Today was Julian's twenty-second birthday, six years without finding a mate.

He opened his eyes and immediately felt the ache of having slept all night on the cold, hard floor of his tiny room.

From the small window at the top of his wall, he could see the first rays of the sun trickling in.

Which meant... Oh no.

He was late.

His eyes widened in fear.

He quickly looked around for his clothes and put them on. They were the same old, torn, raggedy trousers and gray t-shirt he'd been wearing for years.

He wore his slippers while trying to gather his hair into a messy bun.

When he left his quarters, everywhere was still quiet, but he knew by the sun coming out that he had little time before Mistress Tonia woke up, and he hadn't even started his chores.

A shiver passed through him when he imagined how she would punish him if he didn't finish his work.

He practically ran to get his working materials and start his usual chores. He could hopefully get the work done before she awoke.

An hour later, he was diligently scrubbing the kitchen floors when he heard Mistress Tonia.

"You are quite slow today, runt?" she said. Her voice was calm, and she sounded almost amused.

But Julian shivered and his heart raced with fear.

"Maybe you've decided that..." she said, as if she were musing aloud, "you are too good to work for the hospitality that this pack offers you... no... has offered one like you."

He shook his head, even though he had his back to her. "No, Mistress, I'm so sorry," he replied to her.

"When you're done here, come meet me for your punishment," she said. "You need to do better. If not, you can just meet the fate of your wretched mother. Do you understand me?"

His voice shook, his eyes ached with tears, and his throat was painful with the way he had to control his voice to say,

"I understand, Mistress."

"Good," she replied and turned and left.

When her footsteps faded away, the brush slipped from Julian's hands and tears ran down his face.

Small sobs fought their way from his throat.

All alone, he whispered, "Why? Goddess, what did I do to deserve this?"

As usual, there was no answer.

He wiped the tears away and swallowed. He held the brush and continued to scrub.

Five hours later, Julian's hands were raw and pruny, and his muscles ached with exertion.

He walked slowly to Mistress Tonia's office. From experience, he knew it was better to deliver himself up for punishment than for her to come looking for him.

Minutes later, he knocked at the door. He took a deep breath.

"I'm here for my punishment, Miss," he said.

There was muffled laughter inside, and he suddenly felt anxiety pool in his stomach. Did he really have such bad luck?

A voice with mirth answered, "Come in," and broke off into giggles.

Yes, he really had terrible luck. So bad that he must be cursed by the Goddess herself.

He steeled himself and walked in.

Inside the big office, Miss Tonia was actually absent. There was only Vanessa, the Alpha's daughter, and her best friend Cecilia, their Beta's daughter.

"Their words can only harm me if I give them power," Julian muttered under his breath, steeling himself.

"Oh, look, look," Vanessa said. "Who do we have here?" Her voice was derisive.

"The pack runt," Cecilia answered immediately, and they burst into laughter together.

They looked at him with such disgust that he almost took a step back from the weight of their gaze.

"Can't he greet?" Cecilia said. "Runt, don't you know pack hierarchy? We are your betters, and you better respect us."

"Yes," Vanessa cut in immediately. "It seems like today the trash of the pack has no respect."

"I'm sorry," he said, even as bile rose up in his throat. "Greetings, Vanessa and Cecilia."

Vanessa stood up, her face suddenly twisting into something very malicious. Suddenly, she reached out and slapped him.

The sound of her palm hitting his cheek seemed to echo in the room.

"Kneel, runt," she said.

He kept his eyes closed as he knelt down.

"Imagine, Vanessa, he even dared address us by our real names," Cecilia said. He understood his wrong then.

"Greet again," Vanessa said slowly.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. Even though he uttered words of apology, his body language was defiant.

"Imagine, this runt dares...?"

Suddenly, they were interrupted. The door opened and Mistress Tonia burst in, looking a bit frazzled.

"Vanessa, Cecilia," she said, "you are just the people I wanted to see."

"Tonia, can you imagine what this runt just—" Vanessa was cut off by Mistress Tonia.

"Leave him, he will be punished," she said without even looking at him. "I have important news for you girls."

Her tone made interest gleam in their eyes, while Julian was just happy to be forgotten in the corner.

"The Alpha just informed me that the visit from the Alpha of the Red Moon Pack is happening today."

Julian's ear was almost damaged by the intensity of the squeal Vanessa and Cecilia's vocal cords created.

