"Is that all you've got? Maybe the girl took more than just a layer of skin off your face." Sazina Ren scorned as she sank into a crouch. Her reddish-golden arms lifted in a gesture of invitation. "Juyo-based attacks again? Honestly, Kylo."
Leaning against the wall, with his chest heaving and a trickle of blood running from his nose, Kylo knew he was dangerously close to losing his first duel among the Ren since he had joined their number. He was scattered, irritable and Sazina's barbs were striking too well. He had to regroup. Finding the core within and focusing on slowing his breathing, he lifted his head and spoke.
"My apologies, Sazina. I nodded off for a moment. Were you doing something?" He smiled pleasantly and brushed his hair away from his eyes. "You know how I drift off when I'm bored." The energy in the room shifted, and the lines of power between them clashed as each combatant pushed, switching from a physical duel to a battle of the Force.
From the sidelines, Ejoimo and Keren watched with gleaming eyes. Dirrivon had already retired for the day to tend to a shattered collarbone, thanks to one of Keren's maneuvers. The reunion of the Seven was going as well as expected, with dozens of fights occupying the last week. Snoke had left them to their amusements, vanishing into his chambers. The Stormtroopers on the starship were cutting a wide circle around them after a man on security detail had entered the room during Chrywumppa and Ferassmo's match three days ago, and been hit. It would've been a mild injury but in his annoyance over the interruption, Ferassmo had taken the trooper's head.
Kylo had won half a dozen duels in the past week, taking down every one of his companions, but Sazina challenged him again the day before he was due to leave for Coruscant. He insisted on no weapons for their last fight; he had no desire to deal with the repercussions of killing a Ren on the eve of his rut.
Knowing that he was headed for shore leave didn't take the edge off at all; nothing killed the primal energy running through his veins. Every alpha instinct in his body was switched on, hunting and hurting and feeling. The very air tasted crisper, and his connection to the Force grew stronger, with every life on the ship bleeding together until he was overwhelmed and sickened with the potency of it. It was too much.
He remembered being overtaken with the feeling when he was a boy and trying to tell his father about it. But Han was a beta, and baffled by "that stuff" as he used to call it. "I'm sorry, kiddo. Your mom probably would know."
His stomach lurched as Sazina stabbed at him with pure power; her presence left in his mind the acrid taste of smoke and old blood. Rippling pains rolled through his body and he stifled the urge to vomit. The Force-choke wrapped around his stomach, gripping him with deadly strength. The other knight smiled, a shine of vicious delight reaching her copper-brown eyes. She thrust her hand out and the flow of power increased.
Kylo closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his abdomen. The visual helped him shut out the mental knife Sazina was driving into his belly. The agony abated and his fractured thoughts resumed cohesiveness. A thought occurred to him- she was too focused on one area. She often was, it was a weakness of Sazina's. She thought it would win her the battle, but her laser-like intensity blinded her to other things.
Kylo allowed himself to buckle to his knees, gripping his stomach. A groan spilled from his lips as he projected feelings of complete defeat and draining life through the Force. Sazina stepped closer, ready to claim victory with a last strike of power. Kylo's head fell to the ground, his forehead smacking the hard surface as his legs curled up into his stomach. Sazina towered over him, her face aglow with triumph.
Her hand rose, and lightning gathered in her palm. Her fingers braced to deliver the blow. Focused on her victory, she didn't see Kylo's hands dart out and swiftly grab her ankles until it was too late.
"Oh you -" The lightning in her hand sparked and fizzled, and Sazina staggered back as he yanked hard. As she stumbled and flexed to regain her balance, Kylo leapt to his feet- and neatly punched her in the nose. The fist landed with a heavy crunch.
As she recoiled, he threw himself at her, using the full effect of his height and weight on the slimmer knight. She landed on her back and before she caught her breath, found Kylo Ren sitting on her chest, his legs bracing her arms against her sides and his hands locked around her throat.
Peering down at her, his dark eyes blazing with the power of the Force, Sazina knew she'd lost.
"Do you yield?"
"Dirty trick," Sazina spat. "Your Jedi uncle teach you that one?"
"Do. You. Yield," Kylo demanded, his fingers tightening.
"Yes," she conceded through clenched teeth. "I yield."
Kylo rolled off Sazina and stood. He wiped the trickle of blood away from his nose and bowed to his opponent.
Watching with approval, Ejoimo and Keren applauded their companions and stood to take their places for the next match.
