Levi
How many secrets could Planet 1 keep?
They had split them all, torn apart, seven mates into four units. Kieran and Levi. Halcyon with Seraphim. Altair and Valentino. And Dante, all alone, all by himself. That should have concerned Levi, should have warned him of what was yet to come. But his pack Alpha had always been strong, stronger than most, boiling in Rampage, burning in hell.
Dante was the pack Alpha for a reason. The emperor of 1 for a reason.
He believed in that reason.
And when Dante had sent Rue away, he had seemed lucid, sure of himself. The protest had tingled on the edge of Levi's tongue, but a look from Dante had silenced him. Levi didn't know the plan, but Dante wanted them to listen to his father—the emperor emeritus, the retired leader of the zeus.
The play was to wait and observe. Patience was a virtue. There was nothing they could do to appease their people for now, and Rue could wait in her cell. It would be safer for her there.
His jaw had tightened.
The protests, the riots, the unrest. The things that the people called them had frightened him. And they hurled all kinds of fucking insults. Omega lovers. Pussies. Bitch fuckers.Animals. The mockery was everywhere. He'd seen it all online.
The universe' best had been fucked over by an Omega masquerading as an Alpha. And that had resulted in a torrent of teasing. Had they not checked for a cock? Could they not see the difference between a penis and a cunt? Was her clitoris that large? Was her pussy that good? The laughter echoed. It followed them everywhere.
Fools.
They called them fools.
Levi had bowed to that pressure, but it was not because of the jest. He didn't give a single fuck about that, really. But if she were here, he knew he could not protect her from them. The news had spread like wildfire, whispered from the Council, seeping into the media. Everyone knew. Royalty would try to kill her, political leaders would choose to use her, martyrs would attempt murder just to free them from her grasp.
People could be fucking crazy.
And crazy was unpredictable.
Anyone could hurt her.
They'd do stupid shit without confirming facts, get angry from the awful stories woven by the media about a succubus in court. The only way to keep her safe would have been to put her in his realm, deep within his shadows with no one but his heart. And she'd hate that. She'd despise him for it. The shadow world was dark, cold, and lonely. A mirror to hell. And he supposed it would not have been sustainable. No one could live in the shadows forever.
But captive on an unknown planet? Her slate would be wiped clean; rightfully punished, the rage of the people would subside. If she assisted in the destruction of the Titans, they could declare her a worldly hero. One or two medals for her bravery, an appropriate title, some shit about Omegas with the brains and prowess to be good citizens, and they'd have a future for her.
Levi had sighed at that.
Rue didn't understand the dangers of the world of politics. There were hierarchies and webs of power. Corruption seeded too deep for them to unearth. A wrong move, a minister charged too quickly, and they could see themselves at the end of a horde of angry citizens.
The ones in power would ruin the careful balance of survival if wronged. Take away the essentials, a couple of tears, and they'd have a mob at their feet. The people would blame Rue first. Their control would crumble.
The situation was delicate.
Too fucking delicate.
It'd be better if Rue had been an Alpha, Levi decided. An Alpha would be understandable. Half-Titan, no father, people would understand their love. They could have created a story about star-crossed mates. An Omega was delusion, minds lost, brains fading away into dementia. The people had long decided that the seven were idiots.
His fists tightened then.
His pack Alpha would have to deal with it all, and Levi would become his tool. Political image was important. Damage control, even more so. He understood that completely as the emperor of 2.
And Levi was just not the best at public relations.
The Lonely had gone berserk. Hives bloomed unchecked, swelling far beyond historical normal, spreading like rot through the galaxies. Devouring cities, killing people. There were religious countries that believed it was all because their emperors were fucking an Omega. That nature was going after them because of sin, of blasphemy. Under Dante's command, Levi had been deployed again and again, war zone after war zone. No reprieve. No rest.
He had to keep up the image of strength, justice and valour.
He needed to show everyone that he was their hero.
