The Last Aethri

Chapter 5: Fear Doesn't Work on Her

​Aera's Pov :

​"I told you! I'm dangerous!

​My voice echoed in the quiet hospital room, sounding a lot braver than I actually felt. I pulled the heavy blankets tightly up to my chin, watching the giant man standing at the foot of my bed.

​He had dropped my medical file the moment he saw my eyes. His chest was rising and falling heavily. He stared at my mismatched eyes like he was looking at a ghost.

​I waited for the disgust. I waited for him to call me a freak.

​Instead, his deep grey eyes turned incredibly dark. He blinked, and his brain seemed to finally snap out of its shock. His jaw locked, and a muscle twitched in his cheek. He was clearly a man who hated losing control, and my eyes had just completely short-circuited his brain.

​To regain his power, he took a step forward.

​Suddenly, the air in the room became thick and suffocating. It felt like a invisible weight was pressing down on my chest. The temperature dropped. The man was intentionally radiating a terrifying, lethal danger. It was the kind of heavy, crushing pressure that would make any normal person fall to their knees and beg for mercy.

​But I had spent my entire life surviving monsters like Arthur. I had been starved, beaten, and locked in the dark.

​ I didn't drop my gaze. I know he is looking kind of handsome but dangerous also and right now I don't want to think about it. I glared right back at him, forcing my spine to stay straight against the pillows.

​"Are you trying to scare me?" I asked sharply, breaking the silence. "Because if this is some weird breathing exercise to intimidate me, it's not working. I have survived much worse than a grumpy giant glaring at me."

​The terrifying pressure in the room vanished instantly.

​The man stared at me, absolute disbelief flashing across his face.

​Before he could say anything, the heavy door flew open.

​Three new people rushed into the room.

​"Alpha, we felt a shift in your energy—" a tall, calm-looking man with neat blonde hair started to say, but he stopped dead in his tracks the second he saw me.

​The three newcomers froze. My heart hammered against my ribs, but I refused to show it. Great. The rest of the forest cult is here.

​The blonde man adjusted his glasses, scanning me like I was a math problem he couldn't solve. Next to him was a beautiful woman in dark combat gear. She didn't look shocked; she looked furious. She glared at me, radiating pure, open hostility. She didn't trust me at all.

​"What is that doing in the Pack Hospital?" the fierce woman demanded, her eyes narrowing at my mismatched eyes. "She doesn't smell human, Kael."

​Normally, I would stay quiet. But I was tired, my leg hurt, and I was done being treated like an object.

​"I have a name, and Hey, what do you mean I don't smell like a human? Yeah, I haven't showered in three days, but that doesn't mean people should be sniffing me. I'm not an animal! First that giant asked, "What are you?" and now you're saying this?" I snapped back, reacting openly to her hostility. I looked the fierce woman right in the eyes. "And if you have a staring problem, you can leave. I didn't ask to be brought to this weird cult. So stop looking at me like I am a piece of meat." My mind was spinning. Alpha? What kind of weird cult had I fallen into? First 'Pack', now 'Alpha'? Were these people running some kind of underground woodland religion?

​The woman looked genuinely shocked that I had the guts to talk back to her.

​The man named Kael rubbed his temples, looking incredibly irritated. His fear didn't work on me, and now his cult was failing to intimidate me too.

​"Enough, Nyx," Kael ordered roughly. "She is a patient. Nothing more."

karke pov :

"​Liar", Erebus - my wolfs deep voice suddenly growled in my mind. "She is our mate. And she is completely fearless. I love her."

​ my jaw clenched so hard. I'm fighting a violent war inside my own head, struggling with the unexpected reaction of erebus. He wanted to be cold and ruthless, but his instincts were screaming at him to protect her.

aera pov :

​Suddenly, the third newcomer took a step toward my bed.

​He was a mountain of thick, muscle. His face and big arms were covered in brutal, jagged scars. He looked like an executioner. The hostile woman and the analytical blonde man immediately stepped out of his way, showing how dangerous he truly was.

​I should have been terrified. But as I looked at the heavily scarred warrior, a strange, overwhelming sense of calm washed over me. I didn't feel a single drop of fear. He looked soft.

​The scarred giant stopped near my bed. His dark, tired eyes softened. He raised his massive hands gently, as if he was approaching a frightened bird.

​"Do not be afraid, little one," the terrifying warrior said. His voice was deep, but incredibly gentle. "You are safe."

​The blonde man’s jaw actually dropped. The hostile woman, Nyx, let out a tiny gasp of pure shock. Even Kael snapped his head toward the scarred man, his deep grey eyes wide.

​"Toren..." the blonde man whispered in absolute disbelief. "You... you spoke to her."

​I rolled my eyes. "Why is everyone acting like it's a miracle that the man knows how to talk? You people are so weird." my sass returning to hide my confusion.

​Kael let out a sharp, frustrated breath. He was completely losing control of the room, and it was driving him crazy. He stepped between Toren and my bed, using his massive six-foot-four frame to block my view of the scarred warrior.

​Kael looked down at me, his face an impenetrable mask of ice.

​"You will stay in this bed until your cast is removed," Kael commanded coldly. "You will eat. You will heal. And you will not cause trouble for my people. When you are fixed, you will leave."

​"Gladly! I don't know what kind of forest cult you people are running, but I am not joining it. As soon as this cast is off, I am leaving." I fired back, crossing my arms over my chest. "Just tell your doctor to bring me extra pudding while I'm stuck here!"

​ Kael’s eyes flashed with a dark, dangerous light. He looked like he was about to explode from pure frustration. He gave me one last, intensely dark glare, spun on his heel, and marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

​ I glared at the closed door. my heart was beating wildly. I didn't know what an Alpha or crazy cult was, but I knew one thing for sure—that grumpy giant was going to be a headache.