Four

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OCTAVIUS POV (rated R)

I sigh again while shifting in my bed. I have been trying to go to sleep. I know it's too early, but I need to see if mom is back. I also need to escape the shit-show that is this day. I still haven't apologized to dad, but I figure I can do that in the morning. I'm not ready for another lecture.

  I finally find a comfortable spot, and I smile as my body relaxes.

Beerus- How are people finding their mates without your mom?

  Beerus's question makes my eyes fly open. I was seconds away from dowsing off, but his question caught me off guard. Who has been covering my mother's duties?

Octavius- I have no idea. I hadn't even thought about it.

  I admit to my wolf as I sit up in my bed. Did she leave her duties unfulfilled? I know she had plenty of wolves made for upcoming pups, but who is choosing the mates?

Octavius- Dang it, Beerus! Why did you have to ask me that? Now I am never going to fall asleep.

Beerus- We could ask your father. You know he is awake.

Octavius- I don't want to speak to him yet. I still don't know how to apologize for earlier.

  I rub my forehead as I fight the uncomfortable pull in my stomach. I have never been in a situation where I needed to apologize before, and I can say I never plan to again. It makes me feel sick. Knowing that my father is disappointed with me is emotionally draining. I haven't been able to think of anything else. Even when Beerus and I were hunting. My mind was on father and what I should say to him.

Beerus- I feel antsy, Tav. I don't want us to lay down. I think we should go speak to him. Something doesn't feel right, and I think it's because you haven't fixed things.

Octavius- You are just feeding off my emotions, B. It will pass.

  I reply before laying back down and closing my eyes. I feel his uncertainty nagging at me in our mind, and I growl.

Octavius- Seriously, B. We need to go to sleep so we can see if mom is back. Then we can ask her about the mate thing.

Beerus- Tavius! Listen. What do you hear?

The fear in my wolf's voice chills me, and I open my ears.

Octavius- I don't hear anything, Beerus. It's all calm.

Beerus- Exactly! You had us go to bed early. It's only eight! Why can't we hear at least Jannah? She never shuts up. We can always hear her through the wall.

  I freeze in my bed, and my eyes fly open once again. I listen even harder to our surroundings. I force my advanced abilities to the limit, but I still can't hear a single soul.

Octavius- We didnt see anyone when we got back...

  I let the thought trail off as I jump out of my bed and bolt for the door. Very few people stay in the main mansion nowadays due to mating, but Beerus is right. Kohn's daughter is always singing. She always makes noise. She is just obnoxious that way. Garret and I hate being around her. We joke about her making our ears bleed. Why would she be so quiet tonight?

   I open my door and sniff the air deeply. Nothing abnormal comes back to me, so I step out. First, I check Jannah's door. Garret and her live on the same hall as me. If they are in trouble, I can get to them the fastest.

  I knock on her door and press my ear to the thick wood. Most wolves can't hear through the soundproofing, but I can. It's another one of my heightened senses, just like my strength.

  Silence. Not a single sound. Not even a shuffle of feet.

Beerus- Open the door! Something is wrong, Tav.

  I follow my wolf's instructs and grab the knob.

   "Jannah, if you are in there, I am coming in," I announce as I push open her bedroom door.

   Beerus immediately peers through our eyes, and I can see inside the room even though it's dark.

Beerus- There!

   Beerus shouts in our mind as our eyes land on Jannah slumped over at her desk. I run across the room and grab her. I lift her limp form into my arms, and relief hits me like a tsunami. She's alive. She's alive and breathing but unconscious.

Beerus-What's wrong with her?

Octavius- I don't know! Are they all like this?

  I ask the question as I stride from Jannah's room with her in my arms. I kick down Garret's door to find him breathing but lying on his floor unconscious.

"Fuck," I whisper as I try to think of a plan.

Beerus- What about the adults? We need to go to your father's room.

  "Right. Okay," I say out loud before laying Jannah down on Garret's bed.

  Her brown hair falls over her sleeping face, but I leave it. I don't have time to fix it. If she ever wakes up again, she can yell at me about messing up her usually perfect hair then. Right now, I need to get to my dad.

