Bloodbound To My Four Archenemies.

June 16 2026, 6:14am

Ever since Nyx’ara was forcefully brought to this pack two days ago, the only things she has known have been terror and punishment.

There was also a disturbing disdain she had always felt from every single member of the pack— not like she was expecting better treatment— but this morning, as she walked back to the main house, with Kieran and Azriel following closely behind her like she was some escaped prisoner, she could not help but feel that same disdain being directed at her but at a higher magnitude.

Women and children who had been walking around stopped to look at her. Men dressed in crisp suits wouldn’t even spare her a glance.

Bodyguards and soldiers turned away when they saw her approaching... and most of all... the remaining two brothers who were now standing at the front of the main entrance, waiting, glared darkly at her when she approached.

They looked at her like her whole existence offended them greatly. Looked at her like they could see into her soul and determine that it was made purely out of filth. They looked at her like they never expected anything good to come from her.

She shuddered and shrank further into herself.

"I-I can ex-explain..." the words left her mouth before she could stop them. It rang between all five of them, echoing like the beginnings of doom.

Her face burned brightly when all Rhys did was take a look at her and then decide that she wasn’t worth his time. He turned and walked into the house, leaving her staring at his retreating frame in horror.

Kieran walked into the house next, and just when she had begun to think that this was the part where they would let her be, someone shoved her forward.

Her breath hitched and like a reflex, her head snapped up, only for the curse word already burning at the tip of her tongue to die down when she saw that it was Draven.

He tilted his head to the side. "Will you move your legs now or have you suddenly lost it and now want someone to carry you in?" He asked dryly, his face twisted into a look of unfiltered disdain.

Nyx’ara contemplated walking into that house, especially knowing that it wouldn’t end well for her. Her legs suddenly grew heavy like they were made out of lead. Her body hesitated even when she tried to force it to move.

And then a loud yelp escaped her lips when her feet suddenly left the ground. Her breath was knocked right out of her lungs and a blush so fierce and so wild crept up her neck and cheek when she realized that Azriel had picked her up.

"L-let me go!" She cried, her voice sounding like it was being scraped against sandpaper.

No one may know this but she didn’t only scream because she was embarrassed, she also did because her body hurt. Like a bitch. Her back, which was like a road map, sporting several layers of grotesque whip marks from all the times she had been flogged throbbed painfully, and from being stretched like this, she could already feel warmth on her back as blood trickled out of some of the newer cuts.

A loud hiss slipped past her lips followed by a wince that made Azriel freeze.

He let go of her despite the irritation gnawing at him, took a step back as if to watch her face, and asked— more like growled;

"What is it? Did you hurt yourself from trying to climb over that fence?"

For a moment, Nyx’ara was unsure if the expression on his face and the strange difference in his voice were due to annoyance or worry.

She couldn’t ascertain if the slight tilt in his head, as his piercing bluish-purple eyes drilled her to a spot, was curiosity or if he was merely checking out for more defects.

Her eyes squeezed shut and she could not help but lower her gaze as she mumbled; "I-it’s nothing, A-alpha."

But he didn’t believe her.

"Well, from where I am standing, that doesn’t look like nothing, little murderer."

Those words made Nyx’ara’s breath catch. It made the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end. Her shoulders froze and slowly... very slowly... she turned to face Kieran and Draven who had stopped upon the commotion.

"I-it is really no-nothing!" She tried again, her voice sharper now... more desperate.

Nothing on these men’s faces gave off the slightest impression that they were affected at all by her... besides the almost unnoticeable ticking of their jaws.

From where she stood, she determined that they were simply irked by her presence. She speculated about ripping off her clothes to show them the gory mural she carried around like a trophy, hoping that maybe that would make them ’be nicer’ to her; but just as that thought crossed her mind, it immediately disappeared upon the realization that they would not care.

So she lowered her head, bowed for the first time in ages, and whispered; "Y-you can st-stop loo-looking at me like th-that now. There’s r-really nothing wrong wi-with me."

"Okay, let’s say I believe you..." Draven finally cut in, his sharp blue eyes meeting hers in that manner that always manages to twist her insides into a knot. A whoosh of air left her lungs when he came to stand impossibly closer to her— so close that the distance between them was only about the thickness of a hair strand. So close that she could smell the expensive champagne still on his breath.

His breath fanned her face, and while she was someone who hated people breathing down on her, this one made her insides tickle.

"...let’s say that I believe that there’s nothing wrong with you, little murderer... tell me why I can smell the unmistakable scent of blood on you?"

Nyx’ara flinched but at the time, she was uncertain if it was his words or the use of the term: ’little murderer’ that had made her so antsy.

She was uncertain if it was the way the word vibrated through her body, sending her nerves on overdrive that had her feeling so complicated.

She gulped when he clipped a calloused finger under her chin, and using it to propel her face upward to meet his stare, he continued;

"Why does the stench increase with each passing second, Nyx’ara?"

This genuinely might be the first time he’s calling her by her name and something about it sent rumbles rocking her entire body until her knees grew weak.

Her name, for the first time in her life, had sounded somewhat hotter coming from his lips. It sounded fancier... sexier.

She swallowed.

"Pe-period, Alpha. I am on my period."

A look of disbelief crossed Draven’s face but before he could bring himself to respond to the annoying young woman standing in front of him... the young woman who had for some strange reason, gotten under his skin... Azriel beat him to it.

He snapped; "Now, little murderer and liar, does your period blood come out through your uterus or from your back?"