The lights turned back on, and suddenly everyone was out of their seats,
the meeting was over,
and the new deal was made.
The elders muttered curses under their breaths and shifted out of the room with no room for complaints, they looked like how one would act on the verge of peeing as they rushed to the toilets with stiff backs.
ever since the bathroom, the way he looked at Carter had changed, it took him every cell of his body to hold back from splitting his head or running a knife right across his neck.
Damsel was disgusted,
every part of his body was terrified as well as disgusted at the thought.
He had met Sarah a few times when he was younger, whenever he accompanied his brothers to the Knight residence, he would see her peek her head out at the corner and watch the adults talk, damsel even remembered once when they had made eye contact, she blushed and scurried away to hide behind Darren.
That was the last time he had seen Sarah, that sweet toothless child who loved her big brother more than anything else in the world, he remembered the way Darren would sneak her out during those meetings, she was always holed up in her room because of her sickness, it was Darren that used to sneak snacks and play with her; Damsel remembered because, during those times, he was forced to keep quiet about the two's secret when he had caught them sneaking around one day.
She was murdered.
Murdered.
Maybe not directly, but Carter had the choice to save her, he had the choice to put her through that surgery, but he made Darren choose. Both Samuel and Sarah had the same condition, their surgeries were supposed to be scheduled on the same day, but Carter had sat Darren down, and given him two choices.
Save either Samuel or Sarah.
Just imagine what Darren had gone through at the time, Darren was only 7, he had only just started school, and he was suddenly told to choose between his two siblings, Carter was wicked enough to explain everything that would happen once Darren made his decision,
this was what Carter had done, what Carter had wanted ever since Darren's birth.
Absolute loyalty, absolute submission,
he wanted his heir wrapped around his finger, an heir that was perfect in anything he did, an heir that would do as he was told,
an heir that couldn't think for himself.
an heir that was his very own puppet.
And He went through every means to get what he wanted.
Because of how chaotic it was, everything happened so fast, one second Damsel was dragging Darren under the sink and letting the cold water bring him back to reality, and the next second; his pheromones went out of control, both Damsel's and Darren's were fighting; fighting like their lives depended on it; it was Ereloc fighting with Darren's wolf and the psychological pressure was too much to withstand, Damsel had some blanks in his memory from what happened back there, it was all too much for him to handle, the pheromones were too much, too toxic, and unbreathable.
they were both suffocating.
The fact is, Darren had somehow come back to reality, damsel still didn't remember how it happened, but Darren was barely able to even utter a word; the two sat in silence after the pheromones in the room slowly dissipated, leaving the two exhausted boys in utter silence and disbelief. Damsel appeared to awaken from his trance after half an hour, his mind wandering; the familial secret he had uncovered had rendered him silent.
and Darren was left in this state of dissociation, normal symptoms after attempting to self-destruct.
Damsel hauled him to his feet; the two were talking via their gaze, simply standing there, facing one other without saying anything; Darren was frozen, he wasn't in control.
"I'll keep you safe." "Believe me, trust me this time," Damsel whispered in that moment of stillness.
"Your mate will not be the next Sarah."
"Your father cannot control the death of your mate this time, it's not up to him,
but you can."
He didn't remember the look on Darren's face at that moment, maybe because he was still out of it, but that small nod was enough for Damsel. The next few minutes, Darren was crying against Damsel's shoulders, he didn't know how long they had been in there, but Damsel listened to every painful sob exerted, and felt every tear that landed on his clothes. They stood there in the echo of the bathroom.
The two had returned to the meeting room, and Darren's consent left the room silent; when Damsel saw Carter's face, he was terrified, terrified of what thoughts were circling in his head, and on instinct, he had rushed Darren behind him.
He guided Darren to sit next to him for the rest of the meeting, Damsel had disregarded the hard glares from his father and Matthew, maintaining his gaze on Darren's stoic face the whole meeting, passing water over to him every now and then.
He couldn't concentrate on any other factors, like the questioning on why they took so long, or Carter's heated words, nor the silence on his father's side. At that moment, Damsel canceled everything else out except for Darren.
