The vampire lunged at him with its long fingernails. It wrestled Teru to the ground, trying to tie up his wrists. Dirt and soot particles flew into the air from their scuffle.

He heard Lucas yell from across the room, kicking the creature off of him. It barely fazed the bloodsucker as it pushed Lucas into the wall with a hard thud. His friend slid to the floor.

The momentary distraction was enough time for Teru to slip out of the loose binding, grab the pure silver knife from the floor, and stab it in the chest with as much force as he could muster. He felt the blade crunch through the muscles. It was just long enough for the sharp object to pierce the heart. Blood flowed over Teru's hands.

The vampire screamed and writhed. Red soaked the wooden floorboards. Within a minute, it stopped moving as the life slipped from its eyes. Teru fell on all fours and heaved, but there was nothing left in his stomach.

"What the FUCK was that?" Lucas groaned, rubbing the back of his head. It was a little bloody from the impact. He crawled over to Teru. "Are you hurt?"

"No."

"You killed your first vampire. Congratulations."

Now wasn't the time to celebrate. There were screams coming from the streets. Right. An ambush.

"We need to get out of here," Lucas pulled him up in a rush. "Let's go through the back—"

If the first bump to the head didn't make him pass out, this one did. A figure snuck up behind them and hit Lucas in the same spot, hard. He went down like a limp doll. It was another vampire but a female this time. She grabbed Lucas's ankle and dragged him to the front door. Blood seeped from his wound, making a crimson trail.

Teru went after the woman with his knife. Someone from the side quickly wrestled him to the floor and hog-tied him, followed by gagging his mouth with a cloth.

"Holy shit," the vampire said. His voice was laced with surprise. "This is an omega."

"What? I doubt it," another replied from afar. The doubtful one approached him and smelled Teru's exposed neck. His hefty body smelled of sour sweat. He laughed and high-fived the one who tied him. "We are gonna make bank at the next auction."

Auction. Auction. If he remembered correctly, Teru's dad once said humans used to battle with money over valuable objects at an auction.

The bigger one that stunk flung Teru over his shoulder and out the door. There were a few scavengers dead on the road - the ones who fought back until death. That included Josy. She laid face down in a pool of her own blood. Her arm was almost ripped off. Two dead vampires were next to her body with stab wounds to their chests. No doubt she took them down, not without a fight.

He was in too much shock to cry.

The vamp set him down with the remaining members. Because of the way he was tied, his cheek rested on the dirt and rocks. It was uncomfortable.

"We got an omega!"

While the vampires smelled Teru and cheered, he looked around at the scared scavengers. His pack mates. He counted heads. Including the living and the dead, two were missing. They must've escaped. Hopefully, they'd reach the Valley Pack to tell them what had happened today.

They were shaking. Some accidentally relieved themselves in their pants. Josy's second-in-command was looking at Teru with sorrow, knowing what was going to happen to an omega in a vampire's clutches. Lucas was still blacked-out but alive. Everyone's wrists were bound with a rope. Why was Teru the only one hog-tied and gagged?!

They were about to be placed in the back of a big truck. If it wasn't for the situation, Teru would've been excited to see his first vehicle. Hina would've been so jealous. That moment was taken away from him. Teru bit his bottom lip. Hina. He'd never see her again. His mom would grieve over her son, taken the same way as her husband. He wanted his mother. Tears finally escaped his eyes.

He knew exactly what this was. The truck, auction, and the way they were careful at packing them into the vehicle. The vampires weren't going to kill them, not these ones at least.

They were human poachers. Their job was to find the remaining people left in the wild to sell as blood slaves.