  Beerus and I shift as we run out of Garret's room. I feel stronger in wolf form, and I need to be prepared.

  My tan and brown body whips through the halls as I head towards my father:s room. I knock over tables and bump into stupid artwork on purpose. I make as much noise as possible just to see if anyone is awake. When I reach dad's door, I shift back. I throw his door open with a loud bang, not caring about anything but seeing him. I step inside just as the deep rich scent of blood washes over me. Beerus howls out in pain, but I don't make a sound. I can't. I am frozen solid.

  In front of me is my dad, the strongest man I know. He isn't sleeping. He isn't sitting in his chair. He isn't lying on his floor like Garret. He is staring at me.

  "Dad," I finally whisper, even though I know he won't answer.

   I step closer to my father as the first tear falls from my eyes. I don't see any ropes constricting him or supporting him, but from the way he is hanging from the ceiling, I know something has to be holding him.

   I try to avoid stepping in the thick blood puddle underneath him, but it's impossible. My bare feet sink into the chilled fluid, and my heart completely breaks.

  "No, no, no, no," I whimper as I close the space between us.

  I was supposed to apologize! I was supposed to right my wrongs in the morning. I was going to take whatever punishment he gave me. I was going to look him in the eye and give him nothing but respect.

I wrap my arms around his cold form, and the weight of his body immediately disconnects from its invisible bonds.

   "Dad," I whisper again before burying my face in what's left of his neck.

Beerus- We have to check on the others. Whoever did this did it while we were out hunting. They didn't hurt the pups...but we have to check.

  I begin to sob as Beerus pushes me to release my father's body. I'm not ready to see anyone else like this. I wasn't prepared even to see this.

Octavius- I can't, B. I can't find anyone else I love standing in a puddle of their own blood. Just...just be quiet.

  My grip tightens on my father as the truth of my words hits me. I am too young for war. I am not ready for blood and gore. I can hunt for my food, but I can't handle this. I can't hold someone I love after they have taken their last breath.

  My sobs get even louder as my shock spills over and my pain becomes unbearable. I can't form thoughts. My pain is so bad. My Father is dead.

  Ten minutes of heavy crying passes before Beerus interrupts my grieving again.

Beerus- Tav! Listen. People are approaching. They are approaching fast. On your feet, Bishop. Snap out of it!

  Beerus yells in our head, and I snarl before releasing my father's body. I spin around in his blood with tears streaming down my face. My nails become points, and my canines lengthen.

   "LUCIAN," a male voice shouts just before my uncle and Kohn appear in the doorway, looking troubled.

They aren't wearing anything but basketball shorts, and their bodies are dripping with sweat. Two tall tail signs that they were fighting or chasing someone. Did they have a hand in this? I roar, and they both flinch. 

  "Octavius? Are you okay," Kohn asks as his eyes sweep over the scene behind me and cloud with sadness.

   Lucifer doesn't look at me at all. He is staring at dad just like I did when I first opened the door. The shock and hurt are too real for him to be faking. They weren't involved in this. I drop my defense pose and collapse.

  "What about everyone else," Kohn suddenly asks, and I gulp.

  I swallow down my self-pity before somehow managing to find my tongue.

  "I checked on Garret and Jannah. They were both breathing. I didn't get to anyone else," I admit, and both men take off like their tails are on fire.

   I try to force myself into being curious about what happened here tonight, but my mind is acting slow. I am too numb to think straight.

  The magical way dad was hanging before I touched him tells me the fairies were involved, but it doesn't explain my sleeping friends. Magic should have no effect on them. Mom said we are protected.

I cover my face with my hands as self-hate begins to pool in my heart.

I went far tonight while hunting. I was nowhere near our lands for about four hours. I wasn't here to help because I was moping. I let my father down when he needed me the most, and I will never get to apologize. I avoided seeing him when I came home even. I crept up to my room and hid away like a coward.

  "Father was dying while I was hiding," I mumble before growing my claws and digging them into my thigh.

  The pain does nothing to help my sorrow, but I still do it. It's my way of punishing myself, punishing myself for failing.