~NYRA
“What?” I exclaimed as I shot to my feet. My heart began to pound heavily as I looked from Reid to my mother. “Nyra… Sit down!” Mother ordered through clenched teeth. I turned back to Reid and I saw that his expression was already turning into anger. “Usually, I would punish anyone who speaks out of turn or interrupts me in any way…” I gasped and instantly sank to my feet. “But my father will spare you since you’re now our new sister and it’s your first time,” Cassian finished before flashing me his signature smile. I swallowed hard. “I— I’m sorry I did that. I— It’s just that I’ve never been away from my mother. We always go everywhere together.” Reid broke into laughter. “What are you, human? Eight?” Rylan chuckled before going back to eating his food like he didn’t just laugh. “I’m so sorry about Nyra. She’s just very attached to me too much and so am I. But I’ll be more than happy to go on a honeymoon with you, knowing that Nyra will be perfectly safe with her brothers.” Mother touched his arm. Reid smiled proudly before turning to her and beginning to kiss her like we were all not in the room. Rylan sighed heavily at the sight of them. “Why am I subjected to watch this?” I blinked too as I heard both of them moan. They both seemed inseparable and it all still felt like a dream. “Rest assured, Lyora… We will look after our little sister,” Sylver said before rising from his seat. Reid stopped kissing Mother at this point and stared at his son. “And where are you going, Sylver?” He scoffed. “Isn’t it obvious, I’m excusing you two, so that you can have your privacy. It’s not like I’m hungry anyway.” Then Sylver turned to his brothers and nodded once. They all stood up at his wordless command and began to follow him when Rylan suddenly stopped and turned to me. “Little Human, didn’t you get the message?” His voice sounded as if merely talking was too much work for him. I swallowed hard and turned to Reid only to see that he was also waiting for me to leave. I looked at my mother and she smiled in encouragement. It was indeed my cue to leave. “I— I’m sorry.” I shot to my feet and hurried after them. We went up the stairs in silence and I believed that we were all going back to our rooms. It was until we reached the top of the stairs and entered the corridors, far from Reid’s eyes that Cassian grabbed me from behind and pulled me backward so that my back hit his chest. I gasped, not just because of his masculine aura and warmth but because I could swear I felt his hardness poking against my lower back. I froze in place, not able to move as Cassian’s fingers began to play around my lower stomach. I shuddered at the feelings his fingers were provoking within me. It was like a forbidden dark fire coming alive in my core and threatening to ask for more. “What are you doing?” I breathed when I finally got the courage to speak. By then, even Sylver had stopped and was now resting his back against the wall of the long corridor. Rylan did the same to the opposite wall while Cassian and I remained in the center of the corridor. Cassian pulled back my hair with his free hand and brought his lips so my left ear that I felt hot tingles assault my skin. “We promised to come back for you that night. Didn’t we, Nyra?” My heart skipped two beats at that moment. I blinked multiple times as I realised that my fear had finally caught up with me. Sylver pushed off the wall at that moment and slowly made his way to me, making sure that every step he took, intensified the power of dominance in his aura. “We never leave unfinished business,” he whispered before grabbing my chin roughly and forcing me to look up at him. “W— what do you want from me?” I managed to say in a terrified whisper. They all chuckled. Including Rylan who was standing there and looking as if he was not paying attention. I swallowed hard as my body started trembling this time. Cassian began to move his overly warm hand lower down my stomach until he stopped on my private area. Heat scattered inside me at the mere thought that his hand was there and I bit my lower lip gently. “You have no idea the scent that you possess, do you?” Cassian asked still behind me. “How do you expect her to know?” Rylan asked before shaking his head. “I wonder why a mere human like her has the rare Blood Orange scent.” I blinked twice at his words and I wanted to ask him what he was talking about but I was too scared to because I feared that it would prolong my time here with them in this dimly lit hallway. Sylver leaned over my face. “Neither do you have an idea how much that scent drives our control level crazy…” I released a shaky breath in that moment and he shut his eyes gently as if he was revelling in the air before opening his eyes again. Then he revealed his tongue and slowly but deliberately licked my lips. I widened my eyes at him as I began to panic. Why was he doing this? Why was Cassian even touching me in this provocative and inappropriate manner? Our parents had just gotten married! We were now siblings in the eyes of the law! This was not even supposed to be happening. Yet it was, and deep down, at the darkest corner of my mind, I wanted more. Sylver inhaled sharply as if the taste he had gotten of my lips awakened something within him and in a split second, he claimed my mouth— roughly. I was too shocked to react as he moved his lips hungrily against mine, drinking me in like he had been waiting forever to do this and my heart began to race faster than normal because somehow, I was enjoying this. He suddenly pulled away before exhaling sharply. Then he looked at his brothers as if he was passing a secret message to them and they suddenly broke into a chuckle. Cassian released me at this moment and I staggered as I tried to catch my weight but it was futile. I was about to fall when Rylan pushed off the wall swiftly and caught me. I widened my eyes as I looked up at him. He was the last person I expected to do that. He looked down at me as if he was unaffected and turned me around so that he pinned me against the wall. That was when I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. I was mesmerised. His ocean blue orbs had begun to glow and they looked enchanting up close. He watched me silently as if I was a strange species. Then he leaned so close that I thought he was going to kiss me too when he spoke instead. “Whatever you do, don’t bleed… Or you will unleash the very monsters you fear from within us…”~ NYRACassian held me like I was something precious. Like I wasn’t this monster I feared I’d become.His arms were strong and warm, and the longer he held me, the less I trembled. My tears still fell, thick and fast, but inside, something fragile and exhausted began to settle. My shoulders felt lighter, like a heavy burden had been lifted off them.How was it possible to feel so loved and so terrified all at once?