Cursed Lycan's Scarred Mate
Chapter 121: Same eyes as mine

Chapter 121: Same eyes as mine

Soran’s words weighed heavily on Rowan.

He had no memory of what happened or who instructed him to tend to the ritual chambers, but he knew for sure that something was off.

It couldn’t have been a simple blackout that confused his thoughts and prompted him to sabotage the Triune Circle.

And Soran, who was wary when he heard footsteps approaching, straightened up. He stepped away from the dungeon cell but stepped forward again. He reached out and fondly brushed his hand through Rowan’s hair.

He felt a sharp jab in his chest, seeing the helpless look on Rowan’s expression.

’I am sorry that it must be this way,’ Soran thought, ending the touch by brushing a few hair strands away from Rowan’s forehead.

The lad seemed to smile sincerely and it only twisted the jab in Soran’s heart further.

If he had a heart at all.

"Farewell, lad," Soran said, retracting his hand and taking a step back. "We will see what can be done." With finality, he took his leave and left Rowan wondering about the consequences fate had in store for him.

The lad sighed hopelessly and plopped back down on the floor of his cell, absentmindedly drawing circles with the thick layer of dust on the stone floor to pass the time.

However, a moment later, not long after Soran had departed, he heard footsteps too. He straightened up, standing again and approaching the cell bars.

He was surprised to find the intimidating Lycan Alpha towering over the cell bars, predatory eyes glaring a hole down at him. He stook a step back, seeing Ronan’s amber eyes glint in the partial darkness.

"Do not be afraid," a soft and sweet-sounding voice came from behind Ronan, revealing Vivian as she poked her head around him. She stepped forward in front of the Lycan Alpha and greeted Rowan with a smile. "Do you know who I am, Rowan?"

The lad breathed a sigh of relief seeing Vivian’s kindness, but the matter of the beastly Lycan Alpha standing like an iron wall without backing down still troubled Rowan.

And Vivian, noticing Rowan’s fear, turned around and playfully swatted Ronan’s shoulder.

"Would you stop that?" Vivian scolded him and crossed her arms. "You’re scaring him."

"Maybe if you’ll give me a kiss, princess," Ronan said back cheekily, flashing a grin.

"Stand over there," Vivian instructed him, pointing in the direction of the wall across from Rowan’s dungeon cell. "And wait till I’m done."

Ronan was never the type to adhere to orders from anyone, but if his feisty little Omega was ordering him around so sweetly, how could he refuse?

He held his hands up defensively and strode over to the wall she’s pointed at. He leaned with his back against it, folding his arms just below his chest. Still, his wary glint never wavered nor changed trajectory from Rowan’s direction.

"Miss Vivian?" Rowan finally spoke, tilting his head to the side. "What are you doing here?"

Vivian hugged her shawl tighter around her shoulders since the underground dungeons weren’t exactly blanketed from the outside. The chilly air still found its way to seep in through the cracks and make one’s skin pebble with goosebumps.

Vivian produced another shawl from underneath hers, handing it to Rowan through the bars.

"Put this on; it’s very cold tonight," Vivian said. Rowan was reluctant at first but he happily received the shawl.

He had to admit that it was freezing down in the dungeons and the guards never bothered to ensure any hospitality.

Of course they wouldn’t.

He was just a criminal in their eyes.

"Thank you," Rowan expressed, gratefully accepting the shawl and wrapping it around himself. "Why are you being so nice to me, Miss Vivian? I am the one who... " He trailed off, uncertain of how to confront the topic.

"I am here because I don’t want to suspect you without knowing for sure and seeing clear evidence that you were the responsible for the fact that I almost could have died," Vivian related, determined to make sure that she wasn’t an enemy to Rowan.

Still, the lad was sceptical and didn’t understand why Vivian would offer him a chance to prove his innocence. Shouldn’t she have simply let things carry out as they were?

"How old are you, Rowan?"

"Sixteen," the lad replied, hanging his head low. He breathed hot air in the middle of both his palms and rubbed them together to warm them up.

"You’re very young," Vivian commented and now that she knew his age, it was utterly unjust to allow such a youngster to meet a terrible fate he may very well not be deserving of.

Rowan simply nodded.

"Hey, I know you’re feeling unsure and that you don’t know if you can trust me," Vivian said, noticing Rowan’s unwillingness to speak to her since he didn’t respond. "I want you to know that I’m truly not holding you accountable for what happened, not yet at least."

Not yet.

Perhaps there was hope that he wouldn’t be executed but there was also the chance that Vivian would concede to his punishment.

"But I don’t understand why? Even what you said earlier... it does not make sense to me, Miss Vivian," Rowan admitted, trying to understand the intentions behind Vivian’s kindness.

The she-wolf sighed.

"Can you please look at me, Rowan?" Vivian requested, and Rowan looked up, not understanding the request either.

Vivian peered deeply into the innocent, ash-mauve eyes of the lad before her. She searched, looking for any moment of weakness where his eyes would show his true colours but there was none.

Rowan’s eyes reflected his helplessness and vulnerability.

They reflected what she felt when she was accused of her brother’s crimes.

Vivian’s gaze softened sympathetically.

She was practically looking at herself.

’Same eyes as mine.’ Vivian echoed in her mind.

There was no doubt.

Much like herself, Rowan had silently accepted his fate, knowing there was no way out for himself.

And just like when Ronan first found her, Vivian didn’t believe she was deserving of justice and blamed herself for all of it.

Rowan showed signs of the same attitude towards himself.

Vivian turned around, looking for Ronan, who had been observing them with a dark glare the entire time.

Vivian shook her head.

It was a gesture to inform Ronan she strongly believed the lad wasn’t the perpetrator.

Ronan didn’t seem convinced.

He moved away from the wall and approached them, standing a few feet away from Vivian so that it wouldn’t seem as if he was towering over her and intimidating her.

"How can you be so sure, Vivi?" Ronan questioned, his brow arching with curiosity. "Anything he says could be a lie."

"But he didn’t say a single word to defend himself," Vivian explained, pointing at Rowan. "Look into his eyes and tell me what you see. Your Lycan instincts should be better than my judgement."

Vivian knew that since Ronan would have undoubtedly detected the same emotions in her eyes when he first found her, he’d surely see them in Rowan too.

Ronan didn’t think that looking into Rowan’s eyes would warrant anything credible to work with, but since Vivian asked him to, he wouldn’t refuse.

The Lycan Alpha stepped closer to the cell bars, his eyes lighting up dangerously as he used the instincts of his Lycan to peer into Rowan’s ash mauve eyes.

And indeed, Vivian had been right.

What Ronan saw was pure fear, much like Vivian’s when he first met her.

He watched the lad’s eyes waver with uncertainty, showing no hidden signs of deceit.

Fear and helplessness would never reflect together in a criminal’s eyes.

Nor would a criminal simply accept their fate and not try to prove their innocence, even if there was no chance of it being proved.

Rowan truly was an obedient child, as they said he was.

Still, it wasn’t enough to work with but Ronan didn’t want to doubt Vivian.

She knew herself better than anyone, so she could read Rowan like an open book.

"What do you want to do?" Ronan turned back to Vivian. Whatever she wanted to do, he would see it through. It didn’t matter if she was wrong; the morals of her decisions never bothered him.

If she wanted Rowan dead, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

If she wanted to save Rowan, then so be it.

"I want to help him," Vivian stated with conviction. Her pretty emerald eyes turned serious and reflected the determination in them. "If we can’t prove his innocence, then we must help him escape."