It hurt.
It hurt a lot. Jake was curled up in the bunk he shared with his mate, clutching Daegel's pillow like Daegel himself would disappear should he let go. A hole had been clawed into his chest, taking his heart with it. During his Turning, Jake had been abandoned, and that had almost killed him. But Daegel had come back then, now he couldn't. Jake clutched the pillow tighter, It's my fault. The thought had been consuming him as fast as the cavity of loss and fear. It's my fault Daegel and Raven are gone, I wasn't strong enough. All he could do was watch as Daegel fought a losing battle to protect him, and let that monster take the person who mattered more to him than anything in the world.
Three days. Three days since that morning. Three nights of fretting, panic, and desperate tracking. Inside, Jake was crumbling. As was Cahya. It was clear Onyx was doing everything she could to keep her devastated pack functioning, despite feeling the separation herself. Cahya had assured Jake that Daegel and Raven being taken was not his fault, but Jake couldn't bring himself to look Cahya in the face when the pack leader cried silently during those last moments before sunrise.
The ground had seemingly fallen from under his feet every time he got out of bed. A dark beast roamed around every corner, just out of sight, never out of mind. What kept him going, kept his empty shell moving, was needing to get Daegel and Raven back. All night was spent tracking down Amos and the two. No tears were shed then, it was the time alone where the tears fell, mourning the part of them that was missing as they clung to hope.
Somewhere, out there, Daegel was suffering at the hands of a monster. If nothing else, Jake had to do this. But every time he saw Cahya's heartbroken face, or Onyx's silently crying in the driver's seat when she thought the other two weren't near, or felt that horrible hollow ache of longing and failure and grief, he was left to question how much he could take.
With a harsh scraping, the heavy black curtain of the bunk was drawn back, revealing Cahya standing there. In all honesty, he looked like shit. Exhaustion painted dark circles under his eyes and weighed heavily on his shoulders. No makeup adorned his face, long since washed away, and his hair hung in a limp, messy mop. Red, bloodshot scleras rimmed his darkened gold irises. Jake had never seen Cahya look so... broken.
Cahya didn't say anything, just stood there stock still. As bad as the man before him looked, Jake knew he looked about the same, if not worse. But Cahya was the leader of their pack, not only did he think he had failed as a leader by allowing two of their brothers to be taken as he lay in a coma, but he hadn't been there to protect and fight for his mate. Guilt hit Jake like a freight train, and he opened his mouth to apologise tearfully for the billionth time. Before he could utter a word, Cahya held out a hand to silence him.
"Don't. It isn't your fault." His voice was hoarse, unused but for guiding his remaining pack members to track Daegel and Raven. "If anything, it's mine."
"No it isn't. That motherfucker crossed a line, and I'm going to kill him." Jake didn't look particularly threatening at that time, but his eyes blazed with indescribable pain and fury. If Cahya didn't know Amos, he'd be tempted to believe Jake just from the look in his eyes.
Saying nothing, Cahya just nodded. Minutely, his shoulders began to shake with suppressed sobs. Sitting upright, Jake grasped Cahya's shoulders and guided the much taller vampire to sit on the bed beside him. A moment passed, then Cahya burst into tears, finally breaking under the pressure that had been building within all of them over the last few days.
Wrapping his arms around his brother, Jake started to sob as well. The door to the bunks opened, and Onyx walked in. Jake hadn't realised the bus had pulled over. "Ten minutes to-" She trailed off as she took in the state of her brothers. Making her way over, Onyx fell to her knees in front of the bed, wishing she could alleviate their suffering. Yes, her mate was out of the country, but Scarlett was safe and they talked most days. Raven and Daegel had been taken, and whether they were even alive couldn't be known for sure.
Trembling, Onyx reached out and embraced them both, forcing her own tears back. Two of her brothers were missing, but the other two lost their mates. What right did she have to cry when she should be tracking or supporting Jake and Cahya. So, pushing her sobs into a cold, hard rock in her chest, Onyx did her best to comfort the two.
