10. Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Orion
I grabbed her arm, my hand tightening involuntarily, as Luna’s words hung in the air.
“What do you mean? Betray us how? You’re talking about my daughter … your best friend.” My voice was harsher than I intended, but I couldn't help it. This was Miranda. My flesh and blood. The one person I had raised to stand beside me. To one day take over everything.
Luna’s face was pale, her eyes wide with the lingering terror from her vision. She swallowed hard, her voice trembling when she spoke.
“She was making a pact with the rival clan.” She looked up at me, pleading for me to understand. “In the vision, I saw her. She was standing with them, sealing some kind of deal. If it happens …” she faltered, struggling to keep her composure. "If it happens, it will destroy everything. Us. The pack. You.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. Betrayal. From my own daughter? It didn’t make sense. Miranda was loyal. She loved me. She loved the pack. How could she?
I shook my head, trying to push away the thought.
“Miranda? That doesn’t make sense,” I said, my voice sounding foreign even to my own ears. “She’s my daughter, Luna. She wouldn’t—”
“She will!” Luna’s voice cut through the air like a blade, sharper than I had ever heard it before. She grasped my arm, her grip almost painful, as she forced me to meet her gaze.
“That’s enough, Luna! How can you accuse my daughter of such betrayal? It’s my only daughter we are talking about here. My flesh and blood. You have no right to say such things about my daughter! Believe me, if it was someone else that said this, I would have their head on a platter.”
“What? I felt it, Orion. I felt her betrayal. It was like a knife in my chest. She’s going to make that pact, and it will tear everything apart.”
“Not another word against my daughter. I swear Luna or else.”
“Or else what … you’d behead me?”
“Don’t push it Luna …”
“I know that you are in denial, and everything seems-”
“I said don’t push it!”
I wanted to argue, to deny everything she was saying. My mind reeled as I tried to make sense of it, but the vision Luna had described, the certainty in her voice, gnawed at me. My jaw clenched, the war inside me growing fiercer with every second.
But Luna’s eyes. I couldn’t ignore the look in her eyes. She believed it. She had seen it.
“Luna.” My voice came out quieter this time, almost pleading. I didn’t want to believe it. I couldn’t believe it. “My daughter … why would she—”
“I don’t know!” Luna’s voice cracked as she cried out in frustration. “I don’t know why. But I saw it, Orion. I saw her standing there with them. They were lurking in the shadows, waiting for her to make the deal. She didn’t hesitate. She wanted to do it.”
A low growl rumbled in my chest. Anger and disbelief warred inside me. Miranda— my daughter —plotting with the rival clan? It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t make sense. After everything we had been through, everything I had sacrificed for her. No. This couldn’t be true.
“I won’t listen to this,” I muttered, shaking my head, as if I could rid myself of the images Luna was painting. “You must’ve misread it. There’s no way. She would never—"
“I’m telling you what I saw!” Luna’s voice was sharp now, desperate. “Orion, you can’t just turn your back on this.”
But I was already turning. Her words sliced through me, but the disbelief, the anger, overpowered it. I couldn’t stand there and listen to someone accuse Miranda. My own flesh and blood.
“You think I’m going to believe that my daughter, my daughter , would betray me? Betray everything? No, Luna.” My voice rose, harsher than I meant it to be. “You’re wrong.”
Luna stepped forward, reaching out for me, but I moved back. The sight of her, her eyes wide with concern, her hand trembling only enraged me more.
“I can’t believe you’d say this to me,” I growled. “Miranda’s been through enough. And you think—what? That she’s some kind of traitor? That she’s working against her own father?”
“She’s not the same girl you think she is,” Luna whispered, her voice cracking again, pleading. “You have to see that, Orion.”
I shook my head violently, the storm inside me threatening to explode. “No. No, Luna. I won’t see that. I won’t tolerate these accusations about her. Not from you, not from anyone.”
Luna looked shattered. Her lips parted to speak, but I was already done.
“We need a break,” I said, my tone as cold as the anger that burned inside me. “This … whatever this is, I can’t deal with it right now. If you can’t believe in Miranda, if you think I’m just going to stand here and let you accuse her like this—then maybe we shouldn’t be doing this.”
Her eyes widened, and I saw the pain flash across her face, but I forced myself to ignore it.
“I need space,” I ground out. “I can’t do this. We will leave tomorrow morning. You don’t have to worry - I’ll assign some bodyguards to always be with you.”
Before she could respond, I turned and walked out, my chest tight, my fists clenched. I felt her gaze on my back, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. Not when every part of me was screaming that I had to protect Miranda, no matter what—or who—I had to walk away from.
The next morning, the low hum of the engine buzzed in the background, drowned out by the thoughts storming through my mind. I sat there, staring at Luna, as she avoided my gaze. Maybe I was too extreme last night, but I couldn’t bear anyone speaking ill of my daughter.
As I kept on watching her, she gently stroked her hair and made me yearn for her. Her scent lingered on my nose. Oh Luna. You are so close, but I can’t touch you , I thought.
I decided to reach out to Miranda to inform her about my return, but she didn’t answer any of my calls.
