Torn Between Destinies

Chapter 26: Chapter Twenty Six

The air around me was thick, like the forest itself could feel the storm coming. I could hear my footsteps crunching over leaves, but all I really heard was the question pounding in my head.

Had he been with someone else?

It wasn’t just the scent. It wasn’t just the way Darius had changed—the silence, the guilt in his eyes, the way he flinched when I got too close. It was the space between us, like a wound that hadn’t healed.

And I couldn’t take it anymore.

I found him by the river, sharpening his blade. Like always, he acted like he didn’t hear me coming, but I knew he had. Darius always knew when I was near. Even now, his shoulders tensed, but he didn’t turn around.

That alone made me angrier.

"You hiding from me?" I said, my voice harder than I expected.

He set the blade down. "No."

"Then look at me."

He turned. His face was calm, too calm. Like he was waiting for an explosion.

I gave it to him.

"What happened while I was gone?" I demanded.

He didn’t answer.

"You know what I mean," I snapped. "Don’t make me say it."

He looked away.

"I’m asking you straight, Darius. Were you with someone else?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Luciana..."

"Don’t say my name like that," I cut in. "Say the truth. That’s all I want."

His jaw clenched. "Yes."

I froze. The world tilted. My breath caught in my throat.

"Yes," he said again. "I was."

My heart sank like a stone in water. "How long?"

"Once," he said. "It happened once. That’s all."

"When?" My voice shook.

He looked right at me. "A month after you left."

I stepped back. It felt like something cracked inside me.

"She was just there," he said. "And I was angry. Lost. I thought you’d left me forever."

"That gave you a reason to sleep with her?"

"No!" he shouted. "There’s no excuse. I know that. I hated myself after."

"Who was it?" I asked.

He hesitated. "Soraya."

Of course. The she-wolf who always hung too close. Too soft-spoken around me. Too bold around him.

"She’s been around lately," I said. "Following you like a shadow."

"I told her it was a mistake. I told her it meant nothing."

"Then why hasn’t she gone?" I asked bitterly. "Because it meant something to her."

He was silent.

"I see how she looks at you," I whispered. "Like she already won."

"She didn’t."

"She had your body."

"But not my heart," he said quickly. "That’s always been yours."

I laughed—sharp and bitter. "You think that makes it better? You broke me, Darius. You ripped the one part of me I trusted and set it on fire."

He stepped closer. "I know. I regret it every day."

"Do you still want her?"

"No."

"Do you still think of her?"

He looked away.

That silence said everything.

"I was out there risking my life," I said, my voice rising. "Trying to bring back my family. Trying to fulfill a prophecy I didn’t ask for. I did it for us. For this pack. For you."

"I know," he said softly.

"Then why wasn’t that enough?"

"Because I’m weak," he said. "Because I thought you wouldn’t come back. And I broke under the weight of missing you."

His voice cracked on the last word. And for a second, he looked like a man lost in a storm.

But I couldn’t let myself soften. Not yet.

"You should’ve waited."

"I know."

"You should’ve had more faith in me."

"I know."

We stood there, breathing hard, the silence full of flames.

"I can’t undo what I did," he said. "I wish I could. But all I can do now is ask—can you forgive me?"

My hands were shaking. "I don’t know."

He stepped closer again. "I love you, Luciana."

"Then show it," I said. "Because right now, your words are just ashes."

He reached for my hand. I pulled away.

"I need time," I said.

"I’ll wait."

"Will she?"

He didn’t answer.

That told me everything.

I didn’t go back to the packhouse. I walked through the woods until my legs gave out. I sat under a tree and buried my face in my hands.

I wanted to scream. To shift. To run until I forgot his scent, his voice, his touch.

But I couldn’t.

Because I still loved him.

That was the cruelest part.

I closed my eyes and let the tears fall. I cried for the girl who believed in fairy tales, for the wolf who wanted loyalty above all, for the mate who thought love could survive anything.

Maybe it still could.

But not tonight.

Tonight, I had to face the fire alone.

--Tonight, he would face me.

He stood at the far end, shirt off, sweat glistening on his chest, fists wrapped. He was mid-swing against a training dummy when he froze—sensing me.

Slowly, he turned.

His eyes darkened. "Luciana."

I didn’t slow down. "We need to talk."

He wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Now’s not the time."

I folded my arms. "Then make it the time. I’m done pretending everything’s fine."

Silence stretched between us like a drawn bow.

"What do you want me to say?" he finally asked.

"The truth." I stepped closer. "Not what you think I want to hear. Not the sugar-coated version. I want the *real* truth."

He looked away, jaw clenching. "You won’t like it."

"Try me."

A long pause. Then he said it—so quiet I almost didn’t catch it.

"I did sleep with her."

The words hit me like a slap.

My throat tightened. My eyes burned. I tried to speak, but my voice cracked. "When?"

"After you left," he said. "When you crossed into the human world. I didn’t know if you’d ever come back. I felt... abandoned."

"That doesn’t give you the right—"

"I know," he cut in, voice sharp now. "I know it doesn’t. I made a mistake. A big one."

"No," I said, voice rising. "A mistake is burning dinner. A mistake is forgetting someone’s name. You *chose* her. You let her into your bed. You let her scent cling to you!"

His eyes flashed. "And what about you, Luciana? You ran off without telling anyone! You risked your life, took Kiani and Aira through a portal while John’s men chased you. You could’ve died. What do you think that did to me?"

"I did it to save my family!"

"And I tried to save *myself* from losing you!" he shouted.

We were both breathing hard now, the fire between us no longer warm—but burning.

I stepped back, voice trembling. "Do you love her?"

His face twisted. "No."

"Then why her?"

"I don’t know. She was there. And I—" he stopped himself, exhaling sharply. "I hated feeling helpless. I hated not knowing if I’d ever see you again. She gave me something I thought I needed."

I shook my head. "That’s not love. That’s weakness."

"I never claimed to be strong."

"But I did," I whispered. "I believed in you. I waited. Even when it hurt. Even when I doubted... I still came back to you."

Darius looked pained. "I know. And I don’t deserve it."

I stared at him for a long time, heart breaking in slow motion. "I asked myself over and over, ’Did he touch her? Did he kiss her like he kissed me? Did he whisper things in her ear that he used to say only to me?’"

He closed his eyes.

"I imagined it so many times it made me sick," I said.

He took a shaky breath. "Luciana..."

"I’m not asking for an apology," I said, voice cold now. "I’m asking for honesty. All of it."

He opened his eyes, and this time, they didn’t dodge mine.

"She came to me when I was a mess. I let it happen. Once. And I regretted it the moment it was over. But it was already done."

"Do you still see her?"

He hesitated.

That was all I needed.

I laughed, bitter and small. "So you do."

"It’s not like that."

"Then what is it like?"

"She came to me again, after you returned. I told her it was over. But..." He trailed off, rubbing a hand over his face. "We share a past. She keeps showing up."

"You didn’t push her away hard enough."

"I’m trying—"

"Try harder," I snapped. "Or let me go."

His face twisted. "Don’t say that."

"I have to." I turned away. My voice was soft now, broken. "Because if you can’t choose me completely... then I don’t want to be chosen at all."

The wind picked up, rustling the leaves, and I felt the crack in my chest grow wider.

"I never stopped loving you," Darius said behind me.

I didn’t turn around. "Then show it. Prove it. Because right now... all I see is fire. And we’re both burning in it."

I walked away, not looking back.

But my wolf howled inside me the whole way home.