For a moment after Jesper left, the air around the VIP table remained frozen.
The music continued. The lights still pulsed. Drinks clinked somewhere nearby.
But around Cassian, the atmosphere was sharp enough to cut skin.
Rick was the first to exhale.
"…Well," he said slowly, rubbing his temple, "that idiot just signed his death certificate."
Mason leaned back, crossing his arms. "He always overestimated himself."
Wren's gaze followed the direction Jesper had disappeared in, eyes cold. "He wasn't just mocking. He was fishing."
Cassian picked up his glass again, swirling the liquid with unhurried precision. "Let him fish."
Avery tilted his head, studying Cassian openly now. "You already pulled the hook."
Rick glanced between them. "So it really was him? The banquet incident."
Cassian didn't answer immediately.
That silence alone was confirmation.
Mason clicked his tongue. "Bold move. Drugging you."
"Stupid move," Wren corrected calmly. "No one touches Cassian Drakov and walks away intact."
Rick grimaced. "I still can't believe someone dared to pull that in my banquet."
Avery smirked faintly. "Your security is good. But desperation makes people creative."
Cassian finally spoke. "He wasn't the mastermind."
All four of them looked at him.
Rick straightened. "Meaning?"
"Jesper is loud," Cassian said. "He enjoys attention. The person behind it stayed hidden."
Mason's eyes sharpened. "Someone higher."
"and smarter," Wren added.
Avery tapped a finger lazily against the table. "And yet the omega you're looking for wasn't part of it."
Cassian's grip on his glass tightened almost imperceptibly.
Rick noticed. Of course.
"…You're really not denying it," wren said quietly.
Cassian took a slow drink. "There's nothing to deny."
Rick leaned forward now, interest piqued. "That omega at the banquet. Blond. Sharp tongue. Zero fear."
"The one who injected you."
"I still can't believe that part."
Cassian shot rick a look.
Avery raised a brow. "What?"
Rick laughed. "And he called you old man."
"That part," rick added, "was legendary."
Cassian set his glass down with a muted clink. "He also disappeared."
Wren's expression shifted subtly. "You couldn't find him?"
"Elena traced university records. Fake address," Cassian said. "Clean. Too clean."
Rick frowned. "That's… unusual for an omega."
Avery corrected softly, "Unusual for a normal omega."
Silence followed.
Mason spoke slowly. "So either he's protected, or he knows how to protect himself."
"Or both," Wren said.
Rick leaned closer. "And you?"
Cassian's eyes darkened. "I don't like loose ends."
Avery studied him for a long moment. "Careful, Cassian."
Cassian met Avery's gaze without flinching. "I always am."
Rick tried to lighten the mood. "Well, at least tonight went well. We got free entertainment, public humiliation, and a future scandal."
Mason smirked. "Jesper won't survive the week."
Wren nodded. "His resources were already unstable."
Cassian said dangerously " Not a day"
Rick noticed . "…You haven't done, have you?"
Cassian stood, shrugging his coat back on. " already disposed"
All of them laughed awkwardly" as expected of our cassian".For a few seconds after Cassian's words — already disposed — the table remained oddly quiet.
Then Rick laughed first.
Not a polite laugh. Not restrained. A full, unapologetic one.
"See?" Rick said, pointing his glass toward the others. "This is exactly why I told you all to come to that banquet."
Mason frowned. "Who said it would be boring."
Rick scoffed. "You assumed it would be boring."
Wren's lips curved faintly. "In fairness, industry banquets usually are."
Rick leaned back smugly. "Exactly. Usually."
Avery, who had been quietly watching Cassian from beneath half-lowered lashes, spoke then.
"And yet," he said calmly, "only you and Cassian were present when history happened."
Rick snapped his fingers. "Front-row seats."
Mason let out a slow breath. "Unbelievable."
He ran a hand through his hair, irritation clear. "An omega injects Cassian Drakov, insults him, destabilizes an entire hall of alphas, and disappears like a ghost — and I'm stuck overseas signing contracts."
Rick clapped him on the shoulder. "Tragic."
Wren sighed. "You really missed it."
Mason shot him a look. "You weren't there either."
Wren lifted his glass slightly. "I admit my mistake."
