If you want to manipulate the person who cares about you the most, show them your weakest points, broken parts that need to be repaired, your deepest cuts, and they'll unfurl their own bandages and wrap them around you to keep you safe. They'll dig their hearts out to fill the void in your heart.
That's how you trick them.
And Zale was an expert at manipulation.
This agony was given by his father to him. Zale was very weak from birth. Born to an omega who died a few days after his birth, Zale lacked that parental affection and care.
Due to being fragile just like his mother, Shilister always despises Zale. He tried everything in his power to make Zale strong which left deep scars in his head and heart.
Slowly, as Zale started to grow he started to rebel against his father, earning brutal beatings, throwing him in the training field, and shutting him into dark rooms which scares him the most, Zale gradually developed a fear of being alone and dread of being abandoned.
When his life was in shambles and he was barely surviving. A green-eyed little boy spreads his arms for him to hide from those monsters in the dark, extending his hand for Zale to latch onto.
Result, now he's obsessed with those warm arms he's hiding into. He's always looking forward to when he can take refuge in them again, to find the comfort that made his heart race and his stomach turn funny.
These threatening thoughts and destructive feelings transformed him into a tenacious, perilous beast who couldn't think about anything but his prey once he set his gaze on them and was always ready to attack anyone who tried to steal their food.
"Please, d-don't abandon m-me. I'm not sick…I just had it worse," Zale sniffed, blood dripping down his neck. He hugged Soren, crushing his body into himself. "I-I swear I'll be normal and stop being an f-freak."
His breaths were fierce, his voice wavering as tears streamed down his face.
Soren's eyes burn in pain, hearing Zale's voice stutter and his helpless tears break his heart. He felt guilty. If he could, he'll gladly take all of his pain and make them his own so that Zale could always be happy.
For once, he wanted Zale to have a normal and happy life, without any of all these nightmares and far away from the shadow of his father.
"Shhh! I'm not going anywhere, not when you are in so much pain," Soren rubs his back, soothing some of his distress. "I'm here with you. Now let's treat your injury first. And I didn't know that Shilister was sending someone I swear. I'll never do something that'll hurt you. What have you done to yourself? It's a lot of blood," Soren rambles, it's happening exactly what he's most afraid of, Zale harming himself.
Zale bites angrily at Soren's neck. This isn't what he wants to hear; he wants assurances. He wants assurances that will put his blurred sanity at ease, swears that could never be broken, and claims that will end them if either of them tries to break them.
"Ahh..!" Soren grimaced at the sharp pain in his neck. Zale pulled back, still in Soren's embrace, and glared at Soren with resentment.
Soren doesn't understand anything but observes his messed-up state. Eyes red and puffy from crying, cheeks wet in tears and blood, voice husky and breaking every time he speaks because of how much he screams. For most of his life, Zale had spoken less and screamed more.
"Always? You'll stay with me forever, right?' Zale asked. Soren stared at the stubborn kid in front of him, frowning with pouty lips, using his whining tone whenever he had to ask for something from Soren which he could never resist.
Soren's always soft for this expression of Zale. It reminds him of that small pure and honest Zale that he has always taken care of, in his childhood.
Oblivious of Zale's true hidden expression, Soren nods.
"Always," He promised, peeking at Zale's pleased eyes which softened slightly. His eyes darted down to the open long wounds.
"Now come on, we can't let your injuries untreated for too long." Soren touched the other unharmed side of his face. "Would you let me aid them, please?" Soren begs.
Zale liked it when Soren begged. How concerned and accountable is Soren to him right now? The feeling of acceptance and always being at the top of Soren's list of concerns was so appealing that he's slowly losing his rationalisation.
He's willing to go to great lengths and play the victim's card in order to keep Soren's undivided attention on him at all times. He's become so adept at manipulating Soren that he's long forgotten that his evil act could not only harm himself but also Soren.
He dotes on Soren in every way. He enjoys everything about Soren. Zale finds his worries, scoldings, sufferings, cries, warm smiles, twisted expression whenever he sees Zale harmed, the terror on his face, amusing. All of this drives him to create conflicts for Soren.
