Daughter of oblivion: Claimed by four alpha(s)

Chapter 255 - 254: All of you fell in love with one girl?

"Tell me what is going on with y’all? Where were you? You all disappeared like you have no family," Seraphina said, holding her waist as she stood in the middle of the room looking at the four boys.

Laila stood quietly by the door, not knowing why they wanted to involve her in this conversation.

They had excused themselves from the ball when Seraphina said she would like to speak to them privately.

Mr and Mrs Argentis both sat on the double chair in the room.

Rhydric had his back resting against the wall, leaning forward slightly with both hands inside his pockets, one leg folded loosely over the other.

Eryx on the other hand sat on a single chair, anger practically rolling off him.

Azrael, who looked the most impatient among them all, also leaned against the wall with his eyes shut.

Theodore on the other hand felt suffocated. Angry. Disgusted that he was in the same room as his parents while Eryx’s mother was asking questions he didn’t even have answers to. And on top of all that... Athena wasn’t present.

Laila cleared her throat softly. "Ahem... mom..."

But she was cut off immediately. "I didn’t ask you," Seraphina said before letting her gaze drift back to the boys. "Let them talk."

Eryx leaned back slightly in his chair before laughing under his breath. "What exactly do you want us to say?" he asked, finally looking at her. "That we disappeared because everything went to hell?"

"Eryx," Seraphina warned lightly.

"No, seriously." He gestured with one hand, frustration slipping through more with every second. "We came back and the first thing we hear is Athena isn’t here. Nobody knows where she is. Laila keeps dodging questions. And now we’re getting interrogated like criminals."

Laila looked down instantly.

Azrael finally opened his eyes. His gaze shifted toward Laila for a brief second before he looked away again, jaw tightening.

Mrs Argentis frowned slightly. "Who exactly is this Athena of a girl?"

Theodore scoffed softly from where he stood near the window. "She isn’t someone you should know."

Mr Argentis’s face hardened immediately.

"Theodore."

But Theodore didn’t even look at him. His gaze remained fixed ahead, cold and distant like he couldn’t stand being in the same room any longer.

Mrs Argentis looked visibly taken aback by his response. "What kind of tone is that?"

"The same one I always use with you," Theodore replied flatly.

"Watch your mouth," Mr Argentis said sharply, already losing patience.

A dry laugh escaped Theodore.

Finally, he turned towards him. "And suddenly you care about manners?" he asked, eyes filled with nothing but mockery.

The room instantly grew tense again.

"Theo—" Seraphina started carefully.

"No." Theodore cut her off. "I’m already here, aren’t I? Let’s not pretend this is some happy family conversation."

Mrs Argentis stood up slowly from her seat, hurt flashing across her face. "Why are you speaking to us like this?"

Theodore stared at her for a long second before laughing softly under his breath. "You really want the answer to that?"

Mr Argentis took a step forward instantly. "Enough."

But Theodore looked completely done holding himself back. "No," he said this time, his voice sharper. "You don’t get to disappear for years and suddenly act confused because I don’t welcome you with open arms."

Laila shifted slightly near the door, wishing more than ever she could disappear from the room entirely.

Azrael shut his eyes again leaning into the wall back like the matter didn’t concerned him

Eryx dragged a hand down his face slowly like the headache was getting worse.

Rhydric remained against the wall, quiet, but his gaze stayed fixed on Theodore.

Mrs Argentis looked genuinely shaken. "My baby."

"I am not your baby," Theodore said flatly.

The words landed harder than anyone expected.

Mrs Argentis’s face fell completely.

Mr Argentis looked like he was seconds away from saying something reckless.

Before either of them could speak. Seraphina’s voice cut through the room cleanly.

"Enough."

Her gaze moved between Theodore and his parents before she sighed softly.

"We are not doing this tonight," she said calmly. "There are clearly deeper issues here that need to be settled. Please."

Theodore looked away immediately, jaw tight.

