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52

Shadow

I was too late. I could smell Kai's blood. Could hear him crying out my name as my paws pounding into the ground, kicking up dirt as I tried to run as fast as I could.
"Shadow!" Kai was screaming out again. No, no, not Kai. It couldn't be. For him to scream like that- my mind felt like it was going to break as I imagined all horrible things happening to him. As I made it to a clearing and laugher filled my ears. Laughter at Kai's pains as naked men pressed all around him. The scene caused a coldness to settle in my gut.
I wanted to roar but i couldn't make a sound, could only picture killing each and every one of them as I crossed the distance, shifting halfway back, reaching the first one, I punched a fist through his chest, breaking my knuckles from his bones and yanking out his heart and And flinging it down before he could utter more than a oof!
Then i was behind the one right behind Kai, my claws violently ripping open his neck, his blood spraying out onto Kai's back.
The others turned to me with a snarl as Kai started to wail; a sound so broken, it shattered my heart into a million pieces.

I've failed him. Like I failed my sister, and then I see red and as one swings at me, I use his momentum to rip his arm off his body and throw it at another trying to attack me as I yank off his other arm before finish off the screaming armless man. Turning I quickly ripped out their throats barley even being scratched or hit, my adrenaline pumping as Kai continued to cry out, a sound I knew would be adding to the screams in my head that kept me up at night.
Damn this world. There was always bigger wolves picking on younger ones, on power trips like this. It happened way too often in the werewolf communities and it was making me hate werewolves altogether. Now I knew why my sister rejected normal customs and why she threatened to kill me, her own brother.
As I scooped up Kai, him flinching away from me at first, breaking my goddamn heart, before he cried out as if relieved, looking at me as if he had known all along I would show up. He believed in me, even as I had failed him.
Because I hadn't shown up to save him. Not in time to save him this pain. This suffering. "No Kai," I cried out as I looked at the bloody mess in my arms. My best friend. My lover. And I couldn't even protect him. "My fault." Kai looked like he wanted to say something but his eyes fluttered and he was out.
He was traumatized and beaten and it would take longer for him to heal. I ran as fast as I could towards home. My mind was an endless dark pit and I couldn't latch onto any single thought as I made home and rushed inside. I laid Kai out on the bed, going to plug the tub and start the water before rushing back to Kai and inspecting all over his body. Those bastards had left bite marks, scratches, hand prints even a few hickies on his neck. I howled out in distressed.
No. Not Kai. It felt like one of my nightmares , only this time I wasn't waking up. And it was very much real. Had I called this into existence from being paranoid that it would happen? I had been obsessed with that the thought something bad was going to happen to Kai since he became omega, and something bad did happen.
Shaking my self off, I knew I had to be strong for Kai. He was broken in this moment and he needed me, the strong me; not the weeping fool I was being now. Drying my eyes and shutting down the wave of emotion threatening to spill over, I carefully gathered him in my arms and stepped into the tub, laying back with Kai, I grabbed a rag from the side and started washing the blood off of him. The water turned red and I had to empty it and refill it.
Kai moaned and made a hiccup cry sound as his eyes fluttered opened. He tensed in my arms and I wanted to go back and eat those rapists bodies and shit them out.
"Shh, it's just me Kai," I coo'd as I scrubbed soap into his hair.

"I'm pathetic I'm pathetic" Kai cries. "I couldn't I tried so hard Shadow. I gave it all I had."
"There were too many, it wasn't your fault." My heart felt as if it had been torn out stomped on and shoved back into my chest. A twisted mess left inside.
Kai sobbed and tried to talk but I couldn't make out what he was saying through the sobs and tears so I stroked his back and told him over and over again it was going to be ok, he was safe now.
And then I broke as I started crying with him. "I'm so sorry Kai. I'm so so sorry this happened to you."
And we sat like that for hours, long after the water was cold, as I held him in my arms and we cried together.
"I hate myself, i hate myself," he started to rage. I pull us out of the tub, leading him to the room to dry off and put on pjs, before pulling him into bed.
"Shh, it's not your fault. It could happen to anyone and does happen, it's not just because of your omega wolf Kai, don't even think that. men are cruel; this world is cold." I held him tightly against me as he shook his head and cried harder. I felt helpless as I held him in my arms as he cried until he couldn't cry anyway, until he was sniffling and quiet. Until his body went slack from sleep.
It wasn't until then that I grabbed my phone and made a few calls and ordered a few things online to ensure Kai's safety. This was bad. But I knew better than anyone that it could have gotten a lot worse. I had been too lax, allowing Kai to make me believe everything was going to be fine. But this was a cold slap in the face that i had needed that brought me back to reality.
Nothing was ever going to be fine again. And even though I had killed that group, it didn't mean i had killed the problem. Because there were so many wolves like them. Matter of fact, this little town was run by abusive pervs. If I had to exterminate every single werewolf on the earth to keep Kai safe, I would. I should have treated Kai becoming omega a lot different. I should have taken him from here and moved deep into New York City where wolves hated to live. I shouldn't have ever let him from my sight.
And I would never, ever make that mistake again.