Adam's eyes sprang open.

He awoke to the shock of being inundated, soaked to the bone by a vicious torrent of ice cold water. Steam rose up off of his raw, naked body, his injuries stinging, the whole of his anatomy feeling as though it had been crushed beneath some tremendous weight, and only very gradually snapping back into its normal configuration.

“What the hell...” he muttered, and it took him a moment to realize where he was, or exactly what the hell was going on.

But then he took a look around him.

By the flickering light of a roaring fire, he was able to make out a sea of familiar faces. Or rather, faces that had once been familiar to him, but which he hadn't seen in ages. Their expressions varied, from looks of sadness and regret, to those of purest contempt. He saw his father among the crowd, which surprised him- his face was very dim, hanging toward the very back of the procession. Like he was ashamed to be here at all, but he couldn't stand to let this happen to his only son without some attempt at intervention.

He continued his path along the crowd, still not sure he totally understood...

And that was when he saw him.

Kyle, standing captive, his pregnant body held by the muscular forms of two beta males, holding him in place. It sent a pulse of fear through his chest, and his instinct was to leap out toward him, and fold him into the safety of his arms.

Under the circumstances, though, he couldn't imagine that was necessarily the best of ideas...

Through some tremendous force of will, he managed to restrain himself, and instead remained in place, studying his omega.

He was still fully clothed, unlike just about every other man present. He appeared, by and large, unharmed, save a few minor scrapes and bruises across his otherwise smooth skin.

His eyes, however, seemed laced with worry. As he stared over at his alpha, it was as though he tried to speak with them. Like he was trying to convey some sort of apology, or simply the depths of his concern for their situation.

Adam watched him for as long as he could stand it, then heard the deep, chilling voice of his captor, tying a pretty bow around this entire situation, at last causing it to all make sense.

“Adam Holt... My, hasn't it been a while. Well, not so long, really, if you consider your little rendezvous a few weeks back, in which you permanently destroyed the life of one of your fellow shifters.”

He turned slowly, and looked up along a raised platform, upon which the high alpha himself was seated on a throne. Rannulf, with his flowing streams of jet black hair. His malevolent eyes, which glowed almost red in the darkness. There seemed something almost grotesque about him as the firelight crackled up around him. Shadows danced around his scarred and disfigured face, a face he'd earned from a lifetime of violence. He stood in stark contrast to the flanks of nude omegas strewn about the throne on either side of him, members of his harem, dedicated to pleasing his every whim, and serving as his arm candy when the need for such adornment arose.

Adam's father had never behaved like this during his time as high alpha...

No high alpha had, in fact, since the time of old. Since the age of tyrants...

Clearly, Rannulf had won over the hearts and minds of people with promises of olden times, a return to what they perceived as a once great age that had never truly existed.

God, Adam wondered... What the hell had he done by leaving, and allowing this monster to come into power in his absence?

“Rannulf,” he said, trying not to let his fear sound his voice. “You're looking every bit as ugly as I remember you...”

Rannulf snarled, but then let his lips curve upward into a wicked grin.

“You are a bold one, if nothing else. I will say that about you. A normal man might have some reverence to the high alpha of his former pack, especially when that high alpha holds the fate of both the man himself and the man he's impregnated in the grip of his hand...”

Adam seethed with hatred at the man seated before him, but he took another look back over at Kyle, and knew that he was right.

Still, though, he wasn't ready to apologize just yet. He wasn't going to surrender what little power he had quite so easily as that...

“What do you intend to do with us?” he asked, maintaining eye contact. He could tell how much it bothered Rannulf to see him do so, considering the reverence with which the rest of the pack must always treat him.

He winced, then sat back and his chair.

“You know, I haven't actually made a decision on that front just yet... My options, I'm sure you can imagine, are pretty much limitless. I thought I would wait and see how I felt about the two of you once you'd found your way into my presence... So far, though, I have to say, you haven't exactly made that favorable of an impression...”

