Watch The Dark
II: one

Declan's P.O.V

When he first found out Tana had left, he didn't do anything at all. He just sat in that room, alone, and stared at the floor.

Of course she had left. He had barely spoken to her. She lost her brother and he left her alone. She just got back from the hell she escaped once already and he left her alone. He explained nothing and left her alone.

He was a coward. A fool.

He had smelled it right away. The moment he entered the room. He could hear it as well. The tiny heartbeat. But he refused to believe it. He told himself it was something else and ignored it. But when she had thrown up he couldn't pretend it didn't exist.

His pup. Tana's pup. Their pup.

He had run back to the house the moment he felt the bond go quiet. Not broken, but quiet. He had panicked and raced out of his office just to replace her.

And she was no where to be found.

The next day, he lashed out. He destroyed his room and scared Sincere half to death. Jade called him an idiot. His mother didn't talk to him for a week. His father told him that he had it coming.

Sincere was the only thing keeping him from going absolutely insane. His wolf was beyond pissed and hurt, but both of them recognized that they needed to be there for her.

Declan sent out scouts that week. And the next. And the next. None of them found anything.

He had tried to get it out of Tuk and Devon but the two of them were just as clueless. Declan felt bad for Tuk anyway. First losing his brother and now his sister running off.

But Tana hadn't just taken herself away. She had taken their pup away as well.

And the cat, but Declan didn't care about that as much.

He hadn't stopped sending scouts out in every direction. To every town, every city, everywhere. He had been sending them out for 24 months.

24 months and nothing.

But he wasn't giving up. Tana would come home to him. With their pup. Whether she liked it or not.

Declan wasn't playing nice anymore.

***

Tana's P.O.V

Tana had never felt so free in her entire life. She could roam as she pleased and no one would follow her. She could eat what she wanted and do what she wanted whenever she wanted. She didn't need permission. She had no responsibilities. She was free.

Well, she had one responsibility.

Icarus was 15 months old. He looked just like Declan and had been driving Tana insane ever since he learned how to walk.

Every time she looked at him her heart ached for her mate. For Icarus's father. She knew that she was horrible for depriving him of a father, but Tana couldn't go back. Not when she was finally healing. When everything was going right for once.

Her pregnancy was brutal. She had almost lost the baby three times and had it not been for Bea, Icarus wouldn't be alive. She thought she would never finally get the happiness she had been longing for ever since she left. But when Icarus was born, it all changed.

He was such a happy baby. Always smiling and getting into trouble. Sincere would have loved to play with him.

Maybe, one day, she would.

Tana felt horrible for leaving her cousin and her brother, but it ended up working out. Tuk and Devon often visited when they were sent out on missions to replace her. They always made sure to cover their tracks so Tana wasn't worried.

Icarus absolutely adored Tuk. The two of them got along so well and it made Tana deliriously happy.

Tuk would tell her about how the pack was doing. Of course, he tried his best to avoid talking about Declan, but it came up every now and then.

And each time Tana was filled with guilt.

No one had found Fang. Talon had tried to escape, failed, and got beat within an inch of his life by Declan. However, the bastard was still alive. A few months after Tana left, Devon had been been officially accepted into the Dark Wolves. Tana was happy for him.

***

On one particularly hectic morning, Icarus had decided that he would chase the cat around the kitchen. He wasn't very steady on his feet yet, but he barely noticed when he tripped. He just got up and kept going.

His mop of brown curls looked like a birds nest because he refused to let Tana brush his hair. The daycare women always seemed to give her odd looks whenever Tana didn't brush his hair.

Originally, Tana had been very against the idea of leaving Icarus in the care of complete strangers who couldn't protect him. However, Bea had helped her replace a daycare run by werewolves and humans alike. Tana had felt much more comfortable leaving him after that.

After all, Tana actually had a job to go to. She worked at a small cafe with one other woman. She was elderly and reminded Tana of her mother. Tana had met her when she was still pregnant and the woman had immediately taken her under her wing. She even watched Icarus from time to time when Tana was busy.

Tana liked interacting with so many different people. It wasn't just werewolves. There were humans, vampires, witches, and many more species around. However, all of them lived in peace. Cities often were labelled as neutral zones, which meant no species or group could claim it as their own. Tana liked living there.

"Icarus, stop chasing Sam right now or you won't get to see Tuk," Tana huffed. Icarus instantly stopped, gazing up at Tana with wide, fearful eyes. He took one last look at Sam, but then decided to leave him be and waddle up to Tana.

"I swear to gods, they let all kinds of idiots drive these days. I'm gonna run these dipshits over one day," Bea announced as she threw the door open, a bag of groceries cradled in one arm and her keys and phone in the other hand. Bea often slept in the guest room. She didn't like to say she lived there because she liked to keep her options open, but she spent most of her time with Tana and Icarus.

"Beebee!" Icarus babbled, clapping happily as he spotted Bea. Bea waggled her eyebrows at the baby and placed the groceries down on the table in front of Tana.

"I've got to teach you how to cook, doll. Toast every morning? That's no kind of breakfast for a young woman!" Bea scolded with a huff, lifting Icarus up onto her hip.

"I have cereal too," Tana replied tartly, sticking her tongue out at her friend. Icarus giggled.

"Stubborn as a bull, aren't you? Goodness gracious. At least I have this little nugget to keep me sane. Isn't that right, Icky?" Bea cooed, tickling Icarus's side.

"I told you to stop calling him that," Tana huffed. Bea rolled her eyes.

"What would you prefer I call him? Rus?"

"No."

"Caca? Car? Ick?"

"How about you call him Icarus?" Tana suggested. Bea snorted and looked at Icarus again.

"Your mommy is a kill joy. Yes she is," She cooed, placing him in his high chair. He immediately began fussing and hitting against the platter attached to the chair. Icarus was a wild spirit at heart and hated his high chair and crib. He would scream and cry until he was let out. Tana had resorted to baby proofing his entire room so that he could roam at night.

"Now, now. No more of that. You need some rules, don't you?" Bea scolded, crossing her arms. Icarus continued fussing before looking at Tana for assistance.

"I'm not getting in the middle of it, buddy. Mommy's off duty," Tana huffed, taking another bite of her toast.

"You need to discipline him, you know," Bea told her.

"He's not even two. How am I supposed to discipline him?"

Bea shrugged. "I'm not a mom, how would I know?" She retorted. Tana just rolled her eyes. Bea was always grumpy and looking for a fight after she went to the grocery store.

"Mama," Icarus said, making grabby hands at Tana with a frown on his face. Tana just shook her head at him, which only started to upset him further.

"Bring back some of those biscuits from the cafe, please. I think I need to lie down," Bea groaned, waving at her as she traipsed down the hall. Tana cocked an eyebrow at her but decided to ignore it. After everything Bea had done for her, Tana couldn't complain.

Icarus was looking at her again when she turned around. Tana let out a sigh and stared right back at him.

"Ready to get the day started, buddy?"

Icarus clapped his hands.

She supposed that meant yes.