Cilian's smile remained, but his eyes went cold. He suddenly moved, pushing Ren down against the seat and getting on top of him. Ren's eyes widened, his hands pushing at Cilian's chest, but he couldn't muster the strength to move him.
"Get off me, you monster. Hypocrite. Get o—"
Cilian crashed his lips against Ren's, ceasing his breath. Ren's eyes dilated and trembled. He did not kiss back. How could he? He squeezed his eyes shut, his jaw locked.
"Be a good boy and open your mouth, Ren," Cilian murmured with his lips brushing against Ren's.
But Ren still wanted to be stubborn, so he pried Ren's mouth open with his tongue. Ren clamped his teeth down right away and bit Cilian's tongue.
Cilian pulled back, blood rolling down from his mouth. He looked at Ren, who was panting with a hand over his mouth.
"Are you crazy?" Ren yelled.
Cilian didn't yell or get mad at Ren. He just smiled. But then, he did something frightening. He took out his gun, causing Ren to go white with horror, but he didn't do anything to Ren. Instead, he pointed the gun at the front and shot the leg of the guard in the passenger seat.
The gunshot was deafening. The guard let out a choked scream, but the driver did not flinch, driving steadily as if he had expected it. Like this was a daily routine he had gone immune to.
"Why did you do that?" Ren screamed, horrified. He looked at the guard trembling in front.
But Cilian did not let him be. He grabbed Ren's jaw, his fingers digging into the bone, forcing Ren to look at his smiling, bloody face.
"This time, you drew blood, Ren. I already told you. If you make things difficult, someone has to suffer for it. Of course," he brought the smoking gun to Ren's face and slid it gently. "I can't bear to see you bleed, so someone has to pay the price."
Ren rolled his eyes to look at the bleeding guard once again, then back at Cilian. The fight drained out of him instantly.
This man was mad. Was he even human? How could he?
Ren swallowed hard, the consequences of his actions feeling heavier now.
"I'll be quiet," Ren rasped, though the words choked down in his throat.
He never wanted to surrender to this madman, not like this. The last of the tears on his eyes rolled down, and this pleased Cilian. His defeat, as well as that single drop of tear.
"Good," Cilian smiled. He swiped a thumb through the blood on his lip and smeared it across Ren's cheek. "I knew you were a good boy."
The sedan pulled into the long, winding driveway of the Vane mansion, but Cilian did not stop kissing Ren.
He kept Ren pinned against the leather seat, his mouth still crushed against Ren's in a kiss that felt nothing like the soft, sunny memories of their past.
This kiss was poisonous and toxic, a suffocating claim that made Ren's stomach churn with a deep sense of repulsion. Ren tried to maintain his defiance, but the sight of the bleeding guard in the front seat had shattered his resolve.
And then there was that heavy, cold scent of Cilian's pheromones that kept flooding the small space, clouding Ren's mind and dragging his body into a state of forced biological surrender.
He was an Omega. There was just so little he could do against an Alpha's Pheromones.
He could no longer fight the weight of the Alpha or the guilt of causing another person's pain. His hands, which had been pushing at Cilian's chest, slowly lost their strength and curled into the fabric of Cilian's charcoal suit jacket.
Ren began to kiss back, gripping Cilian like he was a last lifeline in a dark sea. He panted for air whenever Cilian allowed him a brief second to breathe, but Cilian quickly blocked his mouth again, swallowing Ren's quiet whimpers.
Cilian seemed to enjoy every bit of the struggle—delighted, even—his tongue forcing Ren's mouth to taste the blood Ren had drawn earlier.
The car finally came to a smooth stop in front of the main entrance, but the driver remained perfectly still, staring straight ahead as if the two men in the back did not exist.
Cilian finally pulled back just an inch, his lips stained red and his fox eyes curved into a dark, satisfied crescent. He looked at Ren's flushed face and blown-out pupils, tracing the smear of blood he had branded onto Ren's cheek.
"There you are," Cilian whispered, his voice light and airy once more.
He reached down to unbuckle the silver clasp of the leather collar, only to tighten it by one notch before letting go. Ren leaned his head back against the seat, his chest heaving as he stared at the roof of the car, and his breath getting caught in his throat.
Too tight. He thought, but the words wouldn't come out.
He felt like he couldn't breathe, but he was still breathing. He felt hollowed out, his dignity stripped away by a kiss that felt more like a brand than an affection.
"The guard will be fine, Ren. He's a professional," Cilian said, and Ren rolled his eyes towards him, looking at the smile on Cilian's lips.
Cilian smoothed Ren's messy hair back with a gentle and terrifyingly steady hand.
"As long as you remember your place, no one else has to get hurt. Now, let's go inside. I think you've had enough excitement in the car. We should finish things up in the bedroom."