Still, Levi believed in Dante. He understood his duty. It looked good on paper, would wash away the scandals, and fix the cracks. Emperor Levi and Kieran, saving billions of lives for the good of all. It was an uptick of positivity, more votes, a better image for the seven. An Omega in their pack was not going to destroy the entire world, and that was because their emperors were strong. They were idiots, but still, useful, necessary.
He was their poster boy.
And Levi trusted Dante to do the right thing.
Dante had declared his hatred for Rue. But Levi had known him long enough to realise the truth that clawed its way free. His pack Alpha had lived his life in Rampage. His control was impeccable. His restraint was legendary. Strength like that did not break without a reason. Losing it all to an Omega was not simply weakness.
Dante's Alpha had claimed Rue as pack.
It was irrevocable, undeniable. Anyone with half a brain cell could see that a part of Dante was being honest. That this was not some fucked-up hypnotism created by a half-Titan child. This was adoration. Devotion. Care. Concern.
Love.
And Levi kept his eyes on the reports on entity 04301, scrolling endlessly on his console even when his body screamed for rest. He was exhausted, had not slept in days. Blood still caked beneath his nails, sticky in his hair, crusted along the seams of his armour. He was sure he had brain matter in his underwear.
One of the insects had sunk its mandibles deep into his shoulder, another into his hip. That shit burned. But he hadn't bothered treating it. He'd gone from one galaxy to another, bleeding out but desperate to end it all. He'd pushed himself to save planets ravaged by S-class hives, pulling countries back from the brink of destruction. He'd arrived seconds away from the total collapse of civilisations—cities consumed, millions dead.
It was chaos.
He was so fucking tired.
A week and all he had was seven hours of sleep.
It all felt deliberate. It was as if the Lonely were coordinating with the Council itself. They were keeping them occupied, stretched far too thin, too scattered, too busy saving lives to notice what was going on behind their backs. He'd grunted, trusting that his mates had it covered. He believed they were holding the line. There was no other choice.
Surely, they had it all…contained.
Halcyon was far too infatuated with Rue for the Council to allow him to run amok. He'd be restricted. And that would give him the time to research and plan. Seraphim was still weakened; oracle abilities unsteady from the loss of Rue. He'd been ordered to rest and recuperate, and that meant he could spend hours searching for a way forward.
Altair had not left Valentino's side in days; the aphrodite was still in a medically induced coma. But they would do something, anything if they could. Dante might be buried deep in the bowels of leadership, surrounded by snakes with knives hidden in their sleeves, but he had his mates.
So it was up to them, Kieran and Levi, to keep the world safe and running while their mates struggled to figure things out. They were the last line of defence holding the crumbling universe together.
How…Odd.
"They're using us, aren't they?" he said after the hundredth planet, brow twitching in suspicion.
He squeezed fresh blood from his sleeve, eyes flickering to the rapid beeping of his watch. More alerts of an incoming hive. But he didn't care, had his device locked in on entity 04301. Rue's reports. There was nothing new. Subject made contact with the water. Subject circled the premises 3 times. She seemed bored. He chuckled.
Ten Guides surrounded him, hovering by his side in a tight formation, desperate to keep his Rampage suppressed. They offered sex to calm him, but he didn't want it, waving his hand in disgust. No one interested him now. Kieran didn't answer, merely giving him a look. The helios had lost an entire arm, and poseidons were clustered by his side, hands glowing as they worked desperately to regrow the missing appendage, faces pale from the strain.
"We're the only ones available," Kieran answered. His voice was steady, too goddamn steady. It made Levi want to punch something. A Guide swayed, then collapsed to the ground with a sickening thud. Levi watched, jaw tightening. Rue would never collapse. She was the perfect Guide, his Guide.
"We can't even catch our fucking breaths," he hissed, voice laced with fire. "Can you sense her?"
"No," Kieran replied, eyes dimmed, glow receding. "Wherever they've kept her…it's too far, even for me."
Levi's throat tightened. "Her shadow is gone." He said. "That's not just distance. They did something on purpose. They do not want us to see her."