Kylo picked his helmet off the floor and donned it. He strode from the room without acknowledging the knights further. It was meaningless anyhow; all of it was. He still seethed with restlessness. If anything, it was worse now.
No, it hadn't been his uncle who taught him how to use low tricks or deliver a punch.
Keep your fists up and protect your eyes, Ben. And your nose. Don't let 'em get your nose. Your eyes'll water like a bastard.
He felt a stab of shame as the memory of the gravelly voice flickered into his mind before he could stop it. Clamping down on the sensation, he used long-practiced strategies to control it. He saw himself depositing the thought in the nearest garbage chute. Shred it and throw it away, he reminded himself.
As he turned the corner to the hall that led to his room, his stomach rumbled. His evening meal should be sitting out for him already as he'd requested; there'd be hell to pay if his extra portions of protein weren't waiting for him. He needed to stock himself up, get ready for the punishing physical process of rut. What he'd just gone through against a Knight of Ren was nothing compared to what his muscles would go through in the next few days of rut.
His entire mind and body would be dedicated to satisfying his innate need to mate. No matter how exhausted, the urge to copulate would return. When the omega begged, the alpha couldn't refuse; it wasn't in their nature.
Kylo entered his chamber and removed his helmet. The scent of hot, spiced meat greeted his nose. Setting aside the helmet on his bed, his stomach rumbled again and he dove into the food. He needed to listen to his body, he knew. And after the mess of the last few months, the tangled dreams and the battles that still raged, he wanted nothing more than to disappear into an omega for a week.
In the morning, he transferred to another starship headed for the Core and spent two days there, pacing and snapping at anyone who dared approach him or his quarters. When the ship neared Coruscant, Kylo prepped a one-man shuttle and departed hastily with his lone traveling bag filled with a change of clothes. He wouldn't be arriving on the planet as a knight; Kylo Ren would cease to be for the next seven days.
He didn't allow himself to think about why that felt like such a relief.
If her body wasn't on fire and sucking away her enjoyment of the view, she might've said it was the most incredible place she'd ever seen.
The sun was setting and Coruscant's three moons rising as their shuttle landed in Galactic City. The planet was lit with a glow of colors from the skytowers that stretched into the atmosphere. The hum of the sprawling city was deafening, and the millions of minds existing so closely together created such a wall of energy, Rey staggered as she stepped from their small transport. She closed her eyes for a moment, and drew on the strength of the Force to center her and close out everything else.
Their hellish journey from D'Qar finally over, Jess and Rey gratefully transferred to the airspeeder that would convey them to the entertainment district. The docking station Jess had chosen had an Omega Safe Zone, free from the presence of unwanted alphas. The beta attendant eyed the women sympathetically as they wearily completed the transfer.
"Here's your ride, this one coming up. It's a beauty, great on the spin." She smiled at Jess, and handed Rey the document pad.
"I don't think I can drive this," Rey admitted, staring wide-eyed at the scarlet vehicle that pulled up in front of them. The airspeeder rumbled as the engine idled. In the back of her mind, the part not squirming with physical discomfort, she wondered what sort of compressor they were using.
"You don't have to," Jess laughed, throwing their bags into the storage compartment. "I started out with a 'speeder like this when I was fourteen. Just hold on, we're almost there." A pair of racing airspeeders flew overhead, their engines blaring. Rey winced as a wave of fumes filled her nose with a chemical stench.
Jess inhaled happily. "I missed the city. Been too long since I visited. Alright, I'm losing steam here. Let's move." She slid into the driver's seat, and Rey awkwardly climbed over her to the passenger seat.
"How far down do we have to go?" Rey asked, looking over the edge of the vehicle. "How many levels are there?"
"Not sure. A few thousand, maybe?" Jess grabbed hold of the flywheel and fiddled anxiously with the dial to the right. "But we're headed for the underworld. All the heat houses are there. Down hundreds of levels from here so we need to get moving. Sorry, I'm getting impatient. I can be a real jerk when I'm close to heat." She turned her flushed face to Rey. "How about you?"
Rey noted the redness of her friend's cheeks and realized how well Jess must be disguising her symptoms in order to stay strong. She felt a pang of fondness; Jess had been a rock for her in the last month especially, she'd have to find a way to make it up to her when this was over.
Jess pulled away from the dock, and the airspeeder rose slightly before dipping down a level and sliding into the middle airlane. The lights around them blurred and the wind picked up. Rey sank into her seat and relaxed as the breeze cooled the sweat on her brow.
