Chapter Text
The chief of police was fond of saying things like ‘do not go beyond your means’ and ‘keep in mind your limitations.’ Kaeya loathed these phrases in particular because he knew exactly why they were reserved for him and him alone.
He was, after all, the first Omega on the police force in the last five years—after the only other had retired almost immediately after taking an Alpha mate. He couldn’t imagine many Alphas were keen on having the more ‘vulnerable’ of secondary gender classifications on the force in the first place, but it was something that Kaeya had fought tooth and nail for since he’d been a child. Such warnings were reserved for Kaeya because, as everyone else did, their chief underestimated him.
If the middle-aged bastard of an Alpha had his way, Kaeya would be delegated to the desk for paperwork processing for the rest of his life—if he was even allowed on the force at all. Some Alphas considered his kind little more than eye candy meant to fill receptionist and personal assistant jobs, only to be seen with a coffee in hand for delivery, or bent over a desk despite the heavy push for equality over the last few decades. But Kaeya had proven him wrong with the first case that he’d taken on when he first joined the force, and he had proven him wrong ever since.
He had also fought tooth and nail to be assigned to this case.
Despite the force’s best attempt to keep the case details subtle for the time being, someone with a knot bigger than their brain and a girlfriend at a local news network had slipped up, spreading information on the serial killer who had immediately been labeled as the ‘Mondstadt Slasher.’ Not exactly what the department had been calling the guy, but fortunately the Alpha who’d leaked the details had been suspended immediately—and his lover hadn’t gotten all of the details of the case. The last thing Kaeya needed was their target getting spooked by just how much information they’d gathered.
They didn’t call him the Mondstadt Slasher, for one. Between Kaeya and the few other detectives assigned especially to this particular case, the perpetrator had a far different name: the Alpha Hunter.
Known to strike primarily influential Alphas in the seedy underbelly of the city, his exact methods weren’t fully known just yet, but that was precisely why Kaeya was in the shittiest club in this part of town, undercover and a little more dolled up than what he liked to be.
He had insisted to his partner Rosaria that that was what was for the best here. As hesitant as she was to allow her partner to slip under the radar to draw the absolute worst kind of attention, he had a point; Alphas in this part of town liked to brag to any pretty Omega they could get on their hip. Kaeya’s face wasn’t even well known to the average criminal in town; the police didn’t exactly like to advertise that they had an Omega detective among their ranks, even if it ticked off a few checkboxes for government equality programs. Kaeya was unknown, and the only Omega with security clearance that would enable him to safely work undercover without having to pay an informant, and those were… risky.
The music was loud enough to make his eardrums ache and pulse with the beat blasted from the speakers against the far wall of the club. Kaeya’s outfit was a little too tight for the traditional means of plugging him up with microphones, but he did have a small, remote device in his bag that his partner was listening in remotely on from down the road—and he looked good. He knew he looked good, it was why he was perfect for this. His torso was wrapped in a crop top, exposing stomach and collarbone both—though he’d very carefully chosen a thick collar to prevent someone from getting too brave with a claim mark in this side of town.
He’d had to deal with the Alpha gazes of his coworkers for so long that he knew what they liked to see. He’d have someone talking by the end of the night—it only mattered if they had something useful to say, though. Lucky for him, the one that was approaching him from the corner of his good eye looked like he was going to be very useful indeed. Kaeya knew that face from mugshots at the precinct. Nathan Reeves. A former police informant who’d gone rogue and made it big off of his former boss ‘dying’ and taking over the position. He was wanted four times over; Kaeya was surprised that he would even show his face, but then again, it wasn’t like anyone in a place like this would go out of their way to report him.
He probably owned the place.
“And what brings a pretty little thing like you in tonight?” the man questioned, sitting closer to Kaeya than what he’d ever like. If nothing else, even if he didn’t catch any information about the Alpha Hunter tonight, he knew he’d be bringing in at least one big catch.
Kaeya put on his best flattering smile, turning his head to the other man and letting his gaze scrape across his form as if he were actually interested, but not really. Alphas loved the challenge, they loved it when something that should be easy for them was a little harder to get. Kaeya was a prize to be won, not bought. “I pass by this place pretty often. I figured I’d see what it’s like on the inside.”
