After Cass left, Damien's face slipped back into its usual cold, expressionless mask. He pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and waited.
When it was picked up, a respectful voice answered. "Boss."
It was Xavier, Damien's second-in-command.
Damien hummed in acknowledgment before speaking with calm authority. "Look into a student named Kai. Send me his current location. Wait for me there at 9 p.m."
"Yes, sir," Xavier replied immediately.
Damien cut the call without another word, sliding the phone back into his pocket.
There were easier ways to handle this situation. Much easier. But where was the fun in that?
---
Time slipped quickly, and soon it was the arranged hour. Damien arrived at the academy's hospital wing, his footsteps silent but heavy with presence. Xavier was already waiting for him outside the ward.
"Boss," Xavier greeted respectfully.
Damien gave a slight nod. "He's inside?"
"Yes."
Without hesitation, Damien pushed open the door and stepped in.
Inside, Kai had been torn between sulking over Cass's rejection and feeling triumphant about Cass's looming expulsion. But the moment the door creaked open and Damien walked in, all of that fractured. His head snapped up, eyes widening in disbelief.
"Al–Alpha Damien?!" Kai stuttered, voice trembling, fear flickering across his face.
Damien just shrugged, walking in with cold, unhurried steps. "Good. You know who I am." His tone was icy as he pulled a chair and sat opposite Kai.
Kai looked like a rabbit cornered by a predator, pale and terrified. His mind scrambled through possible reasons for Damien's presence, but every path led to the same conclusion.
Cass.
Damien ignored the fear plastered on Kai's face and cleared his throat, his voice dropping into a low, threatening rumble. "You know Cass, don't you? Now tell me the truth. Did he try to rape you or was it the other way around?"
Kai's blood ran cold. If he had been afraid before, now he was petrified. Damien was here for Cass's case. Here for the truth. His heart hammered violently in his chest. Should he maintain the lie or tell this terrifying man what really happened?
His voice shook, but he forced the words out. "It was really him… He tried to rape me. Not the other way around."
"Really?" Damien leaned back lazily, his crimson eyes sharp with amusement.
Kai nodded frantically, desperate to convince him.
But Damien's lips curled into a slow smirk. "I'll ask you again,.for the last time. Did you, or did you not, try to rape Cass?"
Kai's voice cracked. "I… I didn't. I swear, I didn't try to rape him."
Damien nodded slowly, as though satisfied. And just as relief began to flicker in Kai's eyes, Damien muttered with disgust, "Good. You've pushed your luck."
Before Kai could comprehend those words, his gaze was locked—trapped—by Damien's crimson eyes. Panic surged through him as his hand began moving against his will.
"No—no, what—"
Horror overtook him as his fingers curled around his own throat, tightening, squeezing. He tried to resist, tried to stop it, but his body betrayed him. His breath came in short, desperate gasps, his vision already beginning to blur.
"Since you dare lie to me," Damien said coldly, "you face the consequences. I gave you a chance. You blew it."
Kai's lungs screamed for air as his grip tightened further. He struggled frantically, nails digging into his own skin, but nothing worked. It was like he wasn't in control of his body at all.
Xavier, standing behind Damien, watched with a calm disinterest—almost bored. As though he had seen this countless times before.
"I… I… was the one who tried to rape Cass!" Kai finally choked out between strangled coughs. His face turned red, tears welling in his eyes. "He didn't.... he didn't try to rape me. It was me! I did!"
Immediately, his grip loosened, and air rushed back into his lungs. Kai collapsed forward, coughing violently, sucking in every breath like it was salvation.
Damien's expression didn't change. He was as composed as ever, cold and unfazed. "Good. Compose yourself. You'll make a video admitting your wrongdoings."
He handed his phone to Xavier. "Record his statement."
Terrified of defying Damien again, Kai sat upright, forcing the pain and trembling down. Xavier held the phone steady as Kai spoke, voice still hoarse from nearly choking himself.
"To… to sum it up," Kai began shakily, "Cass didn't try to rape me. I did. And my hospitalized state was… because of his self-defense. Cass… I'm sorry."
The last words fell from his mouth like stones. Xavier stopped the recording and handed the phone back to Damien.
Damien glanced at the video, then nodded in approval. He turned his piercing gaze back to Kai. "If you value your life, I shouldn't have to remind you to be in the Dean's office tomorrow morning."
His work done, Damien rose to his feet, Xavier falling into step behind him as they left the ward.
Kai sat frozen in his hospital bed, still gasping for air, his entire body trembling. Even after confessing, even with the evidence recorded, he knew deep down Damien wasn't done with him yet.
****
Outside the hospital, Damien stopped abruptly in his tracks. He turned slightly, his voice low. "You can go rest, Xavier. I have somewhere to be."
Xavier raised a brow but nodded. "Boss, if I may ask… what's so important that, for the first time, you're not prioritizing your sleep?"
Damien, already walking away, allowed a grin to tug at his lips. "Of course. I have to deliver this evidence to the one who needs it." He paused, his voice darkening with a hint of satisfaction. "And I also have a favor to request for."