Chapter Five: A promise of freedom

Lyric felt the lack of oxygen affecting his brain, making him dizzy and woozy. When he envisioned his death, he imagined having a heroic death defending the man he trusted and respected so much, not dying at the hands of the man.

His mates are going to laugh at him when they find out.

“That is what you are worried about?” His Beast, Lead, screamed in his head, his tone harsh with disbelief. Here they are about to meet their end, and his airhead half is worried about his reputation.

A smack in the head might get his other half to get his priorities right.

“And you are scaring her more with your Neanderthal behavior.”

Though Eros worries about his employee, who has been with him for half a century, his focus is on the little girl in his Beast’s arms.

Though not screaming, the girl is staring at his Beast like he is a monster, and though an apt interpretation of his Beast likeness, that is not exactly how he wants their mate to perceive them.

Eros's words cut through Black's murderous intent and slowed his protective instinct. He glanced down at his mate to find the girl staring at him wide-eyed. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.

Or something worse than a ghost.

Ara knows Eros’s fury is not directed at her, yet he is still intimidating and scary to behold.

“I am sorry, little one.” Black apologizes softly and lets go.

Shocked by the apology, words she had never received in her life, Ara watched, transfixed, as the pupils that had been red a second ago slowly turned blue, the deepest blue she had ever seen.

She also felt the power she'd felt earlier disappear. That's when it dawned on Ara that she'd been dealing with two different beings.

The only beings she has ever heard of with red eyes are the Lycans.

A gasp escapes her sharply, before her hands clamp over her mouth to stop further sounds. She goes back to staring at Eros like he is going to have her head for dinner.

“It is okay, little one,” Eros reassures his mate as he sees the terror still lurking around her eyes. “I won't harm you,” he continues softly, his features softening.

Lyric, still hanging off his boss’s hand, widens his mouth in a comic display of surprise as he watches his boss treat the human in his arms like she is a precious jewel.

Is his boss in love?

Could someone fall in love that fast?

The whole scene amazes the blonde and makes him want to find his own woman.

“Would you get the sunshine and roses out of your mind! We are about to die, and you are daydreaming,” Lead snaps at Lyric. “Could you please get us out of this situation, you imbecile?”

“Right,” Lyric answers his Beast. As Lycans, they could survive longer on low oxygen; still, their current position isn't exactly comfortable. With talking out of the question, he started struggling. The change in his Boss’s pupils tells him that his boss’s Beast is no longer in control. Black is more ruthless than his boss and very difficult to reason with.

The renewed struggle from his driver reminds Eros that he still has the young man in a chokehold. He quickly opens his fist, and his driver slips from the released grip to the fall.

Lyric coughs with his head bent as air rushes into his lungs.

That was close, he mumbles under his breath as he rubs the pulp of his fingers along his bruised neck.

“ Let’s go," Eros instructs his driver. Though he doesn't show his remorse, Eros softens his tone when he speaks to his driver.

As they walk out of the hospital, Ara starts whimpering, her fist closing around Eros's shirt. The only thing she knows about her savior is that he is one of the feared and hated beasts.

Wolves and Lycans have been bitter enemies since the dawn of time, with both races fighting for dominance. Right now, the Lycans seem to be winning in the battle for dominance. They won the last major war between the two races over five centuries ago, thanks to their King. The young Lycan who came to power around that time. Since his rule, the wolves have never dominated the Lycans.

In the Pack, though locked up most of the time, Ara still heard tales of the infamous King, and most of them were not good.

She heard tales of his ruthlessness, and how he cut down his enemies without giving them a chance to speak. He is known for his swift judgment without hearing, and for being a lunatic who does whatever he pleases.

Would these Lycans take her to him?

Has she jumped from a boiling pot of oil into fire? Traded one cage for an even worse cage?

She'd rather die than be subjected to another cage.

Eros notices his mate’s agitation immediately, as if an invisible wire connects him to the emotions of the young woman in his arms.

Eros, not certain of the reason behind his mate’s whimpering, looks around for any signs of threat nearby. Maybe his mate sensed something.

The long stretch of hospital corridor appeared empty, with no soul in sight.

Satisfied that nothing poses any danger to his mate, he looks down at Ara and asks.

“Are you hurt, little one?”

Ara has come to realize the man holding her means her no harm. At least not yet. If he had wanted to harm her, he would have done it a long time ago and wouldn't have bothered bringing her to the hospital.

Despite knowing this, she still couldn't fully let her guard down, but she felt safe enough to shake her head, answering Eros’s question.

If it is not pain, then what?

Eros’s brow furrows as he tries to decipher his mate’s emotions. With the young woman unable to speak to him, and Eros not wanting to scare her by demanding an answer, he settles for reading his mate and seeing what she cannot communicate. He's always been very perceptive, so this shouldn't be hard.

Eros stops walking and stares at his mate, not speaking a word. Ara squirms under his gaze, his stare making her feel warm inside, and not in a bad way.

A foreign, warm feeling settles in Ara’s stomach, one she can't identify, but it differs from the burning fear she's felt all her life.

Lost in figuring out his mate’s emotions, Eros fails to notice the subtle changes taking place inside the woman in his arms. His brain does its best to put two and two together, and he arrives at an answer he believes is plausible given everything the young woman has been through.

“Are you scared to leave with me?” He asks, hitting the nail on the head.

Ara’s eyes widen at his words. It surprises her that Eros could easily decipher her thoughts without her needing to say them out loud. No one has ever heard her cries of distress, even when she yelled them loudly, and the gorgeous man cradling her so gently heard her without her needing to speak.

Tears gather at the back of her eyes as she nods her head to Eros’ question.

Eros raises a gentle hand to wipe her tears away.

“Don't be scared, little one. I mean you no harm. I am merely taking you to my place where you can recover in peace. After you recover and you still wish to leave, I would grant you your freedom.”

No one has ever promised Ara her freedom before. Her green eyes light up with hope, even though she doesn't dare reach for it.

“Trust me, little one,” Eros promises, and begins walking again.

They arrive at the Parking lot to find lots of hostiles waiting for them.