Nathan gave a little sneer, leaning over the stool next to Kaeya to press far too close. He stench reeked of aggression and something…. Tart, sour. Pickled. Capers, maybe. “You aren’t the only one who’d like to see what it’s like on the inside,” he muttered, reaching a hand around Kaeya to grip his hip. The Omega could practically feel his Alpha partner seething in their disguised vehicle half a mile down the road, if she could even hear the sleazy comment over the obnoxious music. Kaeya only laughed at the attempt but made it distinctly hard to tell if he was laughing at Nathan or if he found the comment amusing nonetheless.
“You’ll have to butter me up a little better than that, sir.” Kaeya hummed, lifting the glass of his cocktail, swirling it to get his point across; it was almost empty, and he was feeling parched.
If he was also going to deal with Nathan’s bullshit, then he needed to be a least marginally less sober.
“Of course,” the Alpha hummed, all sweet smiles and smug little grins. He turned to the bartender, sliding a twenty across the polished wood surface. It made sense; people like Nathan didn’t like to leave paper trails, so even if he did have some kind of higher-up position locally, he wouldn’t keep a tab. “Give me a rum and coke, and a house special for my pretty guest.”
Kaeya had no clue what a house special was—at a place like this it could be anything from a watered-down sex on the beach to some moonshine brewed in the bar’s toilet—but free alcohol was free alcohol, and letting Nathan butter him up a little might get him talking. As it turned out, it was some bright red abomination that looked like it had too much grenadine or cranberry juice, and it was tart against his tongue when he lifted it to his lips for a drink.
“So,” Kaeya started, just so he wouldn’t have to try any more of it just yet, “the ‘house special?’ Are you here often that you remember it?” He let his voice drop, playful and on the verge of flirty to keep the other’s attention. If worse came to worst, if Nathan did frequent this club, then he’d be able to top off a few of the other police on the force to keep a lookout for him here.
“You could say that. I wouldn’t say I own the place, but I know the guy who does,” Nathan hummed, clearly doing his best to impress without actually dropping any names. If the club owner had someone like this slimy bastard hanging around as a ‘friend,’ though, Kaeya couldn’t shake the instinct that something was probably going on deeper beneath the surface.
“….So you’re freeloading here?” Kaeya offered, teasing. He knew the fastest way to get a reaction was to rile up an Alpha’s pride—though he could practically hear Rosaria from her station point groaning at the pure stupidity of it. Some Alphas, particularly those in Nathan’s position where they thought they were hot shit and untouchable, could get a little… violent.
Nathan’s strained smile suggested he wasn’t happy with the question, but he laughed it off to entertain Kaeya regardless. “I do odd jobs for the guy here and there. I wouldn’t call it freeloading. Consider me a VIP.”
“A VIP? Does that mean you have access to the fancy part of the club?” Kaeya asked, feigning genuine, impressed interest.
“I can get you anywhere you wanna go here, baby,” Nathan murmured, resting a hand on Kaeya’s thigh that ran far too close up to the hem of Kaeya’s short shorts for the Omega to be comfortable… but he was good at convincing people otherwise. All it would take would be him getting Nathan alone. He could maybe honey-trap him a little, not enough to get a court case thrown out, fish him down for information… and call Rosaria in to make the arrest if he could convince him to go back to Kaeya’s apartment with him. It’d be a clean arrest in the alleyway outside, with only marginal people to witness it. With Nathan behind bars, he wouldn’t be able to describe him to his buddies and blow Kaeya’s cover, either.
“Why don’t you show me there?” Kaeya asked, moving to stand.
Immediately, he swayed, his head spinning with a dizziness that he didn’t anticipate. He almost stumbled, but Nathan caught him, taking Kaeya’s weight fully against his body as he supported him from falling over entirely. The room was spinning, a blur of bright lights and music that was no less loud, but now sounded distant and incomprehensible. His lips parted to explain that he suddenly wasn’t feeling that well, but when he tried to say anything, his mouth refused to cooperate.
He had been drugged.
It didn’t make sense. Kaeya had watched his drink like a hawk—he always did, especially in places like this. Nathan hadn’t had a chance to get near it, much less spike it with anything.
