Daughter of oblivion: Claimed by four alpha(s)-Chapter 87 - 86: Messy or not...you still look stunning...

Chapter 87: Chapter 86: Messy or not...you still look stunning...
Rhydric’s eyes flicked to Eryx... then slowly back to Athena.
The look he gave Athena was like he was trying to calculate her, like he was flipping her open in his mind and searching for an answer she didn’t even know she held.
The longer he stared, the smaller she felt.
Like he was stripping her down to bone and truth with just his eyes.
Her throat tightened.
Finally, without a word, Rhydric turned sharply and walked out of the room.
The door clicked shut.
Athena swallowed hard and looked down at Eryx. Now that he was healed, he looked... too peaceful. Too calm. Too normal after almost dying in her arms.
He-goat.
She tried to pull her hand away but his grip tightened instantly.
"Eryx" she huffed, "you’re healed."
"You sure?" he murmured without opening his eyes.
"Yes."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"...And I need to clear my head before I lose it. You wolves are too strange for my liking."
He cracked one eye open then gave her the slow, lazy grin of a man who knew exactly what he was doing to her sanity.
"Thank you, princess."
Athena’s eyes flicked away. "It’s nothing."
When she tugged her hand again but he tightened his grip again.
"What now?" she snapped.
His grin deepened, gaze dragging over her face like she had just fallen out of the sky for him alone.
"Come closer," he said.
"Why?"
"Just come a little closer."
She narrowed her eyes at him, suspicious as hell.
But he looked harmless. Ridiculously harmless. Almost soft. So she leaned forward a bit.
"Closer," he murmured.
She sighed and leaned in again, close enough to see the golden flecks in his eyes.
That was all he needed.
Eryx tilted his head and whispered against her ear, warm breath ghosting over her skin
"Get some sleep, princess... or you might drop dead."
Athena’s eyes snapped wide.
She glared at him so hard he actually chuckled, low, deep and stupidly sexy.
She stood and walked toward the door, refusing to give him the satisfaction of reacting.
But right before she exited, his voice floated behind her, playful and smug.
"Sweet dreams. Try not to dream of me too much."
Her cheeks burned.she didn’t turn around. She didn’t trust herself enough to.
The door had barely shut behind her when Athena froze.
Rhydric was right there , leaning on the wall opposite the door like he had been waiting. Like a shadow that decided to grow a body.
His unreadable eyes locked onto her the second she stepped out. Before she could even blink or form a single word, he grabbed her hand.
His cold fingers wrapped around her wrist, and with one effortless pull, Rhydric yanked her down the hall like she weighed nothing.
"Hey!" Athena gasped, stumbling after him as her barefoot paddled against the floor.
He walked sharp and fast.
Her heartbeat spiked. What was the meaning of all this drama?
"Rhydric...slow down!"
He didn’t.
He didn’t look at her or say a word. He just dragged her around a corner, his grip cool but firm, his aura heavy enough to make her chest ache.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded, breath uneven.
Still nothing, Just the sound of his footsteps echoing through the empty corridor.
Athena felt her frustration rise and fear creeped up her spine. Even even with that she didn’t care. He has no right to treat her like a sack of potatoe.
"Rhydric," she snapped, yanking her arm, "let go! What is your problem?"
He finally halted suddenly and she bumped into his back.
He turned his head slightly, his profile sharp under the flickering hallway light. His eyes were darkened, feral in a calm way, like he was restraining a storm behind his lashes.
"Something’s wrong with you."
The words hit her like cold water. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"Athena," he said, stepping closer, "what are you?"
Her breath caught. "I—I’m human."
He stared at her like she had just told the biggest lie in the world.
Then he leaned in just a little, eyes narrowing as he inhaled, not in a creepy way, but like he was trying to sense something.
"You eased his pain," Rhydric began. His voice sharp but low. "Eryx couldn’t even stand without you. Wolvesbane kills werewolves faster than anything without antidote but your presence soothed him?"
A chill raced down her spine.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about." she whispered.
Rhydric’s eyes darkened further."You don’t know?...Your presence soothed him. What don’t you understand?"
Athena blinked at Rhydric... then scoffed.
Actually scoffed.
She rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t fall out.
