Darius True Colors

*2 weeks later*

The house entrance door swings open and I hear Darius' angry voice from upstairs. "I'm fine! It's a superficial cut... Damn it!"

I rush downstairs to find Darius being supported by two pack men by each side, bleeding heavily from a seemingly deep cut over his left ribs. There are quite a few other bruises and marks on other parts of his uncovered torso.

"What happened?" my hands run to him.

"Lila," he looks at me, "it's nothing. You shouldn't stress." There is an authoritative undertone to his words and I know he is referring to the possible child I might be carrying. It's been two weeks since we've had the 'accident', though. If I was pregnant, he should've felt it by now.

Still, I lay a protective hand over my abdomen as I crouch down. "Tell me what happened," I repeat, now demanding.

"We lost Kyle and Ezra," he admits with a heavy heart.

When I watch him this hurt, I even forget I'm angry with him. Is it possible that I love him, then? Regardless of all the shit he said. If so, I'm either really a part of a toxic relationship or this is the Moon Goddess' curse/blessing at work. It's really hard to tell the two apart.

"We were outnumbered by at least a dozen!" Terry explains, stressfully running fingers through his thick brown hair. "Those mother fuckers ambushed us... it was a setup!" He says as though he is realizing it right now. "I've never seen so many vampires at once-"

"Enough," Darius quells him with a stare, tilting his head in my direction. "We will talk about this in private.

And there it is that word. Private. Just as I debated the stem of my feelings, God showed me it must be just the magic. I would never tolerate this otherwise, in the human world.

I get up without a word and leave to get some medicinal alcohol and gauzes. I need to help him first. Then... he will hear my say in this.

"What are you searching for?" Debra asks as I open a kitchen cabinet.

"You haven't heard?" I take what I came for, "your sons have been in a fight yet again."

She rushes out the kitchen to meet them. "Is anyone hurt?" She yells. "What happened?"

As they inform her about only the basics, I hold my anger inside.

Darius doesn't do as much as a flinch as I clean his wound.

Is he made of stone?

I put some antibiotic cream on the gauze so that it doesn't glue to the blood and close it with two strings of cell tape.

"There," I gently tap under it. "Now you can come with me upstairs." I stand up and look at the rest of the pack. "You should go home to your families as well. Where are Ezra and Kyle's bodies?"

It takes a few seconds before everyone adjusts to me being in charge. "Gina is taking care of it. As per usual..." Terry replies.

Gina is a sweet 17 year old girl. I find it strange that they put her in charge of these things. Darius' eyes observe me and I cannot tell what thoughts are behind his serious face expression.

I know that when a pack member dies in a fight, the three men at top pack positions have to inform the families in person and bring them the corpses.

"Alright then," I tap my outer thighs, "we will notify the families shortly. Please wait here until Darius and I return." I give him a deadly stare. Behind it, I'm saying follow me now or DIE.

I guess my emotions convey as he gets up and follows me upstairs.

I cannot believe he is still being such an asshole. What did I expect? He's a dominant. He killed a man to take over his alpha throne. So, why did I expect sunshine and rainbows?

I reach the top stair and continue my way to our bedroom with him behind.

I was wrong. He will never see me as his equal. He refused to bend his knee to his own Alpha, yet I thought we'd be crafting pack protection schemes together.

"What is it, Lila?" He closes the door and speaks the moment we enter our room.

I turn. "Do you seriously have to ask?"

Inhaling deeply, he puts his hands to the hips. His distress is evident.

I don't care. I can't control the bubble of thoughts inside me. "What is the problem, Darius? What are you so afraid of? Are all these lies serving you? Huh? Tell me!" I demand.

He catches both my wrists in his large hands now and stills me forcefully. "It's for you!"

I stand, expression unchanged. He doesn't expect to stop at that, does he? "All this does is tear us apart. Who do you think I would tell? Do you honestly think I would betray you?"

"It's not who I fear you'll tell, it's you whom I fear telling it to!"

"Why?" I ask simply.

"Because it is about you, Lila. And it's not my story to tell. I gave my word, Lila."

I nod in disappointment. "You were willing to go against your word when it suited you," I conclude. "When you wanted to fuck. But when it's my interest at stake, you keep your honor..." classic.

"Lila, listen to me," he takes my hand into his and watches me intensely. "I know that I can seem too much sometimes. But it's only because I can't stand the thought of you doing reckless things that put you in danger. Only because I want you here by me, always. Happy and safe."

Listening to him one would think he is the sane one and I am a crazy ungrateful bitch who doesn't appreciate a good man who cares for her. But what if I don't want a man, but a partner?

"It's not only what you do that matters, Darius," I look at him in pity. "It's how you do it, too, that matters."

He's lost. "Then tell me what you want. You want me to let you boss me around?" He smirks playfully. "I did follow you upstairs, haven't I?"

I smile a little. "We're both messed up people. That much is for sure. But I don't want to boss you around. Being equal is enough for me."

"We are equal. You are my Luna. You and I... are forever. And you better get it in your stubborn head already. You could never be happy without me."

"Then tell me what it is you're hiding. If you really consider me your equal. If you really want me to be happy. Because I'm only going to ask this one last time."

He inhales deeply in frustration, brooding.

