Lucas was perplexed, not expecting Teru to react like this. He likely thought when he held up his broken collar, his omega friend would be excited for him. Yes, Teru was happy, but the circumstances were suspicious. Where did the blood come from? Who was the loser since Lucas was alive and breathing?

"I'm free. There's no one who can hurt me anymore. It's all over." Lucas dropped the collar and let it fall to the ground. He kicked it like a ball. When it was out of sight, out of mind, he held out his hand. "So? Do you want to see a new beginning for me? For us?"

Teru shouldn't have been hesitant. This was his 'brother from another mother,' as he heard someone say in his pack as a joke. Yet, he stared at the calloused palm that had done some hard labor recently, worried about what he wanted to show him.

The grandfather clock chimed. It was 11:15, only forty-five minutes until midnight.

"Is this not something you can tell me here?"

"It isn't. We need to hurry before they discover it."

Teru slowly took Lucas's hand, getting his own stained with unknown blood. The slimy feeling gave him goosebumps. In the moment's thrall, he forgot about Blaise, who was trying to find him elsewhere.

Since the guests were drunk on liquor, blood, and pheromones, no one noticed the two insignificant slaves slip away. He let Lucas guide him through a private door, one he and Blaise did not use before. The hallway had cobwebs in the corners and the air was stale. White sheets covered the furniture and electronics to protect them from dust. Stacks of chairs and folded tables leaned to the side.

"I think this exit is used for storage," Lucas guessed. They stopped in front of a narrow door. The vibe didn't feel right. It was ominous.

"Then why are we here?"

"To show you my first kill."

Lucas opened it, revealing a closet for cleaning supplies. The smell of blood came from the dead body on the floor. Teru covered his mouth and gasped at the man he barely recognized at first. Duke Zhang sat there as if he was a limp doll, his neck almost torn off from his body. Through the severed muscles, he saw a glimpse of white. That was the spine. Several deep bite marks on his nape had exposed his scent gland. The dark purple, pheromone-producing organ was deflated like an old balloon. Was this the result of an alpha challenge?

No, it couldn't have been. Zhang's heart was on the floor in shreds. The stringy skin that once pulsed with undead life was pulled apart haphazardly. Not even the best doctor in the world could fix it.

Alphas don't rip out hearts. Only those who had a personal grudge would go this far.

The omega stepped away and puked next to the wall. Blood was one thing. Bodies were a new level he had not grown to handle. His lower half was cramping again at the strain from throwing up.

Lucas patted his back as he emptied his belly. "We can leave tonight, right now. I don't have an owner anymore to find me."

In between heaves, Teru was able to ask, "What about the Duchess? Why is that bloodsucker like this? What happened?"

"That bitch left him a month ago for another vampire. Some dude in the capitol council who is more powerful than the Duke is." Lucas's fingers trembled and his voice cracked. "She was the one who wanted me in the first place. After she abandoned the household, he went insane. The Duke destroyed his own home with rage. He killed most of the servants and beat me often. There was one time he almost killed me, but he stopped because he said he spent too much money to purchase me. It would've been a waste. Do you know what my fate was going to be tonight? Do you have any fucking idea how he was going to get rid of me without burying my body?"

Teru didn't know. He was still in shock at seeing the mutilated Duke.

Lucas continued his explanation. "Zhang intended to tie me up to one of those poles with the alphas before selling me off at the auction! Did you see how they were treated? I saw an omega vampire with my own eyes, giving a handjob to one of them. That whore removed the cock ring, let the alpha knot to nothing, and put the tie back on his dick so it wouldn't go down! As far as I know, that human is still knotting, and it's been hours! I wasn't going to be a toilet, so I challenged my owner in front of everyone. Zhang forced me into this hallway so he could 'put me in my place privately,' and attacked me. It was honestly crazy luck because during our fight, that idiot tripped and fell on that," Lucas pointed behind the Duke.

It was a giant pair of bloody metal scissors that required both hands to carry. Teru believed it was for cutting plants and trees.

