Darren's Downfall

by Arizona Tape

“So, if you want to explain… I’ll listen, without running away. I promise,” she smiled, hiding her face into my arm. I chuckled and guided her towards the picnic I had arranged. From her grin, I could tell it was a hit. Tenderly, she brushed her hand over the checkered blanket as she sat down next to me. I filled her cup with Father’s best cider and toasted to Danny’s health. A serenade of the crickets’ finest song broke the silence and the sweet scent of honey blossoms perfumed the air. It was a perfect night out under the stars, and unlike all the days before, this was was actually planned.

  I stared at my woman and for a moment, got lost counting the stars in her eyes. She was so utterly beautiful, I would do anything to keep her. Even tell her about all the horrible things I went through with Mer.

  “So, are you sure you want to know about Meredith?”

  She brought her lips to my cheeks and pressed a gentle kiss against my skin.”Yes, as much as you want to tell me.”

  I took a deep breath, pushing down the anxiety in my gut. It’d been a long time since I talked properly about her. I just hoped this wouldn’t screw anything up.

  “Meredith is my ex, and also my first mate.”

  Danny’s eyes widened a bit in shock, but she didn’t move away from me. Luckily. Instead, she just took a moment. “Your first mate?”

  Conflicted, I nodded. “Yes, we met a year or two before I ran from home. At first, everything was fine. Great, even. We had the best time together and I couldn’t believe how lucky I got, you know?”

  Danny narrowed her eyes and nodded slowly. “Yes, I think I do.”

  I clenched my jaw and let out a big breath. “In the beginning, I loved her. I loved her so much it ached. But I figured that was just love. But then after a while… It just ached.”

  “Oh Darren…”

  I drew in a fresh breath, not sure where the courage to explain came from. “Things changed, they changed so slowly I didn’t even notice it until it was too late. She became… Cold and distant. Controlling. She wanted to know everywhere I went, and who I went with, and why. I constantly needed to justify what I did, every second of every day.”

  I paused to take a sip of the cider and to lubricate my throat. “I know every couple has their issues, but over time, that was all we had. Fight after fight after fight. Everything I said, was wrong. Everything I did, was wrong. Everything I wanted, was wrong. In the end, she had me convinced it was just me. That I was wrong.”

  Danny’s eyes softened and she cupped my face tenderly. “So you two broke up?”

  I scoffed. “I wish. No, we didn’t break up. I stayed because somehow, she convinced me it was my fault. That I wasn’t taking care of her like a first mate should. That I wasn’t loving her like she deserved to be loved. That I needed to try harder. So I did.”

  “Did it help?”

  The memory of her cold grey eyes flashed through my mind. Bitterly, I laughed. “She knew exactly how to toy with me. How to rope me in until I was hooked enough so she could hurt me. She knew just how far to drive me away, before she reeled me back in. It was an endless game. Her favourite game.”

  “She kept you on the hook?”

  “Very much so. I was her little plaything and I let it happen,” I admitted, shame colouring my cheeks. I hadn’t admitted that to anyone before because it made me feel stupid, like an idiot. Like I deserved to be toyed with.

  “I’m so sorry, Darren. I didn’t know.” Danny brushed her fingers over my arm, drawing invisible patterns on my skin.

  “It’s okay, nobody really knows how bad it was.”

  “So, what changed?”

  I chewed my lip as I recalled the worst day of my life. “Ma died. And as always, Mer had some sort of emergency. There was always something, you know? Her little sister was sick, or she fell down the stairs, or in the worst case scenarios, she wanted to kill herself. It doesn’t really matter, just… Always something.” I bit back the tears and ran my hand through my hair. “Instead of comforting my little brother, I went over to her house. She was feeling down, I don’t really remember what it was. But it was important and she insisted that she needed me or else, she would probably do something stupid. And as an idiot, I didn’t want to lose two people in the same day. So I went. And I comforted her, for whatever it was.”

  “No,” Danny gasped, appalled by my story.

  “Oh yes. Instead of grieving over my mother, I had to take care of her. That was just the thing, it was always about her. Always. There weren’t two people in the relationship, it was just her. And me making sure it was about her.”

  Soothingly, my redhead rubbed my arm and pulled one of the blankets over my shoulders. “How did things end?”

  “Somewhere along the line, she convinced my father she’d be the perfect queen for me. And he bought it. The day he told me to marry her, was the day I snapped. I said my goodbyes to Leander and just ran. I know it wasn’t really the best solution, but at the time, that was the best I could do.”

  Danny pushed herself up and pressed a soft kiss against my temple. “I’m glad you did. I’d never have found you otherwise.”

