Chapter Text
It was around his 17th birthday that Harry woke up in the middle of a restless night drenched in sweat. His hair was stuck to his face, beads of moisture absorbing into the fabric as he pressed into his pillow. Painfully hard, his body was already thrusting down into his mattress for friction, every inch of himself prickling with need. He wiggled out of his clothes and threw off his bedsheets, the weight of even the light fabric causing his sensitive skin to scream out, everything too much yet not enough. A big hand wrapped around his own girth, knees digging in to give himself more leverage to thrust down into his tight fist desperately. Of course he had woken up with morning wood before but it had never been like this, never felt this urgent, never this frustrating. His mind was solely focused on his groin, everything other aspect of himself attached like strings, following his need like a puppet to chase release.
With his face as his pivot point, he pushed his free hand under himself to squeeze at his balls, both hands in a death grip that should have been painful but still just wasn’t enough. A whine forces itself from his throat, the origins of it deep in his body, pushed from the desperate thirst that the water of his own touch wasn’t quenching. His hips pushed his dick through his hand with more violent thrusts, his whole body shaking with anticipation. Once, twice, three more times and he felt thrown out of his own body, everything going silent and still before returning to reality. The base of his prick had bulged in his hand and the space under his body felt so wet he briefly wondered if he had pissed himself. Violent waves of his orgasm still making his dick convulse told him otherwise and he took deep breaths to ride ride out the pleasure and release.
As he laid in the wet mess, his sweat soaked body becoming chilled, he pressed a smile into his pillow. All of his pent up anxiety from the past few years instantly leaked from him, releasing out into space. His body hummed as it floated there in his bliss. It had finally happened. He had presented as an Alpha.
-
The news of Harry’s presentation spread swiftly through the pack whispered ear to ear, excitement and relief buzzing through the entire village. Their pack had been abnormally prosperous through the years since Harry’s father had become the pack’s alpha. The reign of his father before him had faced drought and a wave of sickness which made everyone appreciate the fortune the last few decades had brought for them. Everyone was fed, everyone was clothed, everyone had what they needed. No one went without, something the elders made sure no one took for granted.
The Styles’ lineage was strong, traits bringing compassion and community had been passed from each generation along with the confidence a good leader needed to have. They had no quarrels with their people, everyone would say the same. Their pack had rarely been involved in war, their negotiation skills gaining them respect from all of their neighboring packs. Their village existed peacefully gaining unneeded allies far and wide.
The birth of their eldest daughter and assumed omega had sent a wave of anxiety through the pack. Styles’ had always produced an alpha heir first for as long as anyone had kept record. Not having an alpha heir left their pack vulnerable to the rule of a new lineage, a change that was dreaded amongst the pacified people. An omega could assume the position but only after mating and bonding with an alpha born to lead a pack. This usually led to the merging of two villages, mergers that historically had never been smooth.
When Harry had been born several years later, the pack had rejoiced. Waiting with bated breath for him to present alpha, insuring the leadership of the pack would be passed along to another generation of Styles’ rule. Time passed slowly as Harry matured, doted on by the entire pack.
Of course Harry had grown up being spoiled. As the only son of the pack’s alpha, he couldn’t escape the way he was catered to everywhere he went. His family ties were strong though, his mum keeping him humble, his father grounding his rebellion. His parents instilled within him humility and compassion that would make him a great leader when the time was right. They made him a good person first and foremost, never faltering when shaping his character.
In the weeks after his first rut, though, he couldn’t help but be a little bit cocky. After the stress that had been placed upon him since he reached puberty, he figured he was allowed a small lapse in his character. He strutted around the village with a new sense of pride, head high and shoulders squared, a new swagger to his steps. The attention he began receiving from all the omegas in the village wasn’t something he could complain about either. His grin spread widely across his face each time he took a different omega on his arm, charming them with his wide smile and dimples even just to make them blush. Despite the talk that had started trickling through the village, he hadn’t done more with them then maybe a cheeky kiss or two. He would never use his rank or standing to take advantage of anyone, something the entire pack knew at heart despite the gossip.
Everyone loved him. They had no reason not to and if he was able to carry on in the same standing as his father, no one would ever think of him poorly.
