Chapter 50 Unsettling Decisions
DAHILA’S POV
My cheeks were still warm.
Annoyingly warm.
I pressed my palm against them as I walked down the corridor, replaying every second of that conversation like my mind had betrayed me.
The way he stepped closer.
The way his voice lowered.
The way his fingers tilted my chin.
I exhaled sharply.
Stop it.
It was nothing.
It meant nothing.
He is your Alpha. That is all.
But my heart did not agree. It kept thudding like it had something to prove.
I snapped my head lightly, as if I could physically shake the thoughts out.
Not possible.
Me and Dagnoth Draculus? Not in this life. Not in another.
He doesn’t even remember me.
The irony of that almost made me laugh.
Of course he doesn’t.
Why would he remember the girl from that night?
The plain one. The invisible one. The “not beautiful enough” one.
The one he chose to walk away from.
I swallowed.
For one foolish second back then, I had believed I found something real. A connection. A man who looked at me like I mattered.
Turns out, he had only looked at me in the dark.
When the lights came on, so did his pride.
And now here we are.
He stands inches from me, touching my face like I am something precious.
He has no idea he already discarded me once.
My chest tightened.
No.
I will not let history repeat itself.
Whatever this tension is, whatever this fire he keeps pretending to control — it ends with me.
I will not burn for him again.
I pushed open the palace doors and stepped outside. The evening air was cool, brushing against my skin like a reminder to breathe.
Zola’s cottage sat near the edge of the training grounds, small but lively — just like her.
Before I could knock, the door swung open.
Zola froze.
Her eyes widened.
Then she grinned slowly.
“Oh,” she said, folding her arms. “You look… flustered.”
“I am not flustered.”
“You are red.”
“It’s cold.”
“It’s summer.”
I glared at her.
She stepped aside, laughing. “Come inside before you combust.”
The moment the door shut behind me, she turned fully toward me.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
She stared.
I lasted three seconds.
“I had a conversation with the Alpha.”
Zola’s mouth dropped open. “Alone?”
“Yes.”
“In a hallway?”
“Yes.”
Her hands flew to her head. “Dahila!”
“It was not like that!”
Her eyes narrowed. “Then what was it like?”
I hesitated.
How do I explain the way the air shifted when he stepped close?
How do I explain the way my body reacted before my mind could stop it?
“He… noticed I haven’t been eating much,” I said quietly.
Zola’s teasing expression softened slightly. “You haven’t.”
“I’m fine.”
“You always say that when you’re not.”
I looked away.
She stepped closer. “Did he scold you?”
“No.”
“Threaten someone?”
“No.”
“Then why do you look like you just ran from a battlefield?”
Because he said he would sit beside me tonight.
Because when he touched my chin, I forgot how to breathe.
Because part of me wanted him to do it again.
I groaned softly and dropped into a chair.
“He said no one should shrink under his roof,” I muttered.
Zola blinked.
“That… is very Alpha of him.”
“He also said he would sit beside me at dinner.”
Zola went completely still.
“Oh.”
“Yes. Oh.”
“That’s not small, Dahila.”
“I know.”
The room grew quiet.
Zola tilted her head. “Do you like him?”
My heart jumped violently.
“No.”
Too fast.
She smirked. “You answered that too quickly.”
“I don’t,” I insisted. “It doesn’t matter anyway.”
“Why?”
Because he already chose pride over me once.
Because he didn’t think I was worth remembering.
Because I was not beautiful enough then.
Because I am afraid if he finds out who I was, he will look at me differently again.
“He’s the Alpha,” I said instead. “And I am… complicated.”
Zola stepped closer and crouched in front of me.
“You’re not complicated. You’re hurt.”
Her words landed gently.
And she was right.
I am not afraid of him.
I am afraid of feeling something again.
I am afraid of looking at him the way I did that night — hopeful.
“I won’t let it happen,” I whispered.
“Let what happen?”
“Whatever this is.”
Zola studied me carefully. “And what if it’s not a mistake?”
“It is.”
“How do you know?”
Because he didn’t choose me before.
Because I still remember how that felt.
I stood up abruptly.
“It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t even know who I am.”
Zola’s eyes sharpened. “What do you mean?”
I hesitated.
The secret tasted heavy on my tongue.
“He met me once before,” I said slowly. “A long time ago.”
Her brows rose. “And?”
“And he walked away.”
Silence filled the cottage.
Zola straightened slowly. “Does he know it was you?”
“No.”
“Do you want him to?”
My chest tightened.
I didn’t answer.
Because I don’t know.
If he remembers… what happens then?
Does he regret it?
Does he laugh?
Does he look at me with pity?
Or worse—
Does he look at me with nothing at all?
Zola reached for my hands. “Dahila… men grow. People change.”
“Kings don’t,” I said quietly.
She smiled faintly. “Sometimes they do. They just need the right reason.”
I pulled my hands away gently.
“This isn’t a fairytale.”
“No,” she agreed softly. “It’s real. And real is messier.”
I exhaled slowly.
Dinner tonight will not be simple.
If he sits beside me, the entire pack will notice.
The Luna will notice.
The whispers will get louder.
And I—
I will have to decide whether to keep pretending my heart is not reacting.
Zola tilted her head. “So what will you do?”
I straightened my shoulders.
“I will eat.”
She blinked. “That’s your big decision?”
“Yes.”
A small smile touched my lips.
“I will not shrink.”
And I will not run.
If Dagnoth Draculus wants to sit beside me tonight—
Then he will see exactly who I am.
Not the girl from the shadows.
Not the one he forgot.
But the woman standing in front of him now.
And if fire starts again…
This time, I will not burn alone.