"They don't want us preoccupied," the helios offered grimly. "Did Seraphim write back?"
"The fucker can't even drop a text," Levi snapped, raking a hand through bloody hair.
"He said he's trying."
"Try?" Rage surged through him then, hot and violent. He slammed his gun onto the table, shattering the surface. The Guides screamed. "He's not the one slaughtering hive after hive with no sleep or rest, trying to keep this goddamn place afloat."
"They're under surveillance, Levi," Kieran shot back; he had the cheek to look offended. An upturned nose at the mess he had created. "You know he's just as trapped as we are."
"All they have," Levi spat. "Are tiny baby hives and politics to deal with. It's been a week."
"They're weakened," Kieran pointed out. "We're not."
Levi barked out a laugh. "They can come and suck my fucking dick."
"You know," Kieran turned to give him a glare, "that they're suffocated back there with Dante's father waving threats at them. This—" he gestured to the destruction, the blood, his wounds, "—is easier."
"You call that," Levi jerked his chin towards Kieran's half-grown arm, "easy?"
"I'm just not going to complain like you are," Kieran stated, flexing his newly grown arm with a groan. "Suck it up, you big, fucking baby."
Levi grunted, eyes on his mate, at the sweat beading on his forehead.
A normal alien could only regrow body parts so many times; growing arms within minutes would shave off decades of life-force meant for living. But Espers like them could do it regularly. Still, it was exhausting; it took a huge toll on their health.
"You're tired," he commented.
"Who isn't?"
"Kieran," Levi muttered. "We're not going to last another day without rest. They have to call us back home."
"Trust our mates," Kieran said. "There's five of them there, two of us here. What could go wrong?"
*
Levi stood frozen, staring through the glass at Halcyon and Valentino.
They were naked, suspended in thin vertical chambers filled with clear, blue, circulating liquid. The best of poseidon technology. Oxygen masks were strapped to their faces, tubes snaking up into the ceiling like lifelines. He would have appreciated the nudity under different circumstances. Under any other circumstances.
Pain shot through him, violent and aching.
The ink.
It crawled beneath their skin, pumping through their veins. The black lines were thick and obscene, concentrating at the crevice in their chests where it seemed as if something had stabbed a black hole straight through. The endless void had ink fanned out like webbing, running up their veins, branching and spiralling, looping around muscle like angry roots. It stained them everywhere: arms, thighs, throats, pooling darkly even between their legs, cocks tipped with black.
Halcyon twitched violently.
His body jerked against the tubes, water sloshing as he gasped against the mask, choking as though he were drowning. A muffled sound escaped him. The bubbles erupted through a half-sob, half-scream, before his body went limp once more.
Horror roared through Levi.
Valentino didn't move.
His skin had gone ashen, too pale, lips tinged faintly blue, expression eerily calm. Too calm. It was as if he were already halfway gone. His tails had vanished; he could barely see them, jellied within the water.
Levi's vision tunnelled. He could barely feel the two through the bond. The gentle thumping warmth of a mate close by had been replaced by a dull, aching emptiness—No, he couldn't feel them at all.
"What the fuck is wrong with them?" His voice came out low, shaking, awful. He hadn't noticed the change in bonds. He had not been paying attention. How could he not have known? Beside him, Kieran choked back a sob, hands on his lips.
The Planet One scientist by their side swallowed hard, Adam's apple bobbing, nervous as his eyes swivelled. Levi remembered him; the bastard had been proud, pompous. He had sneered when Rue had been pulled away.
"A-Apart from Cetus' influence, we've identified an additional compound. It infects the neural plexus and the core of the sou—"
"Cetus?"
Kieran roared at the word. Light rays erupting from his eyes, his body glowed. The bulbs flickered violently overhead, alarms stuttering as his power spiked. His body was ablaze.
"What the fuck do you mean by Cetus?"
Levi's jaw clenched so hard it hurt. "Dante," he snarled. Then, louder, he spun on his heels, stomping towards the door. "Where the fuck is that crazy bastard—"
"Enough."
