SUN #3
We stand there for a while, just staring at each other like idiots. Kinda shy. In complete, constant bewilderment. Dumb looks on our faces. Still not fully able to process what just happened.
A miracle. A fucking miracle , after all. Or maybe just a shy harbinger of one. Will it have a second part?
If so, it might change everything .
***
I spend the rest of the day feeling high, like my head’s buzzing with a thousand bees. But it’s not just me, there's a tension crackling through the entire compound.
Everyone’s on edge, and it’s tangible. I know it’s coming: the attack. And I feel absolutely horrible not knowing who the target is.
There are flashes, faces that come to mind, possible targets, assuming Dante’s the one who talked Anzo into this.
The one they called the leech. I try to run through the list of people and initiatives Beta Empowerment has been trashing over the years.
There’ve been plenty. Especially government programs, with one in particular standing out: the Beta Activation Program.
The one designed to gather betas willing to undergo experimental procedures to awaken their fertility.
Dante’s always been loud about that one, calling it a war on the beta community. Could that be the key?
But there are government officials behind the program, of course. Experts too. And public figures who’ve spoken out in support. Still, no matter how hard I try, I can’t pinpoint a specific person.
If I had access to the Internet, I might try to do more research to narrow down the list of potential targets. Find out the names of the senators and congressmen behind the legislation. For now, I feel completely useless, knowing I should be doing something, and having no idea what.
At one point, alone in my room, I do something I haven’t done since I was a kid:
I pray to Fate, asking him to protect whoever the target is.
To stop Anzo’s men from killing the guy. It feels a little ridiculous whispering the prayer. I’ve never been religious. I never bought into the whole ABO thing where people believe in Fate instead of the old god people worshipped before the epidemic wiped out all women.
After that, most abandoned all religions, but not everyone. A lot of people pray to Fate now.
It was supposedly what our alien ancestors believed. A power that, according to them, created their species. A mysterious force that protects and guides lives and brings people to happiness.
That night, Anzo calls me and Summer into the black room. The thought of having to fuck him makes my stomach twist even more than usual, so I make sure to vape as much as I can. Is this what it means to have found my True Mate? Is this the beginning of the shift inside me?
Luckily, tonight Anzo picks Summer.
So I just watch.
Even Anzo seems tense. Poor Summer really has to work for it. When Anzo finally comes, he suddenly spins around and slaps Summer across the face so hard the young omega hits the floor.
Rage erupts inside me. Seeing Summer’s small body crumpled like that, my hatred for Anzo spikes again, worse than ever.
"You’re fucking useless," Anzo growls, then kicks him in the back.
But Summer is my… family now, the brother of my True Mate, and I need to protect him. I am still an alpha by birth and my instincts are healthy.
"Please don’t do that! He’s too small, hit me instead!" I blurt.
Yeah. Those reckless words actually came out of my mouth. Even though I know how this ends. I just… can’t take it anymore. Watching Summer get hurt for nothing.
Anzo turns, and a disgusting smile spreads across his face.
"If that’s what you want," he says, and then kicks me in the jaw. The toe of his boot hits me right under the chin and sends me flying backward.
My head spins. But that’s not the end, he keeps kicking me. I can barely raise my arms to shield myself.
Then… suddenly he freezes.
Like someone pressed pause. His hands shoot to his temples. His eyes widen.
A low growl escapes his throat, and the next second, both Summer and I get hit with a jolt of electricity that knocks the air from our lungs.
What the hell just happened?
Anzo whips around and glares at Summer.
"Whatever the fuck you’re trying to pull, you little shit, you’d better think twice before you try that again!" he snarls. And even through the pain, even in this daze, I get it.
Anzo felt something.
The pressure in his head shifting? Did Summer try to use his power to pull Anzo off me, to make him dizzy? Something probably subtle, but… Is Anzo finally putting the pieces about Summer’s power together?
Next, he kicks the small omega again. And again. Shit.
"Please!" I groan out, feeling a chilling wave on my back. "Leave him be!"
"And you, slut," he growls at me. "If you think you can wriggle out of our little deal, you’ve got another thing coming. I will get what I want out of you, sooner or later. And the longer it takes, the more it’s gonna hurt."
He follows it up with a kick to my ribs that knocks the wind out of me.
"Why are you such a fucking bastard, Anzo?" I spit, because at this point, everything already hurts anyway. I may as well add a bit to the pile.
"You’re the goddamn boss of a mafia! You’ve got more power than most people could ever dream of. You could have everything, along with the most beautiful guys by your side. So why the hell do you do these evil things?" My voice cracks, pain cutting through every cell in my body.
Anzo stops and curls his lip.
"Don’t try to psychoanalyze me, Sun. You’ll always come up short. You’re missing the one piece of the puzzle that would actually let you understand."
"So tell me, I want to understand! I want to know why! Because there’s always something behind people’s actions. Monsters are raised, not born."
