Captive of The Beast Alpha: Drugging the CEO Was a Mistake.-Chapter 35: Naya: Welcome home II.

I nodded but couldn’t help sneaking another glance back as we walked toward the SUV.

The medical team was lifting Hansel into the van now; his body was still twitching and jerking despite the black liquid they’d given him. One of them was holding an IV bag, presumably pumping more medication into his system.

"Will he be okay?" I asked as Elon opened the passenger door for me.

"He will," Elon said confidently. "The healers have dealt with this before. It’s just... worse this time than it usually is." Worry flickered across his face before he masked it with another smile. "But they’ll get him stabilised. Don’t worry."

He closed my door and walked around to the driver’s side, sliding behind the wheel with ease. Before starting the car, he turned to me with a curious expression.

"So," he said casually, "are you human?"

I blinked at him, thrown by the strange question. "What? Of course, I’m human. What else would I be—a werewolf?"

I meant it as a joke, and Elon laughed like I’d said something funny. "Right, right. Sorry, that was a weird question. I just had to check."

He started the car, and we pulled away from the airstrip, leaving behind the medical van that was already speeding off in another direction with Hansel inside.

The drive was quiet at first, but not uncomfortably so, mostly because I was too busy staring out the window to make conversation.

I didn’t know where we were exactly, but in all my life, I’d never seen anything like this.

The scenery was absolutely breathtaking.

We were driving through what looked like untouched wilderness—dense forests, rolling hills, streams that sparkled in the late afternoon sun—but there were also signs of civilisation.

Roads that had been carved through mountains without disturbing the natural rock formations. Buildings that seemed to grow out of the landscape rather than being imposed upon it. Bridges that arched over ravines with such elegance they looked like they’d always been part of the terrain.

Everything was integrated with nature in a way that should have been impossible. This wasn’t a city where nature had been pushed aside to make room for development. This was a development carefully woven into nature, respecting it rather than conquering it.

Everything felt untouched yet sophisticated.

"It’s beautiful," I said quietly, almost afraid to break the spell.

"It is," Elon agreed, pride evident in his voice. "We’ve worked hard to keep it that way and to preserve what was here while still building what we need."

I wanted to ask more questions about where we were, about who lived here, about what kind of people lived here to be able to afford to build like this.

Maybe this was the Pack house everyone has been mentioning. Since Hansel had his brother here and given the scenery, it had to be a wellness retreat.

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a long driveway that wound through even more forest. And then, suddenly, the trees cleared, and I saw it.

A mansion. Or maybe a castle. I honestly couldn’t tell which.

It was gigantic, five stories of stone and wood and glass that looked both ancient and modern at once.

There were towers at either end, as well as huge windows that reflected the sunset.

Everywhere, I’d seen that same integration with nature I’d seen while we were coming here.

A wide staircase led up to towering doors, and in front of those doors, a small crowd was waiting. Most of them looked worried, while the others looked angry.

Elon parked the car, and immediately a man rushed forward. An older, slightly broader version of Hansel with the same dark eyes but streaked with grey at the temples. His face was tight with worry.

"Where is he?" the man demanded before Elon had even gotten out of the car.

"He’s coming with the pack healers," Elon replied, his casual friendliness disappearing. Then, in a lower tone that I heard, he added, "His human friend was sent to accompany him."

The way he said "human" made my skin prickle again. While were they so particular about labelling me human? Weren’t we all humans? Or were 1````they racist?

Elon turned to me and gestured. "Naya, this is my father, Adam Ward. Dad, this is Naya Rivers."

I got out of the car and walked over to them, trying to project confidence I didn’t feel. Up close, Adam Ward was even more intimidating than he appeared in pictures and videos.

He was a tall man with an air of authority that made even Hansel’s cold demeanour seem warm by comparison.

I stretched out my hand for a handshake, the way you’re supposed to greet someone you’re meeting for the first time.

Adam stared at my extended hand like I’d just offered him a dead fish. His expression was confused and slightly disgusted, like I’d committed some terrible social faux pas that I didn’t understand.

After several awkward seconds, I withdrew my hand, lowering my head with shame. Clearly, handshakes weren’t a thing here, wherever "here" was.

Adam’s dark eyes swept over me from head to toe. He made me feel like I was being evaluated for worth and found lacking. Then his gaze settled on my stomach with an intensity that made me uncomfortable.

"Are you pregnant?" he asked.

The question was so unexpected, entirely out of left field, that I just stood there staring at him with my mouth open, unable to form words.

What kind of question was that? And why was Hansel’s father asking me about pregnancy when his son was dying?

"I—what? No!" I finally managed to sputter. "Why would you—what does that have to do with anything?"

But Adam wasn’t looking at me anymore. He’d turned to Elon with an expression I couldn’t read, and they seemed to be having some silent conversation that I wasn’t privy to. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Then why is she here?" Adam asked, his voice cold and flat.

"She was the only one available to accompany him," Elon said quietly. "Everyone else was either out of the country or unable to travel."

Adam’s jaw tightened, and when he looked back at me, there was something in his eyes that looked like anger.

"Get her settled in the main building then."

And with that cryptic statement hanging in the air between us, he turned and walked into the mansion, leaving me standing there feeling like I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life.