"What?" Cecilia said. "I thought that was next week!"

"I don't know," Mistress Tonia replied, "but for some reason it's gonna be today, so you guys need to be prepared. If you catch his eye then..."

She didn't need to continue.

Julian watched them, lost in their own fantasy.

He knew of the Alpha of the Red Moon Pack, the most powerful and feared pack in all the land. Their Alpha was rumored to have been mateless for an even longer time than Julian.

A lot of unmated girls fantasized about being his mate. Even with the stories of how Ruthless and wicked the Alpha was.

Rumours whispering that he was nicknamed Demon lord for very gruesome reasons.

He didn't know a lot more about this Red Moon Pack or their Alpha, except they were apparently a big deal.

He just hoped that with the distraction of this visit, he would have peace…some peace.

Vanessa and Cecilia may wish to meet this so called Alpha but he didn't. He would carefully avoid the alpha.  Powerful people usually hated him.

They continued to plot and scheme regarding the new visit, while Julian ignored the pain in his knees.

Soon after, Vanessa and Cecilia left the office.

Then Mistress Tonia snarled at him.

"Thank your stars I'm busy now," she said. "Scram, I'll deal with you later."

He thanked her hastily and left.

He also whispered some thanks under his breath to that mysterious Red Moon Alpha. He had no idea this Alpha would soon change his life forever.

Julian was truly cursed with bad luck by the Goddess.

After he had managed to escape from Mistress Tonia, he'd thought that he'd be able to have a peaceful day out of anyone's sight.

He was even singing a little to himself as he walked to his room, but then he saw Xavier, Vanessa's elder brother, the heir to the Alpha, in the hallway.

He had to shrink himself to a corner as Xavier, the golden boy of their pack, passed by, but alas, as usual, he was unsuccessful.

Julian stood next to the wall, staring at his feet when Xavier stopped and looked at him for a moment.

"Just the runt I wanted to see," Xavier said. "We are going to play a game, and we need you, runt."

Julian started to shake. That did not sound good.

He remembered all the other games they had played with him as a toy, and he clenched his fists.

Xavier walked towards him, and Julian started to tremble, a response from all the traumatic incidents that had started this way.

When Xavier got close to him, he held Julian's chin and lifted it up.

"Little pup," Xavier said, a wicked smirk on his face. "It's been some time since we had fun." As he spoke, his hands were running abashedly under Julian's shirt.

Julian felt nauseous from Xavier's touch, but he tried to keep it from his face. He knew that Xavier seemed to feed on his pain and discomfort.

The best thing he could do was dissociate himself from his body.

Xavier let out a sigh. "Look at you," he said. "Boring, pathetic little omega. I really pity whoever the Moon Goddess has punished by making them your mate."

The words hit harder than any other taunt Xavier could have said, and Julian knew Xavier knew it by the self-satisfied grin on his face.

"Now come along," Xavier said. "The boys will be waiting for us."

Xavier turned and started walking away.

Julian clenched his teeth before following Xavier.

Soon they were outside, in the woods of their territory reserved for the physical training of the pack officials, Xavier's friends.

Julian was preparing himself for the pain that was incoming. "It will pass. You've just got to endure, as you always have," he told himself.

Xavier greeted his friends before turning to reveal Julian.

"Hey, guys," he said. "Look who I brought for us to play with today."

They erupted in jeers.

"Hey, look, it's the pack runt," Soba, Beta in training, spoke.

And they continued to shout slurs at Julian, but he's used to it. For a long time, he has been able to tune them out.

Till...

Xavier grabbed him by the collar. "Guys, I have got an idea for a game," he said. "We let this runt run, and then whoever catches him has bragging rights... and gets to have fun with him for a few hours." He said the last part with a low voice.

That made nausea pool in Julian's stomach. He knew what that meant. Xavier had been hinting at it with all the innuendos lately, but the mere thought of someone touching him that way—someone who was not his mate—made him retch. No matter what happened, Julian would not allow that.

"In our wolf form?!" a guy asked.

"That would be too easy. With this runt's weak wolf, he wouldn't be able to outrun anyone here. How would the game be interesting then?" Xavier said, and the other guys laughed. "It'll be in our human form, and we'll even give him a head start."

Julian took note of the people here. Including Xavier, there were eight guys, all of them with high statuses in the pack.

Why did they need to spend all their time making his life hell, when his only crime was... existing?

