Three

CHAPTER THREE — WHAT DID YOU FIND ABOUT HER?

DRAYVEN’S POV

I had just finished my meeting with the elders when I walked back into my office and closed the door behind me.

The meeting had lasted longer than I expected because there were still too many questions about the attack, the men who had ambushed us, and how they had managed to get so close to our territory without being noticed.

I walked toward my desk and dropped the reports in my hand on top of it.

My side still hurt whenever I moved too quickly, but I ignored the pain. I had dealt with worse.

What bothered me more was that we still had no idea who had attacked us or what they wanted.

I walked around the desk and sat down in my chair, leaning back as I stared at the reports in front of me.

There was a knock on the door.

I looked up. “Come in.”

The door opened, and my Beta stepped inside.

He closed the door behind him before walking toward my desk. “You called for me, Alpha?”

I looked at him for a moment.

There was something else I wanted to know, something that had been on my mind since I woke up and remembered the woman in the forest. “What did you find about her?”

My Beta seemed to know exactly who I was talking about. “The woman who saved you?”

I nodded.  “Yes. Her.”

He walked closer to my desk.“We investigated her as you ordered.”

“And?”

He hesitated for a moment before answering. “She is not just a random woman who happened to be in the forest.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“She was the Luna of your stepbrother.”

I stared at him. “My stepbrother?”

“Xavren.”

I leaned back in my chair. “Xavren’s Luna?”

“Yes.”

For some reason, that information surprised me.

I remembered the woman sitting in the forest beside me, her clothes dirty, her face covered with traces of tears, and the strange mark on her body.

She had looked like someone who had already lost everything.

I had not expected her to have once been a Luna. “What happened?”

My Beta looked at me before answering. “She was dethroned.”

“Why?”

“She was blamed for what happened to Xavren.”

I frowned. “What happened to him?”

“My sources said Xavren lost his wolf years ago. The pack believed Orlena was somehow responsible for it because of the mark on her body.”

I slowly looked up. “The mark.”

My Beta nodded. “Yes. They call her cursed.”

I was silent.

So that was why she had looked so broken, she  had not simply been abandoned, she  had been blamed.

“She was Xavren’s Luna, but he eventually replaced her,” my Beta continued. “He chose another woman and publicly removed Orlena from her position. From what we gathered, he also sent her out of the pack.”

I looked at him. “She was expelled?”

“Yes.”

“And she had nowhere to go?”

“That appears to be the case.”

For a moment, I said nothing.

I remembered the way she had refused my help.

She had told me she could walk even though she could barely stand, she had looked at my men as though she expected them to hurt her.

It made sense now.

She had just been thrown out of her own pack. I looked down at the desk, but my thoughts returned to her face.

There was something about her that had caught my attention the moment I saw her.

Something I could not explain.

Then it occurred to me again.

She looked like  Mira, that was the reason I insisted that my men bring her, the shape of her eyes, the softness of her features, even the way she looked at people when she was trying to hide what she was feeling.

For a brief moment, I remembered Mira standing in front of me years ago.

I remembered her smile, her voice, and the way she used to look at me.

My expression hardened. “Doesn’t she look like Mira?”

My Beta looked at me carefully before nodding. “I noticed the resemblance, Alpha. I think everyone who has seen Mira before would notice it.”

I looked away.

Mira had been gone from my life for a long time, but seeing Orlena had brought back memories I had no intention of revisiting.

Maybe that was part of the reason I had noticed her so quickly, maybe  that was why I had been curious about her from the moment I saw her.

But I knew better than to confuse one woman with another.

Orlena was not Mira.

She had her own story, her own problems, and clearly, she had something about her that I did not understand. “What else did you find?”

My Beta straightened. “She was raised outside Xavren’s pack. She has some knowledge of herbs and old remedies. The healer confirmed that the herbs she used on you were what stopped your bleeding before we arrived.”

I leaned back slowly. “She still helped me.”

“Yes.”

Most people would have run if they found an injured stranger in the forest, especially someone who was bleeding as badly as I had been.

But Orlena had stayed.

Even after whatever had happened to her, even after being betrayed by the man she once called her mate, she had still helped me.

My Beta immediately understood what I meant.

He reached inside the folder he had been carrying and pulled out a large document.

He placed it in my hand.

I looked down at it briefly before closing the folder.

The contract was already prepared.

I did not need to look through it again. I had already made my decision, and I was not the kind of man who changed his mind after making one.

I stood from my chair.

My Beta remained where he was, watching me carefully.

“Are you sure about this, Alpha?”

I looked at him coldly.

“Did I ask for your opinion?”

He immediately lowered his head.

“No, Alpha.”

“Then there is nothing to discuss.”

He stepped aside without another word.

I walked out of my office with the contract in my hand.

My footsteps echoed through the quiet hallway as I made my way toward the room where Orlena had been placed.

I had no intention of explaining myself to her.

She did not need to know what had made me choose her.

She did not need to know about Mira.

She did not need to know what I was thinking.

If she wanted to stay in my territory, she would have to accept my conditions.

When I reached her door, I knocked once.

There was silence for a few seconds.

Then her voice came from inside.

“Enter.”

I opened the door.

Orlena was sitting near the window.

She turned the moment she saw me, and the guarded expression on her face returned immediately.

I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

She watched me carefully.

“What do you want?”

I did not answer immediately.

I walked toward her, the contract still in my hand.

Her eyes followed me until I stopped in front of the table.

“When are you planning to leave?”

Her eyebrows lifted.

For a moment, she only stared at me.

Then a faint, bitter smile appeared on her lips.

“You can’t wait for me to leave.”

I looked at her without changing my expression.

“I asked you a question.”

She looked away for a moment before turning back to me.

“I don’t know.”

I remained silent.

She seemed uncomfortable with the silence, but I did not care.

“I just got here,” she continued. “I haven’t even decided what I am going to do.”

“That is not an answer.”

She frowned.

“What do you want me to say?”

“When you are leaving.”

She stared at me.

“You really want me gone that badly?”

I said nothing.

She looked at me for a few seconds before letting out a quiet breath.

“I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“I know.”

Her expression changed slightly.

I placed the contract on the table in front of her.

“If you want to stay here, I think it is better to sign.”

She looked at the document. “What is this?”

“Read it.”

She frowned.

“You brought me a contract without telling me what it is?”

“I said read it.”

My voice remained cold.

She hesitated before reaching for it.

Her fingers touched the thick document, and she slowly pulled it closer.

I remained standing.

She looked at me once more, as though trying to understand what I was doing.

Then she opened the first page, her  eyes moved across the words.

She stopped.

For a few seconds, she did not move.

Then her eyes widened slightly, she  looked at the document again, as if she thought she had read it wrong, her  fingers tightened around the pages.

Finally, she lifted her head and looked at me. “This is a marriage contract?”