Arion's mind was a whirlwind as he left Kyon's chambers. The prince's clothes, oversized and smelling faintly of white tea, were a strange comfort. They were a temporary shield, a lie to cover the brutal truth. He moved through the deserted hallways of the palace, his heart pounding in his chest. The silence was unnerving, a stark contrast to the storm of emotions raging within him. He was a Lord, a warrior, and he had just been rendered completely powerless.
He reached his own quarters, the simple, masculine scent of his belongings a welcome relief. He threw the royal clothes on his bed and went to the basin to wash his face, trying to scrub away the lingering scent of Kyon and the bitter taste of the suppressant. He looked at himself in the small mirror. The angry red marks on his neck and belly seemed to pulse under his skin, a constant, fiery reminder of his new reality. He was an alpha, but he was also a mate, a partner, and an omega to a man he barely knew.
As he finished washing up, a distant, muffled sound echoed through the halls. It sounded like a roar, a furious, animalistic cry that was quickly cut off. Arion froze, his instincts screaming at him. He recognized that sound. It was the sound of an alpha in a full-blown rut, a primal rage that had been unchained.
He didn't know it then, but back in his chambers, Kyon was succumbing to the beast within. As soon as Arion was gone, the careful facade Kyon had held for years crumbled. The emotional turmoil of the past few hours—the confession, the tears, the vulnerable intimacy—had broken through his mental defenses. The omega suppressant he had taken earlier was no match for the torrent of emotions, and the dormant rut that had been building inside him for years finally exploded.
Kyon's body began to sweat, the sweet scent of white tea evaporating entirely, replaced by the suffocating, dominating, and furious scent of pure burning amber and pine. His hands curled into fists, his knuckles turning white. His jaw clenched as a low, guttural growl rumbled in his chest, a sound so raw and predatory it was a shock to his own ears. He felt an intense, agonizing need, a primal hunger to find his mate, to claim him, to possess him completely.
His pupils, usually a placid blue, dilated and straightened, turning into the thin, vertical slits of a predator's eye. The beautiful, serene Prince Kyon was gone. He was a beast, an Alpha in rut, and his only focus was on the mate who had just left his side.
He stumbled to the door, his mind a blur of rage and instinct. He had to find Arion. He had to mark him again, harder this time, to make sure everyone knew he was taken. He had to prove his dominance, to show the world that his consort belonged to him and him alone.
But then, the rational part of his brain, the part that had been trained since childhood, screamed at him. Stop. If you are found like this, it is over. The King will have you killed. Your brother will seize the throne. All of your plans, all of your work, will have been for nothing.
Kyon's body slammed against the door, the wood groaning under his weight. He was a prisoner in his own mind, his alpha instincts raging against his carefully constructed will. He screamed, a muffled roar of frustration and unfulfilled need. He couldn't go out. He couldn't find Arion. He had to suffer through this alone.
Back in his own room, Arion heard a second, more violent sound—a bang, a crash, and a series of deep, mournful roars. The sounds, so filled with pain and raw emotion, sent a shiver down his spine. He knew, with a terrifying certainty, what was happening. Kyon was in rut. A ferocious, agonizing rut. The prince had given him the suppressant and had paid the price himself.
Arion rushed to the door, his hand on the knob. He had to go to him. He had to help him. But then he remembered what Kyon had said: Do not get caught. It is our end if you are caught.
He was caught between a rock and a hard place. The primal, protective part of him, his own omega instincts, screamed at him to go to his mate, to comfort him, to offer himself as a comfort. But his rational mind, the part that had been a warrior and a leader, warned him to stay put. To be smart. To survive.
He stood there for what felt like an eternity, listening to the agonizing sounds of his Alpha in rut, trapped in his room, unable to go to him. The night was long, and the sounds of Kyon's suffering would haunt him for the rest of his life.