Kieran found himself enjoying leisurely activities that week, something he hadn't done in centuries. For example, they played board games. It was an idea he had while they were tied together from his knot.

Teru was having a hard time after an hour passed. He was sweating profusely from the prolonging pain and his thin body tremored under his. It reminded Kieran of a scared rabbit in the jaws of a wolf. They needed a diversion from the stubborn knot because it refused to let go of this omega. What should he talk about?

"What did you do in your free time?" Kieran asked.

"Hmm? When?"

"In the caves. What did you do when you weren't hunting?"

Teru thought about it. "Swimming in the summer."

"Do you like swimming?"

"Yeah, I swam a lot with Lucas."

Not that alpha again; time to change the subject. "What else?"

"We played games, I guess, like tag or hide-and-seek."

A lightbulb switched on in Kieran's head. "What about board games?"

"I've never played one. What's that?" As they conversed, Teru stopped shaking from the distracting topic.

Fast forward to now after they tried all sorts of games. Teru liked the ones involving dice, but wasn't a fan of cards, mainly because Kieran had once laughed at his terrible poker face. It was difficult for the tenacious human to let go of grudges. Whenever cards were mentioned, his nose would scrunch up.

Next, per request, they were reading Black Beauty again on the sofa, illuminated by the warm glow of yellow sunlight. This sad tale became special to Teru since the horse's journey was relatable.

He was trying his best to pronounce the words himself.

"Only ignorance!" he slowly read the text. "Only ignorance! How can you...talk about only ignorance? Don't you...know that it is the...worst thing in the world, next to–" The last word was a new one for him. "W-w-i..."

"Wickedness," Kieran helped.

"Wickedness," he finished. He analyzed the passage's message with furrowed eyebrows.

The alpha smoothed out Teru's forehead to get rid of the wrinkle-forming creases. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Teru held out his hand indifferently, not taking his eyes off the book on his lap. Kieran scoffed and dug through his pocket. He placed a literal penny on Teru's palm, another shiny coin to add to the nest.

That was another thing.

Teru really liked money, not necessarily the paper bills, but the round metal change. It began as a reward for whoever won at dice games, followed by bribing him to eat his green foods. This turned out to be a grave mistake. Whenever the prince requested something from him, he would wait until Kieran handed over a nickel or two.

Teru put the copper penny on the side table. "I'm thinking about what he said about being ignorant."

"Oh?"

"Does it mean ignorance can cause more harm than wickedness? Would I have had an easier time adjusting to the city if I knew how the real world works?"

It was a true tragedy that Teru wasn't born during what humans called the 'Before' times – he would've thrived in college, most likely studying sociology or any humanities major. His insightfulness was mature for a young adult raised in dirt and feces. To think that a fat prick like Count James almost won him. His intelligence would've gone to waste.

Kieran tapped on the first edition book. "Who knows? Don't take it too close to heart. It's only a fictional story."

This answer didn't satisfy Teru. His eyebrows returned to furrowing as he ruminated. To quench his thirst for knowledge, Kieran got up and searched through his small library. He chose some coffee table books and other photography collections before returning to the couch.

Teru picked up one of the enormous books with colorful pictures of different biomes and geographies. Its cover depicted the snowy, northern tundra. "What are these for?"

"It's my method to teach you about the world. I refuse to install the internet in my home, so this will have to do. Staring at a computer for hours is bad for your eyes and can cause issues falling asleep."

"Internet? What's the internet?"

Hearing this was refreshing, thinking he'd never hear someone say, 'What's the internet?' again. Useful occasionally, but he overall despised the World Wide Web. There were times when his identity as a vampire was leaked to hardcore believers. Oh, and let's not forget the crazy humans who attempted to make him into a celebrity merely because he was handsome. Just the thought of those cyber-stalking people and fan sites keeping track of his every move made him shutter.

"It doesn't matter."

They dove into the lesson, beginning with the rainforest.

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

The stereo speakers he ordered arrived. As the beta vampire technician hooked it up to the surround sound system, Teru curiously studied how the visitor connected the complicated wires.

"Do you know what these are?" Kieran asked him once they were alone. There were at least ten large boxes full of records, CDs, and cassette tapes he pulled out of storage. At one time, he had a small music hobby, particularly classical and heavy metal hair bands. As society's tastes changed at the turn of the twenty-first century, he wasn't interested in the computerized sound. Thus, he stopped collecting and placed everything in a storage unit across town.

