you’d lost after they captured you? No. It was time for a wrong to be righted, even if you did have to get blood on your hands. You open the door.

“Do you remember me?”

One of the four men look up. There’s nothing in his eyes. He looks away as soon as he looked up and you curse him in your mind. You turn to the next, then the next until you meet the eyes of the final man.

“You remember me.”

He smiles, an empty heartless smile that doesn’t meet his dead eyes.

“I remember. You’re the one that escaped. Gave us a few scars on your way out.”

He laughs hollowly, and you grit your teeth. Your eyes bore into his. You grip the handle of the knife tight.

“Don’t worry. You wont be alive to see the scars I’ll leave this time.”

With that you grip the side of his skull and bring his head hard against the glass wall.

***

It’s got to be at least thirty minutes later. You’re sweating, and your casual get up is covered in blood. Their blood. You stand in the middle of the room, eyes scanning the crumpled forms around you. Part of you was satisfied. The other part.. was considering the aftermath of all this.

Thank god for soundproof walls. You were sure their excessive screaming would have drawn attention. Maybe that would have been good. Maybe you needed someone to stop you.

You wipe clean the blade of your dagger, before turning around to face the large glass window of the room. And then you freeze in place.

Standing there on the other side of the glass, face white as paper, is Loki. Your beloved. The person who saw past the facade. Who backed you up when people judged you for your past. Is now staring with an un readable expression on his face. He knew who they were. Of course he knew. You could feel him, poking and prodding at your mind.

You hadn’t realised tears were pricking your eyes until this very moment, when they all overflowed.

“Shit.”

You grab onto the handle of the door, and then you’re standing outside. Face to face with him. The slow drip of blood on the floor making everything feel real.

“Loki.. Loki I’m- I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry.”

You garble, and before you can stop it tears are overflowing. Everything seems so real now, as you stand under the buzzing lights.

“What… did you do?”

His voice is weak as he scans your frame. You shiver under his gaze, and see it soften drastically. Your breathing is uneven and erratic as you attempt to say something. Anything. To defend what you’ve done.

You expect him to run. To turn away and leave you here with your sins. But before you can say another word, his arms are around you. He pulls you against him firmly, rubbing your back and arms.

“Breathe. It’s okay. Don’t think about it. Just focus on my voice.”

And you do your best to listen. Despite the bodies. Despite the blood that pools on your clothes and now his. Despite the fear coursing through you. You listen. You let him use his fingers to gently untangle your hair. You let yourself believe it’ll all be okay.

“… did it help? With.. With the hurt they left behind?”

He finally speaks, and you inhale shakily as you think before responding.

“Yes… I think it did.”

You finally look up and meet his eyes. His beautiful green eyes that have no fear. And as if he can read your mind, he replies.

“Oh darling.. I could never fear you. No matter what, I’m here. I love you.”

You breathe deeply, and press your face back into his chest. Your mind still thrums with thoughts.

“What will happen now?”

Your voice shakes as you say it, and he pauses. You can almost hear the cogs in his head turning. When he finally replies after a minute of silence, his voice is calm and steady.

“I don’t know. But I’ll be here with you. Through anything… let’s get you home.”

He sees the shake in your legs and your weak knees, and without hesitating scoops you up into his arms. You rest your head against his shoulder as he walks, and listen to the sound of his steady heart beat. As long as he’s with you.

#loki fanfic #loki x reader #marvel #loki laufeyson #loki fluff #marvel x reader #fluff #loki laufesyon x reader #loki x reader fluff #loki hurt/comfort #loki angst #loki oneshot #loki x reader angst #mcu angst #marvel angst #loki laufeyson angst #angst with a happy ending #angst

[countesspetofi]

Today in the departmtent of Before They Were Star Trek Stars, DeForest Kelley guest stars in WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE, season 2, episode 7, "The Empty Cell" (original air date October 17, 1959). De plays a telegraph operator who aids in a train robbery, and is then hunted by Steve McQueen's bounty hunter Josh Randall as well as a local sheriff played by Lon Chaney, Jr. (who he impersonates at one point).

I was there for De, but I enjoyed Chaney's scenes with McQueen a lot. It's an interesting moment; Chaney was at a point in his career where he was transitioning from films to mostly TV appearances, and McQueen was just about to break out of TV and into movie stardom.

#deforest kelley #star trek #star trek tos #star trek the original series #wanted dead or alive #1950s tv #1960s tv #tv sci fi #tv westerns #steve mcqueen #lon chaney jr

[likedovesinthewindd]

Communication Barriers

fezco x fem!reader

summary: you and Fez's relationship after he goes to jail; a collection of calls and letters shared between the two of you.

warning: fez's in jail, reader's a RN, mentions of death, hospitalization, violence, jail stuff (obv)

wc: ± 2770

a/n: had to do a lot of research for this one so forgive me for any inaccuracies. Also ashtray is alive bc i said so ;) and pretend mouse is dead or something idk he doesn't really feature here. don't think too deep about the plot and technicalities of it idk either man💀

gif not mine, all credit to original creator.

Receiving the first letter from you was Fez's moment of realization; not when his sentence was read to him, not when he arrived in the cold cell for the first time, not even when he was woken up at 6AM sharp the next morning and immediately forced into the strict schedule of the institution.

He realized at that moment, staring down at your pretty handwriting on the piece of paper you've cut and folded neatly, that he was in prison, and that it would be a while before he'd be able to see you, or smell you or feel you again. His heart ached as he read line after line on the paper, imagining your sweet voice reading it to him.

The only piece of comfort he received was at the bottom of the letter; it was your number written down neatly, with a messily drawn heart and your name to end the letter off.

Having your number meant that you could be added to his approved telephone list, and that he'd finally be able to call you. You had been lucky enough to already have a landline so that you could receive collect calls, and had started working on registering so that he could call you on your cell aswell.

After Fez was arrested, you moved into his house to take care of his grandmother and of Ashtray, who you almost lost due to custody issues. After a shit ton of paperwork and many visits from social workers, you were approved as Ashtray's legal guardian. The fisrt few weeks after his arrest were easily the worst. Ash ending up in the hospital, having to clean up the aftermath of the raid and having to tell everyone about what happened.

You could so clearly remember the night before the raid too, before everything had taken an ugly turn. The two of you were sitting on the couch, watching an old movie and finally getting a moment of peace after everything that had happened with Mouse. He had held your hand in his and told you that night that he wanted to marry you one day.

Just wait till everything calmed down, then we gon' start plannin' you a big ass wedding.

You had laughed at that moment, telling him that the two of you still had lots of time. Now, sitting on the same couch, the soft glow of the television on your face and a profound feeling of loneliness, you couldn't help but think back at that night, and the promise he had made you. The space next to you on the couch that he usually took up, was empty, and you could feel your whole body yearning for his warmth.

The ring of the telephone woke you from your reverie, making you jump a little in your seat. You checked your wristwatch. 8pm exactly. You shot up in your seat and quickly moved to the wall where the phone hung, swiftly picking up the phone and placing it to your ear.

“Hello, this is a prepaid call from—”

Fez's smooth voice rang through as scratchy audio as he stated his name and surname. You almost wanted to start speaking immediately from excitement, even though you knew it was prerecorded.

“—an inmate at San Francisco County Jail, California. To accept charges, press one. To refuse charges, press two.”

Your hands were shaking as you pressed the button and placed the phone back to your ear, waiting impatiently for his voice to come through.

"Hey ma," he softly drawled through the receiver. "Fez, hi baby," you said softly, your voice audibly quivering. "You alright?" he asked, having heard your trembling voice. "Yes, yeah of course," you said, trying to pull yourself back together, "I should be asking you that. How are you?"

You could hear him sigh on the other side, and it broke your heart. Of course he wasn't alright, you thought, he was in jail. "I'm better now that I get to hear your pretty voice," he said. You couldn't stop the smile that crept onto your face. Leave it to Fez to still be a flirt regardless of what situation he was in.

"I'm so glad I get to hear your voice too, I missed it," you said, twirling the cord of the phone around your finger. He hummed in agreement. "How's Ash," he asked after a short moment of silence. "He's at a friend's, spending the night," you said, "he's alright. Just misses you. I sometimes don't know what to talk to him about, I don't really know what he likes. Sometimes wonder if he even likes me."

"He does, just don't know how to show it y'know," Fez said, "How about everyone else?" You took a breath before talking again. "Everyone's...okay considering the circumstances. Rue's been doing so good. She looks much better, happier." You could hear his hum on the other side. "How bout you?" he asked. "I'm writing in a few days," you said softly. "Oh yeah? You nervous?" he asked. "A little, but I'm more excited to just finish," you replied.

You were working towards finishing your ADN, and hopefully soon after finding a job as a nurse in LA. If you did well on this test, you could be calling yourself a RN soon. You were excited, but realizing you won't have your boyfriend there to celebrate with dampened the mood a lot.

"I know you gon' do great ma, gon' be the sexiest nurse in LA," he said. You could hear the smile in his voice and a matching one stretched across your face. "Shut up," you laughed. "I'm serious. Gonna be causing heart attacks and shit, walking around there with your fine ass in them scrubs." You couldn't help but laugh at his ridiculous claims. "Well, I'm not gonna be a very good nurse if I'm causing heart attacks," you said.

"Nah, you gon be the best nurse, I know that," he replied, "But you're okay, right?" he asked again. For a second you wanted to say no, that you weren't okay at all. That you missed him an ungodly amount and that you were stressing about what the future looked like for the both of you. But you didn't, because you didn't want him stressing about you, because he probably was stressed as hell himself. "I'm alright," you said. "Alright ma, I—"

“You have one minute remaining,”

The operator spoke into your ear. Your heart started aching all over again. For a while you had forgotten that you couldn't just talk forever, that he wasn't there with you.

"I gotta go, ma, but I'll call you back soon okay? Look out for me. And goodluck on that test, know you gon' ace that shit," he said. "Thank you baby, goodnight. Love you," you said, rushing the words before you could get cut off. "Goodnight, pretty. Love you."

The buzz from the telephone indicated that your call was over. You quietly put the receiver back on the wall and made your way to the bedroom. The soft dip of the bed next to you, once filled with Fez's soft, warm body was now vacant and cold. Sometimes it felt like him leaving also left a emptiness in your heart.

You didn't want to dwell on the feeling for too long, forcing yourself to stay as optimistic as possible. For Ashtray, for Fez, but mostly for yourself.

⋆˚⊹

You always looked forward to receiving letters from Fez. The messy handwriting had become like a second language to you. He usually kept his letters quite brief, always preferring to ask you what was going on in your life. They were usually written on whatever piece of paper he could find, and sometimes on a piece of neatly cut paper, feint and margin, and always signed off with a stay safe, love you.

In his most recent letter he had asked you for a few photos of you and Ash, so that he could put them up in his cell. You had gotten three pictures printed for him. The first one was a picture of Ash you had taken of him. It was a candid of him at a baseball game the two of you went to, where he was smiling and cheering.

