Trigger Warning: Mentions of rape.
"I need to talk to you."
George looked up from where he was breastfeeding Aster in the deserted common room, a ghost of a smile on his lips when he heard Wilbur's voice, but the smile fell when the omega realised how unsteady and pale the other brunette was, worry creasing his brow.
"Y-Yeah, of course," He shuffled to the side of the couch, giving Wilbur some space so that he could sit beside him, and the alpha hesitantly took it, anxious to get too close. "What do you want to talk about?"
Wilbur was rocking back and forth, breathing heavily, and he wrung his hands, needing to fidget, and George could tell that he was really scared. About what? He didn't know. "I've been lying to you."
George kept his lips tightly sealed, a sinking feeling settling within his chest. Wilbur remained silent, not wishing to continue as of yet, and he kept his eyes trained on the floor, refusing to meet George's. The action made the omega doubtful about every action of Wilbur's up until that point. Had something happened that George didn't know about? Did it have to do with when Wilbur saved him from that rogue? Did Wilbur do something to him while he was knocked out?
George forced himself to breathe in, settling himself down. He shouldn't think such thoughts. Wilbur was a good alpha and a good person, who had raised his own pup alone. He wouldn't do anything bad. It wasn't in his nature.
"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to keep the tremble from his voice. He needed to calm down.
"I did something bad," he admitted, voice hoarse while his leg bounced up and down. George felt his hold on Aster tighten. "I-I did something bad to you."
"What?" George choked, breathless. His chest felt tight at the sudden change of mood, going from calm to horrible emotional turmoil in seconds. His throat was closing up. Those brown eyes didn't look as soft anymore. "What did you do to me?"
Wilbur sniffed, and George refused to comfort him. The omega was shocked to his core, terrified of what Wilbur had to admit, and he could tell that it was bad if it made Wilbur this crippled from guilt. It made George feel sick. Wilbur was sick.
"I gave you that scar on your hip."
His heart stopped. Nausea swelled within him at the statement, which felt so cold coming off paled lips but burned his entire being. "W-What?"
His fingers grazed over his hip, where the white scar of his torn flesh remained, painted onto his skin in the terrifying shape of sharp teeth. His side ached at the attention, a forgotten memory moving to the forefront of his mind, and he had to remind himself to breathe even though at that moment he wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and die. He could feel the phantom agony of jaws clamping onto fragile skin, tearing and ripping –
"I attacked you that winter two years ago."
Fog filtered through George's mind, clouding through every crack and crevasse, and he hadn't realised how close to passing out he was until someone tried to take Aster from his arms, probably scared that the omega was going to faint and crush the baby, but George snapped back to awareness instantly, growling loudly in warning and snatching his pup back.
He fell from the couch, still growling in Wilbur's direction while holding Aster close to his chest, slowly backing away. He found himself curled in a corner, shifted into this dark wolf form, and had Aster hid protectively under his belly, keeping his eyes trained on Wilbur. He wasn't going to let this man hurt his pup like he had hurt him.
"George – wait, let me explain myself, please," Wilbur begged, close to tears himself, and George didn't stop him. He wanted an explanation. He wanted to know why Wilbur decided to leave him for dead in the snow. "I was just kicked out by dad, and I was so, so angry and hurt, and was blinded by my emotions and the beginning of my rut. I know that it's not a good excuse, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting a-and using you, and for leaving you to bleed out in the cold. I'm sorry."
George's breaths hurt in his chest, and he sobbed. "Y-You raped me?"
The room fell silent, the only audible thing being their laboured puffs of air. Wilbur nodded, and that precious oxygen was pulled from his airways, twisting his lungs inside out. This wasn't anything George had gone through before. This was betrayal.
He howled.
George howled as loud as he could, hurting Wilbur's ears, but he didn't care, nor did he mind it when Aster started crying beneath him, gripping onto his soft fur. He howled until he felt lightheaded, desperate to breathe in and oxygenate his blood, but he wouldn't give himself the pleasure. He needed someone here with him to whisk him from this toxic revelation. He needed Dream.
Instead, a small head of rusty hair peeked over the corner into the common room, scared. Fundy looked between George's cowering frame to his father's crying one, and the pup began to tremble when he noticed the omega's hostility towards the alpha.
"D-Dad? What did you do?"
George howled again, louder. Fundy covered his ears at the scream, tears entering his eyes, but George needed someone else. He needed an adult, not some child.
