Kael's phone rang just as he reached for his coffee.
He glanced at the screen and answered.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice came through, low and careful. "Sir, the rare-tier patient in the ICU..."
She hesitated.
"He passed away a few minutes ago."
Kael's grip tightened around the phone.
"Damn it."
He stared toward the rain-streaked window. "Thanks for letting me know. Just—be careful, alright?"
"Yes, sir."
He ended the call and lowered the phone slowly.
Across the table, Aris, Ada, Axis, and Dane had gone quiet. Kael looked at the two men at the other end of the table.
"We... we need to move you two."
Axis frowned. "Why? What happened?"
"The rare-tier patient in the ICU died."
"The one you told us about?"
"Yeah." Kael finally sat down. "If they're running short on Sovereign, they're going to get desperate."
Ada's expression tightened. "So they'll start looking harder."
"Exactly."
Aris set his fork down. "How much do they have left?"
"Not much."
Kael looked between Axis and Dane. "They won't waste the doses they have. If they find you..."
He left the rest unsaid.
Dane's fingers tightened around his cup. In the morning light, his thinner face and tired eyes were hard to miss. Without his Alpha presence, he seemed quieter somehow.
"We can go to the safe house," Aris said.
Kael looked at him. "You sure?"
"Yeah. It's far enough from the city."
Kael nodded, then looked back at him.
"Aris, I, uh... I need your help."
"With what?"
"Dane."
Aris followed his gaze.
"If there's any way to help him get his pheromones back," Kael said, "or his ability, even just partially... I need you to help me find a way. For Dane, and for the others like him."
Aris glanced at Dane.
Dane gave a faint nod.
"I'll try."
"Yeah." Kael nodded. "Thanks."
He reached for his coffee, then noticed it had already gone cold and set it back down.
"We should leave as soon as we can."
"Today?" Axis asked.
"Yeah. As soon as everyone's ready."
Thunder rolled somewhere beyond the windows.
The rain kept falling, steady against the glass, while they quietly finished what was left of breakfast.
———
"Did you really think you could put your hands on my husband?"
Vivian stormed toward Maximillian, fury plain on her face.
Maximillian sat at the long breakfast table, calmly scrolling through a tablet as though she hadn't just barged in.
His right-hand man looked at Vivian, then quietly stepped away from the table.
Only when the door closed behind him did Maximillian lift his eyes.
"I don't tolerate incompetence."
Vivian's jaw tightened.
"That doesn't give you the right to treat him like—"
"It does."
Vivian fell silent.
"You could've handled it without humiliating him."
"I could have."
Maximillian lowered the tablet and leaned back.
"But you're wasting your time defending him."
Vivian stared at him.
"Your idols are disappearing in the middle of a cycle management program. That's what you should be worried about."
"I'm doing everything I can to find them."
"You'd better."
His voice remained quiet, but his gaze hardened.
"I don't want excuses, Vivian. I want them found. Three of your idols are missing, and I shouldn't have to remind you how quickly that becomes my problem."
Vivian held his stare.
"I understand."
"Good."
She drew breath to answer, but Maximillian's phone began to ring.
He glanced at the screen.
Sebastian.
He raised one hand, stopping her, then answered.
"Yes?"
He listened.
"Dead?"
He listened again, his fingers resting against the edge of the table.
"Understood."
Another moment passed.
"Clean it up."
His gaze shifted toward the rain-streaked windows.
"You know what to do. I don't want this getting out."
Maximillian ended the call.
Vivian watched him.
"What happened?"
"Nothing that concerns you."
Her expression tightened.
Maximillian picked up the tablet again.
"Now, where were we?"
Vivian stared at him for another second before turning toward the door.
She left without another word.
The dining room fell quiet.
Rain continued to stream down the tall windows, blurring the city beyond them.
Several minutes later, the door opened again.
His right-hand man stepped inside with a tablet.
"Chairman."
Maximillian looked up.
The man crossed the room and placed the tablet on the table.
"The Chief of Security reviewed the footage from the residential building last night."
He tapped the screen.
The recording showed the building entrance beneath the harsh glow of the exterior lights.
The same young man stepped outside with a backpack over one shoulder.
His face was clearly visible.
