His heart sped up, each beat quicker than the last. It wasn't at all like the panic attack he had just come down from, but...nervousness? This confused Lucas.

Why am I nervous?

It wasn't like it was their first time.

Okay, he supposed their second time could warrant the butterflies wreaking havoc in his stomach. Everything about this odd relationship went against nature. Lucas gave up on Teru, what, four or five days ago? Was this happening too fast? Maybe because this person kissing him back so urgently was a bloodsucker, his lifetime enemy? Or perhaps the recent development that Lucas was supposed to be a freaking celibate virtue to a deadly sin?

I'm the polar opposite of celibate.

He opened his eyes and pulled away. A line of spit connected their lips, as if refusing to allow them to break apart. They waited to catch their breaths.

The sunset light coming from the side colored every hair strand in magenta, also masking Blaise's crimson eyes with pink. It was ridiculous how much pink suited him. Never a shade Lucas preferred, but now his favorite,

Lucas hung his head and groaned. He thought, I think I'm insane. This is a fever dream. I must be in a coma from the infection.

"Mr. Chastity, you said you'd give me your pheromones," Lust complained in Blaise's normal voice.

"Wait. Why me?" Lucas whispered, staring down into the grass below, head bowed to show his neck. It was a vulnerable position. A predator could effortlessly strike, and that predator was a starving vampire. He never would have positioned himself like this for the Zhangs. Not in a million years.

Instinctually panicking at letting his guard down, Lucas pounced on him. He pinned Lust's wrists to the ground and sat on his crotch area, using full weight to keep him there. They stared at each other until a tear dripped on Lust's cheek, sliding down into his blonde hair. Then another tear. And another.

He cried. "Why me? Why was this responsibility given to me? I'm the dirtiest person. I...I can't do it. I can't be...Chastity. The old me would've been better. Just...why me?"

Lust broke his right hand free from the weak hold and caught a fresh tear from Lucas's eye, examining the salty drop before licking his thumb to taste it. "Does it matter?"

Well, that wasn't the answer, er, question, Lucas expected. "What...do you mean?"

"Why you? Why were you chosen now and not half a year ago when I first laid eyes on you at the auction house lobby? Why not another guy to become my personal dildo? You're asking the wrong questions, my dear. It doesn't matter. What can you do from this point forward? Maybe the heavens thought this current you is more fitting to handle me. Could the old you force me on my backside with your cock pointing straight at my face?"

Huh? Lucas glanced down. He hadn't noticed his dick tenting in his pants, ready for action. His face warmed.

"Besides, no other person has done what you just did."

Lucas met his gaze. The slivered pupils were round again and the snake tattoo on his arm was motionless, like any other tattoo.

Lust was gone.

"What...did I do?"

Blaise gently put a hand on Lucas's chest...

...and pushed up, swiftly switching roles before Lucas could react. The movement disturbed several grasshoppers, jumping away to avoid getting crushed. Blaise was on top, doing the same by pinning Lucas's wrists to the soft grass.

"Lust," Blaise leaned all the way with only a hairline space between their mouths, "was about to go berserk. I always needed sex to calm it. Every. Single. Time. Yet, it retreated on its own with no stimulation. It got bored with your constant refusal of its demands. Do you still believe being Chastity was a mistake? This word doesn't mean having a totally sexless life, you know. Who else could bully my sin enough to make it give up?"

B-bored?! Bully? Me?

Blaise lowered his whole body across Lucas. He softly humped his hips, cocks rubbing back and forth. Lucas flinched when his groin tightened.

"I don't see why Lust would be bored with you, though. You're simply good at making it be patient. In my opinion," Blaise growled playfully, nibbling on Lucas's bottom lip, "this is the most fun I've had in centuries." He left a trail of light kisses over his jawline, on his bandaged throat, to the crook of his neck.

Blaise licked the spot and moaned with an omega-like purr, "Please."

The pleading word said in that way was Lucas's new weakness. It made him crazy! He finally released his scent, spreading lavender around them and wanting to make sure it stuck to the deadly sin he was assigned to.

Blaise inhaled deeply before giving off vanilla, mixing perfectly to create a calming aroma. Lucas was in a daze, feeling serene and relaxed. It was a nice concoction.

A chuckle from Blaise puzzled him. "Why...are you laughing?"

"I'm not laughing. I find it amusing that our pheromones go hand-in-hand. You feel calm, right? The lowered anxiety? Lavender and vanilla are aromatherapy scents. Maybe it's a coincidence, maybe it's not."

Lucas watched Blaise gaze through the air, seeing something that he couldn't. He remembered this analyzing look from when Blaise tried to find Teru and Abaddon's pheromones in the capitol building; this vampire had a special ability to see them.

Sitting up, Blaise took his hand and waved slowly above them, playing with the sparkles, glitters, dust, or whatever pheromones looked like. His eyes twinkled, resembling a child that found a dazzling discovery. "Have I ever told you that your pheromones are unique?"