He was on the outskirts of the village when it happened. The sun was warm after a dewy morning and the day was quiet. It was a perfect time to slip away to collect his thoughts, seeking solace in a small patch of meadow near a stream where he often sat. The trickle of the water was relaxing and he had spent a good portion of an hour letting his bare chest soak up the warm light, his shirt balled up as a pillow beneath him. He tried not to stay away for long, his mother always worried if he was late for supper.
The sun was dipping lower towards the horizon when he decided he should head towards home. Already he would be scolded if anyone realized he had been out on his own for this long. He had always scoffed at the idea of needing babysat, especially now that he had presented and felt as though he should be treated as a grown man. He had only been through one rut and of course knew in reality he hadn’t yet grown into his gender but he wasn’t quite ready to accept that. He was ready for his freedom and ready to take on the world though he still respected most boundaries that had been set for him. Like his father, he wouldn’t feel right pulling his rank but also didn’t appreciate being treated like a helpless omega. Slipping away for a few hours seemed mild on the list of ways he could disobey so he sometimes indulged.
It may be seen as ironic that his thoughts over being able to take care of himself was exactly what had him distracted enough not to notice the presence lurking behind him, watching him, following him. Strong arms suddenly wrapped around him from behind, a cloth pressed tightly to his face before he could do more than take in a large gasp of surprise, balled up shirt dropping from his startled hand. His limbs tensed to struggle against his attacker, falling limply to his sides nearly instantly as his eyes drooped closed. Everything faded into black.
-
Dreams come in many forms. Some are vivid and lifelike, leaving you in a state on confusion when you wake up to find that none of it had really taken place. Some are abstract with no real connection to reality, shapes bouncing about, colours, lights. Then some are hazy, nothing quite clear enough to remember but everything is still there. Thick as seen through the London fog, a scene through a smudged lens.
Hazy is how Harry slowly came to, eyelids so heavy he could only open them to a sliver of light. Every inch of his body ached, arms stretched uncomfortably over his head and hands tingling from the lack of circulation with a rope tied around them far too tightly. The air was cold against his skin but when he instinctively tried to pull his covers closer with his knee, he realized his feet were also bound in place. He had never had a dream where he had been paralyzed and the panic it instilled sent his heart into a staccato pattern, thumping the rhythm of fear through his veins. His head felt too heavy to lift, a useless bowling ball attached to his neck. He felt chilled and exposed, unable to move. He heard low voices around him but the rushing blood against his eardrums and the pounding of his head overpowered them, unable to make out their individual words to make any sense of them.
He drifted in and out, willing himself to wake out of this nightmare. If his hands had felt free he surely could have pinched himself, slapped himself to rise above this level of consciousness. The pressure in his bladder soon became a focus as he tried to open his eyes again, raising his eyebrows high in effort, still only able to crack them enough to let in some light. He needed to wake up from this dream to use the bathroom, that part felt very real to him. He tried to pull at his arm restraints but all of his muscles felt too weak, not able to move at all. Every part of him felt dead to his commands and he could only pray that he really was in a dream as his bladder gave way.
“Fuck, he pissed himself again,” one of the gruff voices came closer.
“Clean him off then, I’m not touching that,” came another voice shortly before his nether regions were doused in cold water. He could barely even flinch at the shock, head lolling to the side with a weak groan that replaced the shout of surprise that died in his throat. Something began to roughly dry him off, his protests trailing off weakly before they could be heard, his mouth too dry to even swallow. This nightmare was going to stay with him for a long time, he could already tell.
The voices blended around him again, sinking back into the darkness that was becoming more and more painful each time he resurfaced. Something shockingly cold hit the sensitive skin between his legs and again he could do no more than let out a small groan of protest. The contrast of warm hands soon followed, fondling him for a moment before stretching his immobilized legs further apart.
He felt violated as the fingers manipulated his balls, trying harder to fight but his body not responding. The weight of something cold and metallic sat against his skin, circling both his penis and testicles. Fingers grabbed his dick, pinching it roughly before it was forced roughly into something equally cold, his hips trying desperately to pull away from the feeling. He could hear metal on metal as they manipulated his parts, his weak groans of protest falling on deaf ears.
A hand grabbed at his hair to rip his head up for a moment, eyes cracked open but unable to focus on his torturer.
