Fated To Everett

Chapter 3: Dark Angel; The Monster They Fear

Ariel’s POV

The scent of blood still clung to me.

Even after scrubbing my skin raw, I could still feel the warmth of it against my fingertips, I could still see the lifeless eyes of the warriors Everett had slaughtered.

I knew he was dangerous. But what I saw last night… was something else entirely.

He hadn’t just killed them, he destroyed them. With no hesitation, no mercy. The sound of cracking bones, the wet splatter of blood, the way his eyes gleamed in the darkness as if he had enjoyed it replayed in my mind.

I should have been disgusted. I should have been terrified. Yet, the one thing I couldn’t stop thinking about was the way he looked at me afterward.

As if he was protecting something. As if I belonged to him.

I shook my head and forced myself to focus.

I sighed, one thing I knew was today was going to be hell.

Everyone would know what happened, and they would all blame me.

I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and stepped out of my house.

As soon as I entered the pack hall, I could feel a hundred stares on me.

"She was there when it happened."

"Everett killed those men because of her."

"Maybe she’s his weakness."

“I wonder how she gets these men, she could even control death himself.” The whispers started immediately.

I kept my face blank, refusing to let their words shake me.

"They should exile him before he kills more people." I heard another pack member say.

My heart clenched. No. Not exile.

I didn’t know why the thought unsettled me so much. Yes, I knew Everett was dangerous. Ruthless. A killer. But the idea of him being forced to leave, of never seeing him again, sent an unfamiliar pang through my heart.

I wasn’t sure what it meant.

I didn’t have time to figure it out.

Because the Alpha Council had already gathered in the center of the hall.

And I saw him, Everett was standing before them.

He stood there like he owned the damn place. Calm. Confident. Not even a hint of fear.

Ray’s father, Alpha Dominic, sat at the head of the council with a grim expression.

"You’ve murdered three warriors of this pack," he said. "Unprovoked. Do you deny it?"

"No, why would I deny it?" Everett smirked, and with that a ripple of whisper spread through the crowd.

No excuses. No defense.

Just a cold, simple no? Gosh! He could have at least denied… I would have.

"Then you know the penalty. You will be exiled from this pack, effective immediately." Alpha Dominic tightened his jaw.

The words sounded like a death sentence, but Everett tilted his head. Then he let out a quiet chuckle. It was wrong. Dark. Dangerous. He was making it even more difficult to break out of a punishment.

“Hehe.” He laughed even more.

The kind of laugh that sent a shiver down my spine.

"I’d like to see who has the right to send me to exile." His voice was filled with amusement.

Silence. A heavy, suffocating silence engulfed the hall because no one dared to speak.

No one dared to step forward.

Everett knew it. That they were all scared and he thrived in it.

The way he stood, the way he watched them like a predator in a room full of prey.

I could hear someone swallow hard behind me.

Even Alpha Dominic, the strongest man in the pack, hesitated. "You are a threat to this pack," Dominic finally said, but his voice wasn’t as steady as before.

"Am I?" Everett smiled, as he folded his hands behind him.

He took a slow step forward, towards the alpha, and the warriors closest to him flinched.

There was this look in his eyes, he was enjoying this.

"Monster."

No one wanted to fight him.

No one wanted to be the next body left broken and bleeding on the ground.

"You will leave. Voluntarily. Or we will force you." Alpha Dominic exhaled sharply.

"You keep saying we like anyone here would actually stand against me." Everett’s smirk widened.

Dominic tensed. And the pack? They stayed silent. Terrified.

I stared at Everett, I could hear my heart pounding inside my chest.

This man… This man was something far worse than any rogue or a fighter.

He was the kind of nightmare people whispered about in fear.

And yet… I didn’t step away. I should have. But I didn’t.

He turned around and stepped on his heels and stopped in front of me, he smiled and without a word he walked out of the hall.

I looked around to see the pack members wiping off their sweaty faces, some had their hands on their chest trying to breathe.

By the time I made it back home, my father was already waiting.

I barely had time to close the door before his voice sounded. "What have you done?" I stiffened.

He stood near the window, hands clasped behind his back, his eyes dark with barely contained fury.

I swallowed hard. "I…"

"You are bringing disaster upon this family," he snapped. "Everett killed three pack members because of you."

"That’s not…" I flinched.

"You think people don’t notice?"

"You think they didn’t see how he looked at you?"

I froze.

How did he look at me?

"That man is cursed. In fact he is the curse himself, Ariel. And you…" His voice dropped, his eyes full of frustration. "You have no control over him."

"No one controls Everett." I clenched my fists.

"Exactly," my father hissed. "Which means he is unpredictable. Dangerous. And now, thanks to you, the pack fears him more than their own Alpha."

I swallowed hard. I wanted to argue.

I wanted to tell him I had nothing to do with Everett’s choices. But the words wouldn’t come, because deep down…

I knew that wasn’t true. Everett had killed for me. And I had let him… I was scared what could I have done?

Pinching the bridge of his nose, my father exhaled sharply. “When did my fearless girl turn into a weak one?” He shook his head.

"Stay away from him, Ariel. Before it’s too late." He walked out without my response.

What if I was too involved to stay away?