He paused only long enough to look down the street before walking away and disappearing from view.
"The Chief noticed something unusual," the right-hand man said. "He doesn't move like an Omega. From what they saw during the confrontation, they think he may be a high-tier Alpha. Possibly S-Class."
Maximillian watched the footage without speaking.
"This is the same idol Vyn was protecting."
"Yes, Chairman."
"I don't think he's an Omega."
"The records say he is," the man replied. "But his physical ability and the way he fought don't match the classification. The Chief believes there may be something wrong with his records."
Maximillian's gaze remained fixed on the young man's face.
"Did you check the gala footage?"
"Yes."
The right-hand man opened another file.
"The secretary provided the recording."
The second clip showed the hallway outside the restroom. The same young man walked toward the exit as an actor passed him. They exchanged a brief smile before he continued toward the door.
"The footage isn't clear enough for a positive identification," the right-hand man said. "But the timing and appearance match."
Maximillian leaned back, studying the screen.
The idol whose medical records identified him as an Omega. Something about him didn't sit right.
"Find him."
"Yes, Chairman."
"I want to know if I'm right."
The right-hand man nodded.
"We'll find him and the other two idols."
Maximillian's eyes remained on the tablet.
"Select the three strongest among the S-Class and A-Class security personnel."
His voice was calm, almost indifferent.
"They'll receive Sovereign."
"Understood, Chairman."
Maximillian said nothing else.
His gaze stayed fixed on the young man's face as rain continued to fall against the windows.
———
Elio wandered through the house, made coffee he never touched, checked his phone, drifted to the windows, then found himself back there again without remembering why.
More than once, he caught himself staring into the rain, only realizing several minutes had already slipped by.
By the time the clock crept past seven, he'd already tried calling Vyn more times than he cared to count.
Unavailable.
He rubbed a hand over his face.
"...Damn it."
Then something shifted.
Not pain.
The bond.
At first it was only a faint pull, so subtle he almost ignored it. But with every passing minute it grew stronger until there was no mistaking it.
Vyn was coming.
His heart began to race.
Before he realized what he was doing, he'd grabbed the umbrella and walked out of the house.
He stopped just beyond the gate.
The rain poured around him, cold enough to soak the cuffs of his pants, but he barely noticed.
The pull never faded. If anything, it only grew stronger the longer he stood there.
Then, through the curtain of rain, a pair of headlights emerged from the winding road.
Elio's breath caught.
A black sedan rolled slowly toward the gate before coming to a stop a few feet away.
Vyn saw him immediately.
Elio was standing alone beneath the rain, an umbrella in one hand, waiting for him.
Vyn slowed to a stop, his eyes never leaving Elio.
Then he killed the engine. The rain hit him the instant he stepped out.
Elio was already walking toward him.
"You idiot..."
Vyn looked terrible.
His face had lost what little color it normally carried.
Rainwater streamed from his clothes as he closed the distance between them. Every step looked heavier than the last.
He didn't say a word.
Instead, he leaned forward and rested his forehead against Elio's.
The moment their foreheads touched, everything they'd been holding together quietly came apart.
Elio didn't even realize he'd let go of the umbrella. It slipped from his hand and landed on the flooded pavement.
The rain washed over them without mercy, soaking them within seconds, but neither cared.
Elio wrapped both arms around him, holding him so tightly it almost hurt.
"I thought..." His voice broke before he could finish.
Vyn closed his eyes.
"I'm here."
That was all he could manage.
It was enough.
With his forehead resting against Elio's, Vyn finally let the exhaustion catch up to him.
His breathing turned heavier. The faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips barely hid how drained he looked.
"I've been calling you," Elio said.
Vyn let out a tired breath that almost sounded like a laugh.
"I don't know where my phone is."
His gaze dropped briefly before he added, "I must've left it back at your unit."
Elio searched his face for another second before quietly shaking his head.
"You look like hell."
Vyn answered with nothing more than a weary smile.
Before Vyn could say anything else, Elio closed the distance and kissed him.
Slowly.
As though he needed to be certain he was really here.
Vyn answered almost immediately, his hand finding Elio's waist. The touch was weak, but it was enough.
When they finally pulled apart, Vyn leaned into him, his forehead resting against Elio's shoulder.