The second one was a picture of yourself, one Fez had taken himself, and later sent to you, telling you how pretty you looked. It was one of the only candid photos of yourself that you thought looked nice, mostly because he was the one who had took it. The third picture was of you and Ash together. You neatly wrote the dates on the back of each picture and added a small message to the last one.

When Fez got your letter with the pictures, he beamed with happiness, finally being able see your faces, even if it was just on a photo. He flipped each picture around when he noticed the small scribbles on the back. When he read your message for him, he could feel the unshed tears pooling in his eyes.

He pasted each photo on his wall proudly, and slept peacefully that night, maybe the best he's slept since being there, your message replaying in his mind all night:

Don't loose faith. We love you, and we're waiting for you.

⋆˚⊹

When you arrived home for the night, you were more than ready to get into bed and call it a night. The only thing that was preventing that from happening was the bunch people currently standing in your living room.

When you opened the gate and door and went inside, you were bombarded by a handful of confetti being thrown your way and a yell of surprise! The suprise party your friends had thrown you for your birthday was a very pleasant suprise. Your initial reaction was a scared yelp, followed by an attempt to get the bits of confetti out of your face (and mouth).

When you realized what was really going on, your heart swole with joy and gratitude at the sentiment. "Thank you so much," you managed to squeak out. Everyone laughed at your obviously suprised reaction and soon you were bombarded by everyone wanting to give you hugs and wish you a happy birthday.

You managed to make your way to the kitchen, where an array of snacks were displayed on pretty pink paper plates and platters. Everything looked so yummy, but what caught your attention was the cake that was proudly displayed in the middle of the kitchen table. It was homemade, covered in a thick layer of white icing with pink and purple icing decorating the surface in shapes of little flowers. In the middle happy birthday was piped in cursive.

"Hey, Y/N." You turned around to find Rue standing with a small gift bag in her hand and a shy smile. You were so preoccupied trying to talk to everyone that you hadn't even noticed her between crowd. She looked nice, her pretty curls framing her face, wearing her usual get-up of baggy jeans and an even bigger t-shirt, her black Converse along with the maroon zip up she always wore.

"Hi Rue! It's so nice to see you," you smiled before going in to give her a hug. She returned it shyly, before pulling back and smiling at you. You truly were happy to see her, especially now that she looked so much better. "I, uh— I got you this. Happy birthday," she said handing you the small baggie.

"You didn't have to," you pouted, but taking the bag from her anyway, and placing it to your chest in appreciation. You always cherished every gift given you, no matter how small or big, and you already knew you'd love whatever she'd gotten you.

"I wanted to, it's not much anyway," she shrugged. "Thank you so much, I'll open it later tonight," you said. "Did you plan all this?" you asked, gesturing to the decorations that hung messily around the room and the people moving around. "No," she shook her head, "Ash did." That came to you as a major shock. "Ash?" you asked dumbfounded. As if on cue, Ash made his way towards the kitchen to the table of snacks.

"D'you plan all this?" you asked him quietly. He only nodded, peering towards the table once more. You wrapped your arms around him and placed a big kiss on his buzzed head. "Thanks, big guy. I really appreciate that," you said, tightening your grip on him and swinging you and him back and forth.

"Alright alright shit, lemme go," he said trying to sound irritated, but the small smile on his face betrayed him. You let him go and smiled down on him. "You're welcome," he said softly, "but you better eat that cake, I baked that shit myself."

"Actually, I helped," Rue chirped in. You smiled at the two, before you were getting called over by one of your friends. You thanked the both of them again before making your way over to your friend.

After a little while you made your way over to the couch, paper plate with a big slice of cake in your grasp. You've been on your feet all day, so you were dying to sit down a little. Rue was also sitting on the couch, by now probably ready to go home.

When you joined her, she gave you a small smile before turning her body a bit towards you. "Has Fez called you today?" she asked. You shook your head, swallowing down the last bit of cake you were eating. "No, I don't believe he will. He already called me yesterday." Not having Fez here for your birthday really bummed you out, you weren't even planning on celebrating this year. You knew it just wouldn't be the same without him, but the party had lifted your spirit a bit.

After everyone (finally) left, you found yourself in your comfiest pajamas, laying on the couch and watching TV. You hadn't even had the energy to clean up the decorations, and you found yourself laying in a living room full of pink confetti and streamers.

You were on the verge of falling asleep when the loud ring of the phone caused you to shoot up on the couch. You were so excited when answering that you hadn't even given him time to greet first.

"Hi Fez," you said. He could hear the cheerfulness in your voice, practically beaming through the phone, and it made him happy knowing that you were happy, even though he couldn't be there with you. "Hey ma, happy birthday," he smiled. "Thank you so much," you said contently. "How was your day?" he asked softly.

"It was fine," you said, "I got a suprise party. Ash planned it, can you believe it?!" You heard his light laugh on the other line. "Oh yeah? Told you he liked you." In reality Fez knew about the party his brother had been planning. He told him about it the previous week when Fez had called, but he wasn't going to tell you that.

He knew Ash actually liked you, because he told him, way before he was arrested. Sure it took him a while to get used to you once the two of you started dating, but he quickly grew fond of you the more time you spent together.

"I guess you were right," you said smiling. He hummed in agreement. "Y'know I would've spoiled you rotten if I was there, right?" he said softly. "Of course I know," you replied, "You always treat me right."

"That's right, and when I get outta here we plannin' that wedding, baby. Don't think I forgot," he smiled. "I'll be waiting," you said softly. The two of you talked a little more, and you called Ash to get a chance to talk to him aswell. You said your goodbyes before you made your way to the bedroom. That night as you laid your head on the pillow, your mind buzzed with ideas and fantasties of what your wedding might look like one day.

⋆˚⊹ part two

#fez euphoria #fez x reader #fezco #euphoria fic #euphoria #euphoria series #euphoria x reader #fezco x reader #fezco x y/n #fezco fanfic #likedovesinthewindd

[angstywaifu]

Means to an End - Garrick Tavis x Reader

Propt by @fw-gt - “You can do anything you want to me, beat me, torture me, skin me alive. But I’ll never let you take her from me.” A/N: This fic is from Garrick's POV, so I hope you like it. This one is just pure angry protective Garrick. Enjoy.

It was meant to be simple. Well as simple as you could get for rescuing Violet from Varrish. Who from what we knew had her locked in one of the interrogation cells under the college. Varrish who was now dead. Good riddance I say. I had never had much to do with him, but he had a reputation for handling things in an unconventional way. And the way Violet had been when Xaden had led her up those stairs was proof. But she wasn’t his only victim.

As General Sorrengail turned to me, sadness in her eyes…. I knew. Every part of me knew. Chradh in my head confirming after speaking to her dragon. She was missing. And no one knew where due to this, concoction they had made up with to dull the connection between rider and dragon. She had been missing since the day Violet had been taken. No one had seen her after she had gone to bed. But with Varrish dead, we had no way to figure out where she had been taken. She could be anywhere. Xaden looks concerned as I pace back and forth trying to rack my brain as to where he could have taken her. We had searched the other cells top to bottom trying to find her. But there was no sign or even trace of her. And Violet was adamant that she had never heard or even seen her while down there. Varrish not mentioning her once

Xaden reaches out and grasps my shoulder. I go to shrug it off but he clamps down and forces me to stop and look at him. “What about Melgren or Aetos? Would they have her somewhere?”

Dain clears his throat from where he stands next to Violet. “There might be somewhere they could have taken her.”

Xaden tries to hold me back as I storm over to Dain, grabbing the front of his uniform and pinning him to the wall. His eyes go wide with fear as I glare down at him. “Where. Is. She?” I sneer, emphasising each word

”T-there’s a tower, at the end of the administration building closest to the riders quadrant. Down the bottom, there’s a door that leads underground. There’s more interrogation cells down there.” He gulps nervously as he looks to Violet and Xaden for help. “That’s the only place I could think he would take her. He was working closely with my father.”

I shove him back against the wall, his head smacking against the brick before I storm off in the direction of the tower. No one tries to stop me. Xaden letting me go. He knows there’s no point in stopping me. If anything he will make sure Violet is safe and follow after me, or send someone else. Luck must by on my side, all the corridors are empty. Not a single cadet around as I make my way over to the tower Dain speaks of. I descend the stairs, each step echoing off the walls as I make my way further and further down. At the bottom I almost think Dain has lead me here as a joke, there's no door. But my eye catches the dim glow of a light around the edge of the brick. A secret door. I push on it and it opens with ease. Almost too easily.

Keep alert. I will send word to Xaden to send someone. Chradh says to me.

I send acknowledgment through the bond before continuing through the door and descending down another set of stairs. It is easy to tell that this has been used very recently. Fresh foot springs and drag marks can be seen in the dust coating the floor. They dragged someone down here. As I descend further down the stairs, the light gets brighter and brighter. I finally descend into an open room, much like the one the RSC interrogation chambers are in. 2 cells are on the far side of the room, both are completely empty. Empty bar the blood caking the floor of one of them. I can see from here the blood isn’t old, the torches reflecting the slight glean of fresh blood. I go to reach for my sword when a voice from the doorway on the other side of the room stops me.

”Had a feeling I’d be seeing you Tavis.” Drawls Colonel Aetos as he leans against the doorway, his eyes focused on me.

”Where is she? What do you want with her?” I demand.

He merely chuckles as he steps into the room as he starts to pace towards me. It’s then I notice the blood on his hands. Fresh blood. Very fresh.

He stops, leaning against the table. ”Oh you naive boy. It’s not her I want. I don’t need anything from her. She’s just a means to an end. It’s you we want, and you’ve come right to us.”

My blood runs cold. They’d used her to get to me. To get me here, right where they wanted me. They’d taken her and done gods knows what to her to get to me. I look over to the cell with the blood and pray its just a set up. She’s fine. If they knew she knew nothing then there was no point in hurting her. Not yet anyway.

They’re on their way. Keep him distracted. Chradh tells me.

“What do you want from me?”

”Information of course. We know what you and that Riorson boy are up to.”

"I will never tell you anything.”

He smiles at me, a smile that sends a shiver down my spine. “Oh I know. You are a hard one to crack. But luckily in the brief moment Varrish met you, he saw all he needed to see. And now I have my way to make you tell me everything.”

As if on queue two guards walk through the door, a limp figure hanging between them that they throw to the ground in a kneeling position. They rip the bag from their head, and I swear my heart stops beating. My eyes go wide.

“So what’s it going to be Tavis?”

I can feel the muscles in my face twitching as I look up and glare at him. “You can do anything you want to me, beat me, torture me, skin me alive. But I’ll never let you lay another hand on her.”

“That’s the thing though Tavis. No matter how much I beat you or torture you. You won’t tell me anything.” I gulp as he smiles at me. A smile that would send anyone else cowering. “But if I do any of those things to her. You’ll tell me whatever I need to know.”

The two guards either side of her march forward. I quickly grab the sword from my back, swiftly blocking their strikes. The sounds of our swords clashing echo off the walls of the chamber. One of the guards lunges to grab me, but I side step them and grab on of the daggers on my belt, stabbing it into the side of their neck. They rip it out, spraying me in their blood as they fall to the floor. The other turns and looks at me in horror as their friend dies on the floor next to me. As I do this I notice Aetos is no longer leaning against the table. He must have snuck out while I was fighting. I go to lunge for him as shadows swarm the room, blinding the last guard. I turn around to see Xaden run into the room.

