Chapter 107

Chapter 107
Ren had asked him to fight, but Axton had offered himself up—and Ren had taken the shot. The projectile, a low-calibre round Axton kept for deterrence, was meant to sting, not kill, but the message was a fatal blow to their relationship.

​Ren walked past the stunned trio outside the Arcturus vehicle, his face a mask of resolute fury. His eyes were gold, but quickly settling back to their human green, as if the shot had been the final, definitive act to sever his remaining humanity from his purpose.

​"You might want to bandage his sorry ass," Ren said to Corvin as he passed, his voice flat and empty, before stepping out onto the tarmac.

​"Shit! I was right, he shot him!" Corvin cursed and plunged into the chamber, rushing to Axton's side.

​Kael, reeling from the sudden, chilling violence, turned and sprinted after Ren. "Renault! Where are you going? The General might just have set another trap! You can't—"

​Ren didn't stop. He walked toward the console and stood beside Rhys, "This thing has a peaker?" He asked calmly.

Rhys glanced at Kael, who nodded at him.

"Yes, it does," he replied 

"Turn it on," He commanded.

Rhys glanced at Kael again.

"Just turn the damn thing on, Lieutenant," Kael bit out.

Rhys sighed and turned on the speaker, "Whatever you say will now be heard by the whole Faction... It's that loud." He whispered  

Ren inhaled quietly. He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to command half of his army to attack every bloody officer and send the other half to General Conan.

Instead, he shut his eyes and Axton's pleading, vulnerable face flashed in his eyes.

A thought flashed in his mind, 'Could it be I'm overreacting?'

He shook his head and leaned over the console, "Stop you break in, Army. Stand guard, and wait for my orders. But, by all means, attack whoever feels like a threat." The moment he finished speaking, the alarms stopped blaring in the compound. 

Everywhere suddenly fell silent, both Beast-bounds and soldiers ceased their attacks.

"Wheew... this has been the most eventful day of my fucking life," Kael slumped on the seat by the corner, nodding his head, "I need an aspirin." He murmured. 

"Renault, you can't just leave an army of Beast-bound creatures outside the walls –"

"I just did, Rhys. Want to do something about that?" Ren raised a sharp eyebrow at Rhys.

Rhys sighed and walked off toward Axton's chamber. 

"This is getting out of hand," He murmured as he walked past Kael.

"Tell me about it," Kael muttered.
——

The chamber door slammed behind Axton, leaving a metallic echo. He stood alone for a beat, his hand clutching his bleeding shoulder, the disbelief a cold knot in his gut.

He was hurting so much, but none of it was from the bleeding wound. He was hurting because of the man behind the gun. His lover had shot him without batting an eye, it broke every last vestige of hope he had for them 

He knew Ren was far gone, getting him back would only be a miracle. A miracle that might need someone's life as a sacrifice to prove to Ren that he was loved. And, Axton's life might just he the sacrifice that was needed.

"Captain, are you okay? Shit, you're not okay," Corvin rushed through the door and placed Axton's good arm around his shoulder, "We need to get you to stop bleeding. Come on." He gently led Axton toward the door.

They reached the door and found Rhys walking toward them, "Move out of the way, Rhys. Grab my first aid kit from our room." Corvin snapped at Rhys.

Rhys obeyed immediately and went to retrieve the first aid box.

Corvin led Axton to sit beside Kael, working swiftly to unbutton his shirt.

"How do you bleed so fucking much, Captain?" Corvin grabbed the first aid from Rhys.

He fumbled to treat the wound, muttering curses as he arrested the bleeding. 

Axton remained calm as everyone panicked around him. Even as he felt the needle pricking on his shoulder, he didn't flinch. Rather, his eyes were locked on Ren, who stood ahead with his cold eyes staring at him.

Their eyes locked and their unspoken tension, longing, and anger simmered between them. Axton saw a hint of guilt flash in Ren's eyes for just a second, but it was gone before he knew it.

"This should stop the bleeding, luckily, it was just a graze," Corvin said as he wrapped Axton's shoulder, sighing in relief.

"What's the status, Rhys?" Axton questioned.

