King kept as still as he could. But he felt like he failed every time he shivered from a chill that had nothing to do with the drafty car's temperature. He gulped and stared at the length of the handbrake, stiffening every time the three figures with him shuffled.

Kain scowled at every rolling landscapes out of the window from the front passenger seat, looking like a ticking human bomb. He sat with his burly legs open, a hand resting under his chin. Zachary was driving the tinted vehicle, cool as he ever was. He brushed a finger on the leather wheel, at intervals, taking a glance at the rear-view mirror which whipped a view of the brunette lad. Yusef sat on the left-back seat with a good adult demeanor as well. He gazed to the right from the corner of his eyes, moved it lower, and noticed King's fingers that trembled ever so vaguely against his tightened thighs.

"Are you cold?" Yusef reached out a hand towards him, and his eyes widened when the latter responded by slapping his hand away.

"Ah..." King's expression rang like an alarm. "I-I was just startled. S-sorry."

Zachary and Yusef had a look of suspicion. They knew something was wrong, or more like something wrong had happened. Both their gazes bore at the side and the back of their youngest brother, who huffed through his nose, eyes averted out the window. Zachary considered having a talk with him later.

Yusef slightly sighed through his nose. His lips curled up into a slight smile and he reached out the same hand again, emitting a twitch and a sharp intake of breath from the boy when he nuzzled his head, like how one would do to a cat, careful not to get those fangs and claws.

"I'm sorry," Yusef uttered.

King felt provoked at first, but he let the man do what he was doing, and as he did, his repulsiveness unconsciously made an immediate 180-degree turn. He narrowed his eyes at the man, who chuckled at him. Little did he know, the latter found his flipping reactions amusing.

"Hmph," Kain snorted.

After narrowing through the unfamiliar weather-beaten, some recently paved roads, finally, King remembered a sense of familiarity with the surroundings, especially the mountain chain which was rich as emeralds during the summer. His body tingled, eyes gleaming with excitement, when they finally arrived to the pridehouse.

Yet what he saw caged fear into his eyes.

The house was broken—windows smashed, walls cracked, and had more of the things he remembered not having there when he was last here. Where were Pandora and Bryce—

King's brows raised to his hairline when he saw the familiar figures that went out from the front door, and the sense of being buried alive disappeared.

When the car pulled over at the vacant yard, King immediately pulled at the door handle. Locked. He stared and raised a brow at it. Wait, the clutch was green, why wouldn't it—

"I think that side is in child lock," Yusef told him with a smile.

King pursed his lips, and forced a smile back at Yusef, not daring to ask why. They didn't think he'd escape, did they? Well, truthfully, yes, King had thought about it, but what's the use in escaping when they're literally leading him towards freedom? He'd be stupid. He blinked when the door clicked and slid open, letting in the fresh breeze that mingled with the cold, scented air that froze his nose for two hours. He raised a brow, lips slightly pulling apart and eyes boring at the back of the tank-topped man who he hadn't noticed leave from the seat in front of him.

"Hey," Yusef stopped King midway when he was about to scoot out of the car. King raised both eyebrows at him, swallowed as his eyes darted to him and Zach.

"Look, that guy has his own beliefs and hates being tied down to something without, well, his approval. And he's just..." Yusef trailed off, grasping for an appropriate word. "He's an idiot." that was the only appropriate one that crawled into the back of his head.

"That's a fact." King breathed out, sharply, without second thoughts. Zach raised both brows and Yusef laughed, allowing facts to dig their way through.

"Yes, it is," Zachary uttered, puffing a slight chuckle.

King turned his head, staring at the broad back of the awfully quiet guy who assaulted him yesterday.

I won't suck another man's dick.

He'd better be. King drilled a hole at the said man's back before he scooted out of the car.