“Grab her and go. I’ll take care of the rest.” He tells me as he walks towards them.

I nod before I rush over to her and scoop her up in my arms. She goes to protest but one look from me and she merely nods in agreement as I stand and carry her up the stairs. No one would lay another hand on her if I had anything to say about it. As we get to the top of the stairs I hear the vague sounds of screaming down below.

#fourth wing #fourth wing fanfic #the empyrean #the fourth wing #garrick tavis #garrick tavis x reader #garrick tavis imagine

[alessiamalfoyzabini]

Dark Moon | Chapter Fifteen - The End

Pairing | yandere!Jimin x Reader

Word Count | 3k

Warnings | +18, yandere themes, wedding, Stockholm syndrome, murder, smut, messy bathroom sex, fingering, blowjob, teasing, vaginal sex, unprotected sex, body worship and kissing, this is not for minors

This fanfiction is yandere, if you don't like the genre, don't read and if you are not of age, don't read.

I don't want to hear any complaints in the comments, thank you.

This does not reflect my way of thinking or living at all, it is just a work of fiction, it is like watching a horror movie, many of us love horror movies, but we would never dream of what we see in those movies happening in reality as well.

Simply put, this story was written for entertainment purposes, it should not be seen as a reflection of my values, opinions or morals. I absolutely do not condone such acts.

⤷ Summary | She just wanted to escape her past, take charge of her life and break out of her steel cage, praying in God for a miracle that could change her life for good.

And her prayers were heard, but it was not the Divine that answered her.

That was certainly the devil in the guise of an angel, she thought as those corrupted and empty eyes searched her soul with extreme voracity.

He turned a sweet, false smile on her, before pushing her into the abyss.

➢ Author's Note | Hi, guys ❤️

This is the last chapter of Dark Moon, a story that I wrote in a period that was not easy for me, in fact the dark tones come from the negative emotions that pushed me to write this story to test myself with this genre, so I really hope you enjoyed Dark Moon, I would be happy to receive comments about it ❤️

As for possible extras, who knows, maybe they will come just like what happened with Happy Ending 😉

Also, it was really nice to be able to talk with you! Thanks for all the love and support, see you with the next story I am already writing 🤧

Taglist: @katherine-kookie, @dragons-flare, @m00njinnie, @seokjins-luigi, @pjmsneverland, @jimincrystal, @ajkwww, @ungodlyjoon , @hecateslittlewitchling , @namjoonsbuspass , @darkuni63 , @xicanacorpse , @jiminismine4ever , @btssimpjaneth , @antisocial-mochi267 , @reallygenerouskoala , @velvet-stardust2002 , @angelicsmilesworld

Chapter List - Previous - The End

"Where is Y/N?" asked Taehyung, receiving a glare from Jimin.

"Stop it, Taehyung, she's afraid of him, and I'm certainly not going to force her to attend because you think it will help with her trauma," hissed Jimin, looking around.

He had let Y/N fall asleep in his arms before silently leaving the apartment to finish her uncle's execution.

Taehyung wished she was there, he argued that seeing her own nightmare die would help her heal faster, Jimin on the other hand was convinced of the exact opposite, she had run away from the bastard, dead or alive she never wanted to see him again, that was the gist.

"It was just an idea..." put the other's hands forward.

"Jimin, everything is ready" Hoseok warned him electrified, it had been a long time since they had proceeded with a real execution and this was the time to enjoy another one.

The boy nodded as he continued down the dark corridors of their base with the others, the room they were holding the man in was a cell like any other, it was only the way they were torturing him that differentiated the prisoner from the others.

Mikkel was bound hand and foot by a thick rope, which went to twist around his neck with a noose still wide enough not to suffocate him completely.

He stared at everyone with spirited eyes, and Jimin noted how disgusting and repulsive the man looked more like an ugly gray rat.

"You have the wrong man, I'm just a loan shark, the Kims would never say anything important to me," he licked his lips nervously, he had a horrible accent.

Jimin walked around him, his shiny black shoes made a sinister ticking sound.

Heel, toe.

Heel, toe.

He stopped in front of him again, bending at the knees.

"The Kims are our allies, we don't need to know shit about them," he said squaring him with disgust, "And we certainly wouldn't use shit like you for our own purposes."

Mikkel looked around agitatedly, Jungkook rocked back on his own feet, smiling cheekily at the man.

"Then why am I here?"

Jimin's eyes thinned, "Let's clean up, Mik," he said making the man fidget, "Does the name Y/N mean anything to you?"

Surprise and panic soon won out and he began to struggle, unaware of the damage he was doing to himself, the more he moved the tighter the noose around his neck tightened.

"You thought you were getting off scot-free by abusing a little girl who was part of your own family, threatening her parents and then making the poor mother look like a fool," Jimin began, approaching until he could read every distorted thought in the man's increasingly swollen eyes, "You took advantage of their miserable financial status and threatened to throw them out on the street if they talked, even naming certain acquaintances, who didn't like the publicity you gave, so... one way or another you're dead anyway," he growled, grabbing the knot and pulling to speed up the choking.

Mikkel coughed airlessly, tried to wriggle and escape Jimin's death grip, but to no avail, the more he moved, the more he urged Jimin not to let go.

"That's nothing compared to what you put Y/N through, you son of a bitch," he shouted, throwing a punch at the man now with no more air in his lungs, blood began to come out of his nose as his body was invaded by jerks and survival impulses, he cried out mute for mercy, but the boy's eyes remained stone.

Jimin backed away retrieving his gun, but when he pointed it at the monster he had second thoughts, with one bullet he would have died too quickly, so he just watched along with the others as he suffocated in the ropes and his own blood, in the last moments when Mikkel looked desperately at Jimin once again, the latter smiled.

"Y/N, my wife, sends her regards and wishes you to burn in hell," he greeted him amusedly, emphasizing how Y/N was now simply his.

When they saw the eyes turn glassy, with no more life behind them, Hoseok huffed.

"That was too fast," Jungkook commented, pulling out his own gun and unloading it on the body to make sure he was really dead.

"He's dead, that's all that matters," said Seokjin who had been merely observing in silence, "Get rid of the corpse cleanly, I don't want any surprises," he ordered, but everyone's attention was on Jimin.

"Wife?" asked Taehyung with a smile.

"He actually said wife, this jerk decided to settle his head," laughed Namjoon, interrupted by Yoongi who also laughed.

"No, that little head will always be crazy."

"So you're getting married with a celebration?" asked Jungkook, joining the confused chorus of questions and jokes.

"My guess is he's already signed papers, he seemed overconfident," reasoned Hoseok, both Jin and Jimin were getting nervous.

"Listen, you-!"

"When and how they get married is Jimin's and Y/N's business, as for us, we must realize that there is a new family member to protect," he clapped his hands vigorously, "Now, get rid of the body," he repeated.

Jimin nodded in Jin's direction in thanks, then turned to Jungkook, "Make sure that not even the bones can lie on this earth, you understand what I mean, right?"

Of course it was clear, the seriousness and awareness of having to do one's duty well had returned to the room.

The ceremony had been small and for a few friends, Jimin did not like to show off, and Y/N could not bear to see unfamiliar and dangerous faces staring back at her.

The wedding dress, on the contrary, was wonderful.

It wrapped the girl's figure gracefully, her shoulders were uncovered thanks to the bodice's boat neckline, which was white with light blue highlights and had many small flowers woven along the neckline and hips, it then continued with a long skirt made of silk and fluffy tulle, with her hair made slightly wavy and scattered loosely on her back and the thin, shiny tiara placed on her head, everyone had agreed that she was an adorable and pure fairy.

Jimin, for his part, in his sleek, total-black smoking with crystals sprinkled across his chest and shoulders, had never taken his eyes off her, like a hawk aiming at its seductive prey. There was a change in him too, his hair had been dyed blond, for Y/N had been like seeing a fallen angel waiting for her at the altar, she had smiled shyly at him arm in arm with Seokjin.

It had been frightening to meet him again initially, but in time she had realized that if taken gently, Jin was by no means evil and had always been very calm and gentle with her.

Now she was there, joining her hand with Jimin's, and emotion invaded her.

She paid no attention to the priest's words, the ritual they were performing was being handed down in the Bangtan band, it was the man who had to do everything, the bride simply had to say,

"Yes, I do."

It had been so easy to say it, no hesitation, no flash of fear, she looked at Jimin through the foolish eyes of love, he lowered himself onto her who discovered she was swept up in a fiery and electrifying cloud, when their lips touched Jimin held back no longer, he held her by the waist and pulled her into a deep and dead-end kiss, he was possessive and passionate and sought her out every time she tried to catch a breath.

The few guests applauded, giggling at the fierce hunger of the blond, who let her go only to gaze contentedly at those swollen, scarlet lips of kisses.

But it was not his intention to stop there.

They accepted the congratulations of the Bangtans and some of their relatives, Y/N met Taehyung's mother and father and found them a delightful couple, almost unable to believe it when the father said with some pride that he too had been a Bangtan before his son.

In contrast, there was no sign of Jimin's parents, probably not even knowing that their son was alive.... From what Jimin had confessed to her one night, his mother was a street prostitute and his father was a singer who toured the world, Jimin had been born by mistake.

Y/N had immediately rebuked him, he was not a mistake, he was her complex and sweet boyfriend, although he had not been a saint at first, now he was showing her that he was a caring partner and madly in love. Perhaps even too madly.

"Anyway, my husband and I wish you well and happy life together," trilled the woman, gently pinching the cheeks of the girl, who blushed under such motherly attention; now she understood why Taehyung was the most affectionate of his friends, he had not grown up with terrible parents.

"Treat her well, Jimin... it's not easy to find someone who understands and accepts our kind of life," he tapped the young man's shoulder with a hand that was anything but playful, despite the boxy smile his son had inherited.

"Oh, I'll treat her like a queen," he smiled sweetly, but Y/N saw the shadow of something more evil, something that manifested itself exactly forty minutes later, when everyone was now occupied with the banquet.

"W-We'll have to wait," stammered the girl, trembling under the velvety kisses the young man was leaving all along the portion of skin the cleavage had left, free to be cuddled and adored by him, "If you leave me marks they will show!"

Jimin laughed on her neck, "I won't leave you any marks, I just want to have a taste," he promised, licking down to the cleft between her breasts with his erection pressing into his pants.

He cast a glance at the girl and let out an approving cry, he had taken her in his arms making her sit on the sink, her back was resting against the large mirror behind her and her legs were held open, with the skirt pulled up over her hips and the white fishnet stockings on display, all for him and she was so sexy in his eyes...

"You've already had a taste this morning!" hissed Y/N, glancing occasionally at the bathroom door.

Jimin returned to leave moist trails of kisses on her chest, suddenly lowering her bodice and noticing to his pleasure that she was totally naked, Y/N gasped praying that nothing had been torn off, cast a reproachful glance at the man, melting away soon after, however.

