Daughter of oblivion: Claimed by four alpha(s)

Chapter 224 - 222: RHYDRIC’S CORE: I hate polite kidnappers

Suddenly the room shifted. Rhydric felt it instantly. He turned the moment the presence fully materialized.

The Apex Alpha stood in the middle of the room like he owned the air itself. Power rolling off him in a violent, invisible waves. The kind of aura that made weaker wolves bow without realizing they were doing it.

Rhydric almost rolled his eyes, but he caught himself halfway.

Great. This bastard.

He was not in the mood for whatever bullshit the Apex had crawled out of his mountain for. If this was another attempt to recruit him as a right-hand man, the man better rethink his life choices, or kindly get the fuck out of his room.

Like seriously, What the fuck?

"No respect now, boy," the Apex Alpha drawled, lips curling into a lazy smirk.

Rhydric didn’t rise from the bed.

He stayed seated, with his head slightly turned to have a better look. His gray eyes cool and unimpressed as they locked onto the Apex.

"Maybe," Rhydric said flatly, voice sharp with attitude, "if you’d informed me you were coming, I would’ve prepared a proper greeting for you, Apex." He paused, then added dryly, "Like. What do you want?"

The disrespect in his tone was so blatant that if Theo had been there, he would’ve screamed and dragged Rhydric out by the collar.

The Apex Alpha threw his head back and laughed, the sound deep and dangerous, shaking the room just a little. "Exactly why I like you," he said, eyes gleaming. "You don’t kneel. You don’t tremble. You look death in the face and ask it what it wants."

His gaze sharpened. "You have what I need. And I want you by my side."

Rhydric scoffed and pushed himself to his feet, finally facing the Apex properly. The cigar burned between his fingers as his gray eyes lifted cold and unbothered.

"For your information, Apex," he said flatly, "I don’t want to be your right hand. Or your left. Or anything that requires standing beside you."

The Apex’s lips curved slowly."You think you have a choice, boy?" he said. "No. You don’t."

Rhydric let out a humourless laugh. "That’s funny," he replied. "Because the last time someone told me that, they ended up bleeding on my floor."

The room seemed to tighten, the Apex’s aura pressing harder. "You’re bold," the Apex said, eyes narrowing. "Bold men usually die young."

Rhydric stepped closer as he put the cigar back in his mouth, his smoke curling between them.

"And yet," he said calmly, "here I am. Still breathing."

For a split second, something dangerous flickered in the Apex’s eyes. "You belong in the bigger game," the Apex said. "Whether you like it or not."

Rhydric’s jaw tightened. "I don’t belong to anyone," he shot back. "Not you. Not your throne. And definitely not your damn game."

Silence stretched between them for a while.

Then the Apex chuckled. "Careful," he warned. "Your choice of words might land you into trouble."

Rhydric met his gaze without blinking. "Do your worst," he said. "I dare you."

A/T: "Yeah. This was going to get ugly."

The Apex’s smirk faded, slowly, until there was nothing amused left in his expression. His aura thickened, the pressure in the room turning suffocating.."I won’t come to persuade you next time," he said quietly, each word sharp as a blade. "I’ll come to take you."

Rhydric didn’t even flinch. He took a lazy drag from his cigar, exhaled the smoke straight toward the Apex’s face, and shrugged.

"Then don’t knock," he said coolly. "I hate polite kidnappers."

The Apex’s eyes darkened. "You won’t be joking when I’m done with you."

Rhydric tilted his head, unimpressed.

"People like you always say that," he replied. "Yet somehow, I’m still free... and you’re still the one talking."

A dangerous smile tugged at the Apex’s mouth. "Enjoy it while it lasts."

Rhydric stepped back, dropping into the chair in his room like this conversation bored him to death.

"Trust me," he said lazily, tapping ash into the tray, "I always do."

For a moment, they stared at each other. Then the Apex straightened. "We’ll see."

He took another drag from his cigar, his eyes cold.

"Yeah," he muttered. "We will."

The Apex disappeared without another word.

The pressure in the room lifted instantly, the air settling back into something breathable.

Rhydric released a slow breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and ran a hand through his hair, fingers tugging at the roots in irritation.

"Fucking lunatic," he muttered under his breath.

He glanced at the spot where the Apex had been standing. He wasn’t the type to scare easily, but he hated intrusions, hated being treated like a piece on someone else’s board.

Rhydric leaned back into the chair, rolling his shoulders once. As if his life wasn’t complicated enough.

=================================

Eryx sat in the classroom, half-listening to the lecture as his eyes drifted around the room for the third time.

Azrael’s seat stared back at him... empty.

His jaw tightened. He’d called Azrael twice that morning. No answer. Not even a text back.

Theo wasn’t here either. Neither was Rhydric. And he heard someone say earlier that Athena hadn’t shown up at all too.

That made his chest sink. What the hell happened?

"Eryx," the teacher snapped. "Can you drop that phone and concentrate?"

Eryx lifted his head slowly, eyes meeting the Teacher’s without a shred of apology. He didn’t rush to put the phone away either, just turned it face-down on the desk like he was doing the room a favor.

"I am concentrating," he said calmly. "On something slightly more urgent than kinetic theory."

A few students sucked in quiet breaths. Someone coughed to cover a laugh.

The teacher frowned. "And what exactly could be more urgent than this lecture, Mr. Eryx?"

Eryx tilted his head, polite to the point of rudeness. "If I told you, sir, I’d have to ask you to excuse me for the rest of the day. Possibly the week."

Silence materialised into the classroom.

Then a ripple of muffled snickers moved through the class.

The teacher stared at him for a long second, clearly debating whether this was worth the paperwork. "...Just put the phone away."

Eryx gave a single nod. "Already done."