A Wolf's Miracle

Chapter 41

H a r l a n

"No way," Harlan said emphatically after he heard Diana's half-assed plan and Blaze's stupid idea.

"But Harlan--"

"There is no way in hell" he was starting to get mad. "You will not bring Diana to the dungeons"

"But the dungeons are the only place that can hold her, they were designed for that--"

"You have no idea what they were designed for, Blaze" Harlan interrupted again, he wouldn't stand for any of this. It was ridiculous. He would not bring Diana to that place, he still had nightmares about it. He would never want to go back.

"Because you never told me," Blaze said rolling his eyes. Harlan had known Blaze for years, but he never told him about what his father did to him. He barely spoke to his own brother about it. They both had to go through it, they had a silent agreement not to talk about it.

"Because you don't need to know," Harlan said angrily, almost yelling "There is no way in hell I would ever let her go down there," he realized his mistake and added, "No one should."

He wasn't stupid, he knew Blaze liked Diana. So it was better if he didn't know about his feelings for her. It was simpler that way, even though every fiber of his being was begging him to claim her, to bite her, and never let her get near any man ever again. Those primordial thoughts had to be ignored, for everyone's well-being. It was the animal in him. He knew that, but sometimes he wished he could live like those who transform and never change back, life would be so much easier.

"Is that an order?" Blaze asked, knowing that he couldn't challenge his orders.

"Yes," Harlan said without hesitation. 

She should never have to go through that. She deserved better.

"Is what an order?" Damien said as he entered the kitchen, where they were having that discussion.

"Diana was looking for a place to lock herself up for the night, you know, full moon and shit" Blaze started "I proposed the basement, but Harlan said he would never allow her down there."

"I don't see why she would have to lock herself up," Damien said without reacting too much "We are far enough from humans to let her roam free." He walked over to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup.

"Besides," Harlan added, "Why are we having this conversation without her?"

"Because she's busy with Callum," Blaze said, but that didn't seem like a good enough reason. If Diana wanted it so badly why wasn't she here?

"Tell Diana that she should fight her own battles," Harlan said as he exited the room. He was angrier than he should have been, he knew that, but he also had no idea what he started.

____

It was the middle of the night when Diana barged into his room without even knocking.

"Hello there," Harlan said as he turned around, he had just gotten out of the shower and only had a towel around his waist. Her eyes lingered on his body and he smirked at that. But before he could tease her about it, she tore her eyes away and sighed.

"I'm here," she said.

"I can see that, is there a reason why?" he said rolling his eyes. 

"You told Blaze to tell me to fight my own battles, so I'm here," she crossed her arms "Waiting for an explanation."

"I don't think I need to explain myself, I said no, that should be the end of it" Harlan got a bit defensive.

"Why? Just because everyone around you does everything you say doesn't mean I should too" Diana remarked.

"Why are you fighting with me about locking yourself up in a dungeon?" His tone went cold as ice.

"Because you can't give me a reason why!" she exclaimed "You've always respected my choices, well, my choice is to lock myself up so I don't hurt anyone."

"You shouldn't need a reason, it's an order!" Harlan raised his voice.

"Who are you to order me around? This isn't even your house!" Diana waved her arms around.

"I'm the beta of this pack, I'm your superior, so listen to me for once!" Harlan got closer to her "Why can't you just trust me on this?"

"Because you're never honest with me, you're hiding something, I can feel it" She whispered, tears of frustration welling in her eyes. "I was willing to let you come to me when you're ready but it's been way too long and you still won't let me in."

"Why do you care?" He asked the question he'd asked many times before. The thing he resorted to asking when he felt cornered. But he asked it again, hoping this time he would get the answer he wanted.

"Because I want to help you" That wasn't it. But, to be fair, he didn't know what he wanted to hear either. "Because I can help you."

"You know what Diana? If you want to lock yourself up in the dungeon do so, I don't care" he lied, more to himself than to her. He needed to get away from her because he was afraid she'd see too much. He knew that if she saw everything about him she'd run away, and he wanted to hold on for just a little bit longer.

He didn't need to see her face to know he'd hurt her. He could feel it in his heart. And when she left he sat on his bed looking down.

"You don't deserve love, you never will" 

He'd lived by his father's words for a long time because they were the only thing he knew to be true.

He didn't deserve love.

He deserved to be alone.

He didn't deserve her.

So what if he lost her because of this? It was better that way.