Chapter 118: A better fate.

July 24 2026, 11:24am.

LET ME GO!

The words thundered across the room, sending a jolt of— whatever this nasty feeling was— down Rhys’s spine. The smile that had been spreading across his face faltered in that moment, and in its place was a frown so deep, it almost formed crevices across his forehead.

He did not know when he stepped away from Seraphina until he was already inching towards Nyx’ara; and it wasn’t until Seraphina wrapped her fingers around his wrist, stopping him, that he realized how treacherously close he was to the girl who was about to make him go mad.

“Nyx’ara—!” Now that was Draven, and the command behind his tone was so magnificent, it made everyone turn and stare.

His lips were curled downward into a sneer and his eyes— sharp and dark— drilled literal holes into the side of Nyx’ara’s face.

The few servants present in the room instantly lowered their heads as if that could save them from the ongoing war.

As if that could make them feel as though they had disappeared from this tension-filled room.

However, at the sound of his voice, Nyx’ara lifted her chin defiantly to meet his gaze with a steely one of hers.

And heavens, does she still fear them?

A solid yes!

But she was also sure as hell that they could— would— not kill her.

They could only hurt her… not kill her. Not after they’ve come to realize that she is not the murderer they were looking for… and even when they thought she was, they never for once thought about killing her!

“Nyx’ara?” He hissed again, and this time, she responded.

“A-alpha Draven…”

Her nostrils flared when he hooked his finger under her chin, and goddess, she did not hesitate to pull away quickly, leaving his hand hanging as though she could not manage another second with his hands on her body.

And that stung.

Not her. Him.

Draven’s jaw ticked as he glared right at her for a moment too long, but for some reason— including the fact that she had just defied him right in front of everyone— he could not bring himself to hate or punish her.

He could not even imagine the thought of anyone hurting her… especially not even a strand of hair on her head.

His hands balled into fists at his helplessness and then slowly dropped to his sides, and his eyes narrowed as he regarded her coldly. “How many times do I have to tell you that there is no way out of here? That you have to die first before we’ll ever think of letting you walk freely?”

His voice was cool, but nothing he said was cool. And for this reason, it only managed to fill Nyx’ara with more fear, more resentment, and more need to get the hell out of here.

Her eyes flashed with the said resentment and she hissed; “E-even when you kn-know better?”

“Especially now that I know better!” Draven bellowed, not backing down.

Seraphina, who was watching the whole thing unfold but felt completely lost, quickly stepped in to defuse the tension. She shoved herself between Nyx’ara and Draven while mostly protecting Draven who needed less protection than she was the other person.

When Nyx’ara inched closer to Draven, she aggressively shoved her chest so hard that she stumbled. But as if that was not enough for her, she pushed her one more time, causing Nyx’ara to stumble.

However, before she would fall, Kieran caught her and frowned.

“Why did you do that?”

Goddess, his voice was cold, so cold that one would think he had turned on the air conditioner until it was blasting out icy cold air.

Seraphina opened her mouth to speak but the words immediately got stuck in her throat. She gulped.

“She started the joke so why the hell did she decide to blow it out of proportion?!” Her nasal voice grated at everyone’s ears, especially Rhys. He turned to glare at her just as his grip on her turned to ice.

Then he hissed; “What joke? Is there a joke I missed out on?”

“Y-yes,” Seraphina rushed out. “Nyx’ara jokingly agreed to share you four with me. She said you were four hefty men with strengths that rival a beast’s! She then said that instead of fighting for who would be Luna, that we could both just share the responsibility and the men—”

“Is that why I walked in while you were talking about choosing Draven and me while she would have to choose Kieran and Azriel?” Rhys asked coldly, but something in his voice did not feel like he was just asking.

Hell, he didn’t even look like it.

His eyes were trained on Nyx’ara’s face the entire time and his face was drawn into a mask so cold, even Antarctica had a greater chance of melting than it did.

“Y-yes!” Seraphina answered again. “It was a joke by the way!” She cried.

However, this time, he turned to look at her and the frown on his face was palpable. His lips were pressed into a thin line as well, and he didn’t even hesitate before stating.

“I know it is a joke, but if we’re choosing, then I want to remain with Nyx’ara.”

Nyx’ara froze and Seraphina frowned.

Behind them, a ripple burst through the crowd of the gathered servants whose heads were still bowed in fear that they could get caught in this crossfire.

The ones that had openly taken Seraphina’s side earlier and mocked Nyx’ara now looked like they were about to hyperventilate.

Their heads had dropped a few more inches, almost touching the floor now. But no one paid any attention to them, especially not Rhys whose eyes now playfully darted between Nyx’ara’s face and lips.

He wanted to kiss her right then and there. He wanted to ease her worries and stop her from repeating the gibberish she’d said earlier.

One look at her fuming face and all his thought processes went down the drain. He hissed; “At least, she’s the feisty one. I like a bit of that.”

Seraphina, upon hearing that, finally snapped out of her reverie. The smug smile on her face had vanished long enough for a twisted scowl to form. She palmed her manicured hand over Rhys’s chest and drawled; “I didn’t… not one meant it. I was indeed a joke!”

“And I am also joking!” He clapped back.

This time, Kieran could no longer hide his smile. He turned away from Seraphina’s furious face and beamed a mile at Nyx’ara. His voice was small but it carried enough mischief to go round. He drawled; “And I too.”

“Huh?”

“Seraphina didn’t choose me in the first place… and even if she did, I like a bit of fire.”

As if to buttress his point, he flicked a strand of hair on Nyx’ara’s forehead, and his smile widened when she huffed in annoyance.

She hated that they had all turned everything she said into a “joke.” She hated that her pleas for freedom had been discarded just like everything else she’s ever asked for.

The thought made her eyes sting with tears left unshed, and in annoyance, she picked up the magazine from earlier— the one holding pictures of the templates she had struggled to choose from— and then she shoved it into Seraphina’s hands.

“Go-good luck being their perfect fit!” She hissed, her tone grave. “Good luck be-being the one who h-helps them make these decisions. I hope you get p-picked by them one of these days like you’ll pick the right decor; and I genuinely… very genuinely hope that y-you come to realise how m-much they do not wish to-to be chosen by you.”

She then turned and walked away but as she did, the tears she’d been holding back decided to fall down her face.

She could not remember the last time she cried like this and she certainly could not remember the last time she was so hurt, she could literally feel her chest caving in.

By the time she arrived at her room, her blood had been completely soaked through. Her eyes were heavy and stinging and her chest felt so raw, it felt like it had been scrubbed clean.

She then slammed the door shut and fell to the floor, sobbing, but even the goddess knew that she did not know the reason for her tears.

She did not know if she was annoyed, jealous, or simply just sad that there was no way out of here.

And she wanted a way out.

Even if it is temporary or an insane way out.

This thought is the reason she slowly rose to her feet, pushed her large windows open, and peeked out of them while a burst of wind rushed into the room. It was also the reason she let her hair down and let the wind scatter her tears all over her face.

Somewhere deep inside a twisted part of her heart, she had figured that since she did not have a functioning wolf, if she jumped, then she might die.

And death—to her— was a better fate than living with these men who do not love her and do not respect her… but simply wanted to own her.

So she jumped.