"It's going to be okay. We've almost caught up with them, and then we'll find a way to bring Dae and Raven home." Murmured Onyx, holding the younger vampires shaking forms closer. "No matter what, we're still a family, and we'll pull through like always." Despite her best efforts, a single tear fell from her green eyes, followed by another, and another, until they were all just sitting in Jake's bunk, crying and holding each other.
Nobody needed to pretend to be strong. They were all breaking inside, and bottling it up was tearing them all apart. Out of choice, they were a family, and they'd be damned if any of them were left to suffer. As the sun rose, and the three fell asleep, as was their biology, they made a silent but potent promise to one another. They were going to bring their family back together, no matter what.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"JAKE! CAHYA! ONYX! RAVEN!"
"Jake!"
Daegel ran. He ran and ran as fast as his legs would carry him. His muscles burned and he could barely breathe. His heart, his very human heart, was beating so fast that Daegel was sure it would explode any moment. Tears of fear and exhaustion rolled down his cheeks.
Where was he? How was he human again? Where was Jake? He needed Jake, he needed his mate. Needed to make sure Jake was safe. Where was the pack? He needed to find Jake.
Finally his legs gave out and he tumbled to the ground. Screaming out as his muscles protested to the sudden stop in movement. Whimpering in pain, Daegel tried to get up as more tears fell from his eyes. He was shaking badly and his feet were numb. "Jakey..." he whimpered.
Footsteps caught his attention and he looked up. He then cried out in terror as his father reached down and dragged him up by the hair. No, no, why was he here? Even though this was his past, Daegel still fought against the man who was supposed to raise him.
Suddenly he was a young man again, the people he used to call friends hurling objects and abuse at him out of reach of the chains he was restrained by. Men who would do unspeakable things to him as 'punishment' before kicking the shit out of him. Young children taught to hate him before they knew his name. Women who would hurl words that could peel paint. It was all confronting him, the past he had spent centuries running from.
A face he knew all too well sauntered up, gripping his long black hair and lifting. "Useless little bitch!" Daegel cried out as he was shaken, still gripped by the hair. "Couldn't even keep a damn vamp happy, could you faggot!? A newly turned one at that!"
Daegel couldn't fight the tears or the terror as the men from his old village abused, sodomised, and beat him while the women jeered. Helplessly, he cried out. Though he struggled and fought he was once more reduced to that broken human, no longer able to fight as he had always prided himself on. Not able to speak as his throat was stripped raw from screaming, Daegel simply begged silently for his brothers and sister, for Jake...
"DAEGEL!"
Daegel's eyes snapped open and he snapped his head around, sweating and aching. His vision cleared and he cowered at the sight of Amos standing above him. Those cold, dead eyes stared straight into him, impassive and cruel.
"Hm. Disappointing. But there is yet progress to be made." Once, he nudged Daegel's prone body with his boot like the injured and emotionally exhausted vampire was a carcass. Then he simply left, locking the door behind him with a click that may as well have been a brick to the chest.
"Dae..." Raven whimpered for his brother. After Amos left he had moved as closely as the chains would allow. Like Daegel, his body was bruised and exhausted, covered here and there with scratches that matched his hunting paint. "Dae, speak to me."
All Daegel could do was groan in response. His entire body hurt as though he had actually been beaten, and he felt disgusting. Bruised and bleeding just as Raven was, Daegel hurt a lot but was grateful to be out of the nightmare. "Fuck... this noise." He managed to spit out.
Raven chuckled weakly. "Ay-fucking-men..."
It was amazing that they could still laugh even now. Amos had tormented them for what felt like days now. Never had he physically laid a hand on them, preferring his powers instead. They were tormented with terrible hallucinations of their worst fears, playing on their insecurities and deepest secrets. Their pasts came up to meet them, reopening old wounds and forcing old trauma to resurface. Again and again Daegel was transported back to his old village, re-living the pain, humiliation, and betrayal. How many times had he watched his pack be torn apart? How many times had he seen Jake die? How many times had Daegel been forced to watch everything that mattered to him be stolen away whilst he watched, too weak to help?