"It pierced his chest. I merely finished the job by taking his heart out with my own fucking hands. That bastard cried for mercy. Can you believe it? After everything he did to me, he begged like a little bitch for forgiveness. I didn't give it."

Bile rose in Teru's throat. He swallowed. "And...his neck?"

"I did it out of anger after he was dead. All those months of torture were all I could see as I was doing it. The induced ruts to make betas pregnant. Forced kinky play for the Duchess's amusement. Starving me. Making me drink blood. Every damned thing. By the time I came to, he was like that with his head almost gone. I found the key to my collar in his pocket and smashed the lock with a hammer before putting it back on. I didn't want to be stopped for not wearing one."

Teru leaned up once he believed the puking was over and hugged Lucas tightly, not caring that it made him messy with Zhang's blood, too. Anyone would've done the same to their captor. What were the chances of a human winning against a strong vampire like Zhang? If it wasn't for the vamp tripping onto the sharp sheers, he would've killed Lucas easily.

Lucas hugged him back, releasing a wave of lavender on him. Teru's mark itched at the scent, not liking that it wasn't mint. He stepped away to make it stop. His best friend didn't know about the imprint-an imprint made by a species Lucas despised so much. And his words from earlier...

"What did you mean by leaving tonight?" Teru asked cautiously. Zhang's death would also mess up Kieran's plans to save him later. Lucas was at risk of being executed for murder. The thick spread of lavender was a giveaway that he was the culprit.

"Just like I said. We need to leave. Now. Get out of the city. The Duke's reputation isn't good because of his wife leaving him, killing his staff, and the drama he started with other aristocrats, so I'd give it a week before people question where he is. Since it looks like no one comes through here either, that might add another day or two."

Lucas shut the closet door and began to escort him away. Teru wouldn't budge.

"I, wait, Lucas, we can't just go like this."

"Sure we can. I know where those bloodsuckers hung their coats before entering the party. We'll take their clothes and sneak out. This is our chance to finally escape for good. No more vampires. No more suffering. We can go back to our pack. I want to be with you."

"Be with me?"

The stressful situation was causing Teru to lose control of his pheromones. The over-sweetened sugar gradually leaked. His nausea returned, making him wish he could lie down and sleep. His heart skipped a beat when he felt Kieran nearby. He must've sensed his extreme surprise at seeing the dead body.

"Yes, I said I want to be with you. I always regretted not telling you sooner, but I didn't want to overstep the line with Nolan. Actually, maybe we don't have to return to the caves. We can start our own pack and-"

Lucas stopped talking and inhaled the air, analyzing the smell. His blue eyes went from happiness to confusion.

"Why are you suppressing your scent? I can smell it. It's weak but different. Almost like syrup."

Teru was frantic. "I needed to hide it. I've been sick, so maybe that's why it changed. He doesn't know I came here. I just...I can't go with you."

Shit! Why can't I be gentle with my words? I can't suddenly say I can't go.

Lucas's average alpha pheromones grew musky with anger. He tightened his grip on Teru's arm, making him whimper, "That hurts. Let go."

"Who doesn't know you're here? Why can't you come? Is it your owner? Are you scared he will kill you?"

No, it's not me I'm scared he will kill!

"You have to leave with me today, Teru." He pulled him along and opened a door that led to another abandoned hallway.

The omega's nape mark pricked him like needle points stabbing his nerves. It was aware of the potential danger he was facing, screaming for his alpha. It was a signal. A call for help. This was becoming a misunderstanding. A huge one. His knees gave out and fell, almost bringing Lucas down, too. Fat tears trickled down his cheeks and dripped onto his legs.

"Teru? What's wro-"

"I'm marked, Lucas."

Silence. Deafening silence. His friend's eyes were empty. What was he thinking of? He let go of Teru and towered over him. Enraged. Disappointed. Teru's shoulders weighed down with alphic intimidation to make him submit, something Lucas had never used on him before.