He closed his eyes.
For a brief moment, Aris's words came back to him.
He could still see the quiet concern in Aris's eyes as he said them.
Elio's been hurt enough, Vyn. I don't know if his heart's ever going to completely heal from this. I just hope... if he lets you in, you don't hurt him.
Take care of him.
The words lingered for a moment.
He opened his eyes and looked at Elio, taking in the tiredness in his face, the way his arms were still wrapped around him despite everything.
Vyn swallowed. "You've endured so much."
Elio's expression shifted slightly.
Vyn held his gaze.
"And I'm sorry I ever made it harder for you."
His arms tightened around Elio, pulling him closer. The more he thought about what Elio had been through, the heavier the guilt felt in his chest. He hated knowing how much pain he had carried alone.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "For everything."
Elio didn't answer. He only wrapped his arms tighter around Vyn.
Vyn closed his eyes and held him just as tightly, resting his face against Elio's shoulder.
Then Elio slipped an arm around his waist and led him inside. Vyn followed quietly, leaning against him as they crossed the house, leaving a trail of rainwater behind them.
Once inside the bathroom, Elio turned on the faucet and adjusted the water until it ran hot. He kept one hand around Vyn's waist as the tub slowly filled, staying close in case his legs gave out again.
Vyn said nothing. He simply let Elio guide him.
When the water reached a comfortable level, Elio shut off the faucet.
Vyn remained beside the tub, shoulders slumped, rainwater dripping steadily from his clothes onto the tiled floor.
Elio stepped closer and began unbuttoning Vyn's soaked shirt. His movements were slow and careful, easing the fabric from his shoulders before peeling away the rest of his rain-soaked clothes.
He pulled off his own soaked clothes before turning back to him.
"You're barely standing."
Vyn gave him a tired smile, his eyelids already growing heavy.
Elio only shook his head and eased him into the warm bath before climbing into the tub behind him, drawing Vyn back against his chest.
Vyn finally let his weight sink against him. His head lolled to one side, resting against the edge of the tub as Elio gently worked his fingers through his damp hair, rinsing away the last traces of rain and dried blood.
He reached for the washcloth and carefully wiped the grime from Vyn's shoulders and arms. His touch slowed whenever he found another bruise, his fingertips lingering over the dark marks spreading beneath Vyn's skin. The cuts from the fight were already closing, leaving only faint red lines across his knuckles and ribs.
His thumb brushed lightly over the bruise beneath Vyn's ribs.
"What did your father do to you?"
For several seconds, Vyn didn't respond.
Elio thought he'd already fallen asleep.
Then, almost too quietly to hear—
"...Please..."
Elio's hand stilled.
"...Make them stop..."
The words barely sounded like Vyn.
His brows drew together. His breathing turned uneven, as though he were still trapped somewhere else.
"...Don't..."
The rest dissolved into something too soft to understand.
When the silence settled again, Vyn had already fallen asleep.
He rested there against Elio, too exhausted to hold himself together anymore.
"I won't let anyone hurt you again."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
When the water had gone lukewarm, Elio climbed out first and helped Vyn to his feet.
Getting him dressed proved harder than he expected.
Vyn never fully woke.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Elio slipped a clean shirt over Vyn's shoulders before helping him into a pair of sweatpants.
Just as he finished pulling them into place, fingers suddenly caught the front of his shirt.
He looked up.
Vyn's eyes remained closed.
His hand had simply tightened around the fabric without realizing it.
Elio rested his hand over Vyn's until the grip slowly loosened.
He reached for the hair dryer on the nightstand and switched it on. Warm air drifted through Vyn's damp hair as his fingers gently combed through the strands, drying them a little at a time.
Vyn barely stirred.
Little by little, his body leaned against Elio until his forehead came to rest on his shoulder, his breathing growing slower with every passing minute.
When the last traces of dampness were gone, Elio switched the dryer off and quietly brushed the loose strands away from Vyn's face before easing him farther onto the bed and pulling the blanket over him.
Elio watched him for a moment, then slipped beneath the covers beside him and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close.
He was exhausted too, and it didn't take long before sleep pulled him under again.
When Elio finally opened his eyes again, the room had grown brighter.
The rain was still falling.
