The room was drenched in silence.
Not the kind that offered peace — but the heavy, suffocating kind that pressed against the chest and made breathing a little harder.
Rin sat on the edge of the bed, his posture tense, his gaze fixed on the faint crack in the wooden floor. He didn't move, didn't speak. Across from him, Kael leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, eyes locked on him in that unreadable way that made Rin's skin crawl.
Neither said a word. But both were thinking about the same thing — the mark.
Eric's words lingered in the air long after he'd left. The reminder of Rin's failing condition, the warning that his body couldn't keep rejecting suppressants forever, and the solution neither of them wanted to say out loud.
The mark.
Rin's jaw clenched. Kael's gaze didn't waver.
Finally, Kael exhaled softly, breaking the silence.
"What Eric said," he began, voice low and even, "makes sense."
Rin lifted his head, brows knitting together, as if Kael had just said something absurd. His eyes flashed — disbelief, maybe irritation — but Kael didn't back down.
"Your body's already at this point," Kael said, stepping away from the wall. "Do you really think you can manage without the mark?"
Rin's lips parted, ready to respond — some sharp retort already forming — but Kael cut him off before he could speak.
"You don't have to lie," Kael said quietly, his tone calm but firm. "Eric told me everything. About your condition."
Rin froze.
Kael continued, eyes narrowing slightly. "And about how stubborn you are."
Rin's head snapped toward him. "I'm not stubborn."
Kael let out a humorless breath that almost resembled a laugh. "Yeah, right. You're not stubborn — you just insist on taking suppressants even when they stopped working months ago. You increased the dose to a level that could've killed you."
Rin didn't answer. He just looked away, his expression tight, shame and anger mixing in the lines of his face. "You didn't have to be involved in this mess," he said finally. "Ignore whatever Eric said."
Kael moved.
The sudden motion made Rin's head snap back up, confusion flashing across his face as Kael crossed the room.
"What are you—"
He didn't get to finish. Kael placed one knee on the bed, leaning in close. One of his hands braced against the headboard beside Rin's head, trapping him between the solid frame and the warmth of his body.
Rin's breath caught, his eyes widening. "Kael—"
Kael didn't speak right away. His scent brushed the air — faint but deliberate, like smoke seeping into the cracks of Rin's defenses. He released a controlled pulse of pheromones, not enough to overwhelm, but enough to make Rin's instincts stir restlessly under his skin.
Then Kael spoke, voice low and rough near Rin's ear.
"What if I want to?"
Rin blinked, startled. His heartbeat stumbled. "What…?"
Kael's gaze was steady, dark, intense. "What if I want to be in this mess?" He leaned closer, the space between them shrinking to a breath. "What if I want to mark you?"
The words hit Rin like a shock. His mind went blank for a second, a haze of confusion and something hotter spreading through him. The proximity, Kael's scent, the faint hum of his pheromones — it all tangled together, and Rin's instincts roared awake.
Ever since Kael had marked him last night, even if only to stabilize his fever, something inside him had changed. The connection wasn't permanent, but his body still remembered the Alpha's touch, his scent, the safety that had come with it.
Now, with Kael this close, his control was slipping — his instincts screaming for him to move closer, to let the Alpha hold him.
Kael could see it. The faint tremble in Rin's fingers, the way his pupils dilated, the tension in his throat as he swallowed hard. Every reaction, every small shiver — Kael took it all in.
He repeated softly, "What should I do, Rin, if I want to mark you?"
Rin's breath came unevenly. "Why?"
Kael tilted his head, his gaze tracing every detail of Rin's face — the faint mark still healing on his neck, the defiance in his eyes fighting against the instinct that begged for surrender.
"Maybe you made me curious," Kael said after a moment. His voice dropped lower, almost a whisper. "I want to know more about you. I want to know who Rin Asano really is."
Rin's chest tightened. He didn't know what to say.
Kael's hand slid from the headboard to Rin's jaw, his thumb brushing lightly against his skin. The touch made Rin shiver. Kael's eyes softened, but the hunger in them was impossible to miss.
