The mindscape was eerily quiet.

His paws echoed with each step he took, a chill clinging to the darkened floors of their shared mindscape. The Alpha wolf felt its hackles raise at the heavy, oppressive silence that clung to the thin air.

With past visits, there had always been the soft snivels and whimpers of Theo to guide him. Back then, he had hated every sound the Omega made.

Now, his gut was twisting with hatred aimed at himself, a deep loathing at how he failed his job as an Alpha. And worry about Theo, who could not be found.

Easily finding the cliff where he had last seen Theo, the wolf scoured around for an easy way down that wouldn't result in a sheer drop to unknown depths.

Instead, the wolf whimpered plaintively when it only found darkness and steep clips that were impossible to descend to.

At least not without falling to his doom.

"Think. Think, think, think! There must be a way!" it whimpered plaintively, sniffing the air to try and detect a trace of Theo.

But the air that met his senses was stale. Void of any sign of life, an unnatural coolness slipping through with every breath he took.

The damp, musty air felt thick, oppressive. A lingering sense of doom settling on the Alpha's shoulders as it scanned the cliffside.

It was hard to remember how the mindscape used to be. Not because it was mentally hard to do, but simply because it had once been a beautiful place. One he remembered clearly.

How it used to be a lush clearing with tall grasses on one end and forest on the other, as far as the eye could reach. A crystal clear lake breaking through the grass, filled with shimmering fish underneath.

Now, the grass and trees had long since wilted away, cracks had appeared and the very ground had opened up to show just how hostile their mind, no, the Alpha's mind had become to Theo.

But the wolf knew that it was something he had willed into shape. And with Theo now unconscious, it would be difficult to alter their shared mindscape in any shape or form.

Difficult didn't equal being impossible though. After all, the wolf had taken over, had changed the landscape to make Theo's imprisonment less enjoyable.

The beast concentrated, ears flattening back at the exertion. Imagining a slope that would lead down to Theo, wherever he might be in this oppressive darkness.

A deep, groaning sound like earth rolling and churning rumbled through the realm. Shaking the very earth underneath his paws, cracks forming and the sound of rocks clattering down a steep cliff.

But there, right at the corner of his vision, a jagged cliff was slowly leaning down into a dangerously steep ramp. But the rocks offered his paws enough grip to allow the wolf to control his descent.

He hurried over, judging the slope of the ramp and swallowed thickly as it seemingly disappeared into the darkness below.

Steeling his nerves, the wolf slowly ventured down all the while focusing on making a pathway to Theo.

Each step he took further down, the hill became more difficult, both physically and mentally.

The unnatural chill that had teased his nostrils earlier was now a steady, frigid sensation. Biting at his paws to the point where the wolf believed that if it stood still, its paw pads would certainly freeze to the rock.

His instincts were slowly creeping up in his mind. The niggling doubt settled in because how could he save Theo if he would die during his descent?

The desire to turn tail. To flee back to safety instead of creeping closer and closer to danger. To doom.

To his death.

Shaking his fur, the wolf shook off the anxiety. There was no ifs or butts. If Theo died during his descent, it was all over. There would be no life, no happiness, nothing to return to.

Going back now meant giving up on life. The wolf might as well throw itself off the cliff and be done with it.

So it pushed further and further. Rapidly shivering as the cold clawed at his thick fur, slipping past his natural defenses and settling into his bones. Causing his teeth to click against one another as his body tried to stay warm.

With each step further down the dangerous slope, the air grew colder.

Soon enough, the wolf's ragged panting became visible in the thin air around him. Clouds of vapor underlying each panted breath, each ragged inhale as he struggled for air.

It even hurt to breathe. Each inhale felt like jagged knives carving their way down his trachea, setting in his lungs and making them freeze

He was tired. Oh so tired... a nap sounded...like pure bliss. But he couldn't afford to sleep.

His paws kept slipping on the slick floors that were chilled by ice. Draining warmth out of his body with each tired step he took.

Shaking his head, the wolf tilted its head to look at the path. And froze.

Ahead of him, below him, there was a shimmer of a person. A translucent Theo, much younger than he was now.

"No Theo, you can't go and play with the other kids." Their mother's voice suddenly crooned through the air from an invisible source.

The wolf growled lowly, hackles raising as it looked around for anyone else, but saw nobody. Instead, Theo turned to an unseen speaker with big, sad eyes.

"Because I'm Omega?" The small toddler asked, sticking a thumb in his mouth nervously.

A deep sigh followed and a spectral hand patted the young Theo on his hair. "Yeah, because you're Omega. The other kids don't understand you and it's better that you don't get hurt. They can be a bit rough."

Theo's spectral eyes dampened with barely withheld tears, lip wobbling before the little Omega pup gave a hesitant sound of agreement. Looking back off into the distance, where the sound of laughing, playing pups echoed eerily.

The yearning in those bright eyes was enough to make the wolf whimper. Ears flattening and tail tucking between his legs as it let out a whine but lacking any response from Theo or the unseen voice.

When the wolf took a step forward, wanting to soothe Theo, the vision dissipated into thin air. As if it had been nothing more than a figment of the wolf's imagination.

