"First things first, my stepdaughter has business with you before that."

Sofia inwardly cringed at the way Abaddon said 'stepdaughter.'

For as long as she could remember, she had a gift to see prophecies and a knack for reading someone's energy. She was the reason Abaddon wanted to become a vampire. She had dreamt of him rising to power if he betrayed the heavens and became one of their species, somehow convincing Lilith to do the deed. He kept her around for visions that benefited him and provided special treatment despite her disability. Honestly, he wouldn't be where he was today if it wasn't for Sofia, and she needed him because this cruel society wouldn't hesitate to spit out her blind bones.

But occasionally, the once-righteous angel overstepped boundaries; an inconspicuous graze of a finger here and there, just barely enough to be felt. Sofia would pretend not to notice. She knew. She fucking knew his slimy antics and would tell herself, I must deal with it. He's my ticket to survival.

The omega struggled in Abaddon's grasp. His little growls were aimed at his captor as a warning not to touch him. It was moot, but the resistance charmed her. It wasn't easy for anyone to display disobedience in front of the king, let alone a frail omega who clearly didn't know Abaddon's hidden strength.

A pregnant one, at that. Gluttony could smell the strong hormones pumping in his arteries. Determining the contents in someone's blood was one of her sin's abilities. Did her older brother allow him to mate with another human? Interesting, but whether Abaddon knew wasn't her business. She was there for one purpose only.

Sofia wanted this omega's blood.

As she approached them, reaching out until she found the table. Sofia pulled out equipment from her bag: gloves, alcoholic wipes, a needle, four tubes, etc.

"How long will this take?" Abaddon asked rudely.

Asshole. I told you a destiny-changing prophecy in exchange for a few drops of blood.

"A few minutes," the princess responded in her most respectful tone, not wanting to piss him off. He could go back on his word any second. The human, Teru, squirmed, likely from seeing the scary supplies spread out on the tabletop.

"I don't want this!" She heard Teru try to get up, only to be forced to remain seated.

This will be dangerous if he moves a lot.

"Let go of him." Sofia was talking to Abaddon.

The air grew warm, crackling with his heavenly power. "What?"

"It'll be easier and quicker without you next to him. I'll handle this. Please." It was tense for a whole ten seconds. She almost believed he'd call off their deal. He moved away, much to her relief.

Once she sensed that there was enough space between them, she was satisfied and kneeled. Gluttony herself didn't enjoy doing this position for anyone, but she was eager to get her samples. A dominant alpha kneeling in front of an omega would surely scream, 'I'm not here to hurt you.'

"What are you doing?" Teru asked quietly, confused by her actions.

Sofia put on the rubber gloves. "All I need from you is blood. Not a lot. You have my word."

"Why should I give it to you, bloodsucker?" Though she was blind, she knew he was giving her the evil eye. What a cheeky human! The name almost made her laugh. Slurs did not offend Sofia, unlike her siblings.

She leaned forward, assuming she was next to his ear. His aura radiated humbleness, a sign of his virtue. "Because," Sofia whispered softly so Abaddon couldn't hear, "of the pup you carry in your womb. You don't want to put it at risk, do you? Stay still, and I'll finish before you know it."

The thinking gears in the omega's mind tinkered, eventually concluding that he didn't have a choice. It was either getting his blood drawn as smoothly as possible, or getting his blood drawn the hard way. What a smart kid.

Teru put his arm on the table, giving up. "What will you do with it?"

"Your blood? It's for my own personal use." Technically, it was for her blood wine business. The sponsors were breathing down her neck for a new flavor. Why not try out the last omega's blood and copy it artificially? With the name alone, it was sure to be a bestseller on the market regardless of taste.

Sofia felt Teru's slim arm to find a good vein to take from. Here. She wiped the spot with alcohol. "Make a fist with your hand." When the vein popped out, she glided the needle into his skin. Each vial filled up one by one. Within a minute, she was done. The liquid swashed in the tubes. Sofia realized an error after she extracted the needle.

"My apologies, I forgot a bandaid."

