RAGNAR #2
"There’s been a situation," my dad says, voice rough.
"What happened? Tell me."
He hesitates. I hate the pause. My stomach knots.
Dad wipes his eyes, sniffles.
"Anzo Ferro showed up at the house."
Fuck.
My entire body goes rigid. Like a predator ready to strike. Every muscle pulled taut like steel wire.
"This about Moon?" I ask, somehow keeping my voice level.
"Anzo says Moon ran away. He’s claiming he can’t find him. But probably he’s lying. I think he killed him and just doesn’t want to admit it. That man is a monster," Dad says, words tumbling out all at once.
My throat tightens. I can barely swallow. It hasn’t even fully hit yet.
Moon is my twin brother.
"He’s alive," I whisper. "I’d know if he wasn’t." I force the words out. But they don’t respond. They just sit there, heads down.
Then my father speaks.
"Ferro accused us of hiding Moon. He had our house searched."
"But that’s not the worst part!" Dad cuts in, voice breaking, tears spill down his face.
"They took Summer, Raggi!" He buries his face in his hands, sobbing. My father wraps his arms around him, trying to hold him together as he cries hard.
I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
"Repeat that," I say slowly. "What do you mean, they took Summer?"
It doesn’t sound real. It’s like a nightmare unraveling in real time.
"Anzo said since he lost Moon, he’s taking Summer instead. As a replacement . A new husband. Probably to save face. He doesn’t want to look weak, letting his omega run away? It’s humiliation in their world."
I press my fingers to my temples. My head’s pounding.
Summer? My little brother? He’s not even twenty yet.
His birthday’s in three months. A sweet, shy omega who’s been homeschooled his whole life.
Our parents sheltered him, protected him from the world because of his special nature.
They were afraid someone would find out. That he’d be taken, experimented on.
And in the end, he was taken anyway. Not by the government, not by the military. But by a fucking mafia boss!
I want to leap up, punch a wall, but it’s pointless. I just coil tighter, a spring wound too far.
"What does he mean by replacement? That can’t be right," I say, hoping in vain for another explanation, something less monstrous.
"Exactly what we told you. Anzo was furious. He’s convinced we orchestrated Moon’s escape. Now he says it’s our responsibility to give him someone else. As twisted as that sounds."
"What the fuck do you mean, our responsibility ? That’s not how the world works!" My voice lashes out, but it’s useless. Logic won’t change what already happened.
"You know how obsessed he was with Moon," Dad says. "You saw it from the start. From the moment he laid eyes on him!"
"I know," I mutter. "He’s a lunatic who wants what he can’t have."
"That man doesn’t stop. He takes. Always has. Now Moon’s missing, and Summer—"
Dad’s voice catches again.
"They took him to The Sun Fortress. We have no way to contact him. We went to the police, but they blew us off. Said Summer’s an adult. And Ferro practically owns the whole department anyway. We’re out of options. We’re begging you. Please… get him out."
I stare at the screen, trying to make sense of it.
"Ferro can’t find out the truth about Summer," my father emphasizes. "You know what he’d do with that. He’d twist it. Use it maliciously. It’d destroy Summer."
My dad clenches his jaw, voice shaking.
"Please, son. You’re the only one who can do this. You’ve got the skills, the training. You can also sniff around incognito, since you can shift the features of your face. This bastard won’t recognize you, he only saw your pictures anyway. We can’t lose Summer! You know what Ferro did to Moon!"
Silence stretches as I try to process, to plan, but nothing comes.
"Dad… you don’t know what you’re asking. This could mean you’ll have to go into hiding too. The mafia has reach everywhere."
"We know. We’re ready. Just please, Raggi…"
So here we are. Both my brothers gone. I’m the only one left. Today, I watched a man die. Hunter couldn’t save his husband. But maybe I can still save my brothers? At least one of them.
The word slips out before I can stop it. "Okay," I whisper.
Really? I said that? Me, against the whole mafia? Sounds like a ‘realistic’ chance.
Almost frantically, I clench my fists and frown. A thin silver line glints on the back of my hand, the place where my spikes come out.
Here’s where the hope is hidden.
I’m not like other people. There’s a beast beneath my skin. And Summer… he’s something else. Extraordinary. He deserves to be safe. To be free. To thrive. And it’s my job to make sure no one gets to use or break him.
"He could easily fight back," my father says quietly. "But he won’t. Anzo threatened him. If Summer tries to run or resist, they’ll kill us, kill you. Hunt down Moon and finish what they started. So he’s really trapped, blackmailed."
"Okay," I say again, locking eyes with them. "I’ll do what I can."
Their faces are filled with desperate hope. I just pray I won’t let them down. I pray I won’t fail Summer. Or Moon.
But the truth is… I don’t have a plan.
I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I’m just a simple soldier, nothing more. I follow orders; I don’t strategize.
And now this? A solo mission?
***
A few hours later, I’m eating alone in the mess hall, staring blankly at my tray.
I’ve already spoken with the base commander.
He was understanding and expressed sympathy for my situation.
I was granted an indefinite leave from the military, with the option to return if I choose to.
They don’t want to lose me, so they’re keeping that door open.
Then, Hunter approaches.
Our eyes meet.
"My condolences, Lieutenant Nolan," I say formally.
Outside the service, we’re friends. But here, we’re brothers in arms, and he’s still my superior officer.
Hunter gives a small, almost mechanical nod. His face is a mask. A death mask. Something in him died with Olaf.
"I’m flying out tomorrow," he says, his voice flat and hollow. "Just wanted to say goodbye. And thank you for your service."
My brows lift slightly. He’s leaving too? It’s not common for officers to rotate out this quickly, but I don’t press.
"I’m departing too, heading home. A tragedy happened in my family, one of my brothers is missing, and the other’s been kidnapped. I have to go after them."
A flicker crosses his otherwise unreadable face. Barely noticeable, but it’s there.
"I’m sorry," he says. Then pauses, like he needs a second to find the right words. "Fate wasn’t kind to either of us."
The weight in his voice carries everything that can’t truly be put into words, the full scale of what we’ve both been hit with.
I stand and extend my hand, but instead of shaking it, he pulls me into a firm, quick hug.
"If you ever need backup, call me," he says, his voice quiet but serious. "I can put you in touch with one of my cousins, Veyron. He used to work for a private investigator, helping out with the technical stuff. He might have some good contacts."
"Thank you, I really appreciate that."
But one look at his face tells me it wouldn’t be very subtle to push for those contacts right now, so I add, just to close the conversation, "I know you’ve got your own grief to carry. You’ll need time to deal with it."
He nods slowly.
We hold each other’s gaze.
"Hard days ahead," I say. "But sooner or later… the sun rises."
His face doesn’t move. "Sometimes the sky stays black."
I exhale.
"Even in a black sky, a star can still shine."
Feeling a strange shiver down my spine, as if these words have some great power, I offer a small, sad smile.
"Let’s hope that’s a sign of things to come," he says. Then he turns and walks away.
And I’m alone again. The truth is, I've always been alone because of my inner beast. Now more than ever. My twin is missing. My little brother’s been taken. I went overseas to fight a war to make the world safer, but in the end, it isn't even safe at home.
The clouds around my life are thick, and despite what I said to Hunter, I’m not sure the sun’s ever rising for me.
These are just the kinds of lies we tell ourselves so we can sleep at night, but deep down inside, we know the truth always wins. And slowly kills us anyway.
Because life, goddamn it, hurts by default.