Chapter 24

Darren.

I look at the amber liquid swirling in my glass. I am drunk off my ass, but I don't care because nothing matters. Nothing fucking matters.

“How did I end up here?’ I keep asking myself over and over again.

Everything I had has been torn away from me. I absolutely have nothing—no mate and no Luna. My eyes wander to the magazine delivered to my house. Either the person didn’t know how Ren and I were once an item, or they were just being fucking cruel by reminding me what I had lost.

The sharp pain that pierces my heart is hard to ignore. The picture of Lauren and Sebastian outside Ruby's collection holding hands tears my already sore heart. Despite wearing heels, the bastard was still taller than her, which wasn't the case with me. She was looking up at him like he hung the fucking moon. He looked down at her like she was his entire world.

Sick of seeing the picture, I grab the magazine and tear it up before throwing it in the trash bin. I don't need any more reminders of what a fucking moron I have been.

I had her, but instead, I let her go. That's not it; I didn't let her go. I kicked her out of my life, all because I believed that Miranda came back because she loved me, because she wanted me, and that she was miserable without me all these years like I was. She played me like a piano and I fell for the deceit.

The door to my house opens, but I don't bother turning around. Instead, I take a gulp of my whiskey before filling up the glass.

“This house smells like a pigsty,” I hear behind me just as the click of heels walks towards me.

“Hi, Mom,” I slur, once I feel her presence behind me.

I still don't turn because the last thing I want to see is the disappointment in her eyes. I've seen so much of it since I screwed up with Ren. It was enough to last me a lifetime or two.

“Don’t 'hi' me, you overgrown baby,” she scolds before smacking me on the back of the head.

I groan and snap at her. “Ouch! What the hell was that for?”

What was up with her? All I wanted was to be left alone, to be left to drown in my own misery.

She moves around me and comes to sit beside me, just as I scent my dad and feel his presence. He may be a retired Alpha, but his aura is still strong.

“Did rats die in here or something?” he groans, the disgust evident in his voice.

I want them to shut the hell up and leave. “If you hate the smell so much, then leave. The door is fucking wide open. I don't need your bullshit.”

I don't feel my dad move, probably because my senses were screwed by the alcohol. I register Mom's gasp when it is already too late. Dad has me pinned to the wall in a chokehold. My eyes are blurry, but I still see his wolf on the surface—lurking, ready to strike.

If I were my normal self, I would be able to get out of his hold, but like I said, I was drunk off my ass, so I was at his mercy. Completely helpless because I was useless.

“Boy, if you ever disrespect me or your mother again, I will forget you're a man and I'll hand you your ass on a silver platter. Better yet, I will forget that you're my son,” he spat.

I just hang, limp, not daring to move. He lets go of me after snarling, leaving me to crumple in a heap on the floor. I would have been disgusted by the sort of man I have turned out to be, but I was too far gone. My ego had already been trampled on the ground by a woman I thought loved me.

I stand up on unsteady legs and lean on my desk, trying to focus on my parents. They were, after all, here for a reason.

“You can't continue like this, Darren. You're letting the pack down,” my mother begins.

I didn't have time to hear about this. What did they want from me? I just got the rug pulled out from under me and I don't know what to do about it.

“I just can't deal with the pack right now. I am lost. How am I supposed to function without Lauren by my side? I am a complete and utter mess.”

My dad snorts and it honestly grates on my nerves. “Weren't you the same man that was speaking of his undying love for that other woman about a month ago?” he mocks.

I rub my chest. It feels as if he has hit me physically by using Miranda's betrayal against me. It still pains; it was like being stabbed over and over again.

“Things change,” I murmur, looking down.

And don't I know it? I have experienced it firsthand. A year ago, Lauren was the one in this position, but now the tables have turned. The only thing that's different is that Lauren is mated to Sebastian, while for a year Miranda refused for us to be mated. I should have seen that for what it was: a red flag. She was clearly still holding on to hope that Sebastian would come back to her.

