Blood Legacy Chapter 111: 109. Good girl gone bad

*Run away, Carina...*

*Forgive me... I love you so much...*

*I need to set you free... I don't deserve your love...*

*I don't deserve you... Run away, Carina...*

No...

My body jolted, those sorrow-filled whispers echoing in my head over and over again like a broken record.

*Run away, Carina... Forgive me...*

*I don't deserve you... I love you... Run away, Carina...*

"No!"

I tossed and turned, his words and that heart-wrenching look on his face tormenting me, haunting me even in my sleep.

*Please don't leave me...*

"No," I let out a sharp inhale and abruptly opened my eyelids, realizing that I'd just mumbled that word out loud.

Complete silence surrounded me, my body no longer shivering from the biting cold of that forest as I slowly sat up and looked around... Noticing that I was actually in my room. My own home.

I was lying in my own bed, all dirtied up and still wearing that oversized hoodie, thermal leggings and boots. And the backpack was still attached to my back.

I dragged a hand through my hair, wincing a little as I felt a stinging pain over my knuckles.

"Ah," I let out a small hiss and looked at the back of my hands, noticing that there was blood caking them, along with dried up mud.

Wait.

How the hell did I end up here? How did I get home so fast?

I absently looked to the closed french doors of my balcony, noticing that it was actually early in the morning.

How the hell did I get here? Did I fucking fall asleep in the forest and then sleepwalked my way here or something?

*Or did he...*

I abruptly paused, remembering how I'd lost conscience in his arms that day at the castle and then woke up directly in his cabin.

He'd...brought me here... He took me home.

I couldn't stop that dejected sob that flew past my lips, my heart aching at the thought. He brought me back. He was done with me. He must've noticed that I was trying to run away so he did me the favour of getting me back home faster.

He was done with me. He didn't want me anymore. He didn't care that I was his soulmate anymore. He just wanted to get rid of me.

Raw pain and desolation filled me, tearing at my insides as I quietly sat there, feeling those small tears trailing down my cheeks.

I was home. I'd gotten what I wanted. To get away from him and his hurtful silent treatment.

So why was I already missing that place? Why was I missing his presence so much? He'd hurt me. He'd done nothing but slowly kill me on the inside, making me wish that I'd never been born... And yet... My heart still longed for him. I still longed for his scent. His mere presence.

I wanted to be with him. I wanted to go back and be with him, even if he'd only continue to ignore me and hurt me with his silence.

I just wanted to see him again. I wanted to watch him cook for me, and do the stuff that he did around the house...even if he'd continue to pretend that I didn't exist.

He was my soulmate and I loved him. And I was already missing him so much.

I took that stupid backpack off of me and then threw it on the floor, curling myself up back into that fetal position I'd woken up in and gathered my dirty and bloodied hands to my chest, letting myself suffer in silence.

*At least I still have his hoodie with me,* I took the hem of the hoodie I was wearing and buried my nose under it, its scent calming me a little as it still had traces of his smell. I'd stolen it from the laundry room right before I'd started packing my escape backpack last night.

Or was it last night though? I had no idea. I had no idea how far was that cabin away from my home or what he did to get me from there to here. Maybe he'd used magic to teleport us or something. Well, either that or he was actually really close, seeing as those wounds were still fresh on my knuckles. I could still feel wetness coating them here and there. They were still bleeding. Along with my heart.

I didn't know for how long I'd been lying there, wrapped up in my own misery until the door to my room softly opened, hearing those small steps on the carpeted floor.

"Care?"

My heart jolted at the sound of that voice, a small sense of relief flooding me as I continued to lie there, feeling a stray tear trail at the corner of my eye.

"Oh my god!" She was right next to me within the very next second, jumping in bed with me as she started to hug and kiss me, softly crying and whimpering.

"Oh my god, Care,"

"You're back, oh my god!"

"Oh, I've missed you so much!" Her voice trembled, making my lower lip quiver and start crying with her as she kissed my face and held me close.

"Oh, Care...Oh my god, Care..." I didn't know for how long we cried there together in my bed, I myself letting out silent tears whilst she softly whimpered and shook, mumbling out incoherent sentences.

"Where have you been?" She quietly said all of a sudden, making my stomach drop unpleasantly.

"It doesn't matter," I weakly croaked out and buried my face in her neck, hugging her as we continued to softly cry together.

I was home now. And that was all that mattered.

**

My limbs trembled a little, feeling so fucking drained as I slowly climbed down the steps of my home. I'd bathed and changed, careful enough to hide that hoodie under my pillow before I'd gotten out of my room, deciding that I should at least try to function like a normal human being.