“I’m sorry,” I whispered into his chest. “I didn’t want to be like this. I didn’t ask for any of this.” My cheeks were flushed. Shame curled around my words like thorns.His arms only tightened around me. “I know,” he said, his voice barely above a breath. “But that doesn’t change what you are to me.” Cassian’s voice was low and reassuring. “I know it’s still you inside. Still Nyra.”A sob shook my chest. I didn’t know how to thank him, how to make him understand that his words were saving me piece by piece. I wrapped my arms around him and sobbed harder into his chest. The
~CASSIANDinner was unusually quiet.Forks scraped softly against porcelain, water glasses clinked with a delicacy that made the silence even heavier, and the tension at the table sat like a fog I couldn’t brush off.I glanced around. Everyone was here—everyone except peace.Lyora sat directly across from me. Her hair was pinned up neatly as always, her movements graceful but restrained. She looked like a portrait of composure, but her eyes—those eyes told a different story. They always did. Even when she smiled, guilt clung to her like perfume she couldn’t wash off.She wouldn’t meet my eyes. Not even once. I passed her a plate of food after taking my share.“Thank you.” She received it. Her voice was strained, confirming my suspicion. Something was happening.Her right index finger trembled on the fork.Her gaze flickered between her plate and Nyra—careful, guarded, as if she were waiting for something to go wrong. Again.I was still watching her when I felt a sudden sting in my che
~NYRAMy eyes flew open with a gasp.Sweat clung to my skin like a second layer, and my lungs felt like they had been scorched from the inside out. My heart pounded wildly in my chest, the rapid beats echoing like war drums inside my ears.For a moment, I couldn’t remember where I was. The dream, the whispering voices, the blood… Rylan—My body jolted upright.Had I hurt him? The faint taste of blood lingered on my tongue, indicating it had happened.Oh gods, please, no.My hands trembled as I looked down at myself. I was still dressed, but my lips were swollen and tingling. My heart sank lower. That couldn’t be a good sign. I remembered kissing him, remembered fangs… remembered the taste of his skin.“No… no, no,” I breathed, clutching the sheets like they were my last tether to reality.I turned in panic, eyes scanning the dim room—and there he was.Rylan.Lying beside me, shirtless, with the softest smile painted on his face like moonlight had touched his soul. One of his hands rea
~RYLANAs I returned to my room, I couldn’t sleep.It felt like a veil was over my head—suffocating and slowly stifling any hope of rest. And surely, there was a veil.Not a physical one, but a veil of thoughts—dark, overwhelming, and relentless—that I couldn’t stop turning over in my head.I couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened during the day. Or more precisely, what had almost happened to Nyra.She could have been gone forever.She could’ve disappeared from my life completely, stolen by that bastard, Lyon, and I would never have been able to find her.I would have never seen her again. Never held her again. Her sweet familiar scent—which always calmed the storm inside me—would have been gone forever.“I can’t let that happen,” I growled to myself. Just the thought of losing her…The image of her being dragged into darkness, beyond my reach, made my rage spike like a flare bursting through my veins.Lyon had done this before. He wouldn’t stop. Not on his own, at least.He h
~ Nyra “You look so beautiful when you smile like that,” Rylan whispered as he slowly pulled away from me. His eyes sparkled with emotions so thick, I felt the jolt deep within me. It felt like something warm, something a little too intimate—something I wasn’t ready to name. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you,” he continued. His voice had this quiet drawl, so laced with affection that it settled around my heart like a blanket I didn’t know I needed. I blinked slowly, processing him. I wanted to take in his nearness—the heat of his skin still lingering on mine—and the sexy way he gazed at me. “Have I shown you the second stanza of my poems?” he asked suddenly, a lightness breaking the intensity as he stood from the bed. His footsteps were soft against the floorboards, but I could still feel the space he left behind. I blinked again, my lips parting slightly. “Second stanza?” He walked over to the side table and pulled out his diary, the worn leather cover bending beneath h
~ DANIELLEMy vision was completely red as I glared at Lyora.There was something dark hovering around her. I couldn’t see it, but I could sense it.It was a dangerous form of darkness that shouldn’t be in the possession of a human… but that was if she was even human to begin with.Yet even as I glared at her, another thing didn’t make sense—how was I able to detect this energy in the first place?“Lyora,” I called calmly as she turned to face me.She visibly jumped, but before I could make out her expression, she composed herself and laughed nervously.“Danielle, you scared me. What are you doing here?” she asked, holding her heart.But the sound of her voice and the glint of tears in her eyes were too different to be true.“Why would I scare you?” I whispered, still glaring at her.The dark energy around her grew even stronger, gaining my full attention.“Is there something you’re doing that I should know about?” I added.But her nervous laughter echoed again. “No, of course not. I