THE BLIND CLAIM

Zoro stood in the hallway outside Samantha's chamber, arms folded, shoulders tense. The torches flickered against the stone walls, casting his shadow long and sharp. Anyone seeing him there would have sworn he was carved from darkness itself...cold, immovable, unshakable.

But inside his chest, something restless clawed.

This girl. This blind, trembling human girl.

She was unraveling him.

Zoro didn't know what infuriated him more, Morris's audacity, or the way Samantha's soft voice lingered in his mind long after she fell asleep.

"Your Majesty?" Gamma Rowan approached cautiously. "The healers await your order."

Zoro didn't turn. "Bring them in."

Rowan hesitated. "For her?"

Zoro's eyes snapped to him, glowing with a silent warning. Rowan bowed instantly and hurried away.

Zoro wasn't used to second-guessing himself.

He wasn't used to feeling anything.

But Samantha... she was an unexpected fracture in his armor.

She could be leverage. A weapon. The perfect way to draw Morris out and break him once and for all.

Yet the moment he entertained that thought, an icy disgust rose in his throat. Using her felt... wrong. Unworthy. Dishonorable.

His wolf growled inside him.

Protect.

Zoro clenched his jaw. He didn't know if it was instinct, fate, or madness, but every time she cried out, every time she flinched, every time her fragile hands searched blindly for safety... something inside him cracked.

And now, she was in his care.

Under his roof.

Under his protection.

Even if he didn't fully understand why.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Samantha lay half-sitting against the pillows, her breath shallow, her fingers gripping the blankets as though they were the only anchor she had left in this world. Her milky eyes drifted toward the sound of his footsteps.

"Is... is that you?" she whispered.

Her voice softened something deep inside him.

"Yes." He didn't bother hiding the grit of emotion in his tone. "It's me."

He approached her slowly, making sure his steps were loud enough for her to follow. She relaxed, only a little, but enough for him to notice.

"I brought healers," Zoro said. "To ease your pain."

Her lips parted. "Why?"

He stopped beside the bed, arms folded tightly across his chest as if physically restraining himself.

"Because you're hurt."

"That's not enough reason," she whispered, voice trembling. "People don't help others like this without wanting something."

Zoro exhaled, slow and sharp.

She had a point.

He should want something.

Power.

Revenge.

A strategic advantage.

But staring at her now, wrapped in his blankets, shaking, fragile yet still breathing... none of that mattered.

What he wanted was something far more dangerous.

"I want to see you healed," Zoro said finally. "That is all."

Samantha swallowed hard. "I... I don't know how to trust that."

"You don't need to," Zoro replied, kneeling beside her bed. The movement surprised even him. "You only need to rest."

The healers entered silently, their hands glowing faintly as they approached. Samantha stiffened, shrinking into the pillows. Zoro reached out-not touching her, but close enough for her to feel his presence.

"Samantha," he whispered, voice dipping into a softer register, "they're here to help you. Nothing will harm you while I stand here." so you understand

Her chin quivered. "Promise?"

That single word wrapped around him like chains.

Zoro leaned closer, lowering his voice until it brushed her ear.

"I do not make promises lightly."

She turned her face slightly toward him, breath trembling, but she nodded. The healers gently placed their palms above her wounds, never touching, only guiding soothing energy along the torn skin. Samantha gasped at the warmth, her fingers tightening on the sheets.

Zoro watched every flinch... every shiver... every time she whimpered. His hands curled into fists at his knees.

He hated seeing her in pain.

He hated knowing Morris put her there.

He hated the fire inside him that demanded vengeance.

When the healers finished, her breathing had softened. Her face relaxed for the first time since she arrived.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Zoro dismissed the healers with a nod. When they left, the silence between him and Samantha deepened, not empty, but charged.

"You're trembling," Zoro said quietly.

"I can't help it," she whispered. "I can't see anything. Every sound feels like danger."

Zoro hesitated... then moved closer, sitting on the edge of the bed. She tensed at the dip of the mattress, her breath catching.

"You're not in danger here," he said. "You're in the safest place in the kingdom."

She laughed weakly. "That's what Morris used to say."

The world went still.

Zoro lifted her chin gently, forcing her to look toward him even though she could not see his face.

"I am not Morris," he growled softly.

She inhaled sharply, but didn't pull away.

"I know," she whispered. "You don't sound like him."

Zoro's thumb brushed her jawline before he realized he'd moved. Her skin was warm, delicate, softer than he expected.

He pulled his hand back, fighting for composure.

"You should rest," he whispered.

"I'll try." She hesitated. "But... could you just... stay for a moment?"

His heart slammed against his ribs.

Stay.

Zoro wasn't the kind of man who stayed.

He walked away.

He commanded from a distance.

He built walls so no one could reach him.

But her voice...

Something inside him surrendered.

He sat back beside her.

"Very well."

She shifted closer to the sound of his breathing. "I don't know what you look like," she said softly. "But... I feel like you're tall."

He raised a brow. "Are you guessing?"

"It's something in your voice," she whispered. "It feels... steady. Like someone who stands above others."

Zoro's lips twitched-a rare, almost-smile.

"And you?" he asked. "How do you see yourself?"

She hesitated. "Weak."

Zoro leaned in, his tone turning dark and stern.

"You crossed a forest blind. You outran a trained warrior. You survived Morris."

He waited a heartbeat.

"You're not weak, Samantha. You're extraordinary."

Her breath hitched. She turned her face toward him, and for a moment... it felt like she was looking right into him.

"Why are you being kind to me?" she whispered.

Zoro inhaled slowly.

Because my wolf rises for you.

Because I feel alive around you.

Because I don't want to let you go.

But he said none of those things.

Instead...

"Because someone needs to be."

Samantha's fingers brushed his hand. A soft, accidental touch. Zoro froze, then, slowly, he closed his hand around hers.

The contact sent a jolt through him.

Warm.

Electric.

Dangerous.

Samantha leaned into him, fragile but trusting.

And Zoro let her.

For the first time in years, he let someone close.

But outside the palace walls...

A distant howl tore through the night-low, furious, unmistakable.

Morris.

Zoro lifted his head, eyes darkening to molten silver.

The war wasn't coming.

It was already here.

And Samantha...

She was at the center of it.

The king tightened his hold on her hand, his voice a whisper of wrath and promise.

"I won't let him take you."

But destiny had other plans.

And Morris had just crossed the first border.

The hunt had begun again