Rick grinned wider. "Oh, you all made a mistake."
He leaned forward, voice dropping conspiratorially. "Let me make this clear — that banquet stopped being boring the moment half the hall collapsed."
Avery's interest sharpened. "Collapsed?"
Rick nodded enthusiastically. "Weak-willed alphas. A couple of omegas. Pheromones went wild."
Cassian said nothing.
Which, to his friends, was far louder than denial.
Mason glanced at him. "You lost control."
"Briefly," Cassian replied.
Rick burst out laughing again. "Briefly? You nearly triggered a city-wide alert."
Cassian shot him a warning look.
Rick raised both hands. "Hey, facts."
Wren turned to Cassian, expression serious now. "And the omega didn't panic?"
"No," Cassian said flatly.
Avery's eyes flickered with something keen. "Interesting."
Rick leaned closer. "He walked straight up to Cassian while everyone else was either fainting or crawling away."
Mason stared. "You're joking."
"I wish," Rick said. "Injected him like it was nothing , at that timei thought cassian is done that some assasin come but it was luckily only suppressants"
Everyone was "WOW!!"
"And then?" Wren asked.
Rick grinned. "Called him an old man."
Mason choked on his drink.
Avery laughed — soft, delighted. "Oh?"
Cassian's jaw tightened. "That part is unnecessary."
Rick waved him off. "It's essential."
Mason shook his head slowly. "An omega with that much nerve…"
"Confidence," Avery corrected.
Rick snapped his fingers again. "Exactly. He wasn't reckless. He knew what he was doing."
Avery leaned back, crossing his legs, gaze thoughtful. "An omega who carries suppressants strong enough to neutralize Cassian Drakov, understands pheromone thresholds, and leaves no trace…"
He hummed softly. "That's not ordinary."
Cassian finally looked at him. "You're thinking too much."
Avery smiled. "Am I?"
Rick watched Cassian closely now. "You haven't answered the real question."
Cassian raised a brow. "Which is?"
Rick's grin turned sharp. "Why do you care so much?"
The table went quiet again — not tense this time, but attentive.
Mason leaned forward. "You don't chase people, Cassian."
Wren added calmly, "You eliminate variables."
Avery tilted his head. "Yet this one remains."
Cassian met their gazes one by one. "He interfered."
Rick scoffed. "Lots of people interfere. They don't stay in your head."
Cassian's eyes darkened. "Enough."
Rick held up his hands. "Alright, alright."
Then he smirked. "But admit it — it's a loss we weren't there."
Wren exhaled. "Agreed."
Mason groaned. "I regret everything."
Rick pointed at him triumphantly. "Foreign trip or not, you missed chaos."
Mason leaned back, defeated. "I missed legend."
Wren glanced at Avery. "You thought it would be dull."
Avery didn't deny it. "I did."
Rick laughed. "And now?"
Avery's gaze slid back to Cassian. "Now I'm intrigued."
Cassian frowned slightly. "By what?"
"By him," Avery said easily. "I would like to meet that boy."
The words landed cleanly.
Rick blinked. "Oh no."
Mason straightened. "That's rare."
Wren's eyes sharpened. "You don't take interest lightly."
Avery smiled faintly. "Neither does Cassian."
Cassian's voice was calm but edged. "He's not an attraction."
Avery met his gaze without yielding. "Neither are you. Yet here we all are."
Rick coughed. "Careful. You're poking a beast."
Avery chuckled. "I enjoy dangerous conversations."
Mason muttered, "This omega is already causing fractures."
Wren nodded. "And he doesn't even know it."
Rick raised his glass. "To the mystery omega."
Reluctantly, Mason and Wren followed suit.
Avery lifted his glass last, eyes still on Cassian. "To the one who walked away."
Cassian didn't raise his glass.
But his silence spoke volumes.
Rick watched him carefully, then said quietly, "You're not done, are you?"
Cassian's gaze drifted toward the club floor, where lights flickered and people laughed, unaware.
"No," he said. "I'm not."
Avery smiled slowly.
"I thought so."
And somewhere far beyond the reach of wealth, power, and surveillance, the omega who had shaken a lion remained unaware that five apex predators had just started circling his shadow.