Finally, at this, Adam lowered his eyes to the ground, and bowed his head. It pained him to no end to do so, wounding his pride something fierce. However, he knew that he needed to show respect, even if he didn't feel it toward him. It practically made him sick to his stomach, especially when he imagined the high alpha smiling down at him, pleased at having gained the upper hand in this way. He knew that he must be doing this, and he could hear it thick on his voice when he continued to speak.

“I could kill you both, right now, along with your unborn child, and have it over with in seconds flat. Or I could kill you, and take your mate as my own- I'm sure he would make a most suitable addition to my harem after all... Or, oh, better yet- I could take him right now, right in front of you, and have my men torture you as you're forced to watch. Lord, the possibilities. So endless, and all so inviting...”

Adam took greater pains still as he tried to restrain himself. He felt his cheeks flaring, his teeth grating, his breath blowing through his nostrils in deep, warm gusts, like a bull getting ready to charge at a crimson red cape.

“I suppose,” Rannulf continued, “I should, at the very least, enquire as to just what the two of you are doing here. Not that it matters all that much, really- an intrusion is an intrusion, and your actions must be punished. But, at the very least, it would help me best decide on an appropriate disciplinary action. Not to mention, it would simply serve to scratch the itch of my curiosity...”

Adam hesitated before giving any kind of response to this.

Given Rannulf's contempt for anything and everything even remotely connected with humankind, it was hard for him to imagine the truth about his situation currying any sort of favor.

Still, though- what else did he have but the truth?

It may be the only choice that the two of them had...

Slowly he knelt down upon the cold hard earth in front of the high alpha, his injuries burning as they tore from the straining of his muscles. Then he took a deep breath, and went out on a limb.

“Your highness... The man you see before you is my omega. My mate. His name is Kyle, and he comes from the human world. We have recently discovered that Kyle has become pregnant, and that in the process he has become one of us. A fellow wolf shifter, the transformation to his person slowly taking place inside him along with his gestation...”

A murmur rose up among the crowd at this- such a phenomenon was evidently as unexpected to them as it had been to Adam upon discovering it.

He continued, trying not to lose the thread of his message:

“Upon discovering his condition, I knew that I had a decision to make. I needed to take responsibility. To rise up, and act in a way that I knew was right.”

“My... That would be a first,” sneered Rannulf.

Adam nodded, simply to acknowledge that he'd heard the remark, and went on past his anger.

“I realize, now that I've made mistakes. I know it was wrong of me ever to have left our pack behind. To abandon them when I did, even if I did believe at the time that I was doing so for the interest of our people.” There was a swell of sarcastic laughter here, but again he forced himself to ignore it.

“This land is my home, and it always has been. My identity as a wolf shifter is the only one I've ever known, and it was wrong of me to think I could change that. To think that I needed to change it, for that matter. This is where I belong, and where I always have belonged. It took the prospect of becoming a father for me to realize all that I'd left behind. All that I'd surrendered, in search of a life that I'd imagined to be better. More fulfilling. But that was truly empty, devoid of anything for the likes of one such as me.I know that things can never go back to the way they once were for me. Nor do I expect them to do so.

“But I bow before you here, in front of the pack I once knew and loved, asking for your mercy. I'm in search of a home. Not just for myself. But for my mate. For our child. A home that we might never know in the world I chose over the one I left behind. A world that would only be hostile to the likes of beings such as us, as you yourself know so very well. I don't expect, by any means, to know the same level of inclusion that I once did among our people. I know that isn't possible anymore, and it never will be again. All that I now seek is a home for my family. A place where the three of us can live in peace, without fear. Where we can grow and strengthen one another, and give of ourselves to this great and noble pack, what little we have to offer...”

He stopped here, thinking there was little he could add. Now, all he could do was wait. Listen. See how Rannulf would react to his efforts at appeasement.

He waited.

And waited.

But no response came.

After a while, he tilted his head slowly upward, trying to gage the high alpha's reaction.

What he saw did not inspire confidence...

His expression was hard. His eyes dark. His lips contorted into an ugly sneer.

Adam felt certain that the end was near.

