"Try holding it this way," Kieran instructed, showing him how to hold a pencil again between his fingers.

Teru was attempting to trace the alphabet on worksheets meant for children but was having difficulties keeping the utensil steady in his hands. To be honest, Kieran was surprised by how fast he was learning, given the way he lived without proper education - by day four of practicing, he had memorized all 26 letters, uppercase and lowercase, as well as the first ten numbers.

Teru weakly drew the next letter. "I don't know, it just doesn't feel natural when I write."

"Since you've never tried before this, your hand muscles are weak. It'll get easier." Kieran watched Teru continue to struggle to complete the dotted lines, not getting the hang of it. He was constantly adjusting Teru's right-handed grasp.

While doing so, Kieran found himself inhaling deeply next to the omega's neck. The smell of Teru's blood was beckoning him to drink. His impeccable hearing could detect the gentle rush of blood traveling through the artery with every heartbeat, practically drowning out all other city sounds. If he looked close enough, a tiny pulse thumped against the sweet-scented skin...

The vampire opened his mouth and inched closer to the prey's jugular, his fangs aching to taste it...

"I'm hungry," Teru said while still writing, disrupting Kieran's trance. Realizing what he was about to do, Kieran stopped and pulled back. Thank whatever deity it was to make Teru so oblivious to the predator that almost attacked him from behind.

He looked at the clock. It read 6:15 P.M.

The maid was fifteen minutes late with dinner. This was actually a good opportunity to distance himself from the delicious blood scent.

If Kieran stayed any longer...

"I'll go get it myself since she is late. You want your raspberries on time, correct?" What a sad excuse, but it was all he had right there and then.

Not wasting a second longer to hear Teru's response, he rushed out of the penthouse to go to the donor floor, forgetting his coat and identification; not like he needed it anyway since everyone knew who he was.

He refused to admit that every day was a struggle, his primal instincts wanting to take over by sinking his elongated canines into Teru. Just thinking about him writhing in pleasure from his pheromone venom while sliding in his cock into that tight hole was causing Kieran to feel abnormally aggressive at the moment. His lower stomach churned with sexual need.

Kieran's vampiric core temperature became cooler. It was a sign of...

This is not my rut. My cycles have never been unstable.

Out of all the things wrong with his body, his ruts were not to be trifled with. Kieran wouldn't be buried by such shame. It was the one predictable bodily function the alpha had left. He'd get Dr. Charles involved if that happened, but not before killing a few others out of sheer anger from the deadly blow to his Pride.

The prince passed humans and vampires in the capital building. They cowered away from him, knowing what he did to the king's head servant. All of New York heard about it. How couldn't they when that damned beta ran around the lobby like a headless chicken, screaming bloody murder about his missing eyes?

The elevator door opened to reveal the darkened hallway.

The desk attendant saw him coming. "Ah! Prince Kieran. You're back so soon."

He held out his hand for the room key. "The usual."

She looked nervous by his request. "I'm afraid your regular donor is no longer in service. May I suggest—"

"I don't care that she's sick. Blood is blood," he snapped.

"Oh, uh, that's not the case. That particular human expired. She was found dead in her room yesterday morning, along with two other donors. Their cause of death was blood loss. We suspect a vampire broke in after-hours and attacked whoever was easiest to kill."

"I...see." This news was slightly upsetting to him, but he was overall indifferent to it. "Has the intruder been caught yet?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. His face was obscured by a hat."

"Did you dispose of the bodies?"

"Yes. They were cremated last night."

He'd have to discuss this later with Blaise since this floor was mainly operated by him. His younger brother has been slacking with security, it looked like. "Give me someone you recommend. None of the king's regulars. I won't touch where that bastard's bitten."

"U-understood," she stuttered, not used to someone talking about the king that way. It was punishable by a long-term prison sentence or even death depending on what was said.

She handed him a card. "Door 11."

Kieran grabbed the key. He was really in a pissed-off mood. When he entered the hotel-like room, he saw a slender, male beta laying on the bed in leather garments. His body shape and hair color were similar to Teru's. Without any greetings, he went to the pretty-looking donor and bit his neck.

The boy gasped with bliss. How appalling. Blood slicked down his throat from Kieran's carelessness. Unlike Eun-bin, he didn't care about wasting this life-sustaining liquid.

The donor's blood scent was tangy like salad dressing. The whorish moans were a big turn-off for the alpha.

God, how he wished this was his omega instead.

Once Kieran felt the cramping pain in his stomach, he roughly extracted his fangs and threw the Teru-imposter to the side; he had his unsatisfied fill. He left the human in a shocked state, not giving a shit if it lived or died.

Kieran felt so dirty like he did something he shouldn't have.

As he entered the elevator, his hand paused above the glowing button that would take him back to the real Teru.

Food. I forgot. I guarantee that maid is flirting with the chefs if she's still in the kitchen.

Kieran went to the level holding the building's giant kitchen, cafeteria, and 5-star restaurant overlooking New York. As suspected, his new maid was laughing cutely with another human cook, the cart with Teru's meal abandoned next to her.

She noticed him approaching and tried to continue to her duties with panicked guilt. It bumped into Kieran with a clang from him not getting out of the way. He took off the stainless steel plate cover.

Steak...vegetables...dessert...no raspberries.

The woman was sweating profusely, probably wondering what her punishment would be. Kieran would let it slide for now, thinking his calmness would affect her psychologically more than yelling. "Go get the fruit. If you want to continue getting a paycheck from me, don't forget again." She scurried away.

As Kieran waited, two chefs were returning from their lunch break, failing to see that the prince was in their presence.

"It wasn't difficult to kill those donors yesterday. There were literally no guards! You should've seen that old bat try to fight back," the one said. "She had no shame as she begged for her life!" Kieran's eyes narrowed at the vampire. So this was the intruder who drained Eun-bin. He followed them back to the kitchen, listening to the conversation.

"I don't know why they keep such elderly human donors. I did them a favor by drinking every last drop before I snapped her neck. Her pathetic last words were Prince—URGH!" The cook looked down at his chest. A hand was sticking out of his rib cage, holding his beating heart. The friend looked terrified once he realized what was happening and who was doing it.

"Consider this as your atonement," Kieran seethed.

"W-Wait—"

Kieran ripped his arm back to pull out the heart from their backside. The vampire fell to the ground. Blood splattered everywhere which had a hint of Eun-bin's scent. He was dead. Once a vampire's heart was missing, they couldn't regenerate their wounds.

Everyone watched with shock.

Kieran went to the kitchen's deep fryer and plopped the thumping organ into the boiling oil. It sizzled and hissed from the fresh meat. "When it's well-done, feed it to the dogs," he told the sous-chef. "Don't forget the raspberries next time."

He prepared a bowl of red fruit himself and wheeled the cart away from the trembling maid. His red-stained clothes made others stop in their tracks at the sight. More rumors would surely arise about this.

Hopefully, Eun-bin can now be at peace.