Teru picked up a CD case. "For music, I think. My dad told me about these. Why are there squiggles on them?"

There was handwritten cursive on their covers. "Whenever I met the artist, I'd get them to sign it. Sometimes it would be by chance on the streets, other times it was at a concert. There was a decade where I worked as a music producer and met many through that way, too. It was one of the few times in my life that I can honestly say was fun."

"To get humans to sign something?" The concept was weird for Teru. "I don't get it."

"Signatures made them valuable, but I suppose they're worthless now. Not all were humans. Singers or band members who died young or under mysterious circumstances were usually vampires. Anyway, is there anything you want to listen to? A certain genre?"

The collection overwhelmed him. "I don't know..."

Once again, Kieran forgot how he didn't know the medley of genres. He rummaged through a box.

"Let's start with this one." Kieran showed him how to use the buttons on the system. Although he could've gone the easy way out through Bluetooth, it was more memorable to hold a physical item in your hands than a touchscreen.

Jazz music blasted through the ceiling speakers. "This is called swing. Many humans danced to this, but it's a lost art‌."

As they listened on the floor while searching through the boxes, Kieran recalled nostalgic memories of swing dancing when their ship was stationed in coastal cities during the war. His underlings kept pushing him to try, hoping to see their asshole of a captain fail. Obviously, he aced the technique in one shot after seeing those drunk buffoons dance to it many times. Pride wasn't Pride if he couldn't be perfect at everything.

Teru tapped his feet to the brass line tempo. "Can you show me how to dance?"

When annoying aristocrats asked him to dance at the king's formal events, he always declined. Yet, he couldn't say no to those big, brown eyes. Kieran swore he saw sparkly flowers blooming behind Teru. When did this become a romance drama?

There was only one answer. He stood up and offered a hand. "Only if you can keep up with me."

Teru accepted it.

As the experienced vamp taught him how to do the swinging steps, one thing was evident - Teru was a professional at shooting, but he couldn't dance. He stumbled, stepped on Kieran's feet constantly, and his rhythm was terrible.

If it was Pride, he would've hidden in shame for failing. For Teru, he laughed no matter how many times he messed up, even when the move was simple. Kieran thought the way he reacted to his own mishaps was mindboggling.

"I'm really bad at this!" Teru squealed after Kieran spun him around by the waist. His grin reached ear to ear. Was this the first time seeing him this happy after being captured?

Pride laughed, too, wholeheartedly agreeing.

When the song finished, Kieran chose a cassette tape he had been eyeing. It was an aggressive era that took him by surprise because it was make-love-not-war hippy music a few years prior. The deadly sins had the time of their lives at these head-banging events, feeding off the angsty energy there. "Let me introduce you to rock. The 1970s and 80s produced the best music, in my opinion, in history."

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

"What's this?" he asked, just like when Teru tried to give back the Rolex. Kieran felt déjà vu as Teru held out a gold pocket watch with a mint green face.

"I got this for you."

"For me?" He took the watch and inspected it. No one who knew his status as a cold-blooded killer had ever given him a gift before.

Teru noticed his confused expression. "You...hate it?"

Kieran gripped the watch. "I appreciate the present, but where did you get it?"

He turned away and mumbled, "I called Blaise for help when you were at your meeting the other day."

"Where did you get his number?"

"From the list next to the phone."

Kieran glanced at the memo paid. It was good that Teru could read the numbers just in case of emergencies, yet...

His siblings wouldn't do a favor without something in return. "What did he want from you if he bought this?"

Teru still didn't look at him. "I technically bought it. I gave him my coins I was saving."

Kieran had a hunch. "Did Lust ask for details about us? About our intimacy? And you told him?"

His reddening ears said it all.

The dominant alpha growled, getting up to go find that perverted bastard for making an innocent human-

Teru hugged him from behind before he could leave. "I'm sorry for telling Blaise! I wanted to do this after you gave me your watch. You can throw it away, so don't go and fight, please?"

Kieran sighed and examined the chained pocket watch again. Although he was livid with his younger brother, his heart was full at the gesture. He turned around and kissed his omega's cheek with a light peck. It tasted salty from tears. "It's lovely."

