"I need you to find the whereabouts of someone for me." Kieran held out a piece of paper to Blaise, who had some connections, a.k.a. lovers, that worked at the same auction house in Nashville. After Teru told him a name and description, he wrote it down so he wouldn't forget. "This human was sold the night we went. Premium floor."

He hated that the omega begged for this. He didn't want to help. At all. A human alpha wouldn't pose as a threat to him, but it was the principle behind it.

On the other hand, Kieran understood his plea to find the missing pack member. It was a bond that the prideful vampire never experienced – being part of a pack.

When Lucas was brought up, he thought, Am I not enough?

Kieran wanted to push Teru down, make him submit, and forget everyone else.

But he couldn't do that. He also knew Teru has never 'slept around.' It was the blood hunger talking since it made him unnecessarily hostile. The last time he drank was four months ago, maybe? The only way to continue forward with this request was to get blood.

The drag queen was perplexed as he stared at the note being offered to him. Kieran never asked for favors; it was part of his personality. "I'll do it because I owe you one, darling. Is there a reason?"

"My omega wants to know. They were pack mates."

"Oooh, the tea. A boyfriend?"

Kieran gave him a warning look. So typical. "Just tell me when you know."

Blaise took the paper and put it in his pink fur coat, making him close enough to breathe in Kieran's scent. His amber eyes sparkled with interest, standing out against the thick layer of make-up he wore. "By the way," he whispered in Kieran's ear, "your pheromones are all over the place. I can smell it on you - the desire, the pent-up frustration, the lust. I'm enjoying watching you squirm with need. Does that sweet scent you carry on you belong to that omega? Have you tasted him yet? I long to know everything about your forbidden relationship."

Oh, boy. Blaise was turning into Lust. Occasionally, when the siblings detected their sin on something new and arousing, it can overwhelm them. If their original selves truly took over from overstimulation, they'd go on a rampage and slaughter everyone who smelled like their sin. Thankfully, none of the seven have regressed to that state in a while since they kept each other in check.

Who was the last one to go on a murder spree? I think it was Wrath, during our takeover. That was messy.

For Blaise to smell the plum-scented lust on his older brother must've been exciting since Kieran basically went celibate countless years before. If this didn't stop now, the youngest would start killing everyone - vampires and humans - that stunk of the lewd emotion.

The only way to talk to Lust was to say sweet nothings back. "If you find that alpha for me in the next two hours, I'll reveal every single detail," Kieran murmured back.

Please take the bait.

Lust smiled wickedly from ear to ear. "I'll make some calls."

Hopefully, that'll distract Blaise. They separated to do their tasks.

He took the elevator to the donor floor. A human who wanted protection from being sold as a slave could either choose to be a servant or a blood donator. In exchange, they had to disclose the location of their pack.

A donor's care was decent here since they were tested for diseases, given a proper diet, and had more freedom than a servant.

Most of the captured humans were so malnourished, that their blood couldn't sustain a vampire for long. Thus, many of his kind chose the volunteers as their main food source rather than constantly buying new blood slaves.

The doors pinged open to reveal a dark hallway lit by black lights. The bass from the erotic music vibrated his eardrums.

The desk employee, a vampire woman, saw him coming and bowed. "My Lord." She gave him a hotel key, already knowing who he wanted. The number on the plastic card said '21' in gold lettering. He weaved through the hallways until he reached door #21, sliding the card into the reader. The red light switched to green, meaning it unlocked.

"Ah, my favorite prince returns. The months in between your sessions with me grows longer each time," said the middle-aged, Korean woman lying on the bed in lacey lingerie.

"Eun-bin."

Their relationship was purely mutual, a predator that sought out a willing prey. She's been his personal choice for decades because of her aloof, uninterested attitude towards him, no strings attached. In the past, many blood donors have fallen for Kieran to the point where they became obsessive and needy; they wanted a deeper relationship other than just being a supplier. It was troublesome.

