Beta awoke what must have been shortly before sunrise, it was still dark but the birds were out and singing happily. Rubbing his tired eyes, he was relieved to feel himself getting well again. Although the changes were very subtle, his stomach was finally happy and his headache has gotten better thanks to him hydrating.
He could finally move his muscles without a lot of pain as well.
Beta slept surprisingly well, he didn't live through any weird nightmares tonight. Looking down on his lap he saw Fred, curled up into his pot again, undisturbed and peaceful. He almost seemed like a cat of some sort, which Beta admitted was pretty funny - considering that he is this all powerful entity. Beta poked at him slowly, watching his black form twitch.
"Fred, wake up, I need to get up." Beta asked, in a more consistent voice that didn't break at every word he muttered. Fred groaned, not moving, forcing the human to gently place him out of his lap.
"I'll be back in five minutes, k?" he asked, receiving another groan in response. It was hard to stand up, his legs felt wobbly and his head felt foggy. It made him want to lie down but the pressure in his bladder was hurting him.
"Be careful." Fred said as he went over to the door. Beta rolled his eyes at this, what worse could possibly happen. As Beta went out to the woods, he couldn't help but acknowledge that the worn cabin they were staying in was kind of cool. Seeing nature take it over throughout the years was weirdly comforting. Beta hated everything about being outside but living here for a while wouldn't be too bad. He just needed to find a way to get better food and maybe even steal some bedding from stores close by. He had no idea if there wasn't even a store like that but when he got better it wouldn't hurt to try.
Before making his way over to piss on some tree he stood in front of his brother's grave. Maybe at one point he should find some wild flowers to place on it. Standing there gave him flashbacks to his father's funeral. He remembered the dark clothes everyone wore, how stern Alpha's face was and how Senpai and his mother took comfort in each crying.
He wished of course that Senpai wasn't dead, but he also wished that the rest of his family could be here to at least honor Sen even if it was the case. They would tell stories about how when Senpai was just a young boy he would cry every time someone died during a Disney movie. Or how Beta had to hold his hand during kindergarten so he wouldn't cry when their mom left.
Beta was going to miss him for every day the rest of his life. A walk was called for, even if he still felt like a sick mess. He sighed as he walked away going deeper into the woods.
---
Beta was taking longer than five minutes, and it made Fred nervous. Could Beta collapse in his sicken state? Could some animal have mauled him? The worst thing is Fred could not do anything to help. The tiredness from using his other form barely let him keep his eyes open. Pitiful.
His eyes snapped open as he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. Fred relaxed against his pot, finally Beta was here - they could rest together again. Fred was about to greet him before he realized something...
The footsteps he was hearing were clearly ones made by thick boots, and as much as Fred could remember, which is a lot - Beta never wore boots. Panic washed over the entity once he realized the state he was in, he didn't even have enough energy to transform into a forest plant.
Fred could only lift his head as the footsteps approached even closer, the man who was the source of them stepping into view. It was clear he was searching for shelter by his clothing choice. The heavy boots Fred recognized were torn, along with every other fabric of his clothing.
The man looked around for a moment, before his eyes laid on Beta's backpack. He almost seemed relieved to find it, until his expression did a complete turn once he noticed Fred. The man froze, backing away just slightly.
Great, maybe Fred could scare him away without having to fight? He managed to hiss, indicating that he is very much alive and not some weird decoration. The man gasped in shock as he backed away further, his back hitting the wall.
"What the fuck-" he gasped in panic as Fred hissed again. The man flinched as his leg made contact with something. Looking down, he found the dirty but still useful pitchfork Beta left after burying Senpai's corpse.
Fred hissed again to finally get rid of him, but to his dismay, the man took the pitchfork into his hands slowly. The demon realized what would occur shortly after, he would try to attack him with the tool...
"Get away, mortal-" Fred said. He knew very well that humans assumed no other being were able to speak their languages, so muttering those words clearly struck a new wave of panic into the man.
This is why before Beta he would never let a servant leave him. This is why he would never use his powers so irresponsibly to help someone.
The man then creeped up to him holding the pitchfork up with shaky hands. This is how his existence was going to end by the hands of one of the lowest possible human beings ever. In a way living so long was making him accept this. At least his human, no friend, Beta was away from this crazed man.
He shut all his eyes waiting for the blow.
The sound of slamming and grunting as two bodies hit the floor caused his eyes to shoot open. It was Beta.
"G-Get out of here!"
"Kid, what are you doing? I'm trying to destroy that thing! T-That monster!"
"Get the fuck off him, you asshole-" Beta grunted out, his eyes glued on the pitchfork in the man's hands. He desperately tried to tear it out of his grasp, but to no avail -the man managed to push him off. The man was much bigger and taller than him.
"Fucking crack addict-" he grunted out, standing up to his feet.
"Is this thing mind controlling you or some shit!" The man turned the tool to point it at him. "I had dreams about this! I am not letting humanity fall."
