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The moment the door to the dungeon cells closed behind Levi, he stopped fighting it. He stopped trying to keep his fury smothered inside of him, hidden and controlled. Stopped holding in the rage, the bloodlust he was feeling. Stopped gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in an effort to keep calm. He let his emotions flow freely for the first time in days, and the effect was immediate.
He heard Hanji take several quick steps away on the other side of the door and at the same time, a pathetic, quiet whimper came from somewhere behind him.
It was a sound full of fear that spoke to the deepest, most ancient parts of Levi’s being. Stirring up the beast sleeping inside of him, waking it up and telling it, here is your prey, shaking and scared, ready to be devoured.
Levi wasn’t a beast. He wasn’t an animal.
But in that moment, with his mating mark still warm, still raw and tender on his skin, a reminder of what he had almost lost mere days ago… Levi couldn’t say he much cared if he became one.
Closing his eyes momentarily, Levi took a deep breath to let the almost tangible sense of fear hanging thick in the air wash over him. He made sure the door was closed properly before he finally turned around and slowly, carefully walked down the stairs to the cells.
It wasn’t hard to find the only occupied cell in the room; even without the lone lamp sitting on a chair in front of one of the barred doors, the alpha, the beast inside of him could tell exactly where to go. It zeroed in on the terrified beta inside, reminding Levi, this is the one who hurt your mate and your child.
As if Levi needed that reminder.
A low growl rumbled in his chest, growing louder with each step forward.
His ears picked up a strangled whine, the man clearly having tried to stifle the sound but failing. Levi ignored him for now as he came to a stop next to the chair. He quickly noticed a key sitting right next to the lit lamp, waiting for him and he let go of a small huff; how nice and thoughtful of Hanji, saving him the trouble of having to kick the door in. He had half-expected her to try and put that last barrier up for him, to give him one final opportunity to change his mind, but this key clearly said everything Levi needed to know.
She was there, no matter what happened inside.
He allowed himself a small smile as he picked both the key and the lamp up, when a terrified squeak reached his ears.
“Ca—Captain Levi? What c—can I do for you?”
Squeezing the key in his palm, Levi slowly turned to look at the man inside the cell. He looked so pathetic, cowering in the corner of his cot, eyes wide, hands wringing nervously, whole body shaking. The beast inside Levi preened at the sight, relishing the smell of fear permeating the basement air like incense, and Levi licked his lips, worked his jaw, glowered at the man in a way that made the scared little beta shrink further into himself.
Good.
Cower.
Fear.
Cry, scream, run, hide.
It will be that much sweeter to catch you, to rip you apart, to watch the life fade from your eyes.
“What you can do for me?” Levi repeated, mocking him, as he carefully placed the lamp on the ground and sat down in the chair instead, crossing his legs. “You’ve shit into our bed more than enough. If you have any excuses, this is the time to say it. You have thirty seconds.”
“I—Why—” the man stammered, his eyes dropping to the ground as he hugged himself. He was silent for a few seconds, but then words spilled out, a high-pitched squeal of a pig, “I know he’s Squad Leader Hanji’s precious test subject but he’s just some omega bitch and an absolute monster, why does everyone care so much?! I tried to do the world a favour!”
The exact wrong thing to say.
A fresh wave of fury washed over Levi. Biting back a snarl, he clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes, an animalistic need to grab this man by the hair and jerk his head back thrumming in his veins. He wanted to sink his teeth into his throat and bite down. To taste that filthy blood on his tongue, to rip out that rotting flesh and spit it back out on his face. To watch this fucker writhe at his feet, gasping for air that would never again reach lungs, bleeding out from the hole in his throat. Wanted to present the still warm corpse to Eren, the beast inside him bursting with pride.
Wouldn’t that be amazing?
Levi barked out a laugh, completely void of any amusement. The sound echoed around the basement, crawling up Levi’s spine like nails on a blackboard.
A shudder ran through Marzell, another pathetic whimper escaping him. Levi revelled in the sight, not even trying to hide his eyes or suppress his alpha dominance. He wondered; how far could he push the man without even lifting a finger? Could he get him to piss himself in fear before he even stood up from this chair? It was a tempting thought, a tempting idea to test out, to see through.
Too fucking bad Levi didn’t have the patience for it right then.
Not when his mate and unborn child were waiting for him, not when the alpha inside of him was roaring, itching for a taste of blood.
“You really have no fucking clue what your dirty, miserable ass did, do you?” Levi asked quietly, a low, deceivingly sweet murmur as he uncrossed his legs again. “Just digging your shithole of a grave deeper and deeper, straight up begging for me to get it over with.”
“I just—l—I lied a little bit, that’s all! It’s—it’s not like I killed the guy!” Marzell cried weakly, his voice breaking.
