"Cuz parents aren't always right."
[parents - YUNGBLUD]
PARALYSED, aching, vulnerable, crushed, tormented, dejected. Kai stood frozen in place, unable to move from the spot - feeling as heavy as lead, as empty as a dead man's eyes, as broken as the promises he had made. Time seemed to stand still as the boy watched the little red car drive away, it's silhouette only getting smaller and smaller as it drove further and further down the tarmac rode.
Then reality hit him. A sound of anguish tore from Kai, a heart-clenching sound that bounced menacingly off the street, filling the once-silent area with the noise of his sadness. It's stung is vocal chords, strained his mouth and rattle off his teeth.
Then it went quiet again.
His solemn footsteps filled the quiet night with a melancholy vibration as he paced quickly to his scratched-up car. He'd need to fix that - the damage could become suspicious. Getting inside, he started up the engine and drove off with little hesitation, desperate to get home and possibly hit something.
Kai bit back a wince at the sight of the crumpled up empty packet of pork rinds lazing on the passenger's seat, his mind flashback to every time Mack would make a sound of disgust whenever he'd start chewing obnoxiously on one. He quickly swiped his tears from his damp cheeks before focusing back on the road, gravel crunching meticulously under his tyres, the wet sound of the sticky tarmac the only noise accompanying the purr of the Jeep's engine.
Suddenly, Kai slammed the brakes so hard he was jerked forward in his seat, chest aching against the tight strain of his seatbelt. Kai gathered himself quickly, unbuckling himself and getting out of his car. With fast paces, he walked towards Ian's car that was laying abandoned at the side of the road - empty.
Kai walked around the car, vexing down to peer inside the windows yet he saw nothing. He stood back up, hands fisting his hair as he let out a frustrated groan. That's when he noticed the car keys strewn carelessly in the glistening grass. Kai's eyes blew wide, he picked them up and clicked the button.
Yellow-orange lights flashed from the red car.
"No no no." Kai muttered, yanking the driver's door open and rooting through the glovebox, the pouches on the back of seats, the boot, anything - not really knowing what he was looking for. A small, silver glint caught his eyes from the grass again - next to where the keys had been. Kai was quick to investigate, picking up the silver watch crested with the unmistakably Gemini symbol beneath the ticking hands.
Kai threw the piece of jewellery roughly at a nearby tree, letting out a shout of rage before he was running back to his car and jumping in - not even bothering to put on his seatbelt before he was driving at 100 miles an hour towards his house.
...
A groggy state filled Mack's clouded mind, a metallic rattling noise colliding with her ears like nails on a chalk board - jolting her sore body awake. Her head was hung low, toes dancing precariously on the gritty stone floor and arms strung up above her by long, thick chains. She was acutely aware of the persistent throbbing on the left side of her head, along with the stabbing pain echoing across her cheek. What she couldn't figure out was what caused them.
The second one was answered quickly.
"Wake up, girl!" A sharp voice boomed. "Fucking spells." The same voice muttered quietly after, the sound of footsteps fading away caressing Mack's ears painfully. A drawn-out groan tumbled from her lips, the sound of footsteps getting louder again. A pointed gasp escaped her as rough, strong fingers dug into her jaw, tilting her head upwards until she was looking into dark brown eyes.
"J-Joshua?" She croaked, voice shattered from her drowsy state. The man's lips curled into a menacing smirk, a dangerous flame flicking in his eyes. "What am I doing here?"
"All in good time, sweetheart. We just need to wait for my abomination of a son to arrive and the party can get started." Joshua spoke, a malevolent glint in his tone that made Mack sick to her stomach. He wasn't the good guy in this situation, and she definitely wasn't safe.
"W-what do you mean 'get started'" she stuttered out, eyes blown wide with fear as the man stalked around her - like a predator hunting its prey. A dark chuckled filled the tiny shed.
"You'll soon find out, my dear. No need to worry yourself, yet." Joshua cooed sinisterly in her ear, body looming behind Mack's and sending a crawling shiver up her spine that made the girl's entire body quake with terror.
"Joshua!" Mack gasped at the loud shout of Kai's voice, muffled by the creaky walls of the little shed. "Joshua get out here!" Kai bellowed and the feeling of Joshua's breath on the back of Mack's neck as he let out another deep, dark chuckled made the werewolf want to vomit.