I shake my head in disappointment. "Darius," I look at him. "We both know I'm probably not pregnant. It's been over two weeks. We've been living apart for that time," I say. "This is the last shot we have at making things right."

I swallow hard. "I'll tell you everything I lied, and you tell me yours. A clean slate. One shot only. And it has to be now."

He tightens his jaw. "I'll be damned if I let you be unhappy just to honor another man's wishes," he paces away, leaning against the window. "I can't let this shit secret ruin us. Not anymore."

Clenching his jaw, he pierces me with his dark deep eyes. "Out there... in the woods," he glances through the window, "they're looking for you. It's you who they keep on coming for."

"Huh," I almost smile. "I know..." I say, surprising myself. "I guess I've always known it - deep down."

"What?" Darius frowns.

I shake my head then. "You can't really think it's s coincidence I've bumped into vampires over a dozen times when an average person has never even seen them once."

"Dozen?" he raises his eyebrows in anger, jaw tightened. "You lied."

"Liar" I shrug, sighing. "Now I'm admitting it. That's my only lie." I watch him with narrowed eyes. "What about you? Anything else?"

"Dozen times?" he repeats. "Why didn't you say it?!"

"I knew how it would sound," I lift a shoulder. "You were shocked at three, four. Look at you now. I need nothing less than more protective behavior from you. Sorry," I look at him. "But you know it's the truth."

He tightens his jaws. "Why are you admitting it now?"

"I don't know," I shake my head. "Maybe I feel compelled 'cause my body now might carry a piece of you, too," I look at him. "And to be fair, I do tend to go alone in the woods and do stupid things..."

"You do, yes. And that will stop effective immediately. You're not allowed to step foot anywhere outside this house without me. Do I make myself clear?"

I simply glance at him, not even surprised by his reaction.

"I asked something," he reinstates demandingly.

"Stop," I shut my eyes, nodding. "I won't go near the woods until we know I'm not pregnant. Relax," I nod, "I'd never risk my child's life."

"But what? When I confirm you're not pregnant, you'll go?" he asks in shock.

"When," I suspiciously squint, "that happens, I'll do what I deem appropriate."

"Over my dead body," he states.

I shake my head in disappointment. He said he'll let me go if I wasn't pregnant. But now I'm starting to doubt his truthfulness. He probably knows already. He's just delaying to deliver the news.

"What?" he demands. "Would you let me go inside a fucking woods knowing I might die?!"

"I certainly would not lock you up in your bedroom! Besides, you could've died in the field today," I slant my lips. "It's no different. The only difference is you never asked me for permission to go. You just went. And I accepted it. You should treat me the same. Have the same faith in me."

"You know what," he tilts his head, "your recklessness shocks me over and over. Locking you up in this room sure sounds like a good idea if you are contemplating risking your and possibly my child's life."

"Am I pregnant, Darius?" I challenge him. "I'm sure you know by now."

His look alone tells me I'm not. He just wanted to use it against me to keep me trapped. I almost laugh.

Fine, I understood he'd never let me leave with his child - the heir to the pack throne. But lying about it is so low.

He shakes his head - in an act. "I still can't tell. You'll have to wait a bit longer. And don't forget, you're not leaving this room until we find out."

I gaze at the man in front of me. My mate - lying. It's very clear to me that he is. "How could I ever forget? You remind me every fucking day," I say unapologetically. He had his chance to come clean, but missed it. So no remorse from me anymore. I offered him my all - he didn't take it.

He sniffs with laughter. "I know you better than you think, Lila. I know you're thinking about escaping to those woods alone to see who is it that's looking for you and why. You're also thinking about running back to the city. You figure you might be safer there. Isn't that right?"

I swallow hard. It's scary how he reads my mind. But I'll never fall into this trap and say something. Anything.

"But you're so wrong... there's no place in this world where you're safer than right here. If you ran away, you would just put yourself in danger. And I hope you're not that reckless," he scratches his beard and it does that familiar sound of clicking between his fingers. It usually disarms me with charm but now it only sends shivers through my spine. "The vampires could hurt you. Kill you," he continues, not looking at me, but somewhere through the window, brooding. "If it turns out you're not pregnant and you decide to leave, I think I could live with that. But if you run away with my child... I would not only tear the entire world to find you, but I would never forgive you, Lila."

"Bullshit," I call him out. "Stop lying - we both know I'm not pregnant."

It is here and now that I see it - guilt on his face.

But he isn't backing down.

"I still don't feel it," he says. "But it might be there," he casts one last deadly stare and goes to the door. "Let's go now. We have to give our condolences to the families," he grabs hold of the knob.

I tilt my head. You are not the boss of me. "Suddenly I'm not feeling all that well."

"Weren't you the one wanting to prove you're taking your Luna position seriously?" He opens his hands, "well, shot number one. A Luna should pay her respects to her pack member as long as she isn't dead or in a comma."

I watch him blankly. Go fuck yourself. "I should stay and rest. After all, I might be with child," I lean against the wall.

Oh, the sarcasm, my wolf laughs. Well played, Lila. You have your bright moments...

He finds himself next to me in a heartbeat.

Suddenly, he's holding my hand and pressing me to the wall. "Ok," his eyes are shut in pain. "I just honestly hope you're not planning on doing something stupid."

Hope dies last. I simply blink.

He's now in my face. "For your own good."

And then he is gone.

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