The Alpha's Disobedient Mate

(14)

Ann did bring her muffins, as promised, but Darcy wasn't in the mood to even eat her delicious baked goods. She sat eerily still, even for herself, trying to process. What could she possibly have taken from her father that made him hunt down her apartment. Kierce made it quite clear he wanted nothing to do with her. Her gaze slides to where Ann and Jace are speaking in hushed tones.

"I want to see my apartment," she says finally, not having spoken since leaving the training grounds. Jace regards her for a moment before pulling out a phone. It has been hours since Eli and Jacob went to her apartment. She can hear them on the other end of the line but can't focus on what they're saying.

"Garrett and I will stay here with the pack," Ann says after Jace hangs up. "You go with Darcy. You boys keep her safe."

Jace just nods and offers a hand to her, she slowly takes it, being helped off her perch on the couch. Ann offers a sympathetic smile as they move by, to the garage and Jace's fancy ass car. The car may have brought a smile to her face any other day. She does not even have the heart to stick her hand out the window as they speed to her old apartment. Her chest seems to tighten the closer they get, unsure if she's ready to see what had once been her pride and joy violated like that.

When they pull into the apartment parking lot, she has to pull every fibre of herself in, keeping herself together. She closes her eyes, taking the deepest breath before stepping out the vehicle. Her eyes fall onto Eli, waiting outside the door for them. His whole posture screams warrior and not the casual but cocky man, big mouthed, man he usually is.

Darcy follows him to her apartment, wincing at the sight of the broken door Jacob stands in front of. But she walks past him and into... Into a complete mess. The adjoined kitchen and living room is completely turned over. The couch she spent so many nights sitting on, watching soccer or chick flicks and spilling random food on, is ripped up completely. Like they thought she hid whatever she stole in the cushions. The tiny bit of red from a wine stain could just be seen on the shoulder.

The TV is ripped from the wall, like she hid something behind it. The shelving unit beneath it too had been pulled out and it's contents in each of the square units ruffled through. The closet that held shoes and coats while walking in had everything on the floor now. The kitchen had everything out of the cupboards, smashed or haphazardly strewn. Each appliance that could be moved was moved from the wall.

Her bottom lip trembles, the scent of Kierce's pack still lingering in the space. The scent is worse than seeing the apartment like this. She forces herself onto the bedroom. It, and the adjoined bathroom, is in worse shape than the kitchen and living space. Her mattress had been taken off and ripped up—they went as far as to look inside her mattress.

The men behind her stayed vigil, but none dared relax. She could feel their powerful presence stinging, daring anyone to come close to their power and anger.

This space... Her home once upon a time, held many memories and is such a thing of pride for her but...

"It's okay," she says, voice almost a whisper. "This place stopped being my home weeks ago."

The mood of the room shifts at that. What she said to them probably meant more than she fully understood. She just admitted the pack had become her home, Jace's house is her home. The apartment only stood as a place to hold her things, things she has wanted to bring to... to her new home weeks ago.

"Well, Luna," Eli drawls, walking up to her back now, placing a hand on her shoulder. She tenses, but does not push him away. "What do you want to do now?"

Darcy surveys her room again, not reprimanding him for the title. "Do you think you could find some bags? Or boxes? I want to salvage whatever I can."