TW: same as last chapter, brief (mostly implied) sexual assault
A man loomed over Mason, sneering down at the tiny omega. He felt his instincts at war; the initial flight urge had driven him into a corner with no escape and the next one vying for control was a strong urge to submit, to allow the man to do what he'd come to do, but Mason had been fighting this particular instinct for most of his life and didn't intend to submit to it now.
So Mason, as always in such situations, chose to fight.
The wolfsbane may still prevent him from shifting fully, but it didn't prevent his partial shift, didn't stop his nails from lengthening and strengthening into claws, into weapons.
When the man drew too close, the omega swung for his face, claws striking thin lines down his cheek before Mason found his hands caught in a tight grip and pinned to the ground. Suddenly he was completely helpless, unable to fight back.
Panic swirled his thoughts together. Flight had failed, fight had failed. His throat burned as he yelled, but he wasn't conscious of the words, only the fear as the man turned him over, the feeling of helplessness only growing as he could no longer see what was happening. He struggled harder but it did him no good, he wasn't strong enough to get away, he wasn't safe, wasn't safe—
Mason jolted awake, breath coming in sharp, rasping gasps. There were arms around him, restraining him, and he cried out, trying to escape, but they were too strong and the wall at his back stopped him from pulling away.
"Shh, Mason, it's okay, it's just me," a familiar voice hushed him. The arms drew him closer, and he let them, confusion breaking his panic until he recognized the scent coming from the man holding him, strong and dominant and safe.
He relaxed and allowed himself to be tucked carefully against the alpha, nuzzling closer until his nose pressed against Dax's throat, filling his senses with the man until his breathing evened out and he was calm. Safe. Dax was safe.
One of the alpha's arms was under Mason's head, acting as his pillow, his elbow bent so his hand brushed the omega's back, rubbing soothing circles into his skin. His other hand was in Mason's hair, stroking it carefully away from his face and gently teasing the tangles out. It was soothing, and Mason closed his eyes and relaxed into the touch.
His own arms were bent between them, his hands folded against his chest. His wrists ached, and he knew without looking they were bruised. The thought made him flinch, remembering the man looming over him, the feeling of helplessness, of having his wrists pinned so he couldn't fight back.
"You're safe, Mason," Dax murmured, pressing his face against the omega's hair. "I'm here now. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."
Mason hummed, letting himself be soothed by the alpha's words and gentle touch. They were still held captive by an enemy pack, completely outnumbered and weakened by wolfsbane. He knew there was only so much the alpha could do to protect him, and yet he'd never felt more safe in his life.
As if to mock him for the thought, the door at the top of the stairs opened. The sound made them both tense, Dax drawing the omega impossibly closer and shifting them so his body almost covered Mason's, blocking him from the rest of the room. The alpha glanced over his shoulder, watching as whoever it was came down the stairs, while Mason could only listen to the footsteps, every soft thump seeming to reverberate all the way up his spine.
Anxiety clawed at his insides, making him feel like he was going to be sick. Was the man back to finish what he started? Mason shuddered at the thought, hiding his face against Dax's chest. Safe, Dax is safe, he'll make sure nothing bad happens, he tried to remind himself but the safe feeling was gone and all he could think about was the stranger looming over him, intent on doing something the omega didn't understand but knew he didn't want.
But Dax relaxed against him, loosening his hold on the omega, and the alpha's sudden calm did more to settle Mason's nerves than any words could have. He carefully shifted a bit so he could peek over Dax's shoulder to see who had arrived that the alpha had even the smallest amount of trust in, considering where they were.
Mason recognized the man, and the omega who stood a bit behind him, head down and with a tray held in his hands. They'd been there the night before; the man had given both wolfsbane shots to Dax—at the alpha's request, Mason reminded himself—and brought the omega now standing behind him to bandage Mason's side. This was not enough to make him trust the man, but like Dax, Mason relaxed at the sight of him. Without the supervision of his alpha, Mason didn't believe this man would do anything to hurt them.
"Hello," the man said, glancing at them carefully. Dax growled softly in reply, not threatening, just warning. "Don't worry, alpha, I'm not interested in your runt. I have no intention of hurting him, or even coming near you. I have no desire to make either of you uncomfortable. I've brought a runt of my own, I'm sure you'll be less reluctant to allow him to approach."
Dax watched the omega carefully as he approached, but didn't growl at the boy as he set the tray he carried next to the pair before backing a few steps away, his eyes staying downcast and turned from them.
Mason sniffed, his stomach growling when he realized the tray contained food. Not very good food, perhaps—he couldn't identify the contents of the two bowls, they just looked like unappetizing mush, and the large hunk of bread that accompanied them had a weird smell to it—but Mason hadn't eaten in at least a day—he wasn't sure exactly how long it had been since he'd last eaten considering how much time he'd spent unconscious from the wolfsbane he'd been injected with—and at this point he would take anything.
He reached for the food, but Dax caught his arm, holding him back. Mason whined and tried to pull away, and to his surprise, Dax released him immediately, but kept himself between the omega and the food, and Mason knew another attempt would lead to the same result.
