It had been days.
Days since he last saw the prince or anyone other than the one servant who brought him food and took the full tray away, replacing it with the next meal that he wouldn’t touch. The woman wouldn’t talk to him or even look at him no matter what.
Insu had tried. He had tried every single way to reach out to her, to ask her to let him out, to at least tell him why he was being kept there without a single clue. He had asked for Duho too, but the other never showed up either after that one time.
The damn room he was imprisoned in made him sick at that point. And there was no way of escaping it. There were no windows at all and the wooden double door was so thick that no matter how much he punched and kicked, it never budged. He was trapped. And that made him scared to the bone.
“LET ME OUT. YOU BASTARDS, I WANNA GO HOME. LET ME FUCKING OUT.” He yelled at the top of his lungs, just like the many times he had in the past 10-12 days, as he punched the door again and again. His body had little to no energy since he refused to eat and only swallowed when the soup was being shoved into his throat by those giant frightening beasts that called themselves soldiers, as they kept him still on the bed or the floor, blocking his nose and gripping on his head so he had no other choice. They didn’t want him to starve himself to death and Insu didn’t know why.
After long minutes of shouting and banging the door, it suddenly opened. The surprise made him take a step back when the lock turned and a pink head hurried into the room.
“Shhh, Insu, you have to stop this!” Duho was terrified. His eyes widened to their limit, his tiny figure shaking in the single silky robe he was wearing and voice a whisper but showed just how scared he was.
“WHY? I’m NOT a prisoner.” He shouted once more and circled the boy quickly as he ran out of the room when he saw the opportunity now that the door was finally unlocked.
It lead to a wide one-way hallway, an empty one. He ran the fastest he could with his bare feet, turned the corner because he had to since there were no windows or other turns on his way either, and that was when he bumped into him; The prince.
The impact forced him a step back before his eyes landed on the narrowed gaze of the alpha. His aura, the expression and his posture, were so intense, so frightening and so dangerous that he just froze on his spot, forgetting to breathe.
“Go to your room.” His voice was way deeper than Insu recalled. The vibration of it sending shivers over his body. It was like there was something about the man that was forcing him to get on his knees and obey him.
“No.” He said firmly, hands curled into fists at his sides as he fought the urge to submit with all of his power. His own body was betraying him.
There was a moment, when the black-haired man, with equally black attire from head to toe, stared at him. No words, no scary vibes, just stared. And Insu thought he would really let him go. But he was very wrong.
He was pushed against the wall in a blink of an eye, the back of his head hitting it with force and making him dizzy as the hand around his neck pulled him up and off the ground. The prince pressing his body against his and looking up at where he was keeping him.
“I’ve had it up to here with you.” The deep, low voice hissed into his face.
Insu couldn’t breathe. The hand around his neck was choking him and he panicked he’d die if the other applied a bit more pressure.
Trying desperately to inhale, he fought with both hands to get himself free, but to no avail. His feet dangling in the air and kicking around but not hitting the body strong enough. Punching the man’s chest and scratching over his clothed arm, he went for his face as a last resort when his vision started getting blurry and the corners going black. The prince hadn’t budged at all until then, nor did he try to stop him from fighting for his life. That was until Insu clawed at the pale face and scratched over it, two lines deeper and blood gathering on the wounded skin.
The man’s face turned to the side at his attack, paused for a second or two perhaps to register what had happened, and then he was thrown to the ground strongly. He landed on his elbow, pain shutting through his veins but didn’t have time for it to fade. The next thing he knew, he was being dragged back to that room by the tearing grip on his hair as his body slid over the tiles. His cries and screams for help unheard.
The sound of Duho’s yelp was so loud in the room that it rang in his ears once he was thrown a meter away on the floor again. The prince closed the door first before making his way toward him. Steps firm and rage overflowing.
“My prince, please! Forgive him this once. He’s weak right now.” The boy tried to stop the muscular man from reaching him by kneeling and hugging the other’s leg.
It didn’t even stop him for a second. The alpha slapped him with the back of his hand so fiercely, and without hesitation, that the delicate body ended up hitting the cold, ceramic tiles.
“STOP!” Insu screamed, running to Duho immediately and hugging the boy’s trembling body as tight as he could, making him sit and holding his head to his chest. He was crying.
“What is wrong with you?” He bit his lip, pushing back the tears when he saw the redness of the other’s soft cheek.
With a brief glance, the alpha gripped on the pink-haired boy’s arm, yanking him out of Insu’s embrace. The man lifted the weightless body up, walked toward the bed, and threw him on the mattress. “Stay.”
Duho didn’t say a single word as he sat there obediently, bottom lip trembling with fear as he looked at Insu.
“You think you’re a rebel, don’t you?” Namil said, taking his belt off and circling it twice around his palm, all the while those eyes never left his slim body on the floor.
“I don’t think anything. I just wanna go home.” Insu replied, eyes going back and forth between the man’s face and the thick, black leather belt in his hand. Fear starting to rise from his stomach.