Seraphim appeared before them, barely solid, his form wavering as if he could not keep himself whole. Dark circles were carved deep under his eyes, all bloodshot, face streaked with dried tears. He trembled, transparency rippling through him in waves. He looked like shit.
"How are you both?" he asked weakly.
Levi stared. "Seraphim—What happened to you?"
Kieran was already moving, arms out to catch the poseidon as Seraphim's knees buckled. Their eldest mate collapsed into a raw, broken sob, clutching Kieran's chest like it was the only thing anchoring him down.
Levi's anger evaporated instantly, replaced by a cold, growing dread. Something had gone wrong, awfully wrong. "Hey, hey," he grasped at his mate's shoulders, fingers sinking into his liquid. Levi ignored it. "What's wrong?"
"The enemy is on the planet."
Altair's voice cut through the room like ice.
Levi turned, a gasp lodged in his throat. The eros stepped forward, just as pale, just as sickly. But his tails, his beautiful, glossy, feathery wings, they were shredded. The strands burned and curled at the edges. Blood was crusted to his skin, dripping from broken feathers.
His hands shook.
"The Titans found the site," Altair said hoarsely, collapsing into a chair. "The one we built to help her. It burrowed in there, created some kind of hive. They knew exactly where to go to avoid Cetus." He giggled, but it was empty. "They were always, one fucking step ahead of us."
Levi's stomach dropped. "Altair, what the fuck happened?"
"Rue is trapped," Altair said, and then he laughed harder, sharp, hysterical. He dragged a hand through his hair. His expression growing cold. "She is trapped between Cetus' powers and the virus that the Titans engineered."
Rue.
The name slammed into Levi like a blow to his lungs. His breath caught, chest locking up, eyes burning.
"What?" he whispered.
"All this time," Altair continued, eyes glassy, "I figured Cetus was draining Valentino because she was poisoned. That Rue's claim was pulling strength from him after she got bitten by that fucking squid. I believed that was all it was. But I was wrong. I was so wrong."
He slammed his palm against the glass of Valentino's chamber, eyes lost, lips spread into a smile.
"She was poisoned first. And then whatever the Titans seeded into her. It travelled through the claim, spreading. It infected Valentino. I suppose, the Titans were trying to infect her…It knew." Altair chuckled, hands scrubbing his face. "He's been fighting to keep her alive. So he took it all in, and when I realised what it was…It was too late. The ink got into his veins. It infected him."
Kieran sank to his knees.
Ink.
The use of the word was understandable, it did look like ink. But it was also a term for—
Levi's voice caught. "Like Lonely Ink?"
Altair's gaze was steady on Valentino. "Yes."
His mind swayed.
Espers who were weakened from Rampage were known to dive for the dark, inky liquid that dripped from the walls within hives. Once in their systems, the ink would spread, turning them all into undead monsters, much like the Lonely.
It had something to do with immunity, with Rampage and the ability to ward off pathogens. But SSS-class Espers like the seven could never turn into those monsters. Sure, the pheromones that were emitted from the ink would increase their Rampage. But they couldn't get sick like that.
He stared at the tanks, jaw dropping open in horror.
Their bodies were supposed to radiate so much power that it obliterated anything that tried to hurt them. It was one of the reasons why the seven could continue on for so long as the main line of defence against the Lonely. It was the reason why he'd taken it from Rue, swallowed it down when she'd been poisoned by that beast. This? This changed things. Levi's eyes widened at the sight.
His mates were no longer immune.
They were not immune.
"Yes," Altair answered. "They're both infected by the Lonely."
Levi's voice spilled from him. "It only infects the weaker Espers deep in Rampage and without a Guide—"
"Well," the eros turned to him. "There's no fucking Guide here strong enough to save them," Altair snarled. "The only one that can is on that fucking planet." His sobs burst free from him then, a wail rippling from his lips. "And she's dying too. SHE'S DYING."
Rue. Levi stumbled back, eyes wide. "You tried to reach the planet," he said, voice hollow. "You tried to save her."
