"Teru."

He heard his name.

"Teru."

The bathroom light above was too bright. His body was stiff from lying in the same spot on the hard tiles. Teru groaned and sat up, leaning against the wall. One side of his hair was soaking wet from the waterdrops continuously dripping on him when he slept.

"Yeah?" Teru rasped, voice heavy with sleep.

"He's awake, guys," Jacky announced to the others.

Lila scoffed, "Finally. It's been twenty hours."

Teru paused while wiping his eyes. How long?! He stood and walked to the center of the bedroom. The clock signified it was mid-afternoon. Trays of cold food waited for him on the table, which were the meals he had missed at designated feeding times. His stomach rumbled, body demanding energy and nourishment.

Wow, I really was out for almost a full day.

"We were starting to worry about ya. You weren't responding to our calls for hours."

"I've been more tired than usual." Teru went over to the glass door. The four werewolves studied him with more attention than before, especially his face. It made him self-conscious.

They talked to one another as if he wasn't there.

"I can't believe we missed it."

"He has the same hair. Body type is similar, too."

"Personality isn't like Ryoma, though. It reminds me of Haruhito."

That was a name Teru hadn't heard before. "Who?"

"Your father," Tae-soo joined in. "You didn't know?"

"I don't. I found out recently that Mom and Dad are not my biological parents. You knew Ryoma?"

Tae-soo broke eye contact and stared at the empty room next to his own, looking lost in thought of whatever distant memories he was remembering.

Jacky cleared his throat. "Of course, except Zander because he arrived later. We never knew what happened to him or his unborn baby. It's been eighteen years. His escape was the reason outsiders such as guards and servants are not allowed to visit anymore."

"Escape?" His mother escaped? There was a way? "How?"

"I suppose we should start from the beginning, yeah? There's not much we know ourselves. Basically, Ryoma Kurokawa was elite in the omega category. Pureblood to the bone. Their family was known worldwide for producing the best male omegas. The Japanese royal family themselves protected them. You might've heard the story of their emperor giving him to Abaddon as a gift to keep the peace, but that's not the whole truth. Abaddon threatened to start a war with them and overthrow their country if they didn't hand over the Kurokawa's pack leader's successor. Ryoma ended up volunteering to protect his people."

That was interesting. An omega as a leader? "But he wasn't an alpha."

Jacky clicked his tongue. "It didn't matter. It was all about blood and how you carried yourself. Ryoma was a proud omega. He was a kind person to everyone, no matter their gender or status, as long as they respected him, too. Abaddon obviously did not earn his respect, and fought tooth and nail for a long time. Ryoma wouldn't give in despite the constant punishments. It even shocked us with the feral way he'd attempt to assault Abaddon whenever the door opened. We'd all think, Who is going to win today?"

"That bastard asshole said it took three years before Ryoma would wear a white collar willingly," Teru mentioned. The others chuckled at his cursing toward the almighty ruler.

"Yep. Three whole years." Jacky's demeanor turned sad. "But there was an incident that changed him. The emperor gave one condition: that Ryoma and his offspring would always be escorted by Kurokawa loyalists. Japan sent four guards and one female servant. Seems excessive, but that's my opinion. It was truly something else, to watch him get pampered on a daily basis as if Ryoma was the king himself. We were surprised that Abaddon agreed...until that omega had pre-heat aggression and bit Abaddon's face in half. It was gruesome! Dude's entire right side of his head was torn to shreds. It took quite a nasty number of weeks to heal. Once he was fine, Abaddon sentenced Ryoma's caretakers to death by firing squad, all except one guard. Letting one live meant keeping the promise he made to the emperor about the escorts."

The beta pointed to the middle of the opening where the wolves played earlier. "He did it in front of Ryoma's room. The bullets didn't break the blood-stained glass. The cruelest part was how Abaddon left their bodies to decompose for two weeks before finally removing them. We smelled the lingering, rotten flesh smell for months. It was traumatic for Ryoma. To not risk his last guard meeting the same fate, he became docile and obeyed every command without question."

"And when does my father, Haruhito, come into this?"

"Haven't you connected the dots yet?" Lila asked, listening to the story as Jacky told it. "Haruhito was the guard. The chances of you being conceived by him were almost zero percent because-"

Jacky interrupted her to make her stop. "Lila, you're skipping. It'll make this confusing. Okay, so, we attempted to help Ryoma and his depression, but it was difficult because his English wasn't fluent. Health stuff is challenging with a language barrier. Haruhito spoke English and helped communicate often. Ryoma suffered, enough that his cycles completely disappeared from stress, much to Abaddon's dismay. It was why he asked some human-specialized doctor to begin research into creating a serum to induce heats and ruts."