"Only you," Zale exclaimed, his face muscles twitching from the cut. "I'll let you handle it. No one else is allowed to come near us."
"OK, I'll do it myself," Soren assured him, wrapping his arm around Zale's. "Can you stand? Let's get you on your bed."
Soren assisted in carefully transferring Zale onto his bed. Soren spent nearly thirty minutes cleaning and treating the wound while Zale clutched his shirt tightly, refusing to let go at any cost.
They heard a knock on the door just as Soren was about to put Zale to sleep, which heightened Zale's anxiety. He fixed his gaze on the closed door. When Soren turned around, he noticed a shadow standing behind it. Soren was about to leave the bed for the door when he realised it was a servant.
However, Zale had already grabbed his wrist.
"Where are you going?" Zale glared at him, refusing to let him go. Soren noticed something different about his eyes: a different kind of indecency. He didn't want to believe that these were the same eyes that had been wailing moments before. "You promised me you'll not leave me. Not even an hour passed and you're already breaking your promise."
Now that Zale was alright and back to his usual absurd self Soren wanted to roll his eyes at his words.
"I'm just gonna see who's there, must be uncle Frank. It's not like I'm gonna leave with them–ahh!" Soren gasped in surprise as Zale pulled him back, forcing him to fall in his lap. Soren felt his face burning up, he quickly got up and took the seat beside Zale before the heat could reach his head.
"You can ask from here, no?"
Soren sighs helplessly but doesn't say anything and turns to the door. "Who's there?"
"It's me Frank, Soren. I'm here to inform you that there's a call for you from Alpha." Frank said from the other side.
Zale doubled the pressure on Soren's wrist after hearing Frank's words. Sensing the upcoming tantrum Soren said,
"Please inform him I'm busy right now," Soren said back, he knows the consequences of making Shilister wait but after Zale's reaction, he couldn't dare to defy and make him angry again.
"All right," Frank left after that.
"You should sleep now. Your face must be hurting." Soren helped Zale lay down as he freed his hand from him.
"Soren," Zale called out again while Soren patiently waited for him to sleep, he was so tired. He could only hum. "It's too bright, I can't sleep like that."
"Wait, let me switch off the lights." Soren offered but Zale had other plans.
"No," Zale looked up at him brightly with eyes full of hope. "Hide me," Soren couldn't help but fall prey to his beautiful face. "Like you always used to do when we were kids."
Soren remembered those days which were way worse than how easily Zale could talk about them.
"But we're not kids anymore." Soren tried to reason out the fact, Zale laughed but winced and closed his eyes in pain.
"But you're still Soren and I'm still Zale." Zale smiled like the evil kid he is. Soren chuckled at his silliness.
"All right, make some room for me." Before Soren could finish, Zale was happily making room for him. Soren slides beside him, wrapping the blanket around both of them and hiding from the world, just as Soren used to do to calm him down when they were kids.
Soren was expecting to just lay beside Zale, he assumed they don't need to cuddle anymore now they're adults. He only needed to hide with Zale until he fell asleep so that he could leave for his own room.
However, knowing Soren's plan, Zale turned and slid into his arm, putting the unwounded side of his face on Soren's shoulder where he could inhale Soren's scent for the whole night and placing his hand on Soren's abdomen, making himself comfortable.
While making the other party so uncomfortable he stopped breathing for a moment.
Soren was completely engulfed by Zale, feeling the warmth radiating from his body and the sharp breath teasing his neck. But Zale wasn't tired; sleep wouldn't come when he had Soren all to himself. This is nice because it's just him and Soren in their bubble, with no one else. Zale was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he forgets he was playing with Soren's shirt button and rubbing his legs against Soren's thigh.
"Zale?" He heard Soren while he shifts a little.
"Hmm,"
"Stop moving and sleep," Soren warned when he couldn't take it anymore.
Zale, amused by his reaction, chuckled. After a moment he speaks again. "Why?"
It's going to be a long night.