Several hours must have passed, yet it hadn't eased in the slightest. It drummed steadily against the windows, blurring the sea beyond into an endless stretch of gray.
Vyn hadn't moved. He remained asleep beside him, breathing slow and even, his face finally free of the strain that had followed him through the night.
Careful not to wake him, Elio slipped out of bed and quietly made his way into the kitchen. He prepared something simple for Vyn to eat later, leaving it covered on the counter before brewing himself a cup of coffee.
He carried his mug over to the sofa overlooking the rain-soaked shore and gently set it on the coffee table. Steam curled lazily into the quiet room, but he barely noticed it.
His thoughts kept drifting back to the broken words Vyn had whispered in his sleep.
Please...
Make them stop...
It wasn't the first time he'd heard them.
Vyn had whispered those same words through restless nights, always too broken to make sense of.
He didn't notice Vyn leaving the bedroom until the cushion beside him dipped.
Vyn had settled quietly beside him.
He still looked exhausted even after sleeping for a few hours.
"Hey," Elio said softly. "Are you okay?"
Vyn gave a small nod.
"Yeah."
"Are you hungry? Do you want to eat?"
A faint shake of his head.
"Coffee?"
"No, thank you." His answer was barely more than a murmur.
Vyn shifted closer until his shoulder rested against Elio's. Then, almost absentmindedly, he leaned the rest of his weight into him, his eyes settling on the rain beyond the glass.
Elio didn't say anything.
He simply slipped an arm around Vyn and let him stay there, his thumb moving slowly over the sleeve of his shirt.
The silence between them settled into something gentle, but it didn't fool him. Even now, there was still a quiet tension in Vyn that refused to leave.
Elio turned just enough to study his face.
"I know something happened to you."
Vyn remained silent.
Elio waited a moment before speaking again.
"Tell me."
Vyn looked out at the rain.
"...I became his subject again."
The bitterness in his voice was impossible to miss.
Before Elio could respond, Vyn's memory dragged him back.
Cold steel pressed against his back as the restraints locked into place one after another.
His wrists.
His ankles.
Across his chest.
The laboratory inside the Mercier Estate looked newer than he remembered, but it still felt the same.
White walls. Stainless steel. Surgical lights glaring overhead. The familiar scent of antiseptic clung stubbornly to the air.
Only one scientist stood beside the examination table, carefully preparing the injector while Maximillian watched from a short distance away.
"Vitals are stable."
"The serum is ready."
Maximillian gave a single nod.
"Proceed."
The needle slid into Vyn's arm.
For the space of a heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
Then his entire body convulsed.
His back arched violently against the restraints as pain tore through him with enough force to empty his lungs. It wasn't burning. It was worse—like every nerve in his body had been ripped open at once. Breathing became unbearable.
The leather restraints groaned beneath the strain.
His fingers clawed helplessly against the steel.
Panic hit just as hard.
The restraints. The lights. The sharp scent of antiseptic.
For one terrifying moment, he wasn't twenty-three anymore.
He was five years old again.
And suddenly he could remember all of it.
Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.
Years beneath those surgical lights. Years returning to the same table until pain had become as familiar as breathing.
He tried to scream.
Nothing came out.
Then, without warning, it was gone.
The pain vanished so completely that the silence felt unreal.
Vyn drew one slow breath.
Then another.
His heartbeat settled.
One by one, the sounds around him sharpened until they felt almost unnaturally close. He could hear the scientist's uneven breathing, the low hum of the ventilation system, the steady pulse of the monitors... even the slow, measured heartbeat inside Maximillian's chest.
His senses had changed. His pheromones surged.
The pressure burst through the laboratory with enough force to rattle every pane of reinforced glass. Surgical trays overturned. Stainless-steel instruments scattered across the floor as invisible pressure rolled through the room.
One restraint snapped.
Then another.
The last one shattered before anyone could react.
For a heartbeat, the room stood perfectly still.
Then Vyn moved.
He crossed the laboratory before the scientist could even flinch.
His hand closed around Maximillian's throat and drove him into the concrete wall hard enough to split it open.
Their eyes met.
Vyn's expression was filled with pure hatred.
"You are fucking beyond redemption."
His grip tightened.