Jimin's condition was no better, his once perfectly coiffed hair was now messy and scattered across his forehead, his tuxedo jacket had been tossed into some corner of the bathroom, and his dark, gleaming shirt had been opened by almost every button, which made her quietly admire the invitingly toned appearance of his abdomen, cased with deep attractive and manly lines, with her hand she followed one, entranced, to his waistband where a more than obvious bulge made her throat tighten.

Jimin licked his swollen lips stained with her lipstick, "I can't go back that way."

"No, you can't," murmured Y/N as she got off the shelf and knelt in front of him, who inhaled in eagerness to touch her.

She took off his leather belt and lowered the zipper of his smartly cut pants, watching raptly as his cock pushed against his boxers, there was already a wet spot staining the fabric, and she licked gently there, already finding the taste she now knew by heart and could no longer do without, Jimin clenched his fingers around the edge of the sink until his knuckles turned white, with a small smile the girl also freed him of his men's underwear and finally took the swollen, heavy shaft into her mouth, standing still for a few moments, trying to get used to that girth once again.

"Fuck," breathed Jimin tremblingly, his balls clenched as he registered the image he was experiencing, "Oh, fuck, you're sucking me off in a wedding dress," he cursed, risking coming immediately, Y/N closed her eyes and holding her breath swallowed a few more inches until her nose brushed against the man's pubis and she felt her throat fill with his cock, she slid over the entire length again, licking insistently the sensitive frenulum area, her intimacy was on fire when she noticed the tremor in her husband's legs, giving him pleasure gave her pleasure, it was a sensation she had never experienced with anyone else. It made her feel powerful and weak at the same time.

Jimin moved his pelvis against her mouth, each discharge was a violent lash that he needed, the tone of his voice rose, and, they were both sure, if anyone passed by the bathroom door, they would hear a man enjoying thanks to a dreamy blowjob.

"Y/N, stop," he ordered in a guttural voice, but the woman sucked harder on his entire length, letting her saliva slowly slide all over his cock to make the job easier, in response Jimin grabbed her head, giving one last thrust that made her choke for a few seconds before releasing her completely, "Get up," he hissed, his taut and vibrating cock was already on the verge of releasing his cum.

The girl licked her lips with a sly smile, pleased that she had reduced Park Jimin to a quivering little thing, as if grappling with his first blowjob, but Jimin was not of the same opinion.

"You little bitch."

He made her turn, bending her over the sink and raising her glitzy skirt over her hips again, that position was the same as that night before everything went to hell, but she didn't feel the suffocating anxiety of the first few times, with time she had realized that Jimin would never hurt her again, and now she quivered every time she found herself bent over with Jimin behind her, watching her desire-laden body.

The blond man pulled her panties of the same color as her fishnet stockings, felt her intimacy with two fingers to see how wet it was and found it deliciously soaked and quivering, he hummed with satisfaction at that result and penetrated her lightly, Y/N opened her mouth sighing, her belly contracted recognizing that pleasurable stretch between her yielding flesh.

Jimin removed his fingers now soaked with her wetness and used them to gently caress her swollen, sensitive clitoris as he penetrated her all the way down, slowly sliding his cock into her who more than welcomed it, Y/N's head dangled forward as she responded to Jimin's rhythmic thrusts with hushed, choked moans, the fingers around her rosy bud amplified the sensations of the cock pinning her down in that bathroom, where everyone could have found out in a very few seconds what was going on.

"Oh God ... oh God ...!" she exclaimed unable to say anything else, Jimin went deeper with a sometimes desperate cry.

"My wife," he sighed in her ear, bending entirely over her with his hips clicking faster and rougher, "I'm fucking my wife," he gasped causing her walls to clench as they flickered in mad pleasure, with wide, glazed eyes she listened to Jimin repeat those words, she loved hearing him say them, her heart was swollen with love and pride, now no one would dare to hurt her, ever again.

The blond lifted her up against his chest, fixing his eyes straight into hers through the mirror that gave a sinful image of their bodies joining sensually, he held her tight like that as he intensified the rhythm of his thrusts, by now sinking into that slippery heat breathlessly, his hand worked under her skirt faster, Y/N moaned seeking his lips, Jimin also penetrated with his tongue into the young woman's mouth, pinching a florid nipple as a provocation.

It worked, with a shrill scream between their joined mouths Y/N came violently, clutching his cock that discharged moments later in her belly between thick boiling filaments, they continued to move in unison until the pleasure turned totally to discomfort due to overstimulation.

They sighed exhaustedly, but without moving.

"I told you not to leave marks on me, but you did worse," she laughed wordlessly, observing his devastated state, not that Jimin was any better off.

He kissed her neck gently, leaving her, who groaned annoyed at the loss.

"We have a valid excuse now."

"What excuse?"

"Well..." he helped her up her bodice by lacing it from behind, shooting her a mischievous look, "To get out of here without anyone noticing and finish in our room what we started."

Y/N widened her eyes, "We can't! They came here for us and then I'm too tired now to-" she could not finish the sentence, Jimin took her in his arms without any effort.

"It's our wedding, we can do what we like," he said with a smile that gave him a cheerful and absolutely adorable air, "And I want lots of children," he blew on her lips kissing her repeatedly, she laughed between their lips, unable to retort.

She did not know how exactly she had ended up trusting her fallen angel, but she was sure of the fact that she was now hopelessly in love with him, as he was with her.

#yandere jimin x reader #bts yandere x reader #jimin fic #jimin fiction #jimin imagine #jimin ff #bts fanfic #bts #bts fanfiction #jimin smut #bts smut #yandere bts smut #bts yandere smut #yandere bts #yandere bts x reader #bts x you #jimin x you #bts dark fanfiction #bts smut yandere #bts yandere #bts x y/n #jimin x y/n #yandere jimin x y/n #seokjin fanfic #namjoon fanfic #yoongi fanfic #hoseok fanfic #jimin fanfic #taehyung fanfic #jungkook fanfic

[paganminiskirt]

Like Frieza and Vegeta’s relationship was absolutely abusive and exploitative from start to finish but I think people write it wrong. Well not wrong, just in a way that I personally believe removes the deeper horror in favor of an easy depiction of what a relationship like that looks like. He’s not getting strung up and whipped or locked in a cell to cry, he’s getting his chin scratched by a person who uprooted him from everything he had ever known on a whim and destroyed the culture upon which he founded his most nascent sense of identity. And that person is only keeping him alive because despite it all, he’s useful, and kind of cute, especially now that all the other Saiyans are dead. Vegeta’s a small child being made to commit atrocities for profit an amusing little novelty, still using the honorifics & regurgitating the legends of a planet that’s been obliterated. DBS is not a perfect sequel by any means but it did this part so, so well. “All hail Vegeta, prince of no one.” “I always thought you shined the brightest when you were serving as my pet.”

Sickening, yes? And the intimacy is the worst part, the realization that Frieza seems to favor him; seems to like him. Who knows, maybe Vegeta reminded him of himself at some ancient, half-forgotten stage of life. King Cold did drop him like a hot potato as soon as he was proven weaker than Trunks. Maybe that’s the whole reason he made King Vegeta give up his kid in the first place. Frieza’s relationship with his father is shallow and dependent entirely on his value as a soldier, the underlying cruelty of which they’ve both silently agreed to use superfluous affection to cover up? Fine. He’s gonna make the Saiyan king give up his own militarized child prince. He’s gonna strip away the cultural justifications for what he’s doing to his son by making him treat it like the cold, spineless profiteering that it always was. He’s gonna rub it in.

But hey, he’s not mad at the kid. It was his dad who got too big for the barrel. Vegeta is still serving his purpose, Vegeta is still being good. Why wouldn’t Frieza treat him in accordance with his “station,” even after it’s been rendered an empty title because of him. All he has to do is keep spinning the wheel on the Cold Empire, vomiting out violence into the endless vacuum of space & never getting too uppity about his dead father or dead planet or about the fact that, even when reduced to the most baseline level of childish narcissism, the state which this arrangement has emotionally stunted him into maintaining well into adulthood, he never actually wanted any of this. He didn’t want to leave Planet Vegeta! He didn’t want to grow up surrounded by strangers! He didn’t want to have no claim over anything he ever achieved! He wanted to work for himself! It wasn’t his choice!!! For all of Vegeta’s dickswinging and hierarchy and “pride,” he is so, so helpless, “like a tiny insect glowing in a jar,” as Frieza so helpfully summarized for us. Overcorrection layered on overcorrection layered on overcorrection layered on desperate, screeching fear and sadness and shame. Blow up a planet. Nuke a city. Wipe out a village. Fix It Again, Tony.

And that viciously indulgent cruelty that Vegeta used to comfort himself as he grew into a man is only emphasized by how blasé Frieza appears to be about the whole thing. He’s calm. He’s secure. He spends half the arc sitting down, just watching. He’s what Vegeta was in the first part of the Saiyan saga, and he slowly turns into what Vegeta slowly turned into in the second part of the Saiyan saga. An addled, wounded, unthinking mess, trying to put their self image back together as someone else’s superior ability causes it to crumble. Frieza was scared of the super saiyan. Under all that collected ambivalence, that whole time, he was scared.

Vegeta is Frieza’s heir. As gross as that incongruent, unwanted warmth is to witness, Frieza succeeded in establishing influence over & connection between himself and the child he orphaned. And the process of healing from that relationship involves Vegeta going back to square one and having to acquiesce to another foreign, combat oriented culture populated by vaguely hostile strangers. He gets new clothes. He gets a new place to train. He gets new tasks to perform. He gets called cute.

Like. It’s not physical torture, at least not as we usually imagine it. It’s this slow poisoning of a person’s ability to trust and connect with others, a process which is gussied up by regular assertions of fondness, so casual & consistent that you have to actively remind yourself that the guy who’s doing it sees Vegeta as a literal subhuman, and is only being good to him the way you’d be good to a valued piece of property. He tortured him to death, but he still thinks he was a good pet. Vegeta’s life was Frieza’s to end, but his feats of wanton destruction were also his to be proud of.

That’s the whole reason why Vegeta’s character development was slow, ugly and recidivist. Because it was his knowledge of how to grow, of how to exist any other way, that Frieza intentionally eroded for his own selfish, petty gain. And for a relationship between a man with a monkey tail and his pink-skinned alien overlord, the most uncomfortable part about the dynamic is that it’s realistic. Common, even.

#Frieza #Vegeta #dbz

[fuckmyskywalker]

"Breaking my will." — Darth Vader.

— CW: 18+, smut! Humiliation. Noncon. Free use. Mentions of possible orgy/gang bang. Brief fingering, dirty talk (1), mentions of noncon pet play. | Word count: 0.8k.

— a/n: This is technically part two of Day 6.

After the 22nd day, every hope of being rescued completely vanished from your body. 

He watched you day after day being used, abused, and tortured. He stood there at the corner of the farthest cell inside the Star Destroyer, his ominous, loud breathing being the only sign of his presence. Darth Vader never spoke during these sessions or moved a muscle. Completely ignored your cries for help, your sobs, and your begging. This wasn't his decision, it was something that had to be done.

