Big bad Damsel

CHAPTER 13: 'Guilt.'

and Darren was left in this state of dissociation, normal symptoms after attempting to self-destruct.

Damsel hauled him to his feet; the two were talking via their gaze, simply standing there, facing one other without saying anything; Darren was frozen, he wasn't in control.

"I'll keep you safe." "Believe me, trust me this time," Damsel whispered in that moment of stillness.

"Your mate will not be the next Sarah." 

"Your father cannot control the death of your mate this time, it's not up to him,

 but you can."

He didn't remember the look on Darren's face at that moment, maybe because he was still out of it, but that small nod was enough for Damsel. The next few minutes, Darren was crying against Damsel's shoulders, he didn't know how long they had been in there, but Damsel listened to every painful sob exerted, and felt every tear that landed on his clothes. They stood there in the echo of the bathroom.

 The two had returned to the meeting room, and Darren's consent left the room silent; when Damsel saw Carter's face, he was terrified, terrified of what thoughts were circling in his head, and on instinct, he had rushed Darren behind him.

He guided Darren to sit next to him for the rest of the meeting, Damsel had disregarded the hard glares from his father and Matthew, maintaining his gaze on Darren's stoic face the whole meeting, passing water over to him every now and then.

He couldn't concentrate on any other factors, like the questioning on why they took so long, or Carter's heated words, nor the silence on his father's side. At that moment, Damsel canceled everything else out except for Darren.

They reached an agreement, the meeting was over now, and all that mattered was that they got their chance to meet their mates.

Damsel stood up from his chair as the elders were leaving and saying their goodbyes and polite chattering one by one, before he could turn to Darren, the latter had already grabbed his arm, stilling him in place.

"Damsel," Darren's quivering voice was just under a whisper, his fingers were trembling, and Damsel's eyes softened, it was like he was latching onto his only form of protection.

Nobody knew what had just transpired, that Darren had almost killed himself, or that Damsel had uncovered a Knight family secret. He couldn't forgive himself for how he treated Darren, how he treated Samuel, how he lived in his own bubble and despised the rest of the world.

Damsel couldn't raise his voice towards Darren, much alone speak any nasty words against him, because Darren was in such a fragile state of mind that Damsel was afraid the tiniest push might cause Darren to lose his mind again.

"Stay at my place," Damsel's voice softened; he wasn't using the aggressive tone that Darren was accustomed to; instead, he was gentle, patient, and loving, even raising his hand to brush his thumb over Darren's teary eyes. "Did you already pack?"Each syllable was said softly, and Darren remained silent for a second.

Damsel noticed the hesitation in the voice of the other, his hand dropped down to lightly shake the boy's hand, "Hm?"

That small hum had vibrated against Darren's ears, 

he only nodded.

"Thank you." Darren's words filtered out abruptly, and he bit his lip, squeezing his nails to the point that the palms of his hands began to drain color. Damsel frowned at him, wishing for the confident grin he had always detested; finding Darren in such a state had left him speechless; he wasn't used to it at all, and the truth he had uncovered was like a spray of cold water; bringing him back to reality.