Fortunately for Tee, and unfortunately for Kai, Tee's grandmother lived on for two more days; laying inside her cottage bedroom, reeking the place with the smell of coming death. Tee was sure by now that passing alphas had already smelt it. They were probably in the forest — just like Kai, patiently waiting out the old lady's death so they could snatch Tee up to claim him or slaughter him.

This only made the omega grow frightful as the hours ticked on by while he lay on his side beside his grandmother, his head resting near hers as she took her last breath between the already cold sheets. His fingers laced into hers, offering her a final bit of comfort. He cried, too. Silently shedding big fat drops of tears into the covers while he stared at her age-old face until his eyes burned red, his face swelled, and his throat turned dry.

"Grandma," he whispered into thin air, knowing she had no voice left to answer him. "I will miss you, grandma... I don't know what I'm going to do without you... They're monsters outside waiting for me, grandma... They're mean and cruel and vicious..."

A thousand thoughts raced through Tee's mind.

Was it wise to escape from the cottage, leave his old life behind, and start fresh? Where was he to go, though? Tee had no family other than his grandmother, and he had no friends.

He knew nothing about life outside of Nan. All he had known was the forest and their cottage. It was home. It was where his grandmother kept him safe; clothed him, sheltered him, fed him, and loved him. Hide him away from the harsh outside world.

Besides, even if he attempted to slip away after dark, there was a big bad wolf somewhere out there, awaiting the time to meet his promising words...

'I will come for you when she dies, and I will have you as mine.'

When the sky changed colors to a blinding red, and the evening arrived, Tee placed a palm over his grandmother's chest where her heart lay, and he listened for the first time. There were no more beats or no more warmth. And for a moment, a deafening silence swallowed the cottage, stealing Tee's breath away and breaking his heart into pieces.

She was gone, and she would never return.

There, feeling helpless, Tee cried.

The omega mourned for his grandmother's passing and wept for himself — his future and livelihood, well into the night.

Later that night, Tee dug a grave in their backyard and buried his grandmother.

____________________________________

The minute Tee stepped into the cottage, drenched in sweat and caked in dirt; a heaviness consumed him, causing goosebumps to dance across his body in tingling waves. And despite his hammering heart, he snatched the lit candle — the only light in the cottage — from the tabletop before putting on a brave face.

Although he might've been an omega — a breathtakingly beautiful one at that — Tee wasn't fragile, or a damsel in distress. And yet, when a noise, a screeching sound came from inside his grandmother's room, the omega's furry ears flattened, and a pathetic whimper slipped past his lips as he folded in on himself.

You aren't alone — run away and hide; the voices screamed in his ears.

Yet, Tee could not bring himself to comply. His feet moved by themselves, seeking the source of the noise. A rather foolish thing to do, he might admit.

When he reached in front of his grandmother's bedroom, the door lay wide open, practically welcoming him. Inside, moonlight gleamed through the window, casting shadowy shades to everything it touched. Tee squinted his eyes through the darkness before hesitating to enter. However, when he finally stepped past the door, a strange silhouette of a man — or a monster caught his eyes, lying in his grandmother's bed, soiling her sheets.

As a shuddering gasp spilled from his mouth, Tee dropped the candle to the floor; oblivious when the light flickered out, drenching him in more darkness.

"Who — who are you?" he asked, weary to step near the stranger. There was no answer, so Tee stepped closer before a familiar scent of sandalwood caught his nose. Was it Kai? — the alpha from the forest? It smelt like him, so it must be him. Tee's bunny ears unknowingly twitched. "Alpha Kai?" he questioned this time. "Is that you? What... What are you doing in my grandmother's bed?"

"Little red," Kai said in a deep, dark voice before he rose to his feet in careful steps, stalking toward the omega. "I've come for you like I said I would."

Tee backed away, nodding from side to side with quivering lips.

He knew once his grandma died, alphas would flock to the cottage to make a claim on him. She was the only reason he was still unbonded! It was too soon, though. He just buried her! He knew nothing about Alpha Kai, either. He knew nothing of his intentions... Nothing. Couldn't Kai give him some more time? Wouldn't it be wise for them to get to know each other?

"I have a present for you," Kai said, cutting Tee's thoughts short.

A present? Tee scrunched up his nose — he didn't want it. It was more likely a courting gift before Kai claimed him — all alphas did it. A pathetic display of affection.

When Kai removed a red sapphire, entwined with strings of gold, to fit perfectly around Tee's finger, from his pocket, Tee's eyes gleamed at the gem. It matched his cloak, and if he wasn't lying — it was more beautiful, too. The most beautiful thing he'd ever seen!