A humourless chuckle bubbled out of Levi’s chest as he tossed the key to the cell in his hand and stood up. “That all you have to say? I have to admit, I expected a few more brain cells in that head full of shit.”
As Levi slowly put the key into the lock of the cell, the words that should have been the only thing out of the man’s mouth in the first place finally started pouring out. “I’m—I’m sorry, Captain!! I’m really, really sorry! I didn’t know it would go that far, I—”
The door opened and with it, Levi tossed the mask of calm away completely.
“Shut up,” he snarled at the same time as his foot connected with Marzell’s jaw.
The little beta howled in pain and surprise, blood trickling out of his mouth as a tooth flew out, bouncing off the wall before clattering to the floor. Eyes going wide, Marzell clutched at his face, and Levi watched impassively as the man writhed on his cot, letting out pathetic noises that only made Levi’s lips curl further back.
Not giving him any time to get his bearings, Levi grabbed the man by the hair, lifting his head up roughly. “If you had started with that, maybe I’d have gone easy on you. Too fucking bad, huh?” He slammed his head against the stone wall once, twice, the beast inside him relishing the thuds it made, the blood left behind on the cold stone. He had to make a conscious effort to hold his strength back, to stop before the man’s skull split open and his useless, empty brain splattered on the wall. Ruining Levi’s fun. Ending this too quickly, too easily, allowing the fuckface to escape the suffering he deserved.
Levi clicked his tongue, and his hold on Marzell’s hair tightened as he forced him to look at him. He took great pleasure in the way the man’s pupils dilated, his lips trembling with fear. A lazy, cold smirk pulled on the corners of Levi’s mouth as he contemplated what exactly to do with this asshole. He had so many ideas and the human body was so fragile…
“Wh—Why are you—doing this?” Marzell whimpered, sounding and looking like he was on the verge of tears.
“Why?”
Immediately, Levi’s smile dropped as his eyes narrowed. He let go of the beta’s hair, the man sighing in relief as he sagged in front of Levi—that relief was short-lived, however, as Levi’s right hand shot out, faster than Marzell could ever dream of following, grabbing the man by the throat. Levi dragged him effortlessly out of his cot only to slam him against the bars of the cell in an area better lit by the lamp outside.
As Marzell gasped for breath, Levi tugged on his cravat, untying it and ripping the top three buttons of his shirt off as he pulled the fabric to the side, exposing his mating mark.
“See this?” he hissed in Marzell’s face, tightening his grip slightly. “Can you guess which omega bitch left it there?”
Marzell clawed at Levi’s hand as he struggled to breathe, but Levi didn’t let up, didn’t relax his grip in the least. He watched with a sick sense of satisfaction as the fucker squirmed, his face turning reder by the second, tears streaming down his face, choked noises coming out as he wheezed, trying to get the smallest bits of air into his lungs with little success.
It was only when strength started to really leave him that Levi clicked his tongue and released his hold, letting the man collapse to the floor, coughing and clutching at his throat.
Levi gave him three seconds before he stepped forward.
And then, coughs turned into a scream as Levi dug his heel into Marzell’s hand where he was bracing himself against the floor.
The scream, as well as the satisfying crunch of bones snapping, was music to Levi’s ears, the beast inside him purring at the rightness of it.
Yes.
Scream and cry.
More, more, give me more.
Pay for what you’ve done.
Putting even more pressure on the hand, Levi closed his eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath. What was he doing here, really? It didn’t feel right. And yet…
It didn’t matter.
None of it did.
The only thing that mattered was Eren and their child, who nearly paid for this fucker’s shit.
Taking his foot off Marzell’s hand, Levi instead kicked the man in the ribs, forcing him to roll over onto his back. Stepping on the man’s chest, Levi leaned his elbow on his knee and looked down at Marzell blankly. He was staring up at Levi with wide eyes full of terror, and Levi tilted his head to the side slightly, never breaking eye contact as he pulled his dagger out, the movement deliberately slow as he pressed the blade to his lips.
“You know, you’re awfully lucky we can’t go outside the walls right now. It would be so easy to pass you off as having ended up as titan shit but as it is, I’ll have Erwin up my ass if I actually kill you here.”
Marzell squealed, the sound reminiscent of a pig in a slaughterhouse. He jerked underneath Levi’s foot, almost as if trying to scramble away, but the weight Levi was putting on his chest didn’t allow him to move a single inch.
Levi narrowed his eyes.
“Ahh!!” Marzell yelped before freezing, his eyes turning to the side to stare at the blade stuck deep in the ground just hair away from his face.
As if nothing happened, Levi easily leaned down, his fingers closing around the handle of his dagger to pull it back out. Looking it over, he clicked his tongue in disgust.
