Damien - The Beginning

Chapter 6 - His Father's Sins

*Warning - Triggering content ahead*

"No! Let him go!" Hayes heard a familiar voice scream, and his eyes widened. It was his mother. He instantly rushed out of the room, his heart hammering in his chest as he stormed up the stairs. But when he neared his parents' bedroom, he froze in place. The strongest wolves of their pack - Raymond, James and Sadler, were dragging his parents away, while Alpha Craig stood there, silently watching them.

A low growl escaped Hayes's mouth, as he felt his claws surfacing, and his eyes glowing brightly.

"Get your hands off my family," he warned, getting ready to attack.

All heads turned to him, while his eyes were fixated on only one person. The one person who mattered the world to him: his mother.

"Stay back, and out of this, Hayes. That's an order," Alpha Craig replied, moving to block his view of his mother.

"Leave them alone!" Hayes yelled, as the bones in his body cracked in anger, and a lone tear left his eye. Within seconds he was transformed into a pitch black wolf, eyes glowing a bright blue in contrast. He did not waste any time and pounced in Craig's direction. Craig instantly transitioned, and knocked him to the side, sending him flying to the wall. Selene screamed for his son, and transformed too, and thus so did the others.

She tried to make her way to Hayes, but she was stopped by Raymond. She instinctively attacked him, scratching his face with her claws. However, she was outnumbered, since Sadler blocked her way as well. Meanwhile, Hayes fought the Alpha himself, and it was tougher than he thought it would be. Craig was a lot stronger than him, and being a member of his pack, Hayes's wolf side was holding him back, as it was used to submitting to the Alpha. Within seconds, Craig had pinned him down to the ground, his claws deep into Hayes's chest.

Craig let out a loud growl, earning everyone else's attention, and Walter and Selene instantly froze in place.

"Don't hurt him please!" Selene begged, the anger within her dying down and getting replaced with fear.

"Alpha, let my son go. This isn't his fault!" Walter said in a low growl.

"He dared to revolt against his Alpha. He broke a blood oath," Craig growled in anger.

"The first oath a child takes is to love his parents, Alpha. Let my boy go. Please," Walter replied.

Craig looked down at the wolf trapped under him, whining in pain, gaze stuck on his mother.

"I will let him go, but first I want the both of you to turn back into your human forms. And even after I remove my claws from his chest, you will walk to the dungeon without further resistance. Is that clear?" Craig growled.

Selene and Walter immediately changed back, and Hayes shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see his mother completely naked in front of four pack members. Walter immediately pulled her to himself, hiding her body as much as he could.

"Let us at least get clothes, Alpha. You're supposed to be our protector!" Walter seethed in anger and embarrassment, as he could feel Selene trembling in his arms.

Craig and Hayes turned human too, and Craig carefully removed his hand from Hayes's chest, while he grunted in pain.

"Get her a sheet to cover herself," Craig ordered Raymond, who instantly did as he was told. Walter took the cloth from him, and wrapped it around her body, while a tear escaped his eye for the first time in years.

"I'm sorry I did this to us," he whispered to her softly, but due to their enhanced hearing, everyone else heard him too.

Craig let out a humorless chuckle, and shook his head. "Now he's sorry," he mocked in distaste. "Take them away!"

Hayes opened his eyes again, and watched his parents being dragged away to the dungeons, while he lay on the floor, hurt and devastated. His wound healed a few seconds later, and although the Alpha had decided to withdraw his hand without Hayes's heart, he still felt an emptiness in his chest. Everything inside him had crushed, and thus he refused to stand up, he refused to get back on his feet.

A few moments later, James and Sadler returned to him, and dragged him up to his feet. They covered him with a big sheet of cloth, before they led him downstairs as well. The entire pack was assembled in the main hall, and each of them stared at him with disgust in their eyes. Everyone except Ansel. He looked more sympathetic.

Hayes passed by Rose, whose eyes were full of tears, yet she refused to look at him, refused to speak up. And just like that, he was dragged to the dungeons as well, to be punished for the sins of his father. Hayes felt nothing but numb in that moment, as a tear rolled down his cheek. It was too much. Everything was too much for him. His world was crashing down.

The loud slam of the metal door closing startled him, and he realized he was left alone in darkness. That is when he was brought back to his senses, and his eyes widened.

"Crap," he muttered, looking around. He willed his eyes to change color, so they would glow and provide him with some light. "I can't... I can't stay here," he muttered, holding onto his head. He rushed to the door and placed his ear against it, trying to hear anything from outside, but the dungeon walls were created to be absolutely sound proof. And even if they weren't, he doubted he would be able to listen to anything else except his raging heart beat.

His claws started to surface, and he clenched his fists, immediately drawing blood. His heart was beating too loudly, his breath was beginning to hitch, and his mind was full of dark memories, from the times when he wasn't strong enough to break out of a small locked room.

