Kieran's fangs were inside of Teru's throat, stabbing the passageway filled with the life-sustaining liquid.

Teru yelped loudly from the sharp mini daggers piercing him. His body trembled and his fingers twitched from wanting to scratch at Kieran, but he remained still no matter what he was feeling. Since this was his first bite, he most likely felt his fight-or-flight instincts. His inner omega must've been at war with itself – attack the vampire that could easily kill you or don't move because the alpha ordered you to.

But according to humans who genuinely like getting bitten, it got better in time. It was like sex – painful at first but pleasurable later.

Kieran caressed the side of Teru's face to let him know it was just him, releasing a slight scent of mint for good measure. He added more weight onto Teru, hoping it resembled a comforting blanket than a hostile hunter.

Hot blood burst into Kieran's mouth and rushed down his throat.

It was sweet.

It was filling.

It was fucking delicious.

But most important of all, he didn't feel sick.

The vampire felt a high like no other. He bit deeper to access more, sucking harder. But what made it the greatest drinking experience of his life was the human now writhing in ecstasy beneath him.

Thanks to the pheromone venom, it had quickly soothed the momentary pain caused by his fangs. It acted like a hardcore drug that humans had once trafficked illegally so long ago. Kieran could smell the vampiric juice flowing through Teru's body. He needed to be careful with how much he injected. It could easily become addicting at high doses.

If both parties consented, drinking blood was actually an amazing experience. But this...this was something else. Never has drinking from a human been so fucking good, like the blood was formulated just for him and him alone. Wars would start just to drink once from this delectable source.

Teru was responding to the sensation, too, by mewling lustfully. Hmm, this was interesting. It didn't happen with all humans; a potential side-effect of pheromone venom was arousal.

The omega's hips were twisting and turning, trying to grind his crotch with the alpha's above. Teru was hard. Through the blood's rustic smell right under his nose, Kieran detected a subtle scent of slick.

At any other time, Kieran the alpha would be beyond excited. Probably would've knotted, as well.

But Kieran the vampire had completely overridden his other side.

His stomach was full, yet he wanted more.

Desired more.

Needed more.

It was too good to just stop, you know? This was the first time in centuries not to be starving. Not since that time. When he was tortured. When they hung him by the wrists with heavy chains and speared him repeatedly around his heart, making sure he was on the brink of death every time before allowing him to heal. Repeat process. When they starved him for months on end until they finally fucking ripped out his fangs, ensuring he couldn't drink again. It was agonizing to his dignity to see his precious fangs hanging around Van Helsing's neck on a string as if it was a prize.

The room suddenly smelled like that same moldy, rat-infested cell again. His nape scar burned just like it did the moment they hacked off the skin with a molten, silver rod. They used his tattooed nape as a target practice to see if other scorching-hot canes and knives made of various metals had the same effect as silver. But nope, it was the only element his kind was weak to.

And that wasn't the worst of things they've done to him.

Van Helsing would be back any second. Hurry.

He better drink as much as he could now before they began the torture. Today would consist of opening his torso to dissect his entrails again.

More blood.

More.

More.

More.

More.

"Kieran?" a faint voice whispered. A slight sense of awareness returned to him.

Teru stared up at him, normal again – the gold tinge was gone from his eyes and his canines returned to their average length. The dominant omega had been subdued. His plan worked. He shut off his pheromones. It took longer because of the malfunction.

The warmth of Teru's skin was gone. It was cold, clammy, and pale. Kieran slowly lifted his fangs out. Like the gentleman he was when it came to the practice of bloodsucking, he'd usually help clean the wounds caused by the deed. Instead, he ignored the thin stream of red trickling from the two holes, staining the couch below.

He was beside himself by what he had just done.

The poor thing could barely move thanks to the blood loss. Just a few minutes longer and his veins would've been bone-dry. Teru tried to lift his arm to pet Kieran's hair.

Seeing the hand coming at him made the vampire recoil, jumping off the couch.

I almost killed him.

He almost died.

I'm no better than the bastard who made me like this.

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

Teru weakly sat up. It was difficult to do. His head was dizzy, the shapes of the furniture spun around him. Breathing was challenging, too, with each short inhale. It was freezing, and that was saying something since he liked the cold.

And why did have a boner?

My neck hurts.

He had most of the puzzle's picture from the past few days completed in his memory, but some pieces were missing here and there. The one thing he vividly remembered the most was his carnal-minded needs to be near the dominant alpha.

Teru recalled the moment when Kieran told him he was likely a dominant omega. He was aware of the conversations and events happening around him but he ran on pure instincts at that point. It left him unable to process anything properly – all he cared about was the longing to be restrained or protecting his alpha from threats, ready to use his pheromones on others if he had to. Get rid of that lavender scent because it didn't belong there.

Even now, Teru didn't have the choice to think about his newly discovered gender or having his blood sucked by a vampire.

Because Kieran was on the verge of a breakdown. He was pacing back and forth in front of the TV with his hands scratching at his nape, hard enough to draw blood. There was panic in his forest-green eyes while muttering, "He's going to return soon. What is he going to do today? What should I do? How do I escape?"

Teru didn't know what he was going on about, but it was alarming to see someone who was normally composed and full of himself about to lose it. The man's behavior grew more erratic.

He stood up on shaky legs and walked slowly over to Kieran who was now rambling, "Kill them. Kill them all. There's too much pride. No wonder the heavens have punished the humans. Too much pride in this world."

Pride. Right. That was another thing Teru had forgotten about. Rather than feeling angry about Kieran's deception, he felt...pity? Sympathy? Almost like he wanted to help this person.

The birthmark on Teru's nape tingled, sending a shiver down his spine. He rubbed the feeling away. That was bizarre.

Teru poked the vampire's back. "Kieran?"

In a blink of an eye, Kieran gripped Teru by his shirt's collar and shoved him against the wall. "Oof!" The human's brain rattled inside his skull.

Kieran looked down at Teru with a darkened face, shining green eyes, and very, very long fangs which had extended to a terrifying length. He was inhaling the air, analyzing Teru's scent.

"No pride." He released him and went back to pacing around the penthouse, leaving scratches along the walls as he walked by. Teru was at a loss. Should he get someone? Who would he even contact? The maid? She hasn't been around in a while.

Kieran coughed violently into his hands. A congealed ball of blood rested in his palms. Although he looked like he was about to cry, not a tear was shed. Suddenly, Kieran went ballistic and began destroying the furniture while spitting up blood. Not full-on vomiting, but enough for it to stain the front of his shirt.

"NO MORE! I WILL NOT BE TORTURED ANY LONGER! I'LL DESTROY EVERY ONE OF YOU FUCKING HUNTERS!" he roared into the air, face contorted by his inner hatred.

Teru's bottom lip quivered in fear, completely wide-eyed. Why was he yelling about hunters? Vampire hunters? Where did he think he was?

This wasn't the alpha. This also wasn't the vampire. This was Pride.

Yeah, Teru should get someone. This was out of his league. A human couldn't do anything, especially a mere omega like himself.

I-I can't help him. I'm really scared.

Without a second thought, or his collar, a panic-stricken Teru stumbled out the front door and practically punched the down button next to the elevator, hoping he could find someone, anyone, to save Kieran.