CHAPTER [5] - Tell me you're fucking joking.

Silence.

Nothing but silence.

A scorching whisper of a clock ticking clicked back and forth, filling Damsel's plugged ears with nothing but a loop of ticks. The machine next to him rotated between about six different annoying noises of varying pitch and volume. It sounded like a disco for the anti-christ.

He lay there quietly, keeping his eyes closed, matching his breaths to the beeping of the machines that surrounded the bed, the only indications of his heartbeat, his existence. A sort of warmness hugged him, it was soft, like a blanket, and he felt completely at ease with the sounds that came and went, the sounds dissolved and melted into his dreams where he imagined aliens controlling machines.

Yet his beating heart was paired with another's, the soft thumping sang it's way to his ears, it was more beautiful than any melodic piece of art he had ever listened to, and he wanted to hear it louder, closer.

He groggily stirred in his sleep, his eyes opening ever so slightly as he questioned whether he was still living in reality, Curiosity slowly pried open his swollen eyes to meet a dismal view of a magnolia colored hospital room, the door a navy blue. Questions hugged his brain desperate for answers but even the brain felt hazy and heavy with nothing but internal tiredness. It was so quiet. In the frame though, right beside his bed, an unrecognizable blurred figure sat on the stool with their head in their hands, massaging their temples Damsel would likely have guessed, but not assured.

The hearty song was coming from him.

The fact that he stirred in his sleep sent a signal to the stranger that damsel had awoken.

The way the figure turned with uttermost panic, damsel couldn't see more than the neck, but the build of the body made sure out to be a man, he was built with lean muscles; he could definitely tell with the way his shirt hugged the outline of what damsel guessed were abs, but that was besides the point.

He stood up abruptly, his hands almost trembling as he walked closer to Damsel, who merely stayed dazed thinking it was another dream. For a moment, hesitation won over the figure, but he slowly pulled the dazed boy closer to him, wrapping his arms around him softly. His embrace was warm, and his big, strong arms seemed very protective when wrapped around the other's weakened body.

The soft beats quickened the longer their embrace lasted, and the hospitalized boy couldn't help but sink into his hold, he just wanted to listen to the beautiful melody until he fell into slumber for good, his heartbeat made him feel safe and protected, like nothing could hurt his mental state at this exact moment. Oh how desperately he wanted to be so close to the point that their hearts touched.

The blissful warmth that radiated from the male soon infected Damsel, as his dreams melted into reality, the world around him melted away as Damsel squeezed him back, not wanting the moment to end. From deep inside his chest, through every cell of his body, the warmth welcomed him like an old friend. But it was strange, because he never felt that way before. It kind of even scared him, you know? Feeling the cold slowly leaving his heart like that, as though he were out under a loving spell.

He inhaled the delicious smell of baked chocolate goods, burying his head into the crook of the stranger's neck and just, resting, resting in the surreal protective bubble of comfort and safety.

It was like he was sinking into a pool of cotton candy, the feeling was like none before.

But then he was pulled back into the abyss of pure darkness that you called Slumber.

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

The same annoying similar sounds reminded him of his alarm clock, and the same machine beeps from before that had calmed him down now made him want to rip his hair out and slice his own neck, the frustration got the best of him. It frustated him that he was pulled from such a heavenly, addictive dream, he would've paid any price in the world just to experience the same warmth that had surrounded him from that figure, it was absolutely amazing.

He smelt like chocolate icecream, a smell Damsel was ever so addicted to.

He half wondered if he was still dreaming as he sat up, to be met with the dim-lit room cold as ice, it was so dull, the machines were the only residents, and he had something plugged into his hands, he turned to the side to see containers held up by posts of water. Its walls were simply cream, not peeling or dirty, just cream. There was no decoration at all except the limp green curtain that separated his bed from the three others in the room.

Was he dreaming before? Of course he was, not once in his life had he felt such comfort in the hands of another, just the thought of the embrace brought butterflies to his stomach. Now he was awake, perhaps more fully awake than he had ever been.

What happened..? Why am I here?

The memories came zooming back in like a Polaroids telling a story. The fight, his father's anger, the headaches and nausea, and the blurred face of an angry individual, had he-

His thoughts ran into a stop light as the door opened suddenly with a loud slam, letting 3 figures rush into the room as though they were running for their lives. The terror written on Cassandra's face explained everything, somehow he know something had happened to him.

"My baby!" His mother rushed before him faster than anyone else could've gotten the chance to, she was smiling from ear to ear yet he saw the redness and puffiness from her eyes, her eyes were almost glossed as she pulled him into tight hug.

I cant fucking breath!

Fuck, he felt like he was being suffocated, more so than the time darren- Is this how he was gonna repay his stupidness? By being suffocated to death from a hug?

