Chapter 5 (Cassian POV)

The room was dark, damp, and reeking of fear.

It clung to the air like smoke—thick, choking, familiar.

The only light came from a single overhead bulb, swinging slightly, casting trembling shadows across the concrete walls.

The man tied to the chair was sobbing now. Broken. Bleeding. But I wasn’t done.

“Tell me where the lab is,” I growled, my voice low and threatening.

He shook his head violently, blood spraying from his split lip.

“I—I don’t know! I swear, I don’t know! They just... they just call me when they need a new subject!”

Subject.

The word sliced through me like a blade.

I took a step closer, fury rising in my chest like a tidal wave.

“Humans. Are not. Subjects.”

Then my fist connected with his face—bone meeting bone with a sickening crack.

He cried out in pain, head snapping to the side, blood pooling at the corner of his mouth.

My knuckles stung, but it wasn’t enough. Not for what they’d done.Not for the screams I remembered. Not for the children we didn’t save in time.

I raised my hand again.

“Cassian—stop.”

A hand gripped my shoulder firmly.

I froze, jaw clenched, breathing heavy.

Xavier.

His voice was calm, but sharp—cutting through the rage like a scalpel.

“You’ll kill him.”

I didn’t look at him. My eyes stayed on the bastard trembling in the chair.

"Maybe that's what he deserves," I muttered.

“Not if we want answers,” Xavier said, his grip tightening.

He stepped beside me, placing himself between me and the bleeding mess we were interrogating.

I exhaled hard, dragging a hand down my face, trying to cage the monster inside me.

The rage didn’t fade. It never really did.

But I stepped back. Just an inch.

The man whimpered like a beaten dog, trembling as blood dripped from his nose.

“If he’s lying, I’ll finish it,” I warned.

Xavier nodded once, crouching in front of the prisoner.

“You’ve got one chance. Where’s the lab? Who’s running it? If you lie again…”

His gaze flicked to me.

“…he won’t stop next time.”

I crossed my arms, standing in the corner, letting my shadow stretch across the man like a silent promise.

After a while....

I stepped out of that suffocating room, the scent of blood still clinging to my skin like guilt. My hands were still stained red, knuckles bruised, and my jaw clenched so tight it ached.

I needed air. I needed silence. I needed this damn rage to settle before I ripped someone else apart.

Xavier followed behind, his usual calm shadowing my storm.

"Did you track the number I gave you?" I asked without turning to look at him.

He exhaled through his nose.

“Yeah. I traced it back to an encrypted relay line—used by low-level transporters. The guy you interrogated? He was just a middleman. They only called him when they needed someone to supply a new subject.”

I stopped walking. My fists clenched again.

Subjects.

Always that word.

People weren’t people anymore to these bastards. They were materials.

"I already killed him," I muttered, my voice low with disgust. "But it wasn't enough. It never is."

Xavier glanced at me, brows furrowed. He didn’t say it out loud, but I knew what he was thinking.

I was slipping. Again.

I didn’t care.

Before either of us could speak, footsteps echoed rapidly through the corridor.

Jane, our cyber-ops specialist, appeared in her black uniform, urgency in her eyes.

She stopped in front of me and gave a quick, sharp salute.

"Commander," she said breathlessly, "someone’s trying to hack into our main system."