The man then pulled to jab at him but thankfully Beta was able to dodge. He grabbed the handle wrestling with the man again.
"Just get out of here and leave us alone!"
"NO!" The man spat at him even hitting him in the face with a yellowish spit. Beta recoiled but didn't pull away. They continued to tumble until Beta was able to throw him off balance. The man stumbled on the ground. In a fit of anger and adrenaline Beta took the fork himself, raised it and brought hard on the man's neck. Despite it being rusty and old it was sharp and was about to go through the man's neck. Blood squirted out as the man gurgled.
His hands desperately swung around in panic as his air pipe was cut, while Beta, seemingly unaffected by this, dragged the pitchfork out of his neck and slammed it into his collarbone - trailing wounds all across his chest.
He was being swallowed by a rage he couldn't explain, just when he thought he was done he remembered what could have happened to Fred - which made him drag more holes into the man.
He was finally torn out of his trance as he heard Fred say his name, he looked down upon the man that once was and felt no regret whatsoever. His hands were covered in blood, his face had some splatterns too - but Beta didn't mind.
Instead, he slowly stood up and made his way over to the plant. Fred visibly recoiled, which was pretty ironic - considering how much more powerful he was than the human. Beta gently took him into his arms and placed him next to the fresh corpse.
"Go eat Fred," he said, petting the demon's head again - causing him to absorb some of the blood. Fred watched in bewilderment as Beta went to change his muddy and now bloody clothes.
"Beta..." Fred's eyes darted everywhere. Did he land in another universe? "But why?"
Beta froze for a second before letting out a breath. "You're the only one in my life now that will understand me. I don't intend to lose anyone like that."
"But.."
"Just eat, Fred." As Fred stayed still, he continued to watch Beta undress and he noticed his shaky shoulders. "I'm already a murderer, so who cares anymore."
Fred cared. For the first time in his whole long existence he cared so much about Beta. His many hearts couldn't help to be thankful too. Beta meant so much to him right and he hated how that had to come from the sake of Beta's mental state. There was nothing he could do right now but he was going to make a promise to Beta that he will never have to take a life again. Fred was getting powerful so he could let that not happen, Beta did not deserve to feel like this. He looked out at the dead man, this action deserved to not go to waste. Fred used his tendons to start the process.
"Thank you Beta," He mumbled as Beta could only grunt back.
-----
Alpha was stretched out on the couch staring at the open text messages on the phone. This was not normal. Senpai should've texted him a day by now to meet up. There was still a couple months before the actual wedding but Alpha hated doing things last minute. He also hated having to push people to get answers from him. Alpha was not a "text first" kind of guy.
"We could always do it together instead, Alpha. Your brother is pretty busy with school." Charlie said as he cooked from the kitchen.
"Charlie, how dare you even suggest that! Do you know anything about tradition?"
"We are gay."
"SO?!"
"Haha, you're so silly. It is nice that you find it so important to look nice with Sen."
"We must simply match! I swear ever since I talked to him last time I have had a bad feeling?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"He just sounded off. I have a feeling he did see Beta."
"Aw... But even if he did, what is the worst thing that could happen?" Charlie tried to cheer him up, giggling awkwardly - "Next thing you know he comes b-back with one eye missing! Hahaha... Haha......ha..."
"No, you don't understand," Alpha said, putting his phone away for now, "Beta and him always got in trouble like this. I'm worried he might have convinced Senpai to do something irrational."
"O-Oh... Maybe you should call him again? Just to be sure..."
"I guess so too... Ugh, this is so unnecessary, both of them are just adding more responsibility on my back."
Charlie looked down on the food he was making, "He did say that Beta was on the news... I'm still a little worried for h-him..." Even if he wasn't that close to both of them, their well being still mattered to him a lot. Soon they would be part of his family and even if Charlie never told this to Alpha, he had a soft side for Beta. Even if he called him a cyclops that one time. Those sad eyes were relatable, he's been there too many times. He was too scared to tell him that.
He knew well if anything happened Alpha would pretend that he's not affected, or he'd just say something in the lines of 'they had it coming'. That would just be a surface observation. Charlie was sure that he'd care in his own way - it wasn't just about the wedding, Senpai has been strangely inactive on all his social media and every group chat he's in.
He found himself so lost in thought he didn't hear Alpha move, jumping at the feeling of two arms wrapping around his waist from behind. He stuttered out some gibberish by accident as his fiancé placed a small kiss on the crook of his neck.
"Charles, I know you always care and I find it so sweet, but this is just between me and my brothers. Don't get worked up over it, alright?" Charlie was too embarrassed to reply, his face a whole new shade of pink. Alpha leaned closer to his ear. "You're so adorable, I can't wait to make you mine forever."
"M-Me too." Charlie said, finally forcing out each word. Despite loving Alpha's touches he couldn't but still shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.