Their Marred Boy

Filler 8

Elias had hurriedly laid Harper flat onto his back, gripping his ankles and raising them over his heart, urging blood flow to his brain.

Harper had paled considerably, his ashen face coupled with his stark white lips was terrifying. He hadn't been out for long, therefore there was nothing to cause immediate concern, however, catching your mate's limp body mid-fall was horrible.

With shaking hands gripping the boy's bony ankles, Elias searched his face for any twitch indicating the now adequate flow of blood in his body.

When Harper began to stir, "Fuck." he sighed in relief.

The boy groggily opened his eyes, "El-" he gulped, wincing when the action felt difficult in his dry throat.

"Lay back down." Elias pushed on his chest.

"Wh... what- happened?" His eyes filled, "I don't... I don't feel well."

Elias shut his eyes tightly, trying to keep his lurching stomach at bay. He was shaking with anger, teeth clenching to keep him from punching something.

He wasn't stupid. Bennett and Skyler weren't stupid. Nor were they painfully naive enough to believe that Harper simply hadn't felt well. The answer was spelled out in bold letters, Lepus Medicina experimented on shifters, and Harper had been one of their countless victims.

The thought had Elias' eyes filling, he abruptly stood up, calling out to his mates who were fixing up a snack that would settle Harper's stomach. Once the two were in the study room, crouched beside Harper and assisting him, he left.

The harsh bang of the door shutting behind him rang in his ear as he harshly wiped a hand over his face, "Fuck!" and swung at the wall.

Ignoring the pain radiating from his assaulted knuckles to his wrist and elbow, he punched the same spot over and over again.

"Eli!" Bennett rushed in, "Stop!"

"Go away." He croaked.

"No! Please, Harper needs you."

Elias laughed a humorless laugh, feeling his sanity slipping away from him with each harsh intake of breath, "Needs me?" he asked incredulously, "I fucking rui- I fucking ruined him." his voice cracked.

His mate had been abused right under his goddamn nose and he hadn't had a clue.

"So you knew?" Bennett crossed his arms, pointedly staring at Elias. Challenging him.

"What?"

"You knew that they were still experimenting on humans." Bennett clarified.

"Of course not! How can you even say that?"

Elias was ready to cry, however, he wasn't exactly knowledgeable on how to handle that as his feelings had been repressed ever since he was a child. Crying wasn't allowed for the Jilani men. They were better than that.

The familiar urge to dispose of his negative emotions via violence crept up on the back of his neck. His knuckles itched for further brutality, but he refrained.

Bennett was here.

"The same way you can blame yourself!"

"What do you expect me to do?" Elias asked, though rhetorically. No matter what Bennett or others would say to him to ease his clenching heart, he couldn't dismiss the fact that what went on in his company was his responsibility.

He rushed out of their room, the walls were now splattered with blood from his battered knuckles. He'd have to fix that.

He entered Felix's office once more, this time Harper was sitting on the couch instead of laying on the floor, a sandwich was in his hand, however, he'd only managed a small bite from it. Tears filled his eyes as he saw Elias, "Where did you go?"

Elias ignored him. He couldn't look the boy in the eyes, knowing one was blinded because of his ignorance. He couldn't hold his hands knowing they'd been used in the making of the medication he prided himself in.

He couldn't hold him in his warm embrace knowing his entire being had been a mere tool for his company.

He walked up to the shelves decorated with awards and accolades, picked one up, "Cruelty-free" scoffed, and flung it at the wall.

The strength of his throw had his shoulder straining, however, he didn't mind. He repeated the action until every bit of them addressed to either him or Lepus Medicina had been left as countless shards on the floor.

Bennett and Skyler quickly left the room, taking their disoriented boy with them once they realized Elias' intent as he approached the shelves.

Elias sagged against the wall once he was done. His breaths were heavy and his eyes crazed.

"Are you okay?" Harper cautiously asked, having approached the man without him noticing.

Elias laughed and shook his head, "I'm fantastic."

"That's great because I love you and I always want you to feel fantastic," Harper said, choosing to ignore Elias' sarcasm.

"Don't say that."

"Say what?" Harper innocently asked, "That I love you? Because I do. I love you lots."

Elias pushed off the wall to stand in front of Harper, and gripped the boy's shoulders, "I did this to you. You wouldn't have looked like this had I been more involved. You wouldn't have lost years of your life to a fucking lab. You wouldn't have to deal with nightmares that steal away your sleep. You wouldn't be dependent on fucking medication. What don't you use to be able to live a day of your life without wanting to shoot yourself?"

"You don't... You don't like how I look?" Harper asked. Hurt laced his voice as he ignored everything else Elias had said.

"Fuck no. I love you, and I love how you look. Always." Elias sighed, carefully encircling his arms around Harper, "But your scars didn't happen because of an accident, nor because of health issues. Someone deliberately marred you, my love. That I have a problem with." he whispered, choking on his tears.

"It's not your fault."

"I'm going to kill them," Elias promised, a single tear slipping from his eye. "I'm going to hurt them as they hurt you. Starting with my parents."

"Don't! Please don't do anything like that." Harper rushed out.

"If you think for a second I won't avenge you, you're so fucking wrong." Elias scoffed.

Harper smiled, "I know you will, but not like that. Be smart about it."

"We'll see." He sighed, hating how well Harper was taking this despite passing out when he simply heard the name. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I don't know what happened though."

"You passed out."

"I'm sorry I overreacted," Harper mumbled.

"Look around you, darling. You've hardly done anything. Besides, I think both of us had fitting reactions." Elias tried to smile.

He didn't want to scare Harper any further so he worked on calming himself. The mate bond helped greatly, negative emotions were usually muted in the presence of mates, though, his insides were still burning with the need for blood. He could feel Adryan clawing at his mind to be let free, but for the time being, Elias had to be there for his mate.

The time for revenge would come very soon.

A/N

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I feel so bad for Elias. His company did mean the world to him, and to find out such horrible things about it? Truly awful.

I love the dynamic between Harper and Elias. Who is your favorite character so far?

Also, buckle up. The next chapters are going to be a roller coaster.

I'd like to thank @srcherry24 , @Ares13666 , and @asderftyutcr for their support. I've been in a writer's slump for the past couple of days and struggling with writing. I'm never satisfied with my chapters, so it's rewarding to see people enjoying my work.

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