"Please say something, Teru. Can you hear us?" The pack had been trying to get him to talk for a while, but he was too distraught.

Teru sat in a huddled ball in the corner. Emotionally, he was drained as he sensed Kieran's life fade more and more. Physically, because his mark was spreading some sort of toxin. The crimson color continued to fill in his veins. It had expanded to his collarbone and underneath his jawline.

One thing he regretted was when he attempted to take on Kieran's pain, forgetting about the fact that he was pregnant. His mate's looming death sent the omega into panic mode. He tried to force himself into the star that was almost split in two.

"You stupid alpha! Let me in!" Teru wanted to yell into the black void. Kieran had blocked him. That idiot knew what his omega would try to do. He bawled in his hands, apologizing to his pups for putting them at risk.

The glass door opened. Abaddon came in, whom Teru hadn't seen since before his first transformation. Nothing registered in Teru's brain, not even when the king came into the bedroom. The first stage of pre-grief overwhelmed him. A hand gripped his cheeks and forced his neck to crane out, bloodied nape in full view. Teru didn't fight back. He was limp like a doll with dull eyes.

Abaddon told him, "I don't appreciate you damaging yourself. This body belongs to me, so don't do it again. The discomfort will disappear once the bond is broken. You'll feel better after his death. Last I heard, he was hanging on by a thread."

His death...

Was that supposed to make Teru happy? That his grieving mark would vanish when Kieran died?

"We'll celebrate your liberation from the marking later. For now, let's get you ready." Abaddon picked up Teru's deadweight body and placed him on a folding chair near the satin bed. Teru was inanimate as a yellow-collared woman trimmed his long hair and applied make-up.

"Do it again," Abaddon ordered, scrutinizing every detail she did to the rare virtue in his collection. "I want a more natural color around his eyes. Very little highlighter. Cut the back shorter."

"Yes, sir."

She re-did her previous work. During the mini makeover, his mentality sunk deeper into a pit of thick tar. Kieran's heart stopped. Silence. It beat erratically again. The distance between the destined pair was far, yet the sound of his alpha's thumping heart was loud. It was like Teru had his ear against Kieran's bare chest. He wanted to break the clock on the wall, ticking...and ticking...and ticking. Make time stop!

He didn't notice Abaddon had killed the human by snapping her neck when she finished prepping him, nor did Teru see him shove her body to the side to dispose of later. Abaddon laid him flat on the luxurious bed. His pants were pulled off. Teru didn't care, too fixated on his alpha falling deeper into the kiss of death. The infection in his nape burned and pulsed with every beat of Kieran's failing heart.

"Wait, Master! He's not in the best condition to be doing this!" That voice was Tae-soo's.

"You dare speak to me without permission?"

"I'm just worried, Master-UGH!" Tae-soo yelped.

"The setting will be higher the next time you say a word."

There was hesitation before Tae-soo repeated, "He can't-"

Louder yelps. The noise was enough to garner Teru's attention. He slowly looked at Abaddon, who had his phone out with a dial on the touchscreen. Tae-soo was on his knees, yanking roughly at the collar zapping him. Foamy spit trailed down his chin and his neck muscles protruded. Was it programmed as an electric collar, too? Could that app control the levels of pain?

TICK. TICK. TICK.

The clock wouldn't stop.

"I'm disappointed in you today, Tae-soo. We'll retrain you after Zander's breeding season is finished."

Teru stared at the lights above. The stinging in his neck was so excruciating that it was more numb than painful.

TICK. TICK. TICK.

The invisible ribbon tying him and Kieran together snapped.

TICK. TICK. TICK.

Kieran's heartbeat didn't come back, leaving Teru emotionless and lethargic.

If someone broke his leg, there'd be no reaction. Everything could go up in flames, and he wouldn't bother to seek shelter. The fire could burn him to ash for all he cared. Is this what Liam felt when his mate died? Nothing? He let his consciousness float in the imaginary outer space, where it once sparkled with pheromones and welcoming stars, now black and cold.

Someone lifted his wrist and let it drop back onto the bed. A bright light flashed in his eyes. Teru didn't blink. He wished he were dead, along with Kieran.

"Looks my stepson is no more. You're in shock. That's normal."

"Master, I beg you. Let him recover first. This isn't right." Jacky.

"I agree, Master." Lila. Her saying something that wasn't sarcastic or bitchy spoke a thousand words. The two werewolves howled. Their collars ZZZZ'd with electricity.

"So much disobedience."

As Abaddon punished them, Teru reminisced about his visions when they officially marked on that unforgettable, wintry night: feeding Kieran raspberries in the forest, cuddling and reading, and Kieran waiting for him with the snowy mountains in the background. Those wouldn't happen. It was all a sham.

Help him.

It was that voice again. So annoying.

Help him.

Just go away.

Help him. Help him.

There was no one to help.

Help him. Help him. Help him.

This was getting ridiculous and cruel. Let Teru sleep and never wake up.

Help him. Help him. Help him. Help him. Help him. Help him. Help him. Help him. Help him.

He couldn't take it anymore. Teru had enough of this insistent voice and asked internally, What?! What am I supposed to do, hmm? Who should I help now that Kieran's gone? Who?!

