Chapter 3

Eyes drooping

Fists pounding against his stomach

Wrists chained to the ceiling

Whips slicing into his back

Needles puncturing his skin

Burning, the whole world burning

Begging, pleading, praying

"Cub, Cub!" Voices echoed around the cold darkness "wake the hell up kid"

"Take a breath cub, calm down. Your safe, you're home"

He suddenly jumps up and disappears to the bathroom, door slamming behind him, coughing and gagging heard through the door

"Go on downstairs, I'll stay here. He doesn't need an audience right now" wolf orders, following cubs trail down the hallway to the bathroom.

"Cub?" He calls through the door "I alright to come in?"

With no answer he enters anyway finding the teen sitting in the floor, knees up to his chest, back against the bath, head down, hair covering his eyes.

"Cub?"

Cub slowly looked up and in that second wolf learnt more about the boy than he ever could before. The dark haunted look in his eyes told a story that no words could ever tell. In that moment wolf knew exactly who Alex was. A veteran. A seasoned soldier. For a boy who could have been no older than 18, he suddenly looked ancient.

Wolf didn't say a word. Just sat on the cold bathroom floor and wrapped an arm around the shoulders of the shaking, broken boy beside him. It was rare for wolf to show such a side of himself but this was the side Alex needed to see right now, the kid needed someone there to lean on, to provide silent support.

It wasn't long before the teen spy had tears rolling down his face and sobs racking through his body. Finally, after years of hell, Alex Rider broke. He let go of his emotions. The emotions he'd wrapped up so tightly inside and hidden so deeply from sight.

Wolf just held him tight, still not saying a word.

When Alex had finally calmed down, wolf ruffled his hand through the boys hair and stood.

"We all go through tough times after getting home cub, talk if you need to, I'm not gonna force you to spill everything." was all wolf commented on the issue before wiping the concerned look off his face, knowing the kid probably felt more than embarrassed at the moment and probably wanted to be left alone

"breakfast is downstairs if you want any, snake made it so it should be pretty decent, he's the only one of us who can make anything even remotely edible anyway" he added before leaving the room

It wasn't long before Alex had steeled himself enough to show his face in the kitchen. As he entered a cup of coffee was placed in front the empty chair at the table. "I don't usually approve of excess coffee consumption but I will make an exception for today" snake informed him, placing his own cup of tea on the table.

Before he could respond, not that he knew what to say, a full plate was placed in front of him and everyone dug into their own food. It was as if the morning's drama had never happened, and that was something Alex was eternally grateful for.

"You didn't have to sleep in the living room" Alex frowned, breaking the unusually comfortable silence that had settled in the room.

"Yeah we were told you have spare rooms but we didn't really wanna go snooping for them" wolf mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly "we didn't get chance to ask when we got here, you looked shattered. You can show us after breakfast"