Teru's eyes fluttered open, welcomed by the white ceiling above. Most of the surrounding scents were unfamiliar: fresh paint, cleaning chemicals, newly cut wood, etc., but he recognized that brown liquid Kieran liked to drink in the morning. Coffee, as he recalled. There was one time he wanted to try it but was denied, claiming he'd be 'bouncing off the walls,' whatever that meant.

This felt like déjà vu from his first morning here.

He turned on his side and dozily observed his wolf plush and a glass of water on the side table. His eyes slowly shut again for another round of slumber, snuggling further under the soft blankets...

...until he sat up quickly. That smell – the coffee. Kieran was in the other room. So, he was saved after all from the king.

Flashbacks of the past few weeks were all Teru thought of, particularly from today. Or was that yesterday? The day before yesterday? He felt groggy from oversleeping, so he must've been out of it for a while. Teru tangled his fingers through his hair and lowered his head, feeling his lungs tighten when remembering Abaddon forcing him to watch Liam get taken by so many rutting alphas. It was hard to breathe. Would they eventually drug him up to induce his heat cycle early, too?

Teru gasped for air. He sunk deeper into the dark, murky water his mind was creating.

Someone pulled him onto their lap, rocking him back and forth saying, "I have you. It's okay."

Ten minutes went by before the panic attack stopped.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Teru scanned the room. His bedroom's size resembled the old one, but the décor was different. There also wasn't a mini-refrigerator. He disliked how nothing smelled of him anymore. It was all new. Only one smelled the same – the mint pheromones washing over him like a warm bath after a long, tedious day.

He looked up. Kieran met his stare with his crimson eyes, worried. Teru slid off Kieran's lap, sitting on his knees on the bed while the vampire remained where he was. Pride wasn't visible anymore.

Anger flared in him, making him growl.

This...this vampire!

Teru pounded on Kieran's muscular chest with balled-up fists. It wasn't doing any damage, but it felt good to let out some steam. While the rain of hits continued, he fumed, "You! Why didn't you tell me who you really were?! I lived with a deadly sin for months! Don't you think this would be important to know?! And I wasn't the only omega living here! Liam is a vampire, but it still counts! Are there more?!"

The rambling questions kept coming. Kieran didn't move, letting him release his wrath to his heart's content. Soon enough, Teru was breathing heavily from tiredness. His punches were weak and slow. When he stopped, he sighed and slammed his backside on the large bed, splayed out like a starfish. His new satin pajamas were wet under his armpits and lower backside.

"Do you feel better?" Kieran asked, fixing his formal vest and tie. The man looked totally fine!

"I don't like you right now."

"We should talk about what happened–"

Teru huffed and got off the bed. "Are you being serious? Now you want to talk to me?"

Kieran was equally becoming pissed off, speedily marching towards Teru. In a way, Teru thought he'd grab his throat just like the first time they met, too. He didn't and stood over him. Why was his tall height so annoying?

"Tell me one thing," Kieran asked. "Would you have opened up to me if you knew my real identity? Don't you realize how difficult it was to make the hatred in your eyes disappear? You'd still be calling me a bloodsucker, otherwise."

Teru was tongue-tied. No, he wouldn't have lowered his guard if he believed the deadly sins existed and that Kieran was the 'nastiest' of the bunch. They both knew this fact. "Still, that doesn't make it fine to hide such big secrets! Did you think I'd be ignorant of it forever? I would've preferred to have heard it from you than Lucas–"

"Your alpha friend told you?" Kieran interrupted.

But Teru kept going. "There were so many situations that terrified me because I didn't know what was happening." He choked up, feeling his throat constrict. "I was...I was confused and afraid after you went crazy from drinking my blood–"

The rest of what he wanted to say wouldn't come out. Teru held in the sob, causing his chest to hiccup. He turned his head away to conceal the tears that were going to fall.

Kieran stepped closer, gently holding Teru's chin between his thumb and pointer finger to make their eyes meet. "Just let it out."

"Let what out...?" He jerked his head away, but Kieran wouldn't let him. He kept a firm grip on his face to maintain their gazes.

"This. You're shaking."

Oh. He was. Teru stared at his hands. His entire body was shivering as if he was freezing. The room wasn't cold, though.

