Teru double-counted.

Then he triple-checked.

One dark grey wolf.

One chocolate brown and white wolf.

One silver wolf.

But there were no rustic-colored beasts anywhere within the group.

Oh, and Kieran was there, too-

K-Kieran?!

He frantically looked at the seat beside him. The door was wide open. Kieran had left the Jeep, putting himself between the car and the pack. His stance was low, claws out, ready to fight. Did Kieran not remember them from New York? How much did he forget when Pride was in control, while his sanity sat in the far back?

Tae-soo's wolf stepped in front of the other two. It growled. Thick, bubbling drool oozed down its jaw. The reason-edged teeth taunted Kieran. The message warned, Look, bloodsucker. You could be torn apart by my deadly bite.

Kieran returned the provocation by hissing, fangs dripping pheromone venom. Fucking dog, draining your blood will only take seconds.

Both released their alpha pheromones. Mint clashed with leather, mixed with angry musk. The scent combination churned Teru's stomach.

It was vampire vs. werewolf, two natural enemies that have not properly clashed in centuries.

Blaise tightened his grip on the steering wheel, eyes glistening to join the fight. "Teru, stay here-HEY!"

Teru was already behind Kieran, abandoning the Jeep's safety. This had to stop! There shouldn't be any fighting! He placed his hand flat on his mate's back.

He was startled when Kieran snarled loudly at the sudden touch, facing him. His hand rose to strike with dagger-like fingernails. Tae-soo barked at the killing gesture, about to pounce and save their pack leader.

This is all a misunderstanding!

Thankfully, Kieran seemed to be aware that his omega was the one who had come between him and the 'enemy,' pausing and shaking with adrenaline. Teru tilted his head, analyzing what he was seeing and smelling. The heavy mint and musk pheromones, dilated pupils and agitation, no self-control, animalistic, and lack of extra facial muscles whenever his deadly sin took over...

This wasn't Pride at all, but old instincts that had been domesticated by civilization over the millennium; an alpha defending what was theirs, simple as that. Kieran rarely allowed this barbaric side of him to come out, the other few times being his rut season and Teru's heat period.

He felt it, sensing Kieran's random onslaught of aggression and desperation to protect. Honestly, the switch in temperament somewhat reminded Teru of the times when he had burst into tears for the stupidest reasons. Not only that, but he had seen similar behaviors by other alphas in his prior pack when their beta partners were expecting pups.

My scent is getting sweeter by the day. It must be triggering his alpha. He's heading into danger without thinking of the consequences. Normally, Kieran would've realized they're not a threat to anyone here.

Teru side-glanced at his second-in-command, nodding 'no.' The pack knew what it meant.

Stand down.

At first, the large canines laid their ears flat, pacing a little to show their hesitation to follow the order. There was tickling on the sides of Teru's head. His human ears had unintentionally shifted into furry, black ones.

He growled firmly, Stand. Down. Now.

And they did, backing up until there were several lengths between them. Kieran quickly looked at the wolves, snarling again at their moving formation-

Teru reached up before Kieran could attack, hands cupping his cheeks to make him focus again. Kieran slowly lowered his weapon of an arm.

His inner omega purred, wanting to take over from here. Not yet. Don't come out. It wasn't a good time for the both of them to be feral. In a series of purrs and chest rumbles, they communicated silently.

They're dangerous, Kieran protested.

My pack won't hurt me.

'My pack?' I'm your pack. The pups are our pack.

Kieran's unwillingness to allow anyone else into their private circle was a little cute. Conversing with the alpha side resembled more like talking to a child that didn't want to share their belongings with others.

I'm sorry, I should have said our pack. Do you remember New York? What am I?

My omega.

True, but I'm asking you what species I am. I'll give you a hint. It's black and bigger than you. Hmm? Teru pointed to the pointy, fuzzy ears sticking out of his hair. They twitched. I am more than just a human. Like my mother, I'm a werewolf, their leader. I am their omega.

The vampire rumbled, You're my omega.

Ah, Kieran's dominant alpha was difficult to knock some sense into. Too possessive. Teru's purr sped up, sounding frustrated but as patient as he could be. I am your omega. Listen. With them here, our pack is bigger. Stronger. You don't have to be the only one to watch over me. You'll exhaust yourself. Think of them as someone else to stand guard from far away. And since you're their head alpha, you-

"You didn't tell me your mate was him, Teru," a stern voice disrupted the flow of conversation. Right. He was an alpha, so he could understand what was being said. Tae-soo had shifted back into his human form, stark naked. He remained where he stood. The two wolves beside him brushed their flanks against his thighs.

The glare at Kieran was obvious of what Tae-soo thought. "He's Pride. The deadliest sin. The eldest of Lilith's children. He watched as Abaddon's armies slaughtered innocent lives. Families. Babies. All burning and screaming to ashes. This man fucking watched without a care in the world! Prince Kieran is equally responsible for society's pain and suffering."

