Elena’s POV.
I couldn’t hold back the wide smile that broke out on my face as I watched them leave the doorstep.
I never thought the flimsy plan would work out so easily but here we are.
I stood back, making sure they were all out of sight before stepping out of the room and headed towards my room which was directly after Killian’s.
Just as my hands grabbed the doorknob, I had an immediate rethink.
For a second, I didn’t get the urge to speak to Darius so urgently, I had an entirely different direction in my head.
Despite how hard I tried to fight the urge and walk into my room, I found my grip on the doorknob loosening and before I could stop myself, I was already speeding toward the maid’s quarters.
“Narla? What’s going on?” I tried to invoke my wolf but she was surprisingly quiet.
“Narla?” I continued to bug her as my steps swiftly progressed towards the maid quarters but I didn’t get a response from her, except for the persistent push forward that I have absolutely no control over.
Immediately I took the corner to the quarters, my gaze landed on the familiar face of the maid who had drugged me right before my abduction. She had her bags with her while trying to sneak away without being noticed.
“Hey, you!” She halted abruptly on the spot, turning to face me with a frightened look.
Now I realized why Narla had brought me here. The maid was trying to escape.
“A little prep up would have been nice Narla,” I inwardly growled at her.
“You, where are you running off to?” I took a step closer to her.
Surprisingly, she fell on her knees, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. “Please, forgive me, I am not a killer,” she cried.
I exhaled a deep breath, my gaze fixed intently on her. I should be angry, I should report her to Killian and have her severely punished for playing a huge role in my abduction, but somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I stared at her with the utmost soft look.
Narla too, was surprisingly calm which indicated that she wasn’t annoyed the least.
“Don’t kneel for me, stand.” My voice was firm and calm.
“No please, I don’t deserve to stand before you,”
“Well, you are going to enjoy standing before the Alpha to answer for your crime then?” I spat and she snapped her head up to look at me with a pale look.
“Please, he’s going to kill me, I don’t…”
“Stand!”
She quickly stumbled to her feet, her gaze everywhere but my face.”
“Why did you do it? Have I ever wronged you?”
She shook her head negatively. “I didn’t want to do it, but he had my mother taken too, he would kill her if I didn’t assist him,”
I stared at her blankly without saying a word.
“My mother is the only one I have, she has been through so much already, I couldn’t let him hurt her,” she cried.
“And I deserved to die right?” I chuckled dryly.
“Graham was determined to hurt you, he would have killed my mother and still moved on to the next person until he got an ally,” she mumbled.
“Please, forgive me, I’m not a killer, I would never do a thing like this to anyone,” I watched in silence as she wept.
“I’m going to go as far away as possible where no one in the pack would ever see me, it’s not enough punishment for my crime but please look on me with pity,” she wept bitterly.
“Do you have anywhere to go?” I finally managed to mutter.
She nodded negatively. “I’ll find a way…”
“Then don’t,” I cut in abruptly. “You are only going to endanger your life by leaving the pack without a destination, it happened to me once and it wasn’t the best experience,”
She stared at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You will pardon me? I don’t deserve it, I should pay for…”
“You did what you did to save your loved one, I would do the same too,” I replied. “But next time, don’t succumb so easily, run to someone for help, Alpha Killian would have saved the situation without anyone risking their lives if you had gone to him,”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
“It’s okay, take your things back and be good, I have my eyes on you,” I nodded at her, turning around and walked away.
I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I made my way back to the room. It felt good to do the right thing.
“Nice move today, Narla,” I mumbled and I felt her kick in excitement.
Just as I walked past my room door, I felt a strong feeling to go in, I could tell someone was in.
Taking a quick glance around and there was no sight of the guards, I gently pushed the door open and walked in.
Before I could blink, a strong pair of arms was wrapped tightly around me in a warm embrace.
“Elena! Fuck!” I heard Darius’s worried voice as he held me tightly.
“I can’t breathe Darius,” I mumbled and he slowly loosened his grip on me, though not completely.
“I thought I lost you, I was beginning to get my warriors ready for a blood bath here,” he growled.
“Darius you can’t do that, they are already suspicious of you, rumors are flying around,”
“I don’t care, it’s time to step in,” his eyes glistened with anger.
“What?”
“You almost died Elena, Killian claims to care so much about you, and yet you were abducted right under his nose!” He gritted.
“He has a lot going on, plus saved me as well,” I replied.
“You are defending him now?”
My eyes narrowed at him as he spoke.
“Have you fallen in love with him yet again?”
“Darius please stop,”
“This mission is long overdue, I will take it up from here,” he gritted walking towards the window.
“Darius, you can’t fight Killian,” I mumbled.
“Well someone has to do something to save the children, and right now, you seem not to be in the position to do that anymore,” he spat. “Aragorn sent a message about the kids, by the way, they are alive, but their situation is uncertain.”