Elena’s POV.
“You don’t have to kill Alpha Killian,”
Darius’s arms around her neck tightened further as that seemed to provoke him.
“Darius stop!” I yelled, though evidently careful not to raise my voice to the hearing of a passerby. It was the same velocity that had drawn Bonnie’s attention.
“Let her go,” I muttered in the softest voice I could manage.
“Elena, we can’t risk it, she knows everything,”
“Well, she has something to say,” I replied.
“Nothing that isn’t a plot to get away and expose us,” he said.
“Is that what you think Darius? Because she heard everything right from outside the door and she could have easily ranted us out without a single trace,”
He continued to stare at me without saying a word.
“Let her go please,”
Slowly, his arms around her loosened and he stepped away from her.
“So, you were saying?” I turned around to face Bonnie.
“I need to know who you are up against,” she shrugged.
I exhaled a deep breath, contemplating if it was wise to be totally sincere with her about the situation.
“It’s a Lycan,” I finally managed to mutter.
“Listen, Bonnie, I don’t trust you and I think you should know that by now, the only reason why you are still alive right now is because I really hate to hurt people, I don’t want to hurt you,”
“I’m not trying to play any games, please believe me, I just want to make up for the pain I caused you,” she replied.
“Pain? What did you do to her?” Darius growled, charging towards her.
“Please Darius,” I quickly stepped between them. “It’s nothing you should be worried about.”
“Please, you have to promise to spare Alpha Killian’s life, please,”
Darius made to charge towards her again but I was fast to stop him.
Why do I feel like Darius wanted nothing but Killian’s death, even if there was another way out of the situation?
“Bonnie, we won’t have to do that if we find another means to solve our problem, I don’t want to hurt him,” I turned towards her and said.
“I know someone who might help you,” she blurted and my face lit up in a wide smile.
“Are you sure about this?”
She nodded frantically.
“If anything goes wrong, I’ll enjoy ripping off every part of your body,” Darius snarled at her.
“I’m doing this for her, and also for Alpha Killian’s safety,” she glared back at him.
“Bonnie, you are saying that there’s a way you can be of help to us? And Killian wouldn’t end up hurt?” I asked.
“Yes, I know a witch, she’s my mother’s distant friend, I think she might have the power to subdue a Lycan,” she replied.
“She’s powerful, though I really don’t know if it’s a guarantee, but then, it’s worth a shot right?” She added.
“So, how do we get across to her?” Darius asked.
“I think that’s enough we can discuss here, anyone could walk in just the way Bonnie did,” I quickly chirped in, exchanging knowing looks with Darius.
“Killian will be home any moment too,” I added.
“Fine, you both, meet me at the pack boundary in five minutes, don’t make me wait for a second,” he spat, turning around and jumped off the window.
I turned back to face Bonnie with a nervous smile. “I guess we have to run along now,”
She nodded slowly and followed behind as I walked out of the room.
*
Bonnie and I walked through the thick bushes of the pack boundary until we located Darius who stood behind a giant tree, a huge scowl plastered all over his face.
“Start talking before I change my mind, where can I find this witch?” He growled.
“She relocated to the human world few years back due to some circumstances, and owns the biggest grill bar in Orlando,” she replied.
“I can’t go with you, but this will help you locate her faster,” she passed a tiny paper to me. “She gave this to my mom right before she left,”
I carefully looked down on the paper to see a roughly inscribed address.
“She stopped practicing magic a long time ago, but once you tell her my mom sent you over, she might be able to help, maybe she could cast a spell on the Lycan or something,”
I stared blankly at her without a single clue about how to react, this was a huge favor. One that would save me from the torture of hurting Killian and my kids.
It was all the solution that I needed.
“Bonnie, this is a huge favor, thank you so much, I’m truly grateful for this,”
She flashed me a warm smile. “You gave me a second chance when I didn’t deserve it, I will show my appreciation in every little way I can,”
“It isn’t time for all of that, the mission isn’t even halfway a success yet,” Darius blurted out.
“At least it’s worth a shot,” I drew closer to him, grabbing his hands gently. “Can’t you see? We don’t have to hurt anyone anymore, and we’ll finally be able to rescue our kids and all this would be a thing of the past,”
He exhaled roughly and looked away. “Elena, I don’t want him alive, don’t you get it? I don’t want the help of this lame witch, I want Killian’s head in my hands,” he growled.
“What do I do to redeem his life? What do you want in exchange for it?” The words suddenly flew out my mouth before I could stop myself.
I instantly regretted my words as a smug smirk broke out on his face.
He took a step closer to me, reaching out to stroke my cheeks gently. “You, I want you in exchange for his life,”
“What?”
“I’m aware that you have fallen deeply in love with him again, and do you think I wasn’t going to find out that he wants to reclaim you as his mate and you’ve accepted the mate bond already?”
“That wasn’t the plan Elena, you hurt me deeply,”
Droplets of tears welled up in my eyes as he spoke. I already knew where this was going.
“But I forgive you,” he smiled passionately at me. “That’s how much I love you,”
“Darius please…”
“If you want him alive, you will leave with me right now, and never think of him again, we’ll find the witch together, and with her help, rescue our kids and live happily forever.”