“Come on, sweetheart. We’ll make this nice and easy. Just come with me and don’t make too much of a fuss,” Nathan murmured, grasping Kaeya firmly by the waist as he whispered the words in his ear, making it look as if they were simply getting a little too acquainted. Kaeya flicked one startled look to the barkeep, desperate for intervention, but the man seemed to be doing his best to avoid his gaze.
The 'house special.'
The bartender was in on it.
“Oh, you motherfucker,” Kaeya tried to say, but by then his voice was slurring, and the most he got out was a very enthusiastic ‘fucker’ part of it. It was effective enough, given it made the man behind the bar wince, clearly with some semblance of guilt over what he’d been asked to do.
Nathan was already leading him away—and it left the bag Kaeya had come with at the bar, too. He’d spoken too close to Kaeya’s ear for the microphone to pick up. Rosaria would have no way of knowing what was happening, that he was being half-carried, half-dragged off to only the gods knew where.
He managed to get a weak shove against the other’s arm off before the muscle relaxant properties from whatever had laced his drink kicked in, and he went slack. His heart was racing, though—he could still hear the pounding of his own blood in his ears, and for the first time in a long time, fear bubbled up in the pit of his chest, making him want to vomit. With his head slack against Nathan’s shoulder, he couldn’t fully see where they were going—just that no one in the club seemed to notice the situation he was in, and that they passed through a door next to the bar that lead to a long hallway to the back of the club. Passing one of the walls, he could see long, pale marks against the otherwise dark, grimy wallpaper that covered ancient wood. The place was a fire hazard and a half, but that wasn’t what worried him.
The marks were in the shape of four lines that swept up in uneven waves. They were the marks of someone else who had been dragged down this path. Though it was too far away from the main club for anyone to have possibly catch how the scent in the air changed, the further they went, the more Kaeya realized that the place reeked of terrified Omega. This was not a one-time situation where someone was trying to take advantage of him. Countless other Omegas had been pulled down this very same hall, likely from the same combination of ‘house special’ and men like Nathan.
They reached the alleyway behind the bar, finally, only for Nathan to open another door directly behind the bar; rather than risk the place being inspected, it seemed they kept their ‘goods’ in a separate building entirely—close enough for them to drag any unsuspecting Omega through the alleyway. Kaeya gave a groan there, the only sound he could manage—though with the thud of the music blasting from the club through the wall, it was doubtful that anyone out on the street would hear him.
The Alpha dropped him heavily on a concrete floor near a set of cages that Kaeya was sure he’d be more familiar with very soon. Leaving Kaeya limp there for only a moment, Nathan moved nearby to grab a gag that didn’t look as if it’d been cleaned from the last victim, returning only to begin fastening it against Kaeya’s mouth.
“Don’t whine,” Nathan grunted, clearly a little winded at having to carry Kaeya along for such a length. He was tall for an Omega—and a little better built than most would take Omega for, too. “You’ll only be here for a few hours until we find a nice new Alpha that’ll take…” Nathan paused, brushing Kaeya’s bangs back to see the eye patch that Kaeya had so well hidden under a little flare with his hairstyle. “Damaged goods. You aren’t mated yet, so you’ll still fetch a pretty penny. Just behave.”
Kaeya almost choked, his eyes closing tightly as he fought against a wave of dread that he hadn’t felt in many, many years. As if it was spoken aloud, a voice rang through his fading consciousness as clear as if he was listening to it in person.
‘It’s okay, Kaeya. You’ll have a nice Alpha to take care of you, from now on. Just be good.’
His eyes burned, and finally, the full effects of whatever he’d been slipped started to kick in. His vision was starting to go hazy—but the last thing he could see was a shadow standing in the doorway behind Nathan, with its face obscure.
No…. No, not obscure. The features were indiscernible to his hazy senses because whoever it was was wearing a mask. Wicked and twisted and resembling no creature or monster Kaeya had ever seen before, it wasn’t human, though the figure certainly seemed to be. Kaeya was sure that it must be someone working with the bastard.
At least, he was sure until the figure approached Nathan from behind and reached around the man with a short blade, digging it into the Alpha’s throat without hesitation. Try as he might to fight against the drug running in his veins, the last thing Kaeya could register before he lost consciousness was the spray of hot liquid against his cheek as Nathan lurched over him, gurgling on his own blood.
That, and the crimson mask over the dying man’s shoulder, staring into his very soul.