His injured wings should be giving him a hard time, but he feels nothing but rage as the quivering snake underneath him pleads for his life. They always beg like it's his fault they choose their path. Honestly, it's tiresome, as always.

"Please. Please, I just do as I'm told. You're an Omega, too. You get it, right? We do as our Alpha commands!"

The ignorant fool. Yes, Talion played the role of an Omega, a pitiful one at that, but underneath his flawless acting was an Alpha waiting to be let out. When Peter is no longer the target of these conniving dogs, Talion can finally leave the Clan de Leon. Both he and Peter would go their separate ways and be at peace. He shall be Alpha once again soon.

Tal is grateful that Peter took the initiative to walk away from him first. If he hadn't done so, then leaving would feel like dying. Of course, that's just him looking on the bright side. In honesty...

Who is he kidding? If there were a way to salvage what he had with Peter, he would. Only Peter doesn't like to be lied to. He doesn't like anyone fighting his battles for him, either. Predictably, Peter will resent Talion for the rest of their lives when he discovers that Talion has lied to him all these years.

Looking at the snake, his gold eyes turn cold and hungry. He responds to the quivering waste of breath, saying, "You act as if you have no free will at all, as if you have no power whatsoever. But if that were true, my wings wouldn't have sustained so much damage from your attacks."

Talion raises his weapon, feeling the joy of going in for the kill. The taste of blood is already in his mouth as it curves sinisterly. His weapons of choice are two handheld steel fans that collapse into daggers each. With an even bone-shattering thrust, Tal rams one makeshift dagger into the heart of the henchman below.

The guy chokes out a painful yell, and his body begins to spasm. All the guy sees as his eyes prepare to close forever is a smiling, twisted demon savoring the scene.

Talion is unhinged in many ways. Before he met Peter, Tal was feared and hunted for his gifts and crimes. He loved to stir problems where he could. Blame it all on his upbringing. That's what he did.

He pulls out the dagger only to ram the other one in. Talion does so repeatedly, taking a turn with each dagger, smiling more and more sinisterly the longer he plays.

When his enthusiasm wanes, he looks upon the carnage dealt by his hands with great disdain.

Damn, I went overboard. But in my defense, this is the only fun I have anymore.

Suppose anyone were to walk into the lab at this moment. They would see a bloodied but outrageously handsome man pouting over a mess of a corpse, kind of like when a five-year-old stands over a fallen scoop of ice cream. Poor maniac, indeed.

"But it's almost over," he softly says as he claims a piece of paper from the floor and stands upright.

"All I need to do now is find you," he says, reading a name off the paper.

"Dr. Jack Melrose of the International Institute of Biological and Technological Research."

There was a gnawing feeling in his wings to take flight and rip the guy's throat out by morning's light, but his wings couldn't even take him home now. Talion restrained his urge and turned towards the exit. He left behind a hex on everything that looked like blood and all the paperwork that mentioned Peter. All of it started to blaze alight with a blue flame, but everything else—like the building and regular people who have nothing to do with the Institute—would not be burned.

He could use witchcraft, but no one, not even Peter, knew about this ability. Although Peter loved to show off that he tamed the Great Demon Talion, the truth was Talion just fell in love. Peter was his weakness, so he let him do anything he wanted, even if it meant that Peter treated Talion as some kind of trophy.

The witchcraft and Talion's natural origins were something no one but his Clan knew about. If such origins ever knocked on his door, not only would he leave Peter forever, but he would seriously complement killing himself.

Peter doesn't know as much about Talion as he would like, and that's perfectly fine. He's safer that way, and the world as they knew it was safer, too.

To return to the estate, he steals a motorbike from the parking structure and speeds away into the night. It's not flying, but he thoroughly enjoys the empty highways and the exhilaration of pushing the bike's limits. If only he weren't hurt, he could stop at a bar for a drink.

However, drinking is a horrible idea. Who knows why, but he can't hold more than a glass of wine. Peter says he's worse than a damsel in distress when he's drunk.

I've forgotten the last time I was drunk with him.

