"You can come out." Kieran held the door open, displaying a room that was much larger than the one Teru was held hostage in. All of that was on the other side and he didn't know it? This whole time?

Teru wanted to go but...the vampire was way too close to the bedroom door that would lead him there. He slowly inched forward, like a deer that was testing its surroundings for any sudden movements from a nearby threat. His inner omega gave a low growl at the alpha, meaning he wanted more distance between them.

Kieran took multiple steps away. Teru's shoulders relaxed. Much better. He went through the doorway.

He looked all around him. It was huge - tall ceilings that extended high above the second floor with wooden beams running across it, multiple doors with new rooms to explore, unfamiliar electronics, and interesting-looking furniture. He did his best not to get excited at seeing the giant refrigerator.

Teru lifted his head and sniffed the air. It smelled heavily of the dominant alpha. Mint was the only scent he could detect, so Kieran must be the only person living here.

The awe went away. What was this vampire's motive? "Why?"

Kieran, who leaned against the wall while watching him, wasn't expecting such a question. "Why what?"

"Why let me out now? What are you getting at?"

"Can't I do it from the goodness of my heart?"

Teru wanted to roll his eyes. This guy was obviously trying to joke at the situation, reading the mood completely wrong.

Kieran could tell it was a dumb attempt. He walked towards Teru and grabbed his hand. It made his speeding heart jump into his throat. "You were hurting, weren't you?"

So...the vampire did notice his hidden pain? That wasn't something his family nor friends ever did.

The omega was on guard as he was given a tour of the apartment. He learned about the names for each assigned area - the living room, kitchen, entrance, office, and library. The only room he didn't see was the alpha's bedroom.

They stopped in the kitchen again. "I forgot to mention this before, but don't use the stove unless I'm here with you. It's not safe," Kieran warned. That made him curious about it. Surely it wasn't that dangerous. When he wasn't looking, Teru pressed a button on the oven's front. It beeped. One of the circles ignited with a high flame. The heat almost reached to his face.

Kieran hurriedly switched it off and wildly checked Teru's face for any burns. "I said not to touch it!"

"You said it's fine when you're around," he reminded the apartment's owner.

"Just don't touch. AT ALL," changing his mind. Kieran ushered him quickly out of the kitchen, worried that he would set the whole place on fire.

He brought him over to a glass sliding door. "This is the last place to show you. It's called a balcony. Like the kitchen, please be careful." When Kieran opened it, chilly wind rushed inside, blowing the curtains.

Outside.

Teru carefully tiptoed into the fresh air. Being this high up was dizzying even with a high ledge to prevent him from falling.

More gusts of wind pushed at him. He inhaled, almost forgetting what this smelled like. It was so refreshing. He gazed at the view with the hundreds of tall buildings against the clear, blue sky. In the distance were the ruins of whatever city it used to be. "It's amazing," saying what was on his mind.

"Hmm, do you think so?"

Teru's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He wasn't supposed to say that out loud.

The tour was over. "Do you want to play a game, watch a movie, or read a book?"

"We can watch a movie? Here?" Teru has heard stories about those. His father had multiple magazines about live-action and cartoon films. Supposedly, humans used to go watch the fake scenarios on giant screens for fun.

"If you'd like. What genre do you prefer?" Kieran guided him back inside and revealed a tiny closet with tons of thin, plastic cases with different covers. Not wanting to admit that he didn't know what a 'genre' was, Teru replied, "Whatever is fine."

Kieran gave him a doubtful look. "I forgot that you lived in squalor. There's romance, action, supernatural, war, comedy, and others. Just pick something with an interesting name." He pointed to the cases, or DVDs, as they were called.

Teru grazed a finger down the piles. The letters were foreign since he couldn't read. The one with a man holding a handgun stood out. "This."

"Die Hard? How unexpected." Kieran pulled out the disc and placed it in a black box. That shiny, rainbow thing was a movie?

The TV turned on and the film began. The vampire sat on the couch. "Well?" he waited.

Teru chose the floor, keeping many body lengths between them. Kieran was displeased because he probably thought the human would sit next to him, but he didn't say anything about it. This was the first day out of the bedroom, after all.

Over time, Teru scooched closer until he sat directly in front of the TV, mesmerized. Sometimes the people would hold the gun wrong and how they shot at each other wasn't realistic, but still amazing nonetheless.

"Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker," the main character said. What an interesting thing to say. What did it mean?

The picture turned black with a bunch of words rolling up the screen, signifying it was finished. "What did you think?" Kieran asked.

"Did that sort of thing happen in real life?"

"This actual story, no, but there were similar problems, you could say. Humans often murdered each other for money, revenge, sex, or simply because they wanted to."

"But vampires don't murder humans for those reasons," he said quietly.

Kieran shrugged unsympathetically. "Not most of the time."

They both knew the main reason why. Blood.