No answer. Maybe it was finally gone? Just when he thought he had gotten rid of it-

Pride. Go to him, Humility, it spoke.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

That wasn't Teru's heartbeat.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

The mournful paralysis receded. His dimmed eyes twinkled. The marking venom scarred his neck, but at least the torturous stinging ceased. The spark to live exploded within himself. Wow! He never wanted to experience the past ten minutes a second time. Kieran. Something or someone had given him redemption.

But it didn't come without a price.

Teru sensed Pride. The deadly sin took control. It rampaged. Berserk. The omega swore he felt the building shudder.

It didn't matter. Kieran was alive. His alpha was alive!

Help him. Go to him, the gentle voice whispered. Warmth radiated from his birthmark. It tickled, beckoning Teru to go outside. Kieran was there. Pride needed him. Teru had to leave. Now.

Awareness of his surroundings came back. A needle was centimeters from puncturing his skin! Scared, he smacked the lime green vial away. It went flying across the room. The glass broke when it fell, splattering the serum in all directions. Abaddon stood there frozen, not expecting Teru to abruptly lash out like that.

When Abaddon saw the mess, his eyebrow twitched from holding in his anger. "That wasn't smart. This session is going to be ruthless for you without pleasure. Whether or not you're in your heat doesn't change things."

I'm. So. Sick. Of. You!

A deep growl vibrated Teru's entire upper half. It was the lowest he could go, and never had he used such a frequency. His gender tried to copy Kieran's alpha sound. His brown eyes pierced into the heterochromia ones above.

Teru challenged Abaddon. An omega challenged an alpha. The confined pack members perked up. Their wolf ears appeared, including Zander's. Abaddon glanced at his prisoners responding to Teru's dominating purr.

Muskless, irritated pheromones pushed on Teru's body, temporarily stunning him. He suddenly found himself presenting after the king forced him into the erotic position. Abaddon's hand roughly pressed his nape into the bed and pulled Teru's underwear over the rump of his ass. The omega's lower body was exposed, hanging bits showing and all. Teru went wide-eyed. He attempted to retaliate, growling and scratching Abaddon's unyielding arm.

I'm not strong enough! I can't beat him!

"You put yourself in this situation," Abaddon hissed, digging his nails into the sides of Teru's jugular. "It's your fault. All you had to do was listen to me, your new Master. Now, look at you, asking for it like your mother."

"You fucking vamp," Teru muffled in the blanket, feeling extra volatile today. His canines throbbed.

A door opened, pouring a humid scent into the common area. It reminded him of a rainy day in the middle of summer, when the thick moisture made it difficult to breathe. This was Zander's smell? Unlike Abaddon's odd aura that left his inner omega confused, it was very aware of Zander. He was a true alpha, who had situated himself behind Teru's ass, ready to knot and empty his full testicles.

The aggression in the pheromones made his basic omega instincts take over and whimper, You're not my alpha. Not my alpha! Don't touch!

This message translated through his chaotic purring.

Zander's alpha rumbled in response, Omega isn't ready.

Shit! This guy was totally out of it because of his season! Teru squirmed under Abaddon's grasp as Zander grabbed his hips to open his clenched hole, with no drop of slick in sight. It was dry. And what did Zander mean by 'ready?' Not ready because it wasn't wet? Was he going to actually-?

Don't lick there! Don't you dare, alpha!

Teru flinched when he felt Zander's breath on his pink entrance...

...until Zander stopped, tongue out but never touching. The alpha closed his mouth and smelled Teru's pheromones being produced there. For an omega, their scent was the most potent in the rear.

"Go on," Abaddon demanded.

The second alpha remained still, analyzing the overly sweet scent. Zander dropped Teru's hips and slid off the bed. His rutting gender purred, Sweet smell. Pups. Can't hurt.

Tae-soo, Jacky, and Lila gasped. They were furious. Their tails wagged anxiously. The cat was out of the bag. Teru blushed because this was an embarrassing way for them to find out about his condition. When Jacky snarled and showed his teeth, Abaddon cursed, having no clue what was happening. Could Abaddon not understand purr language, either? The man was an alpha, though! The pregnancy was literally admitted aloud!

"What the hell are you doing? Take him! Fuck him! Subdue him!" Abaddon commanded, but his scentless pheromones didn't affect Zander the way a dominant alpha should. Teru understood why. It was easy to break Abaddon's spell. Doing so wasn't painful, unlike the times Teru said no to someone else's control pheromones. Literally, so weird!

Zander stumbled back to his room with a locked and loaded cock, ignoring his Master. His rumble said, Pregnant omega. Pups. Pack is bigger.

Teru was relieved, almost crying. An alpha desired to impregnate a fertile partner while intoxicated by their season, so an omega with a belly full of pups defeated that purpose. And the way the werewolves considered Teru to be part of the pack stimulated their instinct to protect future members.

And boy, were they enraged! Their pack mentality to guard unborn babies that would determine the future of their group made them restless. There was a dangerous threat to that future. Anxiety rippled amongst them. Lila had already shifted into her wolf form, growling and clawing at the transparent door.

The tight hold on his nape loosened. He took the chance to shake off Abaddon, pull up his briefs, and hustle to the other side of the room. How could he escape? Wait, the werewolves. How could they escape, too? Teru's heart sped a million beats per minute.

"Blasted moon madness, always giving me a hard time every month. This year's supermoon is especially bright tonight. Look at them all riled up," Abaddon sighed with sadness. The expression was unexpected. Why was he sad?

The ignorant bloodsucker took out two objects from his bag resting on the floor.

It was his mother's black-diamond white muzzle and a whip.