June 14 2026, 12:09am
Nyx’ara did not know whether to let the cat go or to simply remain where she was, frozen in fear and shaking while the Alphas continued to call out for their missing cat.
She did not know whether to pat herself on the back for not peeing herself or to curse at herself for letting the very creature she should be as far as possible from into her room.
With each sound that echoed outside the room, most of which was the cat’s name, her heart stuttered. And do you want to know what made this situation even more bizarre?
The fact that the cat doesn’t seem to care.
Even with all the chaos happening outside, it remained curled up into a ball in Nyx’ara’s lap with its face buried into its massive furry tail, sleeping peacefully like none of this was its concern.
The noise outside grew with each passing second, and next thing Nyx’ara knew, roars were echoing from every direction followed by the sounds of heavy footsteps vibrating from one end of the corridor to the other.
Her heart raced with increasing speed, threatening to fall right out of her chest, and when she could no longer bear it... when it began to feel like she would hyperventilate if she didn’t do anything soon... she gingerly rose to her feet, placed the cat on the floor and stepped back, only for it to throw its weight into her legs.
Her eyes widened at that and her breath caught, but this time... this was not the time for sentiments. It was also not the time to worry about what the cat wanted— and it was obvious that it wanted to remain with her. She quietly made her way towards the door, pushed the heavy wood open slightly, and shoved the cat out.
But it won’t budge.
Again, she tried, only for it to force its weight back into her open hands.
In frustration, she bit down on her lower lip, applied more force and pushed it out, only for it to respond with a loud—
’Meow.’
She froze.
Because the corridor had been dead silent, the sound carried across the still air, travelling all the way until it settled somewhere deep inside her bones.
Maybe it was the fear rushing through her veins or maybe it was her just overthinking it, but goosebumps suddenly spread across her skin, making the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end. But ignoring this, she successfully pushed the cat out of the room, but just as she rose to her feet... to slam the door shut... her breath caught once again.
Why?
Because standing right in front of her with large biceps crossed over his chest was one of the quadruplets.
The one named Kieran.
He was frozen in a state of half-shift with his eyes glowing a fiery shade of blue and his claws elongated. His eyes, which were his most striking features right now, travelled over her body like he was inspecting a strange specimen with the ghost of a smirk playing across his lips.
Nyx’ara shrank into herself when his eyes trailed down her face... her lips and then down to the cat lounging by her door, and then he hissed; "What did you do to her?"
For a moment, Nyx’ara’s voice failed her. But it wasn’t only her voice that failed her. Her heart. Her lips. Her legs. In fact, her entire body failed her.
She could not stop the incessant pounding of her heart nor could she control the way her legs swayed as if they were about to turn to jelly. Her throat, for some reason, felt extremely tight and swollen and her hands shook violently as she slowly hid them behind her back.
It took her a moment to finally be able to force out the words and when this happened, she squeezed her eyes shut and muttered; "I-I c-can explain."
But he did not want her explanation. If anything, he wanted nothing at all from her.
Leaning against the wall, his sharp eyes dragged along her body one more time and then he hissed: "You stutter." He said in a point-blank manner. He wasn’t asking, he was only confirming his suspicions.
At his words, Nyx’ara nodded but she couldn’t bring herself to meet his fiery eyes, and as the silence between them stretched out into minutes, so did the tension surrounding them.
"You tried to kidnap the cat," he finally said after a while, his voice dripping with disdain coated in annoyance.
For a couple of seconds, Nyx’ara’s jaw could only slacken. She could not believe that beyond being known as a murderer, she was about to be branded as a thief as well.
She shook her head quickly before she even knew what she was doing and rasped out through gritted teeth: "I d-didn’t. I w-wouldn’t. T-the cat came to me itself, a-and b-before you started l-looking for her, she was s-sleeping on t-the bed."
A flicker of something akin to disbelief crossed Kieran’s face but just as fast as it came, it quickly left. He pressed his lips into a thin line— one so thin, his lips nearly disappeared and his fangs peeked from the corners of his mouth. Nyx’ara almost thought that he believed her until he suddenly pushed his weight off the wall, wrapped his clawed hand around her neck, and snarled;
"You lie."
She shook her head quickly. Very quickly. "I-I am te-telling t-the truth!"
A sudden howl sounded not so far off, vibrating throughout the night air. The sound washed over Nyx’ara’s violently trembling frame, successfully shaking her to her core.
It was no secret that she was afraid of these Alphas. And while she feared this one standing before her, his fingers wrapped around her neck and glaring at her like she was nothing but food, the sound of the others closing in filled her with more terror than she would like to admit.
"I-I really d-didn’t try to t-take her!"
Once again, silence descended upon them and while Keiran glared at her like he couldn’t quite decide what to do about her, Nyx’ara shook.
Literally.
Her body trembled frantically. Her eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead and her lips, once plump, now looked dry the more Keiran stared at them.
She was beautiful... this girl. Even more so than she had been cleaned up.
Her scent was tantalizing. It smelled of blueberries and a hint of lavender, which was everything he liked but would now hate because of her.
He allowed his claws to dig into the skin of her neck, reveling in the way she shuddered when that action broke her skin.
A small cry of terror slipped out of her mouth, but at that moment, all Keiran could think about was why it made his body stir. Why it made blood rush through his body, settling at his groin.
And so help him goddess, he hated it.
He hated that his sister’s murderer was looking at him with innocent wide eyes.
Hated that he could hear the way her heart was pounding against her chest.
He hated that he wanted... no needed... to ease the fear emanating from her in waves, but shaking that thought away by remembering his sister’s broken body, he snickered;
"For a murderer, you sure know how to pretend." He said,
At his words, Nyx’ara shook her head frantically. Her eyes were burning with unshed tears and her body was shaking so violently, she feared she would hyperventilate.
She gulped. "I-I am not."
For a moment, she contemplated telling him the truth. She contemplated telling him about how she had been framed... but the mere thought of it and the danger it could put Berlin and her family in had her clamping her lips shut. However, before the thought could fully sprout in her mind, his hand closed even tighter around her neck.
With barely any force, he lifted her until her feet were dangling a few inches from the ground and then he nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck— so close that her body trembled, not from fear but from something darker than fear.
The reaction was instant. His body froze up and then he growled loudly and deep into her ear:
"You planned this, didn’t you?"