The Leon estate is grand and posh, with sleek glass houses and luxurious gardens. Clan de Leon isn't short on cash, so it's made of high-class Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. Brother Jinx has six lovers, but his first and foremost is Stella, a descendent of ice and wind spirits. She's a rare Beta because elemental spirits are older than any other. Whenever Stella strolls around the estate, Talion admits he is somewhat reminded of home because of her otherworldly appearance. But he must not even fathom about his home, so he turns away every time.

Along with them, Peter has three lovers, including Talion. He once stood by Peter's side as Stella does with Jinx even after he turned Omega, but Peter discarded him and made Killian his favorite over time. In total, there were four Alphas, two of whom were Peter's younger sisters, and about five Betas and ten Omegas living together, some with children.

On a daily basis, all sorts of people came in and out. Some were for leisure reasons, others patrolled, and business partners came for meetings, usually with a group. The damn place was sometimes too much for him. If it weren't for Peter, he would have settled next to a soft stream up a mountain somewhere.

To sneak back in, Talion dumps the bike a few blocks away, and shadow skips to the estate. He flutters over his wall with his shredded wings and only winces once in pain.

Outside his patio is Lincoln. He is already jumping out of his skin as he notices the disarray of tatter feathers flying everywhere.

"Sir!" He starts.

Talion straightens up quickly and gestures with his hand outstretched to calm down. "I'm back. Don't make a fuss."

"Don't make a fuss! I can smell your blood. Hurry up and get inside so I can patch you up before the smell spreads too far."

The notion of anyone caring makes Tal crack up. "Who's going to come knocking on my door? The cat of de Leon?! You worry about the most needless things."

Lincoln escorts Talion to the bath and draws him water inside the quaint little house. He is an Omega, but secretly he is Talion's Omega. He is the only one to know his secret- other than Jinx- and the only one who, on occasion, Tal can touch as an Alpha. He's a beloved lover to Talion, but Link knows he'll never hold a place in Tal's heart as the young Master of Clan de Leon has. It makes him urk, especially when his Master returns in such a state.

He's Master stops his trembling hands as they wash him and says, "I'm almost done, Link. Soon, you'll be able to stop serving me and find a good match for yourself instead of dealing with the likes of me."

Link makes a small expression of sadness that Tal feels pretty terrible about. It's quite shocking that Talion feels a sliver of care for this pup, but it's not a feeling stemming from anything other than guilt. Guilt that the pup has grown attached to him, but Tal can't see him more than a sex partner.

The pup was undoubtedly cute. Descendent from an arctic fox, he was beautiful with his short white locks and sparkling black voids for eyes. He was like a fair dame who danced ballet. He had a slim waist, strong legs, and a torso.

Tal had the sick habit of thrusting too hard just to get him to squeal a little louder when they were fucking, but the kid seemed to like it, too.

Peter didn't know about them. He's actually never wondered what Peter would think, but what did it matter? Peter fucked other people too.

They go from the bath to his master bedroom, and Link wraps his wounds. Talion doesn't flinch at all. Instead, the elegant, long-haired man takes out a cigarette and lights it up. He takes a good drag, trying to settle his thoughts for the night.

As Link cleans the wounds, the small fair Omega feels an ugly frustration in his heart. The more they bleed, the more he resents the young Clan Master. If his secret Alpha knew he wished ill upon his Peter, Link knew the consequences would be fatal, but he couldn't help it. He clenched his jaw as he worked and swept such thoughts behind the wall his Master built for them in his head.

Even still, he whispers, "Sir, these cuts. I-I don't like them. Couldn't you be more careful next time?"

Link's affection was sometimes suffocating, but Talion understood the pup's worry. Still, he could only say, "I'm as careful as I can be."

"But sir-"

The door to Tal's bedroom swings open suddenly. As both Tal and Link take a moment to understand what is happening, Peter sees the blood and the wings and yells, "What is this!?"

Tal is momentarily stunned, but he manages to chuckle out his shock and replies, "Ah, Kitten! It's been so long that I almost forgot what you smelled like. To what do I owe this odd sudden emergence?"

