adbindia Chapter 374 — How Long? [18+]
Chapter 374 — How Long? [18+]
Disclaimer: 18+ Only. The following content contains violence and SA.
After meeting with Eiran, Zayden came to understand one thing. He had to fix things between himself and Ren.
Perhaps he wasn’t ready to forgive him yet. Perhaps the betrayal still hurt too much for that. But Ren deserved the chance to explain himself.
At the very least, Zayden owed him that much.
The child had grown increasingly anxious over the past few weeks, and seeing it firsthand had forced the Imperial General to face a truth he had been avoiding.
Too much time had passed. Far too much.
Between the hallucinations, the sleepless nights, the memories that haunted him while awake and followed him into his dreams, Zayden had lost track of the days.
Every moment had blurred together into one endless nightmare.
And somehow, while he had been drowning in his own misery, Ren had remained locked away in the dungeon.
All alone.
Hence, Zayden decided to visit him tonight. As he approached the cell, strange sounds reached his ears.
He froze for a moment. His heart raced violently against his ribs.
"No..." he muttered under his breath, his stomach twisting in a way it never had before. "It can’t be..." A cold sweat broke across his skin.
For a moment, he couldn’t move. Nor could he breathe. Yet he forced himself forward.
Perhaps he had misunderstood.
Surely he had misunderstood.
He had never ordered anyone to torture Ren.
The knights had simply been instructed to imprison him and question him. Nothing more.
There had been no order to harm him. No order to lay a hand on him. And certainly no order for—
The thought died before it could fully form.
He shook his head. It was impossible. The knights of the palace were not lowly mercenaries that would commit such disgusting acts.
The moment Zayden stepped in front of Ren’s cell and saw what lay before him, the world seemed to stop.
His breath caught in his throat. His blood turned cold. The world tilted. And voices played in his mind.
Those damned voices echoed in his head.
It’s your fault.
It repeated.
Ren was surrounded by alphas. Barely conscious. Barely breathing. His silver hair clung to his skin. His body was covered in bruises, cuts, and a mix of dried and fresh blood.
The chains dug cruelly into his wrists and ankles. He was wounded.
Naked.
For a moment, Zayden simply stared, unable to process what he was seeing. Unable to comprehend how the man who had once smiled at him so gently had been reduced to this.
Then Ren slowly lifted his head.
Their eyes met.
And something inside Zayden shattered into a thousand pieces. Perhaps more.
Rage unlike anything he had ever known exploded within him. His blood boiled.
The dungeon trembled beneath the pressure of his pheromones.
The knights gasped, sensing the dangerous scent.
They turned. Some paled. Others immediately stumbled backward.
"Y-Your Imperial Highness!—"
"This is actually—"
The two knights never finished his sentence.
Zayden’s sword flashed through the air. Blood splattered across the stone walls.
The two men’s bodies collapsed before he even realized what had happened.
Another knight screamed.
A third reached for his weapon.
Zayden cut him down without hesitation.
Reason?
Logic?
Neither existed anymore.
There was no room for them. No need for them. These men had dared to hurt the person he loved. The person he had sworn to protect. The person who, despite everything, still occupied every corner of his heart.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
The roar echoed through the dungeon. Pure fury. Pure devastation. Several knights immediately dropped to their knees. Others attempted to flee.
None escaped.
Not when Zayden’s eyes had become those of the sleeping demon inside him. Not when his hands trembled with murderous intent.
Not when all he could see was Ren—bruised, bleeding, and crying. Waiting for someone who had never come.
Waiting for him.
And for the first time since learning the truth, Zayden realized something far more horrifying than Ren’s lies.
The person who had hurt Ren the most... was himself.
"Z-Zayden," Ren’s voice came out low.
So low that Zayden didn’t hear him.
The alpha still turned, immediately tearing off his outer shirt and wrapping it around the omega’s trembling body. Then he released more pheromones, overwhelming the disgusting scents lingering in the cell and replacing them with his own.
"Z-Zayden," Ren repeated.
This time, the alpha heard him clearly. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to reply.
His hands trembled as he adjusted the fabric around Ren’s shoulders, trying to cover every bruise, every wound, every trace of what had happened here.
He couldn’t look at him. Not properly.
Because every glance felt like a knife being driven deeper into his chest.
How long?
How long had Ren been suffering like this?
How much time had passed since the omega remained trapped within these stone walls? Unable to leave?
The thought alone made the alpha sick—nauseous even.
"Look at me," Ren whispered.
Zayden clenched his jaw.
No.
He couldn’t.
If he met those eyes, he feared he would completely fall apart.
"Please."
The word broke something inside him. Slowly, Zayden lifted his gaze.
Crimson eyes met scarlet-red ones. For a moment, neither spoke. The silence stretched painfully between them.
Then Ren’s lips trembled.
"You came."
A sob escaped Zayden before he could stop it. His hand immediately flew to his mouth.
How pathetic.
How weak.
Yet the tears kept coming.
"I am sorry," he choked out, his voice breaking. "Gods, Ren..."
The omega stared at him in shock.
He had expected anger.
Accusations.
Perhaps even disgust.
But not this—Zayden crying.
Never this.
Zayden lowered himself to his knees before him.
The proud Imperial General.
The man feared across the continent.
Crying.
"I should have come sooner," he whispered. "I should have listened to you first."
His fingers carefully brushed Ren’s bruised cheek.
As though he were touching something precious.
Something he had nearly lost forever.
"I am so, so sorry..." The Imperial General sniffled.