A message was required— a message to that filthy, rebel scum.

You just… happened to be collateral damage.

Day and night, the torture never ceased. Two droids were in charge of you: one who feeds you only the necessary for you to stay alive, and another one that bathes you every two days— in order to keep you clean and ready to be used again. And again. And again. 

It was humiliating. Some days you could argue it was worse… than being dead. 

Your throat was raw from the constant screaming and rough use. Your body was weak, trembling, probably underweight— but your morale, your spirit, your values— were entirely, and utterly shattered. Every time you saw your reflection on the metal tray where the droids served you food, the face that stared back at you wasn't a familiar one. Not anymore. Life was stolen from your eyes, no longer holding that fiery glow he hated.

The chains that kept you in the cold corn dangled softly when the doors slid open, causing you to open your eyes and move your arms to shield your tired eyes from the cold white lights of the halls. Adjusting to the uncomfortable lighting, eyes fluttering open to reveal the man— if he can even be called a man— who was responsible for all your suffering. Alone. It was odd for him to come alone. Unless he wanted more information— which by now was pretty much useless, and your exhausted, overworked brain began to invent new details that weren't exactly veracious; so, just like your intel, you were useless.

“Stand up,” he commands. You stare at him with an empty expression, not even scared at this point. 

His hand twitches when he grabs your arm with a brushing strength, forcing you to stand up and pushing you against the wall. Weak human arms try to protest, weak as butterfly wings punching his armor— which is useless again. With a flick of his fingers, your arms are glued to your sides thanks to that dreadful invisible force that sends a chill down your spine. 

“You'll come with me.”

The strength of your body has left you completely, otherwise, you would have shaken your head and fought back. But what's the point in fighting a battle that was doomed to be against you since the very start? 

He uses you, just like everyone has done these long, painful, and horrendous twenty-two days. His thick gloved fingers curl inside of you and deep down— that twisted spot inside your head that keeps the insanity alive is beyond grateful for the contact. It’s way better than another cock.

Darth Vader is seeking that pliant, manipulative state that he can only achieve after you have reached an orgasm. Witnessing beforehand many, many times how his men use you as a sex toy, he notices that you never reached those desirable peaks of pleasure; not even once.

The normally monotone breathing bounces off the metallic walls louder than usual, more obnoxious than what you are used to. But your tired mind keeps you from pondering about it, only focusing on how good it feels to be «taken care of», even if it's all because of the wrong reasons.

“You will come with me, follow my every command. You will be nothing more than a pathetic dog kneeling next to me,” Darth Vader’s modulated voice holds a weight that accelerates the waves of pleasure that threaten to wash over you. 

“You will be nothing more than an animal. I'll show those stupid, worthless rebels what will happen to them if they continue defying the law of the true Galaxy— if they continue denying the greatness of the Empire.”

And he wishes he could believe the word he is speaking.

It doesn't matter how humiliating it will be for you to be reduced to nothing more than a dog— a mindless creature that will only serve their owner. 

“You will not respond to anyone else except me. You will interact with no one else unless I want you to. Prepare to be what you truly are…” His fingers and their punishing pace send you over the edge. His leather glove glistens with your arousal, and you are half thankful it's only your release— and not the mixture of at least half a dozen clones. 

Perhaps belonging to him doesn't sound too bad.

If that gets you out of this free-use mess.

“Do you understand, rebel whore?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

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#𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 anya writes! #𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 kinktober 2023! #darth vader #darth vader smut #dart vader x reader smut #darth vader x reader #darth vader x f!reader #darth vader x y/n #darth vader x reader smut #darth vader fanfic #darth vader x you #darth vader imagine

[celtic-crossbow]

Series Masterlist

Chapter 19

Warnings: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SA/R*PE; Dead dove don’t eat; typical TWD violence and gore; physical violence (both man on woman & woman on man); flashbacks containing body/genital mutilation

A/N: This is a heavy, heavy chapter. Please consider the warnings before reading. It’s imperative to the story so if you need a different version with the details removed, please message me.

The floor was cold. Though the weather had been mild the day you left the prison, the concrete beneath you was achingly cold. You were still barefoot and in your pajamas, the chill easily creeping past the fabric to settle in your very bones. 

The tray Millie had left was untouched, save for the emptied bottle of water. It wasn’t that you weren’t hungry, you were famished. The blonde had said the food was from Philip. Had it been from Jazz, such a meal would certainly have been poisoned. This Governor, you knew nothing of him, only that he wanted information on the prison. You had taken a risk with the water. 

When the door opened, you sat up quickly and pressed your back against the wall, eyes narrowing at Todd in the doorway. The man scowled. 

“Get up. The Governor wants to see you.” You didn’t move. In just two long strides, he towered over you with his fists trembling. “Give me a reason. Just one.”

“You never needed a reason before.” You retorted calmly, keeping your back flat against the cold stone as you stood. With a growl, he snatched your arm with a grip that would surely bruise, dragging you toward and out the door. 

The hallway beyond was littered with windows that bathed the cold concrete in warm light. You couldn’t resist closing your eyes and relishing the welcomed heat. It didn’t last long, Todd jerking you forward even as you walked in step with him. 

The place was a maze of halls and doors that you couldn’t possibly hope to memorize. I’ll damn sure try. Turning another corner, a door was open, the wall lined with three barrels and a generator in the middle. You stowed that information away, it could be useful. 

Another long hallway, doors on each side and one at the end, larger than the others. You were led (dragged) to that particular entryway, Todd holding you in place while he knocked, loud and impatiently. 

“Come.” A cool voice sounded from the other side. The door was opened and you were shoved inside, Todd not following. He sneered at you when you glanced back as the door closed. The room was the apocalyptic equivalent of elegant, unlike the areas you had seen on the trek to it. Rugs, dirty but their patterns clear enough. Various artwork littered the walls. A simple desk sat in the middle. A smaller room connected with an en suite that you suspected might even work and a two seater table. 

At the desk sat Philip, his fingers steeled just in front of his chin. 

“I thought you could use a break from the cell.” You held his gaze, every instinct telling you to run. Where would you go? They weren’t stupid. Todd was right outside. “What’s your name?”

“Why am I here?” You snapped, curling your lip at his impassiveness. “Why did you stop Jazz?” 

He shrugged, the calm air surrounding him more intimidating than any of the men you had encountered under the club owner’s thumb. “Simple. You’re of more use to me alive.”

“I won’t tell you anything.” You challenged, squaring your shoulders. The man chuckled. 

“Is that so?” He stood and rounded the desk, leaning back on it with his hands gently gripping the edge. “Rick and I have unfinished business. I’ve been informed that his guard dog has taken a liking to you.”

His name is Daryl. You couldn’t tell him that. The less he knew, the better. “They helped me, taught me how to survive. I was going to leave. That was the understanding but Jazz came before I could go.” Lie. You had no intention of ever leaving. The group had welcomed you with open arms. They had suffered with you through your struggles, never judging. You would have stayed as long as they allowed. As long as Daryl wanted you there. 

“You’re a spunky little thing. I like that.” He pushed himself away from the desk and crossed into the smaller room, gesturing to one of the seats at the table. You hadn’t noticed the two plates and glasses of what appeared to be orange juice. 

“What the hell’s this supposed to be?” You refused to move, pinning the man with an acidic glare. Your fists clenched at your sides when he smiled coolly. 

“It’s breakfast.” His tone was so flippant, bordering on mocking. 

“You think you can get me to roll over on my family with some eggs and bacon?” Each syllable was dripping with venom, verbalizing every ounce of bitter resentment you were being forced to contain. “Fuck you.”

“You’ve got me all wrong. I just want to treat you to a decent meal. Then maybe a more comfortable room.” He took his own seat and picked up the juice. “Have a seat.”

“You can’t—”

“Have. A. Seat.” He was no longer smiling, something sinister darkening his remaining eye. You flinched, unable to stop yourself. The gentle, polite man he had been parading around was gone, his true colors casting a shadow over the room. There was no other choice but to indulge him. Moving cautiously, you never looked away from him, even as you pulled out the chair and slowly sank down. “There. That’s better, isn’t it?” He gave you no time to answer. “Eat.”

You kept your eyes on him, equal parts terrified and infuriated. After a decent forkful from his own plate, he met your gaze, clearly daring you to force him to tell you again. Your hands trembled from fear and hunger, making it nearly impossible to keep anything on your utensil. The two of you ate in silence, three-fourths of your food remaining as he swallowed his last bite. 

“Let’s try this again.” Philip sat back in his chair, watching you move around the items on your plate. If you ate anything more, you’d surely vomit. “What’s your name?”

Your gaze remained downcast, fear gripping you tightly in a way you hadn’t felt since before Daryl walked into that club. “Y/N.”

“Good girl.”

Your stomach rolled uncomfortably. 

“I’ll be damned. Good girl.”

You knew he wouldn’t hurt you. You just knew it now, but those words from his lips still managed to make you feel nauseous. “Sorry.” You looked at your feet, feeling like you were back in that cage, back with those dirty men and their insatiable needs and—

His hand came into view, two fingers tapping softly against your chin. You didn’t want to look at him, see the disappointment certainly awaiting you, but you weren’t in the club anymore. You were safe. You looked up. 

He looked nothing short of stricken, blue eyes filled with remorse and concern. “Shouldn’a said it like that.” His hand fell away from you. “Meant it as…well, uh, m’ proud’a ya.”

“Thank you, Daryl.”

Your chin wobbled with the effort of holding yourself together. Philip was watching you intently, something just shy of satisfaction in his smile. 

“Here’s how this is going to go, Y/N.” You were shaking harder now, tracking every move he made once he had stood and began to walk into the other room, stopping by the window to gaze outside with his hands clasped behind his back. “I’m going to ask you questions. And each time you refuse to answer, I will allow my men to attempt to loosen those pretty lips.”

Daryl awoke with a groan, still sprawled out in the back of the van he’d staggered into the night before. He still felt groggy, disconnected. It was as if he was watching his body move as an outsider, just a spectator to the clumsy motions. Fetching the canteen from his bag proved to be arduous, unscrewing the cap even more so. His shoulder felt hot, the infinitesimal abrading of his shirt and vest near torturous. 

He drank deeply, unskillfully replacing the cap before gingerly removing his vest. The leather was stuffed into his bag as if it were personally offensive. Sitting back against the cool metal of the van’s interior, he began to calculate his next move. He had to be at least ten miles from the prison. It was doubtful the new ‘club’ would be within such direct proximity but it was possible that his family could find him here. He had forced their hand. Even he had to admit that it would be easier with their help at that point. He had no tracks to follow, no indication of a direction. 

He was beginning to lose hope. 

His head was hanging when he heard it. Voices. Close. It wasn’t any of his. He knew his people, from their tone to their gait. Muscles coiled, ready to fight, he waited and listened. Two. He could handle two, even with the injury. He moved with them as they walked the length of the van, one stopping by the driver’s side door while the other appeared to round the front. 