There was a flash of pink and dirty blonde hair, and he felt someone trying to grab onto his snout and hold his mouth shut, silencing the deafening cries. The touch only made George more panicked, and he recoiled, pushing Aster closer to himself and baring his teeth at whoever dared to touch him.
" – George! It's me, calm down. You're safe." Green eyes bored into his own, raw and real, and George shifted into his human form, wrapping his arms around Dream and pressing his lips to his ear. He needed to make sure that the alpha heard him.
"Wilbur – two years ago –," he sobbed, gripping onto Dream's shirt. He could see a flash of pink leaning in to investigate, but George squeezed his eyes shut. "He was the one that attacked me two years ago."
George isn't sure who threw the first punch, but in a snap Dream was gone from his arms, ripping his way at Wilbur's face like how the brunette did to George's hip. Techno was trying to hold them back and stop the fighting, but it was a battle between two alphas, and it was bound to get messy.
Blood was spilling from Wilbur's nose while red dribbled from Dream's brow. Fundy scrambled for George, seeking comfort amongst the chaos, but the brunette was exactly the same, screams tearing their way from his throat and leaving him raw and empty. Fundy ended up running away and returned with Phil.
It was he who put an end to the fight. He dragged Dream, Techno and Wilbur into his office, not caring for how they nipped at one another, drawing more blood, and closed his office door with a slam. It vibrated across the whole house, right to George's very core.
He was alone again. It was cold outside.
George was told everything.
He was told about his coma and the full extent of his injuries, and the pup that had died in the process – Wilbur and George's pup.
The omega had thrown up when he had found out about his first pregnancy, being violently sick all over the floor before finally passing out into Dream's arms, sobbing.
It was calm while George was sleeping. He never wanted to leave it – never wanted to part with the beauty and utter bliss of sleepy clouds and sheep, and he briefly pondered that if death was like this, he wouldn't mind. There was no agony here, only peace. George longed for it.
He couldn't eat for a week and refused to move. He was angry – not just at Wilbur, but at Techno and Dream for keeping the truth away from him. George's stomach hurt and his head pounded while a sick part of him ached for another pup in his arms. The feeling made him throw up again. He refused to nurse Aster whenever Dream begged him.
He didn't feel like he was breathing anymore. Sometimes Dream would lean in close to his face with his fingers pressed beneath his jaw, waiting with a bated breath for the confirmation that George was still alive, and the omega could tell that his mate was scared. In a sadistic way, it felt good to see him suffer. Now he knew how George felt.
Techno was a quieter presence and was there almost every time Dream wasn't. He would huddle beside George in his large wolf form, nudging his snout into George's shoulder every now and then to try and get a reaction, and when he would get none, he would nuzzle his way into George's arms, pressing his forehead against his and breathing with him. George only willingly curled around him and embraced him once. He didn't have the energy those other times.
It was Tubbo that snapped him out of his depressive state. George had been napping at the time, since it was the only thing he seemed to do anymore, when the door to his room swung open and forcefully hit the wall, startling the brunette enough to sleepily blink his eyes open. Tubbo was absolutely fuming, his small cheeks puffed out and red, and he stomped over to George's nest, forcing the omega to sit up while the pup huffed about in his temper tantrum.
"Tommy's so annoying!" the pup complained loudly, stomping over to George and throwing himself into George's lap before the omega could do anything about it. He gripped the front of George's shirt and whined into his ear. "He keeps stepping on the flowers I collect! I'm just trying to make a nice little home for the bees!"
The pup forced his head against George's shoulder, letting out a frustrated noise, and George closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing the pup's back. His voice was more strained than he wanted it to be. He just wanted to be left alone. "Deep breaths, Tubbo. Just tell Tommy to go away."
George went to lie back down, wanting to go back to his safe place, but Tubbo only complained again and tugged at George's arm, pulling him forward and towards the door. George shifted into his wolf form so that he wouldn't topple forward, but the pup kept a firm hold on his fur and pulled him forward until he was out of the comfort of his nest and room.
The omega whined loudly, nipping at Tubbo's hand to try and get him to let go, but the pup was strong and George felt weak as he tugged George outside. The sun blinded him.
"I need you to tell him off for me! He'll listen to you! And then we can save the bees!"
George whimpered, digging his paws into the dirt in an attempt to stop, but the pup pulled at his fur and started dragging him across the ground, not caring for how George was struggling against him, trying to get away and go back to the comfort of his room.
The moment Tubbo's grip loosened on his fur when they reached wherever the pup wanted, George immediately curled into himself and hid his face behind his tail, trying to escape from the world and holding himself tight.
