Scolded
1080 Words
_Kaelith’s POV_
I didn’t move, breathe, or even blink.
The man hadn’t even raised his voice, and yet it felt like the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.
I pressed my hand tighter over my mouth and tried to make myself invisible.
He took a few steps, slow and steady.
“I don’t like repeating myself,” he said, quieter now.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
I had two options: stay hidden and risk making him angry, or show myself and pray he wasn’t the kind of guy who killed intruders on sight.
Swallowing my fear, I pushed the cupboard door open a little and stepped out.
“Uh… hi,” I said, trying to lower my voice. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to, uh, trespass. I got lost. I’m with the renovation crew.”
He turned to face me fully, but his expression didn’t change. He didn’t narrow his eyes or raise a brow. Nothing. Just cold, unreadable silence.
But somehow… that was worse.
“I see,” he said finally.
No emotion or warmth.
He studied me for a moment, gaze sharp enough to slice skin.
“You got lost… and decided to hide?”
“I tripped,” I explained quickly, holding up my scraped palm like proof. “I fell in here and panicked when I heard footsteps.”
He didn’t respond. Just kept staring.
I shifted awkwardly under his gaze. For a moment, I thought he was going to call someone. Guards. Alphas. Or worse, the whole pack.
Instead, he stepped forward, just once, and the sound of his shoe against the marble echoed like thunder in the room.
I flinched and took a step back.
“Name?” He asked suddenly.
“Huh?”
“Your name,” he said. “What is it?”
“Uh… Kael,” I lied smoothly. “Just Kael.”
He stared again. This time, longer.
The silence stretched like rubber, and I felt it snapping around my nerves.
His eyes flicked to my chest, no, not in that way. He wasn’t checking me out. He was… analyzing. Studying how I stood, breathed, held myself.
Did I do something wrong? Was my voice too soft? Was my hoodie giving me away?
Before I could panic further, he stepped back.
“Basement wing. Far side. Ask for Warren,” he said flatly. “Don’t get lost again.”
I blinked in shock, Jaw about to drop “You’re not… kicking me out?”
He didn’t even glance back as he walked toward one of the side shelves. “Not yet.”
And just like that, I was dismissed.
I backed out of the room slowly, heartbeat thundering in my chest. When I reached the hallway, I finally exhaled.
Who the hell was that guy?
And why did he make me feel like I’d just survived a lion’s den?
……
“There you are! Where the hell did you go off to?”
I jumped at the voice behind me and turned around fast, Eryx was stomping toward me, his face a mix of panic and pure older-brother rage.
“I—I was just looking around,” I said quickly, stepping out of the hallway where I’d been hiding after that terrifying encounter.
Eryx didn’t slow down. He grabbed my arm and yanked me away from the door like I’d set fire to something. “Looking around? Are you serious right now, Kael—Kael?” He caught himself just in time.
“You’re supposed to be laying low,” he hissed under his breath, glancing left and right to make sure no one heard. “I told you to stay away from everyone when we arrive here! Do you want to get kicked out before you even start?”
“I didn’t mean to wander off,” I mumbled, feeling ten years old under his scolding. “It’s just… this place is huge, and you weren’t there.”
“I told you to wait near the front hallway!”
I winced. “You kind of vanished.”
He rubbed his face like this was giving him a headache. “You vanished, not the other way round. But whatever. Just stop walking around alone, alright? It’s gonna be a problem if the wrong person sees you. I swear, if you ran into one of the Alphas—”
“No!” I said too quickly. “No, no, I didn’t run into them. Thank goddess, I didn’t.” I laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of my neck. “Yeah… I mean, what would I even do if I ran into one of them? I’d probably fake faint or something.”
But my smile didn’t last.
Because I had run into someone. Not one of the twin Alphas, maybe, but someone just as intimidating. Maybe worse.
I dropped my voice. “But… I did see someone. Not an Alpha, I don’t think. But he was… in that room back there.”
Eryx stopped walking and looked at me sharply. “What room?”
“The one with the books and scrolls and swords on the wall. I kinda, uh, fell in there.”
His eyes went wide. “You went into that room?”
I nodded slowly.
He groaned. “Are you trying to get yourself murdered on your first day? Don’t ever go near that wing again. Ever. Got it?”
“Got it,” I said quietly.
“Good. Now come on,” he said, grabbing my wrist again and pulling me toward another hallway. “The renovation team’s on the other side of the basement wing. I’ve gotta register you so you’re on the list. Once that’s done, I’ll leave. You’ll stay here, and they’ll show you to your room.”
I followed him down the hallway, but my mind wasn’t really with him.
It kept going back to him.
The man in black.
The scar through his brow. The way he stood there like he owned the whole place. How he knew someone was in the room without even looking.
He hadn’t raised his voice or even looked angry, but he was the scariest person I’d ever seen.
And also the most fascinating.
He wasn’t loud or flashy like the Alphas I’d seen on TV. He didn’t need to be. He just existed, and that was enough.
Who was he? Does he even smile?
And why did a part of me want to see him again?
- Writer
