He's met all sorts of interesting people today.

A creepy beta doctor who wanted to pair him with alphas.

The mysterious female vampire with every scent under the sun.

And now the king, Kieran's stepfather, who didn't have any scent at all. That was why Teru felt weirded out by his presence. All alphas and omegas had a scent produced by the gland in their neck. It could be something pleasant such as a rose, nostalgic like a childhood candy, or horrid pickled vegetables. Whether or not you liked it, that scent would forever be your signature aroma. Even betas had a whiff of something, usually just plain human odor.

And the king was a dominant alpha. Their scents were more potent than the average alphas. Given Teru's sensitive sense of smell, he should be able to smell him from a mile away.

Instead, Abaddon had nothing. Nothing at all.

And...what were they doing here?

They were sitting at a two-seated table at a restaurant somewhere in the building. It was next to the window, giving them a breathtaking view of the city. The early morning sun had risen, so the sky was a brilliant shade of orange and yellow with hot pink clouds dotting the horizon.

It was an intimate setting. Crab legs and other expensive foods were laid out on the table. Teru didn't know how to open the aquatic appendages, leaving those untouched. The server, a beta human wearing a yellow collar, was nervous each time he brought out items, shaking like a leaf whenever he asked how the food was. Quite frankly, Teru was jumpy as hell, too. He could tell his own muscles would be sore tomorrow from tensing up so much.

This was his first time eating outside of the penthouse. He wished it was Kieran sitting across from him instead of the king, who hadn't said a word to him since leaving the hospital floor.

Their waiter returned with a vintage bottle of red wine and tried to pour a glass. Since he was trembling so badly, the wine spilled onto the white linen cloth. He hyperventilated.

Abaddon took away the bottle and scoffed with a venomous tone, "Manager. Now."

But the poor man didn't have to get the manager. She, a beta vampire, was there in an instant. "Your Majesty."

"Red collar."

"S-sir?"

The king didn't want to ask twice. She sped away and came back with what he had demanded.

"Take off his yellow one," he told her. The vampire hastily unlocked it with a tiny key until his throat was bare.

"Put on the red collar." She did.

"Congratulations," Abaddon waved off the now ex-employee. "You're now a blood slave. Go find a new owner on the streets." He snapped his fingers. The waiting guards dragged him away, crying for forgiveness and how he wouldn't make the same mistake again. His begging words were ignored by everyone.

Teru's eyes were wide open. His heart raced. It was a genuine slipup. If that called for demoting his status from servant to blood slave, he didn't want to imagine what would happen to him if he did worse than spill alcohol.

Abaddon poured the dark red liquid into a crystal glass and set it in front of Teru. "Go ahead. It's 1985 Salon Cuvee S, from my personal stock."

And he was supposed to know what that meant? He held the glass to his mouth. The king watched as his lips pressed on the glass, taking a small sip...

...and coughed, feeling the wine go into his nose. His face scrunched up from the burning sensation in his esophagus.

The king laughed. "Have you never tried alcohol before?"

Should he respond? What if he was killed for saying the wrong thing?

Abaddon sensed his hesitation. "Relax. Just enjoy yourself."

Relax. Right. That's the exact opposite of what he was feeling.

"N-no, it's my first time."

Abaddon poured his own glass and took a big swig. "Huh. Kieran has a hobby for coffee and bourbon. I'm surprised he hasn't offered you any yet. If I were him, I would let you drink to your heart's content and get nasty drunk to forget this wonderful, hellish world I helped create."

Teru responded quietly, "H-he said I should focus on my health first before drinking or eating anything bad for me."

The man cackled, rubbing his stubble with his hand. "Bad, eh? How amusing."

Abaddon continued drinking the entire bottle, insisting Teru try more food and wine. He tried to please him, but the bitterness of the liquid was making him thirstier. Plus, he had zero appetite. Who would in this situation?