Tubbo started rambling about something, probably gesturing to the masses of withering flowers on the grass, but the pup stopped his complaining when he noticed how George clearly wasn't listening and pressed his forehead into George's side, upset at the omega for not tending to his every need.
"Come on, George! You're supposed to help me!"
George whined at the statement, and only tried to make himself smaller. The pup started getting frustrated again, hating not having his voice heard and not being treated as an equal. He hit his head into George's side again, and while the action didn't physically hurt, it only made George more distressed, and his whimpering became constant.
"George! Stop crying or the bees will go away!"
"Tubbo! What are you doing?!"
A large shadow engulfed George's trembling frame, blocking out the batting glare of the sun, and George peeked over his tail to see his mate's large dirty blonde wolf standing over him, surrounding the omega with his fur and protecting him. George couldn't help but feel the slightest bit glad to see him. Dream would take him back to his nest at least, right?
Tubbo stepped back, frowning up at Dream. "I was trying to get George to –."
"No, Tubbo!" Dream snarled, snapping at the pup angrily. "I told you to leave him alone! He needs to rest."
"But he's been resting for a week now! You can't do that! You can't sleep for seven days!" he argued back, getting upset. "I just wanted him to look after the bees with me! That's why I dragged him here!"
"You dragged him!?" The alpha wolf fumed, and he growled down at the pup, getting him to scramble backwards into the grave of flowers. "What's wrong with you!? I can't believe – I can't deal with you right now. Go to Techno and tell him what you've done!"
The small pup sniffed and looked up at Dream with watering eyes before he ran away, trampling on the poor blooms. Dream angrily exhaled as he watched him go, trying to disperse his anger before lowering his head to George, who was still whimpering and letting out distressed pheromones.
He talked softer this time, standing over George and nuzzling their necks together in an attempt of comfort. "Georgie, hey. Please don't cry – you're alright," he soothed, trying to quieten George's cries. They made Dream's heart ache. "Let's get you back inside, okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
George managed a small shake of his head, and he heard Dream sigh in relief. George felt his teeth clamp down on the back of his neck, trying to pick him up, but the feeling of someone biting into his skin triggered his panic and he started to struggle against Dream, yapping his jaws away from him with a whine.
Dream instantly released him, startled by George's sudden defensive movements before realisation settled in, and he looked at George guiltily before shifting back into his human form, bundling George's small light wolf into his toned arms.
"Is this okay?" he asked, anxious of making the omega uncomfortable, but George didn't fight him off this time, allowing the alpha to cradle him to his chest. The omega offered a slight nod, and Dream visibly relaxed. "Okay, g-good – that's good, I mean."
George rested his head under Dream's chin, his ears flat on his head, and he breathed in the sweet citrus of Dream's scent, bathing in it. He hasn't taken the time to appreciate his mate as of late, or how amazing he smelled to George. A part of him felt bad for leaving Dream alone this past week, and he knew how hard it was on the alpha. Dream probably thought that the omega had rejected and abandoned their only pup, which was one of the most hurtful things someone could do. George needed to make sure that Dream knew that he didn't abandon anyone. He just needed time.
They made their way inside, but they didn't go straight to George's room like the omega expected, and continued down the hall. George lifted his head a little, perking up at the change of route, and burrowed into Dream's chest, uncertain.
Dream, being the observant person that he was, instantly noticed George's anxiousness and pressed his lips to George's furry head. "It's okay. I'm just taking you to my nest. That way, the pups won't bother you."
The brunette relaxed into his hold, allowing himself to go limp, and Dream made sure to hold him close to his chest. He opened and closed his door, leaving them alone in the room, and carefully lowered George to his nest, letting the omega settle in.
George shifted once he managed to even out his fast heart rate and instantly wrapped himself in one of Dream's hoodies, trying to hide from the world. He curled his knees, but stopped when he felt a sharp stab. He winced, flexing his ankles, and flinched.
George pulled himself up into a sitting position, biting his quivering lower lip, and Dream looked down at him with a frown when he noticed his stiffness, cautiously stooping down to kneel beside him. He placed his hand on George's leg, and while it was probably supposed to be a soothing manner, it only made George whimper again when the action sent a painful twinge through his skin.
"G-George? What's wrong?" Dream quickly removed his hand, instead placing it beside himself and then over George's when he got fidgety.