Xavier turned to him at this point.

"Go on, run, little runt." A condescending smile twisted his face. Hatred bubbled up in Julian, giving a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Run," Xavier said, pushing him.

Suddenly, Julian let out a yelp as he stumbled.

But he saw the menacing look on the men before him, and he turned forward and began to run.

He ran with all his energy. He ran with everything in him, his mind just telling him to escape the monsters that hurt him.

And for some minutes, he felt free.

Until suddenly he was tackled down. The wind was suddenly knocked out of him.

He yelled out in pain, and some dirt got into his mouth.

"I got you, little runt."

Xavier's voice was low and menacing in Julian's ear.

A violent panic seized Julian.

Xavier started to run his hands through Julian's clothes till he was palming Julian's ass.

In a bout of impatience, Xavier tore Julian's trousers.

Julian could feel the cool breeze on the bare skin of his ass, and his insides squirmed at the violation of his body.

"I've been eyeing you, little runt," Xavier said. "Always strutting this ass everywhere. I guess it's finally time to taste a male omega."

For a long time, the only light in Julian's life had been the hope of finding a mate and giving himself to someone who truly loved him, and this monster was trying to take it all from him.

Tears of despair and frustration ran down Julian's face as he struggled against Xavier.

He felt Xavier's dick on his ass when—

There was someone's voice calling Xavier's name.

"Fuck," Xavier cursed against Julian's ear.

The voice continued calling, causing Xavier's movement to stall.

Julian used this opportunity to kick Xavier and crawl away.

Xavier let out a grunt.

"You dare, you fucking runt," he said as he stumbled to chase after Julian.

When the person who had been shouting finally reached them:

"Xavier, your father is looking for you! The visitors from Red Moon Pack are already here... hurry!"

Xavier was shocked and started to run towards the pack house. Before he left, he turned back to Julian.

"I'll continue this later, runt," he said.

Julian heaved a sigh of relief. He had been saved by this mysterious pack again.

He leaned against a tree and tried to calm himself down.

He looked up to the sky.

"What kind of life was he living? How long would he have to endure all this? Forever?"

After a while, he stood up.

He was barely decent because Xavier had torn his clothes. Shame and anger pulsed through him before finally giving way to helplessness and despair as he limped all the way to the back entrance of the pack house.

He was grateful to find nobody as he crept through the hallways to his small room. They were probably in front, greeting the visitors from that super important pack.

He lay down on the floor, and finally safe and quiet, he let all the emotions pour out of him, and he began to sob.

Humiliation and pain overwhelmed him like a tide.

Something he had thought of many times suddenly popped up in his head.

He should run away from this hell of a place.

He had thought about it many times, but fear of the unknown had kept him from trying. He was small and weak; how would he survive out there? But staying in this pack would eventually kill him, he knew it.

So he made up his mind.

He couldn't take this anymore. His salvation wouldn't find him here in this Goddess-forsaken place.

So Julian would run away.

"This is the last pack," Rafael said, "The last pack we'll visit on this wild goose chase."

In front of Rafael's car are the gates to the Obsidian Moon pack, a small pack far northwest of Rafael's pack.

"Rafe... son," his mother says. She is seated beside him in the car. "Looking for your mate is not a wild goose chase. No matter what you say, you need a Luna."

"Our pack already has you as a Luna," Rafael replied. "I don't see the need for another."

"Not another Luna," she replied immediately, "a Luna for you... your Luna!"

The gates opened, saving Rafael from replying. He drove inside immediately.

A familiar prickle of annoyance tugged at him.
It's been 62 years since he was supposed to find a mate. The Moon Goddess' wish was loud and clear.

Rafael would have no mate.

And he had accepted and made peace with that fact, but everyone around continued to nag him about it.
He had already shown he could rule his pack without a mate. He was strong, the complete opposite of his father.

He parked the car and took a breath to compose himself.
No matter what his mother said, this will be the last pack he will waste his time at, looking for something that clearly did not exist.

As these thoughts passed Rafael's mind, he tried to block out the hollow ache in his chest.
He almost succeeded.

---

Rafael stood, face impassive, as the Alpha and Luna couple greeted him. It was always the same thing at every pack.

Their smiles stretched wide, voices too polite, like sugar trying to hide something rotten underneath.