The alpha saw the disgusted look on Teru's face. "But the intent isn't the same as it was in the beginning. It was like a sport; to kill or turn as many humans as they could. Now, blood is more sacred and not to be taken lightly. We can't even change a human into a vampire without getting approved and registered. A new vampire that is turned illegally is killed instantly if they're caught."

There was no point in justifying their actions. It was all so gross to him, how this vamp talked about people like they were nothing more than bugs. 'Sacred' wasn't the right word. Teru saw the way they treated them at the auction house. Maybe Kieran was out of touch with how the real world worked.

"And where were you during all of that? When people were being massacred?"

"It's all a blur. In this city, maybe. I didn't partake."

"So, you let everything happen? You make it sound like you were hiding here to secure your job and live a cushy life." People who did nothing were just as guilty.

The bratty tongue annoyed Kieran. "Listen. I put up with your words because we're alone in my home. When we are in front of others, don't speak with such defiance. They'd want to see you punished because I'm a pr— ," he paused. "...I work directly under the queen's biological children, the seven deadly sins."

So, fairy tales were coming into play now? Fine. He could go along with it. "Let them. The deadly sins are cowards. There's nothing worse that could happen to me."

Musky pheromones spread through the room. The scent made him want to show his submissive belly.

"Come here," the dominant alpha ordered, using his forceful tone. Teru had no choice but to oblige, his inner omega following the command. He despised being controlled like this. His body just didn't want to refuse.

Or perhaps he could say no. Except...

I want to follow, the suppressed omega deep within his mind whispered.

When he stood in front of Kieran, Teru almost wanted to come when his crimson eyes undressed him with a heated expression.

He accidentally released his own overflowing sweet scent from the penetrating stare. It was subtle enough not to get a normal alpha's attention, but a strong, dominant one would tell.

The vampire replied by altering his musk – kind of sharp, minty, and raging with testosterone that only one with powerful genes could have.

It was difficult to deny their chemistry.

And I really hate it!

"Little omega," Kieran said. "It could be far, far worse." Another wave of that addicting scent came out.

Before Teru knew it, he was straddling the vampire on the couch. When did I get here?

Kieran's hand touched Teru's thigh, traveling up until he reached the pants' waistline. His hand slowly reached inside. Light scratches were left behind from his long nails. It tickled which sent a chill up Teru's spine. Ever so slowly, Kieran's finger grazed past the edge of his underwear. He was centimeters away from his balls – swollen from need. This all happened while maintaining eye contact, each one testing the other to see how far they could push the boundaries. Teru's bottom bent out to seduce—

Stop, stop, stop!

It was happening too fast.

Teru pushed on the muscular chest to get away. Kieran felt the resistance and stopped immediately, placing the human roughly on the neighboring cushion so he could get up. Teru felt like a pervert for staring at the large outline of the alpha's hard-on.

"Choose another movie," Kieran strained and rushed to his own bedroom.

Weird. Teru was glad that they stopped, yet, he felt like a failure somehow?

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

After locking his door, the prince punched the drywall, making a hole. He breathed heavily from pain while trying not to groan out loud, grabbing his hard cock to try to make it stop.

He was knotting.

"Mhac na galla (Son of a bitch)," he said with clenched teeth in his native Gaelic tongue.

The bulb of his dick was enlarged to the max and his shaft doubled in width. This was only supposed to happen when an alpha followed its instincts to impregnate an omega. The engorged size was meant to lock semen at the entrance of an omega's uterus, increasing the chances of fertilization.

But...Kieran wasn't in a rut and Teru wasn't in heat. Why was he knotting for no reason? There has only been a handful of times he's knotted, but never tying to nothing.

I'm not a hormonal teenager!

And it was really fucking painful for a knot not to be attached to a womb. He buried his head in his pillow, thinking about other things to make it go down. Anything but Teru, who had unknowingly begun to court him, a sort of 'mating ritual' made between omegas and alphas. It was a way to show off to each other whether it was through scent, possessions, status, or whatever it took to get their attention. If the receiving party rejected the advancements, it hurt the pursuing one's self-esteem.

And he did a great fucking job at it. I responded to the courtship yet I ran away.

But, he said to stop.

Why couldn't I control my pheromones?

Is my rut coming out of season?

After fifteen minutes, the swelling decreased but he could tell his balls were full, ready to procreate.

First, vampire venom and now spontaneous knotting? He was in trouble. Deep, deep trouble.

It wasn't normal. Not being able to drink blood without puking already stung his pride. Being called a bloodsucker by Teru bruised him a little.

Whatever was happening to his impressive lower half was a huge blow to him. His perfect mask snapped in the dead center. If this continued, how long before he couldn't hide his dark side any longer? He had worked too hard to create this concealment while he was being abused by Van Helsing. It was his coping mechanism for his Pride identity not to rip out every throat in sight.

No one can see me like this.