"Daddy? Please let me out! I'm scared of the dark. Please daddy!" Hayes cried, but his father did not listen.

"That is what you get for being a little coward. You're supposed to be a werewolf, not a poor kitten. So stay locked up in the dark until you learn how to be brave!" Walter yelled back.

"Don't do that to him, he's only five, he's just a baby," Selene begged. "Let him out. I'm begging you," Hayes heard her sob.

"If you open that door, Selene, I'll find other ways of punishing him. I'm sure you know how that will go," Hayes heard his father reply, and then his mom became silent.

"Mommy?" Hayes cried, warm tears rolling down his cheeks. His small hands banged on the door as hard as it was possible for him. He even tried to use his baby claws and scratched the door, but it still did not open. "Mommy?" He sobbed, sitting down on the floor, curled up into a ball.

"I'm here, my baby. I'm right here," he heard his mom speak from outside, providing him some comfort. "Mommy will always be with you, alright, Hayes? Don't be afraid my love. Mommy is right here."

"I wanna come out," Hayes wept, wiping away his tears.

"You will. You just have to-" she tried to sound soothing, but Hayes could hear her voice c***k in the middle of the sentence. She took a deep breath, before continuing, "you just have to hold on, alright? Now, close your eyes, and imagine you're going to sleep in your bed. Mama is reading a bed time story to you, so you can hear her. You can't see her because your eyes are closed, but she is right beside you, reading to you. Are you with me Hayes?"

"Yes, mommy," he sniffed, closing his eyes.

"Now, just listen to my voice. Once upon a time-"

The door of the dungeon opened with a loud creaking noise, snapping him out of his thoughts. Hayes turned away from the door and quickly wiped away his tears, not willing to show anyone his weak side. The person who was still afraid of being locked up in the dark.

"Hayes?" Ansel asked, closing the door behind him, as the lights were turned on.

"Yeah," Hayes replied, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

"I..." He trailed off awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. "I'm sorry for what is happening. And I'm sorry I could not stand up for you and your family."

"It's not your fault," Hayes shook his head, turning around to finally face him. "They'd just lock you up as well. Standing up for me after I've tried to fight the Alpha would be stupidity."

"Still, I'm sorry. I wish there was anything I could do," Ansel replied. "Did you try speaking to Rose? She's Craig's daughter. Maybe he does not love her to that extent, but she is his daughter after all."

Hayes let out a humorless chuckle, shaking his head.

"Did that already. She isn't willing to talk," he replied, shrugging.

"What?" Ansel frowned. "Man she could at least try. She loves you!"

"She doesn't," Hayes shook his head, feeling an ache in his chest as he said the words aloud. "And even if she does, her love for me is too weak. Weak like her body. She's a fragile little human being, after all. She said she can't fight werewolves for me."

"Dude no one asked her to fight!" Ansel said in disbelief.

"Nevermind, I had it coming," Hayes waved him off. "That's what you get for falling in love with a human being. Weak, indecisive, cowards. I don't even understand what wolves with human mates do. It was my fault that I treated her as an equal to us. She isn't. She can never be! I'd fight the world for her, Ansel. I would go to any lengths to save her life, or the life of someone she cares about. And she could not even try to speak to her own father for me?"

"Forget about her," Ansel sighed, placing his hand on Hayes's shoulder. "You have bigger things to worry about."

"Yeah, you're right," Hayes nodded, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. "What do you think is going to happen?"

Ansel sighed, shifting his gaze to the ground.

"They're... They're going to kill them, aren't they?" Hayes asked, his jaw clenched.

"From what I have heard, the pack members will decide what happens. And... It's not looking good. Most of them hate your father, because well, he isn't the best person. And they were..." He trailed off, biting his lip.

"They were what?" Hayes asked.

"Some are saying all three of you be shunned from the pack and turned into rogues, before being executed," Ansel replied, and Hayes stepped back, his eyes wide.

"They can't do that," he gulped, shaking his head. "Why would they hurt me? Why would they hurt my mother?"

"They're saying that your mother will die anyway when your father is executed, and that leaving you alive would be a threat to the pack's safety," Ansel explained, and a tear escaped Hayes's eye.

"They have all turned against me? Just because my father is a bad person?" He asked in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Hayes," Ansel said softly, his gaze downcast. "I-"

He was cut off mid sentence, as the door was opened again.

"Time is up! This isn't a party, Ansel. Step out right now," the werewolf guarding Hayes's cell yelled at him.

"I'll see you," Ansel said to him, before walking out. As soon as the door was once again slammed shut, and the lights were turned off as well, Hayes collapsed onto the cold floor, holding his head in his hands, left all alone with his thoughts and fears. And this time, his mother was not there to provide him comfort, or keep him safe from going insane. Because he was about to lose her.

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