Stop, a celestial voice whispered in Teru's wild-driven mind. His inner wolf didn't listen. There was too much stimulation: the radiating supermoon above messing with his sanity, the screams of citizens trying to dodge the jaws of his pack, and the fires raging around them from Pride's trail of destruction.

STOP.

The foreign-accented command, which was similar to Abaddon's, finally got through to him. Teru stopped on the sidewalk. The werewolves followed and licked his muzzle. They wanted to know what was wrong, wished to have some fun while slaying the enemy, and find their new alpha.

We're free, we're free, they yipped.

His tail wagged as they sniffed his body. Pack intimacy in this form was a first for him.

It dumbfounded Teru to see the chaos through his grey-toned vision. His newly developed sense of hearing detected disturbing sounds from far away, such as the crackles of burning buildings, cries for help, police sirens, and the streams of blood trickling into the drains. Combined, it all gave him a headache.

Half of the city was in shambles, and it was caused by just one deadly sin. No wonder everyone was frightened of them! When in berserk mode, they were the epitome of the Grim Reaper, death itself.

Not too far away was Kieran, who believed everyone was a hunter with a mission to torture him repeatedly with silver prongs.

Staying in this canine body may not be the best approach, since Kieran wasn't aware of his newly discovered wolf side yet. If it hadn't been for that mysterious voice telling him to stop, Teru would've kept going until finding Pride. It could have gone two ways-Kieran recognizing him or thinking the moon-madness-influenced wolves were the hunters' sidekicks. The disastrous latter was the more likely outcome.

Teru closed his eyes and focused on every part of his body. He imagined himself as human, wanting nothing more than to be his two-legged self as quickly as possible. As an inexperienced werewolf, shifting took a good half hour, but it wasn't as easy as he had hoped it'd be. His bones had to re-break and shrink. The fur receded into his follicles. When his face contorted from beast to human, he yelped in pain. The way Teru's arms bent in a demonic way came straight out of a horror film. Eventually, Teru could stand on his back legs. The most uncomfortable part about changing, though, was not knowing if this was dangerous for the unborn pups. It was a high-risk pregnancy, after all.

Hang in there, little ones.

In the meantime, the four other werewolves stood by. They guarded their pregnant member. Some unlucky vampires hadn't noticed them until it was too late, suddenly finding themselves being torn apart by massive teeth.

Finally, and thank heavens, his transition was over. Teru curled up on the cold cement. He was nude and didn't like his small belly bump exposed to the elements. His body was in shock while his brain begged his limbs to move, shivering and unable to do his bidding.

Move, move, Lila's silver wolf whined, nudging his backside. Danger.

I can't, he purred back. If he didn't find warm clothes soon...

Tae-soo clawed the front of a department store next to them. The windows were broken from the recent riots that had come barging through here, where people ransacked the goods. He saw winter clothes strewn near the entrance. The robbers had dropped them haphazardly during their getaway.

Bring me those.

Rather than listen to Teru, the distracted pack looked at the giant full moon. Its details and craters were more visible tonight. They were about to howl! The omega leader growled low, feeling his nose scrunch to show his teeth. There was no time for this! His authoritative pheromones spread within the vicinity, bewitching everyone. The scent was potent enough to affect a few alpha vampires nearby, but ran off when seeing the animals. The wolves flinched and tucked their tails.

Listen to me! I said bring me clothes! Now!

Teru would apologize later for being a bitch. As they scrambled at his command, he carefully sat up once the shifting trauma wore off. The separation symptoms made his muscles ache all over like he had run for days without taking a break.

The living beans in his womb thought now would be a good time to get sick, too. He leaned to the side and heaved, thinking he'd puke. Nothing came up since he hadn't eaten in a while. Teru knew he should eat soon. Let's be honest, though. The morning sickness would probably disagree with anything.

The wolves obediently fetched him an assortment of garments. A pile formed, ranging from pants, shirts, jackets, ties, and hats. Teru hurried and chose things that would fit him. When he held up a pair of ladies' underwear-

He tossed the pink lacey string over his shoulder. Skip that. Teru changed into a wool sweater and jeans that were a little too big but kept him warm.

Hmm, no shoes or socks. This will have to make do.

Teru didn't have the luxury to fret about the small things. Time was ticking. The hourglass was almost empty. The scent of decay was thick. The wolves didn't respond to it, meaning that they could not smell the distinctive odor.

The connection between fated mates was screaming for help; Kieran was screaming for help. An unseen force tugged on Teru's soul to keep going. In a trance, he calmly went to the center of the road under the blinking stoplights, staring at the other end of the long street ahead.

There. I must go there. Find my destiny.

He failed to notice rampaging groups coming closer on both sides of him from the opposite intersections-vampires on the left and blood slaves on the right. The rioters took this disarrayed chance to fight one another, after decades of suppressed instincts and prejudice.

And the last omega was in the middle of it all.

Just when they bellowed out battle cries and ran towards their enemy, a continuous sound rang in Teru's ears. It blocked out the loud commotion of anarchy. The wolves joined, mainly to ‌maintain a clear, safe area around their dazed leader.

Throats were slit. Vampires doused in gasoline and burned alive. Slaves had their heads bashed in. Beastly jaws tore off immortal flesh. Screams. Wails. Rage. Vengeance.