“Say goodbye to your dick, kid,” the gruff voice said before his head clunked back down and the sweet smelling cloth was once again pressed against his face.
-
Birds were chirping the next time he came back into consciousness. A small smile came to his lips, thankful to finally be out of such a nightmare. He blinked his eyes open to the morning sun, his relief slowly draining as he realized that sun was not normally this warm streaming through his bedroom windows. Looking around, he found himself in the meadow again, briefly thinking he may had fallen asleep here longer than he had meant to. He tried to sit up, his body protesting painfully to each movement.
Finally upright, he rubbed at his eyes, pupils aching with the bright light surrounding him, head pounding within his skull. He rubbed at his sore wrists, rope burned and angry red, his shoulders aching with even the smallest movements. It took him a few moments for the haze to lift from his mind, slowly stretching his legs out in front of him with the same protest as his arms. A sharp stick poked at his thigh and he flinched before pushing it away.
He froze, hand hovering on his thigh, his eyes following. He was naked. He was outside and he was completely naked. His heart began to race, fear spiking as he hesitantly slid his hand towards his crotch. The details of his dream were rushing back to him, the man’s gruff voice repeated tauntingly in his head.
“Say goodbye to your dick, kid,” rang over and over, terror that his dick would be missing heightening until his fingers touched metal. He looked down in horror to see his dick encased in a metal cage, a tight metal ring circling his testicles to keep it in place. He frantically tried to pull it off, each movement only pulling his flesh away from his body. His chest was heaving as he began to hyperventilate in panic, the metal cage strong and secure around his parts. He pulled until it hurt, each angle doing nothing to loosen or free his dick. What had he done to deserve this?? What had happened??
-
His walk home was humiliating. With nothing but his own hand to cover the shame of his condition, he kept his head down with his long curls hiding his face. He knew anyone who might see him would still recognize him but he still clung to the small hope that he would stay hidden. The path circling the village took twice as long to get back to his home but he took it anyway, unwilling to walk directly through the busy town in his state. The thought of facing his father like this already had his heart filling with heavy shame, he didn’t need the rest of the pack’s judgmental stares as well.
“Harry! Thank god!” his mother began to sob as soon as she saw him approaching the house. She raced to embrace him, a sob of his own matching hers as soon as he felt safe. He momentarily forgot about his condition and hugged her back tightly, ignoring the pain in his shoulders as he allowed himself to be coddled.
“I’m sorry,” he began to mumble out against her shoulder, unaware of the crowd that was starting to form around them. He had never meant for his disobedience to cause his mother so much pain, guilt weighing his soul down even more.
He had been gone for two days. Two whole days they told him once inside and wrapped in one of his fluffy blankets. His father was furious, pacing the floor with his long strides after sending for a locksmith and a blacksmith, the best in the pack. He was a man of few words and now was no different. His heavy footsteps echoed in the silent room, one arm tightly crossed over his chest while the other pulled at his chin in thought. Harry shrank down in his seat, knowing the punishment he had coming for going out alone would be harsh, knowing he deserved it. He had barely touched the food brought to him, his stomach churning in knots even at the idea of eating knowing what was to come.
Harry had never felt a sense of such heavy shame and humiliation as he did when the locksmith arrived. His family left the room before the man pulled back the blanket, Harry’s skin blushing bright red as he inspected the cage, manipulating it left and right for a better look. His penis was sensitive inside, lightning in his nerves each time the metal was moved. The man’s face was barely a few inches away from his most private area, poking the skin around the rings and bars to figure out how it was locked in place. He gave up with a sigh, leaving him alone without an answer.
The blacksmith arrived not long after, Harry hiding his face beneath the blanket as the man tapped at the cage, pulling it about to figure out its construction and the materials used. He poked and prodded longer than the other man had, his teeth leaving deep marks in his bottom lip as he struggled to get through it. He curled himself up into a ball once they were done, crying softly to himself as he heard them just beyond the door.
“There is nothing to be done. The construction is too strong and tight to his body. Any methods I could employ would certainly damage him beyond repair. I’m afraid your only hope are the people who locked it in place,” he could hear from his spot on the sofa.
His mother came to sit beside him, rubbing his back as the day slowly turned into evening. She didn’t speak and he was grateful, letting him process what was happening in his own silence. There would come a time, but not yet. It was enough that she was there, humming softly like she did when he was small. It did little to calm his heart but he knew it would be worse without her.