So I made my way to the kitchen, meeting Dre there. She smiled as she raised her gaze from her phone to look at me, her features filled with warmth and that hint of relief that still lingered there in her eyes.

"Hope you're in the mood for chinese. The order is already on the way," she showed me her phone and I let out an absent nod, my brows furrowing right after.

"Where's mom? Isn't she home?"

She simply shook her head in response, giving me a saddened smile.

*Figures.*

I blew out a tired sigh and went to look into our fridge, my hand wrapping around that bottle of rosé before I turned to her and said,

"Hope you haven't told anyone yet. I'm really not in the mood to see anyone right now,"

But she immediately gave me a sheepish smile and I let out an exasperated groan, rolling my eyes with annoyance.

"Dre! Couldn't you have waited at least until tomorrow?" I whined and she mumbled out a small apology, looking all meek and guilty.

I lightly shook my head and blew out a tired sigh, grabbing myself a glass and then pouring myself some wine.

"Who did you call anyway?" I asked and she was about to answer when the sound of our front door flinging open suddenly interrupted us, hearing those multiple thumping footsteps.

Jess and the three wolfy girls quickly entered the kitchen and my body froze, not even sure how to react as we stupidly stared at each other for a moment.

I've missed them all so much...And now they were here. I was finally here with them.

"Care..." Jess was the first to open her mouth, her dark blue eyes filling with unshed tears and before I even knew what was happening I was already tackled into a tight hug, all of them huddling around me as they took turns to hug me and mumble how concerned they've been and how happy they were that I was finally home.

"You smell funny," Brie said all of a sudden and the other girls abruptly paused, giving her a look before they started to suspiciously sniff me, making me feel so awkward and...exposed. I didn't like it. What was going on? What did they feel?

Holy shit could they actually scent Darius on me?

Oh no no no no, no no!

I didn't want them to feel him on me. I didn't want them to know. I didn't know why but somehow, I kinda felt protective of him. Even after everything that happened between us.

I didn't want them to know what happened between us. That he was alive, and he was the one who'd kidnapped me. I didn't want them to know that he was my soulmate. He was my secret to keep. Mine and only mine.

So I raised a hand and pushed myself back a little, creating some distance between us.

"Sorry, I'm still kinda..." The words died out on my tongue as soon as I saw Nathan standing by the entrance, his vivid green eyes rimmed by redness and painfully obvious evidence of sleepless nights.

He looked like shit. His hair was wild and unkept, his eyes tired and his cheeks unshaved, outlining exactly what he'd been through in my absence.

Pure hell.

*Good.*

I wanted him to suffer. I wanted him to feel as much pain as I did after finding out of his betrayal. He deserved it. He deserved every fucking single night that he'd lost and every single tear that he'd shed for me. He deserved it all.

...And yet he was still standing there, looking like he'd "missed me" oh so much and wanted to cry all over again, just so that he could lie to me and continue to keep me in the dark like he'd been doing all this time.

*Well too bad, Natey boy. I'm not going to lie underneath you and take it like a good little girl anymore. Those days are over.*

I watched his brows furrow with confusion as if having heard those words whispering themselves in my mind, all that anger simmering within me increasing tenfold at the sight of him like that.

He had the audacity to appear confused? Oh, no no no.

I carefully pushed past the girls and made my way straight towards him, defiantly raising my chin and looking him dead in the eye as I calmly uttered,

"Did you know?"

But he only continued to look at me, acting all clueless and dumb, that stupid look on his face making me want to claw it off.

"DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT know about the ritual and what was to happen to me?" I put an emphasis on every word, my voice raising with unbridled rage as I continued to look up at him.

Silence. That was all that he could give me.

The sound of my hand connecting with his cheek echoed across the entire kitchen, hearing few collective gasps in the background. But I didn't fucking care. I was done playing good girl.

"You can get the fuck out of my face now. I don't want to see you ever again,"

"Oh, and you can tell my father that he can take that vow and shove it up his ass. There's not gonna be a wedding anymore, or a coronation or whatever the fuck you sick bastards wanted to do to me! You can all go to war and kill each other until there's none left of you! You can all fucking die and rot in hell!" There was so much rage in my voice. A burning hatred. It felt like I was going to burst into flames as all that pent-up anger rose within me, roaring with the fury and wrath of a dragon.

And before I even knew what was happening Nathan was already flying several steps away from me, crashing into a glass door across the hall.