He was going to have to remind him just who was the alpha in this dynamic.
* * *
True to his word, Bishop returned in exactly one hour.
Sarang was sitting at the end of the bed, elbows resting on his knees. He didn’t move when the beta retrieved his tray, though he’d been paying closer attention these past few days to the other man’s movements. If he could track him properly, he should be able to find a chance to catch him off guard and take the tranquilizer gun from his hold.
On his way out, Bishop tossed him a water bottle, another part of the routine they’d developed in the short time they’d been forced together.
Sarang sighed and twisted off the cap, downing a third of its contents while lost in thought. Another day come and gone. Meaning he’d been trapped here for two and a half weeks with no signs of being freed. Hell, Shiloh wouldn’t even see him.
How did the omega expect them to work through this if he wouldn’t meet with him to talk? The fake Shiloh would have been desperate to explain, begging Sarang not to be mad at him.
Knowing Sarang would cave and forgive him. Probably even take it a step further and bring the damn spoiled brat for cake afterward.
Fuck.
“I’m such an idiot.” He’d done this to himself, hadn’t he. Had let things get this far. Had given the omega the opening. Had doted on a lie, and by doing so, had cultivated that lie to the point he could no longer see heads or tails.
What did Shiloh really want? He kept mentioning the bite, but why?
Shiloh had made it sound like it was so he could torture Sarang with their bond by refusing him sex, but that statement was made after he’d discovered the life-bond. He hadn’t known anything about that back in the parking garage.
He also hadn’t said anything about feelings.
Sarang didn’t know if the omega liked him or merely wanted to own him. As far as mates went, he wasn’t humble enough not to recognize he’d make a good catch. Even though he wasn’t a dominant alpha like Kian and some of the other Eumia, Sarang was strong.
Worthy of a prince?
No.
But that was another reason he’d held himself back and had resisted.
He’d always understood his place, so how dare Shiloh try to flip their narrative now, so late in the game.
How dare he make him consider taking what was being offered.
Taking what he’d always wanted.
Craving the omega was nothing knew, but he hated how that hadn’t changed even after all of these unsettling discoveries. At the end of the day, Shiloh had just shown him they didn’t really know each other. Many mated couples had exchanged the bite based solely off of instinct alone, but Sarang had always dreamed of more. Had always considered himself above his baser instincts, and yet—
A sudden pang in his lower abs had him stilling.
It was far too soon for him to experience another rut, but the wave of heat that rolled over him, and the way he started to cramp and tense, was unmistakable. His legs shifted apart, cock swelling unprompted, even as his mind fought against the incoming sensations.
He was already panting by the time he thought to look at the water, sniffing at the contents suspiciously. It was odorless, but that didn’t prove anything. There were many different types of drugs that could force a person’s mating period. Illegal drugs.
Easy enough for the prince of a mafia organization to get his hands on.
Sarang tossed the water bottle across the room, letting out a strangled growl as his balls drew up and his vision momentarily winked out of focus. He was on his knees a second later, still struggling to resist the pull of a rut, even going so far as to dig his nails into the flesh of his arm, hard enough to draw blood.
The sting only managed to stave off the inevitable for a minute or so, not nearly long enough to allow him to regain control.
When the door to the room opened, he snarled, but Bishop never showed himself. A piece of cloth was tossed in and then Sarang was locked in all over again.
He was already scrambling to the other side of the room to retrieve the piece of clothing, clutching it to his face and inhaling the intoxicating scent of omega from the black fabric. Iris and moss. A deep, spicy scent resembling black licorice mixed with a subtly complex damp earthy note.
Hisomega.
