Teru remained firm where he stood, not wanting to leave with Lucas. Being separated again was too soon! If it hadn't been for Blaise and Lucas suddenly appearing, Teru would've broken the challenge protocol and intervened. He knew he shouldn't and that Kieran could handle it himself, but wanting to defend your mate was a natural instinct no matter the circumstances.

And what was this turn of events, anyway? What exactly did Blaise throw? Teru watched Kieran catch the piece of paper, crinkling the contents in his bloodied grip. It piqued his curiosity when Kieran held back a grin.

"You're wrong," his alpha said, shoving it to Abaddon's chest. "Teru was never yours, even on the day he was born. Unless you can prove otherwise?"

Abaddon roughly grabbed the paper and examined the photo, jaw clenching so tight that Teru was surprised his teeth didn't shatter. His complexion changed colors, now red with boiling anger. With every purple highlighted word Abaddon read, the fury in his eyes grew. His right eye twitched.

"What-what does it say?" Teru stuttered.

Blaise looked like he had won the challenge himself, despite not lifting a single, black-manicured fingernail. He blew the dirt off his nails as he recited by memory, "Under the Termination clause, section five, 'This agreement shall be terminated should owner, King Abaddon of Avania, fail to provide assigned servants by Japan for Ryoma Kurokawa and his descendants at all times to preserve the bloodline. If breached, the goods in question may choose to 1) return to Japan and be protected by the royal family, 2) remain under the care of King Abaddon, or 3) abolish all protections to seek ‌a new life without financial aid from the government.'"

Everyone was silent, taking in the information.

It couldn't be that easy.

...

...

...

Could it?

Jackie did say something similar:

"The emperor gave one condition: that Ryoma and his offspring would always be escorted by Kurokawa loyalists."

So, that was an official clause in the contract? Like, official official? Not some verbal agreement that wouldn't have counted legally? After Teru's biological parents escaped, his mother was left unattended and somehow ended up in Kentucky. Of course, Teru did not have any special servants to look after him since puphood.

That meant...

"Teru."

He heard Kieran call him. Teru looked up with a glimmer of hope and disbelief. Though Kieran had a stone-cold expression, his green eyes were also relieved.

"Which do you choose?"

Choose? His eyebrows furrowed. All the alphas watched him. Abaddon's deadly glare made Teru uneasy, furious that the true conditions set by Ryoma's home country were no longer a secret. The picture trembled in his hands, making the paper rip.

Blaise whispered, "One, two, or three, remember? From the contract."

I can choose my own fate?

Was there even a point to ask? It was clear what he'd pick. Teru glanced at the morning sun slowly rising, turning the horizon pink and orange. It didn't seem so uncomfortably cold anymore as the night receded. Before being held captive in the kennels, it had been constantly dreary and grey. When was the last time he saw such a clear sky and nice weather? It was like a sign that this was a new beginning. The long winter made him forget spring would start soon.

"Three."

They met each other's gazes tenderly, knowing there was nothing that could tear them apart-

Abaddon tackled Kieran from behind, snarling loudly. His sharp nails raked Kieran's backside, making him roar as ribbons of skin were torn off. Teru yelped in surprise and tried to run towards them, but Lucas wouldn't let him. The two alphas fought, moving too fast for his human sight to follow. He caught glimpses of punches, kicks, and mouthfuls of flesh after biting into limbs.

Lucas pulled him. "Teru, we have to go to safety. Blaise has a-"

"No!" Teru yelled, clawing at Lucas's hand. "Kieran told me to stay! Don't you understand? I can't be away from him!"

Plus, Kieran didn't specify where to stay-it could've meant in this exact spot or to stay with him by his side. If you're not specific, Teru would find a loophole.

"You want to be near that?!" Lucas scolded. "Damn it! Look, Teru! Look at them! Do you want to be killed?!"

Teru noticed the challenge was moving, getting closer to the park's border as they were in hand-to-hand combat. Claws scratching. Spit flying. Blood dripping. Clothes tearing.

Abaddon side-kicked Kieran's face with his heavy boot, sending him flying across the road. Teru's heart stopped when his body crashed into a car, spraying glass and metal everywhere. People who were hiding behind the vehicle screamed and fled. With his wounds healing instantly, Kieran sat up and cracked his broken neck into place, stood up, and fought again. More growls and curses. Kieran's nails stabbed through the small of Abaddon's back and gripped his spine, pulling it. He was able to yank out a few inches of vertebrae before Abaddon had Kieran by the hair and scalped him.

