Abaddon's eye twitched, no doubt holding in his anger. Teru inhaled thick, scentless air. Were these his pheromones? The consistency was the same as pheromones, but where was the unique scent all alphas had? Although it didn't smell of anything, the pressure weighing down on Teru's shoulders was immense. It demanded his submission. He needed to crawl on his hands and knees toward the ultimate dominant alpha, lick his military boots, and beg for forgiveness.

His bitter pheromones wanted to explode.

Not here, not here, his inner monologue panicked. In the presence of all these royal alphas, that would be comparable to pissing his pants from fear.

Everyone watched Abaddon with wary caution, none more so than Kieran. Dr. Charles was also stiff, having no issues fighting the man responsible for burning down his hospital and life's work so long ago if it came down to it. Defending an omega that wasn't his would be an excuse to have a go at him.

A soothing aroma blanketed the entire floor. It was flowery; a rose, maybe? There were smells that were psychologically proven to calm the nerves, and this must be one of them. Queen Lilith never spoke, but her wise eyes demanded them to settle down; this was her court.

It worked on Abaddon. The clear, scentless gas dissipated. "Still untrained, I see." He turned his attention elsewhere. "Lust."

"Your Majesty?" Blaise responded.

"Share your reports about the import and export data for this quarter."

"I, er, yes, uh," he stuttered, lost for words. Blaise, the vampire who always had a witty comeback or snarky response, was stunned. All the deadly sins were because they thought their stepfather would try to kill the out-of-line omega. No one insulted the king and got away with it unharmed.

Blaise opened his matching pink briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers. He put on a pair of gold reading glasses. "We saw our gross domestic product..."

As they discussed economics, immigration, and other subjects Teru couldn't follow along with, questions bombarded his mind. What was that? He wasn't going to punish him? Just like that? Why did the queen help him again? The crazy ex-angel literally tore Tristan's ear off for not following the attendance routine, which was still on the floor!

Something wasn't right.

Kieran took part in the discussion but didn't let his guard down. From the corner of his eye, Teru saw him studying Abaddon with trepidation. They both thought the same thing-this was suspicious.

The next hour was tediously long. His feet hurt from standing in the same place. Government-related stuff on this scale was not his forte. Whenever the next topic arose, Blaise was ready with his research papers and graphs. It didn't suit his image, but he was surprisingly professional when it came to Avania's behind-the-scenes. There were some arguments, particularly about the missing money from the treasury. Ashantee, the Greed sin, was unconvincingly adamant she didn't take it. She kept asking for backup from Koko, but Sloth rarely woke up.

"Before we finish, I have two announcements," the king said. "First is regarding one of my omegas. Ravi is two days overdue, so Wrath will induce him in the maternity wing when I dismiss you-"

Dr. Charles sat up at the news. "I'm going to what? Why am I finding out about this now?" The physician mumbled how he hated these sorts of things pushed on him without notice.

Abaddon ignored the complaints. "Wrath will induce Ravi today," he repeated to confirm the plans. "Pray for an omega pup. I'm hopeful since I borrowed the sire from a winning alpha breeder in Texas."

So there are captive vampires used for breeding, too? Like humans? Do they hate the state of this world as much as I do?

Ravi, who kept his focus on his feet the whole time, had no reaction to their degrading discussion about him. Teru didn't know this person, but he felt for him. The females in the Valley Pack were usually overjoyed when they were close to their due date. Having this pup must feel more like a duty.

"My second announcement is slightly unusual. I need advice from Pride."

The entire meeting was a bore to Kieran. "I hope my answer will suffice you," he said, deadpanned.

"Oh, I think I'll be satisfied, no matter the outcome." The country's leader snapped his fingers. The sound echoed, followed by the doors opening. A guard walked in. He held a yellow leash. In tow was someone Teru hadn't seen since his first heat. The beta human wore dark glasses concealing his eyes. He stumbled over the bridge because he couldn't see the slight incline over the pond. Despite falling often, the guard roughly yanked him along without empathy.