"Show time." The witch murmured, an evil smirk gracing his thin lips.
A shrill scream ripped from Mack's throat, right knee buckling slightly but her hanging frame was kept up high but the ever-rattling manacles, causing a burning pain to spark in her upper torso where her body stretched. Mack didn't dare look, her eyes clenched shut as the pain climbed up her leg and through her body, head pounding.
"KENZ!" Kai boomed, the little, flimsy door of the shed flinging open, crashing into the weak wood behind it and shaking some of the shelves lining the walls. There he stood, panting and shaking with anger, eyes dark with an unreadable cloud as he stared at Mack's tear-stained face and the sight of his father stood with a smug smirk behind her.
"Nice of you to join us, Malachai." Joshua finned malevolently, another pained scream echoing from Mack as she felt a searing, sharp pain stabbing through her left arm. The burn didn't leave, the bones being torn apart by the harsh binding.
"Stop!" Kai shouted. "Leave her alone!"
"I don't think I will." Joshua smirked. "You see, I think you need to be taught a lesson. Ever since this girl has come into your life it's been nothing but trouble - mixing with werewolves, steeling magic...I might just have to lock you up." Joshua said, almost sing-songy towards the end. "But I'll start with getting rid of her." Joshua spat, just as three bones broke in Mack's body.
Her ear-piercing screams and pleas brought a siege of tears to Kai's eyes, but an amused glint to his father's.
"Why are you doing this to her." Kai demanded.
"To show you the monster she really is." Joshua said sternly, muttering a spell under his breath to speed up her transition.
"P-please! Make it stop! I can't take it anymore, please stop!" Mack cried, voice shattered with exhaustion and pain.
"Stop it! Just- take me instead! Punish me! Not her," Kai pleaded, eyes pooling with tears once again.
"Boy, don't you see that I already am? By hurting her I am hurting you much more." Joshua confirmed. When Mack looked up again, her eyes were rimmed with gold.
"Stop it!" Kai shouted. Joshua laughed darkly.
And then Mack was truly changing.
Joshua used his powers to disconnect the thick chains from the ceiling, instead rooting them to the concrete floor. And when he was finished, a wolf stood in Mack's place.
"Time for the grand finale." Joshua smirked, hand raising. "Phasmatos superous em animi..."
The pained whimpers of the wolf made Kai wince and Joshua laughed mockingly at him.
"Don't tell me you feel bad for it, Malachai?" Kai raised his head with anger storming in his eyes, yet he was helpless. The whimpering had stopped, the wolf's body still. A shift happened in Mack, her shaking body reverting back.
Kai was quick to rush to her side, arms wrapping around her and cradling Mack's body to his.
"I've got you, I'm here, Kenz. Please- please just come back to me, please." Tears dropped onto her cheeks, a salting sheen over her sweat covered skin and she slowly blinked awake.
A smile broke out on Kai's face, but it was soon replaced by a fearful grimace as her strained voice filled his ears.
"I love you, Kai. With all me heart. Remember that." Mack's lifeless eyes bore into the ceiling, shining with a gloss of tears, but lacking the glint of life they usually held.
Kai's lip trembled uncontrollably, wobbling as his grip on her body slowly loosened. He didn't even get to tell her he loved her one last time...
"I'm done!" Kai's voice bellowed, his tear stained face ripping away from Mack's limp body, rolling lifelessly from his lap and dropping to the stone-cold floor. Kai slowly raised to his feet, head raising. He looked straight into Joshua's eyes as he spoke, clearly. "Do you hear me!?" He continued, noting the way Joshua's throat bobbed as he sealed thickly, trying to contain the fear he suddenly felt for his son. "I lost everything! You made me lose everything!" Kai boomed, rage written over his features as he spun to face his father, face red.
Kai advanced on Joshua, hands fisting the older man's shirt collar tightly as he pushed him up against the gritty stone wall. Kai looked into his father's eyes as he spoke, heavy breaths panted between them as Joshua cracked - showing his first sign of fear towards his son since the first time he saw Kai siphon.
"And you will regret everything you ever did to me."
END