“So, if I'm understanding you correctly,” he said, his voice tense, rising like the swell of a storm, “not only did you intrude upon our land, returning to a place you knew damn well you were by no means welcome. But you also brought a human being into our midst... A member of the same vile species that's made itself responsible for our destruction. That's reduced us to a pitiful fraction of our former selves, and sought to do everything in their power to remove us from the earth. And now, after so blatantly disregarding the law and the safety of our kind, you come before me, insulting me, asking me to take the two of you in? As if you deserve any sort of protection whatsoever, rather than the most severe of punishments?”

“Well...” said Adam, growing tense, “I suppose if you put it that way...”

Rannulf rose up from his throne, his voice now booming.

“I should have you killed this very second for your crimes against our people! I should release every alpha standing here, and let them go forth, tearing you limb from limb for the severity of your trespass!”

Adam's blood ran cold. He looked around, and saw that many of the men were indeed stepping closer to him, a few of them even crouching down as though preparing to leap, to transform into their canine self at the very drop of the hat.

“Please,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady, “your highness, I-”

“Sir...”

The voice that rang in his ears was a familiar one, yet one that he hadn't heard for months.

He turned on his heel, and saw a figure emerging from the shadows.

Tall. Muscular. Dark skinned and powerful.

A fellow alpha male, much like himself, his black eyes glinting in the darkness as he made his approach.

“Derric...” he said under his breath.

His closest friend during his time among the pack. The man who, as long as he could manage, had been running news of his father's health out to him while he was living in the human world.

Adam had wondered exactly what had become of him since the two of them had fallen out of contact- given his sympathy for the human race, and for Adam himself, he worried that he may have met with a gruesome and untimely fate.

But now, here he was again, striding toward the high alpha like it was nothing. Without anything resembling the same reverence shown by the rest of his pack, and with the same nobility to his air that Adam had been trying, but failing, to display.

He walked on past Adam without looking at him, and continued:

“If I may... It seems clear to me that the men standing here before mean you no harm. Neither you, nor our people. It is true that Adam left us, to live among the enemy, and if it is your belief that he should be punished for that, then I cannot argue with you. But how can you fault a man for seeking the best possible life for his family? For wanting to keep his mate and his child safe from harm's way, and bringing them to a place where he knows he can depend on his brethren for their safety?”

“That man is not my brother,” snarled Rannulf, “Nor is he yours! He may have made the pretense of being so, once upon a time, and we might all have been gullible enough to believe him. But those days are long gone. He's shown his true colors by his actions, and proven himself as something distinct and separate from the rest of us...”

“Be that as it may,” Derric continued, his eyes fixed and determined, “What he says is true, with regard to the omega he's brought before us. The man is pregnant, and he has become as one of us in the process of his insemination. You can smell our presence in him. It's clear that he is no longer any more human than either you or I.”

“Be that as it may,” Rannulf repeated sarcastically, “I fail to see how that makes him any of our concern...”

“Maybe it isn't,” said Derric. “But it should be... You promised these people a return to the times of our greatness. An encore of our glory days, during which the men of our pack ruled over the land, and displayed a nearly endless might over all that lay before them- as well as a nearly endless compassion. As great as we once were, our forefathers knew the power of mercy. Of forgiveness. Of looking after our own, and making sure that their needs were met, even when certain skin-deep distinctions may have presented themselves.

“They knew then what I thought we knew now- that the hostility of the world outside should bring us closer together, not drive us further apart. As long as our numbers are dwindling the way that they have, it eludes me how we might go about rejecting an omega in the throes of pregnancy from among our ranks, as you seem to be suggesting we do. I stand before you now, imploring you- please, do what's right. Both for this penitent son, and for the good of our pack. You must surely see the importance of extending such a mercy as this...”

Rannulf sat there for a long time, looking out at Derric, as well as at the crowd standing around him. Adam tried to do so as well, acting as casually as he could, his eyes scanning the men around him as he tried to assess the general mood.

Initially, every man in the crowd had seemed dead set against him and his omega. But as he looked now, he thought he could see sympathy in some of their eyes, and in some cases, even, a kind of resolve. As adamant as many of them seemed to be about returning to the ways of their ancestors, and taking their revenge against the often hostile forces of humanity, some of the men around him seemed to stand by Derric's ideals, his basic decency- even if only quietly so.