The head servant was blind. Kieran was responsible for that when he clawed out his eyeballs for witnessing Teru's presenting to be filled and fucked.

Abaddon patted his thighs. "Come here and sit on my lap, David."

The pitiful beta slowly tried to find his master. It was painstaking to watch. When he fell on the first step up the throne, the twins cackled. David eventually found Abaddon's leg and situated himself there. This was a weird sight to behold.

The king stroked David's messy hair and unlocked his yellow collar. "How are your eyes, or should I say, eye sockets?"

He sobbed, "Master! The infections never go away. I can't sleep. I'm in pain constantly-"

"Pride," Abaddon interrupted, not giving a shit. "Do you see what you did to my head servant? He's been with me for five decades. I practically raised him to bend to my every will. He earned the highest rank for a human in this building for betraying one of the biggest packs in Avania at the time. His services were sufficient and kept the lower servants in line. You've also known David since he was a pup. In fact, weren't you the one who named him, too?"

"I did, yes."

"Do you have any remorse? Do you think you should be punished for ruining my property?"

Though David had black glasses for the blind, his expression was obviously triumphant, thinking the eldest prince would feel Abaddon's anger. Justice would be served.

Kieran replied without hesitation, "No. I do not think I should be penalized. David knew the situation of why I was on work leave, yet he trespassed into my territory while my omega was in heat. I was also approaching my season. He should've known I'd be aggressive. The maid warned him not to enter, as well."

The room was silent.

Abaddon tangled his fingers in the beta's hair, getting a good grip on his greying locks. "You give a good defense, Pride..." He suddenly shoved David's head away, flinging him off his lap. Teru flinched when he went rolling down the stairs. The elderly servant groaned, unmoving. With his old age, a few bones were surely broken. Tristan held in a laugh.

"...And I agree with you. I was highly disappointed to learn David almost injured your prized possession. The fragile thing should be regarded as a national treasure. Thus, I need help deciding between two things from you and Mr. Teru, the human omega from the former Mammoth Caves National Park in Kentucky."

Dread twisted his belly. He knows where my home is!

"I can either kill this idiot now since he's useless to me or," Abaddon waited to continue when David's cries died down, "send an official order for my army to ransack those caves. They'll round up every human and sell them all as bloodstock to the slaughterhouses, no matter their gender."

"Huh?" Teru squeaked.

Kieran stood up to block his stepfather from seeing Teru's shaking composure. "You clearly know the answer to this. How will I know you won't do both if you haven't already?"

'If you haven't already,' Teru thought. His heart hurt when he reminisced about Hina chasing him through the snowy thicket and helping his mother make flower crowns in the springtime. They got on his nerves sometimes, sure, but they didn't deserve to die in a horror house, hanging by their ankles with slit throats to drain their blood.

"You have my word as a prior angel of God, and you know I don't use His name often. As far as I know, those rebellious packs are untouched, at least by men. What will it be, Pride?"

"Then Dav-"

"Wait," Teru barely said. Kieran shouldn't decide on something so serious, so quickly.

The alpha raised an eyebrow at him. "No-"

"The omega said wait," Abaddon snapped. "Actually, why don't we leave it up to him? Hmm? What do you think, my love?" Queen Lilith shrugged. She had no opinion about this.

"Choose, Mr. Teru. The pathetic beta who almost struck you or your precious pack?"

This was absolute madness. The king was basically asking him to murder! His chest tightened.

THUMP.

THUMP.

His heart pounded loudly.

"Please. Please," David pleaded. Teru looked at the crumpled person on the floor, facing him with his eyeless gaze. David's glasses had fallen off, revealing the dark, pus-encrusted holes with stitches scars. The servant did have the intention to hurt him when he was most vulnerable in his heat. Did it warner a death sentence, though?

But his family...

He needed to protect his family.

