June 14 2026, 2:01am.
No one could believe their eyes. Not the quadruplets who had been cocky only moments ago, and definitely not Nyx’ara who had at first thought that Coco, the cat, was nothing but some lazy, white gold-decorated entity who was fall furs and zero fight.
At least that was what she thought when it had hovered around her like some meek little creature, and also what she had thought when it had, for some reason, decided to share her bed with her— a total stranger.
Her eyes widened with a mixture of shock and horror when it hissed ferociously, the sound echoing throughout the already chaotic corridor.
But that was not all.
What shocked her the most was how fiercely it attacked Alpha Azriel.
The crazy little feline scratched at his face and neck with its extended claws, its loud hisses and snarls ringing throughout the vast space. It held Alpha Azriel with an iron-like grip and would not let go even when everyone began to scream at it.
In a desperate attempt to keep holding on, it latched onto his hair when Draven and Kieran tried to pull it away... and just like that... the entire place descended into mad chaos as everyone tried desperately to pull Coco away from a currently bleeding Azriel who wouldn’t stop cursing under his breath.
But it would not budge.
"STOP!" Kieran shouted, his face so red one would think he was the one being attacked.
"Stop it, COCO!" Draven shouted, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
But all through this chaos, Rhys did not move an inch, and while his paranoia towards Nyx’ara was one reason, the other reason was the cat itself. He stood to the side with disbelief prominent on his face.
He could not believe that Coco, the cat who had refused to eat or drink. The cat which had also refused to sleep ever since Leilani’s demise was the same one now desperately fighting for Nyx’ara.
The same Nyx’ara who was responsible for its owner’s— his sister’s— murder.
His eyes widened in surprise mixed with horror when Coco scratched at Azriel’s forehead, merely missing his eyebrow by an inch. Blood seeped out of the open cut, streaming down his eyes and face.
His cry of agony filled the air just before he began to thrash wildly as if in a bid to push the cat away, currently not caring if he hurt it or not.
And that scene... that desperation and anger was what finally made Rhys move his legs. But just as he tried to join in, Nyx’ara suddenly screamed.
"Let go of him, Coco!" She yelled. She was so horrified and so annoyed that she didn’t even stutter— and she did not notice.
Her hands flew to Azriel’s face as if to shove the cat away, but to her surprise and to the surprise of everyone present, it jumped into the air.
Not away from her, but into her arms.
Everyone froze. Including her.
Her arms hung loosely and awkwardly around the cat which nuzzled its face into her neck, and for a moment, no one moved nor spoke.
No one could believe their eyes or understand why the cat, which had been feral only seconds ago, now seemed calm. Docile even as it nestled its face deep into Nyx’ara’s body.
And for the quadruplets, they were more than stunned because that was the same way she used to latch onto their sister, Leilani.
A low purr rumbled through the cat as it stretched and closed its eyes as if finally deciding to retire for the day.
For several minutes, silence was the only thing that echoed between the five of them. It took the brothers a moment to determine that it had only attacked Azriel because he had attacked Nyx’ara first, and that realisation, coupled with the fact that Coco was Leilani’s cat, had them all rooted in place.
Kieran broke character first. He pointed at the cat disbelievingly, his other hand resting under his chin as he hissed; "W-what the fuck did you do to Coco?"
’Now, you’re the one stuttering,’ Nyx’ara thought to herself, but deciding against saying that to him, she simply shook her head and frowned.
"N-nothing."
God, I hate this stutter so much.
"This doesn’t look like ’nothing’!" Kieran snapped back, his eyes raking across her body to glare at the cat still nestled peacefully against her chest.
"First, I found her sleeping in that room with you, and then, she attacked Azriel like some wild creature?! Coco never attacks anyone!" He snapped, and then suddenly, as if deciding to talk more slowly, he exhaled, eyed her— and the cat one more time— and continued; "Coco doesn’t get close to people. Why is she attached to you?!"
He turned to his brothers, hoping to get backup but to his utter dismay, none of them was talking or looked like they were interested in talking. They were all simply staring at her, their faces a mask of stunned disbelief.
Now, panic had slowly seeped into Nyx’ara’s voice. She held onto the cat like it was her lifeline. Her body shrunk into itself in a way that it appeared like she was protecting the cat more than she was protecting herself... and that in itself stunned the brothers even more.
She cried; "I-I d-did not do a-anything to Coco. Like I-I said e-earlier, s-she was about to-to sleep b-before I heard you c-calling out for her."
"And why would she decide to sleep in that room with you of all places!" Azriel snapped, finally speaking.
Now, most of the injuries on his face and neck had healed up and all that was left was the blood—now semi—dried— staining his face and cheeks.
Nyx’ara’s eyes widened in shock when she noticed this detail. It was true that werewolves healed fast, and Lycans healed faster. But none of those creations... healed with that much speed.
She gulped. "I-I don’t know."
Once again, the place descended into silence and Nyx’ara could only further shrink into herself when their piercing gazes wouldn’t leave her face.
She stood there for a long time, contemplating whether to return to her room or not, not the thought of moving... of shattering this peaceful silence filled her with dread and despair.
She lowered her head, alternating between staring at her feet and at the sleeping cat, and after what felt like an eternity, one of them finally spoke, making her head snap up immediately.
"Come with us."
The voice was grim but for some reason, the order felt grimmer.
Her legs which had been rooted in place felt heavy when she tried to move them. Her heart pounded against her chest when Draven and Kieran began to walk away without sparing her another glance.
She gulped again. "W-what a-about you t-two?"
"What about us?" Azriel snapped, "We’re not moving an inch until you start walking."
Dread slammed into her ribs, almost stealing her breath away as she came to the painful realisation that they wanted to be behind her while Kieran and Draven were in front.
They literally wanted to keep her sandwiched between them so that she would not be able to escape.
Like there’s any way she could escape before.
She swallowed against the bile rising in her throat and lowered her head one more time, and with measured steps began to follow behind Kieran and Draven. Azriel and Rhys finally moved.
They walked for a while and because it was mostly dark, she could barely make sense of where they were leading her to.
Her werewolf senses were almost non-existent so seeing in the dark was almost impossible.
Her heart slammed against her rib cage as she followed slowly behind them... until they stopped.
Her eyebrows shot into her hairline.
"Come forward!" Someone said from the front. It could be Kieran or Draven, she was not sure right now. Her mouth suddenly went dry as she shuffled forward but just as she arrived in front of a large black double door, a maid materialised out of nowhere and snatched Coco out of her hands.
"W-wait—!" She began to say but stopped when five cold pairs of eyes turned to glare at her.
Azriel hissed; "You do not need a bodyguard in there."
Those words, coupled with the dread already flooding through her made her palms begin to sweat. A cold seat broke out at the back of her neck, and her legs shook as she took a quick step forward.
"Open the door."