Content Warning: Dark scenes (backstory of a slave). Read with caution. [18+]

Lying like a lifeless body, the young man simply stared at the people’s feet as they came and went.

Some wore boots, dark as the shadows in the cracks of the floor, while others walked barefoot, their skin dry and cracked, as if it might burst at any moment from neglect.

He could barely keep his eyes open, the ache in his body unbearable. Even when he didn’t resist, the guards handled him violently.

Sometimes, he wondered if it was even allowed in this place—violating an omega who had yet to be claimed.

Before he realized it, his eyelids fluttered shut, and his consciousness slipped into darkness.

A chilling bucket of water was poured over him. He shivered immediately under the weight and cold, his teeth chattering. Looking up, he found one of the guards staring at him with a smirk.

Yusha loathed these men the most—the ones who seemed to take pleasure in his suffering. He couldn’t understand what they found so amusing in this hellish place. Yet, they all gathered here, as if this cruelty was the purpose of their work.

The cold water ran down his face, stinging his eyes, but he didn’t flinch. He had learned long ago that showing weakness only invited more punishment.

His body ached in every joint, every muscle, yet he forced himself to remain still, pretending that the torment didn’t touch him.

The guard laughed, a sharp, cruel sound that cut through the silence of the dimly lit hall.

"Wake up, omega," he sneered. "You think lying there will save you?"

Yusha didn’t answer. He barely had the strength to breathe, let alone speak.

The fear that had nested in him for years curled tighter around his chest, a knot forming in his already aching stomach. Every movement felt like dragging himself through burning iron.

He remembered the whispers, the warnings from older slaves: "Never let them see you break. Never beg before them. That is what makes them happy. And they are pleased..."

He blinked—barely. The water, the pain, and the humiliation didn’t matter anymore.

He had learned a cruel truth: survival was about enduring, not defying them. Enduring without hope, without mercy.

His eyes darted to the door each time it opened, hoping—futilely—for someone to intervene. No one ever came.

Soon, the guard stripped both of their clothes. Yusha remained still, his body frozen in place. It was something he was accustomed to yet the dread lingered every single time.

The slave didn’t realize how long the man had humiliated him before the guard finally left, slamming the door behind him.

Yusha collapsed to the floor, his body trembling uncontrollably. Tears mixed with the remnants of cold water, hot and bitter on his cheeks.

He couldn’t stop him.

He wouldn’t stop him.

***

The sound of the door opening stirred Yusha from sleep. He hadn’t realized when exhaustion had pulled him under.

If it weren’t for the memories clawing at the edges of his mind, perhaps he would have slept longer, escaped the nightmare for a little while.

For a moment, he almost felt grateful to whoever had woken him—until the familiar figure crossed the threshold. Liam.

His breath caught in his throat. Even though Liam had never forced himself on Yusha, the fear of men—of alphas—never fully left him. They were all unpredictable.

And now, the man he had once thought of as his entire world stood before him, a threat looming over everything he held dear.

"Why are you crying?" Liam asked, placing the tray on the table beside the bed before sitting close to the servant.

Yusha didn’t say much, wiping away the liquid from his eyes.

"I will never tell anyone it’s your child," he said, almost to himself.

Liam frowned. He thought that the discussion had already ended. Why was he insisting on keeping it now?

"I beg you, My Lord," Yusha whispered, his gaze unfocused—empty for the first time in a while.

The alpha was suddenly reminded of a sight he had long forgotten. The trembling man who had once stood before him—years ago, when General Zayden had asked him to carry out a mission and shut down a slave-trading operation run by nobles.

He had gone there, brought a random slave to gather information so they could close the operation with proper evidence, since the nobles involved were powerful.

He had known the slave was Yusha. But... why was he seeing that old, broken slave in him now?

"Why are you suddenly like this?" he sighed, gently wiping the tears slipping from the omega’s eyes with a handkerchief.

Yusha let out a soft, quiet, dry laugh.

"You sure think I am dirty for someone pretending to care," his voice cracked, tears still slipping from his eyes, unstoppable.

Liam froze, frowning at the man.

"What nonsense! Have I ever said such a horrible thing to you?"

Yusha shook his head slowly, though his eyes didn’t leave the floor. His shoulders trembled, and he pressed his palms to his face as if to hold back the storm of emotions threatening to spill.

"You... you say things, My Lord," he whispered, voice barely audible. "But your actions... they don’t match. How can I trust you when I know that you brought me here to harm me? You purposely brought me here to kill our baby! And you expect me to... to not even say a word?"

Liam’s jaw tightened, the muscles contracting visibly. His anger was clear.

"I am doing this for us."

Yusha laughed again.

And this time, the alpha couldn’t help but blurt out, 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"You have lost your mind. Why are you laughing like this?"

"Why not? Don’t you find this funny too, My Lord? It’s not like it matters to you whether I live or die."

"Why would you die?" Liam scoffed, as if the thought alone were ridiculous. "You are not human. You are an elf."

"Right, an elf," Yusha muttered, reaching for his ears—not pointy like they should have been for a typical elf. "With no traits of one."