Daughter of oblivion: Claimed by four alpha(s)-Chapter 120 - 118: I thought he wanted to marry you...
Rhydric froze.
The echo of her slap still burned across his cheek, spreading heat through his skin, snapping his mind back into place. He stared at her...at her trembling form, her flushed cheeks, her bare skin exposed in the classroom light, and something inside him cracked clean open.
What the hell had he just done? Did he just strip her naked?
His breath shuddered. "Athena..." His voice broke. "I..." He swallowed hard, shame and panic twisting violently inside him. "I’m... I’m sorry."
He dragged a shaky hand through his hair, his fingers trembling as he stepped back. His chest heaved, each breath a battle. He’d never lost control like that, not with anyone. Not even in his worst moments. And the realization hit him so hard his knees almost buckled. Athena was getting to him real bad, damn he didn’t want her to pull away.
"Athena..." he whispered again, this time softer, almost pleading.
She didn’t move. She stood perfectly still...half-dressed, chest rising and falling in uneven waves, eyes blurred with tears that refuse to fall. Her lips were parted, her phone loosely held against her chest.
Rhydric’s gut twisted painfully.
He dropped to his knees, grabbing the scattered pieces of her clothing from the floor. His hands shook as he gathered her shirt, jacket, inner coat, everything he stripped away moments ago.
"I’m sorry," he repeated, voice hoarse, almost frantic. "Just, just let me..."
He stepped toward her gently, cautiously, as if afraid she’d break. She didn’t resist. She didn’t fight him now. She just stood there breathless and a little stunned.
He slipped her shirt back over her shoulders, his fingers brushing her warm skin. He almost cursed at the contact but forced himself to keep going.
He buttoned each button with rigid efficiency, eyes fixed on the fabric, not on the perfect, round inviting boobs barely concealed by her net bra... though the sight almost ruined him all over again.
Why was her boobs so damn perfect...and tormenting.
His jaw tightened. He swallowed hard as his hand brushed the softness...fuck. Fighting the urge to grab them and squeeze the fucking shit out of it.
Focus Rhydric...don’t look...don’t think. He told himself.
He fastened the last button, exhaling shakily as if he’d been holding his breath the entire time. Sweat lined his forehead; his hands dropped immediately after, retreating before he could do something stupid again.
He didn’t reach for her coat. Didn’t dare.
If he touched her again, even accidentally, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep himself together.
"I’m sorry," he muttered one last time. "I shouldn’t have... I didn’t mean...just..." He cut himself off, shaking his head angrily at himself.
He couldn’t look at her...So he turned away and left.
The door slammed behind him, echoing in the empty classroom.
Athena didn’t move for a long moment. Her heart thundered so violently it hurt. Her breath trembled as she slowly slid down the wall, her knees giving out beneath her until she was sitting on the cold floor, legs drawn in. The shirt half-buttoned wrong.
She stared at the space where Rhydric had stood, the place where his intensity still clung to the air like static.
"What... what just happened?" she whispered to no one.
=======================
The moment he reached the rooftop, Rhydric didn’t stop walking.
He pushed through the exit door so hard it slammed against the frame, the sound ricocheting across the empty space.
Cold wind hit him instantly. Good. He needed it.
He staggered forward until he reached the railing, gripping it with both hands as if it were the only thing keeping him upright. His breath came in harsh, broken pulls. His heartbeat hammered in his chest so violently he thought it might tear straight through him.
"Fuck..." he whispered, voice shaking.
He bowed his head, squeezing his eyes shut as the wind whipped around him. But even the cold couldn’t quiet the fire raging under his skin.
He dragged both hands through his hair, gripping hard, trying to pull himself back from the edge, from the part of him that had nearly lost control back there.
What the hell had he done?
Images flashed back vividly...
Athena’s wide, startled eyes. Her flushed skin. Her breath hitching when he got too close. The way she trembled... not entirely from fear.
The way she leaned in, just barely...just enough to destroy him.
That single detail carved through his chest like a blade.
His mind replayed everything...every breath, every brush of skin, every sound she made. Her warmth lingered on his palms, on his chest, on every part of him like a brand he couldn’t wash off.
Her soft gasp. The feeling of her soft body on his palm. And fuck it...Her scent...it enveloped him in a maddening way.
He gripped the railing harder, knuckles turning white."Get a grib...Rhydric...Get it together...I could have hurt her" his words raw. "I did hurt her..."
Shame twisted through him, sharp and suffocating.
Her voice echoed in his ears, shaking, breathless, trying so hard to sound firm.
R-Rhydric... stop...
He pressed a hand over his chest, as if he could force his heartbeat to calm, as if he could crush the monstrous feeling clawing up his spine.
"I’m sorry," he whispered into the night air. "Damn it."
But the apology only dug deeper, sinking into a place he didn’t want to acknowledge. Because underneath the guilt... was hunger.
And longing so fierce, that it terrified him.
Why her? Why only her of all girls? Why did she unravel him just by looking at him? Why did she have to mess with all of their heads?
Nothing made sense.
Athena was bypassing every wall he’d ever built.
She was getting into him...into the part of him he couldn’t control, the part he kept chained and buried.
And he didn’t know how to stop it...
Rhydric didn’t know how long he stood there. Minutes... maybe hours. The wind howled around him, cold enough to sting his skin, but he barely felt it.
His mind was still burning, when...
"Bro." The sudden voice behind him snapped him out of his trance.
Theodore.
Rhydric didn’t turn. He stayed gripping the railing, breathing hard.
Theo stepped beside him, leaning casually against the rooftop edge, raising a brow.
"So this is where you come to pretend you’re about to commit suicide," Theodore said dryly. "At least pick a shorter building next time. That way we can still glue your body back together."
Rhydric didn’t react. Didn’t even spare him a glance.
That alone made Theodore straighten. "...Alright," Theo muttered. "What’s wrong with you?"
Silence answered him.
Theodore studied him for a moment, then nudged his shoulder lightly.
"Did someone fight you? Did someone curse you? Did someone steal your food? Please tell me someone stole your food, so I can laugh and then help you kill them."
Still nothing.
Then, after what felt like ages, Rhydric finally spoke, his voice low, strained, almost hollow.
"The Apex Alpha showed up in my bedroom last night."
Theodore blinked. Then blinked again. "...Okay, that sounds like the beginning of a horror story," he said slowly. "Did he... like... knock? Or did he just spawn in your room like a demon?"
Rhydric didn’t answer. He stared straight ahead, his breathing unsteady.
Theodore crossed his arms. "What did he say?"
Rhydric exhaled slowly, jaw clenching. "He said he wants me as his right-hand man."
Theo stared.
Then his face twisted into an expression between disbelief and offended confusion. "...That’s it?" he asked. "That’s why you’re up here looking like your soul got abducted by aliens? Bro, you scared the shit out of me. I thought he said he wanted to marry you or something."
Rhydric shot him a glare.
