Adrian couldn't tell what was real.
Pain had been his only constant for weeks if not longer. It warped time. Fractured memory. His wrists were raw, metal biting into bone. His body ached in places he didn't want to name. But then…
That scent.
Honeyed night bloom, rain on fur, home.
"Kai…" he breathed, his voice hoarse like gravel. "It can't be…"
But it was.
Kai stepped into the cell like a storm wrapped in moonlight. His blade was steady, his eyes wilder than Adrian had ever seen soft and savage all at once. The kind of gaze that made kings fall to their knees.
And Adrian? Already there. Already broken.
But gods, he'd never wanted anyone more.
"Who did this to you?" Kai asked, voice low and dangerous. Not shaking. Not soft.
Deadly.
Adrian exhaled. "My father. And the High Fangs. Said I betrayed the bloodline. Said I let the 'omega' turn me into a pet." His laugh cracked like glass. "But they were wrong, Kai. You didn't break me. You remade me."
Kai's hand trembled as it reached for the chains. A quick flick of his dagger, and the iron shattered.
Adrian collapsed forward into Kai's arms with a grunt. And Kai caught him barely. He held him like something precious. Like something that still mattered.
They just stood there, wrapped in silence and blood, breathing the same air for the first time in what felt like a lifetime.
"I thought I lost you," Kai whispered into Adrian's tangled hair. "I mourned you. Every night. Every time I held our baby. I told them about you, you know?"
Adrian pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. "Our baby?"
Kai nodded. "A boy. He's perfect. He has your eyes." His voice broke. "And your fire."
Adrian closed his eyes like the words hurt. "I'm not strong enough, Kai. Not anymore. They drained me. They shattered me. I don't think I can"
Kai pressed a finger to his lips. "Shut up."
Adrian blinked.
"You don't get to decide your worth, Adrian. Not when I'm the one who loves you." His voice turned soft, like a hymn and a threat all at once. "You are strong. You're coming home. And if anyone tries to stop us again…"
He leaned in, breath warm against Adrian's lips.
"They'll learn what happens when you fuck with what's mine."
Then he kissed him.
It wasn't soft not at first. It was desperate. Shaky. Teeth against lips, blood and heat and something raw. Adrian groaned into his mouth like a dying man tasting life again. Like the kiss itself was a rebellion.
And maybe it was.
Chains clattered to the floor. Kai pulled Adrian to his feet, one arm tight around his waist, the other gripping his dagger like a promise.
They didn't stop to plan. Or breathe.
They ran.
Through corridors slick with old blood. Past statues that watched like judges. Until the cold air of the surface kissed their skin, and the moon bled silver over their path.
Behind them, alarms screamed.
Ahead of them, freedom waited.
And between them? A bond reignited burning hotter than ever.