“Filthy,” he grumbled, wiping the blade on his pants, cringing slightly at the smudge of red left behind on the white fabric.
But that was fine. The moment he decided to come down here, he had already given up on keeping his clothes clean.
Turning his attention back to Marzell, who was now using his one good hand to clutch at his ear where Levi’s dagger had cut it basically in half, Levi made a mental note to have someone clean this fucking place top to bottom once he was done. There was a lot of blood pooling on the floor and he’d be damned if he let that stain stay there for-fucking-ever.
“I won’t kill you but that doesn’t mean I’ll just let you go take a shit and go to sleep after you nearly got my brats killed, you fucker.”
Yet another whine came from the man below him, a full-body shudder following.
Levi raised an eyebrow—did he seriously…?
With a snort, Levi couldn’t help but feel some level of amusement at the realisation that finally, he got the guy to actually piss himself. Too bad he didn’t have the patience to get him to do it without even touching him…
Ah, whatever.
Taking his foot off Marzell’s chest, Levi grabbed him by his collar, forcing him to sit up and lean against the bars of the cell. As he dragged his dagger down the man’s cheek, Levi watched blood trickle down his skin. It wasn’t enough. There was blood still pouring from his ear, smudges of blood around his mouth from where Levi had knocked his tooth out, now the cut on his cheek… Not enough.
Not enough.
Tossing his dagger in his hand once, twice, he wondered what he wanted to do now. He couldn’t kill him. He knew he couldn’t.
But killing him wasn’t even what he wanted, was it?
He wanted to make him pay for what he did, for what he had almost done, in full. He wanted to have him feel Levi’s wrath in his muscles, his bones, his skin for the rest of his miserable, useless life and remember. He wanted him to wake up every morning in cold sweat, thinking he was still in this basement cell with Levi. Shaking, trembling, terrified. He wanted his shitty fucking choices to haunt him until he didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t.
He wanted to hurt him.
Break him.
The most effective way of teaching is pain.
Levi stopped thinking. He twirled the dagger in his hand, his fingers closing around the handle in a reverse grip. Barely a moment later, he jerked his hand downwards, sinking the sharp blade deep, deep, deeper into Marzell’s groin.
The scream that followed turned into a broken sob, but Levi didn’t waste any time on paying attention to it. Didn’t pause, didn’t hesitate.
He let go of the dagger, curling his freed up hand into a fist.
A split second later, his hand shot out, fist colliding with Marzell’s face.
It was almost ridiculous how easily human noses broke. How thin the skin was. How warm the blood on Levi’s knuckles was.
Warm and wet and absolutely disgusting.
Not enough.
Pulling his fist back, Levi punched him again. And again.
A torn eyebrow. A busted lip. Fresh blood trickling out of his mouth.
Not enough.
Letting go of the man’s collar, Levi stood up straight, throwing a kick at his face. He felt something give—a cheekbone?—, the beast inside him almost purring in satisfaction as the pathetic little beta collapsed to the floor once more, sliding away a few feet from the force of the blow.
Not enough.
Slowly, Levi stepped forward. One step, two steps, three steps. Soon, he was towering over Marzell, glowering down on him. A fresh wave of bloodlust hit him as he took in that battered face. Running his gaze over his entire body, Levi clicked his tongue at how filthy he was. Disgusting. Even if he were clean, he would still be filthy. The filthiest thing Levi had ever laid eyes on.
And filthy pieces of shit didn’t need legs to walk, did they?
Levi raised his leg. Slowly, meaningfully, he let his foot hover over Marzell’s knee. Meeting the man’s eyes, Levi didn’t move for a long while, letting the realisation of what he was about to do sink in. Taking sick pleasure in the horror filling Marzell’s eyes.
Ah…
Really, what was Levi doing here?
Not enough.
Placing his foot back down Levi crouched down instead. He took a firm hold of his dagger still stuck in Marzell’s groin, his gaze flitting back to meet Marzell’s, tilting his head to the side slightly, watching, waiting… Before he dragged the blade down, making sure to slice the tendons holding his left leg together in one smooth movement.
Closing his eyes momentarily, he took a second to bathe in the blood-curdling scream.
Yes.
This is it.
Scream.
Levi stood up. And once more, he raised his foot.
He didn’t even pause this time.
Without hesitation, without mercy, he stepped on Marzell’s right knee.
Crushing the joint with the full force of his fury.
Closing his eyes, Levi took a deep breath.
Enough.
This is enough.
He clicked his tongue. The squirming and screaming was starting to grate on his nerves, making his lips curl in annoyance.
“Shut the fuck up already.”
Taking one swift step forward, Levi kicked Marzell in the jaw one final time, sighing when the pathetic little piece of shit stopped moving, consciousness leaving him.
It’s done.
Punished.
Eren and the baby are safe.