They reached an agreement, the meeting was over now, and all that mattered was that they got their chance to meet their mates.
Damsel stood up from his chair as the elders were leaving and saying their goodbyes and polite chattering one by one, before he could turn to Darren, the latter had already grabbed his arm, stilling him in place.
"Damsel," Darren's quivering voice was just under a whisper, his fingers were trembling, and Damsel's eyes softened, it was like he was latching onto his only form of protection.
Nobody knew what had just transpired, that Darren had almost killed himself, or that Damsel had uncovered a Knight family secret. He couldn't forgive himself for how he treated Darren, how he treated Samuel, how he lived in his own bubble and despised the rest of the world.
Damsel couldn't raise his voice towards Darren, much alone speak any nasty words against him, because Darren was in such a fragile state of mind that Damsel was afraid the tiniest push might cause Darren to lose his mind again.
"Stay at my place," Damsel's voice softened; he wasn't using the aggressive tone that Darren was accustomed to; instead, he was gentle, patient, and loving, even raising his hand to brush his thumb over Darren's teary eyes. "Did you already pack?"Each syllable was said softly, and Darren remained silent for a second.
Damsel noticed the hesitation in the voice of the other, his hand dropped down to lightly shake the boy's hand, "Hm?"
That small hum had vibrated against Darren's ears,
he only nodded.
"Thank you." Darren's words filtered out abruptly, and he bit his lip, squeezing his nails to the point that the palms of his hands began to drain color. Damsel frowned at him, wishing for the confident grin he had always detested; finding Darren in such a state had left him speechless; he wasn't used to it at all, and the truth he had uncovered was like a spray of cold water; bringing him back to reality.
Carter cared for appearances, that was clear when he kept up his appearance of a doting father after murdering his own child, so at this moment; when he wore a smile as he sent off the guests; you couldn't tell what he was planning on doing when he had Darren alone in the same room; and the thought absolutely disgusted Damsel.
The same man who smiled through the murdering of his daughter could smile through the murder of his second son as well. Who knows what he was planning to do to tighten the noose around Darren's neck again, murder Samuel? mistreat him? but right now; Damsel was going to take both Darren and Samuel out of that house before Carter gets a say.
He wouldn't let those two stay under the roof of a murderer, Darren was out of his mind right now, and Samuel was incapable of defending himself.
"Where's Samuel?" Damsel asked hurriedly, the last of the guests were about to leave, "My car is upfront, you go ahead first and lock the door as soon as you get in, I'll go find Samuel and bring him back with us."
Darren kept his eyes on Damsel, who knew what was going on in his thoughts, his eyes lacked the shine they had before. He nodded and hastily walked past Carter and out of the room in a rush, Damsel saw the way Carter's eyes faltered when he saw Darren rushing past, and Damsel didn't miss the way Carter's fists had tightened.
Damsel took a stride forward, having to pass Carter, who was seeing off visitors at the entrance, and as Carter met his gaze, that miserable smile of his intensified.
"I hope I didn't insult you today, Sir Prince."His words were nice, but his tone, along with his glare, was menacing.
Carter rubbed his hands together and smiled at Damsel, who was picking at the edge of his nails to calm himself down and appear normal.
"It was a good transaction; there was no need to be insulted,"
Damsel replied gently, a dimple on his cheek appearing. Carter's gaze stayed on him; he didn't refute his assertion; instead, he simply grinned.
"Adieu, Carter."
He walked away.
Initially, he followed behind the other guests, following the path to the front door, but at one point, the boy who was following the crowd had slipped away at a turn of a corridor, and soon, his feet were hastily scurrying around the Knight manor, he had been here countless times when he was younger, and he could vaguely remember the layout, the formal rooms were downstairs, the second floor was for activities such as pool and the winery, bars, and cinema,Damsel spun around at every curve to escape the employees, and soon he was on the third level, where he saw a lengthy corridor with a succession of doors on each side of the wall.
the manor seemed more like a hotel rather than a home, there were no pictures and no decorations on the walls, you couldn't tell the difference from each white door, it was a hotel hallway, quite literally.