"Show me. Show me the mark." The lavender was more musk than flowery. He was using controlling pheromones?!

His hand automatically listened, reached up, and pushed his hair aside. The collar did not conceal the entire ring, but it was obvious an alpha had claimed him. Lavender was almost gone, overtaken by bitter grief and anger.

Teru's inner omega was shaking. It hated Lucas's fury. They had a special bond different from he and Kieran's. A familial bond. His gender was heartbroken.

"You were supposed to be mine," Lucas whispered through clenched teeth.

"I was never an object to begin with-"

"I wanted you to be my life partner."

The pheromone spell broke, allowing Teru to move again. He stood on wobbly legs to face Lucas and his obvious emotional pain at losing someone they thought would be their mate.

"That fucking bloodsucker forced you." This wasn't a question. It was an assumption.

He nodded his head to deny the statement. "I did it willingly. There's more to it than you know, so let me explain-"

Lucas punched the brick wall, skinning his knuckles until they bled. He turned around with a crazed huff and looked at Teru like he had grown a second head. "Bullshit. That bastard prince held you down and bit your nape without consent. Was it during your heat? When you were presenting your ass for him? Did he mount you from behind and-"

Lucas was there. The next, he was not.

There was a sound of breaking glass.

Someone shoved him so hard that his best friend had flown across the hallway in a millisecond, hard enough to crash through one of the windows. The top half of his body hung over the edge. His weight threatened to topple and disappear into the night sky. If he fell from this height, the impact would kill him immediately. Lucas cursed loudly.

Teru couldn't hold it any longer. His pheromones exploded.

Kieran had his arm securely wrapped around Teru's chest to protect him. His other hand extended out in front of them from when he pushed Lucas. The omega looked up and saw Kieran's glowing red eyes, bared fangs, and deadly intent to kill.

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

Charles sighed and sat in his office chair, relieved to be back after his long business trip. Seriously, he wanted to go to Hawaii and hide on that beautiful island for years. Maybe he should look into flights? There wasn't time to relax, though. He had to attend the last part of the inconvenient event.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

It was an unusual time for visitors.

"Come in."

His most trusted assistant poked his head through the cracked door. "Doctor."

"Quinn. What can I do for you? Shouldn't you be at home?"

Quinn had been with him since the American Civil War. The beta was star-struck with his surgical work and vowed on the battlefield that he'd follow him faithfully until the end. The promise was like a love confession and was cute at the time, so Wrath allowed him to be a groupie.

"I should, but I couldn't leave until you saw this. I was worried someone would see it if I left it unattended on your desk."

Quinn held up a large yellow envelope.

This was unlike his underling to be anxious about paperwork. "What is it?"

"The results. I finally had the time to run the tests today." The vampire assistant held it out to him carefully. The name on the sticker said 'TERU.'

"For his bloodwork?"

"Yes...and no."

Charles furrowed his eyebrows and took out the packet. It was standard forms he was used to seeing every day. Some numbers were irregular.

"The last paper," Quinn told him. "I noticed the abnormality and conducted another blood test based on a hunch. I'm sorry for not asking first, but I believed it was an emergency."

Charles set the others down and examined the paper he referred to. "This is for hCG?"

Human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, was a hormone found in the blood of expecting mothers.

"It is."

The doctor read every number and calculation three times. Teru's hCG levels were on the higher side of a six or seven week mark of a pregnancy. A fucking pregnancy?!

"Has anyone seen this?"

"No. I guarded it with my life all evening. But, Dr. Charles, if you don't mind me asking," Quinn asked, "has the omega been with a human partner?"

"Would a destined mate allow his other half to fuck another cock for seed? Kieran? Pride? My brother? No."

His assistant was in disbelief and took a seat on the patient's chair. Both were thinking about the impossible that was supposed to remain impossible.

"Then what does this mean?"

Charles stood up to go find the couple who were responsible for the sole grey hair he found on his head last month, his first one. "It means we're witnessing an evolutionary miracle."

It was 11:30.