Tempting Darkness

"Psst, wake up. We are leaving," Lycus said, shaking Kalen's shoulder and waking him. Kalen groaned and rolled over to see Lycus hovering above him. "What's wrong?" Kalen whispered, sitting up and rubbing his eyes while yawning.

Lycus grabbed Kalen's face, which was still covered in lash marks. "We are leaving. We are better off on our own," he told him, pulling Kalen's pajama shirt off and dressing him. Kalen's sleeping medication made him extra groggy and almost nonfunctioning. "Where will we go?" Kalen mumbled, trying to lie back down when Lycus grabbed him under the arms forcing him to his feet. "Anywhere they can't touch you," Lycus growled before chucking a bag over his shoulder.

Kalen, doped off his face from the medication, woke up later at the bus stop, having no memory of the walk there. It was freezing cold, snow covered the ground, and Lycus was rubbing his arms, trying to warm him up. The motion having woken Kalen, he peered around, confused. "Shh, go to sleep," Lycus murmured. Kalen trusted Lycus to keep him safe, so he did just that.

They lived like that for years, living day to day. Taking any odd jobs they could find. Lycus, at one stage, even became a male stripper to get them by. His werewolf genes made him appear older than he was, and as much as Lycus hated it, he did more than just strip for the filthy old pub tarts as he called them to get them by until he realized he was hurting Kalen. I was then shoved into one of Kalen's happiest memories.

Lycus had just come out to the kitchen at the back of the strip club where Kalen was washing dishes, covered in sweat with money stuffed in his briefs. Kalen hung up his apron as his shift ended before stalking off out the back.

"Kalen?" Lycus asked, chasing after him and pulling clothes on as he chased after him, but Kalen hated seeing Lycus with women and found it made him jealous. He didn't know what to think of the strange feelings he had for him. He thought it wrong to feel that way.

Trudging home in the snow, they were currently sleeping in a tent at a nearby park, both still too young to rent a place, and neither had ID.

"Kalen, did something happen?" Lycus asked him, catching up to him, but Kalen ignored him and kept walking home. When they got to the small park at the back of the pub, Kalen unzipped the tent and climbed in, sitting on his makeshift bed. "What's gotten into you?" "Nothing."

"Well, something is wrong," Lycus said, sniffing himself. He shuddered; he hated how they pawed at him, hated the things he had to do, but he did them so they could survive. When Kalen didn't answer, Lycus growled before stomping out of the tent and toward the toilets. There was a shower in there, but it only had cold water. Still, it was better than nothing. When he returned, Kalen continued to ignore him.

"Kalen," Lycus said, and he looked up at Lycus. He passed Kalen a burger he must have gotten on his way home. Kalen sighed but took it. Lycus sat across from him, eating his own food.

"You were in the red room," Kalen muttered, taking a bite of his sandwich. Lycus shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Filthy whore, she was married, too," Lycus said, his eyes flicking to Kalen's.

"What?" Lycus asked, but Kalen shook his head, going back to eating his food.

"You have been really strange lately. What's gotten into you? Have you run out of medication? I can pull a double tomorrow," Lycus told him.

Kalen muttered under his breath, and Lycus growled at him. Kalen knew he was annoyed. They told each other everything. Well, except for one thing; he never told Lycus how he felt about him. When they finished eating, Lycus rummaged through their bags, looking for Kalen's sleeping pills, and sighed.

"You are out. Why didn't you say anything?" Lycus asked.

"I don't want you selling yourself. I hate their smell on you."

"It's just s*x. It's no big deal," Lycus said before he sighed.

"To me, it's not! They are using you!" Kalen screamed, and Lycus seemed startled by his outburst. Kalen hardly raised his voice, and he was quick to apologize.

"I'm sorry. Forget I said anything," Kalen muttered, rubbing his temples. He could feel a headache coming on.

"I don't mind. It is fine," Lycus told him. "I will speak to Bill about doing more shifts."

Kalen cursed, getting to his feet to storm out of the tent.

Only Lycus gripped his arm, tugging him back. "What did I say this time? What is wrong?" This time he was becoming angry with Kalen's lack of answers.