Damsel knew to avoid the master bedroom and guest rooms, and he was left with two doors.
Sarah, and Samuel.
Just like how he was placed in front of two doors to make a choice of whose room was who, Darren was placed in that same situation, having to decide who got to live, and who didn't.
Damsel's heart rate dropped, and he found it difficult to breathe; how did Darren feel every morning when he awoke and had to pass Sarah's door? Or the morning after her death, when he was greeted by an empty toddler's room? How did he deal with his younger brother after killing his twin the same day? What had Darren been through all these years, how did he feel, and how did he cope?
and how did he manage to smile?
That perfect boy who got A's in every subject, the boy who joined every club under the sun, the boy who excelled in sports and academics, the boy who had everyone's heart at school. Every parent compared their child to him, the boy who was held up as an example to every student, the boy who wore a bright smile every day and ran around the soccer field laughing and teasing the other students. The boy shone even brighter in the sun and won community awards. That perfect young man,
How did he feel?
How did he feel when his father murdered his little sister.
How did he feel when his father sat him down and made him choose.
Damsel forgot to breathe, and the needles poking his eyes finally allowed a tear to fall down his cheek; he didn't know how he looked right now, but the stinging of his eyes couldn't compare to the waves his heart was making.
When he opened the door, the color pink invaded his eyes; on the walls were posters of Disney princesses, and the walls were plastered pink. The sheets were still soiled on the princess-style bed in the corner of the room.
They appear to have been left as they were on the day she died.
They were left in the same condition as the last time Sarah awoke from her sleep.
Damsel hurriedly shut the door, and tears streamed down his cheeks; he tried sucking them up, but they wouldn't stop; he was a crying mess.
"...Brother?" Damsel's whole body flinched as he turned around, he hurriedly wiped his face roughly with the rough sleeves of his suit, a tired voice pondered.
"D-Damsel..?"
Fuck,
He couldn't see anything because of his tears; everything was blurry, and he could just make out the figure rushing back into the room and slamming the door shut.
His heart tightened even more, and the tears flowed like a waterfall; he had punched that poor kid in the nose and kicked him numerous times, and he had left him crying on the bathroom floor and kneeling at his feet.
He was a freaking jerk. He felt terrible about it. So much. damsel was dragged down to repentance by the way his voice quivered and the glint of terror in his eyes before he went and slammed the door in his face.
Regret exists to urge us to evaluate previous events from viewpoints other than the ones we had at the time, in the heat of the moment. Our emotional intelligence and maturity improve as a result of this creative viewpoint taking.
And right now, Damsel had felt like he aged 30 years since the day he had punched Samuel, the him last week was selfish, privileged, unrestrained, and dumb.
Damsel had been too blind and selfish to see the truth all along; now, when everything was on the edge of collapsing, Damsel truly recognized the truth of the situation, as if he had taken off his blindfold and seen the world for the first time.
Darren had been right all along, but Damsel never cared to listen.
Damsel had the option of venting his rage on someone else or refusing to do so as soon as something irritated him. It was as if the devil tempting him, but Luna was begging him to be strong enough to hold his fury without passing it on to someone else.
Damsel, on the other hand, transferred his wrath to everyone around him; that was the sort of person he was, he was the type of guy who felt everything revolved around him and that his feelings were more important than anybody else's.
only he himself was regarded as important and others weren't people with their own feelings.
But Darren kept it all in, when he was met with a setback, he smiled through it and dealt with the situation through mere persistence and endurance, something that Damsel had never done. Now, he had kept it so hidden that Damsel, throughout the 17 years they had known eachother, never knew what Darren was dealing with.
And it was so much worse than Damsel's self-proclaimed shitty life.
As a teenager, you think the whole world is worse than it actually is, as you grow older you see food on your plate and a roof over your head, with loving family all around you, you dismiss it as just 'a phase,' and to Damsel, that's all it really was, a period of time.
But what about Darren? Darren had been dealing with all sorts of emotions and trifles by himself, probably crying himself to sleep every night while people praised him for being a filial son. His problems weren't self-made, nor were his feelings a choice; his problem with life wasn't a phase, his sufferings did not account for teen depression; and yet he still didn't show it on the outside or take his anger out on others.
