Kieran couldn't believe Teru saw him in that weakened state. Getting sick was a very private ordeal for him.
I told him to stay. Can't he follow what I say for once? I don't want to use my pheromones every time to get him to listen.
He spent a good while pacing between the second bedroom and living room, deciding whether or not he should say sorry. There was no reason to be nervous, yet he was. Who knew apologizing to an upset omega would be so daunting? To avoid admitting he was at fault, Kieran got the idea to tell him his friend's whereabouts to get on Teru's good side again.
But Kieran hadn't foreseen him going into full grieving mode. Was that other alpha really that important to react like this? Humans were fickle creatures. If one of his siblings died, he wouldn't feel anything.
I don't get it.
Telling him about Lucas seemed to work in the long run when Teru unknowingly scent marked his head to get rid of Eun-bin's scent.
"That's not something I'd do."
He almost laughed at the denial. "Well, just in case you want to know, we have volunteer donors who offer their blood. That's why my eyes were green earlier."
A flurry of emotions flashed across Teru's face when he confirmed he drank from a beta—shock, confusion, jealousy, anger, annoyance...
How was it humanly possible to show that many expressions at once? Still, this reaction pleased Kieran. It meant he didn't like someone else touching him.
Teru's body temperature increased. His pheromones were spicier than usual, like a chef adding more cinnamon to a sweet dessert.
What are you thinking of to react this way? Or maybe it's from stress?
A human could only take so much. Kieran placed the covers over him. "I'll be in the other room. Do you want the door open or closed?" Honestly, the prince didn't want to leave, feeling overprotective and uneasy.
Teru muttered, "Open."
"Okay. Also, you have a doctor's appointment. He specializes in humans."
"Mhm."
"And once I have clearance to take you out in public without a collar, we have to go shopping for—are you listening?"
Teru was already asleep.
It couldn't be helped. Before retiring to bed himself, Kieran sat on the couch and sighed heavily, worn out as the adrenaline rush went away.
The vampire eyed the mess around the room—the blood, hair, strips of torn clothing, and scratched-up floor. There was a body outside, too. He'd have to make sure all of this was cleaned up before Teru woke up, as well as updating the lock. There shouldn't be any reminders of what happened.
Dealing with Tristan was going to be complicated from here on out. Now that Envy knew Teru was here, he was going to do anything possible to get his filthy paws on him.
The alpha in Kieran was still overstimulated. It wanted to hide his omega forever from all threats that kept piling up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Teru was in his pack's forest. He was crawling away from something.
"Come here, omega," a familiar voice taunted. He felt a hand grab his ankle. It dragged him back, the twigs and thorns on the ground scratching his belly. A heavy body rested on his back. He tried looking to see who it was.
A lemony scent covered everything around them. Tristan. How did he find his home? The others were in danger!
Teru whimpered. A hand snaked around his throat, giving full access to his neck. "Ready?" Tristan asked him. What did he mean by that? Ready for what?
Then he felt the bite. Teeth sank into his nape. Teru felt unbearable pain as cold shards raced through his blood. It was like sinking in a frozen lake in the dead of winter. Although he'd never experienced such agony, he knew it was an alpha's marking.
It didn't feel right. It wasn't supposed to be this painful. He didn't know how he knew that; he just did. His inner omega wailed because this wasn't the mate he was supposed to be with.
"Teru!" Someone was yelling his name.
Tristan nibbled on his ear. "You're mine."
"TERU!"
His eyes flew open. The coldness lingered in his veins from the bond. His nails scratched at his nape, thinking he could claw out the ring of teeth marks.
"Stop, Teru!"
He smelled an alpha's pheromones. Mint. It wasn't Tristan.
His hazy mind came back from the nightmare. Right. He was sleeping. This was his bed, not the forest. The person spooning him was Kieran.
The omega was shaking. "He marked me!"
Kieran frowned. "Who?"
"Tristan! I feel it here!"
"Shh. You're not marked. He can't hurt you, not when you're with me."
Teru jolted when it felt a tongue brush against the phantom bite. There was nothing to heal, but the gesture relaxed him nonetheless.
It was only a bad dream.
The relief almost made him cry. He would rather die than be claimed like that.
"Better?" Kieran asked.
The nightmare was too fresh to forget so quickly. "A little...maybe."
Kieran's arms tightened around him. "If you're not up for it, I can postpone your appointment with the doctor—"
"No!" Teru interrupted. He needed to get out of this penthouse. "I mean, I feel fine enough to go."
"Then, I've already prepared an outfit for you. Go get dressed," Kieran licked his nape one more time for good measure. "And remember, you're not marked. I would know."
This was when Teru thought he'd leave. Instead, Kieran remained where he was, not letting go. His face was resting against the omega's scent gland. The behavior was unusual.
"Are you going to release me?"
The vampire shied away. "Ah, yes." He handed Teru a pair of black jeans and a red sweater with a high neckline, a style he knew was called a "turtleneck." It was the first time he would wear such a shirt, but he liked it since it gave a false sense of security that his nape was protected.