Raven... he was not sure what the other vampire feared. But the screams and crying... it tore at Daegel's heart and stirred his anger. With every second of the torment it grew stronger. The majority of his human life had been spent being made either the perpetrator or the victim, being tortured and hurt. Wearing him down until there was nothing left to lose and nothing left to fight for.
But the final insult to his human life was that after the village had finally left him dying, an entitled vampire had thrown him into the Turning and left. Forcing Daegel to live with himself. Just as it seemed as though lying on the road to wait for the sun was his best option, hope had appeared in the form of a pack, a family. Now he had someone who loved him, people who cared about him. Thanks to them, he had been given a chance to live again, as a person. Given the ability to be himself, become a strong individual who fiercely protected his own. He had been given the power to change his life and did so with fiery abandon.
Amos was not going to ruin that. Daegel wouldn't allow it. He wasn't about to let this old as dirt vampire ruin his family.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't like it."
"I know."
"It has to be a trap."
"Well obviously. It was too easy to find."
"So why the fuck are we walking right into it?"
Cahya, Onyx and Jake crouched behind a rusted car, peeking at an old decrepit building. Though they wanted nothing more than to charge straight in, they were sagacious enough to avoid any outright confrontation and observe. The windows were long since broken and it was clear that it had not been inhabited in some time. At least it appeared that way to humans. To the three vampires, it was all too obvious that someone had been using this place to hide out in. There were certain cues their superhuman senses picked up on, smells and sights and small sounds that were muffled even to their hearing.
This was where Amos had taken the other two members of their family.
Jake started forward, usual thought and careful planning completely absent in the shadow of desperation. "Dae's in there. We need to-"
"Not walk right into Amos's trap." Onyx snapped, holding him back. "We need to think of a plan."
"Like the three of us can take him on. All FIVE of us couldn't take him on. I've seen him destroy entire packs before." Cahya was edgy and tense. From this distance he could smell Raven, his mate. It made his heart clench. He still couldn't believe that Raven had asked him to be his mate. Though it was a thought that rested in the back of his mind, he loved their relationship and their dynamic. Cahya never minded the women Raven would sleep with... not really, not often, and not that Raven was aware. In the end it was always Cahya's bed he came back to, it was Cahya he shared his passion and love with. Raven was a very sexual person and Cahya accepted that. But then the vampire had come to him when they had been alone, and asked Cahya to be his. Naturally, he had been stunned, and for good reason. He remembered Raven confessing his feelings for Cahya, how the women he fucked and fed on just felt hollow to him. Of course, Cahya accepted, overjoyed.
Then his sire just had to show up and try to ruin his life again. But that bastard would soon realise that Cahya was no longer the terrified and lonely boy that was his progeny. No, now he was a pack leader with a family and a mate to protect. He wanted to rip his maker into pieces and cuddle with his beloved Raven. Not at the same time.
"So what the fuck do we do then." Jake snarled. It wasn't like he was angry at Onyx, mostly at himself for being weak and Amos for being a sadistic fuck. And he couldn't shake the nagging thought that Daegel needed him. Deep in his bones he could feel it. "...I'm going to kill him." A threatening growl rumbled low in his throat. "I am going... to rip out his spine. Slowly."
For the first time in days, Cahya smirked slightly. "Get Nyx to show you how to do it properly, she's a master at it." Suddenly, he frowned and stared at Jake. "You seem... different." His frown deepened. "Jake. I know... it's hard to control. But you have to."
Mirroring his brother's expression, Jake's mouth twisted into a confused frown. "Control what?"
"The anger. The beast. I can see it in you, Jake. It's so damn tempting, I know. But-"
"It's not that, Cahya." Jake clenched his fists. He knew Cahya was worried about him and he appreciated it, but this was something different, he could feel it. "This is... I don't know what it is. But I'm not afraid of that bastard, and I'm going to kill him. I've been afraid of people like him all of my life. No more. I'm not going to be afraid anymore. We're going to go in there, get Raven and Daegel, and then I'm going to rip his spine out."