No, not a vision.

A memory.

A memory of being told he couldn't do something because of how he was born. Of being reminded that Theo wasn't like the others of the pack. Wasn't truly accepted by them.

He too remembered it all too clearly. Memories that he had suppressed, shoved at Theo with hate, with accusation.

Trudging forwards, slipping on several loose rocks, the wolf nearly tripped as another voice echoed towards him.

"Seriously, what the fuck are you supposed to be? You're an Alpha wolf, trapped in a weak, pathetic Omegan body." A boy sneered and laughter followed. "As a half-and-half, you're useless."

He bared his teeth at that particular memory. It was while he had shifted, had wanted to play along but was told no. Because Theo couldn't keep up.

Each time he was denied, it had always been because of Theo. Because whatever he wanted wasn't what Omegas could handle. Because it was an Alpha thing.

Yet the pack forgot that the wolf was an Alpha. And didn't like being treated as an Omega.

"Useless. Worthless. Weirdo. Freak."

The whispers mingled, memories colliding into a dizzying cacophony of sound. But the meaning wasn't lost to the wolf.

A snicker to his left and some murmured voices followed.

"Honestly, who would want to mate with Theo? I mean-" The whispers softened but they remained audible for the wolf, and the young Theo from his memories, who listened in on a group of adults gossiping.

"Plenty of Alphas would leap at the chance of having an Omega mate. Even more would appreciate an equally strong Alpha by their side, because the pack would prosper. But who wants something like Theo, who is neither and both at the same time?"

"Yeah. It's a shame that the Alpha pup didn't make it. Things would've been better if Theo AND his own wolf had died, instead of Theo's brother and Theo's wolf."

The wolf cringed, now realizing how hard Theo's past was. Because he had been oblivious, blind to Theo's suffering.

But on a daily basis, Theo had been confronted with his nature. Had been maltreated because of it.

Hated because of it.

That particular memory stung, because like any Omega, Theo had dreamed of, had yearned for a mate. To find someone who would love him, love them both, as for who they were.

Yet when they finally found their shared mate...they were rejected.

Once again, because of their nature. Of Theo's nature.

And instead of protecting Theo, he had resented the Omega pup. Resented him for something that was beyond their control.

Worse was when the Alpha wolf heard his own voice snarl venomously at Theo. Accusing him, blaming the small Omega for every hardship they both endured. Abuse that neither of them were responsible for.

Yet, the Alpha wolf still managed to blame Theo. Because to everyone else, it had always been Theo's fault.

Wearily, his head tilted as frost reflected yet another memory.

"I don't like it when Theo helps us." One of the Omegas murmured, not caring that Theo was only just across the room, helping them set up a meal for the pack.

Omega or not. Theo was a werewolf like them. His heightened senses could and would easily pick up the conversation.

"Yeah, I know. I mean, his body, his mannerisms are Omegan but then when his wolf comes through, it's a fucking Alpha in sheep's clothing. How are we supposed to trust someone so...unnatural?"

There was a murmur of agreement before another Omega whispered "I mean, we're naturally weary of Alphas. But when Theo is in human form, he's Omega. But his wolf is not, and it can see through Theo's eyes! I don't want to be gawked at by a pretended Omega!"

Turning around a corner, the wolf panted, shivering under the constant strain of maintaining focus on the path. Trying to reach out, grasp into the darkness and connect with Theo.

On top of that, the wolf was bombarded with memory after memory. Each following memory getting more vicious, digging deeper underneath his skin.

And showing that, with each insult and each barely veiled look of disgust...all Theo had wanted, was to be accepted.

A deep chill touched its side, making the wolf shiver and shake out its fur. When another movement from the corner of its eyes flowed into view, it looked up wearily, dreading another memory.

However, the wolf standing by his side was not a memory. It was a picture perfect reflection of himself, if he were an Omega.

Brilliant blue eyes looked straight at the Alpha wolf, the soft Omegan kindness and a strange familiarity awakening recognition in his mind.

Theo's wolf. His actual Omegan wolf.

But that was impossible! Theo's wolf died alongside their unnamed Alpha sibling. It couldn't be here.

"And why not? I am a part of you, just as much as I am a part of him." A soft, soothing voice gently lulled through his mind. "Even when we died, we never left you or Theo. We've always been here, watching over you both."

The wolf shivered, agony settling into his chest before he forced himself to move faster.

Because, if this truly was Theo's wolf, in the spectral flesh, so to speak... That meant only one thing.

"Yes," The Omega agreed as it too hurried along, guiding the Alpha wolf further down. Slender paws easily found grip on the rocks while the Alpha's larger paws seemed to slip and slide.

"You are running out of time. He won't be able to hang on for much longer. Theo is dying."

The Alpha wolf wanted to accuse its sibling of lying. But he could see with his own eyes how the spectral wolf left behind prints, how it seemed to be slowly solidifying.

And if their deceased sibling was starting to take on a corporeal form, that only meant that with each tick of the clock, with each slowing heartbeat...

Theo...please hang on.