Kalen's face heated with embarrassment. "I'm being stupid. It must be my meds," Kalen told him with a shake of his head, turning to leave the tent so he could shower. Kalen froze in the shower, and by the time he got out and returned to the tent, he was shivering and regretting showering in the first place. His teeth chattered as he rubbed his arms, and tonight it was snowing, making it just a little chillier. Kalen hated the cold.

Lycus was reading with a flashlight between his teeth when he entered. Kalen fell onto the sleeping bag beside him, and Lycus looked over at him before lifting his blanket and throwing it over Kalen. Lycus would sometimes shift, knowing his fur would keep him warm and help warm Kalen.

"I'm fine," Kalen growled.

"You're freezing," Lycus told him as Kalen wriggled beneath his blanket. Lycus placed his flashlight down before sighing and moving closer to Kalen.

"I can shift?" Lycus offered, but Kalen felt guilty about their argument and believed he didn't deserve a friend like him.

"Man, this tent is f*****g boring when you are so quiet," Lycus said, lying down.

"Why don't you go sleep with one of your whores? I am sure they will keep you entertained," Kalen spat bitterly, not meaning for the words to spill from his lips.

"What the f**k is your problem?" Lycus snapped at him before gripping his shoulder and flinging Kalen on his back. He glared down at him.

“F*****g answer. I am sick of your snide comments. Do you think I want to f**k them? It's a job. It keeps us fed," Lycus snapped at him.

"Well, you seem to enjoy it, or you wouldn't keep doing it," Kalen growled.

"Ah, for f**k's sake. If you have something to say, Kalen, f*****g say it. I am sick of guessing where your head is at," Lycus said.

"I don't want you f*****g them. You earn enough without f*****g them," Kalen told him.

"Your medication is expensive. It's the only way to cover it."

Guilt smashes into Kalen. "I don't need them," Kalen said, but Lycus growled.

"Yes, you do. We tried that, and you went into withdrawal and had a f*****g seizure."

"Not if that is what you have to do for them. I hate that you f**k them!"

"It's just s*x, Kalen. It means nothing to them or me."

Kalen shoved him back and sat up. "You keep saying that, but I can't stand knowing the person I love is f*****g some bitch just to keep us alive. I f*****g hate that they use you. I hate living like this. I hate seeing you with them!" Kalen yelled, blurting everything out, only realizing what he had said when it was too late to take it back.

Lycus tilted his head to the side curiously. "You love me?" he asked.

Kalen's face heated, and his eyes widened in fear. "No, you know, like a bro-"

His words were cut off when Lycus pounced on him, a scream bubbling up his throat. He had pushed Lycus too far. Lycus would abandon him, too, he thought, then Lycus kissed him.

"You love me?" Lycus mumbled against his lips.

Kalen said nothing, in shock that Lycus's lips were pressed to his. He had always secretly wondered if they were as soft as they looked but his kiss was rough as he forced his tongue into Kalen's mouth when he didn't answer.

"Is this what you want, Kalen? You want me?" Lycus asked, pulling back to look at him. Lycus was rocking his hips against Kalen, who realized Lycus had an erection. Kalen gasped, and Lycus watched him breathe heavily, an unsure look on his face. For once, Lycus looked scared.

"Please, say something," Lycus said to him.

Kalen looked away from him. "What I want is wrong," Kalen murmured.

"Then I guess it is wrong for me too to want the same thing," Lycus said.

Kalen looked at him, thinking Lycus was playing with him. "You're not grossed out?" Kalen asked.

"For wanting you, too? No! I always have. I just didn't want to act on it. Didn't want to lose you, in case you didn't feel the same way."

"You want to be with me?" Kalen asked, confused by his own words.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," Lycus told him before smiling and dipping his face closer to Kalen's.

He pressed his lips against Kalen's, his tongue moving across the seam of his lips. Kalen's lips parted before Lycus deepened the kiss.

"Just so you know, I love you, too," Lycus whispered. That was one of the first times Kalen felt truly happy. He got a glimpse of happiness. It was also the same night Lycus marked him.