But, she was aging. Eun-bin was approaching the average lifespan for a human living in this post-vampire world. When a human outlived their usefulness, they were drained and disposed of. To be frank, if it wasn't for Kieran visiting her occasionally, she'd probably be gone by now.

The beta extended her neck out, already cleaned and disinfected. Kieran crawled over her on the bed and sunk his fangs deep into her artery. Eun-Bin's breath hitched from the pain at first, then euphoria. The sucking sound was loud because he was so thirsty. The life-sustaining liquid filled his mouth. Before he even swallowed, his body wanted to reject it but he held on until he was full.

He'd give anything for Teru to be in her place instead. His slim throat...

Don't think about that. If you're not careful, you'll accidentally release pheromone venom into her, the dominant alpha scolded himself.

Kieran slowly retracted his fangs. He searched in the side table's drawer, rummaging through the boxes of condoms for the first-aid kit. Never once did he need the latex protection since he doesn't touch donors 'that' way.

"You're the only one who treats me good. I guess chivalry isn't dead," Eun-bin cooed while he washed the wound with an alcoholic wipe.

Kieran stood up. Her O+ blood churned in his stomach. "I think this might be the last time."

Eun-bin shrugged. "It's okay. I appreciate your company throughout the years." She knew that if Kieran stopped seeing her, she'd be replaced by a younger, more desirable human. Eun-bin was once the most sought after donor because of her beautiful looks, but the amount of requests waned when youth left her.

There was a limited number of donors. If the spots were full, the only other option was servanthood until a slot opened up. The waiting list for this job was never-ending.

"I'll make sure to give word to keep you around longer," he said.

She waved her hand in the air at his words. "Silly prince, I'm going to die anyway in about half a year without your visits. I deserve it after I betrayed my parents. Anyway, did you find someone you like? You looked like you were imagining them."

Kieran washed his mouth in the sink to make sure there were no traces of congealed red. "I did. An omega." He revealed this because she wouldn't say anything about his private life. Eun-bin was respectful like that with her clients.

As she was strapping on her royal-blue collar, the color to symbolize she was a donor, surprise passed over her face. It turned into a genuine smile. "Finally. I was hoping to hear their comeback one day. Man? Woman?"

"Male. He's between eighteen to twenty years old." Kieran checked his shirt in the mirror to make sure there weren't any blood drops. Only a rookie would make a mess like that. "Too innocent for his own good."

"What a babe. Do...you get sick when you drink from him?" she asked carefully, knowing it was a sensitive topic.

"I haven't tried it, but I can tell his blood is different."

"Then, take good care of him." Eun-bin came over behind him and brushed away his hair covering his nape. She kissed the scar. He normally wouldn't let anyone do this, but he let it slide since they weren't going to see each other in the future. Their professional relationship was done.

"Annyeong," she said goodbye in Korean. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. If they still lived in a human-dominated society, perhaps they could've been friends.

Kieran left to meet with Blaise, who was already waiting. His brother was no longer Lust. The distraction worked.

They made sure no one was around to hear. "I found him."

"And?"

"He was purchased by the Zhang's."

Not good. Not good at all. They were one of the duke families of the capitol. Their influence was great and not far below Kieran's political standing himself. Teru's alpha friend was either dead or close to it. They were sadistic with their humans, physically and sexually. Count James, the fat vamp that almost won Teru, had bondage fetishes that were child's play compared to Duke and Duchess Zhang's hardcore kinks. "I see. Thanks."

He went back to the elevator to go home. Blaise protested when the doors opened, "What about our deal?"

"You owed me one, remember? Now we're even," Kieran brushed him off, ignoring the cursing insults for not spilling. Something was said along the lines of 'being forced to promise an ex-partner for a quickie to get this confidential information.'

Like hell he'd ever tell someone else about Teru's body.

Once Kieran entered his floor, he stiffened when he saw the new maid. She was dead on the floor with her neck broken.

The air smelled of lemons and omega fear pheromones.

Tristan, the envy sin, was here.