Maximillian's jaw tensed, but instead of panic, a faint smile touched his lips.
His S-Class pheromones suddenly surged through the laboratory, heavy and commanding.
Vyn's eyes narrowed, but his grip didn't loosen.
Maximillian looked almost pleased.
"So... strong..." he choked out, his voice strained beneath Vyn's grip.
"Just... as expected."
Before Vyn could tighten his hold any further, a powerful force slammed into his side.
His right-hand man tore him away from Maximillian in a single motion.
Their fists collided with a deafening crack, the impact folding the edge of a stainless-steel workstation like paper.
Neither yielded.
The laboratory doors burst open.
Three elite Alpha guards rushed him together. The laboratory erupted into chaos—tables buckling, glass exploding, surgical lights crashing from the ceiling. One guard went through a workstation while another hit the floor with blood running from his brow. The third barely got back to his feet before Vyn drove him into the wall.
But they kept coming.
The right-hand man never left Vyn's side.
Every time Vyn tried to force his way back toward Maximillian, the Alpha intercepted him first.
A fist drove into Vyn's ribs.
Another split his lip.
Blood spilled down his chin as he answered with an elbow that dropped one of the guards instantly.
The others closed in again.
This time, the right-hand man caught Vyn's wrist before another strike could land.
Vyn shoved forward with everything Sovereign had awakened inside him.
The Alpha didn't budge.
That was enough.
The remaining guards seized the opening, surrounding him from every side. Blow after blow landed while the right-hand man held him in place. Even with Sovereign coursing through his veins, Vyn couldn't break free.
Somewhere behind the chaos, Maximillian calmly stepped clear of the wreckage and looked at him.
"Stop."
Vyn didn't.
Maximillian watched him for another moment.
"You should know something about Sovereign."
Vyn's movements faltered.
"The Sovereign contains a failsafe. A kill switch, if you will."
Maximillian's expression remained calm.
"With the right signal, it triggers a seizure. Severe enough to stop your lungs."
Vyn went still.
Kael had told him what Sovereign could do. The strength. The heightened senses. The power it could draw out of him.
And he knew what came with it.
A leash.
The laboratory seemed to grow colder around him.
Maximillian looked at him without the slightest hint of fear.
"So unless you want to find out exactly what that means, you'll stop."
Vyn stared at him for a long moment.
Then he slowly let the fight drain out of his body.
The right-hand man kept his hold on Vyn until Maximillian spoke again.
"Release him."
His right-hand man hesitated.
"Chairman?"
"Let him go."
The grip on Vyn's arms loosened. The other Alphas stepped back one after another, though none of them lowered their guard.
Maximillian never took his eyes off him.
"He won't do anything reckless."
Vyn said nothing.
He turned and walked toward the ruined doorway without looking back.
The memory stopped there.
The rain beyond the glass slowly came back into focus.
Vyn remained leaning quietly against Elio, his gaze fixed on the gray sea beyond the windows. Yet his eyes seemed to be looking somewhere much farther away, as though a part of him had never truly left that laboratory.
Elio studied him.
Then another face found its way into his thoughts.
A little boy, too small for the examination table, tiny hands trembling against the cold steel restraints. His face was soaked with tears, his mouth twisted into a desperate cry that no one had ever answered.
For the first time, the child in the archived recordings was no longer nameless.
It had always been Vyn.
The man resting beside him now.
The same man who still woke from nightmares whispering those broken words.
The same man who had promised to love him.
A dull ache settled deep inside Elio's chest.
The hatred he already carried for Maximillian Mercier sank deeper than ever.
Even his own son hadn't been spared.
He turned and wrapped both arms around Vyn, pulling him close.
Vyn tensed for a heartbeat.
Then the tension slowly left his body.
Elio rested his cheek against Vyn's hair and closed his eyes. Only then did he realize his own vision had begun to blur.
A tear slipped free, disappearing quietly into Vyn's hair before another followed.
He held him tighter.
He couldn't erase the five years Vyn had spent inside that laboratory.
He couldn't give him back the childhood that had been stolen from him.
But he could stay.
He could be the one person who would never let Vyn face those memories alone again.
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
Inside, Elio never loosened his embrace.
And this time...
someone held Vyn.
*****