Born Mine
Chapter 69

"What do you mean by she knew?"

I didn't realize Darius had walked into the room until I heard his voice behind me. I risked a glance at him and he looked frustrated and annoyed which was a stark contrast from the man who was smiling with me in the parking lot of the stadium a few minutes ago. I hated the fact that Faye had ruined a great day and turned it into something terrible in the span of a few minutes.

"I was outside when the shootout started. I heard a noise and I went to investigate it. A man ambushed me and shot me in the arm first. I didn't have a gun with me but I was able to disarm him. He said that his friends were already taking care of things and I told him he wouldn't replace Leindra but he said he knew she wasn't there."

"How did he know that?" Darius asked and Jared shrugged.

"Before I could answer, the shootout started. The man was killed and I was hit. Ian had to pull me into safety. Everything else is a blur after that.”

Darius let out a growl and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "We need to replace Faye and we need to replace her fast."

"I tracked her last known location to a bar just outside of Lunarius," Ian spoke as he walked into the room with Amy in tow. "I already sent men to check it out but it is clean. She is in the wind again."

Darius moved so fast that he was a blur. He grabbed the closest thing to him which happened to be a vase and he threw it at the opposite wall. It shattered on impact and the sound resonated throughout the room long after that. He turned on his heels and stalked out of the room leaving us in complete silence.

"You should go after him," Ian told me after a beat of silence. "He needs you right now."

"Why me?"

"You're his mate, Leindra, you underestimate your importance. If you don't go, he will do something stupid and he will regret it, please."

I didn't know what exactly I was going to do when I found him but I found myself rising to my feet and going in the direction he disappeared. I didn't know the layout of the house yet but I knew the way to his room and his office and I deduced he would be in any of the two rooms. I checked his bedroom first but he wasn't there so I urtecr'écr'i lis ́unffie: He was scarronfigiri fortor fi lis-uese' with his Jacr'itrine:

There was a bottle of whiskey in front of him and I saw him down a glass before standing to his full height. He was well aware that I was in his office but he was content ignoring me. I gently closed the door behind us and made my way over to him. I didn't know what I was doing but I hoped I was doing the right thing. I raised my hand to his shoulder but just as my hand was about to touch him, he spoke.

"You should leave," his voice was cold and detached. "I'm not in the state of mind that you're used to."

I allowed my hand to drop to his shoulder and I felt him tense under my touch. "I know."

I walked over to his side and poured out some whiskey for myself. He watched me as I downed the cup and cringed from the taste. I had never been a whiskey girl but for today, I was willing to endure the harsh taste. My chest warmed as the drink took effect and I turned to him.

"Is this all we're going to do?" I asked. "How drunk do you plan to get? It isn't going to fix the problem. It won't make Faye appear out of thin air and it won't change the fact that Jared was shot."

"Are you done?" he cut me off. "Do you think I don't know all that? I don't get drunk, Leindra. I never planned to have more than a glass. I need to think and I can't do that when you're here."

"Are you sure about that because it seems like this is the first time you're thinking. What is going on? I have never seen you like that before"

"I should have been here."

I should have known that was his problem. Darius had a savior complex. Maybe it was the fact that he was the firstborn and the only boy, maybe it was the fact that he practically raised his siblings or maybe it was the fact that he was Alpha. Whatever it was, it had ingrained Darius with the pathological need to want to protect. He was always on the front line, he was always involved and I should have known that he would have been pissed to be away while his friends battled for their lives.

"I understand that you're guilty, but there is nothing you can do to change that. If you were here then you could have died."

"Let me die then," I was shocked by his words. "It should have been me on that couch instead of Jared. I should have been out there investigating instead of frolicking off at some concert."

"If you were here then I would have been too. I could have died," I knew it was a low blow to play on our mate bond like that but if it helped him see reason then I was prepared to do so. "It could have been me on that chair and I don't have werewolf healing. Don't you think the pros far outweigh the cons here? You were having fun with me."

"That was the problem, wasn't it?. Everything seems to happen whenever I choose to have fun with you."

I flinched as if slapped. His words hit like a physical blow and it hurt more that he didn't seem bothered by them at all. He grabbed the bottle and brought it to his lips.

"That is the part where you apologize," I said softly and he turned to me.

"Just go, Leindra. I should have never left the house, not even for you."

I scoffed and folded my arms over my chest. "You know, I wanted to give you a chance.

I thought you were different and you had changed but you're still the same entitled stubborn prick that I thought you were. Rot in hell, Darius."

"Leindra, I-"

I didn't wait to hear if he was apologizing or not, I simply walked out of the office and slammed the door shut.

I wiped away angry tears as I made my way towards my room. I was more annoyed with myself than I was at Darius. If I had just listened to my head instead of allowing myself to let my guard down around Darius then I would have never been in that position.

My vision was blurred by my tears so I didn't notice Amy rounding a corner until I bumped into her. I tried to hide my tears but she saw them and she muttered a curse under her breath.

"What happened? Do you want me to call Darius?"

"Why would you call him when he is what happened?" I practically spat the words. "This is ridiculous. Everything about this is ridiculous."

Her face fell. "I'm so sorry, Leindra. He is under so much stress right now. I am sure he didn't mean to snap at you."

"Will you stop defending him? I am under so much stress too but you don't see me snapping at everyone. I only went to him because Ian asked me to. I did not sign up to be anyone's punching bag. I don't even know why I bother anymore."

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"I know you're upset," her tone was soft and patronizing, "but you need to calm down. You can't tell me that you haven't said shit you didn't mean in a fit of anger. Look, if Darius apologizes before the night is over then you know he didn't mean it. If he doesn't then you are more than welcome to get pissed off at him but you cannot hold one statement spoken under pressure against him and cancel out every good thing he has ever done."

I knew she was right. I hated that she was right and more so, I hated that as she was speaking, Darius rounded the corner. He let out a sigh of relief as his eyes settled on me. She shot me a look as if to say, 'I told you so' then with a soft squeeze of my shoulder, she walked away.

I saw her whisper something in his ears as she walked past and I could have bet my left kidney that it was a warning because his jaw clenched and he nodded. I tried to feign indifference but the truth was that I was already melting. No one had ever run after me before him and that action alone had me halfway to forgiving him.

Once Amy had left and we were alone, he cleared the distance between us. We were alone in the hallway and although I tried not to look at him, his presence tugged at my attention.

"I should have never said that," he began slowly. "I was upset and I let it out on the wrong person. I am relieved that you weren't here. I am glad that you were safe when

all this happened. I am ecstatic that I was with you tonight because I had more fun

than I had in my entire life but I also wanted to be here to help my men."

"I understand that but you could have said that without yelling at me or indirectly blaming me."

"You're right, and I'm sorry for that," he closed the remaining distance between us and cupped my cheek softly. "Do you forgive me?"

His lips were brushing mine as he spoke. His cologne infiltrated my nose and even if I wanted to refuse, I couldn't. His scent had wrapped itself around me so tightly that I couldn't see past it- I nodded.

"Good," he let out a sigh of relief and his lips claimed mine softly. When he pulled back there was something foreign in his eyes that I could not recognize. "Until Jared is back on his feet, Ian will watch over you. We need to replace out how Faye knew you weren't home. For now, stay in your room and do not leave. Am I clear?"

"Yes," I had no interest in leaving anyway.

He pulled back from me and turned his back but before he left, I heard him speak in a

voice so soft that I feared I imagined it. "I'm glad it was Jared on that chair and not

you."