It looks like all werewolves are going crazy, because this madness shouldn’t be in this house alone.
"How am I supposed to know how that happened?" she snapped. "You guys are the ones with the dirty shitties going on, so you should be able to put your own supernatural puzzle together."
Rhydric stared at her like she had personally offended his entire bloodline. His eyes narrowed as his jaw clenched.
He stepped closer, towering over her, studying her like she was a riddle that refused to make sense.
If she was something else, he would have sensed it.
If she was a supernaturally born creature, her scent would have been different.
Her aura, though strange, flickering like an unsteady heartbeat was still unmistakably human.
And yet...
"You’d better not be lying," he said quietly.
Athena lifted a brow, unbothered.
"And what if I am?"
Rhydric leaned in a fraction, voice dropping to a cold whisper.
"Then you’ll wish you didn’t."
The warning slid down her spine like ice.
He turned and walked away without another glance, leaving her frozen in place.
Athena exhaled shakily.
How the hell was she supposed to know why her touch calmed Eryx? Why her presence eased pain that should have been unbearable? Why the moment she stepped away he looked like someone stabbed his soul?
Everything felt wrong. Off.
And it was starting to scare her, a real, bone-deep fear. Not because they were monsters.
Not because she’d seen fangs, claws, shifting, blood, and shadows that move on their own. What terrified her was herself.
She was scared of becoming a monster like someone she doesn’t want to remember. And the worst part was the way she felt stupidly, dangerously drawn to each of them, Eryx, Azrael, Theodore, even Rhydric with his cold threat.
She craved their touch. warmth and their presence.
And what made it worse....so much worse, was that somehow, miraculously, impossibly...
She had become a walking balm. A living antidote.
A strange... soothing force their bodies reacted to on instinct.
It wasn’t funny but she wanted to laugh. Her life is a total mess. If she decided to make a movie out of her story, she would be making billions from all sponsorship.
The next morning
A sharp knock dragged Athena out of the deepest, most exhausted sleep she’d had in days.
A lot of drama happened last night so she wasn’t surprised.
She groaned, peeling her eyes open.
The duvet slid off her body as she pushed herself up, still half-asleep, legs swinging over the edge of the bed. The cold floor kissed her bare feet as she padded toward the door, yawning, rubbing one eye.
She pulled the door open and her eyes collided with a pair of blue hair and blue eyes with a small, polite smile.
Azrael.
Well after all the troublesome night, at least she woke up to seeing a beauty. Guess the night wasn’t so useless after all.
"Good morning," he said, voice smooth enough to drag heat up her neck.
Athena blinked once, trying to wake up fully.
"Good morning."
His head tilted slightly, then the small smile stretched into a slow, too-confident grin.
He ran a hand through his blue hair, pushing it back in one fluid, unnecessary, sinful motion and the strands fell right back over his forehead.
God. That was actually... sexy.
Why did he have to be sexy first thing in the morning?
"Why are you laughing?" Athena muttered, narrowing her eyes.
Azrael lifted a finger and pointed at her.
"Well..." he said, struggling not to laugh again, "for someone who claims to hate attention, you walked out here with your hair looking like a divine storm had a personal grudge against you."
Athena froze.
For two whole seconds she didn’t even breathe.
"What?"
Azrael’s grin alone widened slow, wicked and dangerously beautiful.
"Your hair," he said softly, leaning a little closer, voice dropping teasingly, "is so... gorgeously white and ridiculously long... even messy, it demands attention."
She touched her head instinctively, and then horror crawled across her face as she felt it.
Her hair.
Her very long, very thick, very white hair...was a bird’s nest.
Athena slapped both hands over her hair so fast Azrael actually laughed. The sound warm, and unfairly attractive.
"No...no, don’t, stop laughing!" she hissed, mortified.
Azrael stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"Relax," he murmured. "It looks good on you."
Athena blinked at him, heat rushing to her cheeks.
And he gave the finishing blow eyes dropping to her mouth, then back up with that slow, teasing smile.
"Messy or not... you still look stunning first thing in the morning."
Her heart tripped.
And for a moment, she forgot how to stand for a second.
"Did you come here to tell me that?" Athena asked, trying so hard to keep her voice neutral.
To pretend her heart wasn’t doing full-speed somersaults in her chest.