He had to force himself to consume everything to avoid Abaddon's wrath.

When they finished, the leash was reattached to his collar. He swayed slightly from the alcohol, not liking how the floor was swirling.

"Are you feeling alright? Do you feel tired? After all, you just woke up from a long hibernation."

"I'm okay, Your Majesty," Teru lied, not wanting to indicate he was, in fact, exhausted. Also, he hated hearing himself say that title. It felt like a curse word.

"Then, let's move on. There are lots of things to see."

The next few hours were bizarre. Kieran's stepfather was being nice to him as he gave a tour of the building. Teru was reserved when shown several offices, a movie theater, some shops, different restaurants, a casino, and...

The elevator doors opened to reveal a dark hallway with blueish lights bordering the ceiling's edges. Somehow, bright colors such as white were glowing in the dark. The inside of his ears pulsated with each deep bass from the loud music. There were numerous doors on both sides of the hallway with a long help desk nearby.

But the smells!

Teru's nose was struck by a sordid blend of scents – sweat, pheromones, fear, bodily fluids, blood, sex...

He covered his nose with the back of his hand. He had a good guess what this place was used for.

Abaddon practically had to drag him out of the elevator because his heels dug into the floor. This was too much for him!

The employee behind the counter instantly stood up when she saw them approaching. "Your Majesty," she bowed. "What will you have today?"

"Same as last week, but switch Alpha #8 with Alpha #21. I won't be taking part this time. Only watching with an honored guest."

The vampire woman didn't spare a glance at Teru; she knew the consequences of staring at the king's belongings, knowing the drill. She handed him a plastic gold card. "Yes, Your Majesty. VIP room #1. I'll call for them now."

They zigzagged through the corridors, passing by black doors with numbers on them. Teru shuddered as he heard screams of pain, moans of pleasure, and the sounds of chains and whips.

He was terror-stricken this would be his fate in the next hour.

They paused when reaching a blocked hallway. Red velvet curtains hung from the ceiling to conceal the other side. Two vampire guards stood by, making sure those who wanted to enter were permitted to do so. Obviously, Avania's ruler was one of those people. The guards pulled the center of the curtains to let them in, not bothering to ask for their names or proof of identification.

The atmosphere was significantly different. The gold doors matched Abaddon's card, warm lights brightly lit up the space, sparkles glimmered on the white marbled floors, and meticulously arranged plants in every corner. It was regal and for royalty only.

But one thing was the same.

The air stunk of sex, rut, and...something else that was familiar, yet he couldn't put a finger on it.

Teru was so distracted by the ambiance that he didn't notice Abaddon had stopped. He walked right into his backside. The king let out a loud snarl to back off. Teru moved away quickly with his imaginary tail between his legs.

They had arrived at VIP room #1.

"Where are the alphas?" Abaddon asked. Who was he talking to?

"They're already inside, Master. I'm the last one to arrive." This person's voice was alluring with a hint of honey. Speaking of, that's exactly what their pheromones smelled like – sweetened honey fresh from a beehive.

No.

There was absolutely no way.

It was impossible.

Teru leaned to the right, peering shyly around Abaddon's figure. There was a slim man. He looked a little older by a few years. He had ocean blue eyes and light blonde, almost white, hair that wrapped around the gentle curvature of his face. Teru tried not to ogle at his outfit - thin ropes knotted around his chest and torso, tight black pants, and a simple diamond nose stud. Could those be considered as clothes? Either way, he was beautiful, even to Teru's standards.

He wore a green collar.

Their eyes met.

Both gasped. In an automatic response, his and Teru's chests purred in greeting; it wasn't aggressive or threatening, just two individuals who were curious about the other.

The pretty stranger said, "He's that human omega I've heard about!" His vampire fangs glistened under the radiant lights when he exclaimed this.

It didn't matter that he was a bloodsucker.

There was another omega.

And that smell Teru couldn't name earlier...belonged to an omega in heat.