Rannulf, he thought, seemed to see this as well, and he looked like he was hedging his bets. He knew that the man was power hungry, but he knew just as well that he wasn't stupid. He couldn't clamp down with an iron fist and expect everyone to simply go along with it. He needed to exude strength, but it was every bit as important that he display mercy, and generosity, to make the people think their best interests were his own.

His expression softened, for about a half second, but then hardened again almost immediately.

“Very well then... Thank you Derric, my comrade. Your words have spoken to me, and I realize that there is great truth to them. And as such, I do believe it is fitting that I do what is just, and right under the circumstances, to the best of my abilities...”

He tilted his head upward, and looked past Adam now, over to the spot where Kyle stood captive among his minions.

“You. Lowly omega. I, Rannulf, high alpha of this great pack, by the power vested in me by the Moon Gods themselves, by whom the very seat of my power is consecrated, release you from the bonds of your sins, and absolve you of any and all wrongdoing. No harm shall come to you, or to your child. Not a hair on your heads shall be touched, and you are hereby permitted to remain in this sacred land, under the care and protection of the alpha who petitioned for your safety.”

He gestured at Derric, who lifted his eyebrows in surprise- this didn't seem to be what he'd had in mind when he'd made his request.

Once the impact of his words had sunk in, Rannulf then turned back to where Adam stood, the traces of kindness evaporating from his face.

“As for you. You traitor to our people. You heathen and philanderer. I fear that your betrayal still cannot be forgiven. Because your mate and your child have done nothing wrong of their own merit, I cannot punish them. But you are another story altogether.

“Nevertheless, I will show you what little mercy can be spared for such a wretch as you. A man who betrayed his father. Gave up his birthright, and abandoned his people in their time of need. A man who then sought to flaunt the laws of our people by returning, even knowing as he did that he was unwelcome, and wholly unwanted in the land he left behind. Not to mention, and I cannot emphasize this enough, a man who attacked one of his own for defending his people's territory, leaving him permanently incapacitated for the remainder of his days...”

Yet another murmur from the crowd, but Adam did his best to ignore this one. He stood with his fists clenched, his heart racing, unsure of what to expect, or what he might even be hoping for under the circumstances.

“In light of all these things,” Rannulf concluded, “But with the depths of my mercy taken into consideration, I have decided, thanks to the testament of the man I know to have once been your friend, not to take your life on the spot where you stand. To spare you, and to allow you the chance to leave this place unmolested, as you once left it behind so many moons ago. But leave, you must. Leave behind your mate, and your child, never to see this place, or either of them, again...”

Adam's mouth fell slightly open, and his jaw quivered.

“Wh- what?” he said feebly.

“These are my conditions. It is your choice, whether you wish to accept them, or whether you wish to defy me, yet again, and face the utmost consequences of your actions, at long last. Choose wisely. For whether you choose to leave this place as instructed, or whether you choose to stay and be killed, along with the man you love, it truly makes no difference to me. I've extended you what mercy it is within my capabilities to offer you, and I shall not falter in my decision. So now. It is your turn to speak. Make your choice known to me...”

Adam just stood there. Frozen.

His heart ached.

His head was spinning.

He looked out onto a long, blank future, all hope obscured, all possibility lost to him, no matter the direction in which he searched for it.

He tried to look for some way- any other way that things could possibly be- yet he knew, even as he did so, that there was none to be found.

He looked back over his shoulder, into the light of Kyle's sad, frightened eyes. The eyes of the man he'd come to love, over such a short time, and which he now felt certain he couldn't possibly live without. The man who'd given him meaning, who'd made sense of it all.

He thought about never seeing that light again, and whether he could stand such an extended absence from their heat, their brilliance...

But then he imagined something else. Something even more horrifying to consider.

Not just being deprived of that light, but watching it be extinguished. Right in front of him.

Stolen away, cut down through no fault of Kyle's own.

But because of his own arrogance. His own misguided ambition.

His own pure selfishness...

He turned back toward Rannulf's throne, lowering his head, and closing his eyes.

“I accept your conditions...” he said, his heart breaking into a million tiny pieces as the words passed his lips.