After Brandon left, exhaustion took over and I fell asleep. I woke up to my door
slamming open and a furious-looking Darius standing in the hallway. His nostrils were flaring and his chest was heaving as he looked at me. I opened my mouth to speak but no words would come out because I knew there was nothing in that moment, I would say that would have reduced his anger by a fraction.
"Where is Amaris?' he growled. "I will fucking kill her and whoever gave you whatever you used to knock me out."
He turned to leave and I knew I had to say something quickly so I blurted out, "She's not here."
He froze and he turned back to me presumably to confirm what I had said. He stalked over to the bed and I held my breath. I wasn't scared of Darius because I knew he would never hurt me but, in that moment, I was scared for everyone else. He was furious and while I knew there was something stopping him from hurting me, I knew it wasn't the same for others. He would never hit his sister but he could always hit Ian and from the looks of things, I knew it would hurt her just as much as if she was hit physically.
Darius stopped at the edge of my bed and I watched as he crouched down until he was at eye level with me. He lifted his hand and softly ran the pads of his fingers over the black eye I was currently sporting. It was almost like he was afraid to touch it for fear of hurting me further.
"I'm sorry that I went behind your back," I mumbled and his eyes darkened even further. "I wanted you to agree but you wouldn't and I knew that if we didn't do this then our entire operation would have been blown to bits. Brandon came while you were knocked out and he bought it."
"I should just send men to kill him and be done with it. He is proving to be more of an inconvenience than anything."
"You would incur the wrath of the hunters and you know it. It isn't worth it. There is more for you to focus on like the full moon today."
I had miscalculated the full moon earlier and it was coming tonight instead of two nights ago like I previously thought. Darius knew I was right because he stayed quiet but that didn't mean he had to like it because I could still feel the anger radiating off him in waves.
"I don't.want, you walking around looking bruised and broken"
"I'm not bruised and broken and I'll be fine within a week, I promise. Please don't kill Amy because it was my idea. She wanted nothing to do with it in the first place and I had to rope her into it."
"I won't kill her, I'll just rough up her boyfriend a bit," I shot him a dry look and he sighed. "That's the best offer you're getting from me on this. Did you at least get anything important from Brandon to make all of this worth it?"
"He said there is one more traitor but he wouldn't tell me who. He said once I was healed then I should text him and the traitor would get me. He also said he would tell me everything."
"How are you sure that he isn't bluffing?"
"I don't know but I just feel like this is it."
"Okay, in the meantime, Jared will work on the laptop. If anyone can crack it, it is him."
I stayed in bed for the majority of the day because it hurt to move. Darius called for a doctor to check on me and I was given painkillers so I could move around the house on my own when they left to shift. Serena came to visit me in the afternoon and when she saw me, she took a double take.
"How did this happen?" she asked with eyes wide in horror. "Did you get into a fight?" "It is a long story."
I filled her in and by the time I was done, she was shaking her head in disbelief. She proceeded to tell me how she thought it was a brilliant but crazy idea. I was just glad to have her company since Amy wasn't around. I told Amy that Darius had promised not to kill her or Ian but she wasn't sold on the idea. She said she would return a few days later when she could be certain that his bad mood had calmed down a fraction.
Even Ian refused to set foot in the house. Darius called him over so they could discuss some work and Ian point-blank refused saying he couldn't bear to mess up his face before shifting. The conversation was so amusing that even Darius couldn't hold it against him. Darius reminded him that he could always beat him up in wolf form and Ian simply replied by saying he was a fast runner.
It was mainly Darius and I home alone and I loved it. I loved everyone's company but there were times I just wanted to be alone with Darius. Being with him always left me feeling better and gave me a calming feeling that I knew I couldn't get anywhere else. We sat cuddled in bed until the sun began to set and he had to leave.
"Stay safe," I told him and he turned to me in surprise. "Don't look at me like that, I don't actually want you to die. Brandon could be planning something since he knows you would all be in wolf form."
If you're loving the book, nel5s.com is where the adventure continues. Join us for the complete experience all for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you! "Are you worried about me?" he teased and I rolled my eyes. He laughed and leaned over me so he could kiss me. âI am always safe, Leindra. Keep every door and window in the house locked. I hate the idea of leaving you alone but there is nowhere you are safer than here. If anything happens, call out for help. I will make sure there are wolves around the house at all times, I will be around the house as well. Our sense of hearing is better as wolves. If anything goes wrong, scream."
"I will be fine, you don't have to worry."
"With you, I always worry."
He left shortly after that and I never realized how big the house truly was until I was left alone in it. The hallways seemed longer and every gust of wind made it feel like I was being watched. I made my way into the kitchen to get something to snack on and I could have sworn that I was being watched. I just grabbed a pack of chips and made my way to Darius' room because his cologne made me feel safe.
I kept my eyes on the window the entire time and when the moon was out, I heard a loud howl followed by more responses. I couldn't help but feel bad and wonder about the kind of pain they had to go through. I knew I was just being stubborn about the entire thing because I loved Darius and I wanted to be with him, I just didn't know how to tell him. I didn't know how to voice that out to him and because of that, everyone was going through a forced painful shift.
A loud crash from downstairs snapped me out of my thoughts and I jerked to an upright position. I remembered Darius' words but for some reason, the scream wouldn't claw itself out of my throat. I hesitantly made my way over to the door and peered out into the hallway but I didn't see anyone and it had gone quiet again. I debated with myself whether I should go and investigate or stay upstairs.
I knew it couldn't be any of my friends so that left Brandon. I didn't particularly want
to see him but I also knew he would scour every inch of the house if he needed to and
I didn't want him accidentally finding the dungeons and freeing the man there so I made my way out of the room and slowly tiptoed to the steps.
"Is anyone here?" I called out then mentally cursed because I had just given away my position. I stayed silent waiting to hear noise or a response but when I didn't, I began to wonder if I had imagined everything. I turned to make my way back to the room and screamed when I saw someone standing in front of me.
Brandon slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle my scream. I stood there staring at him with wide eyes and wondering how he got in despite the wolves that Darius said would be guarding the house.
"Do you want me to get caught?" he whisper-yelled. "You have no idea how hard it was to get in here. It is more fortified than a fortress."
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
If you're loving the book, nel5s.com is where the adventure continues. Join us for the complete experienceâall for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you!
"if I didn't know any better, I would say you weren't happy to see me," he teased and when he saw I didn't respond, he sighed. "I came to check on you. I felt bad for what happened and I wanted to see you."
He reached out to stroke my hair and it took everything in me not to pull back. "Even like this, you look beautiful." He leaned down to kiss me and I knew I had to think fast so I did the first thing I could think of and I screamed as loud as I could. Brandon jumped back with his hands to his ears. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" "I'm sorry, I thought I saw something move in the shadows. It must have been a rat," I lied and his brows scrunched in confusion.
"I didn't know you were terrified of rats. It doesn't matter anyway, we are alone and we can finally spend time together."
His hand wrapped around my waist and he pulled me to him. I muttered a prayer to whoever was listening and I let out a sigh of relief when a loud howl was heard close to the house. Brandon looked like he wanted to punch something as he reluctantly took a step back from me.
"They must have heard you," he spoke in an accusing tone and I forced myself to look regretful.
"You have to go so they don't catch you. I will text you in about a week so we can meet up." He nodded and disappeared.
I went back to Darius' room and peered out through the balcony. I watched him run away but movement in the woods caught my eye. I saw a familiar black wolf staring up at me and the corner of my lips tilted up.
"I'm safe," I called out to him not knowing if he understood me or not.
I could have sworn he gave me a curt nod but he didn't move from that spot.