Moving the army's location was tricky in the beginning. The silver bullets had slowed them, but once the first wave of gun-wielding soldiers was wiped out, it was easy.

Perhaps a little too easy.

Kieran punched through a vampire's chest, clenching his heart. The soldier screamed and thrashed, but couldn't flee.

He paused mid-kill, still gripping the pitiful heart in his hand. Blood streamed down his arm. Kieran looked at the struggling soldier trying to get away. Except, Kieran wasn't actually looking at him, but lost in the connection that bound him and Teru together. His omega felt overwhelmed and startled.

"What's up?" Blaise said from behind, with barely a scratch on him. Blood dyed his platinum blonde hair, dripping red droplets from the tips.

"Teru."

Nothing else needed to be said. Blaise glanced in the direction where the entrance gate was, knowing something had gone awry from his carefully calculated plan. Kieran squeezed and juiced the heart like a grapefruit, watching the life quickly fizzle from the soldier's eyes. Blaise held out a somehow-clean handkerchief to Kieran, who took it and cleaned off his sullied hands that had taken hundreds of lives so early in the morning. A quick look around him showed most of the army had been eliminated, with only a few stragglers left to defend their king or had abandoned their post.

Speaking of Abaddon...

"Where is he?"

"The bastard left minutes ago," Charles told them, speeding in from the side. His shoulders trembled with every breath, twitching with wrath. "Tristan is gone, too. That piece of shit did little to aid us. Who's side is he on?"

The three sisters were nearby, waiting for their next order. Ashantee examined her manicured nails, wearing jewelry and shiny weapons that hung from her waist belt. She definitely did not have those when arriving earlier; the spoils of war. Koko had bags under her eyes, dying to get some shuteye. Blood was smeared on Sofia's mouth. She had drunk from her victims for any unique tastes.

Minutes. That's more than enough time to make the next move.

When the sunrise finally rose over the skyline, the yellow shade lit up the gory ocean of bodies. With it, Kieran felt a looming darkness that would be challenging to escape from, even with a mate's help.

Sleep. This is too much. The cry in his head was gentle, unlike his inner alpha. He could tell Teru wanted to go against it, not to drop. It should've amazed Kieran to experience Teru's real-time thoughts. The phenomenon was unheard of, but who knew for destined pairs? They were breaking every law of nature, anyway.

Rather, hearing the soothing whisper turned his world upside down.

Teru's own omega was a threat.

"Kieran?!" Charles shouted in surprise when he suddenly sped away, not explaining. They followed him, staying close.

The streets were overcrowded, much to Kieran's aggravation. The earthquakes were at a standstill and the locust beasts had finished killing off most of the targeted sinners. This made it the perfect time to evacuate. The remaining humans and vampires limped, crawled, and helped each other to the only gate leading in and out of New York City; collar color didn't matter. As Kieran rushed through the sea of people, he felt helpless when he sensed Teru sinking further, but not completely. Something had thrown a life preserver at Teru, helping him drift on the surface. Kieran needed to thank whoever was delaying the omega drop-

He saw the gate in the distance. The citizens could not walk through because it had been closed, making the foot traffic more congested. The guards who were in charge of the entrance had gone to support their king. Instead of demanding to be let out, they ran to the other intact buildings to hide from the black military hybrid Jeep.

It wasn't the vehicle they feared.

It was Abaddon and Tristan.

Tristan, who had finally revealed Envy's true form, was fighting their stepfather. Running faster to reach them, he saw Tristan punch the bad side of Abaddon's injured face before shouting into the smashed window, "I said, wake-!"

Abaddon fluttered his wings to conjure typhoon-like winds. Though flightless, the once-glorious appendages could still be lethal. Tristan was caught and thrown into the air. He reached as high as the clouds before falling. He landed on his back, near to where he had been tossed. The impact sprayed dirt in all directions like a meteor. The awkward twist in his torso signified his spine was broken.

Abaddon placed a boot on Tristan's chest, caving it in. Blood gurgled from Tristan's mouth.

"Poor Envy, never good enough to be the best. You were my second-in-command; just stick to me and ruin Lust's weak plan, but you threw it all away for an omega not even yours. You were never as strong as Kieran. Always number two. Actually, you should be at the bottom. You ranked up after blinding Gluttony, and how you got the position as the deadliest sin was a low blow. Not even I would send my brothers and sisters to a fate like that. Have you told Kieran your secret yet? Hmm? Don't worry, my dear son, he'll know in time what you did, and dance over your stoneless grave when he realizes I did him a favor by sending your soul to Lucifer."

Abaddon raised his foot to do an earthquake-starting stomp on Tristan's heart, a for-sure kill. Tristan hissed, blood spitting towards the bottom of Abaddon's boot.

Whatever he had done to Kieran didn't matter. Maybe later it would, but not here. Not right now. He had helped Teru from dropping. That's all Kieran cared about. That, and how his little brother was going to die.

A memory Pride had long forgotten re-emerged:

"Does it have a name?" Kieran asked.

"No."

His mother handed him a crying newborn swaddled in a handmade wool blanket. As soon as it was in Kieran's arms, the baby went silent, smelling the pheromones of another dominant alpha. Lilith sighed and slumped in the chair.

"Finally, some peace and quiet. He's been like this non-stop since the moment he was born. None of you were this bad. I'm at a loss. But would you look at that? Perhaps he's taken a liking to you," she said sleepily, red eyes drooping from not resting in days. Kieran wasn't supposed to stay long. He had a boat to catch later that evening. The reason he came up north was to say his congratulations and leave.