Teru was oblivious to the fight. The glittering red ribbon tied around his pinky finger mesmerized him. It unfurled over the road and rounded the corner. There was no doubt who was on the other end. Had that always been there? Was he allowed to see this string of fate? He had a hunch that it was supposed to be invisible, yet he saw it plain as day. The cherry-toned sparkles on the silky material shimmered under the white moonlight.

The loving whisper said, Follow it.

Teru moved. He was unaware of the minuscule shards of broken glass he walked over, embedding into the soles of his feet. It left bloody footprints. The sharp pain was nothing compared to the relief he felt. In the outer space fabricated by him and Kieran, little stars reappeared. Then another. And another. More twinkled into existence. What if he kept going? With every step, the galaxy's planets and nebulas lit up around the blackened star.

Kieran's consciousness still did not let him in. Disease continued to rot the once-beautiful ball of light. What a stubborn alpha!

Help him, the whisper encouraged.

Teru walked through the grisly battle. Time slowed down. Nothing could distract him. Nothing. He didn't see the bloodsuckers' attempts to drink his blood. He didn't see the wolves protecting him by chowing down on vamp hearts. He didn't see the dozens of humans pulling fangs out as trophies. He didn't see Lucas trying to get to him, but got lost in the crowd...

Teru kept going, passing by several blocks of scuffles and collapsed buildings. He cried as he sensed Kieran's hysteria. It was becoming a permanent state of mind, about to cross over the threshold of being possessed by Pride forever. The scent of rotting flesh was unbearable. His deadly sin festered within so many individuals, so many sinners. Eliminate them all. Cleanse society.

Kieran was physically aching, too, from separation symptoms. Someone make it stop! It hurts so fucking bad!

I know it does, Teru thought, even though Kieran couldn't hear him.

A yellow-collared human rushed past Teru. Her scent was offensive, like a body that had been left out in a field for the blistering sun to bake for a week. His stomach tightened, threatening to heave again. He'd never forget the pungent odor. It clung to the inside of his nose. That woman wasn't dead, so why-?

A hiding vampire jumped from the shadows and pinned her down, drinking every drop until she was as pale as a ghost. The attacker also stunk like maggot-infested organs, but not as strong.

This scent...

Teru paused. It was pride's scent. They smelled of the deadly sin, but on a different level.

Another individual, an alpha vampire, clutched onto his bawling child. They hid in an alleyway to avoid the conflict. Teru stared at the small family. The father had a herbaceous scent that was not part of his apple pheromones. It intrigued him, a stark difference from the prideful stench; sort of pleasant and informative about this stranger's personality. While Teru couldn't tell you his other sins, he was positive about one thing-pride wouldn't be the reason his soul would be sent to eternal damnation if he died.

The earthy scent was recognizable. Teru would sometimes help pick it during the autumn season for cooking.

Sage.

An explosion erupted close to where he was located, bringing his attention back to his mission.

Let's think about the sage later.

Teru continued, once again paying no mind to everything crumbling and dying. The smoke was dense. Bodies of both species were scattered in all directions, their hearts missing. Some people were alive and untouched, paralyzed after witnessing these gruesome deaths. They had been spared. They smelled of sage, including the betas, who did not have pheromones to begin with.

The ribbon faded.

It was fine. Teru didn't need it to guide him anymore.

After he turned the next corner, he saw him, trapped in a herd of at least fifty soldiers. They were trying to kill the monster on sight via gun and sword. Unfortunately for them, they were no match.

The nighttime made his hair look black, but random burgundy strands shone from the supermoon. Pride had distorted his facial structure, adding extra muscles. His protruding fangs were the size of Teru's fingers. He spat at the enemies. Their attempts were futile. Most of them were slain in seconds.

The few remaining soldiers were confused, thinking, Why wasn't I killed, too? They retreated.

Teru noted their pheromones. Sage again? They don't smell like rotting flesh, at least not a lot to be worthy of his attention.

More guards would come soon. Why did they all have to be this way? Why couldn't they see him like Teru did? It was a shame. They saw a powerful monster, the devil's assistant, and a deadly sin who wanted nothing more than to murder for his own sick pleasure.

It was different in Teru's eyes. This was a broken man, a man who had never experienced genuine love. Didn't they know this side of him was burdening? Or how he didn't enjoy doing the job the heavens had given him? It was not an order by the devil. Far from it.

But I know.

Teru saw Pride's impenetrable outer shell, which could not be damaged with brute force and toxic slurs. With just one gentle tap of sympathy and tenderness on his bulletproof layer, he'd crack like an egg.

I need to help him.

The omega growled at the werewolves to give them space. They disappeared elsewhere to keep the street void of incoming threats.

As Teru went through the thick smoke without fear, Pride clenched his fists and roared to the star-studded heavens. His animalistic yell echoed between the fiery city buildings, almost like he was an apocalyptic trumpet himself. The deadliest sin hunched over and threw up a bucket of red and black, like infected blood. Even in turmoil, not a single tear was shed. Pride didn't cry. Ever. The dominant pheromones he spilled were pure musk, a warning to others to back off while he was sick. Pride clawed at the fire ants stinging inside his nape, shredding the back of his hospital pajama shirt‌.

The destined pair had been apart for too long.

Kieran.

Pride stopped mutilating his scar and stood up straight, eyeing the small silhouette approaching him through the fog illuminated by orange and yellow fire.