Must be Dr. Charles.

"But that guard became really close to Ryoma after their deaths. Intimately close. He took wonderful care of Ryoma in ways that we couldn't mentally and physically. We never exposed their secret relationship to Abaddon. Later, Ryoma found himself pregnant despite not having a heat cycle for over a year. Abaddon hadn't been able to partner him with anyone, so how do you think Ryoma got magically knocked up?"

"...Haruhito. The guard."

"Mhm, Haruhito, the beta guard. You might as well as say Ryoma was a virgin and became pregnant. That would be more believable than saying how a pureblooded, male omega conceived off their cycle by a beta. You're a miracle, but not the miracle Abaddon wanted."

A beta?! I heard it was possible for a beta to impregnate an omega, but it's hard because sperm count is lower than an alpha's.

"He desired a pup made through the traditional way via pairing with a chosen alpha during a heat. Abaddon decided not to terminate the pregnancy. Ryoma was still in his early twenties. There were plenty of fertility years remaining and we all know an omega's ability to get pregnant is difficult. He allowed Haruhito to guard him while outside of the room, though. They were forbidden from touching. That was the arrangement for seven months, and no one dared to break the rules. One night, Haruhito left, probably to go to the bathroom. His frantic footsteps woke us up while he was still trying to button his pants. Our questions weren't reaching him. He spoke crazy fast Japanese. A lot of curse words. I'll never forget the way his hands trembled; the way his dark brown eyes were scared. He broke a major rule by opening the glass door himself, picked up the sleeping Ryoma, and fled into the dead of night."

Jacky ceased talking. Teru was confused. "What happened next?"

"That's it."

"That's it? What did my father see for him to just take Ryoma away suddenly? There has to be more!" Teru couldn't believe this! Leaving here couldn't be that easy. It was fishy. Suspicious.

"Look, kid, we wish we knew. We really do. They were our friends, too. But you being here almost two decades later means they got out somehow," Jacky breathed in to cool himself. "It wasn't easy for us to lose a member in such an abrupt way, without explanation. Tae-soo loved him-"

The pack alpha got up from his usual sitting position and snarled at Jacky, who shut up immediately. Apparently, that was an unspoken thing. Tae-soo caught Teru watching him, their gazes meeting.

Tae-soo sighed and leaned his forehead against the thick glass, defeated. "I think any alpha would've fallen for him. I wasn't an exception. Ryoma was truly unique, like you. I was enthralled by his feistiness and determination to live as an omega. He wouldn't take crap from Abaddon, probably because he grew up being told never to bow to others he thought were lesser than him. It was funny to know that Abaddon was technically way above Ryoma, but Ryoma believed there was something not quite right with him; something that was fraudulent. He couldn't exactly put a finger on it and would say, 'Not a true alpha.' As Jacky said, Ryoma's English wasn't the best, but he tried. His accent was cute. Ryoma's favorite food was salmon and usually skipped dessert, complaining it was too sweet. But, I'm a vampire. Ryoma was human and liked Haruhito. I knew my place and didn't want to ruin our friendship, even though I could've easily taken him."

The way Tae-soo talked about Teru's mother made him teary. His tone was sorrowful. "Ryoma's scent was clove with a hint of pecan. Whenever we scent marked as wolves, I was a kid again during the Christmas season. The stronger the pecan, the closer he was to his heat. And he had the prettiest fur. It was the blackest of black-"

"Ryoma was a werewolf?" Teru heard wrong. It was all a misunderstanding. He's had enough shocking news to last a lifetime. This would be the cherry on top, depending on Tae-soo's answer.

And Tae-soo placed the biggest, reddest cherry on his words. "Well, a normal human can't fuck up the vampire king's face. A wolf clearly did that. The Kurokawa omegas were not the sole thing they were known for, either. Their emperor wouldn't have cared about protecting them simply for their gender, would they? They were considered as deities. Gods. Haruhito said they had their own shrine, which was where the family resided, had yearly festivals, and blessed the people who came to pray to them for guardianship. Ryoma sacrificing himself made him a hero, choosing his country over war. And you-"

Teru flinched, knowing what he was going to say. He thinks I'm not worthy. I don't live up to my famous mother's image. I'm worthless.

