Eric's words struck Kael like a thunderclap.
"Mark him."
The words echoed in his mind, leaving his thoughts scrambled and blank. For a moment, Kael couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Mark Rin? That was unthinkable.
His jaw tightened. "Are you insane? Do you even know what you're asking? He's an Omega. You understand what it means to mark one, even temporarily."
Eric met his glare with a heavy sigh, exhaustion written across his face. "Of course I know. Don't think I'd suggest this lightly. But Kael—look at him."
Kael turned his eyes to Rin, sprawled on the bed, drenched in sweat, his chest rising and falling in shallow, desperate breaths. His pale skin glistened with the feverish heat of his body, his brows knitted even in unconsciousness.
Eric's voice cut through the thick tension. "His body's been crumbling for years. Suppressants kept him going, but they've reached their limit. He's overdosed on the strongest brands, pushed his body further than it was ever meant to go. And now… now his body's rejecting them. Even the soothing pheromones I've given him—alpha pheromones, the highest grade possible—are failing. His system refuses them all."
Kael's throat went dry. His fists clenched at his sides. "So your solution is… this?"
"We were going to need an alpha's mark anyway," Eric said, his tone softer now, tinged with something that sounded like guilt. "A permanent mark would stabilize him. Keep his body safe. But I'm not asking you for that. Not now. I'm asking you for one thing only: give him a temporary mark. Just enough to anchor him. Just enough to stop his body from breaking down."
The weight of those words pressed hard against Kael's chest. A temporary mark.
He knew what that meant. Every alpha did. It wasn't a bond for life, but it wasn't meaningless either. It carried weight, intimacy, a tie between two people that could not be ignored once forged. And Rin—Rin of all people—would feel its consequences most.
Eric's gaze sharpened. "You know his secret, Kael. You know how rare—how dangerous—his existence is. The fewer people aware of it, the better. But if he dies because his body can't take the strain anymore, all of it will be for nothing. I'd rather risk him resenting you for the rest of his life than lose him here tonight."
Kael's chest burned. His instincts warred with his reason. His heart whispered that it was wrong—that Rin would never forgive him, that this was crossing a line that could never be uncrossed. Yet his body, his instincts as an alpha, pulled him toward Rin like a current too strong to resist.
For a long moment, he stood frozen. Then, slowly, he stepped toward the bed.
Eric didn't say another word. He didn't need to. He glanced once at Kael, then turned and headed for the door. "I'll keep the others from coming up. With his pheromones this wild, anyone passing by will know an Omega is in here. But I'll hold them back as long as I can."
The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Kael alone with Rin.
The room was heavy with scent—the raw, storm-drenched fragrance of Rin's fallen-rain pheromones, it clung to the air, thick and intoxicating.
Kael moved closer to the bed. Rin lay there, half-conscious, his chest bare, his skin fever-hot. His eyes cracked open, lids heavy, glazed with tears. He looked at Kael with a dazed, vulnerable expression that twisted something deep inside him.
Damn it.
Kael sat at the edge of the bed, his voice low, almost apologetic. "It's for your own good, Rin. Don't blame me when you wake."
Rin's lips parted, a faint, breathless sound slipping out. His gaze clung to Kael's face, lost, pleading, unguarded.
Kael swallowed hard. His resolve wavered, but his body moved on its own. He pulled Rin into his lap, Rin's legs straddling him, their bodies pressed together. Rin's skin was burning, slick with sweat, but soft beneath Kael's hands.
He slid one palm up Rin's back, feeling every tremor of his fever-wracked body, while the other hand steadied him at the waist. Rin's breath hitched, his fingers curling weakly into Kael's shirt.
Kael let out a slow breath and released his pheromones. Tobacco and leather unfurled in the air, wrapping around Rin's fallen-rain scent like a shield. Rin shuddered, then slowly relaxed against him, his tense muscles easing, his breath growing steadier.
"Good," Kael murmured. "Just breathe."