"Yes," Altair said, broken, hollowed. "Cetus is fucking toxic to Espers, the stronger we are, the stronger it is." His voice broke, a laugh escaping him once again as he stared at his tails. "I was roasted alive. I couldn't get anywhere close. I tried. I tried so hard." Tears welled up in his eyes, dripped down his cheeks. "It was like walking in fire. But the weaker Espers got onto the planet, and Cetus killed them immediately. I tried everything. Even Omegas. All dead."
Levi's mind went blank.
"The Council never meant to save her." Altair's eyes shone, wet and glossy. "They wanted her to die. They were going to nuke the planet; now they can't." He laughed again then. "Stupid fuckers."
Levi couldn't speak.
Kieran was rambling. "It's impossible. The ink needs to be consumed, it can't be transmitted like that—"
"It's happening now," Altair cried, stood and flung his arms wide open. "Open your fucking eyes and look at them." His eyes flooded with tears, he collapsed back into his chair. "They're dying."
"But Halcyon—" Kieran croaked. "How? They're not mates."
"H-He did something," Seraphim finally said, pulling himself together just enough to speak. "Something with his dragon. He kept calling her his moon. I didn't understand it, not really—but he was so angry. And he insisted that he wanted to try something."
"Try what?" Levi demanded.
Seraphim's hands shook violently, tears erupting from him. "He tried to seek her out. His mind is down there with her. His body—" He gestured helplessly at the chamber. "It's just a shell. Functioning, but empty. It's like he's brain dead."
Levi staggered back a step. He stared at the tank, at his mate who writhed in pain as if tortured, more alive than the other. It couldn't be. "But he's screaming in that tank—"
Seraphim's lips stretched into a thin line. "His body is merely responding to his mind."
"Then it's not a shell," Levi said desperately. "Wake him, wake them both—"
"I tried," Seraphim sobbed, hands raised. His digits were like water. "Look at me, I tried with everything I had." He dropped his hands. "I can't see his future," Seraphim whispered. "I can't see Valentino's either. And it knows that. It knows."
"It?"
"The thing that's holding him down," Seraphim answered. "The Titan. It feels like a hive. Like a monster hive. It's not normal. It's different."
"But how could this have happened?" Levi said, hands trembling as he gestured wildly at the dark, inky veins on Halcyon. "If Valentino is infected by the claim, then what about Halcyon? He's never been claimed by her; he's never gone anywhere close to the virus. How could he get infected by Rue if we're fine?"
That had a moment of silence. A pause before Seraphim sighed. "We once believed that the ink was something viral," he said. "But it's not. It never was." A low snort was choked from him. "It's a virus of the soul."
Levi went still.
The soul.
She wasn't their soulmate.
She couldn't be. They'd proven him wrong so many fucking times—
"How is that even possible?" His voice was barely audible. "She's Hera, she's our mate, but she's not..." His eyes snapped to Seraphim. "Seraphim, your waters—"
"I was wrong," Seraphim wept. "I was so wrong. I just couldn't see her thread."
The scientist by their side finally burst into speech, trembling hard. "We're only beginning to understand. Rampage was always a symptom. But we never realised that it was a soul weakening under strain. That the ink is spreading a virus of the soul. It drives Rampage higher, increases insanity—"
"But they're not in Rampage," Levi snapped.
"No," Altair said quietly, defeated. "But among the eros, we have a saying that Rampage is a scream for sex…For love."
Levi stared at him. "What the fuck are you saying?"
"We've been telling you," Altair snarled, fury breaking through. "Rue is our soulmate. She's powerless now, wiped clean from Cetus' venom. And still, she's ours. She has always been our soulmate."
The room felt as if it were closing in.
"Fuck," Levi whispered.
Then louder, raw and ruined.
"FUCK!"
A/N - I'll be updating 2x a month from now on. I feel like consolidated chapters are still the best. I just prefer reading a bunch of stuff in one go. The backlog on my other sites is currently at 10 chapters ahead so I'll try to update extra chapters for public when I can.
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