No doubt Talion missed the Lynx quite a bit. His mouth went dry the moment they locked eyes with each other.

The man still wears black and leather to seem as menacing as death. Why is he so cute trying to seem so big and bad?

Peter feels dizzy. There's blood dripping onto the floor, and the idiot is having a smoke like everything is fine. 

He answers Talion, "I wanted to see you. That's all."

"Hmm, suddenly?" Tal seems dubious. It rubs Peter the wrong way. 

Is he telling me it was wrong to seek him out?

"Why? Can't I?" He's angered now and quite annoyed.

Talion can tell Peter is worried because of the blood, but he's mad about being asked why he came tonight. Something about that makes Talion's bad habit itch. He wants to make the young Master even more mad.

"I mean, you can, but there's nothing for you here, is there? Nothing but a broken pigeon." Tal smirks evilly.

His plan works, and Peter's inner guilt and bitterness make him shout, "Enough stalling! Your wings! When did you get them back?!

Shit, the wings...

"About a year ago, but they're just for show. I still can't fly."

It should be a plausible lie.

"Are you able to shif-" Peter starts to ask hesitantly.

The hope in his voice plummets Talion's mood fairly quickly. He replies before Peter finishes, "Nope. Still, forever an Omega, Kitten."

Peter grows a little numb as his hopes shatter again, but the other issue remains.

"Why are they injured so badly?"

Oh, come on! How much more will I have to lie to you tonight, Kitten?

"I'm quite the silly bird, aren't I? I fell asleep on a very tall tree and carelessly fell off it. To brace for my fall, I unfurled them. They got scraped by a few branches on the way down."

This lie makes sense, right?

Peter hates the feeling in his chest as he sees the bloody bandages. How high did he get up this tree to end up in such a state? He steps forward, wanting to soothe Talion, but stops short, remembering he hasn't touched him for so long. It's unreasonable to be bitter, but Talion's attendant gets to be with him every day. How could he allow this to happen?

"Link, how dare you allow your charge to do something so reckless. What are you good for?!"

Talion didn't like the blame shifting onto Lincoln. He may love cruelty and agony, but he prefers to distribute it fairly.

"Peter, don't get ahead of yourself. Link didn't climb the tree. I did."

"Oh, what's this? You're acting as if you're his Alpha, Talion." Something ominous settles into Peters's eyes as he directs the conversation towards Link.

"You can't find one in your league, and so you settled for being this one's sex toy. Even for an Omega, that is extremely weak."

It didn't bother Talion greatly before when Peter belittled him. He knew Peter was just a dramatic kitten hissing at any hand that overshadowed his territory, but he was the one who left him behind at a moment's notice, so why did Peter think he could still do so without worry? Talion doesn't need to put up with such disrespect now that they were practically nothing.

"Link and I have gotten close, Kitten, and you can think what you want, but at least he sticks by the person he likes."

The more he sees Peter's obsessive side take hold, the more Talion's cruel side wants to let loose. Making Peter stew is just so much fun.

Tsk. Peter clicks his tongue.

He gets close to Talion and whispers, "Tal, I've neglected you a little too much, it seems. Once you've recovered, I'll come back during your heat. Close or not, I wonder the face he'll make when I screw you."

Tal leans in just the same and whispers back, "I heard you grew arrogant over these years, but that's just plain cruel. He likes me so much."

The young Master thinks he's got him, but Tal finishes by saying, "I'm looking forward to it." This cruelty is certainly not beneath him to enjoy.

Tsk. It didn't work. He's not riled at all.

Peter wants to leave before he rips Link's head off, but Tal winces as he stands back. The wings must be giving him a lot of pain. Being Talion, Peter's sure he's suppressing his feelings to the point of stupidity. He pulls Tal in for a kiss, releasing a wave of soothing pheromones at the same time.

Talion wishes he hadn't. The gesture is hard for his heart to take. The young Master doesn't say anything more as he turns to leave, but he low-key loves the surprised look on his treasure's face, not to mention the clingy little Omega is giving him a great look, too.

Fool, no, your place. That man is forever mine.