Knife out, Daryl laid flat behind the bench seat, listening as the doors opened and the vehicle moved with the new weight. 

“Don’t know why Jazz has us scouting for new girls every goddamn day. There’s already six there. We should be searching for people willing to pay; finding the old customers.”

“Man, he ain’t thinking straight. Ever since he found his favorite toy at that prison, he’s been a loose cannon. Can’t even really consider him the boss anymore.”

The hunter’s teeth worried his bottom lip, pressing indents into the flesh until slick copper filled his mouth. 

“Yeah, yeah. Can’t believe he tracked that bitch down. Did you ever get a piece of that before Jazz sold her off?”

“Oh, yeah. Still had fresh cuts from Todd too. Bled like a stuck pig but she was dry as a bone. Made things easier.”

“I fucked her too. Twice. Jazz let me have her a second time when I brought those two bitches and a shit ton of ammo back from Peachtree City. Had to smack her around to get any noise out of her though.”

Daryl felt bile creeping up his throat, burning his insides and leaving a taste he’d need at least three cigarettes to chase away. These men were useful and, rather than face any other grim details of your abuse, he sprang and sank his knife into the temple of the man in the passenger seat. The driver’s hand went for his gun holster but the archer was faster, pressing the cold steel against the man’s throat hard enough for a thin line of blood to color the blade. 

“Don’t be stupid.” He hissed, sorely tempted to drag the weapon anyway and open a fatal wound just for the satisfaction of watching the bastard bleed out. “Toss the gun on the floor over there.” Compliance came quickly with the understanding that Daryl could kill him before he could fire a single shot. “Hands on the wheel.”

“Whaddaya want, man?” The man’s knuckles turned white from his grip, a fine tremor vibrating his body that shook Daryl’s hand. 

“Tell me where the new spot is.” 

“They’ll kill me if I do.” The lackey reasoned, his voice wobbling.

“I’ll kill ya if ya don’t.” The hunter’s tone was low and deep, his threat one that he was barely able to resist carrying out even without the information he desperately needed. “Better yet,” the knife disappeared from the bloody skin, a gun roughly pressed against the man’s head. “You’re gonna show me.”

You had tried to prepare yourself as best you could. Answering questions about the prison, about Rick and Daryl specifically, was never an option. Even when the Governor’s large hand wrapped around your throat, squeezing tighter with each refusal, you didn’t break. 

Sitting in the room they had thrown you into, you counted your breaths and listened to the movements outside the door. Two girls had been sent in to dress you and you had intimidated them, sending them scrambling from the room. 

They would have been more gentle than Todd but you could not afford to show any form of fragility. You would not be broken or otherwise persuaded. The prison community had stood up for you, and it was your turn to stand up for them. 

Todd had taken the opportunity to strike you, twice in the face and once in the ribs. It was a futile endeavor from the start. In the end, you wore the clothes they had demanded: a three piece combination of white lace and sheer, garter belt straps tugging upwards on the thigh-highs. The bustier was tight, at least one size too small. It was probably intentional, both to exaggerate your cleavage and just to make you uncomfortable. Todd had made a valiant attempt to add a pair of heels to the ensemble but quickly dismissed the idea when you used one as a weapon against his groin. 

The area around the wound from the prison felt hot, deep blue and purple already coloring your cheek from Todd’s fist. The bustier squeezed your tender ribs. You prodded the area gently. Not broken. 

Muffled voices sounded from the other side of the door. Two—No, more than two. You knew what was about to happen, forced yourself not to tremble, to hold back the vomit creeping up your throat. The door flew open, two men stepping inside and leering at you. Their eyes raked over your body, dark and hungry. There was no kindness to be seen. 

“You’re a pretty one.” The man had to be in his sixties, what hair remained was gray, his face sunken and eyes bulging. The urge to pull away when he roughly grabbed your chin was instinctively trampled. They weren’t as rough if you did as you were told. His fingers were cold and textured, calloused tips scraping over your skin. “You want her mouth or her pussy.” He addressed the other man while still admiring you, pulling a gun from his belt and a condom from his pocket, the former taking up residence on the small bedside table.

At the very least, Jazz had rules that the Governor appeared to have still enforced. Condoms were required. Pleasuring the woman was never an issue or intention but dental dams were available in large number. They couldn’t risk spreading disease in the fine establishment.

“Well, since I’m already back here.” The hands that grabbed your hips weren’t gentle, not that you expected that from these types of men. Forced onto all fours, your satiny panties were moved aside. “Jesus Christ, what the fuck is this shit?!” It wasn’t what was about to happen to you that brought the tears to your eyes, that made the sting so unbearable that you were forced to let them fall. It was the reaction, always the reaction to your mutilated body. There had been no mention of the scars on your torso and back, even the ones on your buttocks and thighs were overlooked. They were seen as par for the course, you supposed. But the moment your most delicate areas were exposed to any man, the reaction was always the same. 

His boot was crushing your sternum. It was nearly impossible to breathe. Too concerned with failed attempts to pull oxygen into your starving lungs, you couldn’t focus on the way Todd bent over you, the way he pressed his other boot atop your left inner thigh. His large hand held you open, more bruising to be seen on the right thigh. 

“Don’t wanna do as you're told? Think this cunt’s too good for our clients?” You shook your head frantically, not sure what you were answering. Maybe you were trying to say you didn’t want to die beneath his boot heel. “Jazz wants to make sure you know your place.” The metallic hiss of a switchblade preceded the first agonizing drag up the length of your labia. 

You couldn’t scream. Couldn’t make a sound as he carved into you, over and over. Your blood was warm as it seeped into your folds, down into the cleft of your ass. He made sure to allow the cold steel to taste that part of you too, careful not to tear either opening or hit any arteries. 

“Maybe I should take your clit.” You could barely hear him, his voice garbled as if you were submerged. The weight disappeared and you desperately gasped, working toward enough oxygen to scream. The pain was unbearable, unlike anything any client had put you through before. “It still wouldn’t be enough for what you took from me. You’re fucking lucky Jazz wants everything to still function or I’d fuck this right into you until you bled to death.”

“Please— stop, please—hurts.”

“Good.” He hissed, dragging the knife over just above your slit. “Good.”

You could hear the man behind you opening a condom, see the one in front of you doing the same. God, you hated the taste, the texture. You’d vomited before and received a dislocated shoulder afterwards. Over time, you’d learned to deal, suck it up. 

“Say ah, pretty girl.” The old man tapped his cock against your chin. He was small, a fact for which you were thankful. The condom’s excess was bunched and rolled at the bottom of his shaft. You would have laughed if not so certain it would cost you. When you tried for a deep breath to prepare yourself, the man behind you thrust into you, sheathing himself in one go. Your mouth fell open in discomfort only to be breached. 

“She’s so fucking tight, goddamn.” 

You closed your eyes, let your mind drift while they used you. They weren’t being too rough—yet—so it wasn’t difficult to allow yourself to take shelter in your memories. Before the prison, you had to find the darkest places, the wide cracks to hide you from the pain. It was different this time. You had experienced happiness and safety. You had shared smiles and laughter. You had a place to run even if only in your mind. 

You were a spectator to the memory, watching everything unfold down to the last detail. 

“We deserve this.” You looked like a child on a snow day, happily staying in bed with your favorite snack and your favorite person nearby. 

You looked back on the scene fondly and wondered how there always seemed to be a bowl of berries for you. 

Daryl snorted, still stretched out with his head on the pillow. You gave him a look and leaned down to nudge his shoulder with your elbow. “Don’t feel right, layin’ on my ass while ev’ryone else works.”

“Just enjoy it, okay?” You offered him a berry. He kept his arms folded behind his head and simply opened his mouth, smirking when you dropped the fruit from several inches above. 

It could have been one of the best days of your life, the way the two of you teased one another and laughed. Daryl was so carefree that morning despite the events of the previous night. He was playful. He had chased you, lifted and spun you around. You could still feel his arms around your waist, the warmth of his hands as you tried to free yourself. 

You replayed it all over and over, never allowing yourself to venture further to where it all went to shit.

“S’in there?” Daryl asked, motioning with the gun but never taking it far from the lackey’s head—Dom, he had learned. The man trembled but didn’t answer. Tired, dizzy, and aching, Daryl had little patience to spare. The barrel of the gun was pressed in again with enough force to bend his prisoner’s neck sideways. 

“It’s the generator and—and the fuel. If you go in that door, take a—a—a left.”

“Women.” Daryl coerced with a rough shove. “Where they keep the women?” His eyes darted to the left where a row of vehicles sat, along with three red gasoline jugs. 

“Man, he’s gonna kill me. I can’t—”

“Didja forget who’s holdin’ the fuckin’ gun to your head right now?” He spat. 

“You have to—to go around front.” Dom’s hand was shaking violently, but he managed to point toward the left. “There’s two doors there. Use the green one, the long—uh, long hallway to the right and then the second left. They’re all kept in those rooms.”

“All of ‘em?”

“The new ones—those go in the holding rooms. There’s three. Take that first left when you go in. The first three doors.” 

You would be there. 

The archer’s vision swam. He knew he was running out of time. Without a word, he pulled his knife and plunged it into the top of the man’s head, shoving the body over upon the withdrawal. “Thanks, Dom.” He huffed, shoving the gun back into the holster. As far as he was concerned, any man in the building was an enemy. If he came across the women, he’d let them go unless they interfered. His priority was you. 

Staying low, he crept through the overgrown grass, allowing it to conceal him on his path to the door. He could hear the generator once he was a few feet away, rumbling and clicking. Huh. Tellin’ the truth after all. 

The door screeched as he pulled, louder than made him comfortable. “Fuck.” He was already moving at a snail’s pace, slowing even further to control the sound. With enough space to slip through, he peered inside, exhaling softly to find the hallway empty. 

He needed a plan. 

Halfway to the containers of gasoline, he took pause and lowered to one knee, the world tilting and spinning. His stomach ached with a nauseating hunger, the sensations in complete contradiction. The bullet wound was pulsing, irritated. There was a brief thought of infection but he didn’t dwell, there was no time. 

Soon enough, he willed himself to continue. 

Beginning at the edge of the building, he poured a line of fuel toward the generator door, cautious and vigilant. So far, he’d seen no one else. What if they were inside—with you? Hurting you? His expression grim, he pulled open the door just as carefully as the first time and, upon finding the hall clear, continued the trail up to the barrels. 

He could only dare to hope that you would be in one of those holding cells, a safe distance from what was sure to both crumble that side of the building and lure the dead to infiltrate. He dropped the jug with care and exited, walking a surprisingly straight path toward the corner, stabbing a lone walker along the way.

He struck his zippo against his thigh and ignited the flame, burning the end of his cigarette. There was no time for a proper break so he savored two quick draws and began to walk away as he flicked the smoke into the gasoline, the doused grass catching easily. 

He was already halfway to the green door when the first explosion rattled the old factory. 

The ground trembled and you fell flat onto your front, both men scrambling to tuck themselves away and get to the door. You were aching, but more confused, watching the men move in a panicked frenzy. You were on your knees when the door opened, a man much smaller than Todd filling the doorway. 

