Prey Amongst Predators

On the brink of death, Sol had expected nothing more than absolute silence and endless snow. But instead, fate dealt him an unexpected hand. A powerful family rescued him that night, their presence as surreal as the snow blanketing the world around his failing body. They took him in, cloaked in a grace and warmth he had never known. The man who called himself his father, and the four sons who shared no resemblance with him, offered a life so far removed from his own it felt like fiction. That night, Sol’s fate was rewritten—not by kindness alone, but by something far more intricate. Ever since, he had done everything in his power to make himself worthy of the life they gave him. He kept his head low, studied diligently, molded himself to the manner expected of a Melvire. But even as the years passed, and he stood beside them in photographs and at family dinners, something within him remained distant. The truth was hard to ignore. The Melvires carried themselves with an elegance that seemed inborn, an air of distinction no effort could replicate. No matter how hard he tried, Sol always felt like an outsider trailing behind them—grateful, but never equal. Nevertheless, he dedicated himself to their service, believing loyalty was the least he could offer in return. But everything shattered the night he turned twenty. That was when the veil lifted. The warmth that once welcomed him was no longer present. And the Melvires finally revealed the sharp claws hidden behind their velvet gloves. Sol was nothing more than a sacrifice. The crown of their design. He fought hard at first. But the more he resisted, the steeper the slope became. Every path forward was walled in inevitability. His spirit waned under the weight of isolation and betrayal, until all that remained was resignation. Perhaps this was simply the closing of a circle. If his life was the price for everything he had been given, then so be it. He was ready to embrace death again, just as he had those years ago. But what was with their sudden change in attitude? Why, after all the pain they inflicted, did they now seem… wounded?