Jihoon's teeth worried at his lower lip, the metallic tang of blood blooming on his tongue as anxiety coiled tight in his chest. His palms were slick with sweat, fingers twisting into the stiff fabric of his hospital gown. "I… I don't know. Perhaps we should just tell him everything."
Jake's expression darkened, his gaze sharpening like a blade honed for the kill. "What are you saying?" His voice was a low, dangerous rasp. "Need I remind you—this was your doing. I warned you from the beginning, and yet you persisted. Now, when we finally have him where we want him, you're faltering?" He leaned in, his next words a venomous whisper. "It's far too late for guilt."
Jihoon's breath hitched, his pulse stuttering beneath his skin. Jake's words were relentless, each one striking like a hammer against his conscience.
"Imagine," Jake continued, his tone laced with cruel precision, "being reviled for simply existing. Hated for crimes you never committed. Spending a lifetime enduring the world's scorn—only for someone to make you believe, even for a moment, that you mattered." His lips curled into a mirthless smile. "And then discovering it was all a lie. That they saw you as nothing but a monster to be controlled."
Jihoon felt the blood drain from his face. The weight of Jake's words settled over him like a suffocating shroud.
"Now tell me, Jihoon," Jake pressed, his voice a merciless lash, "what do you think Ryan will do when he learns the truth? When he realizes the one person he trusted has been manipulating him from the start?"
Jihoon's body trembled, his vision swimming as dread clawed up his throat. The answer was undeniable—Ryan would be shattered. Destroyed. And in his despair, he would become exactly what the prophecy foretold.
"You know what happens next," Jake murmured, his voice chillingly calm. "He will embrace his fate as the Demon Alpha, and the world will burn because of your weakness."
A heavy silence filled the room, broken only by the ragged rhythm of Jihoon's breathing.
Then—
The door burst open with a deafening crash.
Ryan stood in the threshold, his chest heaving, his eyes burning with a fury that sent a primal tremor down Jihoon's spine. The air itself seemed to thicken, charged with the electric pulse of betrayal.
Jihoon's heart stuttered.
He heard everything.
"R-Ryan—"
"Save your lies." Ryan's voice was raw, stripped bare of its usual warmth. His fingers clenched into fists at his sides, his entire body trembling with the effort to contain his rage. "I came here because I thought…" His breath hitched, the words fracturing under the weight of realization. "I should check on you. I was worried for you. B-But…. Who would've thought that…."
Jihoon's throat tightened. The pain in Ryan's eyes was worse than any physical wound.
"But I guess I was just a mission to you," Ryan's voice cracked, raw with betrayal. His hands trembled at his sides, the scent of distressed alpha pheromones flooding the sterile hospital room. "Every touch... every word... was it all just part of your mission?"
Jihoon felt the world tilt beneath him. His mouth went dry, his pulse pounding so loudly he could hear it in his ears. The guilt was crushing him now, pressing against his ribs like a physical weight.
"N-no, that's not—"
"Save it," Ryan spat, taking a step back like Jihoon's very presence burned him. His eyes, usually so warm and bright, had darkened into something shattered. "I should have known. No one would ever..." He swallowed hard, his jaw clenching. "No one would ever want me for me."
Jake stepped forward, his usual confidence wavering. "Ryan, listen—"
"Don't," Ryan snarled, his canines elongating as his alpha instincts surged. The air grew thick with the scent of storm and ash—the unmistakable mark of a Demon Alpha's rage. "You don't get to speak to me. Either of you."
Jihoon's breath hitched. This was exactly what they had feared—exactly what the prophecy warned about. A rejected, betrayed Demon Alpha was the most dangerous force in their world. And they had just pushed Ryan straight toward that edge.
"Please," Jihoon begged, his voice barely above a whisper. He reached out, his hand shaking. "Let me explain properly. It wasn't all a lie—"
Ryan let out a broken laugh that sent chills down Jihoon's spine. "That's the worst part, isn't it? That somewhere in all your scheming, I actually started to..." He cut himself off, shaking his head.
The hospital lights flickered ominously. Shadows stretched unnaturally long across the walls as Ryan's power leaked out uncontrollably. Jihoon could feel it—the moment teetering on a knife's edge. One wrong word, and Ryan would be lost to them forever.
Jake's eyes widened in realization. "Jihoon, do something!" he hissed under his breath.
But what could he do? The damage was done. The trust was shattered. And yet...
Jihoon took a step forward, ignoring the way the air itself seemed to resist his movement. "Ryan," he said, forcing his voice to steady. "You're right to be angry. But please... let me tell you the whole truth. Not as part of any mission, but just... as me."
Ryan's glowing red eyes met his, and for the first time, Jihoon saw something beyond the rage—a flicker of the man he'd come to...
The man he couldn't bear to lose.
The room held its breath.
"I... I wish I'd never come." Ryan's voice fractured like thin ice under unbearable weight. Tears carved glistening trails down his face, each droplet a testament to his shattered trust. "Better to remain in ignorance than... than this." His words pierced Jihoon's chest like shards of broken glass, embedding themselves in the most vulnerable chambers of his heart.
Jihoon's breath caught as Ryan's anguish washed over him in palpable waves. "R-Ryan, please... I'm—"
"I should have stayed at home..."Ryan's voice cracked, raw and broken, as tears spilled freely down his face. Each word was a knife twisting deeper into Jihoon's chest.
"R-Ryan… I'm sorry—"
But Ryan wasn't listening. He turned on his heel, shoulders hunched like he'd been struck, and bolted from the room.
Jihoon's body moved before his mind could catch up.
"Ryan!"
He sprinted after him, bare feet slapping against the cold hospital floor, his heart hammering in his throat. The scent of Ryan's anguish—storm-choked and suffocating—lingered in the air, guiding him like a trail of smoke.
People in the hallway gasped as Ryan shoved past them, his presence radiating a dangerous, unstable energy. The lights flickered. The walls trembled.
The prophecy.
This was it.
If Ryan fully gave in to the pain, if he embraced the Demon Alpha's wrath—
Jihoon pushed harder, lungs burning.
"Ryan, please—!"
But Ryan was faster, stronger. He burst through the hospital's emergency exit, the door slamming against the wall with a deafening bang.
Jihoon skidded to a stop at the threshold, panting. Outside, the night sky churned with unnatural shadows, the wind howling like a wounded beast.
Ryan stood in the middle of the empty parking lot, his back turned, fists clenched at his sides.
And then—
A pulse of dark energy exploded from him, shattering every window in sight.
Jihoon shielded his face as glass rained down.
When he looked again, Ryan's silhouette was wreathed in swirling black tendrils, his eyes glowing crimson.
The Demon Alpha had awakened.
And it was all Jihoon's fault.
To be continued...….