Elena’s POV.
I stirred on the bed, rolling from one point to the other, different thoughts running through my head.
Darius was no longer furious with me, but I could tell he was still finding it difficult to look me in the eyes just like old times. After I had told him about my plans to leave for Crescent Star pack the next day, he only wished me luck and then left for his room and since then, never returned.
It is going to take a long time to rebuild our bond again, he seemed to have drawn away from me so much.
My mind suddenly drifted to my kids and a low whimper fled my mouth.
I couldn’t stop wondering what faith they could be suffering now in the hands of the strange Lycan man.
Are they locked up in a prison, left for cold to blow their lives away?
Could they be crying right now, seeking for their parents?
I couldn’t imagine the fright freezing them up right now, being away from Darius and I.
Hero and Athena don’t in any way deserve this. There’s no way I was going to let them remain in Aragorn’s territory for a long time, even if it means losing my life in the process of killing Killian. But one thing is sure, I’m getting this over and done with as fast as possible.
As much as I was pained having to kill my babies father with my own hands, Killian hasn’t done anything to me. Yes, he rejected and banished me from the pack years ago but it wasn’t entirely his fault. And I have forgiven him a long time ago.
But right now, I have no choice. I was stuck between choosing him and my kids and there was no way I’d chose him over them.
A gentle knock on the door snapped me out of my chain of thought.
I slowly dragged my heavy legs to the door.
“Darius…” I mumbled immediately my gaze landed on him. He is really here.
The look in his eyes no longer reflected anger or disgust, he had a calm look on his face as his eyes lingered on me.
“Are you okay?” He asked in the most softest voice. That was all it took to melt me completely. How much I’ve craved to hear him speak to me again in such tone.
In a flash, I ran into his arm, holding onto him tightly as fresh tears escaped my eyes.
I felt his arms sneak around my waist, pulling me closer.
His warm arms sent a wave of safety through my body. That was all I needed at the moment.
“I’m so sorry for everything Darius, I didn’t mean to cause you pain.” I cried.
“It’s okay, babydoll,” my heart did a mighty leap of joy as he mentioned my pet name. Now I was fully convinced that he was back to the sweet man that I knew him to be.
We broke the hug shortly afterwards and he cupped my cheeks in his hands, wiping my tears with his fingers.
“I’m sorry for acting the way I did,” he said.
“No. Don’t say that.” I blurted, shaking my head frantically. “You have every right to act the way you did, I mean I hid such vital information from you, that is very selfish of me. I hope you can forgive me, I’m really sorry.”
He pulled me into another round of warm hug. ‘I forgive you,”
I felt a sudden wave of relief wash over me, I thought I lost him. I can’t seem to wrap my head around why Darius loves me this much.
“Thank you so much… Thank you,” I whimpered.
He pulled away from the hug and cleaned my tears. “You don’t look well.”
I managed to push out a weak smile. “It’s been a rough day.”
He pulled me to sit on the bed.
“I’m sorry I made it worse for you, I mean with the kids gone and everything. I really shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. I’m sorry.”
“I’m just really glad you are here and you’ve forgiven me.” I smiled.
He exhaled a deep breath, grabbing my hands, and stroked gently. “What have you really decided to do? Are you still going ahead with the plan?”
“Yes, I don’t have a choice, Darius, I’m stuck with the only option of choosing between Killian and my kids, and I’ll choose my kids over and over,” I replied.
“But you know this is almost like an impossible mission right? Killian is annoyingly powerful, didn’t you ever wonder why the Lycan king couldn’t do it himself and is sending you to do it instead?” He asked with a concerned look.
I breathed out heavily, staring blankly at him. He was totally right but then, I had no choice. I’d rather die saving my kids than chicken out cowardly.
“Or how about I take him out myself? It’s an opportunity to finally fulfill my most wanted desire of having his head on a platter.”
My eyes shot wide open in shock as his last words hit my ear. “No. No.. Darius.. You can’t do that, just leave it to me okay? He was once my mate, I’ll find a way around it.” I quickly protested.
Darius has been training daily to face Killian but he wasn’t ready yet and there’s no way I’m letting him take such a drastic step. He has always put me first in all the years I’ve spent with him. It was time to relieve him of the stress and stand up for myself.
“You can’t even hold a needle, how do you plan on facing him?” He raised his brows at me.
“I won’t be involving in a physical battle, there are so many other ways to go about it,” I replied.
“I don’t want to lose you, Elena.” He mumbled.
“I promise you, Darius, I’ll come back to you, with our kids, this is our home,” I smiled at him.
After what felt like forever, I was finally able to convince him to let me go instead of him.
Together, we packed up the clothes that I would need for my short stay at Crescent Star Pack.
I was finally doing this.