Teru winced and closed his eyes, praying for the violence to stop. When he opened them moments later, Abaddon was running through the streets. Kieran, whose scalp had already healed, chased after him. They were out of sight. Abaddon fleeing was an automatic loss to the challenge. The alpha in Kieran was too stimulated to stop, like a starving cat hunting a rat; a big ugly rodent that would be a danger in the future if not taken care of.

That's weird. Knowing that bastard has zero humility, Abaddon is too proud to just give up the challenge like that.

Something didn't sit right with Teru. The energy around them felt off, as if he should get out of the area as fast as he could. Is this what animals felt like when a disaster was coming? Evidently so, because hundreds of flocks of birds were chirping above, flying to the outer ruins. It made his inner wolf feel restless.

Teru was going to follow. Blaise held his other arm. "Sorry, little omega. Captain's orders."

"Whose orders?" he spat, resembling more like a feisty kitten. An explosion made them all look in the direction where the fight had gone to.

"My brother's, that if you're ever in a situation where he can't protect you, then it's up to me. If you ask me, in my most humble opinion, I believe New York is no longer suitable for you." On cue, buildings collapsed. There were cries of suffering from the innocent. Rioters cheered at the unfolding chaos. The scent of blood turned Teru's nose. Smoke stained the sunrise. Just what more could make this worse?

Kieran was in the middle of that.

Teru had to go. This wasn't normal. This wasn't okay. His instincts were too strong on this one, going haywire in his brain. Static buzzed where his thoughts should have been.

He growled. If only these two alphas...would...just...let...go!

He couldn't help it.

His wolf could not be contained any longer.

Teru shifted.

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

"Shit!" Lucas shouted, falling on his ass.

It was back!

His best friend no longer stood there as a human. Within seconds, a giant fucking wolf had replaced Teru. The black beast snapped at Blaise's arm, nipping three fingers off his hand. The digits fell on the brown grass.

Lucas was expecting a dramatic reaction from the vampire: squealing from a fuzzy monster suddenly materializing, pissed off because the same hand was constantly getting attacked by both Teru and that stupid Pride, wary because the wolf was almost the same height as Blaise...

But Blaise didn't do any of that. In fact, he didn't pay any attention to his finger stubs slowly growing back, nor show fear.

Instead, Blaise was about to cry. Tears welled up in his amber eyes. His admiring gaze followed the growling beast's body outline, studying every detail ‌from its dangerously long teeth to its paws bigger than Lucas's hands.

"He's lovely," Blaise said quietly. "I haven't seen a werewolf in over two centuries. I could never understand Abaddon's obsession with Kieran's omega until now. He likely knew what Teru was, or had a hunch. Selfish fucker."

Lucas couldn't get used to the idea of werewolves re-entering society. They had been supposedly extinct, longer than omegas. Teru was both, too! That scared him to his core. What would someone do with a special creature like him...

Abaddon absolutely could not take Teru again.

"All the more reason for us to go. Now," Lucas urged. He clicked his tongue when Blaise ignored him, who was still having a staring contest with the black wolf. "Hello? This damned city isn't safe, remember? It's falling in front of our faces as we speak-"

"Do you think your friend is going to come with us willingly? With that form? In that size? Hmm? Don't you know werewolves are public enemy number one to vampires? In his hormonal state, Teru would be a worthy opponent, even for me. Besides, look at him, Lucas."

Hormonal? He'd ask about that later. Lucas paused when hearing Blaise say his actual name, not Lasagna. Shit. His seriousness could only mean one thing.

This was a desperate situation that had spiraled out of their control.

A second explosion erupted. Teru looked that way, ears forward, tail straight out, eyes full of purpose, and fiery determination. Lucas understood the quickening purr from the wolf's chest-this omega would kill anything and anyone who would stand in his way. Lucas sighed, knowing Blaise was right.

Teru sprinted away to search for his alpha, right into the crumbling mess. Once more, he didn't spare a second glance at Lucas. The dagger in his heart churned it into a pulpy pile of mush. Fuck, this sucks.

"UGH," Blaise groaned, placing a hand on his temple like he had a migraine. "Geez, it's that bad, huh?"

"What?"

"I'm being summoned."

"By who?"

