Chapter 5 I'm a coward to have let her go.

CHAPTER 5

DARIUS POINT OF VIEW.

~~I’M A COWARD.

What kind of coward was I not to stand up for her that day at the dinner table?

What kind of dumb coward was I to watch her walk away that day with tears in her eyes?

I'm such a stupid coward for standing in my room and watching the car drive her away to that asshole.

And I'm an even bigger coward for marrying Seraphina and not waiting for Blair.

I should have fought for our love that day at the dinner table; I should have spoken up and disagreed with whatever the Alpha said, even if it meant giving up my title for the woman I love.

Well, that's all in the past now, and I hope she lets the past stay in the past.

The only thing that hasn't stayed in the past is my love for Blair.

Six years of yearning, six years of self-hate for letting her go, six years of immense guilt that keeps dragging me down to the ground every time I think of it.

Nothing about how I feel for the woman standing right in front of me has changed.

My love has tripled, my yearning to touch her has doubled, and with each passing day, I think of what happened at that dinner table—I just hate myself even more. Each time I remember her tears, her anger when she realized that I knew she was about to be used for a peace treaty and I said nothing.

I led her to believe we were going to announce our mate bond to our families.

Back then, I might have said I had no choice, but then I remembered Ronan gave me his bike and asked me to run away with her if I really loved her.

I thought about it deeply;back then, I wasn't willing to give up my Alpha title for love.

Though I thought I would cope after she left, it seems like I didn't. I thought I would move on after becoming Alpha King and getting married, but I guess I was wrong.

Nine hundred and eighty-nine miles away from my pack, in the middle of the night, here I am, standing at my sworn enemy's pack just to see Blair.

Just to see the only woman I have ever loved, and I hope she gives me a second chance.

And if she doesn't, I hope she lets me love her into loving me. I hope she allows me to do just that. It might have been years, but I'm willing to correct the wrongs.

After she left, I didn’t stop stalking her. I went to law school a couple of times, pretending to visit Seraphina—my current Luna—but the only person I wanted to see was Blair.

Seeing her face most times wasn’t easy since she is now the Luna of the Nightshade pack.

When the security protocol got tight, I started to stalk her Instagram with a burner account just to see her pictures.

Six years of stalking, and now I’m here for my girl.

I’m here for what’s mine, and I intend to mend her broken heart.

My team gave me the news yesterday about Jessica Bliss coming back to the pack and then Blair losing her baby.

The news of her losing her Alpha baby is all over the media, and everybody is bashing her.

That asshole Dominus was never in any of the photos; the only videos of him coming out are the ones where he’s laughing and cracking jokes with his old mate, Jessica Bliss.

That fucker put a baby into her, and he’s not there for her.

I know she must be heartbroken. I held back from coming into this pack, but once I saw the announcement that Jessica Bliss would be spearheading Dominus's campaign as Alpha President, I just knew Blair had been tossed aside.

Their campaign is based on their mate bond; she’s on the poster with him, not with Blair.

He’s trying to push fostering our cultural values as werewolves to win the election while tossing Blair away.

For a long minute, I just stared at Blair without saying anything.

She looked so shocked to see me, and I was also shocked—not just to see her but to see such ethereal beauty.

She looked like something the goddess sculpted out of fire.

Her damp hair clung to her neck, darker at the roots where the water still dripped, curling against her skin. Her skin, that golden brown that always reminded me of sun-warmed honey, looked luminous beneath the soft hotel light.

She had changed. The roundness of her cheeks had thinned, and the girl I once knew had sharpened into a woman who carried storms behind her eyes.

Her lips parted slightly, confusion and disbelief trembling on them, and I swear my chest forgot how to rise and fall just watching the water drop down from her body.

She was wrapped in nothing but a thin robe, the fabric clinging to her shape where the water had soaked through, every curve outlined by accident. My wolf pushed hard against my skin, restless and desperate, howling her name inside me. He wanted her just as much as I did.

Blair Jones… no, Blair Knowles was still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my entire life.

She finally swallowed hard, her hands holding tightly to her robe. “W-what are you doing here… Alpha Darius?”

My lips curled. “I'm here for you. It's time to go home.”

“Home?” Her eyes went wide instantly. “Alpha Darius, you're almost a thousand miles away, and you're standing in a pack you are not supposed to be in. All I need to do is pick up the phone and call my husband, and you being here, standing at the door of a married woman, would spark a war.”

“Now I'm going to pretend I didn't hear what you said at first, and I'm going to ask again…” She narrowed her gaze at me, her voice cold.

“What do you want, Alpha… Darius… Sinclair?”

“You!” I growled, walking inside and slamming the door behind me.

For a moment, she just stared at me. Well, as usual, she can't stare into my eyes for too long or else I'd see that all the coldness she exuded is just a facade.

I hate to admit it, but she’s changed—now cold. Well, her line of work is cold; I guess that’s why she’s that way.

Blair stepped back, looking at me for a few seconds before a long scoff followed.

“First, I'm married to the Alpha President of the Nightshade pack. Professing love to a married Luna can cause a war. If he knows you're here, he’d have your head on a spike… we’re over. There’s no home for me at the Nightbane pack anymore.”

With that, I stepped forward toward her, and the air changed—heavier now, and her breath hitched.

I noticed she struggled to breathe. “D-Darius…” she started, but her voice betrayed her.

“I saw everything,” I whispered into her ear. “The news, the headlines, the videos.”

Her pulse fluttered wildly at the base of her throat. She tried to step back, but the wall met her first.

I stopped in front of her, close enough that she could see the gold flicker in my eyes… my wolf growling inside me.

“There’s no home here for you, Blair,” i reminded her softly, almost a plea but coated with command. “You’ve bled enough for people who never deserved you. Come with me.”

Her chest rose sharply, her voice trembling. “You don’t understand—”

“I do,” I cut in gently, my gaze locked on hers. “I understand you better than anyone ever did.”

Her fingers clutched the edge of her robe, knuckles white. Her breathing came in uneven waves, torn between disbelief and something else… something she thought she’d buried long ago.

Then she snapped, “You can’t just walk in here after six years and tell me to leave my life behind.”

“Then watch me, sweetheart.”