"Sorry guys, gotta go." He was thankful to leave but terrified of the nagging that was about to come next.

"Sorry," Lucas said quietly.

"It's all good. See you later tonight?"

"Of course."

At that, Teru quickly got out of the water. His mom, out of habit, went to grab his ear to yank him away. Knowing what she was about to do, he dodged to avoid it. "Mom, I just turned 18—"

"Stop. You KNOW you can't go on this side of the lake, 18 or not. You're an omega and they're alphas. Their instinct is to mate with you. It's just too tempting for them, Teru!"

"I think they can control themselves. I've known them my whole life, some more than others. None of them are due for a rut anytime soon, anyway!"

They treaded to the beta side of the lake. "No, I don't think you understand, Teru. You've never been around an alpha during their rut season. You've never even had your first heat, for Pete's sake. All of you naked together...God. That's like throwing a rare piece of meat to a group of hungry wolves. And Lucas..."

"What about him?" Teru said, his muscles getting tense.

"I know he's your best friend, but at the end of the day, he's an alpha. Rolling like thunder on the ground isn't appropriate for your age. It was fine when you were kids, but now I'm wondering if it's time to set clear boundaries. He might think you're leading him on."

Teru stopped in his tracks. He felt his face heat up from her words. "Lucas isn't like that."

She sighed. "My son," she said affectionately, "I'm worried for you. I'm just a normal, everyday female beta. I can't control alphas or stop them if they force themselves onto you..." she covered her mouth with her hand and teared up at the thought of Teru being in trouble. His gender always made her worry.

Teru hugged her. "Okay, okay. I understand that it was stupid. Don't cry, please? I won't stop being friends with Lucas, but I'll be careful."

They said their I love you's before Teru went swimming with the betas. She looked on with apprehension.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, the pack gathered around the bonfires. To prevent being seen by one large fire, they made many small pits. They were still effective to cook and give off warmth. The pack separated into groups and gathered around the flames. Teru watched the toddler pups running after the fireflies and the adults laughing over their handmade wine. Tender boar meat roasting over the fires permeated the air. It's been weeks since everyone ate a fresh meal that wasn't jerky or pickled.

Lucas sat beside him, conversing with another alpha. His knuckle was making light circles on Teru's calf. If Teru was ever stressed out, Lucas would do this gesture on his body. And after the minor incident during bath time, well, Teru needed some alpha pheromones to make him relax.

His mother was at the firepit beside theirs, watching Lucas's hand do this. She frowned but didn't say anything. What was up with her lately concerning his friends and actions? She was more sensitive than usual.

Teru turned his attention to the storyteller of their pack, an older beta in his 50's. Clarence was reciting stories to the pups. This particular one was about the vampires to scare them into being careful. They were listening intently to the old man, clinging to each other. Teru smiled to himself, remembering how he and Lucas did the same when hearing it for the first time.

"...and then the United States of America and Canada finally fell into ruin by Abaddon, the archangel of the abyss. His job by the Creator was to bring forth a wave of locusts from inside the Earth. These bugs ate all of our food and plants. He was the 5th trumpet of the apocalypse out of seven. Can anyone tell me what a trumpet was again?"

"A-angels that were chosen to destroy everything," a boy stammered.

"Very good! After sounding his trumpet and the job was finished, Abaddon was tempted by the vampire's way of life and became one himself by the original vampire. After he became king, his queen renamed the land. We are now called Avania. When Abaddon became a vampire, he lost his beautiful white wings. The queen vampire, Lily, hides often and doesn't interfere with the country's politics. But some say she feeds upon men's—"

"Why do they have wings?" one pup asked. She was four winter seasons old.

"That's how they were made. The Creator gave them wings."

"Can I have wings, too?"

"No."

"Who was the original vampire?"

Clarence scrunched his face when he tried to remember. "Hmm, no one knows, but he must be the most vicious of all."

"But—"

"HUSH. No more interruptions! Where was I...Let's see...There was never a 6th trumpet, a terrible force of fire and smoke, so our pain isn't finished yet, little ones. The end."

Some of the pups started crying at the sudden ending. This type of reaction was normal.

"You forgot about the terrible vampire children, Clarence!" Teru reminded. Two of the pups ran over to Teru to clutch his legs for protection. Young children liked to cling to him for some reason.

The storyteller's eyes widened. "Oof! I'm getting too old to remember everything. It is said the queen had seven offspring previously, all with different fathers. King Abaddon adopted them as his own. They are known as the seven deadly sins. The youngest is lust, followed by gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, and envy. The oldest is pride, the most dangerous of all the sins. Pride has fangs bigger than your hand, eyes that are the darkest of red, and a hideous face that will paralyze you for life. He will suck all of your blood in seconds."

At this point, all of the pups were terrified.

"And, uh, what else...There was one more thing," Clarence said to himself.

"PSST!" he hissed to get the old man's attention. "The symbols."

"I knew that, boy! The seven deadly sins have tattoos on their bodies." Clarence drew the seven symbols in the dirt with a stick: snake, vulture, fox, cuckoo bird, bear, dog, and a lion.

"If you ever see these symbols on a vampire, run. The end."

The pack's storyteller was losing his memory. He didn't mention what animal logos goes to which deadly sin. It didn't matter though. The whole thing was a silly tale to make pups wary of the world. Teru himself stopped believing in it when he turned eight seasons.

The little humans ran back to their parents, who were annoyed that they had to deal with a crying child before bedtime. Teru had to pry off the small hands to make them go back to their mothers.

He watched everyone once more. It was these moments that made him appreciate the small things. In the caves, it was difficult to be lighthearted since it was dreary and dark.

They had little, barely anything, but all he needed was the people.

A light touch skimmed over his nape's birthmark. For obvious reasons, Teru disliked being touched there. Supposedly, if an alpha bit the nape, it would bind an omega to them for life. No one really knows, not until Teru was marked himself. He wasn't fond of the idea.

The unknown circumstances of being bitten on the nape made him panic inside. He gave off a low rumble from his chest to warn the offender.

"Whoa there, my omega. I was just thinking how unfortunate it is that you have that birthmark on your neck. It won't look good underneath my teeth marks."

Ah. All Teru needed was the people except for this guy. Nolan. At 26 summer seasons old, he was the Valley Pack's youngest leader in its history.

The alpha that wanted to mark him and bond them for life.