A TERRIBLE NIGHT

LILIAN'S POV

My body lost all strength the instant the front door closed behind Taryn. Before I could further disgrace myself by falling face first on Darian's costly floor, my knees gave way a little, and I grabbed the barrier next to me.

Regretfully, he was still aware.

"You need to take a seat," Darian said coolly.

"I'm alright."

I was immediately betrayed by my trembling voice.

After giving me a long look, Darian moved to the couch by the fireplace. "You're obviously not."

To be honest, I was too tired to argue.

My head felt extremely heavy after everything that had happened tonight, and my body was still hurting from the accident.

I approached the couch slowly and took a careful seat.

Now that Taryn was gone, the mansion felt all too quiet.

Almost uncomfortable.

Darian loosened the sleeves of his black shirt and stood. Although he appeared composed on the outside, I could tell he was upset by the tension in his jaw.

To say that I was irritated would have been an understatement.

After some time, he said softly, "You didn't have to come downstairs."

I shakily rubbed my sweaty palms together. "I didn't want him to believe that I was hiding."

"You were hidden."

I frowned a little. "All right, perhaps a little."

His lips moved slightly on one side, then disappeared once more.

Once again, I was surprised by that tiny almost-smile.

Seeing someone like Darian appear amused was odd. Normally, his face appeared to be carved from stone.

I said softly, "I'm sorry about tonight."

His eyebrows folded slightly. "Why are you apologizing once more?"

"Because he's your brother."

Before he spoke, Darian gave the closed door a quick look.

"His actions are not justified by that.”

The room became quiet once more.

I tried not to think about how embarrassing tonight had been as I looked down at my fingers. For some reason, the situation got worse every hour.

At last, Darian said, "You should rest."

I tried to get up after giving a slow nod.

My injured leg began to hurt sharply right away, and I took a deep breath. My body leaned over dangerously to the side before I could stop myself.

Strong hands immediately held my arm.

My breath caught.

Darian's gray eyes narrowed slightly as he carefully calmed me. "You're injured."

I said clumsily, "I noticed."

For a moment longer than was necessary, his hand stayed around my arm, and I suddenly became very aware of how close we were.

Too near.

Once more, I could smell his perfume. Rain mixed with something clean and dark.

Silently, my wolf stirred.

risky.

Before my brain started acting foolish, I quickly withdrew.

"I can walk," I said out.

Darian didn't seem convinced. "Barely.”

He moved next to me and pointed to the stairs without saying anything more. "Come on."

I gave him a blink. "Are you going to take me to bed?"

"Yes."

"That sounds strangely scary."

"It needs to."

Before I could stop myself, I started laughing.

We were both taken by surprise by the sound.

I hadn't laughed since this morning.

Darian appeared a little taken by surprise as well, but he bounced back fast. "At least I now know that you can make noises other than an apology."

I walked slowly up the stairs next to him, closing in my eyes at him. "You like to make fun of me."

"You make it simple."

"Whoa. You're cruel.

"To be honest, that's the kindest thing someone has called me this week."

I silently shook my head, but for some reason, my chest felt less tense than it had.

Just a little, though.

I could still hear Taryn's last words in my head.

This is something you'll regret.

My leg was beating fast once more by the time we got to his room.

Darian saw right away.

"Sit," he commanded.

While he briefly disappeared into the bathroom and came back carrying a small white box, I sat on the edge of the bed.

"What is that?" With worry, I asked.

"Medication for pain."

"Oh."

He set the box down next to me and knelt down close to my wounded leg. My whole body tensed up at once.

"What are you doing?"

"Observing your leg."

"That sounded concerning."

Darian rolled up the soft fabric of my pajama pants just above my ankle, completely ignoring me.

Now the bruises appeared more severe.

I moved in pain a little as his fingers touched my skin, which turned a deep purple.

His jaw instantly tightened.

"You should have remained in bed."

"Tonight wasn't exactly what I had planned."

Then there was silence.

Then, in silence.

"That's not how he should have spoken to you."

