Chapter 33: The request.
June 17 2026, 9:19am.
The nerves of the girl! Kieran thought darkly to himself as he glared at Nyx’ara, who for some reason, still made his heart flutter like a teenager in love.
Her tone was the coldest he’s ever heard in any woman... and her eyes. Goddess, her eyes were so fierce and so sharp, it cut straight into his soul.
He glanced at her then at the way she handled the cutlery in her hands with so much grace, and then he decided then and there that contrary to what he’d heard about her, she was not a beggar or some hobo.
This... all of this... appearance was probably due to a shift in her life or a facade. Not like he cared.
He gulped. "What did you just say, little murderer?"
And at the sound of his question, she flinched. So far, he had come to realize just how much that nickname affected her. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought that she was innocent of the crime.
But he knew better. And he knew she was a good actress.
"Did you just say that we are ruining your appetite?" He asked, half expecting her to deny quickly, but to his utmost surprise, she lifted her head slowly, barely met his stormy gaze, and said;
"Y-yes..." Then, after a pause added; "...es-especially the scheming lying la-lady beside you."
Seraphina gasped.
All her life, she had never been talked to like that. In fact, Stormborn pack was filled with young girls and boys who would do anything to suck up to her. In this pack, she was a literal goddess, loved by all and envied by many.
Her hand tightened around her cutlery, her face turning chalky white as she glared right at Nyx’ara; But at the time, Nyx’ara had completely ignored her and was now occupied with feeding herself and the cat strips of meat.
Draven watched the entire exchange with a hint of curiosity flickering in his eyes. His deep blue orbs raked from Nyx’ara’s face to her bruised hands and then down at the cat who was quietly taking the meat strips off her hands.
The same cat that Seraphina had claimed was almost hurt by Nyx’ara.
The same cat who— for the life of him— couldn’t understand why it doted on Nyx’ara.
If there was one thing about Coco that only a few people knew about, then it was the fact that she was very perceptive, even for an animal. She was cold to the people she felt were bad energy and sucked up to those who were the opposite... like Nyx’ara now, only that Nyx’ara was also bad news.
And then there was Seraphina whom she had fought so viciously earlier.
A flicker of uncertainty crossed his features but just as it came, it quickly disappeared and he said; "Seraphina... little murderer, we invited you both to dinner today because we have to talk about the upcoming wedding?"
And as soon as he said that, a ripple passed through the room. Nyx’ara set down her fork and looked up.
"What wedding?" Seraphina asked, looking and sounding quite hopeful. But no one spared her a glance. No one even responded to her directly.
Draven continued; "The wedding between us and Nyx’ara, the murderer."
Nyx’ara.
The name rumbled out of his chest, filling Nyx’ara’s body with a warmth she’d rather die than admit to. Her face stung as a blush crept up her cheeks, but to hide it, she lowered her head.
"The dress has been picked. The venue too, and now, this is where you come in, Seraphina... we have no idea how to go about the other details like the decoration, the food, what flowers to pick and every other thing. You’ll help us with that. Won’t you, love?"
For a moment Seraphina contemplated saying no to their request. She contemplated rising to her feet and storming out of this public humiliation. She was hurt, that was indisputable, but she managed a cold smile and nodded. "Of course, I will."
Relief, tons of it crossed Azriel’s face. From where Nyx’ara sat picking on her food, she could see him wrap his fingers around her free hand. His eyes were soft when he leaned close to her to whisper something she could not catch into her ear, and as soon as he did that, she smiled a watery smile at them— one that felt as though she was a couple of seconds away from bursting into tears.
However, as soon as Nyx’ara saw the expression on her face, she giggled. She tried to hold back her laughter but failed miserably, so it ended up coming out as a stifled cough.
Her sudden sound made everyone turn to look at her, especially Kieran who noticed the way she kept feeding the cat some beef under the table, which stuck out to him as strange.
He hissed; "Is something funny?"
Nyx’ara froze. "N-no."
"Then why are you giggling?"
To outsiders, he seemed as though he was irritated by the sound of her laughter but only Kieran knew how much that sound affected him. Only he knew that his beast, Fang, had leapt for joy, pushed closer to the surface, and inched toward Nyx’ara as if waiting to hear the sound one more time.
His eyes narrowed when still she didn’t seem fazed, and in annoyance, he asked; "Will you not say anything about the wedding?"
Nyx’ara frowned. "T-the wedding?"
And when he nodded, she continued: "A-a-anything is fine, Al-alpha Kieran. I-I am nothing but-but yo-your prisoner, and you a-are free to-to do whatever you wish."
"I am..?" He drawled, his voice taking on a darker tone.
She gulped, turned away when her heart began to race, and nodded once; "Y-yes."
"So if I say you should get on your knees and apologize to Seraphina for attacking her earlier, will you do it?" Azriel asked, stirring the pot; and as soon as he asked that, all remaining four people turned to look at her with open curiosity.
Seraphina had a smug smile plastered across her face. The juxtaposition of her innocent appearance and her cruel actions made her even more terrifying.
Nyx’ara finally let go of her fork, pushed the plate away from her, and rose slowly, allowing Coco enough time to jump off her lap.
"Y-you mean to-to say that I-I should apologize to-to her fo-for pushing me?" She asked, stunned, not missing the way, Seraphina rose to her feet as well. Her face was twisted into a look of self-righteousness as she cried;
"I didn’t do anything to you!"
"Then n-no!" Nyx’ara clapped back. "I a-also didn’t d-do anything to-to y-you, so I won’t be th-the one ap-apologizing."
A moment of silence rippled across the room followed by exchanged glances that said more than any words could.
Draven was the first to break the silence and while Nyx’ara had thought that he was about to chastise her, she was met with the shock of the century when he instead dropped his wine glass, lifted his eyes, and said authoritatively;
"For the wedding, I’ll be inviting a person or two from your old pack. So tell me, is there anyone you may wish to see?"
She froze.
Never in her imagination had she expected that he would be asking for her permission or allowing her to ask for something.
That thought made something deep inside her heart twist painfully, she met his gaze for a very split second and nodded with a smile.
"Y-yes. My fr-friend, Berlin."