The clothes were still too big on him. He wondered who they belonged to since there was no way Kieran could fit into these. "Are these secondhand?"
"Of course not. I bought them myself, but it's clear I got the wrong size. Ready?"
The dream came back to him. A hand snaked around his throat, giving full access to his neck. "Ready?" Tristan asked him.
"Y-yeah."
It wasn't real.
Teru wasn't sure what to expect when Kieran finally opened the entrance door. Would there be people?
Instead, there was an empty hallway with two big doors at the end. He was confused when Kieran pressed on a button with an arrow on it. Still, he watched everything closely. When he would attempt to escape later, he needed to know how these things worked.
There was a loud ping. The grey doors slid open to reveal a small, empty space. Kieran clicked another button with symbols on them. The doors shut in the middle. When the tiny room moved, Teru gripped the sidebar for support.
As the door opened again, Teru was amazed to see a completely new place. Was this magic?
"Stay close to me since you don't have a collar. There are many alphas on this floor." Kieran placed his arm around his shoulders to guide him through the clean hallways. The bloodsuckers who were there stopped and stared at him as they passed by. He saw their long fangs.
"This doctor is a vampire, right?" Teru asked nervously.
"Yes, but Dr. Charles is actually fond of humans. Before the war, he pretended to be one so he could work as a surgeon. After a few decades, he would fake his own death so they wouldn't become suspicious as to why he never aged. Charles would then travel to a different country under a new identity and repeat his career."
It was hard for Teru to imagine a vamp that liked humans, at least not for blood.
They stopped at a door that looked like the others. Kieran didn't bother knocking and barged in, startling the person sitting at a desk.
"Christ! Why don't you ever knock?" someone reprimanded. It was surprising to see a doctor that looked so young; mid-20s, maybe early 30s at the most. In Teru's pack, their healer was usually an older beta.
The man's expression softened when he saw the omega. He knelt so their faces were on eye level. Teru couldn't smell his pheromones since he was hiding them, but it was obvious that he was also a dominant alpha.
It made him nervous, so he went behind Kieran. The last dominant alpha he met tried to bite him.
"Don't be scared. I'm Dr. Charles. You're Teru, right? Can you sit on the table for me? That's where I'll do a physical exam to inspect your condition."
A physical? What's that? Will it hurt?
Kieran gently pushed him towards a long table with paper on it. It crinkled under his weight.
The doctor talked to Kieran. "How is he sleeping? Is he eating? What's his diet?" There were other questions, but Teru tuned them out as he observed the room. It was even shinier than his bathroom. The atmosphere was cold. Sterile. He saw a small stand of silver metal things next to him. Some were sharp. Teru picked up a dainty knife.
"He's curious," Dr. Charles commented when he noticed Teru touching the tools. "That's good. It's normal omega behavior."
Teru put down the knife. The physician sat on a round chair with wheels. He rolled over so he was next to Teru to get a better look. "You have a nice eye color. Your parents must be beautiful since you obviously got their good genes. Your hair looks soft, too."
What. What was he going on about? Red flags were hoisted high in the air. Teru glanced at Kieran, mentally asking why this creepy man was praising him. Kieran was as equally uncomfortable, his hand over his face as if to hide from the cringe. He shrugged at Teru, not knowing either.
Dr. Charles saw their awkward exchange. He coughed. "No? Not working? Well, this is embarrassing. Omegas like to be doted on with compliments. It worked every time to get them to relax with me."
Jokes on you. I don't care about those types of things.
"There's a first for everything, I suppose. Let's move on, yeah?"
During the next hour, Dr. Charles examined and squished random parts of Teru's body. Weirdly enough, it wasn't sexual or intimate in any way.
"He needs to gain more weight, but he's fine overall. It's a good thing Tristan didn't cause him to drop, but if he continues to be anxious about the attack, please come see me. I'll prescribe medication to help with anxiety."
It was annoying that they were talking about him when he was right there!
"Unfortunately, the king stopped the production of suppressants years ago, as you know. I'll give you pamphlets on how to take care of an omega during their heat."
"Heat?" Kieran asked, his voice hitched.
"He's at that age. It's a shame he was born in this generation. When omegas disappeared, the medical equipment and medication to help them were discarded."
Teru had enough. This discussion about heats...it was too much. It's not like he'd get his any time soon.
He hopped off the table and waited at the door. He was ready to leave. If they weren't going to talk to him directly about his own health, there was no point in staying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Charles chuckled at seeing the angry omega. "So feisty." He spoke more quietly this time so Teru wouldn't hear. "It's almost time. Don't plan on taking him anywhere for the next week, maybe two."
Kieran was confused. "Time for what?"
The doctor smacked the back of the prince's head.
"What the fuck was that for?" Kieran growled.
"You're how old now? Haven't you noticed anything yet? You weren't always this dense with your past partners. Look, I'd imagine you've been feeling agitated when leaving him alone, correct? And how his smell has changed recently?"
"How did...how did you know?"
Dr. Charles smiled widely. "Totally clueless. That human made you really stupid. You'll know what I mean soon."