He must have drifted off to sleep, the sound of many footsteps and the scraping of chairs across the wooden floor drawing him to attention. His father had summoned the council of the elders, he could tell by the familiar voices mixing together in greeting. He was alone again, his back cold where his mother’s body had been.
It was a struggle not to listen as they began to discuss his predicament. Embarrassment flooded him again unable to avoid hearing his father describe the contraption in detail, describe his private parts to the men he had known since birth. Silent tears rolled down his face and his hand roamed down to touch at the metal cage just to make sure it hadn’t disappeared while he slept.
“Its a medieval practice,” said one, voice muffled through the door, “A war time tactic I certainly haven’t heard practiced in all of my time...”
“It leaves a pack vulnerable,” said another, “If an alpha heir is unable to bond and mate, they are not able to lead the pack, leaves us open for a hostile take over.”
“Could be a pack who was betting on marrying an alpha in to merge with us. Harry presenting alpha would have set their plan back,” someone agrees, “Killing him would have started a war. They may be too weak for that.”
Harry couldn’t listen anymore. He wrapped the blanket tightly around himself and slipped off to his room. He closed the door softly to not draw attention to himself, crawling up onto his bed. The blanket dropped from his shoulders, his exposed body still naked. His cock felt heavy between his legs with the extra weight and he looked down at the cage. He spread his legs out on the bed, his parts laying limply between his thighs, the drag of the metal making itself known with even the slightest movements. For the first time, he began to take a closer look at the contraption.
Thick metal rings circled his cock from the base down to the head, metal bars locking the rings in place and meeting to cross over at the point. Though it was not tight around his soft shaft, his skin still pressed against the metal in a way that would look painful if he wasn’t feeling it for himself. Other than the dull ache he felt from desperately trying to pull the cage off his body earlier, there was no pain from being locked inside. There was a space between the large ring behind his scrotum and the start of the cage that left his balls hanging freely, the sensation strange as the weight of the metal passively moved the loose skin.
He slid a finger around the big base ring, thick and solid and pressed closely to his body. At the top was a link that locked the two sections of the cage in place. It held solid as he tried to move it at the juncture and almost looked as if the two pieces had been welded together. From the diagnosis from the blacksmith, he wondered if it had. He moved his finger down each ring, the rings placed close together at the base, each new ring spaced slightly further apart the further they were from his body. The gaps towards the head were spaced just far enough for him to stick the tip of his finger in to touch flesh. His head was nearly completely exposed, only the criss cross of the connecting bars meeting in a X at the very end. His finger tip was able to slip between the bars there, stroking the sensitive skin in small movements like one would pet the head of a baby animal.
It felt good to touch his skin so delicately, the gentle strokes such a contrast to the way the cage had been manipulated by everyone else. They at least had had the decency to touch his skin as little as possible, this sensation left only for him. He had just enough room to slip his finger tip in to stroke along his sensitive slit, whimpering softly as he teased himself. It felt different than the way he normally grabbed himself, aggressive and determined in contrast to the kitten strokes he was now restricted to.
It quickly became clear that he had not thought this exploration through, his dick fattening up quickly with the attention. It didn’t take long for the head of his dick to be pressed uncomfortably against the metal cross, rings constricting the rest of his shaft like an iron fist. It didn’t exactly hurt yet but with the confines of the cage, his dick couldn’t grow to it’s full size, not even close. The head of his cock pushed at the cage, the base ring pulling away from its snug position against his body, taking his balls with it. He huffed out a small sob when his dick wanted more, trying to burst out of the cage that held stable and secure around him. The gentle curve of the rings that fit him when he was soft was now bending his dick uncomfortably and there was nothing he could do about it. He grasped his hand around the cage, attempting to move it like he would if it was just his own hand but the jerking motion didn’t feel right. It tugged in all the wrong places and pressed painfully at the head of his dick, the whole organ beginning to feel like circulation was being cut off. The gentle pleasurable touches had quickly given way to pain and he choked out sob of frustration, pulling at his caged dick in anger.