Seraphina then folded her arms lightly. "Now can we return to the actual problem?"

Her eyes settled on the four boys again. "Where exactly did all of you disappear to?"

Eryx leaned back further into the chair, staring at the ceiling for a second before laughing softly under his breath. "That’s a long story."

"I have time," Seraphina replied instantly.

Rhydric finally spoke from the wall. "We left."

Laila blinked.

Seraphina looked unimpressed. "Obviously."

Azrael dragged a hand through his hair slowly, irritation clear on his face. "Things happened after Athena disappeared."

"And none of you thought to inform anyone?" Mr Argentis asked sharply.

Eryx’s expression darkened immediately. "We weren’t exactly thinking about school updates."

"That still doesn’t explain why you missed your exams," Mrs Argentis said quietly, trying carefully to speak again.

Theodore let out another scoff. "Because exams were the least important thing happening."

Mr Argentis frowned deeply. "Your future should never become ’least important.’"

Theodore looked at him like he had said the stupidest thing imaginable. "My future?" he repeated quietly.

The room instantly felt colder.

Laila shifted uncomfortably by the door.

Even Seraphina noticed the change immediately. "Theodore," she warned softly.

But he ignored her.

"You think I cared about exams while everything was falling apart?" he asked, voice low now. "While Athena vanished? While nobody knew what was happening?"

Mrs Argentis looked confused again. "Why is this Athena girl affecting all of you this much?"

Seraphina also frowned. "Who is Athena please?"

All four of them fell silent again.

Laila slowly raised her head. Her gaze flicked toward Azrael first. Then toward her mother. "...Azrael’s mate."

The three parents’ heads snapped toward Azrael instantly.

The room went dead silent.

Azrael shut his eyes briefly like the word alone exhausted him.

Mrs Argentis looked completely caught off guard. "Mate?"

Mr Argentis’s brows furrowed deeply as his gaze settled on Azrael with renewed attention.

Seraphina, however, looked genuinely shocked.

"Your mate disappeared?" she asked slowly.

Azrael finally opened his eyes again, jaw tight.

"Yes."

The single word carried enough weight to make the atmosphere heavier.

Mrs Argentis looked between them in disbelief. "Wait... all of this happened because his mate disappeared?"

No one answered her.

"So y’all skipped school, missed important exams because Azrael’s mate is missing? The only person that should be affected is Azrael, so what is with the rest of you?" Mr Argentis said.

Theodore raised his brow. Like Mr Argentis had just said something unbelievably stupid. "That’s your question?" Theodore asked, staring at him. "Seriously?"

Mr Argentis frowned. "I asked a simple question."

"No," Eryx finally spoke, his voice low. "You asked a disrespectful one."

Seraphina immediately noticed the shift in the room.

"Eryx," she warned carefully.

But he ignored her.

She couldn’t believe that these children have become so hard to deal with.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" he asked Mr Argentis directly. "That we’re supposed to abandon him because she’s his mate and not ours?"

Mr Argentis’s face hardened. "I’m saying there should be limits."

That made Rhydric roll his eyes. Unbothered."There are no limits where she’s concerned," he said flatly.

Mrs Argentis looked more confused than before. "I don’t understand..."

"You’re not supposed to," Theodore muttered.

Mr Argentis’s patience was visibly thinning. "Then explain it properly instead of speaking in riddles."

Azrael finally pushed himself fully off the wall. The movement alone drew attention immediately. His eyes settled on Mr Argentis. "She’s important to us," he said simply.

"But she’s your mate," Mr Argentis pressed. "Not theirs."

Theodore answered this time. "She might not be our mate but we care about her too..."

The words dropped heavily into the room.

Laila shut her eyes immediately, because she knew this was about to go down.

Seraphina’s brows furrowed. Mrs Argentis looked completely lost.

But Mr Argentis’s expression changed as realization slowly began to hit him. "Don’t tell me y’all fell in love with one girl?"