Next to the two, Onyx stared at her little brother, at the blazing fire in his eyes. There was something different about Jake, but it wasn't what Cahya had thought. The young man had been growing in strength since he had joined them, changing from the frightened, lost and dying child into a confident person willing to fight back against those who would keep him down. This wasn't the beast taking over. This was a victim who was ready to fight back.
Interrupting their little moment of silence, Onyx answered Jake's earlier question. "We think and we plan. We can't take Amos head on. So... we need to cause a diversion. We lead him away, we trick him and we kill him." Watching the building like a hawk, Onyx schemed and spoke simultaneously. Then a sly smirk spread across her face. "And I have a great idea..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raven and Daegel looked up as the door opened once again. Amos had the same impassive expression and cruel eyes he always did. They were fairly certain that he did not have the ability to express anything else. With that abnormal grace he always had, he stepped into their shared cell, not even attempting to close the door behind him. Why bother? He kept them both fed on the bare minimum of stagnant blood to keep them weak. They were chained and their bodies were feeling the effects of his powers. There was no reason to lock the door.
"I am beginning to wonder about the effectiveness of my treatments." Taking in their states, he spoke slowly, making sure they could hear. "I suppose the fact that you are alive is in some measure a testament. We shall see if you can continue." He looked over to Raven and walked toward him, as always starting with the closer of the two captives.
Daegel jerked in his chains, growling. Though the chains screamed in protest in time with his ribs, he continued with his foolish bravado. "When I get out of these chains, I am going to rip out your throat."
Amos stopped, his hand hovering over Raven. Spinning on his heel, he turned to Daegel with a raised eyebrow. "...Are you indeed? That would be a sight to see." He lowered his hand and walked over to Daegel. "Perhaps I was incorrect about the assumptions I had made about you, Daegel Lyons Amoret. Perhaps Jacob did not choose an ill-suited mate. Then again, his suitability remains to be tested."
Lunging as far towards Amos as he could, Daegel snarled, eyes crimson. "You keep away from him and I won't smash your skull in."
There was a subtle twitch to the side of Amos's mouth, the first change of expression he had shown. It didn't serve to make him seem any less malevolent. "Why don't we begin with you, for this session." Taking a step closer, he started to raise his hand, icy eyes glowing an eerie shade of sangria. Steadily, Daegel met his gaze, for once unafraid of what was to come. Even as he descended into the fever dreams, he was not afraid.
Amos lowered his hand after Daegel slumped to the floor, unconscious. He turned to Raven. "I will return for you, later." He then glided to the door, leaving the already writhing Daegel with Raven. Another tactic to break them, to test them. His footsteps echoed in the stone hallway as he walked away, ignoring the way Raven called for Daegel. Perhaps he should find his progeny someone else. Or not, much easier to just kill this one and make the vampiric scion move on. It mattered little to him.
Turning a corner, he reached the main area of the building he was using and stopped, eyebrow arching for the second time that night. Cahya stood before him, at least partially healed from what he had done to the man. Although upon closer inspection, his eyes were a bit sunken and he was paler than usual. Obviously he had hunted his maker down with as little rest as could be afforded.
"Cahya. So you are here. And I can assume that Jacob and Onyx are close by."
Cahya winced, and the forms of the two vampires emerged from their hiding spots, joining their pack leader silently.
"That is better. There is little point in attempting to trick me. I know you are not foolish enough to try and fight me. So you will explain your purpose in coming here. Now."
Steadily, Cahya met his maker's gaze, pushing back the fear that arose from the mere presence of the ancient vampire. Despite there being no inflection or change in tone, he knew that Amos was not pleased at all. Walking straight into a trap was as good as weakness in his eyes. He may not kill Cahya because he was his progeny and his childe, and even Amos somewhat respected that bond... however thin. But his pack, his family, would pay the price and he would not allow that. So he did what he had to do. What he came here to do.
Slowly walking forward, his eyes lowered respectfully, Cahya showed no signs of hesitation. No expression betrayed his feelings, as though Cahya was little more than a hollow shell. He then lowered himself to his knees in front of his sire, head bowed.
"...Master, maker ...I surrender."