The bone-crushing hug seemed like it was never going to end, so damsel took matters in his own hands.

"Mooom!" Damsel groaned as he returned the hug, but patting her back in desperation to give him some space.

"Oh my god, oh my god!" She seemed to panic frantically as she pulled herself away, digging her nails into his shoulder blades though as she looked at him. Her hands clasped around his cheeks, then his jaw, turning his face as if she were looking for more injuries other than Darren's. "How are you feeling? Any headaches? Nausea?" She rushed through her words like a normal protective mother bird.

She was panicking, like, for real.

"Mom!" Damsel groaned, using his whiny voice as he re-assured her. "I'm okay-.. you're embarrassing me!" He whispered the last part, but his eyes held some relief and honestly, Sweetness.

"Nonesense! Do you know how word I was? Damsel Alexander Prince! Why I oughta-"

"The boy's already a senior, Cassie." He heard a deep voice from the back interrupting the growing demon that was his mother, it was his father's voice, and with his tone damsel flinched. He had collapsed, and he had troubled them even more, of course he was mad.

He could vividly remember the anger and lividness his father was going through just yesterday.

As he heard his dad's footsteps he could only look down in shame. Said samantha was about to start bickering with him again, he fainted for fuck's sake!

But damsel only prepared himself for the worst, he needed someone to talk some sense into him right now, to lecture him, it was likely that he had suffered from a concussion, and he was waiting for his father to start screaming about taking accountability, he would probably say that he deserved this.

So when his father came forward to loom over him, he clenched his fists and he waited.

1..

He squinted his eyes closed.

2..

Here it comes.

3!

He was pulled into yet another hug.

...

What?

The father wrapped an arm around damsel's shoulders, gently rubbing his arm. Despite the heaviness weighed down by guilt and responsibility in stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of his father engulfing him in the first hug he's ever gotten from him.

It may seem like a simple gesture to others, but Damsel had never experienced such warmth from his father since he was 6. His touch made the room warmer somehow, like the cold temperature from before completely sky-rocketed. And within the hug, Damsel found himself relaxing into it, he wanted to savore the moment.

"Dad..?" Damsel whispered, but the hug only tightened.

It was almost the same feeling he got from the hug in his dream, yet it didnt match up to it, the scent was different, the feeling was different. While his father smelled like the smell of wet cement after the rain, it couldnt possibly compare to the sweet smell of cocoa icecream from his dream.

But at this moment, he would've absolutely preferred the lecture, the yelling, but somehow the simple hug added more kilograms of guilt and regret to his sack of feelings than any scolding ever could.

Yeah, the lecture was most preferred.

If not for the hug, Damsel wouldn't have broken down like the cry baby he was.

The tear came down ever so slowly as he hugged his father back, a bit too tightly, he merely sobbed in his shoulder as he buried his neck into it.

"Sorry." He whispered,

choking on his words as he tried hiding his tears by hiding his face. "M' really sorry, Pa'." His tear ran down like a waterfall, uncontrollable and natural. His mother merely stood at the side, smiling at the two and letting them have their moment, it was well deserved.

After the incident.

His father father's arms were gentle around the boy, but his fists were clenched, he couldnt comfort him by saying it was okay, that everything was going to be fine, because nothing was going to be normal again. Yet he let the boy cry himself to comfort in his arms, patting his head gently for what seemed like an hour, but was actually 2 minutes. The two just sat there, letting the moment flow as it should, neither of them saying any more as Damsel cried his eyes out.

The hug meant so much more to the two.

"Damsel." His father softly called, still comforting him.

Damsel was finally brought back to his senses, he pushed himself off slowly, looking up to meet the eyes of the man he had tried so hard to gain the recognition from. The moment he locked eyes with his father, he could see a glint of sorrow in them, a glint of pity even, he would always look at Damsel like that.

He looked at Damsel differently.

He wasn't like his brothers.

He knew something was different about him.

Damsel cleared his throughout, looking away sheepishly as he scratched his nape quite awkwardly in the situation.

"An alpha shouldn't cry so easily." Damsel forced out a stiff laugh, wiping his eyes with his sleeves, only to realize he was wearing a patient's sleeveless blue top and bottom. "Sorry."

His father only looked at him with sadness in his eyes,

"I'm sorry aswell, damsel."

He suddenly said.

Out of nowhere.

Damsel let out another hardly passable chuckle, looking at his father in confusion.

Why was he apologizing?

"What're you all mopey about? Quit the act, old man."

It wasn't his fault I got all injured and fainted.

He scratched his nape as he waited for his father to say something, yet the man stood straight and silent, not a word coming out of his mouth.  The air seemed to turn brittle and heavy, the change of atmosphere was clearly evident and his mother got the message, apparently so did Damsel.