Slowly, Kael leaned in — his forehead resting against Rin's for a moment. Then, without breaking eye contact, he shifted. His hand moved to the back of Rin's neck, guiding him gently as he pulled him closer.
Rin's heart pounded, confusion and instinct colliding in a dizzying rush.
Then Kael's lips brushed the side of his neck, right above the fading mark. Rin went rigid.
"Kael…" His voice broke slightly, breath catching in his throat.
"Hold still," Kael whispered.
Before Rin could protest, Kael's teeth sank into his gland.
Rin gasped — pain lancing through him for a heartbeat, sharp and burning — but then the pain shifted, melting into warmth that spread through his veins like wildfire. His entire body trembled, awareness fracturing as pleasure threaded through every nerve.
It was his first time being marked while conscious. The first mark had been in the haze of heat — a blur he barely remembered. But now, every sensation was clear, overwhelming.
He could feel the press of Kael's hand at his waist, the steady rhythm of his breathing against his skin, the pull of his pheromones enveloping him completely.
Rin's fingers dug into Kael's shoulder, his body tense as he fought against the sounds threatening to escape him. The pain was fading, replaced by a warmth that made his thoughts unravel.
Kael held him firmly but gently, keeping him still as his teeth released. Then, slowly, he licked the wound — cleaning the blood, sealing the mark with the heat of his breath.
The wet drag of Kael's tongue against his gland drew an involuntary sound from Rin — a small, broken moan that slipped out before he could stop it.
Kael froze for a moment. His eyes flicked up to look at Rin — at the tremor in his body, the soft flush coloring his neck, the unguarded expression he didn't even realize he was wearing.
Something inside Kael cracked open.
He pulled Rin closer, letting the omega's head rest against his shoulder. Rin didn't resist. His breathing was uneven, his hands trembling slightly against Kael's chest.
For a long while, they stayed like that — the air filled with the mingling of their scents, the quiet thrum of shared heartbeats.
Then, Rin spoke, voice small but clear.
"I don't want to be claimed."
Kael's hand stilled on Rin's back.
"I don't want to be vulnerable," Rin continued, words trembling. "Being marked… it makes me open. It makes me… feel things I shouldn't."
Kael didn't interrupt. He just listened — silent, patient — his hand still tracing small, grounding circles on Rin's back.
Rin exhaled shakily. "I've spent years hiding what I am. Controlling it. Because the moment people know, they'll use it. They'll use me. I can't—" his voice cracked — "I can't go back to being someone's weakness."
Kael shifted slightly, enough to meet Rin's eyes. His gaze was steady, calm, filled with a quiet strength that made Rin's chest ache.
"You won't be," Kael said simply. "I won't claim you."
Rin blinked, confusion flickering in his expression.
Kael continued softly, "You'll still be you. I won't take that from you. But you don't have to destroy yourself just to prove you can stand alone."
He brushed his thumb gently along the new mark, his voice lowering even more. "Your secret's safe with me. No one will know. And as long as I'm here, no one will touch you."
Rin looked at him — searching, uncertain. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many doubts clawing at the edge of his mind — but none of them came out.
Instead, his fingers tightened slightly in the fabric of Kael's shirt. It was a small gesture, but Kael felt it — the unspoken trust hidden inside it.
Kael's lips curved faintly — a rare, almost invisible smile. He shifted, pulling Rin closer, his arms wrapping around him.
"Sleep," Kael murmured. "You're safe now."
Rin didn't answer. He just leaned against him, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up. His breathing slowed, his body gradually relaxing in Kael's hold.
Kael stayed like that, one arm around Rin, the other brushing a hand gently through his hair.
Outside, the world was quiet. But Kael's mind wasn't.
He could still feel the pulse of Rin's heartbeat against his chest — steady, fragile, real.
He didn't know when it happened, but somewhere between violence, chaos, and unwanted instinct… he'd started to care.
He looked down at the omega sleeping in his arms.
And Kael knew — this wasn't just a mark anymore.
Something deeper had begun to take root.