"You need to be with your bonded mate. Ryoma wouldn't want his pup to be here and experience the same abuse."

Huh?

Tae-soo gave him a look mixed with pity and compassion. It was the first time to see such an expression on the alpha, who had been cold.

The others were speechless. Tae-soo must've seen the mark at one point. Lila tried to get a glimpse at Teru's nape, but his hair covered it. "Diyos ko po?! You have a mate?"

Teru rubbed the back of his neck, wishing the collar wasn't there. "I do."

"And it's painful, right? To be separated," Tae-soo asked.

He nodded to agree. Yes, it was agonizing. In a way, I'm glad someone noticed. I feel so alone. I'm lost without Kieran.

Everyone was pissed for him. The bridges of their noses scrunched, a wolf behavior that meant they were angry and ready to lash out. Even Zander was upset. The four growled, "That's sick, to keep a bonded pair apart. He's in pain every second of the day. And that bastard expects him to mate with another alpha? His body will reject their fluids, so what's the point?"

A sliver of hope shined at the end of the nightmare tunnel. This pack just met him, yet they were adamant to protect him. Granted, it was because Teru reminded them of Ryoma. It felt like they were guarding their old pack mate instead of him, but that was fine.

The entrance door opened. Abaddon walked in, glancing around at the werewolves. His eyebrows furrowed. "This energy is...defiant. What have you been discussing while I was away? Hmm?"

Everyone, including Teru, retreated to the backend of their confines. The rebelliousness was gone, and so were the hopeful rays from the bonding moment they were in the middle of. A woman slowly came in after Abaddon. She had a curvy figure. Her straight, light brown hair was cut short. Scars deeply etched around her milky-white eyes. Given by her careful walk and unfocused stare, Teru couldn't help but conclude, She's blind!

Teru saw a huge tattoo on the lady's chest. Her shirt showed her cleavage. A bird had its wings spread from shoulder to shoulder. Its head angled across her throat, cawing to the side, while the bottom half disappeared under her shirt. That was a vulture, the same design from the pictures and stories...

Gluttony.

No one answered Abaddon. "It's of no importance. I'm here for Ryoma's son." He pushed the button to Teru's glass door and snapped his fingers. A group of yellow-collared men hurried into the secret room with new furniture. Teru barely had time to react to their quickness. They cleaned the glass shards, installed a TV, replaced the ruined wallpaper, and put a pile of folded, white clothes on the now-nestless bed. One of them found Kieran's cellphone from under the books and gave it to the king.

"Oh my, you had a phone?" he asked warily and pressed the screen, but it remained black. The battery had died. "It's useless, anyway." Abaddon tossed it in the cleaners' trashcan, filled to the brim with damaged items.

Teru silently thanked the heavens. He didn't need this man seeing the random GPS pings. It was better this way.

The room was returned to its former condition. They bowed and left, speedily collecting their supplies. Abaddon whispered to Gluttony, "Kill the servants who were here after you leave." He turned to Teru and approached him, eyeing the trays of untouched food. "Why isn't my precious omega eating?"

Think, think, think! "Er, my stomach hurts."

When Abaddon reached out to feel Teru's belly, he had a mini-heart attack and growled, bumping into the wall behind him because he had nowhere else to escape. The sound was louder than intended. That was the wrong move. Abaddon barred his fangs and roughly yanked on Teru's forearm, forcing him to sit on the wooden chair in front of the table. His repulsive hand gripped the omega's face tightly, covering his mouth and cheeks. It took everything he had not to bite, feeling defensive to safeguard his fragile body.

"That's more like it," Abaddon spat, shaking Teru's head to reprimand the bad human by rattling his skull. "You and Ryoma are the same when you act like a little shit. I actually thought I saw him for a second! It's exhilarating! As much as I want to remove your underwear and spank you until your ass is raw, we have some training to do today."

THUD.

Abaddon threw a white muzzle on the tabletop. The heaviness of the material clanged. He saw a few strands of sleek black fur stuck between the diamonds. Thanks to his gender's impeccable sense of smell that was amplified by pregnancy hormones, Teru detected a faded scent coming from the fur. It was wintery and woodsy. A December aroma, slightly nutty. Pecan, maybe? Was this the clove Tae-soo referred to?

The scent was beautiful. It was nothing like he's ever smelled before.

A whimper sounded from his chest.

That was my mother's.