Meeting after a time

When Keito opened his eyes again, he had not expected to actually open them again. He was sure he had already seen the light of heaven before his life was taken away by someone to whom he had really given his heart.

Now, maybe he was blowing it out of proportions but it had really stung when Jess had ignored him throughout the lunchtime and the break time.

Somehow his Jess had survived and bore him a son too, so maybe he had cursed that person for nothing. But no, he still had been betrayed so it had been for nothing.

He had already died once and now he was awake centuries later, centuries where he did not know what happened in this world, but he did know that some things did not change at all. Just his regrets carried over with him.

In some ways, it had regressed, the part that was in touch with the inner wolf had almost diminished and only a few remembered hos to even get in touch with it. But in many ways, it had remained the same too.

The world was still divided into sub genders - Alpha, Beta and Omega - and Keito had been fortunate enough to be born as an alpha in this life as well. But so had been the love of his life this time around too - Jess and they had been friends forever in this lifetime.

Generally, Alphas were not paired with Alpha's at all since it could cause the head to butt with each other but Keito just likes Jess so it had not been a problem if she got rough with him at times.

He desperately wanted her to be his 'mate' but that was wishful thinking since Alphas only had a mate in 'Omegas' but that was not going to hinder him in his quest for love. But he had done it once and he could do it again.

"Young Master, your grandfather is calling for you" the young alpha groaned at that voice, not willing to give up his comfortable bed yet.

She made her way inside, her feet barely making any sound despite her old age. Keito glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before he averted them when he got a glare in return.

"I'll get up now. Please don't look at me in disappointment" Keito hated to disappoint her because she had been almost mother to him. He barely saw his parents, both too busy for him. He had been raised by maids mostly and he appreciated everything they did for him.

Maybe that's why their disappointment hurt more than his actual parents.

"I'm not disappointed, young master, just a little peeved that you slept in. Having a routine is always good for your health" the old lady chided and Keito looked down in embarrassment at those words.

He was getting lazy ever since Jess has presented, a few days after him and started ignoring him. But Keito was fifteen, almost sixteen so he should really get it over with.

"Alright, I'm up now. I'll go get ready to meet grandfather then" Keito almost flinched at uttering those words.

His grandfather was an enigma, one he knew almost nothing about. Despite being a family, they hardly ever saw each other, the older Alpha choosing to spend his time in the deity chamber instead of his family.

That was another thing that peeved Keito. They were in the 21st century and his family still believed in deities and gods, even spending money on such superficial things.

His father always dodged his questions with a 'I don't know' and grandfather just ignored him when he asked.

All Keito could think about was that it all was a scam, a scheme to overflow their already full family vaults and it disgusted him a lot.

But he was not willing to speak over the topic, lest it created more problems in the future for him. Despite everything, his grandfather was powerful and the one in charge of the family's vault key.

Keito could not challenge him till he earned the vault key for himself.

Despite so much modern comfort, the design of the main house was rather traditional with beta servants running about, doing their work. Keito just walked past them without giving them a glance.

His feet did not make any sound as he moved - as was drilled into him. Soon he reached the end of the corridor, the place isolated from the main compound and his heart gave a sharp beat inside his chest.

He had never been in this part of the house before, no one except his grandfather had been.

Even the servants had been banished from this part and all the maintenance work was done by who-knew-what. It was the first time he had ever stepped here ever since his birth and Keito could feel his heartbeat fast inside him.

He was nervous to be here, his heart not stopping to beat even for a second.

Slowly, he opened the door to the inside and his heart stopped as well as his breath. All he could see was an expanse of white, different shades of white but white nonetheless.

Long hair braided down the back over a white traditional overcoat tied together with silver jewellery, the vision in front of him was pure and eternal. From the skin to the clothes to the accessory, no other colour could be seen but white on the beauty.

And then the head turned toward him and his breath left his body, it went weak as blue eyes met his own.

Keito could not describe the feeling that swept his body, just nostalgia and so much fondness as those eyes held his attention. The body moved and stood up and he realised that it was slightly taller than his fifteen years old body but the face made him realise that the person in front of him could not be any older than 18 at the most.

Then the body moved toward him and the smell entered his nose - fresh and sweet and it clogged at the back of his tongue. And then his eyes drew themselves toward the neck - covered by a white leather thick collar and there was only one thought his mind registered - it was an omega.

"Are you alright" the soft and sweet voice reached his ears and Keito felt his body betray him in a way he had not thought could happen to him. It was humiliating and the omega was too close to him now, his hands almost on him.

And his body lashed out with a sudden burst of anger as soon as the face came in his direct line of sight for he recognized that face. It had not changed at all from the time he had been alive.

"Y-You" was the only thing he could let out as his body forced its own rhythm on him. Keito wanted to escape from here as fast as he could but as soon as he turned around his eyes met with a pair of old and wise pairs looking down at him in disappointment.

"Master" behind him, the white shadow of Noah kneeled down, the body in a perfect pose of a substitute and his grandfather made his way inside, his hand resting over Keito's for a second before he moved past him toward the submissive body on the floor.

