Leah's POV
The moonlight was pouring down from the sky like cascade.
I stood there, rooted, facing Darren, his eyes blazing with a storm of rage and grief that pinned me where I stood. The air hung heavy, thick with unspoken venom, prickling my scarred skin—the brands of the slave market I'd never outrun.
"Why are you asking this question?" Darren's voice cut through the stillness, sharp as a blade, edged with accusation.
I didn't answer. Couldn't. My throat clenched tight, strangling the words beneath the weight of all we'd left unsaid.
He stepped closer, his emotions bursting free like blood from a fresh wound. "Are you asking this to hurt me, Leah? Haven't I done enough for you all these years to earn your trust?"
Tears spilled down my cheeks, hot and relentless, carving trails through the grime on my face. I felt nothing - no sting, no release - just the hollow rush of them falling, a betrayal of the numbness gnawing my bones.
Darren's voice turned feral, aggression clawing its way out. "Yes, it was Lycidas who dragged me out of that stinking jail. He came to me later, sure - wanted me to end your life. But if I meant to kill you, I'd have done it by now, wouldn't I? You're still here, breathing. Doesn't that prove...?"
I met his gaze, my voice steady as a gravestone. "Just because I'm still alive doesn't mean you don't crave my blood."
He froze, my words sinking claws into him, leaving him stunned and silent.
I pushed on, letting the bitter truth bleed out. "I'm still alive because I've evolved in the pain, anger, and fire. I've become too strong now - much for you or Lycidas to take down, at least for the time being."
His body trembled, a quake rippling through him, his fists balling up tight.
A twisted smile curled my lips, cold and sharp. "I've been wondering why you're so hellbent on me birthing your child."
Tell me that you love me. Tell me that you want me to give birth to your child because you love me. I know it's a lie, but just say it, so I can...
He said nothing, his silence roaring louder than any snarl.
"Because that's when I'm weakest, isn't it?" I murmured. "The moment I push that life out - my moment of fracture and death."
His knuckles whitened, fury pulsing through his clenched hands.
"What did I do to make you hate me so much?" My whisper hung there, fragile but heavy. "I've done nothing to hurt you..."
He snapped, his control shattering. "Your existence is a fucking curse! You shouldn't even be born! Without you, my family wouldn't have crumbled! I'd still be a wolf, not some discarded mutt. My father wouldn't have rotted under the Old King's punishment. Lester - my brother, the one I swore to shield - wouldn't have been torn apart and driven mad in your brother's experiments! You killed him, Leah, with your own hands! Don't you remember?! Isn't that enough to loathe you? How about Jo and my kid?! They would still be alive! Every damn misery I've got ties back to you! And yet - fuck - I love you, some insane, twisted love I can't shake!"
His words slammed into me, each one a lash tearing at my flesh. He's been through a lot. It's time to let it out. I stayed calm, unyielding. "Darren, I'll never leave you. I'll give birth to your child. And when it's born, you'll take my life - rip it away however you want, slow and brutal. Kill me, and you'll strike down a traitor of Lycan family. Lucian'll pardon you, your family's name scrubbed clean. Take our child back to the Kingdom, live the rest of your days. It's all I've got left to give. What I can't fix in this life, I'll repay in the next life."
His fists slackened, hands dropping like dead weight. Tears streamed down his face, his sobs shaking him apart.
He stumbled back, voice cracking. "Why… Why would you do this?"
"I've got nothing left," I said, soft as ash. "Living without love, hate, anything - it's a void I can't stand. If my death eases your pain, even a little bit, maybe that's all my wretched and cursed life's worth. At least our child'll stay with you - you won't be alone anymore."
He hit the ground, sanity slipping, crawling backward like I was some demon baring fangs. "No, this ain't right… It can't be… You're supposed to kill me!"
With a ragged howl, he bolted, vanishing into the night's black maw.
I stood there, still as death, watching him fade. Tears slid down my face, two silent streaks, but inside - nothing.
Then a voice broke the dark. "Leah!"
I turned. Liam stood there, eyes wide with confusion and terror, lunging to wrap his arms around me, touching me all over to make sure that I was still one piece. "You're alive! This ain't a dream! Leah, say something! Talk to me!"
I ran a hand over his head, soothing. "I'm here. Don't be scared."
He pulled back, hands scrambling over me in a panic. "I saw them toss you in the incinerator! Are you real?"
A bitter smile flickered on my lips. "It wasn't me. I'm here with you - no one's hurting you, or me."
He whipped his head around, voice trembling. "Darren! He was here - he wouldn't let me save you! Said you were gone!"
I leaned in, whispering, "He was messing with you. He's run off already. And he's not coming back."
Liam's arms locked around me like chains forged from desperation, his sobs shuddering against my ribs, wet and ragged. The scent of salt and sweat clung to him, thick as the guilt that had festered between us for years. His tears seared through the fabric of my shirt, branding my skin with his anguish. "If this is a dream, please don't wake me up." His voice was a broken thing.
I didn't move. Not when his knees hit the floor with a hollow thud, not when his forehead pressed into my abdomen, his body curling inward like a leaf shriveling from fire.
He nuzzled lower, his breath hot through the fabric, lips brushing the scarred flesh beneath—the marks he'd never given me but had watched others carve. "Please," he whispered, "let me stay with you. I swear I will work for you. I will worship you. I will never ever..."
"I know," I interrupted him.
Above us, the moon watched, indifferent. It had seen this dance before, probably millions of times.
My hand settled on his head, fingers threading through his sweat-damp hair. The gesture was automatic, a relic from another life - when I'd soothed beasts and men alike with the same detached tenderness. But this time, my thumb traced the shell of his ear, slow, deliberate. A mockery of comfort.
"You can't save the child you lost, so you want to regain everything you lost by saving him, right?" My wolf's voice slithered through my mind, sharp as a blade between the ribs.
I watched Liam's shoulders heave, felt the dampness of his grief seep into my clothes.
"No," I told her. "That human boy's been saving me since the moment I met him."