At first, it was shock then disbelief because I thought he was pulling my leg but the longer I searched his face for signs of deception, the less likely that seemed.
“Where did you see it?” I asked.
“It was in the forest. I was doing some patrolling and I saw it bleeding out.”
“Did you kill it?”
A dark look crossed his face as if he wished he had but he shook his head. “It was going to die on its own anyway. I was able to knock it out and take it into better-suited territory.”
I was completely shocked. The wolf that had terrified me and stripped away my ability to sleep was the same wolf that Darius spoke about so casually. He didn’t seem to be worried or even to care about it. My mouth was open and I was staring at him in disbelief. I could not believe that anyone could be so fearless.
“Is that why you are always at the edge of the forest with your friends?” I asked, unable to stop the question from leaving my lips. “Do you all patrol the forest for signs of wolves?”
At first, he looked confused but a slow smirk spread in his lips. “You have been stalking me, haven’t you?”
I flushed pink and I was quick to deny the claims but we both knew I was lying. I had dug the hole for myself when I asked the questions. He was always very secretive whenever he was in the forest with his friends and the only way I would know that was if I was paying attention to him. The lack of sleep was affecting the way I was thinking.
As if on cue, I let out a loud yawn and I was quick to cover my mouth with the back of my hand. I reached for my flask only to realize I had left it at the bar when Darius had called me over. I muttered a small curse under my breath because I was already feeling tired again and I could feel my eyes beginning to droop.
“Can I please get my flask?” It didn’t escape our attention that this was the first time I was being polite to him, but I figured being polite couldn’t hurt when I was half asleep.
“No.”
I narrowed my eyes at him unsure if I had heard the correct words.
“It is unhealthy to take coffee in a bid to keep yourself awake. You can sleep on the couch for the rest of your shift.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not? The last time I checked, there were no laws against you sleeping in my office.”
“It’s...” I hesitated while I tried to find the perfect words. “It is completely inappropriate. I shouldn’t even be in your office. It was my fault that I did not have enough sleep. I can finish the rest of my shift.”
“You can either get on the couch peacefully or I will tie you to it and ensure you go to sleep.”
As those words left his lips, shivers ran down my spine. I knew he didn’t intend for the words to be seductive but I couldn’t help but cross my legs at the harshness of his voice and the intensity of his stare. I opened my mouth to protest but no words would come out. My tongue was tied and my throat had completely dried up.
“Couch, now.” Like a puppet on a string, I stood to my feet and made my way over to the couch. I sat down but did not make any further moves. “Do I need to instruct you on how to sleep?”
I flushed pink and a retort was at the tip of my tongue but I swallowed it down because, at the end of the day, he was trying to help me. I reluctantly lay down but I couldn’t bring myself to fall asleep.
“I have nightmares. I had them last night and that was why I couldn’t sleep. I don’t want to bother everyone when I start screaming.”
A dark look crossed his face and I saw something akin to guilt in his expression but it didn’t make sense because there was nothing for him to feel guilty about. He did not order those wolves to come my way and he is not the reason I was out so late.
“The office is soundproof. You will not bother anyone and no one will bother you.”
I wanted to bring up another reason why I couldn’t sleep but my tongue was too heavy to move. My eyes had begun to droop and before I could even figure out what was happening, I had fallen asleep.
I don’t know how long I slept but by the time I woke up, I was well rested. It took me a second to remember where I was and that was because Darius’ cologne was all over the office and around me. I soon realized that it was coming from the jacket he had draped over my body as I was sleeping. I gently shrugged it off, folded it and placed it at the edge of the couch.
I stretched out my bones and stood to my feet only to realize the office was empty. Sometime while I was sleeping, he must have excused himself. I knew it was wrong but I couldn’t help the urge to want to snoop. I knew nothing about Darius except his name and his family. He was too private and guarded and I needed to know more about it.
I stretched out my bones and made my way over to the desk. I kept one eye on the door while I flipped through the stack of documents on the table. Most of them were files for the bar and the others were files about the town. There was nothing personal to be found but I knew that no one could keep their personal life completely out of their space; I just needed to look harder.
I checked the drawers until I got to one that was locked. I could have bet my life on the fact that it was where he kept his personal items. I didn’t know where the key was and I couldn’t pick the lock so I reluctantly left it alone. I was going back to the couch when I noticed something on the bookshelf. It was a frame that had been turned upside down. I picked it up and right there was a picture of Darius and two girls.
They all had similar features so I knew instantly that they were sisters. One of the sisters was smiling while the other was scowling as if she didn’t want to be there. Darius was standing in between them and he was lankier and younger. His hair was grown out more and his skin was devoid of any tattoos.
While I was staring at the picture, I heard the door knob jiggle and I rushed to put it back in place and I pretended like I was just waking up by faking a huge yawn. Darius walked into the office completely oblivious to the fact that I had just been snooping around his stuff.
“Did you rest well?” he asked and I hummed. “Were there any nightmares?”
It hit me in that moment that I didn’t have any. I had been so concerned with snooping around that I didn’t even acknowledge the fact that I had slept peacefully without waking up once. I felt instant relief and I hoped that whatever good luck charm had decided to settle on me would follow through until I got back home.
“None,”
Darius looked pleased with himself as if he had somehow been responsible for my lack of nightmares. Knowing how he tended to react to things, I would not have put it past him so I decided to change the subject.
“What time is it?”
“it is almost eleven,” he said nonchalantly as if I had not just slept through my entire shift and left Serena to do all the work by herself.
“Shit,” I muttered and I started to rush out the door but Darius grabbed my upper arm effectively keeping me in place.
“Not yet, you need to eat first.”
I was in complete shock. No words could leave my lips and I stared at him as if he was joking but he simply guided me towards the couch and put me to sit.
“It’s late,” I argued. “Serena was out there working alone and I have to get home.”
“Serena will be paid for working overtime and you will be on your merry way in five minutes. I do not trust that you will go home and feed yourself so I want to ensure that you are fed now.”
I opened my mouth to protest but there was a knock on the door. Darius walked over to the door and he opened it to reveal Serena. She whispered something to him and he responded in an even lower tone so I could not hear what either of them was saying. She handed him a takeaway pack and even though I couldn’t see what was inside, it smelled greasy and good.
Darius thanked Serena and made his way over to me. “You don’t have to eat it here but you have to eat it.”
I stared at it as if it was poisoned. “Why are you doing this?’
“I always take care of what is mine.”
Just like that, he ruined the entire mood.
“I don’t want to argue with you today so I’m just going to take this and say thank you.”
I took the food from his hands and started to make my way towards the door when he stopped me.
“You forgot the jacket,” he said and I glanced at it for a split second.
“I have enough of your properties in my possession.”
I didn’t want for another response from him before I walked out of the office.
The bar was quiet and although there were a few patrons, most of them were nursing their drinks in silence. I ignored the looks they sent me as I made my way towards the entrance. I saw Serena there; she was tying her scarf on properly.
“I’m sorry I left you to do all the work,” I told her but she just waved me off like it was no big deal. “I could drop you home if you wanted.”
“I would love that.” She heaved a sigh of relief. “Maybe while we are driving, you can tell me everything.”
I furrowed my brows. “Everything?’
“No one except Darius’ closest friends goes into his office. You have been there twice.”
I tried to brush off the unfamiliar feeling that crawled up my spine when she said that. “I’m sure there’s an explanation.”
“There is but you refuse to accept it- Darius has claimed you as his.”