A tear fell down his cheek. He looked away from David, hiding his face in Kieran's side. Kieran placed a hand over Teru's eyes, shielding him from what was to come next.

There was the snap of fingers. Not even a second later, David was screaming, "My King! Please! You're all I know and care for. Haven't I done well-UGH!"

Teru jumped when he heard yells and gurgling. The guard snarled like a fighting dog set on a poor animal to practice maiming. The monster's fangs ripped into something fleshy. Drops of liquid plopped on the marble. Kieran's other hand covered his ear to quiet out the agonized screams.

Teru tried to turn his head, but his alpha pressed him closer in his vest, making him unable to see. Regardless, he knew what was happening.

David's jugular was being ripped out. He choked on his blood while trying to fight the vampire off. It was futile. The ear-splitting shrieks haunted Teru, knowing he'd remember them forever. Soon, the scuffle stopped.

"Incinerate the body."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He listened as the guard dragged the corpse away. The doors closed. Kieran finally let him go. Red streaks smeared the floor. To these sadistic bloodsuckers, it was a crimson painting on a white canvas, ready to display at a museum.

Forgive me. Teru didn't have a choice. Those pints of blood could've belonged to his pack in a slaughterhouse.

The iron stench reached his nose. He couldn't hold his nausea in any longer. Teru ran behind Kieran's chair, doubled over, and threw up on the floor. His stomach heaved any remnants of his raspberry breakfast. This was his punishment for calling Abaddon a bastard. It was psychological rather than physical. He'd likely spend the next week pacing around his nest at night, awake because of anxiety for his pack.

Kieran growled, livid from the situation. He helped Teru stand up straight and wiped the mess away from his face with a handkerchief. "Is this meeting adjourned?"

The king was content, not caring that a human who served under him for years since childhood was brutally murdered by his command. The other vampires couldn't care less because they saw this occur daily. Ravi trembled with wide eyes, stressed by the scene, too. A pregnant omega about to give birth shouldn't be here.

"Does anyone else have something to add?" Abaddon asked.

"I do."

They all looked at the person who spoke. Tristan had his sight firmly set on Kieran. He stood up and walked to the center floor. His shoes made a SQUELCH sound with every step on David's congealing blood. Tristan's irises were like cat eyes, on the verge of becoming Envy. After taking off his suit blazer and undershirt, he neatly folded them. On his left pectoral muscle above his nipple was a black dog tribal tattoo, barring its teeth. It was Envy's symbol. Smelling tart lemon almost made Teru undergo another round of puking.

Tristan's unfaltering eye contact, musky lemon pheromones, low chest rumble, and the confidence in his stance when approaching another alpha were signs of-

"Brother, I challenge you right here, right now, for that omega. I want him. I want to mark him as mine. You were foolish not to do so when you had the chance."

"Ugh," Blaise scoffed. "Enough with that. He'll never say yes." Blaise was right. Kieran had never physically fought with Tristan in hundreds of years. It was the reason Envy automatically became the number one sin because Pride didn't brawl anymore-he hadn't participated in a proper alpha challenge since he was captured by Van Helsing. They knew Pride believed he was way above fighting some insignificant rumpus in the dirt, for a ranking humans didn't care about anymore.

Everyone except the king gathered up their belongings, not taking the jealous vampire seriously. Abaddon said, "Then we are finished. In the next meeting, we need to discuss the theme for the spring equinox event-"

"I accept."

Every individual froze. They never thought they'd see the day when Kieran uttered those words again.

Teru grabbed his hand. "You what?"

Kieran lifted his chin, looking down at his younger sibling. The muscles in his throat flexed from holding in a threatening snarl. His sharp nails grew longer. Mint mixed with lemon. Teru watched as his irises also turned into slivers. The man's inner sin was close to coming out.

Abaddon was on cloud nine watching the upcoming battle, splaying out lazily on his lavish chair to enjoy the show. Their mother rolled her eyes as if they were two children fighting over a toy.

"I accept your challenge."