"I don't know what I'm like," Rey admitted. She paused. "I've never spent a heat with anyone. So no one has told me…anything about how I am."
"Kriff! Rey!" Jess looked at her incredulously. "I wouldn't have pushed this for your first time with an alpha if I'd known that. I just assumed-"
"No it's fine," Rey interrupted. She gazed out at the city and smiled. As the vehicle descended, the moonlight in the sky disappeared and they were surrounded by only the multicolored glow of the signs of Coruscant. The buildings of the city, the pinks, blues and greens, all melded together as they sank farther from the light. No natural illumination survived so low; the structures of the city choked it from every corner.
"It's not important. It never was, to me. I managed on my own, on Jakku. It was hard but I did it."
"Can I ask what changed?"
A dozen levels flew by, and all natural light was gone by the time Rey answered.
"I did."
Coruscant was as filthy as ever, he saw. The grime of the city-planet and its denizens, constantly on the prowl to take credit off you, annoyed him on every visit. But the place had its purpose, he could admit that.
Kylo dropped the shuttle off at a First Order office, and ignored their offer of a vehicle. He didn't want to be seen in one of theirs; the formality and markings of their transports was apparent to anyone with eyes, even when they attempted to go undercover. He did accept the use of their station house to change his clothes and clean up.
In the private room, he packed his black garments and his helmet into his travel bag on the bed. Standing nude before the long mirror, he inspected the newest scars in his collection. Chewbacca's bowcaster had taken an impressive chunk from his side on Starkiller Base, but the med droids had done a fair job of repairing the damage. A mess of white lines like a fat starburst now spread over his side.
The scar on his face had, with treatment, healed to a line that twisted across his face. Narrow between his eyes, it widened as it moved down his cheek toward his lips. He was lucky he hadn't lost an eye. Or his entire head. The humiliation of such a close brush was displayed on his face for all to see.
So why did he feel like wearing his mask and helmet less than ever?
He traced the scar, sliding his fingertips over the oddly textured skin. There wasn't a day that went by he didn't think of the lightsaber that dealt the blow; how the light scorched him and how he fell, certain he was seeing his death. His death in the form of a young omega standing over him, her eyes lit with rage, her fingers squeezed around a hilt, and her shoulders shaking with dark power as she fought every instinct telling her to cut him down. He heard the voice in her head, the one urging her on. She was close to the edge, as close as they'd been when they dueled on the cliff.
She was more dangerous than any of his companions in the Knights of Ren.
No wonder he wanted her so badly.
After weeks of dreaming, he wouldn't deny it anymore.
Kylo Ren stared himself down in the mirror. Tilting his head to the side, he contemplated the hard planes of his body. He smiled faintly, seeing how hard his cock had grown while thinking of his brush with death. With Rey.
It's the rut, he thought, running his thickening length through his fist. Any omega will do. Find one, fuck her, and then forget her.
"Right. Sure," Kylo spoke to his reflection. He hated how much the sarcasm in his voice reminded him of someone else.
Turning away from the mirror, he pulled his civilian clothing from the bag and drew on a pair of brown trousers. After slipping on a simple cream-colored shirt and forest-green vest over it, Kylo located the com link in the room.
"Grallium House. Yes. Appointment code 2X9458 Alpha. Confirmed. Good, I'll be there soon."
Sitting down to put on his boots, Kylo tried to remember the last time he dressed in civilian gear. His last rut, he'd been in too much of a hurry to switch his clothing. How many years had it been since he looked in the mirror and seen himself like this?
Curious, he stood before his reflection again. His brows furrowed. He leaned over to the bedside table and found what he was looking for in the drawer: a stray hair tie.
Pulling back his long black hair and securing it, he considered himself again. His ears stuck out as much as ever. When he was a kid, he used to use the Force to wiggle his ears to make his friends laugh. His mouth quirked upward at the memory.
He hadn't realized how much younger he looked with shorter hair, or the appearance of it.
He rubbed his right ear and dropped the hand quickly. The burgeoning smile on his face fell away.
Kylo yanked the elastic tie from his hair and threw it in the garbage bin.
He grabbed his travel bag from the bed. Finding an air taxi shouldn't take long. From there to the heat house and peace of mind within an hour, he estimated.
Then his head would start to clear.
Then, he could start to forget.
Rey instantly loved the sugar-pink building on sight, with its golden detailing and white door. Its owner, however, took a moment to adapt to.