Rin's head lolled onto Kael's shoulder, his damp hair falling over the curve of his neck. Kael brushed it aside with careful fingers, revealing the delicate curve of Rin's nape. His gland was swollen, pulsing with heat, as vulnerable as the rest of him.
Kael's hand lingered in his hair, the silken strands sliding between his fingers. He couldn't help but stroke it once, twice more, grounding himself in the softness. Then his hand drifted lower, brushing the edge of Rin's gland.
Rin gasped—a soft, broken sound—and trembled violently.
Kael froze. The sound pierced him, cracked his restraint. His arms tightened around Rin, pulling him close, his hand running through Rin's hair as if to soothe him. "Bear with it," Kael whispered against his ear. "It'll hurt. Just… bear with it."
Rin did not answer, only another shallow breath, his dazed eyes searching Kael's face as if lost in some fever dream.
Kael lowered his head. His lips brushed the heated skin of Rin's nape, and Rin shivered all over, a soft whimper escaping him. Kael's breath caught. He took a deep breath, clenched his jaw, and sank his teeth into the swollen gland.
Rin jerked, a sharp cry leaving his throat, his nails digging into Kael's shirt. Pain twisted across his features, his body straining against Kael's hold.
Kael held him tighter, refusing to let go, pushing his pheromones deep into Rin's system. Slowly, the pain ebbed, replaced by something else—pleasure, warmth, relief. Rin's cries softened into moans, his trembling shifting into something more desperate, clinging.
Kael's grip tightened at Rin's waist, his fingers sure to leave bruises against pale skin. He forced himself to keep steady, to pour his control into every heartbeat of the mark, until Rin's body stopped shaking.
When he finally released him, blood-stained Rin's gland, gleaming red against pale skin. Without thinking, Kael licked it away, tasting salt and heat, sealing the mark with instinctive care. Rin's hand clenched tighter in his shirt, as if anchoring himself.
Kael exhaled shakily, loosening his hold at last. He pulled back enough to see Rin's face—tear-streaked, flushed, his breath ragged. His half-lidded eyes shimmered with exhaustion, yet he leaned into Kael's shoulder, seeking comfort even in unconsciousness.
Kael's chest ached. He brushed the tears from Rin's cheeks, his thumb lingering against warm skin. Rin's fist still clung tightly to his shirt, refusing to let go.
Kael didn't try to pry it away. Instead, he gathered Rin into his arms again, stroking his hair, his voice low. "Sleep. You're safe."
Rin's lashes fluttered closed. His breathing evened out under the weight of Kael's pheromones, his body slowly surrendering to rest.
Omegas were at their most vulnerable the moment they were marked. The bond stripped away every wall they had built, leaving their emotions bare and raw. In that fragile state, they clung instinctively to the one who had marked them, needing the steady anchor of their alpha's pheromones and presence. Without it, fear and emptiness gnawed at them—but with it, they could breathe, soothed and safe, their trembling bodies surrendering to the comfort of the bond.
Kael lay him gently on the bed, tucking the blanket around him. He tried once more to free his shirt from Rin's grasp, but Rin only tightened his hold, even in sleep.
Kael froze, afraid of waking him. But Rin didn't stir. After a moment of hesitation, Kael gave up with a resigned sigh. He slipped under the blanket beside him, careful of his injured arm.
As soon as Kael settled, Rin shifted in his sleep. He pressed closer, burying his face against the curve of Kael's neck and shoulder, both hands fisting Kael's shirt. His scent—calmer now, softened rain mingling with smoke and leather—wrapped around them like a cocoon.
Kael stiffened, his body rigid. But Rin's warmth seeped into him, fragile yet grounding. Slowly, Kael let himself relax. One arm curved protectively around Rin's waist, pulling him closer.
He lay there in silence, staring at the ceiling, his mind a storm. He knew he had crossed a line. He knew Rin might hate him when he woke.
But with Rin pressed against him, clinging as though Kael's very presence kept him from shattering, he couldn't bring himself to regret it.
Not tonight.