Where am I?

Teru was in a horrifying place. It was pitch black and freezing. He didn't know where he was since he couldn't see his surroundings. His heart thumped like crazy.

Wasn't he just watching the small bonfire with Kieran, Lucas, and Blaise? They had stopped to rest for a few hours and were discussing various topics. How were Lilith and the other siblings? What country were they in now? What continent? How far had she gone in her quest to eliminate the sinners? More? Less? If the queen returned for Teru in five months, North America would likely be last.

He felt along the walls. It was hard and rough to the touch. Rock? Was this...

A cave? When did we get to a cave?

No wonder he felt scared. Teru never wanted to enter any cave again, trapping him underground within its lifeless walls.

A reddish light showed ahead. Dim, but at least it gave him a shred of hope. Closer he walked there, careful not to step on any sharp pebbles since his feet were bare. At least he wore his fleece pajamas to protect him from the chilly temperature.

When he finally reached the light, Teru paused. It was a decently sized cavern with an opening above to reveal the sky. A waterfall cascaded down from the land up there to create the running river below. The water surrounded the cavern, creating a moat around the center floor. Massive black, crystalized stalagmites jutted from the ground, created after centuries or longer of dripping, unknown minerals.

Teru would've thought he was in a standard cave system if it weren't for the blood-red sky, making everything a crimson hue.

"Long time no see, omega."

He jumped in fright at the sudden voice. A thorn-covered marble throne was now in the middle of the cavern, which wasn't there a second ago. How did-? Nevermind. The most important question of all was the person casually sitting on the grand, cruel-looking chair, looking at him with his cheek resting on his fist.

Abaddon.

Avania's former king stood slowly, keeping penetrating eye contact with the shocked human at the entrance of his home. His huge wings had not healed. They were featherless, broken, bleeding, and dripping a tar-like substance, unchanging from when he revealed them at the final battle. The pair of once-white wings dragged behind him, unable to fly. Was he still cursed?

Teru couldn't stop trembling from seeing the shirtless person responsible for so much torment between him and Kieran.

D-don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. This isn't real-

"You're probably thinking, 'This can't be real.' Am I wrong?" Abaddon sneered, approaching him. "I thought the same when I felt your presence here in my realm, but it must be true." He towered over Teru, much taller than before. His height had grown multiple feet. Abaddon inhaled deeply. "I can smell that damned Pride on you."

"T-this has to be a dream," Teru squeaked. "Lilith ripped your heart out."

Abaddon hissed, showing normal, human-like teeth. His one eye wasn't red anymore, meaning the blood lust was gone. "Lilith. That bitch. If anything, she's more dangerous than I am. Unlike me, she has the heavens on her side. They have her sympathy. There was a reason I had to dominate and manipulate her to stay beneath me; keep to herself without voicing her opinions. Without me..."

Teru quickly glanced to the side, trying to find an opening to escape-

The angel growled, gripping hard onto Teru's face. His fingers squeezed into his cheeks so he couldn't move. "Don't look away from me, omega, for you're a significant reason I was returned here to this hellhole. Even my inner vampire was reversed. You have no fucking idea what humanity's first woman is capable of. I kept her in check after convincing her to turn me and conceive a child, but the distraction of a potential new sin being born didn't last. Procreating was never possible for me."

Abaddon let him go, leaving the small human speechless.

I just wanted to leave! Kieran! Where are you?!

At the snap of his fingers, Abaddon's skin-tight white pants evaporated into smoke. With his crotch practically in Teru's face, it was difficult not to stare.

Especially when there was nothing there. No genitals, hanging bits, not anything. Just skin.

"Angels cannot bear offspring, for we have no real semen or wombs to do so. It's easy for us to trick the mind into seeing things that are not there. Every time I'd lay with Lilith or when I had my harem suck my 'cock' to show dominance, they'd all imagine it as whatever comes to their imagination: the texture, shape, thickness, smell, etc. There were times I believed I had one, too, when I had phantom boners and pain from being kicked there. As you know."

"But eventually, Lilith gave up and wanted to continue the final stage of her goal; the extermination of the sinners, no matter how weak or strong their corruption is. I also wanted to take control of humanity, but not in the same way as her vision. Do you think she'd really stop at just dominant omegas? No, she's not someone who would go back to life without a purpose. After she tears your body apart, she'll go after alphas next, betas, and then the children once they become adults, since she doesn't like to kill children. No one will be left alive. Vampires. Humans. In the end, not even the deadly sins. Just start over, force the heavens to intervene, and do her bidding to repopulate according to her visions. I tried my best to increase the population through well-calculated breeding programs with high-quality genetics, but-," Abaddon sneered, "Here we are; I've been restored to my former position, but not without a price. I'm forever suffering from being a traitor despite my good intentions, while you get to spend your pregnancy on the run. You could have spent it on the maternal floor I built just for omegas in your condition. It's a shame I can't see what fine specimens those halflings will turn out to be."

Don't you dare speak of my pups! Enough!

Teru glared directly into Abaddon's eyes and growled, low and deadly. At that moment, he felt invincible, like he could challenge this bastard and win. The animal deep inside him wanted to pierce his throat and let it bleed out, never able to utter a word about his family. Teru's lips bled from his canines extending, scratching them. His pheromones were flowery.

The dominant omega was out, ready to command Abaddon if he had to.

Rather than reacting to the alpha-controlling scent, Abaddon shrugged. "Since I'm an angel again, I no longer have a specific gender, first and secondary. Your pheromones and behaviors do not affect me anymore. Blood, too."

His hand struck at Teru. As a human, Teru didn't have the time to dodge. Abaddon grasped his left wrist, forcing it up to see the Kurokawa crest on his finger. A hand-shaped bruise immediately discolored his skin. Teru lashed out as well, snarling and biting the back of Abaddon's hand. His sharp teeth sunk, tasting blood that was bitter rather than metallic.

Locusts emerged from the cave entrance, buzzing loudly. They flew to the sky, forming a tornado.

"But shit, this symbol and your face remind me of the one who abandoned me when I treated him with the utmost care. I would've raised you as my own if Ryoma hadn't disappeared. I tried to care for you the same way. You are just the same as him, refusing to listen and letting the wolf control you. Just look at yourself, all feral like this. No discipline. No respect. It pisses me off."

Teru yelped at the pain in his wrist. It was on the verge of snapping in half.

"Teru!!" someone yelled, voice echoing like it was being spoken from a speaker in the clouds. "Wake up!"

The dominant omega listened, knowing who it was.

"Little one, please wake up!"

My mate.