Now that Lycus was aware sleeping with women hurt Kalen, he stopped, which sent them back to having nothing. Lycus was okay with that as long as he had Kalen. Kalen, however, felt he was ruining Lycus's life. Stopped him from becoming who he could become, and when their magic manifested, fear rushed through Kalen when he saw Darius and Tobias's names appear on their wrists. The marking was made more shocking when they realized they were mates all along.

I watched the memories play out before stopping again. One of them slowed down, and I was sucked into it. It was a week after their eighteenth birthday. Both of them were sitting at the park under a tree in the sweltering summer heat. Kalen had felt faint all day from having not eaten. Neither of them had found anything much to eat, and the days were so hot now. Lycus was too weak and dehydrated to try to get to the forest outside the city so he could hunt for them, and Kalen was withdrawing from having no medication that day.

"Maybe they will help?" Lycus murmured.

"Are you insane? That is Darius Wraith. He will kill us," Kalen murmured. Everyone knew the Wraiths, and even they feared the Demonic Fae King.

"We don't know that. We are technically his mates," Lycus said.

"Yes, if he wanted us near, he would have called on us by now."

"Well, we haven't exactly called on him. Besides, I don't see much bad stuff about Tobias in the news. He might come?" Lycus told him.

"No, it isn't worth the risk and what about that reporter? Tobias killed him in front of the cameras. I thought fate couldn't f**k us over more, so to prove me wrong, they had to fate us to the two most influential families, a f*****g Demonic Fae King and a vampiric prince? Seriously, Lycus, they find us, either would kill us or me, anyway; I am the weakest link."

"We don't know that," Lycus said, sending a flare of magic into his infinity mark before Kalen could stop him.

"What have you done?" Kalen gasped, horrified, as his mark tingled. He looked at it. My name was faint on his wrist, unlike the rest.

"Anything has to be better than living like this," Lycus said, only the tingling stopped, and Lycus huffed.

"See? Told you," Kalen muttered when they felt the mark stop. "I wonder who rejected it," Kalen said, a little sad. He rubbed his wrist before lying back down and resting his head on Lycus's shoulder.

"We'll figure it out. Maybe once she comes of age, they will accept us," Lycus murmured to him. They both fell asleep, and Kalen was later woken up when someone kicked his foot. He yawned, shaking his head and sitting up. He peered down at Lycus when someone cleared their throat.

Turning his head, he came face to face with Darius crouching next to him in a suit. He eyed Kalen's mark on his neck before looking at Lycus. Darius's brows furrowed while Kalen tried to shake Lycus awake, petrified. His heart was pounding in his chest when he noticed Tobias standing behind him, also staring at them.

Lycus groaned and sat up before noticing them and ripping Kalen behind him with strength that clearly indicated what Lycus was. Darius tilted his head at Lycus, looking him over.

"Are you the one who called on us?" Darius asked.

"Yes," Lycus said while Kalen was worried Darius would kill him for it.

"Why are you at the park? Do you live nearby?" Tobias asked, and Lycus looked up at him. Tobias tried to look around Lycus at Kalen, who was peering over Lycus's shoulder.

"We live here, but you can go. He didn't mean to call on you," Kalen blurted.

Darius looked up at Tobias, who nodded to him before Darius stood.

"Come on then. I can't leave you here knowing that," Darius told them.

Lycus looked at Kalen over his shoulder.

"Where would you take us?" Kalen asked, wondering if they were being led to their deaths.

"Home. Now, come on. I wanted to come earlier, but I was in a meeting. Now, hurry up. I have another in an hour and need to get you set up back home before I go," Darius told him. "You will let us stay with you?" Lycus asked, a little shocked.

"Well, I won't have my mates living in a park. Now, hurry up," Darius said, checking his watch.

"Don't leave him waiting he is insufferable when he is pissed off. He can hold a grudge like he bloody invented the word," Tobias said, clicking his fingers.

