Kaden shrieked again as the dogs surrounded him, with Ares looming so huge, impossibly huge, heartstoppingly dangerous - he choked on his sob of fear. Everything Ares was saying hit him like a fist, the barbs about his mother burrowing deep, and Kaden wanted him to stop - just stop being so mean! He wanted it so badly it rivalled the fear, or it was the fear. He couldn’t tell anymore. But his hands shook terribly, his fingers fumbling on the clips several times before he was able to release the first strap.
“I’m sorry,” he sobbed, apologising to the little guy, the tiny life who could have been his brother, who could have grown up free. The tiny guy who Kaden was giving up because he was lost, he was surrounded, he was so far beyond hope and he didn’t want his entrails eaten by dogs in the woods. He didn’t want his bones never to be found. He didn’t want to die. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”