"WELCOME!" The Besalisk boomed. "Welcome to Bix's House." A sly grin slid over his tan reptilian face. "You're in luck, ladies. I…am Bix. I'll give you my personal care tonight. You'll have a good time." His deep laughter was loud enough to make Rey take a step back. "Come on in, come in, come in." The Besalisk waved them toward the door with two of his four arms, using the other two to scoop Rey and Jess's bags from the airspeeder.
"Thank you, Bix," Jess said. "That would be great."
Rey glanced around; the underworld was as unnerving as it sounded from its name. Every spot that didn't have a lamp or a glowing advertisement for a business was completely dark. The long alleyways between buildings were as black as starless space. As they exited the speeder and headed for the door, the groans and cries that emanated from the dark places reached their ears.
"I think someone is hurting," Rey hissed toward Jess. "We should help-"
"No, no!" Bix said, steering her toward the door. "It's just a pair who can't afford a lovely heat house like mine. Besalisks run the best places, you know. We don't come in alpha or omega flavors like you humans. It's better that way. You have the fun, we make the credits." He laughed, and rolled his head toward the fevered sounds. "They're almost done, don't worry about it."
As Bix finished speaking, a pleased sigh emitted from the alleyway.
"Alright then," Rey said, nodding. She was no stranger to the notion of public sex- people in Niima Outpost weren't exactly shy. They were a practical lot with a rough life. But she always stayed away from Niima when she was in heat. Here, the row of heat houses left the air saturated with pheromones. The raw scent of sex surrounded them; she felt her pulse pounding in her throat, and the rhythmic moans left her squeezing her thighs together.
"Like I said." Bix chuckled again, and his huge belly rippled with it. "Everyone's having a good time." He stopped abruptly and threw two arms out, pointing accusatorily at a Twi'lek skulking on the walkway. "You, get out of here!"
Bix explained to the women, "Some alphas, they hang around the houses, they won't come inside and be screened for compatibility or pay for a room. They wait outside, trying to bother the nice omegas and they don't take no for an answer. They don't respect choice. We offer the best protection. You picked a good place." Bix grinned, and despite the strangeness of the underworld and the distraction of her own body, Rey returned his smile.
"Thank you, Bix. I think we did choose the right place. Shall we take care of business first?"
He patted her on the shoulder. "I like how you think."
The itch began as he soon as he stepped out of the air taxi, onto the walkway in front of the orange façade of Grallium House.
It wasn't an itch precisely; it was more like a…sting, he thought. At the top of his spine, a sharp sensation of warmth blooming into something uncomfortable and pressured.
Kylo Ren gazed around the underworld, the garish glow of heat house signs lighting up the level on which he stood. He scanned the area, finding no overt threat.
But still, there was something. The alpha instincts that had dominated his will all week went into hyperdrive. Kylo gritted his teeth, and his fist curled around the strap of his bag until his nails bit into his palm. The veins in his neck tightened and stood out, and his nostrils flared, taking in the excess of scents around him.
Too many alphas.
Competition, his mind whispered.
His lip curled. No, these people were no competition for him. There was something else, something he wasn't seeing, something he was…
Feeling?
Ignoring his reflex to stay present when surrounded by a walkway full of alphas in the underworld, Kylo exhaled through his nose and closed his eyes.
Inhaling slowly, he let his consciousness expand, reaching out with his gift to hunt for the source of the itch.
Searching deep and stretching with all his power, what came back to him was a scent- soft and tangy, he found it now beyond the musk of the alphas around him.
Sand. Wind. The sweat of shoulders tanned by the sun. And something green, juicy and crisp- a spiky desert plant he'd once seen growing in the greenhouse his mother installed.
His mouth watered, and with an unshakeable understanding, he knew.
She's here.
Kylo opened his eyes and smiled.
He turned away from Grallium House and hurried down the walkway, following where his gut hold him to go. Scanning each house he passed, he grew more impatient. The alphas who stood in his path fell to the side one by one. Initially, he was subtle, using mind tricks to shoo away temperamental alphas spoiling for a fight but by the end of the first walkway, he threw an alpha against the wall without ever touching him.
It was more than a scent. It was her. Her mind, her strength. His whole body was aching to possess it.
Kylo tossed two betas from a lift and rode down a level to the next row of heat houses. Stepping out, the scent grew stronger with a wave of sweetness and hunger.
He broke into a run.
He didn't stop until he'd pushed aside three more alphas and came to a breathless stop in front of a bright pink building.
Kylo raised his hand and pressed the buzzer on the white door.