"So you're telling me that your love is so flimsy that it easily changes from one woman to another?” Dad asks, his face contorted in repulsion.

"Don't fucking start with me. I am not in the damn mood,” I fumed.

"We warned you about that hoe, but you refused to listen. Now you have lost the best woman you could ever have to another man and all for what? Tell me, Darren, all for what? Was it worth it? Turns out while you were busy destroying the love sweet Ren had for you, your bitch of a mate was busy spreading her legs for other men.”

“Shut up!” I scream at him.

I didn't want to hear him talk. I didn't want him reminding me of the mess I made of my life. I didn't want to be reminded of the complete and utter fool I was, or how Miranda ripped my fucking heart open.

"Or what, Darren? What are you going to fucking do?” he challenges.

I lunge at him, my claws out, ready to attack. I don't get the chance, though, before the blow Dad delivers sends me to the floor.

“That's enough, darling,” my Mom tells my Dad, trying to soothe.

He turns to her. “You're right, it's enough. I am done with him and his stupidity.” He turns to me. “Until you get your fucking self together, I am taking the pack from you. Brent will be in charge of it for now. I won't let you run this pack into the ground, not after the hard work and tears me and those before us have put in to see it to where it is right now. I didn't raise you to be one, but you're a fucking coward.”

With those parting words, he storms out of my house, leaving me with a broken nose and a loose tooth. My Mom comes and stands before me. She looks at me before shaking her head in disappointment.

“Your father is right, Darren. We didn't raise you to become a coward. Fix this, fix what you have broken, even if it's not for yourself. Krystal deserves a better father and this pack needs a better Alpha. You're just not it right now, and if you are not careful, you'll never be.” She bends down and kisses my forehead before leaving, shutting the door softly behind her.

I sit there for a while. I draw my knees up and lay my head on them. My tears come against my will and continue to fall. The amount of regret I have inside me feels like it's drowning me, suffocating me. How could I have been so stupid? To fall for Miranda after she left me high and dry before.

I seek my wolf, but he’s closed himself off. I was on my own on this.

I get up and head for the shower. Standing under the cold water, I begin to sober up, just as I remember the good times I had with Lauren.

How she made me smile and did everything she could to love me. Instead, I continued holding a piece of myself back, refusing to give her all of me, including my mark.

I get dressed and leave the house. Mom and Dad were right. I needed to fix things. I had to fix what I had carelessly broken and get back what was no longer mine.

Given I was still drunk, I couldn't drive, so I order a cab. Almost forty minutes later, I am at her house. I knew she was released from the dungeons for the time being. Even though I hated being here, hated seeing her, it was a necessary evil.

I ring the bell, and seconds later, she’s standing at the open door. She looks like shit and a part of me is glad for that.

"So you came back? I told you that you would. You can't stay away from me for much longer,” Miranda purrs.

She lifts her hand to my face, but I catch her hand and let it go as if she has just burned me. I push my way into her house, not caring that it was rude. Her house is still the same. Nothing has changed at all.

“We need to talk,” I grumbled.

She comes to stand in front of me. Nothing is different with her also. Her stomach isn't showing. I look at her face, and without the love-colored glasses, I see how cold she is. She's stiff and hard. There's no love or warmth in her eyes, unlike with Lauren before I destroyed her. How did I never notice that she was basically a rock, not capable of loving anyone but herself?

"I figured. What do you want?” she asks, folding her hands against her chest.

"A proposal,” I pierce her with my hardest look. “You want Sebastian back, and I want Lauren. I think we can help each other here—making sure that we each get what we want.”

“Go on..." her eyes shine in the sunlight, her interest piqued.

“It's simple, really. You're going to help me destroy their relationship,” I say. “Deal?”

I extend my hand, waiting for her to shake it.

A wicked smirk takes over her face and she shakes my hand. “Deal,” she agrees.

I smile. I was going to make sure that Lauren and Sebastian's love doesn't survive to see their first anniversary. I was going to get Lauren back, whatever it takes.