Chapter 86: Down memory lane.

July 14 2026, 2:03pm.

She has seen this happen before. Nyx’ara could swear on her life that she had seen something like this happen sometime before in her past. Or maybe it was a scene from one of the numerous books she used to bury herself in back at her old pack’s library.

Or maybe it was a memory... a memory long forgotten...

She shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts as this was not the time to ponder over these things. This was the time to prove herself.

Her heart raced as she watched the guards tearing down her room with a speed and efficiency that even she herself commended.

They thrashed the entire place in less than ten minutes, and by the time they came up and cast weary glances at each other, there was nothing in their hands. They had not found anything.

"But the maids confessed," the one holding her snarled, his fingers biting into her upper arm as he cursed under his breath.

Another one who was standing to her left, and who was just as huge and intimidating as the one holding her, snickered. He glared right at Nyx’ara, so much so that tiny goosebumps scattered across her skin, and barked;

"Where are they?!"

Nyx’ara gulped and slightly lifted her head a little more defiantly. "I-I don’t know w-what you’re talking about."

"Where are the things you stole?!" He yelled in her face, his warm and filthy breath fanning her face as some of her hair strands trembled slightly under the pressure. "Everyone involved in your schemes confessed this morning. They were all sure you had a stash somewhere inside this room, so show us where it is to save us some time!"

He was trying to intimidate her. To force her to accept something she did not do. Nyx’ara was not new to accepting crimes she did not commit, but this time... this time, there was no way they would make her.

She lifted her head again. Now, her chin was raised so defiantly that it infuriated the bodyguards. She jabbed a finger at his chest, pulled her lips downward into a snarl, and snapped back:

"If t-they were so-so sure, then ask them to sh-show you exactly where the stash is!"

She had expected that to make him back down, but to her utmost surprise, a glint shone in his eyes. He turned to the guard standing by the door and yelled;

"Send them in!"

Nyx’ara froze.

"Send who i-in?"

Before she had the chance to finish asking that question, two maidservants from the ones she’d seen earlier were roughly shoved into the room. Their knees crashed against the floor with a thud and Nyx’ara winced when a cracking sound erupted in the room.

The girl whose bones had protested, fell to the floor with a cry. She clutched at her knees, her body vibrating with pain as she pointed at me: "Madam please, tell them the truth! I have been beaten for so long because of you! The Alphas have excused me from my duties! I have nothing left to lose because of you, so please show them the stack before I do!"

For a moment after she said that, Nyx’ara stood frozen in place. Her hands clenched into tight fists until her knuckles turned white. Her body vibrated with rage and something else... something so twisted she could not make any sense of what it was— then she walked up to the girl and slapped her.

Her palm stung from the force but at the time, she cared less about it and more about this smug-looking girl whom she had never seen in her life.

She clutched at her wrist, her face a mask of stone with dried tears burning down her cheeks, as she hissed; "W-who the hell put y-you up to do this?"

"No one, madam! No one!"

"Why are y-you lying against me?!" She yelled again, and this time, the girl responded by taking a scared step back. She hid her face behind one of the bodyguards and with her hand pointed towards one of the drawers, she snarled;

"Since you won’t talk... I will! They are all at the back of that drawer! There is a hidden compartment behind the main drawer... open it and you’ll see exactly what I am talking about!"

Nyx’ara did not even know that that drawer had a hidden compartment.

Her heart plummeted in her chest as soon as she heard the girl mention it, and when the bodyguards began to make their way over, she felt her knees begin to wobble.

Deep down, she knew that she didn’t steal anything but she also knew that they would find something there— because how was this girl so sure if there wasn’t something there in the first place?

Who had decided to frame her like this?

Her nails dug deeply into her clothes when the bodyguards began to rip the drawers into shreds and just as expected, there was indeed a compartment at the back— hidden. So hidden she would have never found it even if she tried.

She watched in horror as they snapped the lock open and a gasp slipped out of her lips when bodyguard one shoved out a handful of pearls from inside the drawer.

Another came out with an emerald necklace. Then gold. Then gold bars. Several tiny pieces of diamonds were next, and the more they shoved out something, the more the sinking feeling in Nyx’ara’s chest grew.

Her body suddenly began to feel heavy and she could no longer drag air into her lungs. Her face went chalk-white and her pulse raced when bodyguard two stalked closer, his eyes dark as he sneered;

"Suddenly feeling defeated? Where is all the bravado you exuded earlier? Are you dumb now and cannot continue being a spitfire?!" He sneered, but the more he talked, the less Nyx’ara wanted to respond.

Her heart was beating so fast, it roared in her ears. Her limbs were shaking so much, she could barely hold herself upright. A sudden shove had her sprawling to the floor.

She trembled and closed her eyes.

Flashes of memories surged through her mind.

Memories of her mother... begging, crying. Screaming. She did not understand it.

Suddenly, her throat began to feel tight and she clutched at it. Her body spasmed against the floor, vibrating so much she began to foam at the mouth.

Bodyguard One, who thought that she was faking her panic attack to get out of trouble, kicked her hard in the ribs. A squelching crunch filled the air and he smiled.

"That’s for faking a faint! Now, get up and let’s return to the Alphas with the goodies we found!"

But she did not respond. She didn’t even move.

He bent down and fisted his hand into her hair. His hold was so hard, it nearly pulled out her strands from their roots, and with an aggressive shove, he pushed her forward, smirking when she fell face down onto the floor.

Blood gushed out of her nose, but still, she didn’t cry out. She didn’t even move. Her reaction— or lack of it— riled him up and he was about to kick her one more time when suddenly an overbearing aura pressed down on him.

His body stiffened before it dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

His eyes shot up for a desperate second to see that Alpha Draven was standing by the door, his fingers pressed into his cane and his face stone cold.

Bodyguard One’s heart fell.