Blood Legacy Chapter 123: 121. Home sweet home

We drove back home surrounded by complete silence, save for the barely audible tune casually playing on the radio.

My gaze drifted back to him from time to time, so irresistibly pulled by that need to admire him, make sure that this wasn't just another deceiving dream and he was still actually there, right next to me.

I stealthily watched the way he drove so relaxed, one hand splayed over the steering wheel whilst the other smoothly shifted gears from time to time, his fingers moving that knob so elegantly.

We'd chosen to ride in his car after I got discharged from the hospital, seeing as mine and Dre's was actually way too small for him to fit inside. _Yeah, imagine that_. Even now, I still fought the urge to burst into a fit of giggles upon remembering the way he tried to get into the driver's seat and almost got stuck in there.

I blinked away that thought and continued to admire him from my seat, lost into the way that he sat so imposingly in that seat big enough to fit him, his expression so calm yet completely focused.

He was really attractive indeed. Even whilst performing such a mundane task as was driving.

The hint of a knowing smile tugged at the corner of his lips and my brows furrowed, mere seconds before his attention slightly shifted in my direction, only to give me a cheeky wink.

I almost gasped out loud, so furiously blushing upon realizing that I'd been caught. He'd totally noticed that I was staring. And now I felt so utterly mortified. God, what was wrong with me? Why couldn't I just control myself for crying out loud! I was still feeling so dumb and cringey after finding out that he'd heard and felt everything that I said and did in my bathroom that day! I didn't need to add more to that burning pile!

I sunk back in my seat and hid beneath my hood, almost failing to notice that he'd already pulled into our driveway.

He turned off the ignition and got out of the car, softly slamming the door behind him.

"Holy shit, dude, you were right," I abruptly startled in my seat and turned to peer past the backrest, surprised to realize that I'd actually forgotten that my dear sis was there in the car with us.

"He fiiine as heeell," she hollered out with a sing-song voice, my gaze narrowing as I flatly looked back at her.

I still had no idea why she'd chosen to ride with us instead of driving our own car back home like a normal person would've done.

"Yeah, and you should totally say that again after Estefany gets here," I lightly shook my head with disapproval and turned back around in my seat, hearing her dumb giggle.

"Oh, she knows. She actually said that she had a small crush on him, back when she was little,"

The door to my side suddenly flung open, effectively cutting off my sister's rant and I jolted a little, my brows mildly furrowing as I found Darius standing there, his smile sweet and enticing as his gaze found my own.

"Come on, kitten. Let's put something in your belly and then take you to bed,"

My lips parted and I blinked a few times, my traitorous mind going straight down the gutter in spite of his actually innocent words.

"Yes, kitten. Let's," I heard my sister softly whisper from the back with a quiet yet wicked snicker and I momentarily fought the urge to turn around and smack her, my attention thankfully remaining trained on him.

He offered his hand and I hesitantly took it, fighting that flutter in my stomach at the mere contact of his skin against mine. Yet the moment he bent over and scooped me in his arms in one swift move I couldn't stop that small squeal that flew past my lips, my arms tightly wrapping around the back of his neck.

He lightly chuckled and turned around with me in his arms, hearing the door close behind him as his gaze fell on me.

"On it!" I faintly heard my sister shout out in the background, Darius and I quietly gazing at each other for another few moments in complete silence before he started walking, carrying me straight towards my front door.

"I can walk, you know," I timidly said despite my actual desire of remaining exactly where I was, so comfortably cradled in his warm embrace, my skin tingling so deliciously wherever he touched me.

I didn't want to be a burden to him. He'd already done so much for me, from coming all the way here to be at my side and help me heal to the fact that he'd actually spent three freaking days stuck to my bed, refusing to leave my side even for his basic needs.

"I know," he simply said in reply and continued to carry me like that, following my sister past the threshold as she'd unlocked and opened the door for us.

We went inside and they headed straight for the kitchen, Darius gently placing me on a stool by the counter before he took his suit jacket off and went to leave it somewhere else around the house.

Dre and I, we both watched as he returned busy rolling his shirt sleeves up his forearms, completely oblivious to the way we openly gawked at him like two thirsty assholes.

