Kael's patience snapped when he caught Eric staring at him instead of moving. His voice was low, sharp as steel.
"Stop looking at me and do something. Unless you want the whole mansion to know there's an omega in heat here."
Eric flinched at the weight of his tone. His daze shattered. He moved fast, dropping his kit on the bed and pulling out bandages and antiseptics. "Right. First—the bleeding."
Kael stepped back slightly, though his eyes never left Rin. Eric leaned forward, trying to peel Rin's bloodied shirt away, but Rin shifted weakly, his body resisting, mind too fogged from the heat to understand.
"He's not cooperating," Eric muttered, frustration creeping in. "Help me."
Kael hesitated only a moment before stepping closer. He slipped his hands under Rin's shoulders and supported him upright while Eric pulled the torn fabric. The contact was unavoidable—Rin's skin was hot against his palms, feverish. For the first time in years, Kael felt his throat tighten at the proximity.
The shirt came free at last, and Eric immediately pressed gauze against the wound.
"Suppressants," Kael said firmly.
Eric nodded, fishing out a vial and a syringe. He injected it quickly into Rin's arm. Within minutes, the suffocating heat of Rin's scent dimmed, just enough for Kael to breathe without his instincts clawing at him.
Kael leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and let his eyes linger on Rin. Now that the chaos of the raid had passed, he could actually look. Pale face, lips parted as he breathed unevenly, brows drawn tight even in unconsciousness. His scent—faint but distinct, like fallen rain—clung to the room, soft yet intoxicating.
Omegas were rare, too rare, and a male omega even rarer still. How the hell had Rin survived this long, hidden in the dirtiest layers of the underworld? Why was he in this business at all? And how many people knew this truth?
Questions piled in Kael's mind, but no answers came.
By the time Eric finished stitching and bandaging Rin's wound, sweat clung to his brow. He let out a relieved sigh and sat on the edge of the bed. Rin still shifted, curling in on himself even as unconscious groans left his lips.
Eric looked up, meeting Kael's stare. Who has ' you have a lot to explain' written on his face.
"As you can see it… He's an omega."
Kael's face darkened. He exhaled slowly, gaze dropping. "Who else knows?"
"No one," Eric said immediately. His voice was firm, his conviction unshaken. "No one except Rin, myself… and now you."
Silence pressed heavily between them. Both men had words to say, demands to make, but neither could find where to start. The weight of Rin's secret sat like a storm cloud between them.
The silence was shattered with a low groan. Rin stirred, curling tighter as his body betrayed him. With the sound came another rush of pheromones—this time sharper, heavier, almost suffocating.
Kael stiffened. Eric swore under his breath and rushed forward, pinning Rin's injured arm to keep him from tearing the stitches. "Hold him!"
Kael moved without hesitation, gripping Rin's arm firmly while Eric kept his body still. "Didn't you give him suppressants?"
"I did," Eric hissed, checking the empty syringe. "But his condition is… complicated."
"What do you mean by complicated?" Kael pressed, his voice like a warning growl.
Eric didn't answer. He grabbed another vial from his kit, filled a syringe. "Turn him. Expose his gland."
Kael's jaw tightened, but he obeyed. He rolled Rin carefully onto his side, holding him steady. Rin jerked weakly as the needle pierced the skin at his nape. Eric injected a concentrated dose of soothing pheromone essence directly into the gland.
For a moment, Rin relaxed. His breathing steadied. Kael and Eric both let out a breath of relief.
But it didn't last.
Within minutes, Rin's scent surged again, even stronger, wild and uncontrolled. His body arched faintly, curling again as heat devoured him from the inside.
Eric's hand trembled as he double-checked the vial. His face paled.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"They're not working." Eric's voice was grim. His gaze darted from the syringe to Rin's trembling form. "His body… It's rejecting them."
A dangerous silence filled the room. Kael's grip on Rin tightened, his brows furrowed in anger and confusion. "Then what now?"
Eric didn't answer immediately. He looked at Kael, then at Rin, his expression torn, his thoughts racing.
Kael waited, his patience thin but his instincts telling him Eric was calculating something dangerous.
Finally, Eric spoke, his voice low and heavy with reluctant resolve.
"There's only one way to stabilize him now…" He hesitated, then met Kael's eyes.
"Can you mark him?"
The words landed like a thunderclap.
Kael stared, his chest tightening as if the air had been punched from his lungs. Mark him?