"We are extremely honoured to have you here at our humble pack," the Alpha says. He's an older man, with a lot of wrinkles on his face. "I am Alpha Surien, and this my wife and Luna, Sarah."

There's something about him that Rafael dislikes immediately. He can feel his wolf restless within him too.

Hopefully this 'visit' will pass soon.

Rafael glares at the man, unwilling to have any true interaction with the other Alpha.

His mom takes over the conversation while Rafael zoned out.

The couple leads them to their central packhouse.
It's small and disappointing for a packhouse, but he won't be staying here long, so it doesn't matter.

When they enter the house, the Alpha clears his throat to get Rafael's attention.

"Alpha Rafael," he said, "these are my children, Vanessa and Xavier."

The two of them bow, and Rafael notices the emphasis placed on Vanessa, and a trill of disgust sours his tongue.

But then he gets a scent of something interesting. Suddenly his wolf is at full attention.

It's coming from the Alpha's son.
Not the boy's scent in particular, but on him—like from someone he was close to recently.

He can't really describe the scent, but it calls to him deeply.

Rafael's eyes darken, and he doesn't even know when he took a step forward toward the other Alpha's son.

"You...?" Rafael's voice is low.

The Alpha's son is visibly trembling under the weight of Rafael's gaze.

"Son..." Rafael's mom touched his arm, bringing him back from the almost trance-like state he was in.

"My mate is here." Rafael's voice is low, but everybody hears it, and no one is more shocked than Rafael himself.

His mother gasps beside him. "Rafael," she said, "are you sure?" Her voice was soft and her tone very careful.

Rafael sent a glare at her before looking at Xavier.
"I am. I can smell them on him."

Rafael growls at the boy, who shrinks back a little.
He doesn't like the idea that this boy had been near his mate.

He turns to the boy's father.
"Assemble all your packmates," he said. "I want every single one of them here. Now."

The Alpha nods hastily and tugs his wife with him as they move away from Alpha Rafael's harsh gaze.

As they leave, Rafael watches them.
The anticipation begins to build in him.
He had been wrong after all—he had a mate.

He'd found his mate.

Rafael began to pace, his wolf just as restless within him.

"Thank the Goddess... finally," his mother whispered beside him, and he echoed the sentiment.

The minutes seem extraordinarily long to Rafael as he awaited the pack.

Soon, members of the pack start to trickle in, all standing in front. At each new person to come down, Rafael would flare up with his nose in the air, and yet even as the front hall filled, there was no sign of his mate.

Impatience sparked an annoyance that flared up in him. He walked to the Alpha.

"My mate is not here yet," Rafael said. "Where are they?"

The Alpha looked back in surprise.
"These are all of my pack members," he said. "All... all of them."

Rafael let out a growl that made the Alpha step back.

"I'll ask again," Rafael said, voice low and threatening. "Where. Is. My mate? The one I smell on his body." Rafael pointed at the boy behind his father.

"I'm sorry, I... I... I'll get your mate," the father said, flustered. "Just give me a minute."

"Xavier?" The man turned to his son. "Who were you with just before you came here?"

Rafael watched the boy intently.

The boy looked rapidly from his father to Rafael, suddenly looking terrified.
"It... it's..." His voice was small and shook incessantly.

"Speak, Xavier!" demanded his father before Rafael could snap at the boy.

"It was... the... the runt."

The sentence had Rafael surprised.
What did the boy mean by runt? It couldn't be his mate, right?

The boy's father paled immediately.
"Xavier, be serious," the Alpha's wife spoke suddenly for the first time.

"Yes, Xavier, are you sure? It can't be that..." The man seemed to swallow the rest of his sentence.

"I'm sure, mother," Xavier said. He suddenly looked resigned. "It was him, mother."

Rafael was suddenly annoyed by all this theatrics. All he wanted was his mate.

So he walked forward and grabbed the Alpha.
"Alpha Surien," Rafael started, his voice low and menacing.
"I am easily angered, and do not test my patience."

"BRING ME MY MATE!”

Chapter 4

"Mistress Tonia," the Alpha of the Obsidian Pack called. "You know where he stays... go and get him!"

Rafael noticed their strange tone. Curiosity and suspicion rose in him as he glanced between everyone. These people seemed afraid for some reason.

"Then I'll go along with you," he said.

The alarmed looks on everybody's faces made the unease in the pit of his stomach grow.

"As... you wish, Alpha," the woman the Alpha had called Mistress Tonia spoke.

