Rin woke to a sky of pain.
Light from a single overhead bulb cut across the room in a harsh, indifferent strip. His head throbbed as if someone had wrapped his skull in a tightening band.
He tried to lift a hand and found it useless—bound. Cold rope bit into his wrists and anchored him to a chair. Dried blood crusted along his hairline; wet strands clung to the side of his face.
He blinked through the sting and tried to piece together where he was. Bone and concrete and a thin, clinical smell told him it was the same interrogation room where they'd kept Ray — the one with the iron table and the metal hooks along the walls.
He forced his eyelids open wider. The room was dim; bodies and shadow moved at the edge of his vision.
A slow, deliberate voice cut through the silence. "So, you're finally awake."
Footsteps approached. Rin didn't move, but his heartbeat quickened when a shadow loomed over him.
A rough hand grabbed his chin, forcing his head upward. The grip was cruel, fingers digging into his jaw until a groan of pain threatened to escape his throat.
The man—Domanić—smiled down at him, his gaze sharp and assessing. He tilted Rin's face toward the light, studying him with something close to amusement. Then he leaned in slightly, his breath brushing Rin's skin.
"Strange," he murmured, "you don't smell like an omega. A beta, huh?" His tone dripped disbelief. "Hard to believe a face like this belongs to one."
Rin's lips pressed together, refusing to react.
Domanić's smirk deepened. "You remember shooting my leg, don't you?" His fingers tightened, leaving faint red marks on Rin's skin. "Still hurts, you know." He paused, voice lowering to a threat. "But maybe I'll forget about it—if you learn to behave."
Rin didn't answer. The pain behind his eyes kept his mouth from forming words. He swallowed and found the movement shredded; the taste of copper flooded his tongue. He heard another voice then—a deeper cut through the room, reserved and dangerous.
"Domanić, I didn't give you permission to come in here." The arrival of the new voice changed the air. Domanić straightened like a dog caught off guard. "I—I just wanted to see if he was awake," he stammered, slipping back a step. Fear edged his tone.
The new man stepped into the light. Rin's vision cleared enough to make out the broad shoulders, the carved cheekbones: Kane.
He carried himself with the slow, menacing calm of someone used to command. Kane ignored Domanić's flinch and crossed to the chair set opposite Rin.
Kane looked at Rin as if assessing an interesting specimen. "Rin Asano." His voice was mockingly polite. "Pleasure to meet the infamous Crimson Vultures leader." The words were formal—too formal—then he added, dry: "We didn't have much time to talk at the auction."
Rin let out a low, hoarse chuckle, eyes half-lidded despite the pain. "Fortunate for you that you ran away," he murmured. "If you hadn't… that would've been our first and last meeting."
Kane's eyes narrowed. He rose and circled behind the chair, close enough that Rin felt the alpha's presence like a pressure at the back of his neck.
Kane leaned down until his breath ghosted over Rin's ear. "Our leader isn't in the country right now," Kane went on, pacing like a predator inspecting prey. "He was very keen to meet you. In his absence, I get to take care of you." He stopped behind Rin, close enough that the heat of his body registered at the nape of Rin's neck. "Do whatever I want. Not quite. But I've been told I can do a lot—so long as you keep breathing."
Without warning, Kane's hand closed under Rin's chin and tilted his face up. The motion was both possessive and precise; he studied Rin's features with the cool appraisal of someone cataloguing an object. "You've got a pretty face," Kane murmured, voice almost appreciative.
He hooked a thumb under Rin's jaw and let his gaze travel. "Imagine if I left you here with my men for a while. What would they do with someone like you?" The question hung in the air like a threat.
Rin's eyes widened; his breath hitched. Somehow, he pulled his expression back into something composed, masking the flicker of panic under the surface.
Kane released him with a slow exhale and settled into the chair opposite. "Don't worry. I wouldn't do it. Not yet," he said, as if promising restraint.
He folded his hands on his knee and watched Rin for a long moment, then reached out to accept a small box handed to him by one of the standing men. He toyed with the lid, the room contracting around the soft click of the opening as whatever was inside shifted the temperature of the space once more.
Rin's chest tightened as if his heart had tried to crawl out of his ribs. Inside the box sat a small vial and a syringe: a compact, clinical cruelty.
Rin's tongue went dry. The memory of the drug's name hovered behind his teeth—heat-inducing compounds, the ones Ash Fang used to force omegaverse bodies into heat.
Kane tilted his head slightly, the smirk on his lips deepening as he lifted the small vial between his fingers, letting the dim light catch the liquid inside.
"You might be familiar with this, right?" he drawled, glancing up at Rin's blood-streaked face. "Something your people have been quite fond of collecting from us." His tone was casual, almost teasing, but his eyes held the sharp glint of cruelty.
"I know you're a beta," he continued, setting the box aside and picking up the syringe. "This drug is meant to force omegas into heat… but we've never tested it on a beta before. No pheromones, no reaction—or so they say."
Rin's face drained of what little color remained. The air between them thickened as Kane filled the syringe with practiced ease, the faint click of the plunger echoing in the silent room. He stood, approaching slowly, every step deliberate. When he reached Rin, he gripped his chin and forced his head up.
Rin tried to resist, but the ropes dug deeper into his wrists, biting into his skin until it bled. Kane's other hand wrapped around his throat, pressing just enough to make his breath stutter.
"Don't worry," he murmured, voice low and almost reassuring. "They tested it—it doesn't contain anything lethal. It shouldn't do you any harm. Probably."
The needle pricked the skin. Rin jerked, a quiet, involuntary sound catching in his throat as the drug slid into his veins. Kane stepped back, watching the faint tremor run through Rin's body before turning toward the door.
"Keep a guard on this area," he ordered, his voice sharp once more. "The boss will want to see him when he arrives tomorrow." His gaze flicked briefly toward Dominic, his tone dropping to a cold threat. "And don't try any stunts, or you'll regret it." With that, Kane left the room, the heavy door slamming shut behind him—leaving Rin bound, bleeding, and trembling in the dark.