Anzo chortles and drops into a chair.
"Monsters…" he mutters, his face strangely broody. Then he rubs his face and looks up at the ceiling.
He’s different today. Frustrated. Angry. The energy coming off him is all jagged. Maybe it’s the tension of whatever’s about to happen in the next few days, or maybe it’s something else? He’s definitely off.
"You want to hear the story of my life? You’re not ready for it, Sun.
Your sweet little life, the pampered youngest son of a loving dad who actually gives a shit about you, who’s," he taps his pocket, "texting you right now because he senses you’re hurting. And you think you’ve had it rough?
Just because some punk broke your heart, your life was tragic?
You don’t know the first thing about tragedy. "
Anzo exhales hard, props his feet up on the edge of the table, and leans back.
He’s extremely tense, I can tell. He’s usually more composed than this.
"I’m not trying to compare our lives," I say quietly. "Obviously, I’ve got no idea what it’s like growing up in a mafia family…"
His face hardens.
"Try growing up as a fucking beta in a mafia family. That’s the key element.
A family where your father beats the shit out of you because he thinks it’ll toughen you up and make you a better mobster.
And your older brother? He beats on you too, because he’s jealous.
Jealous that you’re actually better at this than he is.
And the other brother? Maybe he doesn’t hit you, but he’s the one who stirs things up behind your back.
He manipulates people, turns them against you, always scheming and plotting, because he’s jealous of your abilities too. "
I stare, stunned. This isn’t like Anzo. He doesn’t just share things, especially not things that make him look vulnerable.
Is he so much on edge?
And he keeps going.
"Eventually, the beatings became their favorite game. Encouraged by my father, no less. A father who fucking hated my subgender. Thought we were garbage. A worthless accident that should’ve been aborted. A burden to society. Useless. Nothing."
I watch him, and I want to feel sympathy. I do. But I think it’s too late for that.
Every monster has his origin story.
But redemption, mercy, only belong to the ones who break the cycle. Who stop the violence.
Anzo looks back at me, his expression bitter.
"When my father took over the mafia from Uncle Alberto, he was already in bad shape. He’d survived a bunch of assaults, been shot more than once, lived in constant pain.
He didn’t have the strength to really control us anymore.
So my brother Tito saw his chance. He stepped up and took over the house.
When he hit Musth , my father couldn’t fully dominate him.
Couldn’t stop him, mold him. Tito went off the rails.
He was just a teenager, but from that point on, he basically ran the business. "
It’s common knowledge that uncontrolled alphas who grow up without the stabilizing energy of a dominant alpha usually end up as emotional wrecks, dangerous as hell. Most of them land in prison. Putting someone like that in charge of a criminal empire? That’s asking for mayhem.
Anzo stares up at the ceiling.
"But you beat them all eventually," I say. "So what’s stopping you now? What’s keeping you from changing how things are in your own life? Do you really have to hurt others the way he hurt you? You could end the vicious cycle!"
His face tightens. He stands, leans over me, grabs my chin, and jerks my face up roughly.
"You don’t know shit. You don’t know what I live with. So don’t you dare judge me."
Then he spins and storms out of the black room, leaving us crumpled on the floor.
Fuck, that was weird!
Lying there, mind swirling, I can’t move for a while. My whole body just gives up.
I turn my head, just barely, and look at Summer.
Blood trickles from the corner of his mouth. One of his eyes is swollen. Bruises snake across his neck. He’s not in any better shape than I am.
"He’s starting to suspect," Summer whispers, his voice shaky.
I look at him and see something breaking. A silent sob tears from his chest.
I crawl toward him and wrap my arm around his small frame, pulling him to my chest.
"It’s gonna be okay. You have to believe that. If he truly knew everything, he wouldn’t be waiting for my report on you. Just a few more days and we’re out of here…" I whisper it so quietly, no mic or camera could pick it up.
"There’s something I need to tell you, Summer…" My voice trembles. "Your brother is my TM—"
Summer’s eyes widen, but at that exact moment, the door bursts open and Matteo walks in, flanked by two guards I haven’t seen before. They move straight for Summer, lift him off the ground, and start to carry him out.
"Hey! Where are you taking him?" I shout, but Matteo grabs the black harness Anzo makes me wear and yanks me up, nearly dragging me because I can’t stand on my own.
He half-hauls me along, but this time we’re not going upstairs.
He drags me into a different room, much bigger than the black room.
It’s dark inside, murky, but I can still see… cages. Matteo knows exactly where he’s going. We push deeper into the shadows. A moment later, I hear a metallic clang; it’s a cage door opening. A hard shove, and I’m thrown inside.
Terror grips me. Paralyzing fear for what’s going to happen. To me. To Summer. If Anzo suspects even a fraction of what Summer’s capable of… will he try to exploit it during his attack?
But my body, bruised, electrocuted, exhausted, finally gives out.
I sink into the dark.