Rafael gestured for her to move, and they began walking deeper and deeper into the pack house.

They walked past what Rafael was sure should be the normal rooms designated for pack members. She led him down a pathway that he could have sworn led to a dungeon.

Until she stopped, turned to the right, and knocked on a small inconspicuous door.

There was no answer.

She knocked again.
"Julian... hey! Open the door!" she asked as she knocked again.

Still, there was no answer.

"Move," Rafael said.

She almost tripped in her haste to oblige him.

Rafael twisted the doorknob, and it opened. Then he took a step into the room and was hit with the overwhelming scent and presence of his mate.

"Mate... my mate!" The words echoed and resonated in him.

He unconsciously brought a hand to his chest. After all these years, he’d found...

His eyes scanned the room.

His mate was not here. The room was empty.

It was like water splashed down his back. He examined the room closer—it was small and bare. There was no bed, no mat, not even a blanket. It looked like a prison cell. His mate had lived in such pitiful conditions?

The fire within Rafael began to cool. He turned back to the woman.

"Where is my mate?" His voice was calm, not even a hint of hostility. And yet, she began to stutter an incoherent mess.

"Speak clearly," Rafael spoke again, his voice ice cold.

"I--... This is where he stays," she said. "I swear, Alpha, this is his quarters."

It was then the usage of the pronouns clicked in Rafael's head. Him... his mate was a him.

The fact surprised him. He had always imagined... well, no matter. Rafael did not care what gender his mate was. He could already see some people disgruntled about it—he’d take care of that later.

Now he needed to find him.

He inhaled deeply in the room. His mate's scent was still very strong, so it meant that...

"He just left here," Rafael muttered under his breath before turning to the woman beside him.

"He should still be within your territory. Go and tell your Alpha that I want my mate found, or there will be hell to pay."

---

Julian stumbled through the woods with fierce determination. He had to get away from this pack.

He was finally doing it—winning. He may end up like his mother, dead and torn apart by rogues, but he would die a free wolf.

He stopped to readjust the oversized trousers he had stolen from somebody's room and began to trudge forward again.

Suddenly, there was this ache in his chest.
Something telling him to stop, to go back... but he pushed through. This was his chance to escape the hell that was his life, and nothing was going to stop him.

---

Rafael shrugged off his suit jacket as he scanned the packlands before him.

What he was about to do was very taboo.
It was disrespectful to search another pack’s lands without the permission of its Alpha. But Rafael did not care. His mate was out there.

And he had a growing suspicion that this pack had not treated his mate well.

He undressed himself quickly and shifted into his wolf form. It was better suited for tracking. His senses were sharper, so he was able to pick up his mate's trail.

He followed it carefully.

Even though it seemed like it, it didn’t take long for Rafael to catch up to his mate.

Rafael caught sight of a figure marching forward, and he knew instantly—that was his mate.

Something stopped Rafael from speeding to meet him. Instead, Rafael chose to creep within the shadows and coverage of the trees, approaching slowly until he got a better view of his mate.

The first thing he noticed about his mate was his bright red hair, kept in a messy upright bun. Such a unique color of hair.

Another thing he noticed was how petite his mate was. Considerably shorter than Rafael himself, and from the way the very thin clothes hung from him, it would seem he was very thin as well—or was he malnourished?

The thought ignited anger within Rafael, especially his wolf. Their mate should never have experienced a lack of anything.

In his moment of carelessness, Rafael had already revealed himself.

He looked up to see his mate, a shocked look on his face. He seemed petrified for a second before he began to run away.

Seeing his newly found mate running away from him...

It felt like a punch in the gut to Rafael, to have caused such a look on his mate's face.

He immediately chased after him.
Don’t run away from me, he pleaded in his mind.

It would have been easy to overtake his mate and pin him down, but Rafael didn’t do that. Something about the way his mate had looked—terrified to see him...

He didn’t want to see that fear again.

So he just trailed his mate, willing him with all he could... stop running.

And he did. Suddenly, his mate slowed down and stopped.

He turned back to face Rafael.

Rafael had slowed too and moved forward cautiously.

He took in his mate, and Goddess, he was beautiful.

Like a candlelight... but Rafael could also see the taint of suffering and pain. And by the Goddess, he was going to remove that taint from his mate if it was the last thing he did.

"You," his mate muttered quietly, "are you my mate?”