Shocked, I glanced up at him.

Darian spoke calmly, but his voice sounded colder than usual as he continued to gaze at the bruise.

"It's okay," I said without thinking, quietly.

In an instant, his eyes came up to meet mine.

"No," he firmly replied. "It isn't."

Somewhere deep within my chest, the words struck.

Because no one had ever stood up for me so fast.

Not even Taryn.

Not Taryn in particular lately.

Before my feelings embarrassed me once more, I quickly turned away my gaze.

After giving me the medicine and a glass of water, Darian eventually got to his feet.

"Take it."

"Yes, Alpha," I said in a quiet but emotional voice.

One eyebrow shot up at once. "Was that unexpected twist?"

I lied and said, "No."

"It sounded unpleasant."

Just to keep from laughing again, I quickly swallowed the pills.

What went wrong with me this evening?

Perhaps I had hit my head more forcefully than I realized.

After that, Darian walked over to the couch while I carefully slid under the covers once more. With the exclusion of the faint sound of rain starting outside, the room fell silent.

I was completely unaware that it was raining.

We didn't talk for a while.

“You can turn the lights off if you want,” I whispered quietly.

"I am aware."

Soon after, awkward silence reappeared.

I moved a little under the covers before I started talking again.

“Darian?”

“Hm.”

“Why are you helping me?”

The question stayed heavily between us.

I briefly believed that he might disregard it entirely.

Next

"You appeared to require assistance."

"Is that all?"

"Is there any other reason?"

I had no idea.

Perhaps because people typically expect receiving something in return.

particularly those in positions of power.

After a brief period of silence, Darian spoke once more.

"You believe that everyone is attempting to take advantage of you."

There was no question in the statement.

I silently look up at the ceiling.

"Am I to blame?"

"No," he said.

Tiredness gradually pulled up at my body as the rain continued to tap gently against the windows.

I felt somehow secure for the first time that day.

And really?

I was more afraid of that than anything else.

The next thing I remembered was warmth and darkness, so I must have fallen asleep at some point.

Then yelling.

I was immediately surrounded by fire.

Heat burned painfully against my skin, and smoke filled my lungs. I turned in a desperate attempt to find someone, anyone

"Mama!"

Through the flames came the sound of a child's cry.

My heart stopped.

I attempted to run in the direction of the voice, but the fire only got bigger, trapping me entirely.

"Please, Mama!"

"I'll be there!" I let out a very worried scream.

However, despite my best efforts, I was unable to get to the child.

Everything was covered by the flames.

Then all of a sudden

My shoulders were seized by powerful hands.

"Liliana."

My eyes snapped open in an instant.

The room was dark except for the faint light from outside. My skin was completely covered in sweat, and my breathing was unusual.

"Hey."

Darian appeared unusually worried as he bent down next to the bed.

"You're fine," he said softly.

I a moment unable to Identify between reality and the nightmare.

Then everything collapsed again.

The mansion.

Taryn.

Everything.

I became aware that tears were streaming down my face, and my chest tightened painfully.

Goddess.

embarrassing.

I quickly wiped my face and said softly, "I'm sorry."

Now Darian appeared truly confused."Why do you feel the need to apologize for crying?"

"You were awakened by me."

"You were yelling."

My face instantly became hot.

Excellent.

Perfectly ideal.

Wishing I could vanish into the blanket forever, I pulled it tighter around myself.

I whispered, "It was just a nightmare."

After a brief period of silence, Darian spoke once more.

"The attack by rogues?"

In an instant, my breath caught.

I stared up at him slowly, stunned.

"How did you…"

"You kept calling your mom."

Suddenly, the space seemed very small.

It had been years since I had dreamed about that evening.

Not in this manner.

Memories tried to pull me under once more, and my throat tensed painfully.

Darian's voice softened a little, so he must have noticed.

"You don't need to discuss it."

A strange part of me wanted to nod, but I did so quickly.

Perhaps because this was the first time in a long time that someone seemed truly interested in listening.