Still, he refused to accept such a thing.

"I don't want it," Tee's pretty pout grew, refusing to budge. "Take it back."

Displeased, Kai firmly curled his fingers around the ring before he shoved it back into his pocket. "You will take it eventually," he gritted out in bitterness despite his eyes flashing sadness. It made Tee feel bad, so he blamed his omega nature. Apparently, it made him feel pity for alphas.

"Come," Kai said after a minute of silence, and his voice was merely a noiseless whisper, frightening too. When Tee refused, the wolf's forehead creased. "Are you still afraid of me?"

"No, I'm not," Tee lied. "It wouldn't do me any good to be afraid."

Kai's lips twitched into a smile, not buying the omega's trembling stance. "Then why are you backing away?" he asked mockingly. And in a splitting second, the laughing gleam in his eyes died out, replaced with a stone-cold, emotionless snarl.

Seeing this, Tee stopped. He didn't want to anger the alpha any further after knowing the dangers he was capable of.

"Tee, come here," Kai continued.

"I rather not," Tee mumbled.

Since the omega wasn't listening, Kai's eyes flashed a bright blood red. He was enraged — fuming if his harsh breathing was anything to go by.

"Tee," he warned with venom on his tongue. Despite the coldness surging through Tee's body, he still refused to comply. "I SAID COME HERE."

Tee gasped and his eyes swelled wide in disbelief before his traitorous omega body protested against him, forcing him to kneel before the wolf.

"What —" he whimpered, wrapping his arms tight around his sudden aching stomach.

What Kai had done was an alpha's command. Only a handful of powerful alphas could do it. They could make omegas and betas and alphas kneel before them by merely their voice. It was unfair to others — others like Tee. Thinking back; no wonder the wolf moved like lightning. And what should've been a slight touch whenever the Kai pressed against him always felt crushing, like an elephant's stamp. He was a lone wolf, too! The most dangerous kind.

"Al — Alpha Kai," Tee called out in a desperate tone, his eyes brimming with tears when he felt plenty slick dripped out of him because of Kai. "Stop this."

Like before, he couldn't help it. This time it was much worse, though. It was his body's way of telling him he needed this powerful alpha by his side — needed to be stuffed full of this alpha's seed and bare his children. It was almost like he didn't need to choose Kai because his body chose the wolf for him. His inner omega wanted this monster to please him.

"That's better." Kai hovered above him, his hungry eyes staring Tee down. "You smell delightful..." The wolf could smell the arousal dripping off of him. And he took a deep breath while his fingers petted Tee's furry ears, offering him some sort of sick comfort. "I can't wait to taste you," he went on with sick glee. "After I claim you, I'm going to taste you every day. Wouldn't you like that? Of course, you would. I heard bunnies are quite a little... Tee? How often do you touch yourself?"

"Not often enough," Tee mumbled, hoping Kai didn't hear.

"I see... Give yourself over to me," the wolf sighed. "I don't like my omega unwilling."

Tee dug his nails into the floorboards before he fought every screaming nerve in his body. "Alpha Kai, I just lost my grandmother," he argued.

Although Kai tried to quench it down, his eyes gleamed with rage as the omega glared at him down from below — almost challenging him. "I don't care, little bunny," he uttered before gripping Tee strongly by the jaw. Tee whined from the ache. "I'm done being nice... Do you hear them?"

Confused, Tee's eyes darted left and right. "I don't know what you're talking about," he gritted.

"Those other alphas," Kai hissed, turning Tee by the jaw to face the window where the moon gleamed. "Can't you hear them, Tee? They're all over the place, circling your home. They're coming for you... You know this. They want you. Some of them want to eat you, and some of them want to stuff you full of their seed."

With Kai so close — a breath's touch, a new wave of arousal hit Tee, and his cock jolted. Despite this, he listened... And Kai was right. There were alphas out there, three or four of them creeping near the bushes.

"I..." Tee's voice came out husky.

"If you don't give yourself over to me, you'll become one of theirs," Kai interrupted, finally letting go of Tee's jaw. "Is that what you want, omega?"

Tee sucked in a breath. "No — no, that's not what I want. I can fight them off."

"Naïve, little bunny." The look in Kia's eyes was that of a crazy person — a beast gripping onto his last touch of humanity. "You can't fight them all off. Maybe one... What do you think is going to happen when there are three or four? Give yourself over to me, and everything's going to be alright... It's them or me. You choose."