Blaise rummaged through his various pink pockets to find something. "I'm a deadly sin. If one of us is in danger, we can call the others for help. It's a connection we don't do often because we like to handle things ourselves. Just look at Kieran, for example, whose pride didn't use it when he was kidnapped by the hunters. Gosh, when was the last time this happened? Ah, it was Tristan summoning us for Operation Winter Storm, 1942. Envy couldn't handle that shitstorm of a battle and almost got blown up."

Blaise found what he was looking for. He dangled a key in front of Lucas. "Change of plans. We'll meet you at the place we discussed. Do you remember how to drive? I only showed you a few times-"

Lucas took the key and said without faltering, "I remember. I won't fail, I promise."

Blaise shuddered at his confidence and went in for a kiss, but Lucas automatically turned his head. His plump lips kissed Lucas's cheek instead, leaving a red-tinted lip stain. A hurtful expression flashed across Lust's face for a brief millisecond. It happened so quickly that Lucas thought he had imagined it. Couldn't this vamp understand where he came from, though? This entire relationship was complicated, and his hatred for vampires still made him sweat at night from plaguing nightmares. The wounds were all too fresh. Kissing a bloodsucker was out of the question...!

Lucas growled at his inner alpha, which was wholeheartedly disagreeing with how he had denied Blaise. He'd have to give it a mental talk later about vampires, princes, deadly sins, and alphas being off limits.

And this person is all the above!

"I'll see you there," Blaise whispered sadly into his ear, caressing the side of Lucas's face.

Before Lucas could finish breathing, Blaise was gone, leaving him alone. His chest tightened, sort of understanding Teru's instincts to find Kieran. Lucas almost wanted to do the same, to protect a dominant alpha. He squeezed the key and shook his head to get rid of any thoughts of the man who owned him. For now, his first priority was to retrieve the car. Time wasn't on their side today. He needed to act fast.

A wolf howled in the distance. Teru. Was he okay-?

The ground trembled under his feet. He steadied himself. A fissure split in the center of the park's famous pond. Its water emptied into the endless pit that continued to expand and break the earth. Lucas did not want to stick around to see if anything would come out of that. Lucas was worried about the earthquakes slowly getting stronger. A buzzing noise grew closer. And closer. And closer. His nape tingled, telling him to run. Where was that coming from?

Lightning lit up the cloudless morning sky. Thunder boomed. When he saw a swarming threat flying his way, he ran.

Time to go!!

Into the city, he went.

RUMBLE. RUMBLE.

The shaking made him trip and scrape his knees, blood dripping down his legs. Lucas barely avoided a new fissure, but the group of vampires and humans behind him weren't so lucky. They tumbled into the deep pits, their disappearing screams haunting his ears. One person held onto a broken pipe at the last second. She couldn't hang there much longer as loose dirt fell on her arms and face. They made eye contact. The hawkish face froze Lucas into place. His breath hitched as if she'd punish him at any given second, or force him into another rut.

"You!" she yelled at him. "Help me! Return the favor for everything I've done to help you! My idiot of an ex would've killed you without me!"

It was Duchess Zhang, the bitch of a woman who abandoned her spouse and left him alone with the Duke. Yes, she technically prevented her husband from torturing him more than necessary, but she was just as guilty for his pain and suffering. It was her idea in the first place to induce his rutting season every two weeks to breed with random beta women. He could only think of the sexual abuse he endured under her wing.

Zhang eventually begged him to help her from falling to her doom. Lucas was too shocked from seeing her again, unable to move a muscle. He couldn't help her even if he wanted to.

The Duchess sensed this, too. Her makeup streamed down her face, fangs visible as she ugly cried. Her hand slipped from the jagged pipe, plummeting into the endless black below.

More cracks formed within the city. Lucas forced himself to move, slowly walking and then running when the trauma wore off. Sweat soaked his hair and clothes, and it wasn't from the cardio workout. The Duchess's presence was that terrifying to him. His body was conditioned to react to her voice. His cock was already halfway hard, preparing to provide her his seed.

Keep going. She deserved it. Keep going. It's not my fault. Keep going. Maybe it's my fault. Keep going. It is my fault. Keep going. I'm just a dog. Keep going.

RUMBLE. RUMBLE. RUMBLE. This was madness! Whatever was happening, it wouldn't be long before everything was swallowed by the splitting floor.

Lucas commented with horror, This is Hell being unleashed onto the world!

"AAAOOO!"The wolf's howls were louder than the deafening sounds of annihilation.