"LUCAS!" he screamed. The tires didn't gain traction, squealing and skidding over the road. When Blaise's car finally jutted forward from Lucas gunning the accelerator, Teru covered his face with his hands.

THUMP.

His seatbelt dug into his shoulder, preventing him from slamming into the seat ahead. After the right tire went over a bump, Teru peeked through the cracks between his fingers. The front had obviously hit something big. Abaddon wasn't in front of them anymore.

"Did you hit him?"

Lucas shook, not believing what he just did. "I-I guess."

"You guess?"

"My eyes were sorta...closed, too." It was silent for a few tense seconds. Nothing happened, nothing but the distant sounds of the battle in the city and dead leaves tumbleweeding over the road. Teru took off his seatbelt since it was too uncomfortable. The grey material had bruised his neck after locking him firmly in place.

In a much calmer manner, Lucas shifted the knob into first gear to drive again. "Are you hurt-?"

SMASH.

Teru yelped when a hand punched through the glass, gripping his coat collar. It yanked him towards the window, where Abaddon furiously tried to open the locked door from the outside. A trail of black tire streaks dirtied his other arm, crushed and limp. The lacerations were healing immediately, unlike his mangled face. Abaddon's head still looked like it had gone through a meat-grinder machine.

Teru clawed at anything to get free: the roof, the seats, the duffel bags, anything. They met each other's stare, with only the door keeping them apart. Abaddon tugged on the outer handle harder. SNAP. SPRING. Something broke. The little button popped up, switching to 'unlock.'

Lucas did not hesitate to get out, shoving his door open. His blue eyes glowed, similar to Kieran's heated expression. When Teru faced danger, you could describe Kieran's crimson eyes as an untamed wildfire, blazing with rage. But Lucas...his ocean blue eyes were a tsunami of crashing fury.

He aimed at the king's throat, snarling and barring his alpha canines. Abaddon released Teru to defend himself, loosening the chokehold on his scared victim's coat. Teru scrambled to the other side of the seat and gasped for air.

It was difficult to see the fight from where he huddled inside. His vision blurred. Every quickened breath shook with adrenaline and fear. His heart didn't show signs of slowing down. Despite this, his body was sluggish, feeling exhausted. It felt like he could sleep forever. He sensed Kieran's panic.

Is...this what it feels like to drop? That omega drop thing? Isn't it dangerous? What about my pups?

Teru ignored the loud growls, bone-breaking punches, blood splatters raining on the windows, and the storm of mixing alpha pheromones. He truly believed if he peeked outside to see the fight, he'd collapse into a drop. What he had to do now was not to worry about other people, but focus on himself so he wouldn't slip into a coma-like state, which was so hard not to do when his body was begging to protect itself.

Sleep, his inner omega whispered, crying in his thoughts. This is too much.

I don't want to. Teru slid over the leather until laying across the seats, somehow finding himself preparing to sleep, anyway. He closed his eyes.

Abaddon bellowed, "I would prefer not to use force to avoid injury. I'll give you ten seconds to give yourself up peacefully, omega! If not, I'll kill your friend where he stands before I hurt you. 1...2...3..."

Teru clung to every syllable, not registering what was being said. It was just enough to keep his consciousness afloat. How ironic that Abaddon would be the person to help him not drop with that annoying voice of his.

"4...5...6...7...8...9...AGH!" the king gasped. A new scent had arrived, one Teru wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not. With no one talking, he needed a distraction, or else he'd-

POUND. POUND. POUND, someone hammered the door with a fist.

"Don't you dare fucking drop, Humility!" the alpha commanded him, using authoritative pheromones. "Wake up!"

Could an alpha use their pheromones to demand such a thing? The omega within Teru whined, not knowing if it should listen to them or continue to enter permanent sleep mode. Another rush of pheromones blanketed Teru through the hole in the window.

"I said, wake-!"

That alpha telling him to not sleep was interrupted. They could not talk to him again, too engaged in their fight to the death with Abaddon.

Don't go, Teru pleaded. I don't think I can do it alone.