June 16 2026, 5:01am.
By the wee hours of the next day, a sleep-deprived Nyx’ara Devereux had come to a jarring conclusion: she had to flee!
This is strange right?
RIGHT? Especially for someone who had nowhere left to go and was sure she would be chased down to the ends of the earth by the quad- Alphas and her ex-mate, right?
Exactly.
However, after spending most of her night waking up and falling back asleep to recurring nightmares showing and telling her the very different ways in which the quad- Alphas could torture and kill her...
After waking up in the middle of the night panting and sweating because she had heard sounds in the distance and thought it was the Alphas coming to eat her up... she decided that she would run away and save herself whether or not she had a place to go.
And she has to before the wedding on Saturday or the next Friday night, which coincidentally is about three nights away, when they would decide that she is ’ready’ to ’grace’ their beds.
She isn’t ready.
For the rest of the night, she spent it sitting up by the window and drawing up plans. She thought of the many different paths she could take and the actions she must follow in order to achieve her aim and run to the nearest human-only city close by.
She also thought about the possibilities of being caught, but deciding that she wouldn’t let her fears weigh her down, she began to prepare everything she needed.
First off, she made a makeshift bag from a blanket then stuffed an extra dress into it. She also snuck some bread and some roasted chicken into the bag, stole some of the drugs that Eloise had gotten her last night, and set off.
She snuck through the backyard where she’d noticed no one passing through and then ran through the vast orchard that lay beyond.
At about thirty minutes into her run, she arrived at a very high fence, and as soon as she saw the daunting structure, she stopped. Her frown returned to her face and she planted her hands on her hips as she stared up at it.
"Surely, I can climb it." She thought to herself and with that in mind, she dug her fingers into the roots of the several beautiful flowers lining its entire length and began to push her weight up.
But still, it was too high. It was too slippery. This was risky.
She didn’t give up.
She continued to try lifting her weight off the floor until suddenly, she felt a nudge. Her eyes widened as her legs finally left the ground but instead of digging into the flowers as her hands did, it felt like they were being lifted off the floor.
Like she was levitating.
After about another agonizing three minutes, her hands finally reached the top of the fence. An excited squeal slipped out of her lips as she pulled herself upward... harder than before, grabbed onto the top of the fence, and threw one of her legs over.
"Whoo hoo!" She squealed, throwing up her hands as she now straddled the top of the fence; However, it wasn’t until she did this that she finally caught a glance of the ground behind her.
Of the thing that had helped her climb the wall with less difficulty.
Scratch that, not the thing but the person.
The person who had helped her reach the top— to escape.
Her breath caught somewhere in her throat when she saw the male standing with a mischievous smirk on his face. His hands were planted on his hips as he stared up at her like a child would look up at his new flying toy plane. In his eyes was a look that Nyx’ara could not understand.
But she dreaded it.
Why?
Because it was one of the quadruplets. Keiran, and somehow, his black raven, his signature pet, was still resting peacefully on his shoulder.
He smiled as though he could see thoughts in her mind and said: "I saw you from afar, trying to jump over the fence and escape; So I figured I should help you out."
Her first reaction to those words was shock. A shock that soon morphed into intense embarrassment. Shake slammed hard into Nyx’ara’s ribs, and with both of her hands cupping her face, she buried her head and let out a silent embarrassed scream.
Kieran watched her with keen interest, but beyond the interest was a rage that simmered with each passing second. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way she had almost escaped, couldn’t stop thinking about how she would have been successful and if he hadn’t caught up to her earlier.
He watched as her face colored a bright shade of pink, and for a moment, she continued to sit there as if wondering whether to keep with her escape plan or jump down.
He snorted; "Will you come down now or do I have to force you?"
At his words, Nyx’ara slowly lifted her head from her closed palms. Her eyes met his and in that moment, he couldn’t help but see the regret in them. The silent call for help.
The innocence... or practiced innocence.
Not like he cares.
His eyebrows shot into his hairline when a couple of minutes passed, and she still wouldn’t jump down. He frowned. "You are testing me."
"I-I am so-sorry!" She yelled back,
"You will be sorry after you come down. So do so this instant, little murderer!"
The nickname made Nyx’ara flinch. It made her realize that no matter what happened, or happens, she will never be anything more than a little murderer to them.
This thought brought fresh tears to her eyes and without another thought, she chose the former option. And with her eyes closed, she took a deep long breath and jumped.
Not into Kieran’s arms but to the other side.
However, this time, her body never touched the floor. Her body never slammed against the hard ground as she had expected. Slowly, she peeled her eyes open and realized to her horror that she had fallen into the waiting arms of a man.
Not just any man but Alpha Azriel himself.
Azriel flashed the girl a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. The same smile that sent goosebumps down her spine. "Where do you think you’re going, mate?" He drawled, his voice wrapping around her like a warm cloak.
For a moment, all she felt was shame. So much shame that it burned her face and chest. In embarrassment, she covered her face in her hands, her body trembling slightly as he hissed;
"You should’ve gone back when you realized that Keiran caught you sneaking off. Now, you’ll have to face punishment."