For Damsel to compare his life to Darren's, Damsel could only be happy that he didn't have to walk in Darren's shoes.
When someone like Damsel, witnesses a person of importance's pain, it's no surprise that his own sentiments pale in contrast to what that person has been through.
it's no wonder he feels like his feelings pale in comparison to what Darren has been going through.
This realization humbles a person
and allows them to see.
Now, Damsel could see,
and only regret.
When he met Samuel's stare, he was too embarrassed to even look him in the eyes; he was disgusted and ashamed of himself.
Damsel assumed Samuel had banged the door shut in an attempt to flee, but the sound of the door creaking open filled his ears, and his heart leaped as he raised his head
to see the little, endearing figure of Samuel holding out a box of tissues with expectant eyes.
He was in a state of stupor, only staring at that box of tissues,
"Don't cry,"
DUN-
The sound of Damsel's heart flipping over.
The boy's sweet voice resounded, he stammered over his words as he timidly met Damsel's eyes,
Damsel felt like his heart had been shot through with an arrow at that moment, he didn't know what to feel, but when he looked at Samuel, his eyes took in the baby fat that was still part of his age, his soft freckles and large ginger curls, the boy had big doe eyes and lashes that girls would be jealous of, he looked like an absolute angel now that Damsel had carefully examined him.
This...
was the image of a sweet younger brother!
So fluffy and adorable!!
So cute!!
"Thank you," Damsel coughed, sniffling as he snatched a tissue from the box, he was too embarrassed at the moment, having been seen crying, especially by Darren's younger brother of all people, he wiped his eyes and blew his nose,
all of this happened within the silence of the two people standing in front of each other.
"You're welcome.." Samuel whispered, his fingers fiddling with the box as he lowered his head, "Um-"
"Samuel?" Carter's voice called, from behind the door,
Fuck.
Damsel tensed,
he gripped Samuel by the arm and dragged him inside his room, locking the door.
Shit, he took too long.
When he dragged Samuel in, he was in such a rush not to be exposed that he directly pinned the other against the wall and clasped his mouth shut, fearful that Samuel would call out, the two were in such close proximity, with Damsel's entire figure looming over Samuel's small build, trapping him against the wall as he kept his ears open for Carter's footsteps.
While Damsel was too panicked to pay attention to the state they were in, Samuel's full attention was grasped.
Of course, Samuel was in an embarrassing situation; when Damsel had him pinned, his eyes widened, and he could feel Damsel's shaken breath fanning across his face; when he glanced up, he could see every feature of Damsel's face up close.
Damsel had always been thought to be handsome by everyone, but he looked even better up close. Normally, pores and skin defects would dull a person's appearance, but when people said Damsel was perfect, those words were not a lie, every part of his skin was smooth, clean, and even glowing, there was not a single defect on his face, and if you looked at it long enough, you would only find that he became more pleasing to the eye.
As a protected omega, Samuel had never been in such situations with another alpha before, and he had never been so close to one in his life, he couldn't help but tremble his lashes as he gazed over at Damsel's every feature, from the way his pretty eyes seemed on guard to the perfect shape of his nose; soon, his gaze had lowered to Damsel's lips.
To be in such a situation with someone with Damsel's looks,
Samuel was a hot mess.
His older brother had always been extremely protective of him, so he wasn't very experienced, but right now, his heartbeat was accelerating at an abnormal leapt, the rosy color filling his cheeks and he was suddenly restless, too nervous to even squeak; right now, he didn't mind being marked right here by the older male. His emotions were raging, and his mind was racing back and forth.
Samuel's heart had always been delicate and weak, and now it couldn't handle the strain.
He passed out,
right then and there in Damsel's arms.
Damsel was stupefied, almost dropping the boy flat on the ground.
-
[A/N: damsel and darren interactions will be coming in the later chapters, I had to forward the plot in this one, but there will be a flashback to the bathroom scene in the future that'll depict what exactly happened, get ready to fangirl lolol.]