He was a young boy, an inexperienced, brand new alpha boy and he had never, not once, ignored an erection. It went against his very nature and primal instinct not to reach down and get himself off, learning his body and yearning for the day he finally be mated. His frustration built with each passing moment, nothing edging him towards relief, nothing bringing him pleasure. The way the cage pulled on the base ring was now making his balls start to ache uncomfortably. Pulling back on the cage gave his balls some relief while at the same time making the bars at the tip of his penis dig in to his sensitive straining flesh painfully.
With another frustrated sob he threw himself onto his stomach on the bed, trying to rut into the mattress to get the kind of friction he was desperately seeking. It only made it worse, the sturdy metal digging into his flesh unpleasantly, pinching his skin as he tried. He gave up and let his sobs of frustration overtake him, grabbing a pillow to muffle his anguish, not wanting an audience in his current state. So that was what he had meant by saying goodbye to his dick. He still had it but in this state, he might as well not. He cried himself to sleep, exhaustion finally taking over to give his brain some much needed rest.
-
Harry refused to leave his room for days. Deep down he knew he was being dramatic, knew that life still ticked along yet everyone still gave him the space he was demanding. They let him process the loss of his sexual freedom without question though he knew there was nothing they could do. He could tell that his family wasn’t quite sure what to say about it his situation quite yet. From what he understood, this hadn’t happened in centuries, perhaps only in myths and old wive’s tales. He didn’t think those came with a manual on how to handle this in real life. His father had avoided him completely, meeting with elders and researching as far as Harry was able to tell from the sounds beyond his door. His mother brought him meals, lingering long enough to make him feel like he wasn’t completely alone and he appreciated the gesture. The knowledge that his family wasn’t abandoning him at least eased his mind a little.
It had been hard enough to acknowledge and talk to his parents when he hit his first rut and that had been a natural part of growing up, an anticipated coming of age event they had all awaited. Knowing they were nearby hearing him violently masturbate now seemed less embarrassing than his parents knowing his manhood had been locked away for good. The pity in his mother’s eyes had been unmistakable and though he knew she was just concerned about him, it made the shame hit him even harder. He would never be the alpha his parents wanted him to be, never live up to anything they had wanted for him.
Just days ago he had been the cocky alpha heir strutting his stuff around the members of his pack. He hadn’t just fallen but rather been violently beaten off of his pedestal with one small lapse in judgment, a useless excuse for a ruler forced into a eunuch now curled on the ground for everyone to pity. He valued his manhood, his alpha status, he had known that before but he hadn’t realize how strongly he had let it define him. How much he had let it define his future. His gender had been the focal point of his life as long as he could remember. Stripping it away left him feeling lost and inferior, unable to face anyone with the loss of his destiny, the loss of his dignity. He knew the pack would talk. Not only had the elders been summoned more frequently than they had been in years but he also remembered all the eyes that had witnessed it first hand. There would be no denying his caged dick when he finally emerged from wallowing in self pity. No one would ever look at him the same. That Harry had died the moment he had been placed in this jail. He mourned the loss of himself along with his dick, not bothering to push down any of the emotions plaguing him. It was no use.
When he finally started emerging for meals, his family tried to make everything feel normal for him. Their daily routine had continued and they welcomed him back into it without hesitation. He appreciated the idea of falling back into his old life but knew nothing would ever be the same. He could eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time every day, same as before, but it still wouldn’t take away the adjustments he had to make every time he sat down at the table. It wouldn’t take away the sound of metal against wood as he leaned across the table. Every day he tried, though, putting on the best act he could, pretending that everything was just as it was. He could tell no one bought it but no one approached him about it either. There was a large caged elephant filling up each room he entered but no one ever called the circus.
-
It had been months and they were no closer to finding his kidnappers or a way to break him free. Months since he had been able to orgasm and not for lack of trying. He hadn’t realized that maturing to an alpha would bring such an intense need to knot at all times of the day but now that he couldn’t, it was absolute torture.
He was so preoccupied getting through one day at a time that the day he woke up soaked in sweat came as a complete surprise. He had only been through one rut, not even a second to document his cycle to know when the next would be coming. The cock cage was tight and restricting as he looked down, the flesh of his penis bulging out of the small gaps in the metal bars, the head pressed painfully against the end. Everything throbbed, pain and pleasure both so intense that he could do nothing but writhe in his sheets. He moaned relentlessly, desperately attempting to let off some pressure through his vocal chords but nothing was working.