He went to roam around our kitchen and Dre's gaze shifted to me, her brows wiggling as she mouthed out again,

"He fiiiine,"

I rolled my eyes with annoyance whilst fighting back a snicker, my sister going to the fridge to retrieve a bottle of wine before she popped it open and poured herself a glass.

_Oh my god, yes!_

I tried to reach out over the counter and have a sip for myself from her glass, only to have it swiftly snatched away from my reaching fingers by my own sister's hand.

My brows furrowed and my eyes flitted up to look at her, giving her a confused look.

"Sorry, dude. Doc's orders," she pointed out behind her back at Darius' busy form, earning herself a betrayed look from me.

Seriously? Since when did she start listening to anybody else but me? She barely even knew the guy and yet she chose to side with him instead of me? Her own and only sister??

"Can't have you almost dying out on us all over again," she apologetically said with a shrug, right before taking a sip from her glass.

My lips pursed with annoyance and I threw her a glower, however deciding to let it go. They did tell me that my heart actually stopped right when Darius appeared at our school and that he had to restart it before they drove me to the hospital. Yup. That's how weakened I'd become, after weeks of starvation and struggling with my body's slow rejection of Nate's mating mark, to top it all.

It was actually very weird, come to think of it. How Nate and his pack of wolves have been continuously saying at the beginning that a werewolf bond was practically unbreakable and that there was no way that we could've rejected each other -especially after him marking me- only to discover now that my body was actually doing all that on its own. And only because my first soulmate was alive again and my second one had betrayed our bond by hiding the truth from me. And I was actually THAT powerful, as it turned out. No one in shaman or werewolf history had ever managed to accomplish such thing. I was the first one to do it. Which was probably why I almost fucking died.

"I take it we're still home alone?" I casually asked as I boredly sat there and watched my sister rather greedily drink, earning myself a quick nod from her.

More than a few weeks had passed and yet our mom still hadn't returned home. Hell, she hadn't even gotten to find out that I've been kidnapped, that's how little time she'd actually spent at home before disappearing altogether.

"Shouldn't we declare her missing or something?" I said with a frown, watching my sister let out a laugh.

"Marissa actually called Kayla yesterday. She said that they were in Cabo Verde now...?" she replied unsure with a scrunch of her brows, losing herself into thought as she seemed to stare right through me for a moment.

Marissa was Kayla's mom and our mom's bestie, the two of them constantly travelling together and spending their husbands' money since they both had so many things in common. Their lack of motherly nature, their taste for heavily drinking and partying and their missing husbands. Yeah. It was all fucked-up like that, but we've gotten so used to it that we didn't even care anymore.

"Where the fuck even is that?" I asked with a raised brow, receiving a shrug in response.

"No idea,"

"It's actually a conglomeration of small islands close to north-western Africa," Darius suddenly intervened as he approached us and placed a bowl of hot steaming pasta right in front of me before setting down another one for Dre.

Africa?

Great. So she'd literally flown all the way to the other side of the world to be as far as possible away from us. _Awesome._

"Mmm, this actually smells so fucking nice," My sister commented as she shifted her gaze from her plate to Darius, receiving a polite smile from him.

It did smell nice. It actually smelt heavenly. I couldn't fight that grin that immediately spread over my lips, my heart filling with pride and smugness at the thought that my soulmate had such excellent cooking skills. And he was all mine. _Mine and only mine._

_My soulmate..._

My gaze slowly lifted to peer at him across the island, those black eyes immediately finding my own as if sensing my stare on him.

Mine. I'd just called him my own. And I wasn't even sure if he actually wanted me too or not. _God, I'm so fucking pathetic_.

I blinked and lowered my gaze back to my steaming plate, set on focusing on eating instead. I'd spent way too much time stubbornly starving myself to death because of his unique and delicious meals. _Might as well enjoy it now._

So I grabbed my fork and took the first bite, instantly moaning out in delight. Holy shit I'd forgotten how good his food actually tasted.

But the sudden sound of a chair scraping against the tiled floor drew my attention, just in time to notice Darius scrambling up to his feet and taking his plate from the counter before hurrying to get out of the kitchen as fast as possible.

"Excuse me, I think I'll have this in the dining room," he fleetingly said and we both watched as he disappeared, my sister throwing me a questioning look.

I shrugged in response, my gaze however slightly widening as I lastly remembered that night when I firstly tasted his food.