George reached over and poked at his leg, wincing at the pain and taking note of how his pants seemed dampened. He shook his head at Dream, not knowing exactly what was wrong, and weakly gripped at the hem of his pants. He struggled to pull them down, and ended up wrapping his arms around Dream's neck so the other could lift him and pull them down for him, since George was so shaky.
Dream released a heavy breath. "Oh god . . ."
George looked down and was quick to screw his eyes shut, muttering. "Shit."
There was a mass of bloody grazes and cuts on his knees and legs, which were sickening to look at and were making a mess. Tubbo must have dragged George harsher than he realised while he was in his wolf form, and he hadn't realised the damage done until now.
George settled in the nest, scared of getting blood anywhere, but Dream didn't seem to mind. He pressed his lips to George's forehead, a silent promise that he would be back, and then rushed from the room, returning a few moments later with some damp towels and gauze.
He carefully cleaned George's wounds, muttering apologies whenever he caused the omega pain, and overall kept saying how sorry he was for not getting there in time before George was dragged like a ragdoll across the ground.
George tried to shut him up – told him that it was okay and that it wasn't his fault, but Dream seemed set on the idea of guilt, and George didn't end up changing his mind. Instead, he tried to be completely still while Dream patched up his legs, not wanting to hinder the alpha's work and be difficult.
When Dream started wrapping the gauze around a deeper graze near George's knee, there was a knock at the door, and it opened without any confirmation of being allowed in, Techno's pink head of hair poking into the room. He wasn't looking inside, but was looking behind him at something further down in the hallway.
"Hey, Dream? Tubbo's –," whatever he was going to say died in his throat, and he looked down at George, eyes widening at the mess of his legs. He quickly stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him, and only then did George notice the baby in his arms, and it made his heart ache when Techno continued what he was saying in worry. "What happened? George, are you alright?"
The omega lowered his gaze and offered a subtle nod, wincing when Dream wrapped a bandage around his leg a little too tightly. Techno walked forward and kneeled beside where Dream was working, and the dirty blonde alpha seemed more than upset, and wiped his hand over his eyes, trying not to cry. It was hard to see a loved one so hurt and broken. It was hard to love George as much as he did. Nonetheless, he couldn't live without him. He'd die without George.
"C-Can you p-p-p . . . p-please help me, Techno?" He stuttered, struggling with his words in a moment of congested emotions, and Techno reached out to pat his back, trying to settle his uneasiness.
"Yeah, of course," Techno replied, reaching for wherever Dream had placed the medical supplies. He heard a quiet gurgle in his ear, and suddenly became aware of the defenceless infant he was carrying, quickly turning his attention to her and rocking her. He looked up at George, nervous for the omega's reaction to the rejected baby, but the moment George heard her gurgle he was looking up, eyes trained on the pup. It made it easier for Techno to ask his next question when he noticed how focused he was. "Can . . . can you please hold her, George?"
George's dark eyes flickered up to Techno's for a moment, and then back down to the pup, hesitant. He felt goosebumps crawl against his skin, paranoia whispering poison into his ear, but he shook the voices away. George was a dad now, and he had his responsibilities as a father.
He nodded, and carefully took Aster from Techno's hands. For a moment, the touch of her against his chest felt alienated, but his omega instincts were quick to set in, and he was soon nursing the pup as if nothing had ever happened, his submissive and maternal side overriding his inner suffering and sadness.
Techno started working on the other leg that Dream hadn't touched, cleaning and patching the fragile and torn skin with gentle and practised movements. Both he and Dream finished up the bandages, ensuring that they were safe and secure, and Dream settled into his place beside George once he was done, cautiously holding his arm and resting his head on his shoulder. He reached out and brushed a kind finger over Aster's rosy cheek, and she glanced up at him with wide eyes before going back to sucking.
Techno packed up the rest of the medical supplies, lips pursed. "Tubbo wanted to apologise for upsetting you guys," he explained, voice quiet. "He regrets what he did, and is hoping for forgiveness."
Dream just stared at Techno, obviously still a little mad at the pup, but George just nodded. He understood that Tubbo was young and didn't understand what George was going through, so he couldn't hold it against the pup. People had to learn from their mistakes in some way.
"It's okay," the brunette quietly consoled, voice barely there. "He was just frustrated at Tommy. It's okay for people to get overwhelmed sometimes."
Yeah, George, he thought. It's okay to get a little overwhelmed.
For some reason, it just didn't feel the same.
I can't believe the story is almost over! If you're looking for more, I have other stories, too!
One more chapter to go.
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