"I assure you, the food is safe," the man said, still standing just outside the wall of bars. "Even if my alpha knew I was bringing it, he has no reason to need subtlety to hurt you. If he wanted you drugged, someone would be sent to drug you, and if he wanted you dead, someone would be sent to kill you. So eat, please."
Dax growled at his tone, but sat up and allowed Mason to do the same, keeping the omega against his side and away from the strangers. Mason leaned against the alpha, wheezing a bit at the small amount of effort it took to sit upright. He coughed, turning his face away as he did, a vague memory surfacing of Chase telling him to cover his mouth when he coughed or sneezed while he was sick.
"Do you feel alright?" Dax murmured, his lips close to Mason's ear so only he could hear the words. The omega nodded, brushing off the alpha's concerns and trying to reach around him for the food, only for the man to fend him off again. Mason whined, but quickly quieted when Dax handed him one of the bowls.
He wrinkled his nose at the smell, remembering the way the food he'd been eating in recent weeks smelled, and noting that this was not at all similar. Still, his stomach grumbled in protest of the thought of not eating it, so he reluctantly brought a spoonful to his mouth.
It didn't taste any better than it smelled but, and he chose to consider this a positive, it didn't really taste like anything at all, so he didn't have much trouble stomaching it. He'd certainly eaten a lot worse over the years.
"Slow down, Mase," Dax said, gently taking hold of Mason's wrist to stop him from continuing to shovel the food into his mouth. The omega winced when even the gentle pressure made it ache, but the alpha only held it a moment before releasing him. Mason found his eyes drawn to the purple skin left where Dax had just grabbed him and shuddered, but managed to refocus on his food before any memories could resurface.
He tried to go slower, but the food was still gone in another minute, and then Dax was passing over half the hunk of bread. Mason gave this a lot more consideration, pulling it apart and finding it rock hard and not at all like the bread he'd had before. He still brought it to his mouth, but had to gnaw at it to get a chunk off, and promptly wrinkled his nose at the flavor, which was an odd combination of earth and ashes. He silently handed the rest of it back to Dax.
"You sure?" Dax asked. "I doubt we'll be getting anything else."
Mason just nodded, resting his head against the alpha's shoulder and watching him continue to eat. He wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about the mush as the omega had been, but didn't seem bothered by it or the weird taste of the bread, and soon the food was gone.
Dax handed him the last thing from the tray, a glass of water that Mason didn't need to taste to know wouldn't be pleasant, but his dry throat convinced him it would be worth it. It tasted just as grimy as it looked, but the omega still choked down as much as he could stomach. He knew what happened if he didn't get enough water, and didn't particularly want to experience it again.
Mason turned his face into his elbow to cough again, this time with an unpleasant wet sound that had Dax's attention turning fully to him. The alpha pressed his hands against Mason's forehead, humming at what he found there. "Are you sure you feel alright, Mason? You're a little warm, you might have a fever, but it also might be leftover from your heat."
Heat? Was that what had happened that morning? It seemed like a fitting name for it, he'd felt like his entire body was burning, like his blood had turned into fire and it hadn't calmed until Dax was there, the alpha's touch like cool water putting out the flames.
But this wasn't the first time he'd experienced one of these 'heats'. Usually he'd hide himself away in a den for a few days while the fire burned through him, and when he emerged he'd be left with an ache in his muscles and nothing else of note. This heat had been shorter than most, but he could tell it was over and any lingering warmth was unrelated. It would take far too many words to explain all of that, though, so he just shook his head, and Dax must have recognized it for the disagreement it was because he sighed in response.
"You might have a bit of a fever then," Dax said, his hands moving from feeling the omega's forehead to brushing his hair back. "Maybe some lingering flu, or a bit of a cold." He sounded very calm, but Mason could tell he was restless, worried. Mason didn't think this was worth his concern. He felt alright, and they had much bigger problems than the omega having a bit of a cough and maybe a fever.
When they were both done and all the dishes had been stacked back on the tray, the other omega silently retrieved it and slipped out of the cell, stepping carefully around the stranger but not attempting to leave, waiting while the man closed and locked the door behind him.
"No more wolfsbane?" Dax asked. Mason wasn't sure if that was surprise or apprehension in his tone, it was such a subtle note.
"Not from me. And I'm going to try to make sure I'm the only one allowed down here, so hopefully not at all."
Dax narrowed his eyes at the man's explanation, and Mason couldn't help but agree it seemed quite suspicious. Fortunately, Dax was there to voice the thoughts the omega wasn't able to. "Why are you helping us?"
The man sighed. "It's a bit of a long story," he said, "but the short version is... well, I want to help you escape."
There was silence before Dax said, "Luckily, we seem to have plenty of time. I think you'd better start explaining."
Date Posted: 10/5/2021
Word Count: 2144
Ooh what's this about an escape? Could be interesting ;) also I would like to declare now that I have not written next week's chapter and I'll be busy this weekend so I cannot guarantee a timely update next week, am sorry :(
<3Koda