Chapter Text
“You’re quiet.” it’s an accusation more than a statement as Alpha bristles, irritated by the seemingly immovable expression from the man leaning against the bars.
Ifrit barely acknowledges it, finding something interesting at the cuff of his sleeve.
“I’m listening.”
It’s a simple answer and it makes Alpha scoff, rolling his neck until it cracks loudly, “Listening,” his voice is hoarse, dry; no one’s given him water since they dragged him aboard and thrown him into the brig, “Right, so that’s how you ended up in command? Listening your way to the top?”
His gaze flickers deliberately over Ifrit’s frame, firm muscle tinted bronze under fine cloth. He’s clean and well kept; neatly trimmed hair at his jaw, flickers of gold dotted around his face and ears to contrast the long dark hair brushing his shoulders, copper tipped ends catching the light.
A smirk slowly curves the corners of Alpha’s lips as he continues;
“Or did you fuck your way up the chain?”
Alpha wants a reaction, a reprimand, a roll of the eyes, maybe even a bored smirk. Anything that isn’t a two word response.
And what he gets is shockingly fast.
Ifrit’s hand shoots through the bars, fisting a brutal grip into Alpha’s hair. Before Alpha can jerk back, Ifrit yanks hard, forcing him forward until his forehead connects with the iron bars.
A metallic clang echoes, harsh in the tiny brig.
Alpha’s breath punches out of him, a strained gasp leaving his lips, and despite the pain, he still has enough temper left to growl and bare his teeth. His pulse hammers and stutters under Ifrit’s fingers and he’s certain the other man can feel it.
Ifrit’s grip tightens, holding him pinned, cheek pressed harshly against the cold metal before he leans in, his voice a low, simmering timbre, and threaded with a kind of fury that no sane person would consider provoking twice.
“Choose your next words carefully.”
Alpha freezes.
Their eyes meet in the dim, and Ifrit’s aren’t the warm, soft sunset anymore, but a molten, direct burn.
“I earned my place,” Ifrit’s words are cold, flat, a knifes edge between them, “Every title. Every place, and every life under my authority,” he leans closer, warm breath ghosting over Alpha’s cheek, “And I did it without climbing into anyone's bed.”
He releases Alpha’s hair with a shove, and steps back to regain his composure, watches the other man, almost daring him to stoke his ire again.
And to his disbelief, he smirks. An almost smug, hungry little thing.
“…There he is,” Alpha murmurs against the grin that’s now beginning to curve at his lips, “Knew you had a spine under all that silk.”