The moment the induction chamber hummed to life, a chill ran through my body, cold and unsettling. The sterile lights flickered, casting sharp shadows over Nine's face. His breaths came in shallow, uneven gasps, his body trembling like a leaf caught in a gust of wind.
I could feel it then—the shift in his scent. It was subtle at first, a slight increase in the sharpness of his lavender undertones, but it didn't take long before his scent began to overwhelm the sterile air of the medical room. Sweet, intoxicating, and dangerous.
"Alpha…"
The word came out weak, broken, almost like a prayer, a whisper from the deepest part of his chest.
My heart clenched.
I pressed my hand against his cheek, feeling the heat radiating off his skin. His eyes were unfocused, pupils dilated. His breathing sped up as the heat took hold. I could hear his pulse thundering in his veins, every beat an echo of his desperate need.
The boss hadn't moved. He stood in the corner of the room, watching with that unsettling calm that always made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He'd been here through all of this—the experimentation, the forced cycles, the torment.
And now, he watched Nine, his precious specimen, writhing in front of him.
Nine's gaze flickered toward me, his hands clenching at the edge of the table, and his voice cracked as he spoke again.
"Alpha… please…"
It wasn't a command. It wasn't a demand. It was a plea, raw and vulnerable.
I opened my mouth to speak—to say something comforting, anything—but before I could get a word out, the boss moved.
In a single swift motion, he reached down and grabbed Nine by the arm, pulling him roughly from the table. Nine flinched but didn't fight. His body had already surrendered, lost in the haze of the heat coursing through him. The boss shoved him onto his lap, unceremoniously, like he was nothing more than a ragdoll.
Nine's breathing hitched, his chest rising and falling in desperate gasps.
"Shh…" The boss whispered, his tone deceptively soft. He ran a hand down Nine's spine, a gentle touch, soothing at first. "Good boy… Just relax. Let it happen."
Nine stiffened, shivering at the contact, and I saw the flicker of panic in his eyes. His hands scrabbled against the boss's arms, trying to pull himself away, but he was too weak—too overwhelmed by the heat that had taken hold of him. His chest was rising and falling, his breath coming faster now, the need crawling under his skin.
The boss didn't care.
"Beg for it," the boss murmured, his voice dark, twisted with a satisfaction that made my stomach churn. "Beg for your alpha, Nine. You know what you need."
Nine's body trembled harder, and I could feel the fight in him beginning to break. He didn't want this. I knew he didn't want this. He didn't want to be touched by anyone but me. His whole being screamed for my scent, my touch, my presence.
But the boss wasn't done.
He ran his hand down Nine's throat, fingers curling around the soft skin just below his jaw. There was no tenderness in his grip, no kindness. It was possessive, cruel, meant to assert his control.
"You want this, don't you?" The boss's voice was low, filled with a sickening amusement as he tugged Nine's head back by his hair. "You've been bred for this."
I wanted to scream. I wanted to tear the boss apart with my bare hands. But instead, I stood there, frozen. I couldn't move. I couldn't react. Not without making this worse.
Nine's breath hitched again, and I watched him, helpless, as his eyes fluttered shut.
"Alpha… please…" Nine's voice was barely a whisper now, strained and filled with a mixture of pain and desperation.
His body arched toward me, as though he could feel me there—even through the haze of the heat and the suffocating grip of the boss. He wasn't asking for the boss. He was asking for me.
And it tore me apart.
The boss's grip tightened on Nine's hair, yanking his head back again. "I said beg," he snarled. "Tell me you need it."
The desperation in Nine's eyes broke something deep inside me. I wanted to pull him away. I wanted to rip him from the boss's hold and take him somewhere safe, somewhere the cruelty of this place couldn't touch him.
But my body was frozen, and my mind was screaming at me to stay calm.
"Say it," the boss demanded. His other hand slid down Nine's chest, over his nipples, teasing.
Nine's face was contorted in agony, but the only thing he could say was that one word.
"Alpha…"
It was barely audible, barely a breath of sound. But I heard it. And the weight of it crushed me.
"Good boy," the boss purred, before pulling Nine's face toward his own. He leaned in, brushing his lips against Nine's cheek in a way that made my skin crawl.
Nine flinched away, but the boss held him tighter, keeping him locked in place.
"Pretty boy," the boss whispered. "Still so pretty, even when you're broken."
The words stung, even though they weren't directed at me. They were meant for Nine. Meant to remind him of his purpose, of the role he was supposed to play—until he was no longer of any use.
I wanted to rip him away from the boss. I wanted to scream, to fight, to destroy everything in my path. But I stayed still.
And I whispered though the bond.
"I'm here," I said, I'm here, Nine"
His body tensed under the boss's cruel grip, and I could see the fight in him. The briefest flicker of recognition. He heard me.
And that was all I needed.
Even in this hell, even in the face of the boss's twisted control, he still recognized me.
And I would keep that alive for as long as I could.