Everyone was quiet. It was all true, every last word. Teru couldn't defend the sort of person he was back then, but now? "Kieran is different than what you remember," he said.

"Once a murderer, always a murderer, Teru. He is not this pack's head alpha. I will not listen to the likes of him, knowing what he did."

Teru looked up at Kieran, who was still scatterbrained by headstrong instincts, unable to participate without being hostile. Throughout their time together, Kieran defended and fought for him so many times, to make sure Teru's image wasn't tarnished; the last omega wasn't a whore that could be passed around at any given time.

He belonged to Kieran, and vice versa.

It was time for him to do the same, to fight for Kieran's honor.

"I," Teru started carefully, "cannot make you accept him, Tae-soo. I can see where you're coming from and...that's why I'll have to pass over the role of pack leader back to you."

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

It was silent.

Kieran listened. The one called Tae-soo was seething. The wolves lowered their tails in disappointment. Even Lucas and Blaise, who were now outside of the vehicle, were surprised.

As Kieran struggled to control himself and reign in his out-of-line alpha, Teru's sadness bled in their unseen Milky Way, staining the stars. It broke his heart to give up the leadership role and newfound family. But, his message was obvious.

Teru would choose him without a second thought over anything else. Always.

Hazy memories from Pride played in Kieran's mind: howling, brief glimpses of werewolves with bloodied jaws, and Teru appearing like an angel through the smoke. Back then, they had been searching for a specific person, searching for their leader's mate without even knowing their identity.

The head alpha, whoever that may be.

And here he was with his fangs and claws, about to slay them because their intense aura had spurred his inner alpha too much.

Kieran finally felt he could contribute intelligently. "As my mate said, you do not have to follow or listen to me. You don't even have to acknowledge my presence. Still, it is highly unfair of you to make him pick a side. As much as I want him for myself and to remain only us, I can feel his pain." He wrapped his arm around Teru's shoulders. "I do not know what occurred between you and Abaddon when I was...sick...but it was enough time for him to see you as part of his family, his pack, our pack. Like you towards me, I also find it difficult to accept you as another set of helping hands. I...have to swallow my pride. As you know, Teru isn't in the best condition to fight on his own, not without causing injury to the little ones inside him. It would be...helpful...if you could...," Kieran faltered because these words to ask for their aid were degrading, "...stay."

Tae-soo never looked away, keeping eye contact, alpha and alpha. He was thinking hard. The gears in his mind tinkered loudly. Seconds ticked by. A whine disrupted them. The female werewolf, who Kieran determined was a beta, pawed at the dead grass. As a pure vampire, he could not understand werewolf language, containing sharp yips, various twists of their ears, and wags of their tails. The second beta wolf joined, talking privately to them.

During this, it boggled Kieran that they were turned into immortals. Throughout time, the topic of giving your cursed blood to werewolves was always an unspoken given with vampires, new and old.

Don't do it.

Don't even think of it.

Keep the natural order of things.

Abaddon must have thought otherwise. Not surprising since he was an angel to begin with, never truly a vampire nor an alpha. How heavenly beings viewed life and death were different from those on Earth.

These hybrids were even more dangerous than the average vampire or average werewolf. Double the abilities, double the danger. Only someone with endless experiences in battle would be capable of defeating them. The deadly sins were likely some of the few.

Damn, and though it was difficult to admit, they were honestly perfect to add to Teru's group of bodyguards.

"No!" Tae-soo disagreed with whatever the wolves said. "It's already hard to acknowledge him as a vampire alone. Look at what they did to you. What they did to me. What they did to Zander. Ryoma was lucky he got away when he could. I hate existing as an undead werewolf. It's not natural. It's not okay. And his," Tae-soo spat, pointing at Kieran, "stepfather did that to us. We were turned against our will and used as experiments. It was torture! The almighty prince could have prevented that! Everyone knows his potential as Pride. Useless! Fucking useless!" Tae-soo eyed up to the sky, tears welling up. "None of it had to happen..."

"'What they did to Zander?' Where is he? What happened to him? I don't sense him nearby. Is he-?" Teru asked in a flurry of questions.

The werewolves didn't answer, anguished. The two betas yipped and whined again, more pressed. Teru's anxiety rose. The only thing Kieran could do was hold him close and release a faint whiff of pheromones to calm him.

The response wasn't fast enough for Teru. "Tae-soo, where is Zander?"

Tae-soo sighed and looked at him, "Teru, we still accept you as our leader. You're Ryoma's son. You were born to take on that position. Pride, well, I'm unable to decide our final decision right now about him. Anyway, it took us a long time to catch up to you. There's a reason for that."

Teru said nervously, "I knew something was wrong as you got closer."

"Well, he isn't dead. Zander couldn't join us because it is too dangerous...for you. We isolated him from the group. We will take you to him, but you'll need Prince Kieran to protect you. You have to know that...shit...he's dying, Teru. Zander is dying."