Cilian’s gaze dropped to the bowl, then back to Ren’s face. He didn’t reach for the spoon. Instead, he let his good arm fall limp at his side, looking helpless in a way that Ren knew was at least fifty percent calculated.

"You see, Ren, I would like to eat, but I’m far too weak to hold a spoon, Ren," Cilian whispered, his voice dropping into that dazed, melodic rasp.

"What?" Ren furrowed his brows. What was he planning now?

"My shoulder... the blood loss... I think I might faint if I try to lift my arm." He leaned in just an inch, his voice dropping to a melodic, manipulative rasp. "If you want me to stay alive for your bullet... you’ll have to feed me."

Ren stared at him, his eyes wide with disbelief. He didn’t have the strength to move his arm, but he could shoot a gun and handle the recoil with no issues?

This bastard.

He felt his jaw tightening so hard it ached. He wanted to dump the steaming broth over his arrogant face and see which mouth he uses to talk about this and that.

This was a power play, a way to force Ren into an intimate, subservient position even while Ren was the one in control.

"You have a good hand," Ren hissed, gripping the bowl hard. "Use it."

"It’s trembling, darling. Look." Cilian lied smoothly, holding up his hand, which was, in fact, perfectly steady. It wasn’t shaking in the slightest. "Be a good boy, Ren. Feed your monster."

Ren was this close to throwing the bowl at the wall, if not at Cilian’s face. He wanted to walk out and let Cilian rot. But he took in a deep breath and let it out to ease his raging nerves, but it didn’t really do much.

With a growl of pure disgust, Ren sat comfortably on the edge of the bed. He scooped up a spoonful of the broth and held it to Cilian’s lips, his eyes burning with a murderous light.

If Cilian acted up even one bit, he would throw the broth over his face without a second thought.

"Eat," Ren muttered.

Cilian accepted the broth, his fox gaze never leaving Ren’s. He looked absolutely delighted, as if the soup were the finest delicacy in the world simply because Ren was the one holding the spoon.

"It’s so delicious," Cilian murmured after the first swallow. "It’s like the most delicious thing I’ve ever had. It’s definitely because you’re the one feeding me, Ren. You have magical hands."

Ren felt irked and hissed, "Shut up," but Cilian chuckled.

"Though I think I prefer the taste of your rage. It’s much more filling."

Ren didn’t respond to that, shoving the next spoonful forward. He was counting the seconds until he could administer the sedative and finally be rid of that mocking gaze.

But not yet. Before that...

"I want to speak to Toby today. Again."

Cilian took a moment, his head tilting slightly as he processed the request through the haze of his fever. A slow, bruising smile spread across his pale lips.

"If you give me a kiss... I’ll allow it."

Ren paused, looking up at Cilian with a dark, lethal gaze. But that darkness flickered and disappeared when he realized Cilian wasn’t joking this time. There was a calm genuineness in his eyes, a rare moment where that fox mask wasn’t entirely in place.

Ren pursed his lips and went, It’s just a kiss. We already did it at the shooting range earlier. Though he wasn’t the one to initiate it back then. What Cilian wanted was to have Ren lean in and kiss him; that was his intention.

He leaned in, his movement stiff and reluctant, but he did it anyway.

Cilian waited for the moment, his eyes fixed on Ren’s slightly fluttery face until his lips met Cilian’s in an awkward peck.

It was cute, especially how Ren was trembling. But of course, it wasn’t enough.

Cilian’s good arm suddenly snaked out, hooking firmly around Ren’s waist to pull him closer. It was the same hand he had claimed was shaking moments ago, now steady and possessive.

The kiss that Ren had planned to be a fleeting brush of their lips turned into something so much more.

It wasn’t the soft, pleading gesture of a dying man. It was blazing.

Cilian’s lips moved against Ren’s with a starved, frantic intensity, his fingers digging into Ren’s back to bridge any remaining gap between them. He wasn’t just taking a kiss; he was pulling Ren into his space, forcing him to feel the heat radiating off his feverish skin.

Ren’s heart hammered frantically against his ribs. For a moment, his own hands gripped in the silk of Cilian’s robe, his mind blurring under the sudden, heavy pressure of the Alpha’s hold. It was a suffocating intimacy, raw and dangerously close.

Ren was the first to tear himself away, gasping for air as he scrambled to create distance.

He pulled back just enough to breathe, his voice low and frantic.

"You... you have to fulfill your promise."

Cilian reached up, his fingers brushing Ren’s hair softly, almost tenderly.

"I never tell a lie, Ren."

Ren didn’t believe it for a second. He turned his head away, breaking the contact. The weight of Cilian’s hand on his waist was still too warm, too heavy, and it made the air in the room feel dangerously thin.

"Tell your guards I’ll make the call," Ren muttered, refusing to look back. "I’m going to give you the sedative now, so give the order." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Cilian chuckled, a low, rasping sound that vibrated against Ren’s back. He didn’t argue. With a slow, languid motion, he gestured toward the head guard standing near the door. The man stepped forward, bowing his head slightly.

"Let him make the call," Cilian commanded, his voice already beginning to blur at the edges. "Monitor it, but let him speak however he wants."

The guard nodded. "Yes, Boss."

After he left, Cilian turned to Ren and smiled.

"There, you can make the call after I fall asleep. So, before then, stay by my side while I’m awake."

"Yet another demand," Ren whispered, but the words were barely audible.

"What was that?" Cilian asked, but Ren shook his head.

He didn’t have the energy to argue. As long as he got to talk to Toby and make sure he was safe, then it was a fair trade. He could survive sitting by a bed for a few more minutes if he had to.

Cilian watched him as he leaned back into the pillows. "Now that I’ve done what you asked, do your worst, darling. I’ll be waiting for you in my dreams."

Ren grabbed the syringe. He didn’t wait for Cilian to change his mind. He wiped the skin and slid the needle in mercilessly.