  I chuckled as I pulled her into me. She didn’t seem deterred by my story and it could only mean one thing. That she was right for me. Truly right.

  “You would have. Maybe we’d have met here even, at the summit of the clans.”

  She smiled and nestled herself into my arms. “Perhaps. How is that going, by the way? Did the clans respond?”

  I sighed and scratched my forehead. “Not sure. Father was supposed to send out messengers if I had lunch with Mer. That’s why I was with her. But since it was a disaster, I don’t know if he actually did.”

  She curled a strand of my hair between her fingers, just like she did with her own. “If he hasn’t, we just wait. He can’t keep your return secret forever. It’s already spreading through the country like wildfire.”

  “True. I just wanted to speed things up so you weren’t in danger all the time.”

  Danny smiled tenderly, her eyes shimmering with something I hadn’t seen before. “So you went on a lunch date with your horrible ex? For me? For us?”

  I nodded, surprised. “Of course? Isn’t that what friends are for?”

  She laughed and curled her hand around my nape, tugging me closer. “We’re not just friends though?”

  Her breath tickled my skin and feared actual butterflies would flutter out of my mouth if I opened it.

  “Are we?” she teased, brushing her lips across mine. I wetted my lips and caught her half-way. With a soft moan, she deepened the kiss and melted into me. My wolf howled and nudged against my chest. He was calling for hers, but would she answer? Could she even hear me?

  A foreign, yet familiar sensation passed through me and an unexplainable joy spread in my heart.

  Her wolf answered.

  I caught Danny’s gaze and she smiled back mysteriously, as if she held all the secrets in the universe. Maybe she did, maybe she didn’t. But I was willing to spend all my years trying to work it out. I wanted to spend an eternity figuring her out.

  With the beautiful chirping of the crickets, we fell back on the blanket. Danny curled up into me and I happily let her. After all this time of running across the country and wasting my time away, I finally found what I was meant to be doing on this earth. It wasn’t being an assassin for hire, or taking over my Father’s place on the throne. It was this, just this.

  Holding Danny and protecting her from the world. And whatever came, I would deal with it. We would all deal with it. Chesca, the clans, the war, … What else the world would throw her way.

  From now on, I had only one goal in mind.

  I turned and captured Danny in the softest kinds of kisses. She smiled against my lips and the scent of roses filled the air. I wasn’t sure of the rose bushes had opened or if it was her, but I didn’t care.

  Leaving the slightest gap between us, I drew back so I could look in her warm eyes and I smiled.

  Perfect. She was j
ust perfect.

  Epilogue: JP

  I stood quietly in the back and observed the wolves in front of me. Eight clans had gathered for the meeting, but only the leaders were allowed inside for the summit.

  I caught Danny’s gaze and smiled as she subtly winked at me. She had offered for me to sit next to her, but I had refused. I really wasn’t a public speaker type of guy. I much preferred watching from behind the scenes and advising the ones who actually made a difference.

  People like Danny, the only heir to one of the most prestigious clans of this kingdom. So prestigious, they were referred to as a House, even.

  But she wasn’t the only one. As expected, Regan demanded to be seated next to her. And as one of the other Lords of this land, he was granted that wish. Not that it was a hard sell, with the crown prince being our friend.

  Proudly, I stared at Darren as he whispered to his younger brother that resembled him in every way. Prince Leander certainly had grown up into a fine man.

  With one cough, Darren silenced the room. He caught Danny’s gaze and a sparkle lit up his eyes. A confidence he didn’t used to have, fell over him. It suited him well.

  “Lords, ladies. Thank you all for joining me as such short notice. As you all know, we’re here to address the issue at hand.”

  He beckoned at Lance and a struggling figure was brought in through the doors. Tied in thick ropes, the head of the knights threw the woman on the ground. Angrily, she hissed at everyone and spat at Danny.

  A murmur birthed between the lords and they whispered and stared at the figure in the middle.

  Unaffected, Darren clapped his hands to demand silence once more. The buzz died and he gained everyone’s attention once again. Proudly, I admired how my newest friend commanded the room. He would’ve made a terrific king, even if he didn’t want to admit that himself.

  “Our topic for today…” Darren yanked the cursing woman up, showing her face to the room. “Chesca and the war.”

  Continue the story in

  JP’s Journey

  Grab it here:

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B2FR2CF/

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  About the author

  Arizona Tape is quite a chaotic, young adult that shares her house with a cactus plant and has sleep dates with her bed. She makes up stories in her head all the time like a crazy person and occasionally writes them down too.

  But only if the mood is right.

  In her spare time, she enjoys discovering new places with her friends, making all kinds of food as she waltzes through her kitchen like a tornado or likes relaxing on her couch with a movie and a cosy blanket.

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