“We’re under attack!” 

All you could do was blink when you found yourself alone and staring out into an unguarded hallway. With no time to waste, you grabbed the gun that had been left behind and tucked it into the side of your stockings. 

The door was closed behind you, giving the impression you were still trapped. 

You knew you wouldn’t remember the twisting maze. You could even be sure you weren’t heading toward the blast instead of approaching your opportunity at freedom. Men and women were moving around you, too frantic to even realize who you were. Maybe they did and simply didn’t care. 

The females all seemed to move a certain direction, including Millie. There was recognition in her wide eyes when they fell on you, but she said nothing, lingered for a mere heartbeat before she pushed her way through the others. You fell in behind them, certain they were moving toward safety, whether that meant escape for them or not. 

A door was pushed open, barely closing to snuff out the light from outside before another woman would exit. A way out. I can go home. Hope ignited deep in your chest, your pulse hammering. Once you made it through that door, you wouldn’t stop until the prison gates. Until you could see Daryl, safe and whole, running to intercept you. You could almost hear that gravelly voice reprimanding you for leaving without a fight, even as he drew you against him. 

You were nearly there. 

“I don’t think so!” A hand twisted in your hair, yanking against your scalp with such intense force that you felt skin tearing and warm with blood. Todd wasted no time, pinning you against the wall by your throat, your feet kicking fruitlessly. He struck you; one, two, three times, your mouth and nose smeared and torn and dripping. “I finally have a way to be rid of you. For my brother.” Bones ground in your neck under his ever tightening grip. He was going to kill you. You were going to die. 

“Show me.” Daryl narrowed his eyes and waited you out, the wheels turning quickly in your head, flipping through the catalog of maneuvers he had demonstrated. His hold on your throat was gentle but firm. “Arm up.” You extended your left arm straight up against the wall. “Good. Angle your shoulder, grab my hands with that’un but bring down that arm on mine.” You did as instructed, almost moving before the words left his mouth. “Ya loosened the hold, now what?”

Gritting your teeth, you straightened your left arm and pushed your shoulder forward before slamming down on Todd’s forearms. The very second you felt the give around your neck, you drove your elbow into his face as many times as you could before he staggered back. Your feet found purchase during his stunned moment, the image of Daryl sprawled on the ground with a smirk on his face playing like an old movie just behind your eyes while you grabbed the man’s hair and pushed him down to meet your knee. 

“Atta girl.”

Todd fell heavily, shaking his head to send crimson splatters across the wall. You were already moving, barreling toward the door, now closed after the women had all made their way out. Just as it flung open again, a bruising grip surrounded your ankle and brought you crashing down with your palms barely taking the brunt of the fall. 

“You’re done for, bitch!” Todd roared. He was dragging you back to him while getting to his feet. You rolled onto your back and kicked at him wildly yet futilely. His smile was bloody. His hand was pulling the switchblade from the pocket of his jacket. 

This was it. 

I tried. I’m sorry. 

The loud crack of a gunshot echoed against the stone walls, prompting a surprised shout from you. You covered your ears, wide eyes meeting Todd’s. The hole in the center of his forehead barely bled at first, a simple trickle down the bridge of his nose as he collapsed heavily to his knees and then to his front, never to rise again. 

Todd was dead. 

Your chest heaved, the sight of one of your violators growing cold at your feet was both a relief and a shock. The trembling was beyond your control. You were in a fog, suddenly lost and blank. The pain, the torture. He’d never touch you again and you just couldn’t process that it could be real. Until…

“Y/N.”

Eyes going impossibly wider, you rolled onto your stomach and sought out the door. 

“Daryl.” It was only a whisper, that was all you could manage. The light from outside made him a shadow, a silhouette lowering his right arm with the gun still in his grasp. Your legs moved at the same time his did, but as yours kicked to push you upright, you couldn’t seem to gain traction. Growling at your ineptitude, you clambered to your knees. “Run.” You commanded your body out loud, a painful need that was driving you forward, to feel him and assure yourself he was real. 

Somehow you met him in the middle, your arms wrapping around his neck. He staggered slightly, off balance when you locked your legs around his waist. He wrapped his left arm around your back with a grunt. 

“You came for me. You came for me. You came for me.” You chanted against the right side of his neck, no longer caring about radiating strength and ability. A guttural sob shook you from the inside out, a noise so heart wrenching that it took a moment to realize it came from you. 

“I gotcha. M’here.” You noticed that the archer was trembling just as fiercely, tightening his hold. He leaned his head against yours, nuzzling his cheek into your hair. “M’gonna take ya home.”

#murda writes #daryl dixon #the dixon chronicles #daryl dixon x reader #the walking dead #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon x y/n #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon angst #daryl angst #daryl #daryl dixon walking dead #daryl dixon the walking dead #daryl x female reader #daryl dixon x female reader #daryl smut #daryl dixon smut #the walking dead daryl #daryl the walking dead #daryl twd #daryl fanfiction #daryl x reader #daryl x y/n

[taytrashmouth]

Just finished rewatching game of thrones and the Jon snow obsession has been reborn.

This is a long one!

TW: rape, abuse, crying, murder, etc, all normal GOT stuff.

Jon snow x reader.

:readmore:

Looking at the empty walls of the stone cell I’ve been trapped in for weeks I can’t help but feel that these walls of winterfell that I’ve known for so long are no longer the walls I call home. This is a prison.

I pushed myself back against the furthest wall as I heard the keys rattle in the door. The chain around my waist felt heavier than normal.

As the door opened I felt a tear escape my eye…Ramsey

“You’re not excited to see me?” He pouted and wiped my cheek.

I tried to hide my fear and pain and sadness but I knew he could see through my act.

“I’m going to meet with lady Bolton tomorrow.” He sat down in front of me.

I thought about Sansa….I thought about when we were little, how we would sneak into the kitchens after everyone was asleep, how we’d laugh and talk, how we would dance in the snow outside and go for long walks in the snowy hills. She was bigger now, more mature. The last time I saw her was at the wedding…she got locked in Ramseys room and I got locked in a cell. I heard people talk of her escape through the small widow towards the top of my cell, I’d never been that relieved in my life.

Sansa never treated me as her handmaiden, only ever as her friend.

“Her bastard brother will be there too…” Ramsey spoke.

I couldn’t help my reaction, I let out a gasp and tears fell from my eyes.

Jon was alive.

“I want you to come with me to meet with them tomorrow…”

I looked up at him and frowned, there was a catch, Ramsey was insane, he liked to play games.

“You see… I know that Jon cares for you…and lovers should always be reunited at the end of every story.” Ramsey smiled as he touched my cheek, I tried to move away but he held me still.

“But I’m afraid this story doesn’t have a happy ending…” he pouted. “Jon will have to see what I’ve done with you.” Now he smiled.

He began to untie my dress, I tried to move away but he held me down and the chains were too heavy. After not being fed for a week I could barely have the strength to push him off.

He grabbed my hands and held them high above my head as he sucked hickeys into my neck, and put bite marks all over my skin.

Eventually I stopped screaming, I just accepted him inside of me, I cried and looked away, knowing there was nothing I could do. I thought of everything that wasn’t Ramsey. Then eventually I didn’t think of anything at all, I didn’t even feel as though I was in the room anymore. I was somewhere deep inside my own mind, somewhere I couldn’t even place.

I felt Ramsey hit me and become rough but I just lay there in the cold cell…hopeless.

When he was done he had his guards unlock the chains around my waist and wrists, and lead me to a room in the castle….Aryas old room.

They locked me in there for the rest of the night I had a bath and scrubbed my skin till it was raw and red trying to get Ramsey off of me…

I put on the dress that was laid out on the bed, it showed off my shoulders and my sides, exposing the bruises and scrapes all over my body. I brushed my hair that had grown a lot since I last saw myself. I tied it back into a braid exposing my face and neck like Ramsay instructed

I looked at my thin figure, I could see my own ribs. I looked awful. I drank the soup that was left on top of the dresser.

And I waited…to see Jon again, to see Sansa.

I walked out of the dining hall to see Jon hitting a training dummy repeatedly with his sword.

“I think it’s dead.” I smiled as he turned around.

He smiled softly, something he didn’t do often. “What am I missing?” He asked gesturing back into the hall

“Ned’s angry because Arya flicked food at Sansa.” I spoke. He laughed under his breath. “So nothing new?” He smirked.

I shook my head.

It was quiet for a moment, the music from inside distant. The air was cold.

I had liked Jon since I was about 10, he often caught Sansa and I in the kitchens late at night and instead of telling Ned, like Robb sometimes did, he would join us.

But I’d never say anything, I couldn’t…technically he was a stark, and technically I was a prisoner, a Greyjoy. Although the starks had never made me feel like a prisoner.

“Why so frustrated?” I asked him.

He looked down at his sword and the blisters he’d caused on his hand.

“A lot on my mind, my lady.” He replied.

“I am no lady….just a handmaiden, My lord.” I spoke back, knowing he only ever wanted me to call him Jon.

He smiled to himself. “Just Jon.”

“Okay….just Jon, may I have this dance.” I asked as the band began to play another song that could be heard vaguely through the closed doors to the dining hall.

“Anything for you, princess.” He spoke slowly and made his way over to you. Putting his sword against the stone walls of winterfell.

“I am no-“ you were interrupted when his finger pressed to your lips. “You are to me.” He whispered.

He valued me, always. He never treated me like less, in fact he always treated me like more, like royalty, like a princess.

I smiled up at him. He placed his hands on my waist and i put mine on his shoulders.

“I must warn you, just Jon I’m not a good dancer.” I spoke.

“I know, I’ve watched you dance with sir Cedric Mormont a few years back, and sir Jamie earlier tonight.”

I playfully smacked his arm and he smiled.

“I’ll tell you what princess y/n Greyjoy…I’m not that good either.” He smiled.

We swayed and laughed when Jon jokingly spun me around, or when I tried to lead. We ran around the castle walls for about 3 hours before lady Katlin caught us.

We both froze when she saw us.

“Sansa was looking for you y/n.” She spoke firmly. Glaring at Jon.

“My lady- I-“ you stumbled.

“It was me! I wanted to try on Robb’s armor, see what it was like, to be a knight. I had lady Greyjoy assist me putting it on-“ Jon interrupted. He never lied, but he was protecting me.

I glanced worriedly at him.

“Typical.” She whispered under her breath, and shook her head. My blood boiled. “Y/n get to Sansa’s chambers immediately, Jon… out of my sight.” She spoke loudly.

I quickly walked off to Sansa’s bed chamber, thinking about Jon the whole way there.

“Where we’re you?” Sansa spoke.

“I’m sorry, I-I was with Jon.” I blushed.

She squealed. “Tell me everything.” She spoke, handing me her hairbrush as she sat down at the dresser.

It was like having a permanent best friend, I was only two years older than Sansa.

I carefully undid the intricate braids in her hair and brushed her copper locks.

“We danced…sort of.” I smiled.

“Was he any good?” She frowned.

“No.” We both laughed.