"Really? You like it?" Teru sniffled.

His sadistic inner monster liked seeing Teru's flushed nose and cheeks from crying. It was so pure. "I do. I'll always carry it. Is there a reason for the color?"

"I wanted mint green because your pheromones smell like mint."

Kieran put it in his vest pocket. An alpha should be proud when they received a gift from their partner.

They both purred.

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

Kieran was trying so hard at this. He didn't know what he was doing wrong. Charles said spending time with him, introducing new things, and keeping him busy would improve his mental health.

It wasn't working.

Pride was the best at everything...except make his omega happy, apparently.

He helplessly saw Teru's energy decline hour by hour. It started with breakfast when he left the red raspberries untouched, which was unheard of. Reading, writing, and music were suddenly disinteresting. During the movie today, Teru watched the TV but wasn't actually watching the film; his mind was somewhere else.

Teru currently sat on a balcony chair outside, watching the gentle snowfall. He went out there hours ago and never came back in.

Kieran huffed. This would put a crimp in his plans. The other day when everything was still fine, he started to mentally organize how they should leave New York. But, if Teru's depression continued to worsen, there was no way he'd make it to see their escape a year from now.

He was lost, feeling uncertain about his next steps.

Before going out there to join him, Kieran fetched another thick blanket from the closet. The sound of the sliding glass door startled Teru, returning his attention to sky-gazing when realizing it was just him. Kieran threw the fleece blanket over Teru's body to keep him warm from the northern winter chill.

"You've already brought me three blankets," Teru said. Kieran wiped off the layer of snowflakes that accumulated on his black hair. The Rolex strapped around his fragile wrist glistened, rarely taking it off unless to bathe. Both kept their gifted watches on them when possible.

"I once heard a human say, 'You can never have enough blankets.'"

Teru cracked a smile, making Kieran wish he'd do it more often. "That's silly."

Kieran took a seat on the other chair. They observed the cloudy horizon. The snow absorbed the city echoes.

He wasn't going to say anything until his plan solidified, but Teru needed hope. "How would you feel about leaving New York?"

The sluggishness in his eyes vanished into surprise. "Leave? Where? For how long?"

"I have a secret place I go to when I need to vanish sometimes. We can stay there for as long as you like."

This was all new information for Teru. "A secret place?"

The prince was about to tell him an ultimate secret no one else knew besides the royal family. "Each deadly sin, Abaddon, and my mother have an undisclosed hideout for when we need to hide and compose ourselves; to get away from worldly temptations. I don't know where the others' hideouts are, and they don't know mine. That's where I want to take you."

"What's it like? When can we go?" Teru was sitting up, full of life again.

"It's a cabin in the mountains, secluded from civilization." There was no point in mentioning its location in the former Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Teru wouldn't know where it was. Plus, if anyone tried to pry for information if their scheme was leaked, he literally couldn't reveal it. There were many mountains, many cabins. It would be impossible to pinpoint where without a name.

"I'm not sure when, so just hold on until I can properly arrange it. That means you need to eat, maintain your energy, and stay healthy. This needs to be kept secret between us. Not Blaise. Not Charles. No one."

"What about Lucas? You'll take him with us, right?"

Lucas. His name was like nails on a chalkboard. Kieran's scent gland tingled where he bit him.

"I'm not sure. It'll be difficult with two people already."

Teru was lethargic again, receding back into his seat. "I see."

"Would you feel better if you met the other omegas?" What was Kieran spouting? Did he seriously ask if he wanted to see the king's harem? He wanted to slap himself for his stupidity, but he was desperate for solutions.

"Maybe." Teru was unresponsive to the proposal.

He had another suggestion. There was something Kieran could schedule, but he needed to call the Zhang's before it became too late in the afternoon.

"What about meeting your pack friend?"

Teru looked at him again. "Lucas?"

He was jealous just hearing him utter another alpha's name that should be moaning his. Kieran's jaw clenched and faked being calm when he said, "Yes, Lucas. I can organize a playdate with his owners since they owe me. How does Saturday sound? That's tomorrow."

Kieran almost rescinded his offer. He wanted to be the only one to make him happy. Both his sin and gender simmered within him.

Seeing Teru's excited face made it worth it, though. Plus, he also needed to be in the best state of mind because they were seeing Abaddon on Monday.