Lucas nodded no.

"I don't see it often. Once every decade, I suppose. You see, pheromone colors are unique to every alpha and omega. Occasionally a beta, too, if one parent was a dominant. That's a totally different genetic story. Anyway, sometimes I'll come across an individual with more than one color in their pheromones. Teru's is dark blue while Kieran's is green. I see three in yours. Most of it is lavender purple. Some sparkles are indigo." Blaise looked around until stopping at Lucas's neck. "But this tiny one that just came out of you is a bright lilac.

Lucas didn't know what to say. It must have been pretty. To him, he saw nothing, only making Blaise look like a madman to strangers who didn't know the context. "And yours? What color are yours?"

Blaise paused before speaking. "I don't know. I can't see mine."

"Teru and...Kieran," Lucas almost spat that second name, "can see theirs."

"That's a destined pair thing, between omega and alpha only." His voice was bitter.

It was awkwardly quiet between them. Lucas was curious about his tone which sounded disappointed. Disappointed in what? That Lucas couldn't see his pheromones? That he'd never know the color of his own scent? It was absurd because 99.9% of people go their entire lives without knowing this detail about themselves.

In a way, Lucas wished he could tell this person what their color was.

If he met his fated mate, he would know. It's the only way.

A random encounter with an omega.

Realizing he found his forever person.

Confessing their love.

Marking their nape.

Satisfying their heat and rut together.

Blaise's made-up life scenario Lucas had created in his head sent him into an agitated state. His canines hurt, glaring at the nape above that cock-teased people for years. Was it normal to feel like this toward another alpha? He didn't give a shit.

It riled Lucas's inner alpha, hating the notion that some little whore could steal him away. I'm the virtue. Only I can help.

In a split second, Blaise had him by the throat, putting pressure on the sides. It didn't hurt his injury, but it controlled how much air Lucas could breathe.

"Your scent...why do you feel this way for me?" A feral atmosphere replaced the peaceful vibe. Blaise pressed harder until Lucas wheezed. The pink rays were gone, replaced by dark blue. It'd be night within minutes.

His red eyes glowed. "I'll answer for you since your scent is practically screaming your secrets in my ear. You lost your first love to fate, a fate that wasn't with you. What if I'm next? What if I met my true omega, born for me to fuck every two or three months so I can knot their womb? Are you thinking of me biting their neck to tie them to me forever while I leave you behind?"

Lucas growled to make him stop talking this bullshit. Hearing his insecurities out loud angered him. He struggled to get up.

"Stay where you are," Blaise ordered with his commanding pheromones. Lucas complied. Fuck, he couldn't say no to a dominant alpha in this condition! Just how often were they going to clash, both being of the same secondary gender?

The vampire let go, allowing him to breathe properly but unable to move. He did not know what was to come next. With the Zhangs, Lucas was used to being slapped and whipped when he was bad. Would Blaise be the same when he was angry with him? Was Lucas now a prime steak steaming on a platter for a hungry bloodsucker, ready to drink him dry? Would he die tonight by the youngest prince's fangs?

Instead, Blaise stripped.

He took off his jacket and shirt.

Uh...

The brown boots came off. Blaise tossed his socks behind him.

Wait...

His ass and long legs wiggled out of the skinny jeans.

What are you doing...?

The last piece of clothing was his lavender-purple underwear, the bottom of his buttcheeks revealed. The color was surely a coincidence. Yes, just an accident.

The sun disappeared.

Lucas gaped at Blaise's bare chest while the vamp listened closely to their surrounding. "Hmm. It seems my brother is having a frisky time of his own, too," he mumbled before returning his attention to the five-star dinner below. Blaise swooshed his long hair over one shoulder. The moonlight gave the tiny hairs on his skin a soft sheen.

Lucas zoned in on his neck, biting his tongue until it bled because his teeth were throbbing to mark...something. Anything.

"You know, my little virtue," Blaise teased, twirling a lock of Lucas's hair around his pointer finger, "if you wanted to bite me so badly, you can just tell me. Tell me the things you want to do to me. I also don't mind if you do them without saying a word. You think you're dirty? I promise there is nothing I haven't done. There is nothing in this world that can hurt me. That's why," he snapped his fingers, signifying that he was releasing Lucas from the pheromones, "I'll let you choose what you want to do. Keep going. Stop. Sleep. Fuck my brains out. What will it be?"

Unexpectedly, he didn't attack and take Blaise for himself; claim him this instant so Lucas could wash away his fear of being abandoned. There was one thing he never got in his pack. His parents died when he was young. Saving himself for Teru. That foolish Lucas was ignorant of the friend zone he was placed in, not noticing the suiters who were interested to court him. Lucas certainly never received it as a breeder slave.

To anyone who can hear me, don't let this be a fever dream. Let it be real. I don't have the courage to admit this again.

"I want to feel loved."