"I have to go soon-"

Lilith snored. He rolled his eyes, leaning back into the rocking chair. Did that woman really have to give birth to more sins? Envy? Really? Could anything be a sin nowadays? What was next? Desire of the flesh and procreate? That would be the day...why weren't the ones she had enough? Wasn't Pride enough?

"Should I do myself a favor and kill you?" Kieran stared at the small pup, its grey eyes returning the glare as if to challenge him. So, they were already like this, huh? Not on good terms.

"Hmph. Tristan. I'll name you Tristan. It means 'noisy' or 'sorrowful.' How fitting, since you won't let Mother sleep. And how sad for you to be born as a deadly sin, an immortal life of death and cruelty."

The newborn made a pathetic, guttural sound. Was it trying to growl? Did it not like its name? Kieran laughed, the most genuine one in a long time. This alpha was going to give him trouble.

He had forgotten.

They've been through wars, fighting against or alongside each other.

They've seen societies rise and fall.

They've experienced loss.

But at least it was together as a family; a loveless, moody, and shitty family.

And Pride wouldn't fail as an older brother today, tomorrow, next week, or a thousand years from now. Ever. It was his duty as the oldest sibling to guide them. He didn't know what led Tristan down this path, but being 'absent' as Pride for hundreds of years was likely a significant contributor.

Unbeknownst to Kieran, his alpha rumble was so loud, it could be heard from a mile away. It was low, yet thunderous, a sound of a furious alpha that would show no mercy. The king stopped before he landed the fatal blow, turning towards the noise.

Kieran jumped, fangs first at Abaddon's neck. His teeth crunched into the enemy's artery, nasty blood filling his mouth. Abaddon did not fall, still standing with Kieran's weight. He clawed at Kieran's nape, digging deep until the vertebrae bone showed through. The eldest brother saw Tristan's stunned eyes, the same grey color that had never changed since their first time meeting.

Lightning zigzagged across the sun. Abaddon's wings rose in the air, like he was about to take off-

Racing blobs slashed the wings at once. The fallen angel roared in pain as the other deadly sins tore them to meaty strips. The twins simultaneously stabbed their dagger-fingernails at the base of his upper shoulders, ripping the left wing clean off. Fountains of blackish blood bursted from the nub that attempted to flutter the now-missing wing, spraying the toxic liquid at Ashantee's face. She shrieked, "EW!"

Tristan hobbled up, wheezing as his flattened ribs jabbed his organs. He snarled and kicked repeatedly at Abaddon's side to inflict the same damage.

Their tattoos moved on their skin harmoniously as a single entity.

Abaddon had enough when seeing his dismembered wing on the ground. His lips curled, face turning red. The rotten, sickly scent of his sin flooded Kieran's nose. It told him what he needed to know about Abaddon's pride, You took his wings. It was his most prized possession, the only remnant of his prior holy self. The wings were forged from stardust during his creation, the most beautiful wings of all realms within the heavens. Gone. They can't grow back. Gone.

"AHHHHHHH!" Abaddon exploded. Dozens of lightning bolts struck his body. The boiling hot temperature forced the siblings to let go, or they'd be charred. It wasn't known if a vampire could survive lightning, but let's not find out now.

They watched nearby in a group, waiting for the lightning to stop electrocuting Abaddon. Blaise was on his knees next to his car, crying and holding a body that hardly breathed. Lucas. The human's throat had been slashed, but not enough to kill. It was a torture method Kieran knew all too well from the hunters.

When the electric storm ceased, the angel of the abyss was motionless, eyes glowing white. Besides his face, Abaddon's wounds were healing. This was becoming a broken record-they could repeat this every day and get nowhere. Vampires lived forever, but they needed rest, too. Could the same be said for Abaddon, who was more than just a vampire?

"Kieran?" a faint voice said from the inside of Blaise's car.

They all shifted their attention to the small patch of peeking black hair, trying to sit up. Teru's face appeared. He looked tired, blinking slowly. The omega sensed his alpha's presence. He had beaten the drop.

Abaddon raised his arm and aimed at the Jeep, fingers crackling with blueish electricity. The lightning was meant to recharge his powers...

...and he was going to strike Teru. Did he decide it was too troublesome to keep him alive? The ex-angel spoke, but in an unknown language only the heavens could understand.

"His wrath is insane!" Charles yelled. "Abaddon's lost all reason to understand his actions!"

"NO!" Kieran howled, sprinting towards his omega with all his might. Tristan reached out to stop him but missed.

Teru sighed with innocent relief when he saw Kieran, not realizing Abaddon was about to kill him. Kieran covered the door with his body, knowing the lightning would burn him instead of his mate, knowing he'd die in his place. It was worth it.

My pups will be safe. They'll take care of their mother when they grow up.

The sparks from Abaddon's palm flashed to discharge-

COUGH.

The mini firebolts on his hand extinguished. The light in his eyes went out.

Everyone ogled at the hand sticking out of Abaddon's chest, holding his thumping, fragile heart.

No one knew what to say or how to respond. The queen was as calm as can be, observing the battle's aftermath: residents waiting to be let out, countless bodies and limbs littering the streets, rivers of blood emptying into the ocean, locusts swarming in the sky, buildings falling into the bottomless fissures, and finally, her children.

"I leave for a few months and I return to this?" Lilith asked.