“You don’t get to want anything, omega.” The man said with a sick, sarcastic undertone and he hated it. He hated how he was called by that word like it explained everything about him as a being.
“Perhaps it is my fault for going easy on you and letting you have time to heal.” The prince stretched the belt between his hands, eyes narrowing intensely again. “I should give Kangdae the permission to tame you, hm?”
The muscular man started walking forward, closing the small gap between them, and Insu, scared of what was about to happen to him again, crawled back. The man looked calm and composed as he let him have his time in his attempt to escape until there was nowhere to go anymore, until his back hit the wall and he was utterly helpless, trapped in the corner of the spacious room.
And there, in front of him, stood the prince. Belt in hand and a disgusting smirk showing his teeth and gum. There was a moment when their eyes locked and he saw very briefly something he couldn’t name. And that was when the first shock of pain came.
The belt hit his body in a burning whip. And then it happened again and again and again until Insu couldn’t hear his own voice crying out loud anymore. His body lying on the ground lifeless as the man kept on whipping without mercy.
He wasn’t aware of what was going on at that point. Nauseous and dizzy, he saw someone else getting into the room. A pair of leather boots running toward them, and then the belt didn’t hit his body anymore.
Minutes passed until his ears started working again and he came back to it after having had blacked out for a few. The first sound he registered was Duho’s sobs, sitting next to him and hugging his head on his lap with his red, worried eyes looking down at him. Next to them, the other guy from that day, Kangdae, was trying to get the prince under control. Telling him to stop before he really killed ‘the omega’. And then the last thing he remembered before he went unconscious was those dark eyes, looking at him over the broad shoulder, the two lines Insu left on his pale face still there with dried blood.
“You’re staying here, you’re not allowed to see Hyo for a month.” The deep voice said as the two men walked out and the door got locked.
When Insu opened his eyes, it was dark. Turning to the side and wincing at just how much it hurt, his eyes landed on the figure sleeping next to him. Duho looked sad even while sleeping.
Lifting his hand and brushing the silky pink hair away from the boy’s face with his fingertips, he saw the bruise the strong slap had left on the soft cheek. His heart ached. Sure his body was in extreme pain and he was, if they were being honest, even thinner than Duho, but he had grown up in the jungle. He was tough and he knew how to survive, living among the wildling out there. He had never been beaten or treated like he was twice in this place but he had fought for his life the times he got himself into dangerous situations while hunting. And so the prince’s gaze, his aura, or the meanings the title ‘omega’ entailed couldn’t stop him from fighting, from wanting to go back home at all costs. No amount of whipping would stop him from trying to escape the hell he had walked into by his own feet.
“How are you feeling?” The soft voice of the other mumbled in the dark room.
“Did I wake you up? I’m sorry.” Insu whispered, voice weak.
“Are you in pain? I can give you a painkiller. I always have some with me.” Duho said, still lying there and looking into his eyes.
“No, it’s okay. I wanna remember what he did for longer so I can become stronger.” He replied, ghosting his index finger over the red cheek. “Does it hurt?”
The boy shook his head, crawling closer and hugging him loosely as he hid his face in Insu’s chest.
“You should stop fighting him. It’s always better if it’s only him. It will be hell if the others get their hands on you, Insu.” The small hand clutched onto the back of his shirt, the body tensing in his arms.
He was confused, so he asked: “Who are the others?”
“The royal family and the other noble individuals. They’re cruel. What prince Namil did to you today is nothing compared to what they’re capable of.” There was a pause when Duho inhaled shakily.
“…What about you?” He asked, hesitating. “Did they get their hands on you?”
At his question, a shiver passed through the pink-haired boy’s body.
“I was a toy for everyone before the prince marked me and gave me my angel.”
Duho leaned back and showed him the bite mark on the left side of his neck; deep and permanent. The bruise that the black-haired man had left on Insu when he was in heat had already disappeared.
“I don’t quite understand.” He said. “Why should a mark stop the others from… from having you?”
The boy smiled at him as he hugged his waist again, but remained there so they could look at each other.
“He claimed me as his. When an alpha marks you, their bite mixes their scent with your own, leaving a permanent trace that you belong to someone and no other alpha is allowed to get close.” He paused and looked down as a sad smile appeared on his face. “In my case, I also have Hyo which is a plus.”
“Hyo?” He asked, shifting a bit on the bed.
The other hummed and looked back up. “Prince Namil and I’s baby.” And then the smile dropped, replaced by sudden tears that ran down the puffy face.
“W-What? Why are you crying?” Insu panicked a bit, attempting to wipe the tears with his thumbs but in vain.
“He prohibited me from seeing him for a whole month.” The soft voice broke as Duho buried his face in the pillow.
The sight was so heartbreaking that he didn’t know what to say. The thought that the other was imprisoned with him in this room just because he had tried to help Insu, to try and stop the cruel prince from beating him when he was already weak.
“I’m sorry.”
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