To substitute, she licked her thumb to coat it with saliva and pressed on the bleeding hole. Teru recoiled, whose body was rejecting bodily juices from another alpha; because of the healing properties found in her gender's spit, the small wound had already closed.

"Done." Sofia licked the red smear on her finger. Oh? Gluttony pinpointed the taste of a dominant omega. It added extra seasoning. That was a flavor she hadn't relished in years. She thought of Tristan's destined mate, who had also been a dominant omega. Unlike in the past, when she revealed this secret to the king and queen as revenge against Tristan for causing her blindness, Sofia did not seek the same with Kieran. They were on decent terms, and she sympathized with him after his return from the hunters. It was unspoken between them-both were weak compared to their formal selves.

Abaddon can figure out Teru's dominant status himself without my help. Her tongue discovered a slight hint of wet dog. That would have to be extracted from the final product before selling commercially-

Abruptly, a vision consumed her black sight. It transported her into a colorful world she so rarely saw after losing the challenge between her and Envy. Sometimes, touching a significant object triggers them. In this case, it was Teru's blood.

Various scenes played out in Sofia's head:

Kieran would not survive the silver poisoning.

Teru, forever in Abaddon's custody, suffering through unspeakable acts.

Something was off about the mysterious pup he'd give birth to. She couldn't see why, though.

The world collapsing into ruin.

It kept going...and going...and going. Never had her prophecies played for so long, nor given her this many. It was normally a quick experience.

"Are you done?"

Sofia snapped out of the disturbing images. How long had she been sitting there, entranced? "Huh?"

Abaddon spat in her face, "Are. You. Done."

"Y-Yes. I'll be on my way. Thank you, King." She gathered her stuff and casually left, counting the exact number of footsteps to navigate her way out. If she suddenly ran, Abaddon would be suspicious of her. The narrow elevator pinged open, bringing her back to the throne floor. This was her chance to run. Sofia pushed whatever heavy thing obscured the elevator doorway. She skimmed her hand along the wall until it found a handle to a random closet.

These prophecies...shouldn't affect me like this! Why? Just why?

Sofia collapsed and cried, rocking back and forth to soothe herself. Seeing what that pregnant omega would experience was too much, almost like she could feel the intense grief of losing a fated mate herself. He'll eventually succumb to the physical toll of being bred over and over. And Pride would be gone. The unbalance of a missing deadly sin sent the world into chaos. Most would die. They'd live like post-war victims, vampires and humans scavenging and fighting like animals for the few resources remaining. Not even the royal family could fix this tragedy. They'd give up on Avania, moving on to the next country to build up from the ashes.

The full vials in her bag clinked together from her shaking.

There's nothing I can do to stop it. A prophecy can't be changed.

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

Teru kept his head down, gnawing the inside of his cheek. He hated the icky feeling of another alpha's saliva on him. It made him nauseous.

Besides that...

Gluttony knows I'm pregnant. Did she smell it in my scent? Why hasn't this bastard realized the same yet? Abaddon isn't mentioning it. Did she not tell him? Why? Aren't they allies?

He eyed the muzzle with disdain. The black diamonds glistened. Who knew what tragic stories those useless rocks could tell?

Abaddon saw him staring at the harness. He picked it up and unbuckled the strap. There was no fingerprint scanner or special locking system. "It's outdated, but still worth more than a private island."

I don't care.

"What a shame that it doesn't fit you as a human." The vampire sighed, taking out his phone to use the app that signaled the white collar to come off. Why was Abaddon removing his collar? Without explaining, he grabbed Teru by the bare nape and guided him out of the room to the common area. "The servants did a good job building this."

In the middle was an enormous bed with a shiny wooden bed frame. Its high poles hung sheer curtains, cascading around the pearl-colored satin sheets. It was pretty, like a scene for newlyweds on their wedding night. When was this set up? When Gluttony took his blood?

Abaddon suddenly lifted him from under his armpits and gently placed him on the plush bed. Teru didn't like this. Not one bit. There was only one reason ‌a bed would be here, reminding him of Liam's horrific assault.

