The ground slightly shook, vibrating the car. This didn't feel like the previous earthquakes. It was constant, not getting weaker or stronger. The locust swarms buzzed near the tops of the skyscrapers, flying more sporadically than before. Their hordes blocked the sun and shadowed the city like an eclipse.

I'm scared!

Teru pulled on the handle to open the door. He wanted to get out!

BUMP.

It hit Kieran's backside, hard enough that it would have knocked over a human. Kieran, being a vampire, merely flinched and pulled on Teru's arm to bring him close. He rubbed his face into Kieran's side, not caring about the sweat, blood, and gunpowder staining the tattered hospital pajamas. The mint pheromones erased the foul smells, almost fooling Teru into believing Kieran had just taken a shower instead of being doused in who-knows-what fluids and gunk.

In this place, he felt the safest. The world was literally burning, but he knew he was okay as long as his alpha was here to protect him. Kieran sensed his sentiments and hugged him tighter. Teru was thankful for the support since he was still sluggish from almost slipping into a life-threatening drop.

"Let go, Lilith," Abaddon seethed, knowing it was his wife by the impressive wedding ring on her finger, reddened with dark blood.

Teru shuddered at his tone. He was glad he was not the one being talked to with that venomous voice, as if Kieran would allow it, anyway. Turning his head slightly so one eye peeked over Kieran's shirt, he saw that Abaddon's skin color was a pasty gray as his blood pooled to his feet below.

What is she doing?! They're married!

The queen was more striking than usual. Sure, her long, conservative white dress flowed effortlessly over her slim frame, and her chestnut hair curled around her shoulders.

But it was more than just her looks.

Lilith's brown eyes lacked that mysterious aura, a vibe that had made you wonder what in the world she could've been thinking. Teru didn't know what to make of her when they met before. Was she a good person? Or have malicious intent? He had been puzzled by her actions back then, unsure of where she stood.

Now, they gleamed with resolution. She was a completely different person, someone Teru would physically try to stay clear of. Her icy gaze narrowed at the back of her husband's head, finally showing personality. Lilith's stare was hostile; a woman who knew what she wanted and would get it no matter what, through any means possible.

Even if that meant ripping out her spouse's heart, for whatever, deranged reason.

"That look...," Kieran whispered. Teru didn't understand. What look? What did it mean? Why did Kieran feel so uneasy and borderline scared?

"Alright," she agreed. "I'll let go."

Her hand whipped back, pulling the heart with it. SQUELCH.

Kieran quickly covered Teru's one eye, leaving him only able to hear Abaddon gasping for air. The convulsing sounds made him glad he couldn't see.

When Kieran removed his hand, the king was crumpled on the ground. There was a fist-sized hole in his chest, where the frosted, brown grass could be seen through it. Teru watched the fatal wound, thinking it would close in seconds and Abaddon would make it rain chaos again, since the man was unstoppable.

But Teru was mistaken.

A vampire needed their heart. Except for silver, they could survive being buried alive, drowned, shot between the eyes, have every limb hacked off, recover from a nuclear bomb, etc., as long as they had it. Without one...

Abaddon bled out and clutched at the hole, not believing his heart was missing, actually missing! The rock-hard soil couldn't soak it in, bubbling around him as the dirt tried to absorb the blood. His remaining wing splayed out with the other next to his body. The king, who was so feared by all, was knocking on death's door. He was now a lowly, fallen angel that had no one to depend on. Seeing Abaddon desperately gush his hand into his chest to find his heart was pitiful. Teru was surprised to find himself silently crying.

Stop. He doesn't deserve a single damn tear from me. Not one. No more.

Instead of crushing it, Lilith carefully held the heart, beating and squirting dark red drops on her pristine dress. Abaddon saw it and shakily reached up.

"Wife, I need that-"

She poked her nails into the reddish-purple skin, breaking the strings inside. Abaddon shrieked in pain. He squirmed like a worm that was being tormented with boiling water.

"Our deal is off. You could not uphold your end of our contract. Time is up."

"Deal?" Charles asked. The siblings were all confused, including Kieran.

Abaddon panicked, shaking his head. "Wait, wait, wait! I did not mean to sound my trumpet to begin the fifth wave! It was your bastard offspring and that omega. They all taunted me into-AGH!"

Lilith pushed her thumb into the pumping heart, bursting an artery. She licked the blood oozing over her fingers. Teru felt sick when her fangs scraped off the veins.

She sighed, looking at her children. "You all know how much I wanted another child. After countless failures and a lack of suitable alphas over time, Abaddon appeared from his realm to do heaven's work. I made an offer that he couldn't refuse-I turn him into our species. In return, he conceives a pup with me after we say our vows. The pup would've been the ultimate sin, the purest of pure bloodlines. If Abaddon decides to end our contract, he would let it be known by continuing his duties as the abyssal angel, to finish what the heavens sent him here to do before returning to his world. And here I come back from Eden, with him doing just that."

"Holy shit, you did not," Blaise mumbled. Black mascara smeared down his face while holding Lucas's throat tightly to stop the bleeding. Teru was startled to see his best friend awake, groggily staring at Blaise above.

"Alas, the heavens not only cursed his wings for defying them," Lilith spat, pressing on Abaddon's crotch with a foot. He weakly gripped her ankle, but couldn't stop her from crushing his balls. "They had also made my dear husband impotent. Nothing makes his cock stand up, not even that omega he was so fond of before it escaped decades ago."