Levi rolled his head, stretching the tense muscles of his neck and shoulders. It was over.
A slow, deep exhale, and Levi picked up his dagger, wiping the blade carefully into his shirt. Filthy. He would have to clean it properly before he went to bed tonight.
As Levi turned on his heel and walked out of the cell, he didn’t spare a single glance or thought to the unconscious, broken soldier he had left behind. Now, he only cared about Eren, He wanted to see him. Touch him and kiss him, feel his warmth and solid presence. Nothing else mattered. Not the piece of shit lying on the ground behind him, not Erwin’s inevitable ire over the state he had left the man in, not Hanji waiting for him outside.
Only Eren.
Walking out of the dungeon, Levi wasn’t surprised to find Hanji standing way further away than where he had left her. What he was surprised by, however, was that she wasn’t alone.
Although on second thought, maybe he should have expected it.
There was no way his emotions earlier didn’t pour over into Eren full-force; he should have known the brat wouldn’t stay still, wouldn’t just quietly sit in bed and wait for him. And yet, when he met Eren’s eyes, those gorgeous ambers lit up bright with emotion, he couldn’t help the confusion he felt at the sight.
After all, Levi had expected Eren to be angry. Furious and disappointed, maybe even disgusted by the sight that Levi made right then—dishevelled and covered in blood that was not his own, leaving no question as to what he had been doing inside that basement cell.
But Eren wasn’t showing him any of that.
Instead, Eren was sitting on the ground patiently, looking up at Levi with nothing but fire, determination, and love.
A burning sense of hunger bubbled through the bond, and not a second later, Eren was getting to his feet to grab Levi’s hand tightly, leading him upstairs without a word.
“Eren, wait—”
“No.”
“I’m fucking filthy, let me take a shower first.”
“No.”
“Shitty brat…”
Levi clicked his tongue, his head falling back with a small groan as Eren’s fingers ran over the skin of his abdomen, right along the band of his pants. He ran his eyes over the top floor bathroom over Eren’s shoulder. It was deserted save for the two of them, every sound they made echoing off the tiles, and Levi only hoped it would stay that way. That nobody would come in, nobody would see or hear what was going on in there right now.
Because the moment the door had closed behind them, Eren had wasted no time pressing his lips against Levi’s, the kiss rough and loud and full of hunger.
Which was how Levi found himself sitting on the floor of the shower, still in his clothes, with Eren sitting on his lap and grinding against him, running his hands and tongue over any inch of skin he could get to. It was clear there was no reasoning with him anymore; he wouldn’t take no for an answer—especially when Levi’s body was making it painfully obvious that he wasn’t all that opposed to this. That he was just as hungry for Eren as Eren was for him, desire burning underneath his skin like fire, scorching and destructive and desperate.
Even so, there were better places than the communal bathroom.
And better times than when Levi was covered in the filthy blood of some dog.
But somehow, that seemed to be exactly what excited Eren so much.
As Eren grabbed Levi’s hand, loosely lacing their fingers together, he brought it up to his face, his tongue darting out to lick up the blood. He moaned at the taste, his eyes fluttering open to meet with Levi’s.
And right then, the last broken pieces of Levi’s reason left him.
Because Eren’s pupils were blown wide, his eyes full of arousal as he sucked on Levi’s fingers, cleaning his bruised and torn knuckles with his mouth like Levi’s blood was his ambrosia, moaning and rubbing himself against Levi with abandon, uncaring that anyone could walk in at any point.
Not enough.
Levi clicked his tongue, all but ripping his hand out of Eren’s grasp. Instead, he gripped Eren’s hips so hard he wouldn’t be surprised if they bruised before lunging forward to capture Eren’s lips with his own.
Eren tasted of blood.
Blood and mint and Eren and it was a mix so intoxicating that Levi felt his head spin.
As their tongues danced together, Levi barely registered Eren blindly undoing his belt and unzipping his pants.
Not enough.
Biting down on Eren’s tongue, Levi pulled away minutely, looking into Eren’s eyes.
“You’re fucking insane.”
“You love it,” Eren shot back, sticking his tongue out only to lick at the corner of Levi’s eye, before whispering into Levi’s ear, “Next time, I’m watching.”
Levi snorted. “Next time, I’m fucking you right there.”
“Deal.”
Diving in for another kiss, neither of them spared another thought to their surroundings anymore.
And when Eren sank onto Levi, a loud, beautiful moan on his lips, when Levi’s teeth dug deep into the flesh of Eren’s throat, clean, delicious blood on his tongue, when Levi’s knot tied them together, the both of them shaking with pleasure…
The beast inside Levi purred in contentment, curling up deep in Levi’s chest to fall into a blissful sleep.
At least until the beast inside Eren stirred it up, eager to play once more.