The lamp still hissed and spat behind them, sparks dying against the pavement. Cassian brushed the last of the grit from his sleeve, gaze never leaving the strange omega before him. Elias. Sharp-tongued. Dismissive to the point of insolence.
And trembling.
It was subtle, but Cassian's senses never failed him. The boy's milky scent curled faintly in the night air, sweet beneath the sharp tang of adrenaline.
"You should go," Elias muttered, rubbing at his forehead as though Cassian were a migraine he could scrub away. "Seriously. Don't you have a—what do you call it— Gun polishing? A minion to intimidate?"
The corner of Cassian's mouth twitched. "Really."
Elias snorted, rolling his eyes. "Please. This is exactly the part where you should stalk away dramatically and I get to… I don't know. Buy crackers from a different machine that doesn't try to kill me."
Cassian stepped forward. Elias stepped back. One pace for one pace, the omega pretending it was coincidence.
But then the scent hit him again. Subtle, but undeniable. Rich and heady underneath Elias' sarcasm, curling around Cassian's throat. His muscles tightened. Not yet full heat, but close enough that another Alpha would have picked it up and followed like sharks.
When Cassian finally spoke, his voice came out low. "You shouldn't be out here like this."
The omega blinked at him, unimpressed. "Like what? Hungry? Broke? Talking to myself?"
Cassian's mouth curved, but it wasn't a smile. "In heat."
The boy froze. For a beat, silence stretched taut between them. Then Elias slapped a hand over his face and groaned. "Oh my God. Not now. Not this trope. Seriously?"
Cassian didn't know what the hell that meant, but he knew the pulse thrumming too fast under pale skin, the shift in his scent, the way his body wanted to curl away and closer at the same time.
"You're coming with me," Cassian said.
Elias blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Come with me," Cassian repeated.
Elias dropped his hand and gave him a flat look. "You don't even know me."
"I know enough."
The omega rolled his eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn't fall out. "You don't know shit. And no offense, but you look like the type who eats people for breakfast. Am I supposed to just… what, climb into your murder van? What if I had a gun?"
Cassian exhaled slowly through his nose. His patience was not infinite, but something about this ridiculous little creature made it stretch. Against his better judgment, it stretched.
"Your heat is close." His voice was quiet, final. "You'll only collapse on the street. I'll see you to your home."
The boy froze, then hissed under his breath, "Of course. Of course it's this trope. Next thing you'll tell me is I faint in your arms so you can play knight in shining Armani."
Cassian arched a brow. "Would you prefer the alternative? You collapsing out here?"
"Honestly? Sounds less awkward than this."
He stepped closer, just enough that Elias instinctively backed up a pace. "You'd prefer I leave you here?" Cassian asked. His tone darkened. "For every Alpha on the street to scent you out?"
Color flared high on Elias' cheeks. His mouth opened. Shut. For once, words failed him.
"…fuck," he muttered at last.
Cassian's inner Alpha rumbled with satisfaction.
"Come." He didn't wait for agreement, just turned and strode toward the waiting car. It wasn't until his hand was on the door that he heard the soft scuffle of footsteps behind him.
Elias muttered to himself the entire way, fragments Cassian caught, "side character," "plot armor," "too late for this crap." The words made no sense.
At the curb, his driver stiffened, eyes flicking toward the omega trailing him. Cassian silenced any question with a glance. Doors opened. Elias climbed in, looking wildly out of place against the leather interior, muttering about how he should have "rolled a different gacha pull."
The car slid through the town. Elias shifted, restless, muttering about crackers again. He reluctantly gave the driver his address. When they pulled in front of the small apartment complex between a bookstore and a laundromat, Elias hurried out. When Cassian stpped out as well, he startled.
"Wait. Why are you getting off?"
"I'm escorting you," Cassian said coldly.
Elias groaned, pressing his hands over his face. "God, this is the worst DLC. I didn't sign up for this."
Cassian didn't know what that meant. He simply waited. Elias hesitated, then allowed him to follow. The omega hurried up the stairs, stomping his foot. Cassian simply followed, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. There was no way he was matching his guy's childishness.
He stopped at his floor, rushing towards a door. Cassian followed closely.
Elias shifted instantly, pressing to the dying plant in a vase. "Do you mind?"
"Stop hovering," Elias muttered.
Cassian's gaze lowered, unhurried, a deliberate drag down Elias' body. "I'm not hovering."
"You're three feet away."
"Exactly."
Elias' laugh was sharp, almost manic. "Great. Fantastic. The big bad mafia boss has decided to babysit me through a biology fail. Wonderful. Ten out of ten service."
Cassian let his gaze drop, slow, deliberate. "You're welcome. You should take precautions next time..."
"I know." Elias' voice cracked, then hardened again. "I know. Don't think I haven't read—" He cut himself off, biting his lip. "Forget it." He turned and shoved his key into the keyhole.
The apartment door stuck slightly before giving way. Cassian followed him inside, eyes narrowing as he took in the space. Small. Lived-in. An opened wardrobe with clothes spilling out, an unmade bed, ink stains across the desk where Elias had clearly been scribbling, and a small kitchen.
Elias tossed his keys on the desk, avoiding Cassian's gaze. "Thanks for the escort. You can go now. I'm sure you've got serious business to attend to, guards to glare at. Whatever it is you do."
Cassian didn't move. "This is where you live?" he asked, voice quieter than he intended.
Elias bristled. "Yes? Sorry my tragic backstory didn't come with a luxury penthouse."
Cassian stood too close, his shadow spilling over Elias where he sat curled on the bed. The omega looked small there, stubborn arms crossed, chin tipped high like he thought defiance could hide the tremor in his breath.
The flush staining his skin, the shallow drag of his breaths, the way his scent spilled thicker and sweeter into the air, filling every corner. Sweet. Ripe. Dangerous.
Cassian's body went rigid. His hands flexed, his breath dragged rough through his throat. He was seconds away. One tilt forward, one slip in control, and the boy would be beneath him, scenting the sheets, breaking apart—
"Alright," Elias cut in suddenly, voice rough around the edges. "Good deed done. You can go now, Batman."
Cassian's gaze stayed on him a moment longer, caught in the curve of his throat, the pulse hammering under flushed skin. Heat curled through his veins, his vision narrowing until there was only Elias—
Then the curve of the lips of another entered his mind. Lisa.
Cassian exhaled sharply, took a hurried step back. No.
Elias blinked at him, caught off guard. "What—"
"I'm leaving." Cassian's voice was steel, clipped and final. "Don't go out without suppressants again."
He turned. The door clicked shut behind him with a quiet finality that didn't match the burn in his veins. Out in the hall, Cassian paused, dragging in a breath of cooler, neutral air, scrubbing Elias' scent from his lungs.
It didn't work. The sweetness lingered, taunting.
Cassian ignored it. Forced himself to walk. Each step away from that apartment felt like tearing himself out of quicksand.
Why the hell did he even decide to help that omega?