Something was wrong.

Why the fuck isn't he saying anything?

Wait.

"No, Seriously.." Damsel forced a smile with alarmed eyes now, he turned to face his father with a raised brow.

"What do you mean, you're sorry?"

..

"Dad?"

..

Yet again, all was hear was silence.

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

The machine infiltrated his drums again, the frustration from before crawled up inside as though the ticks and tocks were a switch that set him off.

..

"Dad." Damsel pestered, looking up at his father, grabbing him by the arm and shaking it in desperation. "What do you mean?"

He was met with his father's silence yet again.

The same silence he had been acquainted with for 11 years.

His last shred of hope broke through, he wasnt answering him, he wasnt giving him the light of day.

It was always like this.

Why was he always like this?

-

"Daddy! Daddy!" Damsel bounced up and down, holding a piece of paper in his hands as he hugged his fathers leg. "Look! Look! He smiled with a toothy grin, his chubby cheeks rosy and lifted as his doe eyes brightened.

His father looked down at him with the brightest smile, kneeling down to ruffle his mess of a curly mop. "Hey there big alpha," He grinned as he scooped up his son, cuddling him as he stood up.

"What does the boss have for me?" He cooed, kissing Damsel's adorable chubby cheeks, letting the child giggle and squirm under his hold.

"I drew me and you, papa! Lookie!"

Damsel stuffed the piece of paper in his father's face, making nick cough and laugh, trying to escape from the paper trying to suffocate him.

"Okay, okay! Let papa see." Nick used his other hand to grab the paper, he looked at it with a big smile.

Damsel had made two stick figures, the same size with big muscles. One had scribblingly brown hair and the other was blonde. Nick broke down into laughter as he stared at the sight of those circle excuses for muscles, to the point that he held his stomach to compound the laughter.

"This is us?" Nick had to laugh between every word as he couldnt stop himself from cracking up.

Damsel only huffed and puffed, he crossed his chubby little arms and stuck out his bottom lip in a pout.

Oh my god he was so fucking adorable.

Nick laughed for a few more seconds before looking at the adorable sight that was his son, he couldnt help but coo inwardly, but damned if the kid looked in the mirror and saw himself as that.

He was just a small ball of sunshine.

"Awhh. Don't be angry with papa, what can I do to make it up for my big bad wolf?"

Only then Damsel looked over at his father with a grin, completely ignoring his previous tantrum.

"Ice cweam!" He beamed the S with a lisp.

The two laughed like the loving pair they were.

-

"Daddy!" Damsel came rushing into the room with his small legs, immediately jumping onto his fathers legs as he looked up with a grin. "Can we go gwet Ice cweam?"

Nick looked down at the boy with darkened eyes, to which damsel noticed, they werent the loving pair he was always met with, they were different.

"Da-."

"Take Damsel away." His father merely clicked his tongue in annoyance, signaling the bodyguards beside his desk. "Don't let him in without my permission next time, do your jobs properly."

"Yes sir."

"D-Daddy..?" Damsel's eyes glossed.

The guards looked down on him pitifully, grabbing him by the arms forcefully.

"DADDY!" He cried, "Why are you doing this? You said we'd get icecream today!"

His father didnt lift an eye.

And so Damsel was dragged out.

-

Damsel was 9 years old.

He came down the stairs quietly, going into the pack kitchen where the others sat on tables separated from the alpha family's.

"Woah there! 3 goals?" Nick fake gasped in astonishment as he looked at Kyle who had his chest out. Kyle was a year older than Damsel, He took after his father in more ways than one, he had inherited practically everything actually, green eyes, blonde hair, even bone structure.

"Yep! All by myself!" Kyle wiped his nose with the of his index finger, pride practically shed off of him.

"As expected of my little Alpha!" Nick grinned as he ruffled his hair. "Always going above and beyond."

Damsel's footsteps reached the table where only nick and Kyle were stationed, the others had already gone to school and his mom was at work.

"I made 5 goals in the same match."

Damsel smiled at his dad, waiting for a praise just like he had done with kyle. He hadn't held any conversations with him for 2 years, but he didnt know why he coulnt try to return to what they were before.

Kyle smiled at Damsel's statement, "Yeah! It was so cool Pa'! You should've seen it, he was on a roll!"

Damsel only beamed at his brother's statement.

Nick gave Damsel a once-over, before nodding his head in an uninterested manner, he continued eating his food in silence.

Kyle of course, having a brother-complex, noticed the way his baby brother's expression dropped.

"He scored 5?" His father hummed,

Damsel's face brightened, as he looked up at nick with a beaming smile, he nodded his head happily.

"En!"

"I heard Darren scored 7."