Lilith walked to the destined pair without a second glance at Abaddon, who was begging for the return of his heart. "Lilith! You fucking bitch-!"

Teru tensed, preparing to run if he had to. Kieran let out a deep rumble as a warning. She stopped with an arm's length between them and held out her hand to Teru. It was Abaddon's heart, still beating and keeping him alive. The damaged thing rested on her palm. Lilith held it closer to Teru to take, but he stared at the offering, bewildered by her gesture.

"What are you doing?" Kieran said with suspicion.

"My husband hurt me in every way. He made me a shell of who I was. My obsession to create the eighth sin made me passive, ignoring the questionable ethics used to form Avania. As much as he had wronged me, others had it worse. They've earned it to finish the job, to find their justice."

Finish...the job?

He didn't know what Lilith wanted him to do, so he just looked at her and Kieran, back and forth. Running out of patience, she let the heart plop in front of Teru's feet.

"Your mother suffered immensely," Lilith told him. "Every evening when Abaddon returned to our penthouse, he smelled of Ryoma's blood, sweat, and slick. He spoke of the experiments he would run on you after you were born, to investigate the reason Ryoma had become pregnant while not in heat by a normal beta. It was impossible for you to have been conceived. Though I didn't know who your biological mother was when we met in the hallway, I should've warned you about his treatment of omegas. As an apology, this is my gift. Decide his destiny. Stab it. Cook it. Perhaps return it to him as forgiveness. I have wiped my hands clean of Abaddon. I must move on to my next objective."

As she left, Teru clenched his fists. She said Abaddon came home daily, smelling of omega slick. That could only mean...

He did not know what expression he was making at that moment while peering down at the heart. If he could guess, his eyes would be shaded with rage.

And hatred.

Upset.

Resentment.

Revenge.

Mint.

Mint?

Teru blinked at the smell, realizing Kieran was rubbing light circles around his nape to calm him. Lucas used to do the same when troubled. His mate's pheromones felt like a safety blanket. The scent wanted to protect him from these toxic emotions boiling inside. He closed his eyes, taking big breaths. What had happened to Ryoma was a tragedy, but his pup lived. Teru lived. What would his mother have wanted? Similar to how Ryoma had given birth to a miracle omega, Teru also carried three little ones that should not have been possible, too.

And he would not tarnish their tiny souls with the vengeful sins of their soon-to-be-mother.

Teru looked up. Kieran stared back, worried about the burden that had just been placed on him.

I know what I want to do.

Teru leaned over and picked up Abaddon's heart. It thumped, tickling his palms. In the distance, he saw the sea of surviving citizens of all ages, statuses, and species. Many of them wore yellow and red collars. Some did not have a collar at all. What stood out the most were the few dozen green collars in the front.

Green collars...

The vampire omegas forced into the breeding program were huddled together.

Teru took a step towards them but winced because his feet were aching after stupidly walking on glass. The ground's tremors made it worse to keep a steady footing, as well. Kieran immediately lifted and cradled him, taking him to where he wanted to go.

He put Teru down to face them. This was his first time seeing the entire pack of omegas. He recognized Liam in the center, belly swollen with a pup, and Ravi, holding a swaddled, peach-scented baby. Most of the omegas were females, with five of them being male.

Teru didn't care that they were vampires, his former enemy. At one point, a lot of them were human like him, turned against their will to be breeding stock. It was sick and twisted, and the program would be no more. Abolished. He purred a very specific tempo that was programmed into his instincts, like a bird that automatically knew the song to attract other birds of the same species. His inner omega was greeting them, curious about them. They all reciprocated, returning the sound.

Hello.

Nice to meet you.

Hi.

You're pretty.

The other residents gawked with perplexed amazement. Besides the vampires who were alive when omegas were common, no one had ever heard such a sweet language before. The alphas didn't dare interrupt, trying to decipher the secret code. Teru stopped purring and approached Liam. His honey pheromones were sickly sweet because of the pregnancy, much similar to his own.

Liam noticed and glanced at Teru's belly. "Were you...forced?"

"No," Teru smiled lightly, head motioning at Kieran.

The blonde omega stuttered, "B-but...he's a vampire. Are you sure?"

"Unless someone came into my bed while I was sleeping with my mate next to me, then yes, I'm sure."

"Mate...," Liam's eyes sparkled, remembering his own mate from Before, when vampires took over society.

Teru gently took Liam's hand and gave him the heart. "That man did terrible things to me, but it doesn't hold a candle to you and the others. I was with him for weeks. You, Ravi, everyone, were abused by Abaddon for years. Decades. Over a century. I think his fate should be up to you guys."

"Us?"

"You," Teru confirmed. He turned around and started to limp to Abaddon. Kieran moved to help him again, but Teru waved his hand to say, 'I got this.' His alpha let him. Teru's pride needed it.

The omega pack was hesitant, but one by one, they followed him, checking out their surroundings carefully. The general public had never seen a full view of the breeding program's omegas in all the years it had been active. Their green collars glistened under the morning sun, making it obvious what they had been used for. People whispered about their petiteness and delicate nature, but the omegas held their heads up high as they headed to their master.

This would be day one of their freedom.