Tee narrowed his eyes at the alpha through the darkness. Wolves were loyal... They were also deceivers at times. Kai had given him a choice to choose. It was all an illusion, though — an illusion of choice. He could see right through the alpha's cunning eyes. Even if he declined, since Kai had already made his claim, he would take Tee no matter the cost.

"I just buried my grandmother," Tee said once more.

"I don't care —" Kai growled a warning, and Tee's knees trembled; his body begging him to submit further — begging him to give himself over to this alpha. It was the right thing to do; the voices reasoned. Before Tee could say anything, the wolf hauled him off from his knees and slammed him against the bedroom wall, pressing up against his body. "CHOOSE," he ordered.

Hearing the alpha's command being used against him again, Tee whimpered; showing his neck to the wolf: a sign of submission as slick dripped out of him, soiling his undergarment.

Pleased, Kai calmed down, trailing his tongue against Tee's scent gland, forcing a shiver out of the omega. "You see, darling?" he purred into Tee's ear while his fingers caressed the opening strings of Tee's red cloak. "Even your body is begging for me."

As shameful as it might've been, it was true.

Tee had felt himself turning wet with slick the first time he encountered the wolf in the dark forest. His body had betrayed him since then. His dreams, too. Back then, he was too stubborn to realize it, though. Too frightened of the wolf.

After a long minute of anticipating, Tee opened his mouth to speak. "I —" his breath hitched when Kai pressed his clothed, hardened cock against Tee's, and a pitiful whimper left his mouth.

If he was anytime near his heat cycle, he believed he would've already dropped to his knees and begged the wolf to take him.

"Go on," Kai beckoned, bringing his hands up to pinch and squeeze the omega's nipples through his clothes despite Tee's protest. "Speak."

"If... If I give myself over to you," Tee worried his lower lip between his teeth. "Will you hurt me?" he asked, looking into the wolf's eyes. For a splitting second, he thought he'd seen a flashing fondness. It must've been his imagination, though. Wolves were known to never show tenderness. "Are you a cruel alpha?" he concluded.

A deep growl reverberated from Kai's throat, and he stopped fondling Tee's hardened nipples.

"Oh, little bunny," Kai tugged the omega by his furry ears, exposing his throat.

Tee's entire body went lax and loose before he gulped down, fearing the wolf might bite down and rip his throat out.

"Is that why you're so scared?" Kai went on in a soothing tone, his eyes never straying from the omega's face; studying Tee's trembling lips, his wild eyes, and his shuddering breathing — almost like a drowning man.

"Yes, Alpha Kai," the bunny whimpered, his body scorching from Kia's closeness.

"Darling, the only cruelty you'll experience from me is when I'm on top of you," Kai cooed in his ear before mouthing on the soft skin on Tee's throat. Tee shivered and whined: it felt good. "Otherwise," Kai went on. "I will treat you right, little bunny... I will treat you like no other. So what do you say?"

"I..." Through hooded eyes, Tee looked into Kai's fearsome, blinding red ones. What could he possibly say? His traitorous body had already submitted itself to the wolf since he stepped inside his grandmother's bedroom. And hearing Kai's reassurance, his mind quickly joined. "Alpha Kai," he said. "I... I want you to be my alpha."

A triumphant smile made its way to Kai's face. "Good," he hummed, finally releasing his grasp on Tee's ears and tenderly petting it down. 'Good little bunny. You made the right decision."

In the back of Tee's mind, he still had doubts because wolves were cunning creatures, and Kai, with his ability to move fast and command others, seemed to be the king of wolves and the ultimate God of deceivers.

"Are you going to mark me... Tonight?" he asked after Kai moved away from him, giving him enough space to breathe. "Can't it wait —"

"No, it can't wait," Kai laughed. It didn't reach his eyes, though. "I'm going to do a lot more than mark you, little bunny," he answered, his voice a growl.

Tee furrowed his eyebrows. He wasn't quite aware of what Kai meant. Hadn't he already agreed to become the wolf's omega so they could live together under the same roof? They would share meals together and go out catching fish in the creek, too. They would also garden together and go into the village together. And they would even sleep in the same bed. What more could Kai — Tee gasped as the realization hit him, and his eyes quickly sought Kai.

The wolf had his eyes on him the whole time, watching as realization drew on Tee's face. And when Kai smiled wickedly at him, showcasing his fangs, the traitorous omega inside of Tee vibrated with want while his body prepared itself to submit to this predator alpha who was undoubtedly capable enough to snap Tee's neck if he so much as irate Kai.

"Get on the bed," Kai ordered after a moment of silence. "Present yourself for me. I'm taking you tonight so all those alphas out there can hear your screams and know who you belong to."

The bunny gulped hard before heeding the wolf's command.