Have you ever experienced a loss so great that it felt as if you would never recover from it?
A loss that leaves you bare and vulnerable because you have absolutely no one to turn to. No one to wipe your tears away because they are all gone. A loss that hurt so painfully that it tasted bitter and felt disgustingly similar to abandonment. The type of loss to bring men to their knees with tears running down their eyes, begging for happiness and a chance to live as carefree as they could before.
Although many people recover from losing a loved one, some simply do not. Some take paths that mask the pain so that they can never confront it. Some wallow in the pain until they finally learn to walk with it on their backs. Either way, loss was a tremendous amount of pain to deal with alone. Especially if it was your whole support system gone in one explosion.
"Will you accept him?" Hayes asked, he understood that this was an unfair question since the Lycan already knew what his human counterpart had decided. He simply just wanted him to say it out loud.
"No." Kairo replied, his voice was hoarse and dry because he had been asleep for a while now without eating or even doing anything. Just simply existing.
He hadn't gotten out of bed since the last time he saw Marcellus. That was a week ago. Kairo hadn't been answering his calls or killing anyone in a month now, this was the first time this had ever happened. Marcellus just consumed his thoughts and the feeling of being obsessed with someone other than Christopher made him feel an immense amount of guilt.
The guilt was so strong that it overwrote the mate bond that would've forced Kairo to go see Marcellus. It was past versus future. And just like many times before, Kairo let the past win. Kairo was so focused on what he had, who he loved and what had happened that he couldn't think of what he could have, who he could love and what could happen. After all, the future had never looked promising for him from the start, why would it start looking bright now?
"Let's at least have the decency to go and reject him instead of making him travel all the way here." Hayes sighed, somewhere in his heart he wanted love and happiness.
But he had tasted it before and the aftertaste was unforgettably bitter.
"Alright, if you say so."
[...]
"Why won't you let me call him?!" Theo shouted, he was so angry that he punched the wall. His knuckles were sore and slightly bleeding.
"I don't want him to accept me out of pity." Marcellus groaned as he sat up on the hospital bed. His migraines were even worse than before. No amount of medicine could treat them and Kristian was slowly starting to disappear.
"Marcellus, you're fucking dying." The Beta scoffed, "So what he accepts you out of pity? At least then you'll be alive." Tears threatened to roll down his face as clenched his jaw. Theo was becoming incredibly frustrated with his friend.
"Respect my wishes. You know better than to defy me."
It had been exactly a week since Marcellus passed out. Luckily, Theo found him before any of the pack members could, meaning that the rest of the pack were unaware of their Alpha's condition. Marcellus initially thought that he had until his 30th birthday but turns out meeting Kairo sped up the process. If he didn't mate with him soon, Marcellus would die by the end of this month.
Leaving his country and pack without an heir and defenceless. Yet he still refused to call the Lycan and reveal the nature of the situation. The Alpha King desperately wanted his mate to come to him willingly and gladly without any hesitation in his mind.
Some might say that the King was incredibly selfish but what he was doing was indeed selfless.
If he was to die before that would happen, then he would accept his death gracefully and happily.
[...]
"What are you doing here?" One of the Guards questioned.
"I need to talk to the King." Kairo answered, he pushed the Guard's arm off him and sat down.
Theo hurried down the stairs to find Kairo sitting down in one of the cells. His eyes sparkled with glee, he couldn't believe it. Kairo was here to accept Marcellus.
"Release him." He ordered.
The Guard unlocked the door and let Kairo before going back to his chair. Theo signalled for Kairo to hastily follow him up the stairs. He would lead him directly to where the King was.
"Where are we going?" Kairo asked, his height matched Theo's perfectly. After all, they were both natural Betas. Neither one of them was dominant over the other.
Theo was a tall and muscular African-American male. His dark skin was stunning, his waves were neat and perfect and his thick, clean beard filled his whole chin. Everything about him screamed organisation and perfection. From the golden watch on his wrist to the expensive suit, Theo Brown was the definition of class.
"Have you not heard the news?" Theo stopped and faced Kairo. He knew that there was no possible way that Kairo could've heard the news.