We giggled and spoke until she had to go to bed. Laughing about Jon and how she was to marry prince Joffrey.

You walked along the empty passages towards the servants quarters. Through the snow covered courtyard. 

I was pulled from the happy memory when the lock to the chamber rattled and Ramsey and two of his guards entered.

I dropped the soup onto the floor, my hands must have been shaking.

“Oh clumsy are we? You’ll need a new dress I suppose.” Ramsey pouted.

Tears filled my eyes.

“Luckily I have the perfect one for you.” He smirked and held out some purple material…open back.

He wanted Jon to see my pain, to see that I belonged to him. I shook my head and tears fell from my eyes.

His guards grabbed my wrists and shoved me onto the bed, i sobbed when they began to tie my hands to the headboard. They ripped away the gown I was wearing and I could no longer see Ramsey, and that scared me more than anything.

“This will hurt darling.” I could hear the smile in his voice. And I screamed and sobbed as a hard whip hit my back, digging into my spine, I felt blood pour down my back.

It hurt again and again, 20 times he hit me, 20 times I screamed and 20 times I did not prey for help, I wished for death.

He left me tied there, facing the wall, bleeding.

I cried for a long time until I fell asleep from exhaustion. Naked and beaten.

The morning was a rush, Bran had fallen from the tallest tower and hadn’t woken up. Lady Katlin was devastated and Ned had informed Sansa and I we were leaving for kings landing tomorrow. He had been offered the position of hand of the king.

He also informed me that Jon was to become a man of the nights watch.

I walked as fast as I could to his room, my dress blowing behind me in the wind. I tried desperately not to cry.

I shoved his door open and there he was packing his things.

As he turned to me I slapped him, hard.

“Were you not going to tell me!” I yelled, the tears began to fall.

He swallowed hard and looked down, and then at me…my face.

“I didn’t know how-“

“Lies!” I screamed, tears falling like snowflakes.

“I love you! And I didn’t know how to say goodbye to the one thing! The one good thing in my life! The only thing that matters!” He yelled too now.

You cried harder.

“You are the only thing keeping me from going! But I can’t love you, n/n….I can’t! I’m a bastard, and I refuse to force you to burden that name too. You are going to king’s landing tomorrow, you’ll meet a Duke of something there and you’ll grow old in a castle, and have beautiful daughters and strong sons.” Jon was crying too, he held my shoulders.

“No-“ I shook my head. “I don’t want that…. I love you Jon snow. I will never love anyone else. I want to run away with you, I want to carry your children, I want to grow old with you!” I sobbed.

He shook his head, and pressed his forehead to mine.

“I don’t care if you’re a bastard- it’s a stupid title. Like king or queen it’s just a name. But you’re so much more than that you’re brave and kind, loving, you’re funny and smart and-“ he kissed me, gently but passionately.

For a moment everything made sense. All the stars aligned and the puzzle fit together beautifully.

But then I pulled away.

“I love you.” We stated at the same time, we both laughed lightly.

There was a heavy silence after that. I knew I had to go to kings landing, and he knew he had to go to the wall, to make something of himself.

“Promise me.” I spoke slowly as he held my cheeks. “Promise me when I see you again you’ll kiss me, like you just did, promise me that someday we’ll grow old together. Promise me-“ I choked and he kissed my forehead. “Promise that I’ll see you again.”

He nodded. “I promise.” He knelt to the floor and kissed my hand, “ I promise I’ll come back for my princess.” He spoke.

I smiled through the tears as he stood.

“Promise you’ll write to me…every day.” He whispered as we hugged. I nodded.

“Promise you’ll write back.” He chuckled and nodded against my head.

That was goodbye.

I rode with Ramsey on his horse, my back aching and my lips blue. I was freezing in the revealing dress. Bruises, gashes, hickeys, scars and deep wounds covered my body.

We stopped after a long ride. I saw horses approaching in the distance. My heart sunk, I didn’t want Jon to see me like this. What if he had moved on.

I must have looked terrible because Sansa took in a sharp breath before demanding my release. There he was, Jon…my Jon.

I almost smiled when I saw him, almost.

He looked older, a fuller beard and darker eyes, he was taller. He was handsome.

He looked devastated when he saw me. I looked down at the floor, not seeing the tears fill his eyes.

They debated the war that was to come, tomorrow. And Rickons release.

I began to shiver.

“Give her a coat she’ll freeze!” Jon yelled. His voice was husky and sad. I looked at the anger on his face.

Ramsey smiled.

“Jon don’t-“ I tried to explain it was just one of his games but Ramsey hit me, across the cheek.

Jon’s horse jerked forward as he drew his sword but his men held him back.

And then we rode away, at the perfect angle for Jon to see my back.

Ramsey threw me back into my cell, I cried…I didn’t want Jon to fight- I feared Ramsey would win.

I felt my heart sink…I had imagined seeing him again for so many years and it broke me to know that might’ve been the last time.

Last I saw him he was 16, only a boy. I was 15, a young girl who knew nothing of the world outside winterfell.

I knew not of vicious fighters like sir clegane or horrible woman like Cersei. I wouldn’t have imagined such an unfair ruler as Joffrey. Or such an abusive leader as Ramsey.

I wouldn’t have ever imagined seeing Theon like that….like reek. Ramsey told me he’d to the same to me if I disobeyed him. Another Greyjoy to his collection.

I hadn’t looked death in the eye the last time i saw Jon and yet now I had seen so much of it, it all seemed insignificant.

I heard of Jon’s battles, I even heard of his death. Seeing him again was like seeing a ghost. I wasn’t the same girl he left at winterfell but I had the same heart.

“You’re going to take someone’s eye out.” I smiled across the courtyard as I saw Jon and Robb attempting to sword fight in the snow, they kept slipping on the ice.

“That’s the point my lady.” Robb smiled.

“It’s not that simple.” Jon huffed.

“Can I have a go.” I asked gesturing to their swords.

They both chuckled until they realized I was serious.

“The arena is no place for a lady.” Robb spoke, he looked a bit sympathetic though.

I frowned.

Jon was about to speak until Theon called them to lunch.

That evening when I was lying on my bed I felt something shake me awake.

“Jon?” I frowned in the dark. He nodded.

“Come on.” He pulled me out of bed.

“Where are we going?” I asked but he shhhhed me.

“You’ll see, it’s a surprise.” He whispered.

He dragged me out to the courtyard, where he lit a bunch of candles.

I smiled.

“Jon it’s beautiful.”

“Like you.” He responded, both our cheeks flushed.

“You sure you’re ready?” He asked me, changing the subject.

“For?”

“You’re greatest opponent.” He smiled and threw me a sword which landed on the floor in front of me. I smiled.

“Thank you.” I looked at him. He nodded.

He spent the rest of the night trying to teach me how to fight, and by 4AM I could have a basic spar with him.

He quickly blew out all the candles and lead me back to my chambers.

“Was I any good?” I asked.

He nodded as we walked.

“Are you just saying that?” I asked again.

He smiled. “You were better than Theon let’s put it that way.”

I smiled.

Ramsey chained me up and dragged me outside of winterfell with Rickon. We both got a bad hit when I hugged him, I was so relieved he was alright.

I watched as Ramsey explained the rules of his stupid little trick, how rickon had to run across the field to Jon. It was too easy. There was a catch.

I watched as he began to run and I watched Ramseys men began to load their crossbows.

I began to scream. “Nooo! Stop!” I screamed and they hit me, but I didn’t stop, I had to warn him.

Jon began to ride towards his brother… holding out his hand. But there it was, another stark gone.

My own scream was silent in my ears, I couldn’t hear anything as I watched him fall to the floor.

I sobbed. I watched Jon loose his horse and begin to take on an entire army by himself. I screamed again.

I felt Ramsey pull at my chains and drag me back to winterfell. Leaving the battle of the bastards. His war that he wasn’t even fighting.

Leaving the carnage. He took me to the courtyard. He put me on the execution platform and tied a rope around my neck. He explained how if Jon came to save me, the floor would disappear and so would I.

I waited, I saw the bodies pile up through the windows in the castle walls. I watched the giant break down winterfells gates. I smiled and cried when I saw him….just Jon.

“You’re too late.” Ramsey smiled and pointed at me. Jon’s face dropped he was covered in blood.

“No!” I yelled as I watched one of Ramseys men move to pull the lever.

Jon began to run towards me, as a red haired man threw an axe at the soldier. It killed him as he pulled the switch. I closed my eyes and took in a sharp breath.

I opened my eyes, Jon had caught me. I smiled as a tear ran down my cheek. He looked at me, examining my face.

His red hair friend cut the rope and jon put me down.

Ramsey began to load his crossbow.

“Jon.” I said and pointed at Ramsey.

His hands left my hips, and I almost missed his touch.

He used some debris as a shield as Ramsey fired arrows at him, he grew closer and closer to him.

I watched as Jon beat him up. A part of me liked that Ramsey would die here, today. A part of me knew it was wrong.

“Stop!” I let out. Jon looked at me and then at Sansa, still punching. And he did, he stopped.

He walked off into winterfell.

I ran across the courtyard to Sansa and we held each other. Tight.

“Are you okay?” I asked her. She laughed.

“Are you?” She scoffed.

We quickly decided Ramsey should be reunited with his pets. He didn’t deserve to live. Not even as a prisoner.

Later that evening I found myself in Aryas old bed chambers attempting to stitch up some of my cuts. I heard a knock at the door and looked up.

Jon.

“Hello.” I spoke.

“Hi.”

I slowly stood up.

It wasn’t long before his lips were on mine. We kissed for a long time, passionately. A kiss that made up for all our time lost.

We pulled away breathless, both crying.

“You stopped writing letters.” I spoke, he smiled.

“You stopped writing back.” He answered.

He hugged me, gently. I hugged him back as tightly as I could.

“You’re taller.” I smiled.

“You’re shorter.”

We both laughed.

He sat me on the bed and helped me stitch up my wounds. He held my hand tightly as he poured alcohol on my back.

We spent hours catching up.

We both sat on the end of the bed, my head on his shoulder.

“I thought you were dead.” I told him. “Twice.”

He chuckled. “You gave me a few scares too.”

“How was the wall?”

“Cold.” He looked down at me. I laughed.

“Is it true? The whitewalkers?” I asked more seriously now.

He sighed. “Unfortunately.”

“I’ve fought them, they’re too strong. I fear we won’t win this battle. But I’ll make sure you’re as far south as south goes-“

“No!” I interrupted, shaking my head.

Tears brimmed in his waterline.

“I’m not leaving again….I just got you back. We’re going to grow old together, remember?” My voice broke. “Even if you’ve found someone else-“

“There’s no one else.” He brushed his hand over my cheek.

“If you fight, I’ll fight.” I spoke.

“You did have a really good teacher.” He stated. I playfully nudged him as he smiled.

“I love you…just Jon, I always have.” I finished.

“I love you too, princess y/n Greyjoy.” He kissed me again gently.

“Snow.” I corrected and he frowned. “Queen y/n snow.”

A smile took over his whole face.

“If you’ll have me, that is? King Jon snow.”

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