And then the door closed behind his back, locking the two separate from him and he could hear no more, see no more and his body did not move at all.

Once Keito had his body under control, he made his way inside the room once again. This time, his nervousness was under control and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. It was far too much and his mind could not keep up with everything that was going on.

But some things were getting clearer by the second. Somehow, his once friend had been alive all this time and even lived with his family. But why here? And more importantly, did he have any connection with the Fox deity of their family?

Well, Keito supposed that he was about to find out right about now.

He once again opened the door and found the scene to be weird. His grandfather sat at his side, his body regal and intimidating, even in this old age. Keito had been a king once but even he did not dare go against his grandfather when he was not fully grown.

Besides, his grandfather smelled funny, his scent containing something that called to his senses and told him to back off. It was strong and Keito could not oppose it, no matter how much he tried to do so.

Noah was still kneeling right in front of his grandfather, his eyes dull and his body hunching over. Keito really tried to ignore him, but his eyes somehow found their way back toward the white-haired shadow.

"Keito, come here. It's time you know of the family tradition. Your father was a good for nothing failure but you will follow my legacy instead" His grandfather's voice was commanding and Keito found himself not being able to ignore it.

But his eyes could not get away from the fox who looked up for a brief second at his name, a shine in his eyes but they dulled again once his eyes made contact with Keito's. Keito did not look that different from his past self but the subtle differences were enough to not be recognised by the other.

He was not sure if he was glad for it or upset at it. Now that he knew the truth, he was sure he could not do the same thing he did back then. He wanted to clear the air with his once friend.

He also needed to not blow his cover, especially in front of Noah.

"Grandfather" soon reached his grandparent but he did not see the so-called Fox deity anywhere, just him, Noah and his grandfather. He could not make anything good out of the clues he had, just a bunch of theories he was not sure he wanted to be true or not.

"You, get up and come here" his grandfather's voice took a bored tone as he looked past him, no doubt at Noah and he heard footsteps come near him.

And then an arm made its way past him and suddenly, he had white hair in his vision and a familiar face right in front of his own. The grip his grandfather had on the other's hair looked painful and yet the other did not complain, just took it instead.

"Look at this creature. This is the fox deity our clan has possessed for centuries now and you will be the one who owns him next. Make sure you treat it right and extract every possible usage out of it. After all, traitors do not deserve any kindness" There was a yank and Keito closed his eyes to not see the impact.

There was a 'thud' noise behind him and he knew that Noah was the one who crashed onto the floor. Keito could not move throughout the encounter, his body froze in front of the older alpha.

And he zoned out throughout the rest of the meeting, his mind not being able to comprehend what happened at all.

"- Your training from tomorrow, don't be late" those were the last words he could comprehend before he was forced out of the meeting, his body not being able to comprehend what had happened inside there.

_______________

He was used to this life by now, it was the same routine for centuries now. Protect the king, protect the kingdom and now, protect the master he would be assigned. It had been his life ever since the day he had been revived in this cursed existence.

Did he hate it? Hate the one who had trapped him in this existence? Perhaps, once upon a time, he had cursed it all. Maybe even gone as far as to try going against the faith and attack his master in the earlier days.

The consequences had never worked out in his favour and every master had been just another name on his list of people who left. Some had shown him kindness, others had used him thoroughly and then some had sought out more from him before they found out that they could not.

And after centuries, he had nothing left to give to this family who had descended from dragons themselves. Their blood might have diluted over time, but the power still remained. The power that was binding Noah to this family.

When his current master had told him that he would meet the next heir, his heart had jumped in hope, something which refused to extinguish but maybe after this time it will finally go out fully.

The teen who entered had been a young boy of barely fifteen, his eyes looking at him in interest and Noah supposed that he was as good a match as any for him. When he made his way toward the teen, he could see the alpha being affected by his smell.

This had not happened for such a long time that it had surprised him but then master had come and he had been locked inside with the teen on the other side. Master had not been happy with him, just like always.

The marks on his wrist still had not healed before they were replaced by new ones and Noah made sure no noise escaped his throat. It agitated this particular master when he showed any sign of weakness at all.

And then the young master had come back and the feeling of hope crashed into him once again when he heard the familiar sound of 'Keito' but of course, this alpha was not his once friend. His one hated him and had cursed him into this cursed fate.

When his master had caught his hair in a tight grip, he was sure that some had ripped apart from the force. The young alpha did not react much and Noah was sure that the new master would be no different from the current one.

But maybe he could make it so that the current one would leave him alone. Times have changed, haven't they? So maybe he could finally get the rest he had always wanted for himself.

He took one last look at the retreating back of the teen alpha before the older one in front of him demanded his attention back by once again dragging him by his hair. He was sure that he would go bald soon if this continued, but somehow he could count as one of his better days with this master.

"Listen here you fox, you're here to serve us and you will serve me grandson in whatever way he sees you fit to do so. Now, don't disappoint me and the family anymore if you know what is good for you" the voice was scary and perhaps once upon a time he would have fought back, defended his honour.

But it never worked, not with this family and not with anyone significant. So all he could do was to nod in agreement and keep his head down in submission.

All he wanted was for this curse to end.