He gripped at the cage, fingertips brushing over the tiny bits of bulged flesh, the relief not enough. Not even close to enough. His nerves prickled at the incomplete strokes, the answer book to his orgasm with more than half the pages ripped out. He gathered precum onto his fingertip, trying desperately to stroke at his sensitive head, sobbing at the lack of friction he desperately needed. He squeezed the deeply coloured head between his forefinger and thumb, gritting his teeth at the burst of pain yet blurting out a glob of precum with the only stimulation he was able to give himself.
An hour later he was screaming in pain, the confines of the cage making every inch of his dick ache in protest, the rings feeling permanently imbedded into his flesh. Not having come in months had already made his balls seem heavy and sore but with the added production for his rut, they felt like they might explode from the pressure. The base ring pulled even tighter, his parts turning angry shades of deep red and purple. His lips stung in pain after biting so hard he had made them bleed, purple crescent bruises surfacing up and down his arms and hands, unable to stop himself from biting in frustration, skin even broken in a few places.
He was delirious, not even registering his mother covering his forehead with a cold wet cloth, trying to sooth him from the madness his suppressed rut was causing. It had barely been a day and Harry was ready to drown himself to get away from the torture plaguing his body. He felt like a wild animal, ripping his sheets and making noises he knew weren’t human. His skin prickled with invisible bugs, millions of tiny crawlers burrowing into his veins and spreading throughout his body, cycling through him over and over as his nails ripped at his flesh to release them.
By the end of the first day, after having to restrain Harry to the bed in order to keep him from hurting himself more than he already had, his parents had called in a doctor. No one had experience a situation such as this so no one quite knew how to help him. Unmated alphas either found someone to help them through or they toughed it out alone. No one in their right mind would attempt simply ignore their nature.
He growled and yanked angrily at his restraints as the doctor sat near his hips on the edge of the bed. His mouth was moving but Harry was too far gone to register anything he might have been saying. His eyes saw red, the hot breath leaving his nostrils in such heavy puffs they may have even been visible.
The bed groaned as he thrashed violently against the pressure of something unexpectedly pushing against his hole, unnatural and unwanted, especially in his state. The bonds held him tight, unable to get away from the slick fingers curling into his ass, thick and uncomfortable as they stretched him open. His caged dick was purple and painful as it bobbed around with his movements, the pull against him taunting him too far out of reach.
The first brush of his prostate startled him, screaming out at the sensation and clenching against it. The doctor persisted, roughly stroking over the spot repeatedly while he moaned in protest.
He felt his balls tightening up to his body, finally feeling right on the brink of release, sobbing as he came so very close to what his body desperately needed. He was almost there, almost ready, his dick painfully trying to expand, the muscles in his stomach tightening...
And then it was over, huge globs of come oozing from his prick and over the cage with the doctors strokes. He let out a pitiful sob as the moment passed without the pleasure and release he was searching for, the pressure slowly easing as his balls were emptied, his knot pulsing and restricted tightly in the cage.
His mind began to clear with the release of his semen and he very quickly became aware of the doctors fingers still pressed into his hole, still moving to milk as much out of him as he could. Red flamed his face and he turned away, his shame and embarrassment quickly returning as he realized the state he was in. The cage still stood up with painful press of his erection between his legs, a reminder of what he had been turned into, why a doctor, a grown man he had known since he was born, now had his fingers pressed in his most intimate of places. He squeezed his eyes shut with the realization that his parents were there as well to witness the lowest point in his life, worried eyes fixed on their worthless son through the entire thing.
The elders had been right. There was no way to mate and bond locked up in such a way. The knot that he only had the pleasure of experiencing a handful of times was now uselessly confined, painful even as it tried to expand the way nature intended it too. He now understood the placement of the rings at the base of his dick, no part of his knot able to slip out of the confinement. Whatever their motive for this had been, they had achieved it. They had successfully broken down every part of him. They had stripped him naked and grasped him by the root of life, snapping it off right at the source.
He curled in on himself as soon as his restraints were untied, hiding himself from the eyes he knew were still there, pity for the broken. It was in that moment that his will was broken. In that moment he stopped living. In that moment that he became someone else.