I clenched my fist, feeling the leather seat beneath me creak under pressure. A wave of anger rose in my chest.
I just hope you haven’t done this, Miranda. I couldn’t bear the betrayal, I thought.
The car hit a bump, jolting me from my thoughts. I glanced ahead at Jake, who was gripping the steering wheel tightly, his eyes scanning the rain-soaked road. Behind us, the convoy of SUVs followed like silent shadows, their black, armored forms a reminder of the world we lived in—the dangers we faced, both from within and without.
“Jake, we will stop by Luna’s house first before going to the mansion.”
“Okay, sir.”
Luna looked at me like she had something to say, but she just exhaled and looked out the car window.
I stared out the window, watching as the city lights blurred into the rain-soaked night. The world outside was dark, ominous, as if the storm raging beyond the glass was a reflection of what was to come. I could feel it in my bones, the sense of impending disaster. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing the ground beneath me was crumbling.
I grabbed my phone, dialing Miranda’s number before the cold reality of her absence settled too deeply. I kept on calling her and nothing. The sound of silence at the other end of the line was deafening. I hung up, my frustration mounting as I tried again. The anger from the night before still simmered between Luna and me, but I shoved it aside. None of that mattered now. Not when Miranda was unreachable.
The call went unanswered again.
“Fuck,” I cursed under my breath, my knuckles turning white, as I clutched the phone tighter. I needed to hear her voice. I needed to know she was okay, that everything Luna had said wasn’t true.
We arrived at Luna’s house, and I could feel Luna’s presence beside me, lingering in the car, but I couldn’t bring myself to acknowledge her. Not after last night. Not after the things we said. She just got out of the car, and Jake helped her to take her things into her house.
“Thanks for the ride,” Luna said, and shut the door behind her.
I finally arrived at the mansion, but Miranda was nowhere to be found.
The mansion loomed around me, empty and cold without Miranda’s presence. Normally, she would’ve been waiting for us, her smile brightening even the darkest day. But now—nothing. Just silence.
I dialed her number again, pacing the floor, each unanswered ring tearing a little more of my sanity away.
“She’s not answering,” I muttered, frustration thick in my voice. “She’s ignoring my calls.”
I tried again—dialing Miranda’s number with shaking hands. My heart pounded harder with every unanswered ring, the silence growing heavier by the second.
I hung up, staring down at the phone like it held all the answers I was desperate for. My mind raced, a million scenarios flashing through it, each one worse than the last.
“Is she with them? Has she really turned against me? Is she … was she betraying me?”
I shook my head violently, rejecting the thought. Miranda wouldn’t betray her family. She couldn’t. Not after everything we’d been through.
But the longer she stayed silent, the harder it became to hold on to that belief.
Time stretched on, each minute feeling like an eternity. The mansion felt suffocating, the walls closing in around me. I tried to calm myself, but my mind kept returning to the worst possibilities. What if Luna had been right all along?
I dialed again, my hand trembling as I pressed the phone to my ear.
The call went straight to voicemail this time.
The tension in my chest grew unbearable, the weight of it threatening to crush me.
“I think I know where she might be,” I whispered.
Finding Miranda wasn’t difficult. She was at her usual spot in the city square, a place where she used to find comfort. But when I approached her, something was different. She was standing there, staring off into the distance, her posture rigid and cold.
"Miranda," I called out, my voice low and controlled, though inside I was anything but. She didn’t turn around at first, and for a moment, I thought she hadn’t heard me. But then she slowly turned, her eyes locking onto mine.
There was no warmth in her gaze. No recognition of the bond we once shared. Instead, her eyes were hard, calculating, as though she were assessing me as an enemy, not a father.
"I’ve been looking for you," I said, my voice tight. "Why have you been avoiding me?"
She crossed her arms, her face a mask of indifference. "I haven’t been avoiding you. I’ve just had other things to focus on."
"Other things?" I repeated, my frustration bubbling to the surface. "Miranda, I’m your father. We need to talk. This isn’t the time for—"
"I don’t have time for this," she interrupted, her voice cold. "Not anymore."
The words sliced through me, each one sharper than the last. "What’s happened to you? What’s going on, Miranda?"
She sighed, glancing away. "It’s not about you. I’ve just been very busy."
“Then what is this about? Make me understand why your behavior has suddenly changed.”
“Dad, do I have a reason to suddenly change my behavior? Is there something I need to know?” she asked, peering into my eyes.
“I … uh … I mean, you haven’t been taking Luna’s calls, and, uh, you went MIA.”
“How did you know I haven’t been taking her calls? Were you with her?”
“She told me about it. I’m sure you heard about Tremont’s death. That’s why I asked Luna to get hold of you,” I said, avoiding her gaze.
“Yes, I heard about what happened to Tremont, but you don’t have to worry. I’m fine. I can take care of myself.”
“You are still my little girl, so I’m definitely bound to be worried about you.”
“Trust me dad, I’m fine, and tonight, I’ll be better.”
“Tonight? What’s happening tonight?”
Miranda smirked as she intensely looked at me.
I know that look. Miranda is up to something very dangerous. But what could it be? Did she really betray me? I wondered.