Bloodbound To My Four Archenemies.

June 29 2026, 10:12am.

It took Nyx’ara another three days after she woke up from her short-lived coma for her to get out of bed and start walking around the house little by little and by this time, she could walk around... almost freely, save for the full ache pulsating in her shoulders whenever she moved too quickly.

Right now, she was sitting under a magnolia tree in the vast gardens, basking in the sunlight while trying her best to receive bits of Vitamin D from the morning sun as her body deserved.

She closed her eyes and lifted her head, letting the sun and the breeze settle on her face. She was however just about to doze off when she heard the unmistakable sounds of footsteps approaching and with a sudden jolt upward, she sat up and glared as a young girl with cropped blonde hair approached her and bowed.

"Luna..."

Because she still wasn’t very used to that title, her eyes widened slowly and a blush crept up her cheeks. Her spine straightened out until it was almost as straight as a ruler as she took in the girl’s ironed uniform, her pressed lips and her still bowed head.

"H-hi."

The girl stilled, her face paling as she lifted her head to look at Nyx’ara as if she was an alien who had just visited Earth.

"Luna, Alpha Draven seeks your presence."

The very formal way the girl spoke to her made her feel somewhat... uncomfortable, but deciding not to discomfort her further by insisting that she’d spoken to differently, she rose to her feet, smiled at her and gestured to her to lift her head.

The girl did.

"Where is-s he?"

"In his private study, Ma’am. He’s asked me to bring you over... now."

Again, she was formal. And again, that made Nyx’ara uncomfortable.

With slow strides— as she could not afford to walk quickly in her state— she followed the girl into the main house and continued to trail behind her until they reached the private wing... and down until they stopped in front of a familiar set of double doors.

Tension immediately coiled inside of Nyx’ara as soon as she arrived in front of the intimidatingly tall wooden door which stood as a barricade between her and one of her very scary husbands, and her tension soon morphed into mortification when the girl stepped back, pulled the door open, and stood behind as if waiting for her to enter.

Nyx’ara hesitated.

From where she stood, she could see Draven sitting behind his desk, his brows drawn together in concentration as he read some papers in front of him. Beside his desk, his staff stood like it had a life of its own, and that in itself was intimidating.

For some reason, her throat instantly felt tight. Cold sweat broke out on her skin and her legs refused to move even though the maiden was still standing beside her and still watching her with quiet impatience.

"Do you plan to stand there all day?!" A deep voice suddenly seeped into her ears and embedded itself deep underneath her skin.

Her head whipped up to find Draven now watching her with his intense blue eyes, his brows still furrowed in concentration...

...only that this time, she was the thing he was concentrating on.

She opened her mouth to speak but no words would come out. Hell, there was nothing she feared more than being in the same space as one of these brothers... all alone.

She gulped. "I-I could stand here all day if-if it would put as much distance as I would like between us."

Her sharp retort made Draven chuckle, and for Nyx’ara— it being the first time she would hear him make a sound that was not a snarl or a growl— it sounded different. It made her blood freeze and her body thrum wildly.

His eyes trailed away from her to land on the maiden beside her and he could see how tired the girl was. How uncomfortable too... and how she did not want to be caught in whatever crossfire this was.

So he waved her off and hissed; "You can go."

The girl immediately rushed off, leaving the door wide open as she scurried out of the place like she had been waiting ages for that moment.

Nyx’ara’s mouth hung open as she watched her only lifeline leave, her breath coming in harsh pants with each step the girl took away from her.

She turned back quickly to glance at Draven and for the first time in forever, it wasn’t just fear she felt towards him. There was a bit of anger too and she didn’t try to hide it as she snapped;

"W-why?"

Draven stopped, glanced at her, and frowned. "Why?"

"W-why did y-you send her off?"

For a moment, Draven’s face did not move a muscle. His hands were frozen on top of the paper in front of him. His eyebrow was still shooting into his hairline as he stared at the woman in front of him.

The woman, who for some reason, did not want to be alone with him.

What is she so afraid of?

He flashed her a smile— one that didn’t reach his eyes— and let his pen clatter to the table. The sound made Nyx’ara flinch, and seeing that... and realizing that she was indeed still afraid of him, he leaned into his chair and said;

"I needed to see you... alone."

The way his tongue rolled around the word: ’alone’ made it sound a little more meaningful than it actually was. It made heat rise on Nyx’ara’s cheeks and made her body light up with a strange fire... one that settled somewhere at the base of her stomach.

"So will you come in and have a chat with me about your education or will you turn back and leave because some girl whose name you do not know decided to leave after I asked her to?"

The bastard!

She thought, noting how indifferent and rude he sounded. It was no help that she was the only one being affected by this stupid mate bond and it certainly did not help that he was watching her so intensely, if she didn’t know better, she would’ve thought that he could see into her soul.

"I-is this about m-my education?" She asked slowly, her voice breaking, and as soon as she did, he smiled again— that cold, twisted smile that scared her more than reassured her.

"Yes, it is about your education, Nyx’ara..." he drawled, saying her name like he was moaning out the sound., "...or did you think I wanted to talk to you about endangered species or soup spices?"

Another blush crept up her cheeks and with that she stepped into the room, shutting the door behind herself. She whispered; "I am he-here now."

"Sit." He ordered.

This time, he didn’t look at her. Instead, he stared at his papers, his brows drawing together one more time, and when she wouldn’t sit right away, he added; "Don’t worry, I know you do not want to be around me and I’ll tell you for free that the feeling is mutual. However, you struck a deal with me and I am here to be your Santa Claus."

"S-Santa Claus?" She stuttered, her eyes widening.

"Yes, Santa Claus," he replied. It wasn’t until then that he lifted his head to meet her gaze one more time and Nyx’ara’s breath hitched in her chest when she was instantly pulled into his swirling blue-purple orbs.

"I secured you a spot at NYU."