002: UNDER MY ROOF.

~~ELENA~~

“Don’t you dare touch me!” I screamed, stumbling backward as my voice echoed against the cathedral walls.

Darius didn’t move.

His men surged forward at a simple flick of his hand, their shadows cutting through the light spilling from the windows.

The mafia guards reacted instantly by pulling out their guns and their faces set in fierce defiance. Maybe it was loyalty to their boss or pride, but they stood their ground like fools who didn’t know what kind of monsters they were facing.

The first shot never even came because Darius’ men moved too fast. Wolves in human skin and in less than a heartbeat, one of them twisted a guard’s wrist, snapping it clean. Another wrenched the gun from a trembling hand and slammed the butt of it into his jaw.

As bodies hit the marble floor, I stood frozen, my pulse screaming in my ears as the last few men hesitated and then turned to run away.

Silence swallowed the church and the only sound left was my ragged breathing and his heavy, controlled breathing.

“Are you done fighting yet?” His voice was low, and cruelly calm as he closed the distance between us.

“Because I’m done watching you pretend you belong here.”

My veil slipped from my trembling face as he reached for me. “No…!”

I shoved him, flexed my claws and scratched his arm but his grip only tightened.

“Still got claws,” he murmured darkly like he was amused. “Good.”

“Let me go!” I struggled, my nails digging into his skin, but he didn’t even flinch.

Instead, he leaned down until his breath ghosted over my ear.

“You’ve run long enough, Elena.”

And before I could say another word, he dragged me out of the church.

I could taste salt on my lips. From sweat or tears, I didn’t know.

“Darius… please!” I choked. “You can’t… This isn’t—”

“Quiet,” he growled, not even glancing back.

The moment we hit the street, the wolves moved, surrounding us. Their eyes glowed faintly and no one dared interfere. Antonio’s men didn’t even reach for their guns anymore.

One look at Darius, and they froze like prey sensing the wrong kind of predator.

“Darius!” I struggled again, phlegm piling in my throat, “You can’t take me! I am not yours anymore!”

That made him stop, just enough to turn and face me.

His eyes, good God, those eyes were like molten obsidian, swirling with anger, and something deeper, recognition.

“Not mine?” His voice dropped low, almost soft, but I knew better than to trust that tone. “You wore another man’s ring, Elena. You married him, and wore black for him. But you never stopped being mine.”

I shook my head violently, tears blurring my vision. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

He stepped closer, and I stepped back, until my spine hit the side of the car, the cold metal biting into me.

“I know exactly what I am talking about,” he said. “You can lie to the world. You can lie to yourself. But you can’t lie to the bond.”

Before I could reply, he opened the car door and then shoved me inside. I fell onto the leather seat, and my breath ragged.

The door slammed behind him, trapping me in his cologne that had once felt like home.

Then the car started moving.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, my voice shaking with anger that barely masked the terror underneath.

He didn’t answer immediately. His jaw curved, and the muscles throbbed as his hands fisted on his thighs.

Finally, he answered, “Home.”

“I don’t have a home,” I spat. “Not there. Especially not with you.”

He glanced at me, one eyebrow raising slightly. “You ran. That doesn’t mean it stopped being yours.”

My throat closed. “You don’t get to decide that anymore.”

The car went silent except for the low whirr of the engine and my rough breathing. The longer I sat beside him, the more suffocating the air became.

I turned toward the window, clenching my fists. “You’re insane.”

“Maybe,” he said quietly. “But at least I didn’t pretend to love a man I never wanted.”

The words hit me like a slap. I froze, turning to look at him again. “Don’t you dare speak about him.”

He finally looked at me, his eyes unreadable. “Then don’t make me remember how you left.”

The car swerved sharply onto a dirt path, trees thickening around us. I could feel the shift in the air. The buzz of energy, the way the forest seemed alive. The edge of his territory.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head as the realization hit. “Darius, please. Don’t take me there.”

His hand shot out, and grabbed my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. His thumb brushed my lower lip, a gesture that should have been gentle, but wasn’t.

“You had four years,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “Four years to convince yourself I’d let you go. I didn’t.”

I tried to pull away, but his hold tightened. “Let me go, Darius. You don’t understand…”

“I understand perfectly,” he murmured, his eyes narrowing. “You ran from what you couldn’t control. From me. But that ends tonight.”

The car stopped.

Outside, wolves waited, watching silently as their Alpha stepped out, pulling me with him. My knees hit the dirt, breath coming in sharp, and broken gasps.

“Walk,” he ordered.

I didn’t move. “I won’t.”

He sighed softly, the sound more dangerous than his growl. “You always make me use force.”

Then he simply bent, lifted me as though I weighed nothing, and started walking toward the fortress of his pack house.

I fought him every step of the way. My claws dug into his neck, and my fists pounding his chest. “You can’t do this! You can’t just…”

“I already am.”

“Why? Why can’t you leave me alone?”

“Because I tried,” he said, bare enough that it almost didn’t sound like him. “And it damn near ruined me.”

The words stunned me into silence.

By the time I found my voice again, we were standing in front of the great carved doors of his home. The same ones I had run from four years ago.

“I hate you,” I whispered.

“I know,” he said quietly, pushing the door open. “But you’ll still sleep under my roof tonight.”

Then I realized the most terrifying truth of all. I wasn’t trembling because I feared him.

I was trembling because some part of me still remembered him.

And still wanted him.

And fuck, I hated myself for it.