Kieran suddenly embraced him. "I...," he hesitated, "wish I had someone to tell me, 'It's okay to admit you're not okay. That you're having a rough time.' Dr. Charles came by earlier this morning to check your condition. He told me how he showed you my medical files. I wasn't happy about it because it's proof of my weakness. Now, you know of my capture. You saw the photos and drawings. You listened to his story about my fangs being ripped out. I guess the only thing left to admit is how I was a cold-blooded killer of prideful humans before Van Helsing kidnapped me."

"Was? Not anymore?"

"No," Kieran acknowledged. "I stopped doing 'God's work' after I was free. Killing people who were festered with pride no longer interested me. I lost all purpose in my life. Everything seemed pointless because humans will always sin, no matter how many ants you squish. Eventually, the others besides Tristan stopped, too, since it also became difficult to get away with murder thanks to technological advancements. Anyway, to this day, I don't like to acknowledge that I have trauma. Regardless, it would've been nice for anyone to let me know that I don't have to pretend all the time. When I'm alone, I don't have to be strong. I hid it away for a long time until now. So, little one, I'm telling you – just cry. You can cry as much as you want with me or when you're by yourself. I won't judge you because you're mine."

Teru was stunned by his words. Who was this person? Where did the antagonistic vamp go? It was suspicious.

BA-DUM, his heart skipped.

Still, Teru wasn't ready to take off his mask even though Kieran wanted him to. Not completely, anyway. He needed time to think about Kieran's new title and what exactly this meant for his safety. How was Avania's eldest prince supposed to help him now? It's not like he could abandon his obligations.

I'll have to think of something else.

But that didn't mean the speech didn't affect him. Teru had locked up his true feelings about his cursed gender from his family and the pack. They never understood. He hid his face in Kieran's expensive suit. "I'm scared," Teru admitted. He was comfortable confessing this, at least.

Kieran was aware he remained guarded but didn't probe further, hugging him securely. "That's understandable. You were harmed. Humans don't like to be hurt. Can you tell me specifically?"

"I'm scared of vampires."

"Besides me."

Teru ignored that. "I'm scared I'll never see my family again."

"Mhm."

"I'm scared of going back to the caves."

"No one wants to live like that, either. And?"

"I'm scared of the king and his green and white collars."

Kieran was confused. "White? There is no white."

No, there were definitely white collars. "But Abaddon mentioned it before he gave the signal for those alphas to...those alphas to attack that other omega..." His heart sped up again into an oncoming anxiety attack.

Kieran picked him up and placed him on the bed before the hysteria could set in. He crawled above him, blocking out the light. "Tell me more what you're afraid of. I'll make sure your fears don't hurt you."

There was one more. "Myself. You said I'm a dominant omega, right?"

The vampire lowered his body until their chests touched. "Yes. I have no doubt about it. It's actually quite a miracle. This should remain a secret between you and me, though."

"That time I changed at the mall...I didn't know who I was or what I was capable of. That's really scary."

"Dominants are the least evolved of all genders," Kieran lectured. "We can manipulate others with our pheromones, but it's easy to set off our original, carnal instincts from thousands and thousands of years ago. If you can harness that side of you, it can be a powerful weapon. I recommend training. If you find yourself in a situation that calls for using those control pheromones, it could save your life."

"But," Teru cautiously wondered, "how do I train by myself?"

Kieran's chest rumbled. "Why don't you try it on me? You did it before. Tell me what to do. Tell me what you want."

His face was close. Teru couldn't stop himself from ogling at Kieran's parted lips. Since he had calmed down, he was now aware of the hard thing poking his leg. His lower half tightened with need. Were these feelings normal? Shouldn't he only be like this when he was under the influence of his cycle? Most importantly, was it okay to have such reactions to a vampire? "Okay so, there's another thing I'm scared of. Last one."

"Oh?" Their mouths were a finger span away.

"When we did that stuff," he said with embarrassment, feeling his face grow hot, "I was either nesting or in heat."

"And?"

"And...I'm afraid that it'll hurt if I do that without my heat."

Kieran slowly inched closer. "What are you asking me to do? Be clear about it."

This was infuriating. Teru's underlying meaning was clear, obviously! "You know I still don't like you at the moment, right? I'm mad. Like, really mad. I almost want to tell you to stick it somewhere else," recalling his 'unbecoming' choice of words from what felt like so long ago.

"Mmm, so furious," Kieran replied, smiling a little. "Then maybe you should punish me."

He didn't know if this was him or his inner omega, but they were on the same page for once. "I...I want to do it. I want you to get rid of all the gross scents that are on me. Cover me with yours."