—-Alpha Darius—-
His hand moved before his brain caught up.
One moment it was on his knee, the next it was between her temple and the window glass, catching the second hit that the first bump in the road had already started. She didn't wake like the first time. Just made a small sound and settled heavier, her head now resting against his palm instead of the cold glass.
He stayed still.
Riku, moved his eyes to the side mirror, catching the moment but also catching the cold Alpha's eyes. A shiver passed through his entire body and he quickly diverted his eyes back to the road.
Darius looked at his hand. Then at her. Then he slowly shifted, angling her slightly so that her head slid from his palm to his shoulder instead, where it wouldn't keep hitting the window every time the car bumps.
Practical . That was all that was.
The empty burger bag had slipped from her lap. He picked it up with his free hand and set it aside.
Then he looked at her face properly for the first time since the apartment.
He couldn't help but notice how hollow it waa compared to the last time he saw her.
There were dark bags and stress wrinkles that his fingers fought to straighten out. His jaw tightened when he recalled how tired her misty blue eyes had looked in the club.
He wasn't one big on affection but the urge to sweep her off her feet and take her back forcefully at that very moment, was overwhelming.
He would have done exactly that had she eventually refused to go with him.
He thought about her question before she fell asleep. How would he tell her that his wolf had gone berserk since the moment they woke up that morning and couldn't find her.
He didn't even know how possible it was that he had slept through her escape. He hardly sleeps and yet that night….
He had spent six weeks at war with his wolf. Had told it, repeatedly and with considerable patience, that what it had said at the border was wrong. That the word it had used — that specific, particular, devastating word — was a mistake.
But the stone head would never listen or agree with him.
He had simply paced and pulled and refused to settle until he had gotten in a car and driven to a city that had nothing to do with his business interests.
And now she was next to him, the mf was as still as stone, soaking in her heavenly scent.
He needed to define what was between them. Needed to sort it out and clear his mind. But with the child in between, he wasn't sure if that was possible anymore. But one thing was sure, he'd never let her raise the child alone.
———
Something cold and sturdy was under my cheek. My hand moved quickly around it subconsciously before I realised it was not neither the backseat of thd car or the cold glass.
And backseats do not have heartbeat, do they?
I opened my eyes slowly, my face turning hot when I noticed what…where my hand and my head was rested on. I quickly pushed myself off, creating a much needed distance between us.
"I didn't —" I started.
"I know," he cuts me off, without even sparing me a glance.
I pressed my lips together and looked out the window, willing my face to cool down.
Outside, the dark trees had given way to another scene entirely and I straightened in my seat when I realised what I was looking at.
We were here.
The Nightbane pack stretched out beyond the windshield and I found myself leaning forward slightly despite everything. I had been here before but considering how stuck I was it's the Alpha's home, i didn't get to see the pack itself.
It was a stark contrast to my…former pack. I did not know how to describe it but it is like a mini human city in the middle of a forest.
How do they not get human attractions with this?
But the bubble of excitement that seemed to grow tge farther we went was hard to ignore.
If I described the pack itself as elegant, then I have no idea the words to use on the Alpha residence.
The building itself was a bit isolated from the other pack houses but the superiority and elegance was not hard to notice. It was a two story penthouse, made entirely with glass. It was fenced, furthering the isolation from the pack with huge familiar gates that towered in front of the building.
I thought about the man sitting next to me.
Yup. That tracked. He's definitely someone to live in a place like this.
I had seen the inside of it before, of course. But back then I'd been too tense, too guarded, too busy trying not to fall apart to actually note the exterior.
He was out immediately the car pulled in and I scoffed, grabbing my tote bag and following him. For someone who had insisted that i came with him, he was acting like he couldn't tolerate my presence.
Well… same here!
———-
The entrance hall was dim and quiet, low lights from the bulbs above illuminating the area.
I was still taking it in when Darius stopped walking and I almost bumped into his back.
"You know your way aro—"
His words died off as he froze at whatever …or whoever he was staring at
I stepped to the side to see past him.
A woman stood at the far end of the corridor.
Older, somewhere in her sixties, though she held herself in a way that made you forget to count the years. Red hair gone silver at the temples, pulled back without a single strand out of place. A dark coat dropped on her shoulder with her icy blue eyes staring coldly at the man in front of me.
My brain registered the resemblance before anything else did.
The jaw. The stillness. The specific quality of a gaze that gave nothing away and took everything in.
Those eyes moved from Darius to me. Swept down slowly and deliberately, landing on my stomach for exactly one second before returning to his face.
The hallway temperature dropped and I felt cold sweat rise on the back of my neck
"Mother."
One word that confirmed the thought in my head. His voice was completely flat, void of any emotion. It was cold, more than the normal bite it had whenever it was directed to me. Which was a suprise. The hallway itself seems to have reduced its temperature since she appeared in the corridor.
There was no missing the hostility between the two of them. Even a blind man will feel the pressure.
She said nothing but then her eyes moved to me again.
And stayed. " And who is this?".