Born Mine
Chapter 44

I froze hoping that Liam hadn't heard the sound but his head snapped towards my direction and I knew it was a futile wish. I knew I had one second to make a decision so I turned on my heels and stumbled through the woods. I heard his paws hitting the ground as he chased after me and I muttered a prayer under my breath. I knew there was no way I could outrun him especially not in the state I was where I could barely stand on my own two feet.

I could feel him getting closer and fear like I had never known gripped me. Liam was going to kill me and there was nothing I could do about it. Just when I was about to give up, I felt a hand wrap around my upper arm and I was pulled into a hard chest. A scream almost left me but the person wrapped their hand over my mouth to keep me from making a sound.

I got a lungful of their cologne and I knew it was Darius. My body sagged against his in relief and tears left my eyes. I didn't realize how terrified I was of dying until I was a split second away from it. A small sob left my lips and I felt Darius tense behind me. He turned me around so I was facing him and he wiped my tears away.

"You're Leindra, you don't fucking cry," he reminded me and I sniffled. "Stay here, I need to take care of that bastard."

He started to leave but I grabbed his arm. "I can't stay alone, please."

I hated begging for things, I hated begging Darius Lunar more but I had not felt safer than I did in his arms just then and I didn't want him to leave. He knew it too because he hesitated. He was torn between staying with me and going off to kill Liam.

"Ian will stay with you," he said finally and he was off before I could form another word.

As soon as he left, my knees gave out beneath me and I fell to the ground next to a tree. My vision had become worse and I could barely feel my body. I couldn't help but wonder if this was what he did to those girls before he killed them. Did he drug them to make them more compliant? Did he enjoy the chase? Did he enjoy knowing that there was no way they could escape him?

The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. If I had just listened to Serena when she told me to stay away from him then I would not have gotten into this mess. Another sob left me when I heard footsteps. I froze wondering if Liam had caught up to me but I felt the warmth of the presence and I knew it was an ally, not a foe.

"Leindra " Jan.called out. but I couldn't sneak: my.tongue. was heayy

He managed to replace me on his own and he muttered a curse as he rushed over to me.

He tried to help me to my feet but I was too weak to stand on my own. He needed to carry me and he knew that because he muttered a curse under his breath.

"Darius is going to kill me for this," he mumbled as he picked me up bridal style. "You're safe now, everything will be taken care of."

As he walked me out of the forest, I heard a loud howl of pain that I knew undoubtedly came from Liam.

I passed out in Ian's arms and didn't wake up until what felt like hours later. My head was pounding with the force of a wrecking ball and my eyes were still blurry. It took me a second to get my bearings and I realized I was back in my room. Everything with Liam felt like a fever dream but I realized it was real when I noticed that I was covered in twigs and dirt.

I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. The first thing I wanted to do was get clean, I wanted nothing that would remind me of what had just happened. Once I was clean, I put on a pair of comfortable pajama pants and a sweatshirt. My stomach grumbled in hunger but I felt no urge to eat, regardless, I made my way out of my

room.

I expected to see Grandma pacing in the living room but I did not expect to see Darius, Ian and their entire group seated on the couches. They dominated the entire room and their presence was overwhelming. I stumbled back and considered running back to my room but Ian sighted me and let out a sigh of relief.

"You're awake," he said.

Darius was the first on his feet and he rushed over to me. He ran his eyes over me as if searching for any signs of injury and when he was satisfied, he let out a heavy exhale. He reached out for me but decided against it at the last moment and put his hands in his pocket.

"Are you fucking crazy?" he yelled and I flinched. I expected to get yelled at but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. "Do you have any regard for your life and safety? You were told to stay home but you couldn't even take a simple order."

"Darius,” Ian began but Darius held up a hand to silence him.

"You had everyone fucking worried about you simply because you decided to sneak out to see a man. How did that work out for you?"

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I knew I was wrong, I knew I could have died but I hated the way he spoke to me like I was a child. It made me feel irresponsible and stupid and I hated the fact that he yelled at me in front of people. Had it been only Ian, I wouldn't have minded much because I considered Ian a friend but I didn't know the others and they were avoiding my gaze. I felt heat crawl up my cheeks as embarrassment filled me.

"I didn't ask you to go looking for me," I mumbled. "If it was such a burden for you then why did you do it in the first place?"

"Leindra," Grandma cut in. "You should be grateful."

"I would be if he wasn't yelling at me like I am a child."

"I wouldn't need to if you weren't acting like a spoiled fucking brat."

"Okay.” Ian stood to his feet and stepped in between Darius and me. "I think there are

a lot of emotions going on here and we all need to take a deep breath. Leindra is grateful that she was saved, can we handle the real reason we are here before this dissolves into an argument?"

There was silence before Darius threw his hands up in frustration and stormed out of the house. I stood there fighting back tears of frustration when Ian grabbed my upper arm and pulled me into the hallway so no one could see us.

"He's just upset," he said slowly. "He didn't mean to speak to you like that. He was terrified for you; I have never seen Darius that way ever. You should have never gone out without telling anyone where you were going. Now I need you to calm down because he is upset and we can't have you both upset."

I nodded and Ian waited patiently with me while I calmed myself down.

By the time we returned to the living room, Darius was back and he was seated quietly on the couch. Ian walked over to him and whispered something in his ear that made him scowl but nod. I didn't want to sit anywhere next to him, so I sat at the dining table next to Grandma who gave me a soft smile and squeezed my hand.

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"What happened?" Darius was the one who broke the silence and although he wasn't looking at me, I knew he was talking to me.

I didn't want to land Chris in trouble so I lied that I snuck out of the house to see Liam.

I told them about how I confronted Liam about being a wolf and after a while I began

to feel dizzy. I didn't leave any detail out and by the time I was done, Darius was deep in thought.

"Jared," Darius began and one of his friends stood to his feet, "go to Liam's place and

replace that bottle of water. He definitely put something inside and I want to know what it

is."

Jared nodded and walked out of the house without another word.

"The rest of you need to keep an eye on Liam so he doesn't escape. I'll have my fun interrogating him tomorrow."

I froze when he spoke and I couldn't stop the words from leaving my mouth. "Liam is still alive?"

"Of course he is, I am not sloppy in killing people," Darius said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "I need to interrogate him first."

"I want to be there."

Darius stared at me for a second then laughed humorlessly. "No."

"I wasn't asking, I'm going to be there whether you like it or not."