Through Hell [AOB/LGBT+/mpreg]

40

Happy endings don't exist.

Oliver learns this the hard way.

One second he's in the arms of his alpha, lips parted on a soft, "I love you."

The next he finds himself groaning awake and aching in the worst ways possible.  He comes to the earth-shattering and heart-breaking realization that he's not home, he's not in the safety of his alpha's arms or surrounded by their pack.

He still doesn't know what woke him up.  

Maybe it's the cries of fear and anguish from his pup right across from him.  Maybe it's the ache in his arms from being tied back, or perhaps it's the longing of not having Oro next to him, protecting them.

His head is pounding something fierce. There's a lingering sweet smell tickling his nose and making his tongue feel heavy in his mouth, throat dry and clicking as he swallows.  It's dark and it takes his eyes time to adjust.  He feels dizzy as the floor rocks beneath them and he wishes he could reach out and make sure his pup is okay.

"Papi!"

Oliver breathes softly, "it's okay, Manny."

It's not okay.

Not when the door above their heads opens and a burly man appear.

The stairs creek under his weight as he saunters down.

Oliver's eyes ache with the bright light that suddenly turns on.

The first thing that Oliver notices is the rancid smell of fish and saltwater of the man.  It makes his nose crinkle in disgust.

Manny's shrill cry makes Oliver's heart stutter when the man smacks the pup to silence him. His omega growls in anger and he diverts the man's attention himself.  

Oliver loses track of time when the beating begins.

Manny becomes a fast learner though. He muffles his cries so as not to set off the man.

In between moments of respite and stale bread Oliver grows tired and weak.  He gives his pup his share of food, making sure he eats even as his own stomach growls and cramps.

Time becomes meaningless.

"Manny?" He rasps.

"Papi?"

"Do you remember how you got here?"

Through the renewed darkness after the fifth time of torture, he can see his pup shake his head, long hair greasy and flopping this way and that with the jerky movement.

Oliver wants to reach out and comfort, but his wrists are rubbed raw as plastic ties dig into his skin, shoulders popping uncomfortably from the constant tensions of his arms pulled back.

He only allows himself to cry silently when he croons and the pup falls into uneasy sleep.  His belly hurts and he tries to curl into himself.  He feels sticky with sweat and grime.

When the door opens again for the nth time, he winces and shies away.  He curls into himself, expecting the pain and hurt of kicks and punches, of a hammer smashing his bare toes again, feet already covered in flakes of dried blood from previous attempts.

He vaguely hears shouts, angry growling and guns going off.

He looks up, tears rolling down his cheeks and leaving behind salt trails.

"Oliver?"

A whimper escapes his dry throat, "Oro?"

Hands roam over his broken and bruised body. He sobs when the zip ties are cut and his arms hang limply at his side.  He can't move, but he still flinches when those heavenly hands cup his cheeks.  He licks at his busted lip, tasting salt and copper.

"I'm so sorry, Oliver, my omega, my love."

Oliver's broken and heavy breaths hitch in his throat.

"Daddy?"

Oro turns red eyes and finds their pup huddled in the opposite side of the dingy room.

The sound that escapes the alpha makes Oliver sob.  He failed.  He failed his alpha, his pup.  He couldn't protect him, he couldn't fight back.  He's a blubbering mess, begging Oro for forgiveness. 

The alpha hushes him and coos as he feels the man pick him up carefully.

Someone else grabs Manny, and although the pup panics, he hides his fearful cries afraid that it's the boogeyman coming to take him away.

The alpha releases his pheromones to calm both pup and omega.

Manny slumps into blissful unawareness once he realizes that they're safe.  That his alpha father has finally rescued them.

The bright sunlight hurts his eyes, but Oliver refuses to pass out despite his own relief.

There's a deep need to see the sun, to feel the breeze of freedom on his skin.

He looks up at his alpha, his jaw set into a tight lock as he grits in unrestrained anger.  Oliver wishes he could reach up and touch his cheek, beard grown past its usual trimmed neatness. Dark shadows marring underneath alpha red eyes relaying the sleepless nights searching for his omega, his mate and soul.

Oliver doesn't cower when he sees the burly man approach them, trying to catch his alpha unguarded from behind.

No.

Oliver takes his alpha's gun tucked in its holster on his hip.

With trembling hands he aims it at the man.  With no hesitation he fires.

Oro stands still in the middle of the wreckage caused by a manic alpha in search of his family, his pack.

He turns his head just in time to see the man slump with a bullet in between his brows.

Oro presses a kiss to Oliver's temple, "it's over, baby."

A sob leaves Oliver's dry cracked lips as the gun slips from his hand and clatters onto the deck of the boat.

He looks down the length of his body, he can't even wiggle his toes from how broken they are.  His legs useless and his eyes landing on a patch of dried red blood in between his thighs.

His cries are anguished.

The darkness, this time, is bliss.

There is no such thing as a happy ending.