Chapter 10 Was This a Coincidence
DANE’S POV
I froze the moment I saw her.
It was her.
The same girl from the forest, the one I had told I was a traveler so she could be natural with me—no one needed to tell me it was the same person as the one who had tried to jump the fence that night. At first, I thought it might be my imagination, some trick of memory, but the closer I looked, the more certain I became. The same sharp, defiant eyes, the same restless energy she carried like a blade.
She looked… broken. Pale, drained, as if someone had been systematically cutting away at her life. Her clothes were torn and muddied, and there were faint bruises along her arms, hidden beneath the sleeves but impossible to miss if you looked closely.
The active glow in her eyes was dull.
I hated the way she looked. Hated that she had been hurt, hated that anyone had dared lay a hand on her. I myself was shocked by the possessiveness I felt towards her.
“Do not lay another finger on her,” I barked at the guard who was still trying to shove her forward. My voice was low but edged with the kind of authority that brooked no argument.
The guard froze mid-step, shame and fear flashing across his face. Slowly, he took a step back, muttering under his breath. Good.
I took a deliberate step closer to her, and she flinched slightly. Her eyes lifted to meet mine, recognition flickering there like a candle fighting the wind.
“What’s your name, young lady?” I asked gently, keeping my tone soft. I hated the way her lips trembled. Hated the way her eyes darted nervously from me to the guards, weighing which threat was worse.
Her lips trembled as she spoke.
“Mei…ra…”
She paused, swallowed, and then finished quietly, “Meira Ashford.” Her eyes stayed on mine, steady, unflinching.
The name hit me like a faint echo. Familiar, somehow, but I couldn’t place where I had heard it before. My mind searched, turning over memories, but it came up empty. Still, something about it made my chest tighten.
“And why are you being dragged to the alpha king?”
“ Tears crawled down her clear skin. “They said I killed my aunt’s husband,” she whispered, her voice shaky but steady. The words hit me like ice water. The way she said them, the pain that flickered across her face, made me want to tear this entire pack apart with my bare hands.
“I swear I didn't."
I could see it in her posture, the way she held herself despite being roughly shoved: someone had handled her with violence, carelessness, or even cruelty. And I could feel it, the people who had done this, the ones who had put her in this position, burning in my mind, calling for punishment.
“Take her back,” I said finally, voice low, dangerous, and final.
One of the deltas spoke up, voice quivering. “Alpha… she’s cursed. She’s not meant to be with us. She doesn’t belong—”
I turned sharply, eyes blazing. “Are you trying to tell me what to do?” I growled. The words came out harsher than I expected, but I didn’t care. No one, no one was going to dictate what I did or didn’t do.
The delta shrank back, and silence fell over the small courtyard.
Then, as if summoned by the tension itself, a deeper, colder voice cut through the air.
“What’s going on here?”
Father.
He appeared at the top of the steps, tall and imposing, the kind of presence that could make grown men stumble. My jaw tightened. I straightened instinctively, trying to mask the flicker of protectiveness and fury that the sight of her pain had sparked in me.
“Leave it to me, Father,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
He studied me, expression hard and unreadable. That same look, the one he always gave when he wanted obedience without argument, settled on me. I didn’t flinch. I met his gaze, silent, the way a man holds his ground when he knows the fight isn’t over.
He stepped closer, eyeing her with a calculated, cold interest. “Tell me what happened,” he said, voice calm but cutting.
I let him do it. Let him ask. Let him question her. Because the last thing I wanted was to let him see the unexplainable feeling that was happening within.
Her answers were careful and measured, but I could see through them. I could see the truth behind her eyes, the truth that burned like fire: she was scared, yes, but she wasn’t lying. Not a word. And yet, my father’s face darkened with disbelief.
“Send her to the dungeon,” he said finally, voice sharp and cold. “She will remain there until the next full moon. Then her case will be judged by the elders. Though… that’s likely just for formality. Most likely, she’ll be auctioned off or tortured till death.”
The words hit me like a strike to the chest. My fists clenched at my sides, nails biting into my palms. The cruel efficiency of it, the way he spoke her death sentence as if she were nothing, made my blood boil.
“Father,” I said, trying to keep my tone measured but knowing I was failing, “you didn’t even ask her more questions. You didn’t…”
“She is cursed, Dane,” he snapped, his voice cutting me off like a whip. “I’m your father. You don’t know better than I do.”
I swallowed hard. My heart thumped against my ribs. And yet… I couldn’t move. I couldn’t look away from her.
As they dragged her away, her eyes found mine again. And in that look, so fleeting yet so searing, there was something more than fear. Something like hope. Like trust. Like she expected me to do something, to act, to fight.
My wolf stirred. My chest tightened. That familiar heat, the unshakable pull I always felt around her, flared inside me. I’d felt it before, the way my instincts screamed when she was near but now it was sharper, more urgent. My wolf growled low in my chest, restless, demanding.
Was this really a coincidence?