-

-

"Why the fuck aren't you saying anything?" This time he yelled, he tried getting up but he was pulled back down by the wires connected to his hands, his blood pressure was getting awfully high.

Why?

Damsel thought.

Why is it that everytime I call out to you, you brush me off? Why is it that no matter how hard I try, you still treat me like a thorn at your side, do you hate me? Do you hate me for wanting your love and attention? Do you hate me for wanting you to look at me with the same warmth you had given me when I was a child, the same warmth you give out like a charity donation to everyone else but me.

Am I the only one that remembers the days when we fell asleep counting the stars that decorated the night sky? wrapped up in a blanket together? Or the times when you'd sneak out with me to get ice cream from our favourite van, even though you knew mom would find out? Or just the times we'd sit down, and just talk, about everything and anything, not caring about how much time passed or what was going on around us?

"Damsel, calm down."

"ANSWER ME!"

His mother panicked, she rushed to his side she helped him rest back down, pushing him back down onto the bed. "Just take a deep breath."

"What the fuck happened? Why is he apologizing?" Damsel had so many questions rush to his head that he felt like suffocating at this moment, he gripped the mattress tightly, wrinkling it up. His mother glanced sideways at Nick, who merely nodded his shook in silence.

Say something, goddamit!

You fucking coward.

"I think-.. it's best if we tell you once you've recovered." His mother massaged her temples.

"It's better to do it now, he won't be able to break anything if he's tied down like this." A voice came from the back. The third figure he had seen walk into the room.

Matthew.

He stood with crossed arms as he leaned against the wall with his usual stoic expression, as if him fainting had done nothing to faze him at all.

"What do you mean?" Damsel desperately pushed for an answer.

Matthew inhaled.

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it, only to open it again after contemplating.

"You're getting married off."

Matthew plainly delivered as he stood beside his parents.

-

Silence.

-

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

"Wh.. What?" He scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief though his eyes stayed wide. He turned to his mother who only withdrew her eyes, she rushed into the arms of his father, who stood yet again with the same stoic expression Matthew wore.

Damsel just stared at Matt open mouthed.

His brain formulated no thoughts other than to register what words had been said. He closed his mouth, then looked at his toes before glancing back up to catch her eye. "You," was all he could say.

"You've got to be fucking joking joking me."

He let out a raw, forced laugh, more strained than the others, the laugh was similar to chalk grinding against a black board, absolutely horrid. "You got me." He smiled, "Haha! Funny!"

There was an awkward silence, the three relatives merely exchanged glances before his mother came to sit down next to the dumbfounded figure. She took his hands in her own. "Damsel, sweetie." She gave him a pitiful, a pitiful look even, a look he was all too familiar with.

"You know we'll always love you, no matter what." She said with a gentle voice, patting his hand and warming it in hers, holding him very lovingly as she wrapped an arm around him. "We're doing this, for the betterment of the pack, to insure everyone's safety."

What?

No..

No.

No!

"The morning you collapsed, your father and I went to the MoonKnight pack to discuss everything." She explained, "Of course we were in fear of our lives, after all you attacked the youngest Knight. We had to go and make sure nobody stepped out of their boundaries."

She took a deep breath,

Alpha nick was quick to pick up the conversation this time.

"Carter gave us two options." He spoke in a gruffy tone, carter was Darren's father and the alpha of the rivalling pack. "He sat us down in his office, told us he wouldn't stand for this treatment, that he had refrained from taking any action since our parents called the war, so he would give us one last chance to end this fued from the previous generation once-and-for-all."

Damsel's eyes widened, finally getting the point and connecting all the dots together,

he looked up at his father's eyes in disbelief, every muscle of his body just froze, it was as though his father was holding a knife to his throat. And he felt the knife before he even saw it. The eyes that were once filled with so much purpose and love was now replaced with bitterness and ice.

You're throwing me away.

The thought infiltrated his mind like he was sat on an electric chair, being brainwashed into believing something in the means of torture, and at this moment he felt like he was being forced to believe the impossible.

"No-.. No.."

"Damsel, I know what you must be feeling, I know this is alot to take in but-." Somewhere along the way Damsel's ears had completely clogged up, as if blocking any further sound into his eardrums while he just sat there with no thought, contemplating everything and more,

if his guess was right then he would, with certain probability percentage, slit his own throat and die right here and now.

Death would save him from what was going to happen, and it would, again, with a most certain measure of probability, save him from the horrid situation that he had put himself into.

You're really throwing me away, aren't you?

"Mrs. Prince, there's no way to sugar coat this." Matthew finally dropped his charade, to which Damsel snapped out of his traffic-jam excuse of a subconscious.

"After all,"

"You're telling him to marry Darren fucking Knight of all people."