Darian's POV
After the expected refusal of Richard, I started heading back to Ciara's pack with mixed feelings of anger and dejection. I was aware that he wasn't going to accept to help, but still, I wasted my time and walked all the way to his pack without any single guard, but just as I had expected, he plainly refused to help me without any second thoughts.
With all these thoughts running through my mind, I didn't even realize when I arrived at the pack. As I was heading towards Ciara's chamber, I saw Elena sitting outside with Richard on her laps; she was busy playing with him; she didn't even realize when I approached her.
Not wanting to take her by surprise as usual, I slowly placed my hand on her shoulder, and immediately she froze before looking around and seeing me standing behind her.
"Hi Elena, how are you?" I asked her while walking to her front so that she could see me clearly.
"I'm fine," she replied before placing Richard on her lap.
"How was your day and that of Richard?" I asked her while standing in front of her.
"Fine," she replied coldly. From the way she replied and her facial expressions, I could tell that she wasn't comfortable talking to me.
"Can I ask you a question, Elena?" I asked her, and she nodded before quickly replying yes.
Once she replied, the first thought that came to mind was when I asked her back in my palace never to nod whenever I asked her a question; possibly she still remembered how badly I treated her in the past.
"Are you still angry with me?" I asked her, but she remained silent, caressing Richard's cheeks.
"Elena," I called out to her after some minutes of silence, and immediately she raised her head and looked at me.
"Please, I want you to tell me how you feel about me; just be sincere with me; anyhow, you feel, just pour it out on me," I said to her with a sincere tone.
"Did you really want to know how I feel about you?" She asked me, and I nodded.
"I hate you," she said to me, her eyes boring into me with an icy glare. I could clearly see the anger and hatred burning in her eyes.
"Do you think that a simple apology was going to make me forget everything you did to me, or a simple kiss?" she asked me, and immediately tears started streaming down her cheeks.
"Did you have a clue of what I went through in your palace, and after leaving your palace, did you know what it means to give birth in a cave without any medical assistance? Did you know what it means to be wandering around this thick forest with a pregnancy?" She asked me, hot tears still streaming down her face.
"I didn't allow your brother to mark me, but that doesn't mean that I still have any single feelings of love towards you. Anything that I felt towards you died back then in Wolfeenwood Pack. The only reason why I'm still with you is because of Richard. I don't want him to grow up far from his father. Aside from that, nothing else exists between the both of us, and I will really appreciate it if you don't even consider me as your mate,she said to me before wiping away the tears on her face and"walking away.
Even after she left, I stood where I was, my feet rooted in the ground, and everything she said kept replaying in my head.
She was right after all; I don't have a clue of what she went through in the forest alone; even I who came searching for her with my soldiers knows what I went through; talk less of her who wasn't with any soldiers or anyone to protect her, and in addition to that, she was pregnant.
As these thoughts were running through my mind, I was jerked back to reality by the footsteps of Ciara, who was approaching me, her two hands crossed in the back.
Once she approached me, she stared at me for some seconds, her two hands still crossed in the back, and the next thing I saw was her claws landing on my chest. In an attempt to dodge, she struck me on the hand, giving me a deep cut.
"Arghh!!!" I screamed in pain while staggering back.
"What was that for?" I asked her while holding my injured hand, knowing that it's going to take a while before the wound heals because the wound was inflicted on me by an Alpha.
"That was for making her cry," she said to me, her face concealed from any emotions.
"But I never meant to," I said to her while holding my injured hand, which was slowly healing.
"I don't care; you make her cry again, and you're going to get it from me, so how was the meeting with your brother?" She asked with an inquisitive look.
"Terrible, terrible as usual. I told you that he wasn't going to accept to help me, and yet you insisted that I go, and just as usual, he refused," I said to her, my voice raising in anger, and she nodded.
""At least you tried," she said to me, and immediately I rolled my eyes angrily at her.
"Please, can you talk to Elena on my behalf?" I asked her with a pleading tone.
"Yes, of course," she replied. "I will tell her never to forgive you after all the pain you made her pass through; that's also talking to her on your behalf," she said to me sarcastically, and immediately I glared angrily at her.
"Tell me, Ciara, are you with me or against me?" I asked her with an inquisitive look, and immediately she chuckled mockingly at me.
"I'm with Elena, not you," she said to me with a straight face.
"Perfect, at least when you aren't with someone, you are against the person," I muttered to myself in a low tone.
"So tell me, what are you going to do about the Supreme Alphas and your pack?" she asked me.
"I'm going to fight them alone with the soldiers I have; I don't need Richard's help before defeating them," I said to her, my voice filled with determination.