The Beta carefully observed his features and realised something. Kairo wasn't here to accept Marcellus. He was here to do the opposite. That was unfortunate because there was no way in hell that Theo would allow his friend to die.
Checking the surroundings to make sure that none of the pack members were nearby, Theo leaned in and whispered, "Our King is dying."
With a blank expression, he turned around and continued walking towards the hospital region of the palace. He didn't want to manipulate Kairo but it was the only way to keep his best friend alive. No matter what, Theo was determined to keep his friend alive.
Kairo felt his heart stop as he mindlessly followed the Royal Beta. His breathing was now slightly louder than before and his steps echoed through the halls. He paled and his bottom lip was quivering.
Why was he reacting this way? He didn't even know Marcellus.
"He's in there." Theo pointed at the end of the hall. A single door stood.
"Alright. Thank you."
Placing his hand on Kairo's shoulder, Theo said, "No...thank you, Kairo." With that, the Beta was gone.
Kairo would never understand what the Beta meant but it didn't matter. After all, he didn't want to understand.
Taking a deep breath, Kairo walked towards the door and pushed it open. The man that stood here looked nothing like the one who had been sitting on his sofa a week ago.
Kairo remembered Marcellus's features perfectly, he did think about him all the time. From the way his raven hair was slicked back ever so slightly that it looked professional but also messily natural, to the way his piercing black eyes contrasted his pale skin, he remembered everything about the man.
Particularly the tattoos that he suspected coated both of his sleeves because of how they reached all the way to his fingers. Marcellus was engraved in Kairo's mind, he dreamt of running his hand through his hair, feeling his stubble and tracing his tattoos but he doubted that would ever happen because of how close to death Marcellus was.
His skin was a sickly yellow, lips were pure white without a single drop of blood. Thin strands of hair stuck to his sweaty forehead as he struggled to get back on his bed. He was wearing boxers and a black vest. It didn't smell like Marcellus in here. Kairo knew the scent that filled the room, oh so well.
It was scent of death.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice was low and grouchy.
Shutting the door behind him, Kairo went and assisted Marcellus by helping him get on the bed properly. The sparks were now weak and slowly fading away. He really was dying.
"What's wrong with you?" Kairo asked softly, he couldn't even bear to look at him. The King was malnourished and weak but he knew it wasn't because they didn't give him the right nutrients, it was because he couldn't keep anything down.
Kairo faced the window, glancing down at the forest.
Pushing his hair away from him face, Marcellus answered, "Nothing serious." He lied, "It gets worse before it gets better."
"Stop lying to me!" He shouted, tears ran down his face. Kairo recognised the feeling of sparks fading all too well, he felt that when Christopher died.
"It's- it's not going to get better." The man sobbed, his nose was red as he sniffed, "You're dying!"
"I'm almost thirty, Kairo." Marcellus smiled sadly, "Why do you seem so surprised?"
His eyes widened as he realised what was going on. Marcellus was almost thirty years old without a mate or an heir, this made him an incapable King in the eyes of Celeste. He was dying to make way for a new King, a more adequate King. This was common in the werewolf world, the failure to commit and make an heir told Celeste that you were not worthy to be King, which is why rulers would develop incurable illnesses.
There was one cure though. Mating.
"I don't..I don't understand." He walked closer to the bed, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Chuckling slightly, Marcellus glanced out the window, "Because I had a feeling you'd react like this."
Marcellus's eyes finally met Kairo's and everything felt like it was going to get better. Being around him felt like a fresh breath of air, his scent was refreshing. He smelt like forest rain and it also happened to be Marcellus' favourite scent.
'Ah, what a way to die.' Marcellus thought to himself.
"You're not dying." Kairo professed, determination crossed his face as he grabbed the Alpha's face softly and turned his head to get better access to his neck.
Without a single thought of hesitation, Kairo sank his canines into the King's neck. He gulped up his blood and a feeling of love rushed through his body. A connection formed between the two which allowed Marcellus to begin healing once again.
Licking the punctures, Kairo pulled away and looked at Marcellus' shocked expression.
"I wont let you die." He said, "Not until you give me the love you promised me."