He heard a muffled howl from one of the closed rooms. Teru looked in Zander's direction. The second-ranked alpha had already ripped off his clothes, leaving shreds of white material strewn on the floor. Zander was sweating. His broad chest muscles rippled and his canines had become sharper to mark a future mate. The aggressive gaze was locked onto Teru. His stiff cock leaked pre-cum. Clear liquid streamed down the vein-riddled shaft, over his full balls. The glass door trapped his pheromones inside, but Teru didn't need to smell his scent to know what was happening.

Zander was in his rut. The wolves must've noticed his incoming season when they were playing together, which was why they kept sniffing his backside.

Teru clenched the blanket in his fist. His jaw trembled and his own canine teeth ached like hell. His dominant omega was preparing for...something. The sound of his speeding heartbeat deafened him, barely able to hear Abaddon say, "It would be a missed opportunity in the past because your heat cycle isn't due yet, but thankfully, we have Wrath's miracle creation."

Teru watched Abaddon fetch a small briefcase-the same one that contained a serum that shouldn't exist in this universe. Immediately, when Teru saw the lime green liquid, he cursed and jumped off the bed. No one here knew he was pregnant. What would that heat-inducing drug do to his unborn pups?

He was high on pure instincts at this point, whose only duty was to protect his body from outer harm. When Teru felt the Abaddon's sharp nails dig into his shoulder, he lost it.

Teru lashed out and snarled loudly, biting deep into the alpha's hand. His whole entirety was on fire, but he had to eliminate this threat or else.

"That's it, keep going," an eager man cheered on. Keep going? Going for what?

Protect pups. Kill threat. Bad alpha. The rest of Teru's thoughts were static. Bones cracked. Muscles deformed into a new shape. It really fucking hurt. But Teru never let go of the hand that dared to force themselves on someone else's mate. Absolutely no one could touch him without consent and injure his babies.

The amount of time that had passed was unknown. Could've been seconds. Could've been hours. When it was all done and the inner fire died out, Teru didn't feel the same. His hearing was keener. The colors in his sight were more grey than normal. He bit harder one last time, finally tearing off most of the alpha's hand. He dropped it, letting the severed piece of flesh fall to the floor.

It was difficult to think sanely, running on animalistic tendencies.

Protect pups. Alpha. Where's my alpha? Pups. Must find alpha. Not safe. Hungry. Kieran.

"Ryoma?" Tae-soo said in shock, looking at Teru through the glass.

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

Abaddon smiled because he had won the grand prize. He didn't notice the extreme pain of having his hand ripped away, nor the stringy muscles hanging from his severed limb. He was too captivated by the beast; the beast he had helped influence to transition into this form. The goal wasn't to breed them...yet.

Today's goal was to scare the omega enough for him to discover his true instincts. It was a 50-50 chance Teru was a werewolf since his sire was a simple, worthless beta. By the successful turnout, Ryoma's genetics were too overpowering for his pup not to be a werewolf, too.

A wolf stared at him with bright brown eyes full of wild fight. Its black, velvety fur shined under the light. Blood coated his perfect teeth, panting from the pain of shifting. It paced corner to corner, trying to find a way out to freedom. Losing themselves in their wolf was common for a first-timer.

Teru was a spitting image of Ryoma.

Well, almost.

There was a white spot on its nape, likely from the virtue mark. It was the sole blemish on this otherwise all-black animal.

Not only that, but Teru's wolf was huge, reaching up to Abaddon's shoulders. It was bigger than the wolves in his collection, including the pack alpha, Tae-soo. Double than Ryoma. His skinny human figure did not reflect the size of his inner beast. To be honest with himself, it was one of the largest werewolves Abaddon's ever seen.

And the omega was still young. How much more would he grow? If he continued to eat well, the rest of his canine body would fill out wonderfully. The midnight-hued wolf was beautiful. It was more than he expected, extremely pleased. Abaddon had to admit that although the human Teru couldn't compare to his mother's looks, his wolf was better. Superior. Magnificent.

This animal would be challenging to tame.

Exciting. Fucking exciting! And he's all mine.