Chapter 16 Can you give me all of that?

Chapter 16 Can you give me all of that?
CHAPTER 16
BLAIR
What the hell did he just say to me?

He was going to drop the elections and let someone else go for it?

Who else is worth it in this pack? I haven't been here long, but I know all of the young men, and he’s the best person to have a good shot at that presidential seat. The next in line would be Ronan, but he would never agree.

He'd rather die than accept running as the Alpha president.

And Darius just wants to drop running for the elections because he wants to have me?

I shook my head, rolling my eyes at his cowardice. I hate less ambitious men like him.

Giving me the presidential seat? Who the hell told him that I’m worth that much?

For a brief moment, we both didn’t say a word after he said he was going to drop the elections.

Well, I do not believe him, but I stood still in silence, trying to process what he had just said to me.

Darius giving up the presidential Alpha seat to try to get his ex-mate would go down in history.

I would be the face of a scandal that I'm not ready for. I would be the face that ruined the pack. I would be the face that stole the one good chance from the pack. I won’t go down in history as Blair Knowles, as I have always wanted to.

History won’t be kind to me, as I have always prayed it would be.

There wouldn’t be a statue for me as a heroine when I die. Instead, I’d be the woman who took a married man and had him leave not just his family but his dreams.

Everyone would hate me, and I won't be remembered for my good deeds. It's just a lot I can't seem to process, and I would never let him do that.

Darius swallowed hard and turned away from me. “I will call my Beta and tell him to inform the pack that I won't be participating in the Alpha presidential elections anymore and that anyone interested could come forward to represent the pack. They will announce it tonight, and the pack will throw tantrums and then forget it tomorrow when the next emerges.”

I laughed bitterly. Of course, it’s so easy to say—easier said than done.

And even if he dared to do such a thing, how blissful in his cowardice.

I watched him walk over to his table and pick up his phone.

Goddess… he won't. He's not…

My eyes widened when the person on the line picked up the call.

“Hello, Mr. Alpha. Should everyone come in now?”

He glanced at me before answering. “No. Not yet.”

“I want you to make a speech. I’ll be addressing everyone tonight,” he said, and my brows furrowed.

He isn't going to throw away his life for me. He isn't, right?

I took three slow steps forward, my eyes fixed on him, refusing to blink or tear away for a minute. I felt like if I blinked, I’d miss the action, so I watched with keen attention.

“A speech… Alpha?”

“Yes, a speech. Tonight I will be announcing to the pack that…”

“Don’t, D-D-Darius…” My croaked voice cut him off, and he turned to me.

“Sit back, Blair. Sit back and let me make my choice.”

“End the call,” I said firmly, though my voice was still a little shaky.

“W-what?” He turned to me, a little surprised.

“I said end the call, Darius.”

He blinked hard, his phone still pressed to his ear. “No. I won't.”

“I said end the call, Darius,” I repeated, trying to keep my voice low. “End the call now, Darius.”

He turned his head with that annoying smirk of his. “I am not going to end the call, Blair. You do not get to tell me—”

“End the damn call, Darius.” I cut him off with a snap, rage crawling up my throat.

He stared at me hesitantly. “You do not command an Alpha, Blair,” he warned me through clenched teeth.

But I didn’t listen… “End the fucking call, Darius.” I said again, this time my voice rose to a scream as the words tore from my lips.

Gasps rippled through the room, and he just stared at me in disbelief.

His nostrils flared, and the grip on his phone tightened.

It tightened so hard that I thought it might just shatter. His wolf was surging forward.

For a few moments, neither of us moved; we just stared at each other. Then he ended the call, letting the phone drop to the table.

He just stood there, staring at me—breathing hard, his chest rising and falling. Every trace of anger drained from his face.

I exhaled shakily. That was quite a close call. My shoulders trembled, but I walked forward.

“Do you even hear yourself?” I whispered. “Do you even know what you were about to do? Throw away your entire future… for me?”

He opened his mouth, but no words came.

“You want to drop from the Alpha presidential elections for what exactly? For a few days with me in bed and then trigger a war we can't win?”

“I was trying to save what's remaining of us,” he whispered.

And I scoffed. “You aren't saving us. There's no us, Darius. I'm married; you're married. Therefore, there's no us. If you want an us, then you will sit back and run that election.”

He swallowed hard, his gaze locked on me, and for once, he had nothing to say.

Then I turned away, wrapping my arms around myself, staring at the wide window and the fading daylight beyond it.

Behind me, I could still feel his silence, but it didn't stretch for long.

Soon, he walked closer to me. “What do you want? You do not want me to pick you and become the Alpha president, and you also do not want me to back out and live the life I want with you.”

“What do you want, Blair? What the hell do you want?”

I turned sharply. “I want freedom. I want peace. I want a life where I can walk in there, sign those divorce papers, and not trigger a war. I want a life where I don’t walk around scared that my own pack is the weaker pack. I want a life where I don't get judged or shamed for walking out of an unfaithful marriage, and even if they do, it doesn't cost me my certificate or career because power resides in my pack and no one can make decisions against me. And I want revenge on the man who wronged me.”

“That is what I want… can you give me all of that?”