Short author notes: if you've liked it so far, drop a comment or vote to motivate  me... Maybe

Julian must be dreaming, there was no other explanation for what was happening. He couldn’t possibly have found his… mate?

He walked forward with slow steps towards the huge wolf in front of him. It was, of all things, a grey wolf, bigger than any wolf Julian had ever seen. Everything about it called to Julian.

Come to me, Mine.

A tear ran down Julian’s face. He finally reached the wolf, stretched out his arm, and hesitantly touched its snout. It let out a small whine but nudged Julian closer.

The touch sent something electric pulsing through him, and instantly the fear vanished, replaced by a single word: Mate.

The wolf lowered itself down and looked expectantly at Julian.

“W…what?” Julian said. “You mean I should climb on?”

The wolf gave a small nod. Julian swallowed, then ran his hand across his mate’s warm fur and walked backward a bit. Then he hoisted himself up.

He was rough and not at all graceful, but the wolf underneath him did not seem to care. The wolf turned back and began toward the pack house. A little nausea settled in Julian’s stomach at the thought of going back, but he trusted his mate. It was a sudden, unfounded trust—that his newly found mate, who he knew nothing about, would protect him.

When they got near the pack house, the wolf lowered again and Julian got down from its back. The wolf began to shift beside him. Anticipation and curiosity rose in Julian.

When he saw his mate, a man… well, he had guessed by the size of that wolf but…

Julian’s first coherent thought after seeing his mate was:
Oh goddess, I must be mated to a god indeed.

Julian’s mate was tall and well-muscled, with a solid masculine body. He had striking purple irises that Julian was immediately enraptured by, and a face that must have been personally modelled by the Goddess herself.

Then a sour feeling drained all the color before Julian’s eyes. How would such a person be pleased to have him as a mate? When he used to dream about finding a mate, he had dared to forget what he was… a dirty male omega.

He immediately turned away.

“Why do you turn away from me, little mate?”

Julian’s mate’s voice was so good, shivers ran down his spine. Then the feeling of shame and unworthiness rose higher, threatening to overwhelm him.

Julian did not answer. What would he say? His flaws were obvious enough. His mate would see him and reject him like every other person had.

Julian let out a surprised yelp when a warm body hugged him from behind.

“Little mate.” The man’s baritone voice seemed to vibrate through Julian’s body. “I don’t know what you have been through… or how your life has been before fate finally permitted us to meet. But I want to promise you, I make you a vow—as I have found you, I will treat you as you are, my treasure. I will protect you as is within my power and beyond. So please, little one, do not run from me.”

Julian was sobbing now.
No one had ever said anything so beautiful, so kind, to him before.

“B..but y..you—” Julian began. He swallowed. “I..if you knew me, how unworthy I am of th…those wo…words, you’ll take them back, I know.”

The man just hugged Julian tighter.

“Little mate, do not say that,” he said. “I may not know your name or who you are yet, but I have looked at you and known immediately that you are the one I’ve waited for… the one I will cherish and love till my end.”

The words were like a balm over Julian’s soul, like a bandaid to keep together a soul on the very edge of breaking apart. But there was this voice, loud and derisive, in Julian’s head:

He says that now, but he doesn’t know you. Everyone who knows you knows that you are not worthy of anything, especially of love.

Julian tried to shove the voice away and lean into his mate’s arms. He wanted to enjoy this comfort… this dream before it was ripped away and turned into a nightmare.

“My name is Julian,” he murmured under his breath, barely audible.

“I’m Rafael, little mate,” Rafael said.

That name echoed in Julian’s head, like it was something important, something he should remember but couldn’t, a piece of information floating in his head and yet out of his reach.

“You are cold,” Rafael announced suddenly. “Let me take you inside.”

Julian suddenly felt weak. Absentmindedly, he noted it was probably because the last time he’d eaten something was yesterday morning—and it was a meager stale bread. Rafael’s words did not really register in his mind as he swayed precariously in Rafael’s arms.

“And you’re weak now too,” Rafael noted.

“Mhmm… I’m so h…hungry,” Julian murmured in reply, his words slurred.

“Let me carry you, little mate,” Rafael asked.

Julian mumbled incoherent nonsense. Rafael crouched and raised him in a princess carry.

“Let’s get you in and well cared for,” Rafael said. “And then you’ll tell me every single person who hurt you… made you like this, and I will make them pay.”