Darius took them in, provided them with everything they ever needed or wanted, and looked after them despite his father clashing with Lycus constantly. Yet, Darius was always quick to get on Lycus's side, which often turned into a power battle. Darius barely won against his father, no matter how much he copped a beating in the arena that I now recognized as the outdoor obstacle course, though it was a simple training arena back then.

Darius's father saw Kalen as a weakness, proven when Kalen nearly got them all killed in an ambush. He ran after Lycus thinking he was hurt, but he was being the bait. It almost cost them all their lives when Kalen alerted everyone to their location. It was declared after that night that Kalen wouldn't go on the scout teams. He would remain home in the castle, which just added to his depression until Darius handed him a tablet one day.

"What's this?" Kalen asked, looking up at him.

"The school opened up a buddy system. Lycus said you were bored."

"You're lying," Kalen accused, observing Darius's aura. Darius laughed and nodded.

"Yes, I am. Tobias opened up a buddy system at the school, made it mandatory, and you have been assigned a friend to talk to, give you someone outside this room to speak with when we aren't here," Darius said, kneeling between Kalen's legs. He handed the tablet to Kalen, and Kalen took it from him curiously.

"Lycus won't like me talking to random people," Kalen told him.

"This one he approves of," Darius told him.

"What would I say, though? I don't do anything. I am useless," Kalen said, and Darius growled at his words.

"Don't speak like that. Don't listen to the shit my father spouts about, but talk to her. She is waiting for a response. The school logged her in this morning. She will be waiting to speak with you."

"It's a girl? I can't speak to a girl," Kalen said, handing back the tablet.

"You can because she is our keeper, our mate. You can't hide from her now, can you?" Darius laughed, and Kalen bit his lips nervously.

"You think she will want to speak with me?"

"She has no choice but, yes, Kalen. You are worthy of your mates, of her, or the fates wouldn't have given her to us," Darius told him. Kalen sighed when Darius spoke again.

"No names. You must not tell her who you are. That is the rule of the school, not ours, by the way." Darius nodded, and Kalen unlocked the tablet.

"I thought you said no names," Kalen asked, staring at the pen name. "You told her yours." Kalen laughed.

Darius smiled slyly. "No, I didn't."

"HTIARW is Wraith spelled backward, definitely your name." Kalen laughed.

"Our name. You are a Wraith now, too," Darius told him.

"What?"

"We all have to take a name, so what better name than to take the name of the Demonic King? No one will dare touch you when you share my name," Darius told him. Kalen sniffled and nodded, his thumb brushing over the tablet. Darius turned to leave his room when Kalen spoke.

"Darius?" he called out. Darius stopped and turned to look at him.

"Thanks," he said, holding up the tablet.

"No thanks. We are mates. What's mine is also yours," Darius told him.

Kalen nodded and watched as Darius left. Even with Darius's words, he still felt unworthy.

Kalen messaged me, and I replied. At first, I felt obligated to until I was just as obsessed with him as he was with me. He was the highlight of my day, and I was his. Until I stopped replying.

#

Kalen was excited because he would meet me today, and he waited patiently, but today he couldn't contain his excitement as the memories moved along. That excitement died along with him. Five years, and he was able to tell me who he was, only I never replied, and he spiraled.

I was the last rejection he could take, so he hung himself. He believed he ruined everyone's chance to have their keeper. He convinced himself he was the reason I ran. Then he convinced himself they would be better off without him. So, he repeatedly killed himself, becoming more unstable each time he came back to find I never came back for him.

My heart broke, knowing I was his last straw, a life of rejection, and the one person who should love him most. His keeper never came for him. No. Instead, I ran from him, and in turn, I killed him. That knowledge burned my soul, marred my heart, and broke the spell I was under as I lurched forward, ripping myself out of his memories and into the present world. Kalen sat next to me, staring at me.

"It was you all along," I whispered. Tears glistened in my eyes before spilling over. "I never ran from you, Kalen. I was trying to find you, find my internet friend," I told him, and he sucked in an unsteady breath.

Kalen dropped his head. "You're not mad I didn't tell you?"

I shook my head. "No, I am mad I ran," I told him before throwing myself in his arms.