Before Rhys could answer, Ren beat him to it with a sharp cut in, "The status, Captain, is that I've got my army surrounding the Faction. Now, all you have to do is to lead us to that darned signal, I'll get in and stop all this madness once and for all –"

"You're not going anywhere near that signal, Renault," Axton said, his tone final.

"Last I checked, you're not the boss of me, traitor," Ren scoffed.

Kael, Corvin and Rhys shared an exhausted look. They understood the reason for Ren's change, he felt betrayed by the captain, causing his beast to cut off every fibre of emotion in his heart.

"Chill, Ren. If it were me, yeah, Axton could betray me without a thought, but, it's you, Renault. My brother loves you too much to ever betray you. You just have to trust him," Kael stepped forward, smiling cautiously. 

"He's right, Renault. I'm ready to take more shots if that would get my Ren back," Axton's horse voice said weakly.

Ren paused, looking away from Axton.

"Okay, okay, that was so sweet to Ren and shocking to us, Captain. But, no one's shooting anyone anymore." Corvin stated.

Axton sighed, "Vance's men will arrive in a minute. We'll leave tomorrow for the signal. Hopefully, this ends soon." He glanced at Ren, his heart aching when he saw Ren looking away from him.

"I think we should all call it a night. Everyone should prepare for tomorrow's journey," Rhys said, nodding at Kael.

"I'll help you back to your room," Corvin offered to help Axton bit was turned down.

"It's alright, Corvin. I'll manage," Axton said and stood on his feet.

Shirtless and bandaged, he walked toward the door of the vehicle where Ren was standing with a cold face.

"You can still come back with me. I'm not angry that you shot me. Just heartbroken," Axton said to Ren before leaving the vehicle.

"Aww, that's sad, man. The Ren I knew would never want to see Axton hurting. I guess people do really change. If my brother could love, then anything was possible." Kael sighed. 

"I guess we'll just have to accept the fact that our loving, cute Renault has turned into a villain. It's alright, we'll adjust," Kael slowly walked over to the door, pausing in front of Ren, "You really can't imagine how much pain my brother is facing. He would never betray you, and deep down in that bestifying heart of yours, you know it, Mr. Beast." He poked Ren's chest and left as well.

"Come on," Corvin said to Rhys, pulling him out of the vehicle. 

"You should trust him," Corvin mentioned as he passed Ren.

Ren was alone, a result of his actions.

Well, he was prepared to be alone, beasts didn't have friends.

He got out of the vehicle, staring at the compound as people found shelter in their designated resting places.

He could go over to his sister at the infirmary, but he knew that it wasn't what he wanted. His heart was somewhere else, and no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, he couldn't stop agreeing more with Kael's words: deep down in that beast heart of his, he felt that Axton's words were true.

He couldn't just bring himself to believe it, his beast wanted him to stay angry, to stay guarded so they won't hurt again. 

But, he might just have gone a little overboard. He should have trusted Axton's words. 

He wandered aimlessly for a while and when he realised, he found himself in front of the guest quarters. 

He stared at the building for a while, thinking of just sitting outside till dawn. But, it would only worsen things between Axton and himself. 

Also, he wasn't so sure if Axton would want to see him now, not after shooting him.

"Fuck, what was I even thinking?" He sighed.

​I wasn't thinking. He had let the Beast's primal need for defence override the human need for connection. He had chosen rage over trust, and now he was paying the price.

​He pushed the door to the guest quarters open, his footsteps slow and heavy as he walked down the empty corridor.

Inside his room, Axton sat heavily on the bunk, shirtless. The neat bandage over his shoulder was a stark white against his skin. He hadn't bothered to get dressed, the exhaustion and profound sense of loss weighing him down more than the physical wound.

​Corvin and Rhys were gone, leaving him to the silence. He ran a gentle finger over the bandage, not feeling the wound, but the memory of the cold metal in Ren's hand, and the utter emptiness in his eyes.

​He didn't hate Ren; he hated his father. He hated the circumstances. But the relationship, the trust that had defined their lives, felt irrevocably shattered.

​"Traitor."

​A soft, hesitant knock came at the door.

​"Corvin, I said I'm fine," Axton mumbled, not looking up.

​The door slid open, but it wasn't Corvin.