I had a slight taste of déjà vu once I opened my eyes and saw drops of drip flowing in a plastic tube. I instantly remembered when I woke up in Argent Investment Bank's medical center. It felt similar yet different… What felt similar was the hospital bed, but once I turned my head to the side, I saw a large window and a sunset over a beautiful forest outside. When I turned to the other side, I saw Draven sitting next to my bed. He was asleep. His head was lying on the bed with his cheek near my right hand that he was holding. His grip was tight with a hint of possessiveness in it. Staring at his calm, sleeping face, I started recalling every second of my fight with Brick. Once my mind captured the image of my ripped shoulder, I turned my eyes, trying to check how bad it looked.
The whole area around my left collarbone and arm was patched with thick bandages and some stinking, herbal ointment underneath the layers of gauze. I tried to move my arm a bit and
Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on me as every corner of the training grounds became silent. My heart began to race, and my brain was slowly getting closer to a state of panic. Alpha Draven glanced at me briefly, letting me know that the next move was up to me, but what the hell was I supposed to do?!"Lilith, think for God's sake!" My mind activated the logical mode. "While they were sent here to join the pack on the battlefield, the vampire army kneels before YOU. If you don't do something quickly, there might be no peace treaty, and you will be forced to choose whether you want to be with the vampires or the werewolves!"The silence extended, and it forced an awkward smile on my face. I could see Draven clenching his teeth. It didn't look like the Royal Army would acknowledge him as their leader merely because the legions were sent there. I knew that I was going to regret what I was about to do, but I felt as if I had no other choice…"Thank you…
The party was supposed to be held in the large field near the forest. It was just outside the mansion's grounds. Beta Ari took me there. I was grateful for his company. I didn't want to spoil my mood by walking there with Draven. I was still pissed at him for what he had put me through, and I was additionally pissed at myself for doing something to his advantage after all of that. I couldn't evaluate where the limit of his arrogance was, and if I wasn't going to hear a sincere apology from him the next time we talked, I was going to punch him in the face. I deliberately delayed the moment we'd have this talk. I was looking forward to having some fun, drinking, and meeting people. Punching the Alpha of their pack in the middle of the party might have complicated a few things for me…When we reached the spot, I saw multiple long tables. They were already set up with plates and glasses for the drinks. There was a huge fire set in the middle of that field, giving just the
I truly hoped that my regeneration abilities would deal with the alcohol detoxication because I lost count of how many glasses of wine I had drunk. Nonetheless, I was sober enough to refuse Draven's proposal to carry me to my bedroom, and I swayed my way all by myself, although it took extra focus to climb the stairs. Once I closed the door and walked to the bed, I thought that I could finally rest. Suddenly, my eyes landed on the bedside cabinet and… my phone, the one I had completely forgotten about and hadn't even glanced at for two days!I swallowed hard before taking it into my nervously trembling hand. I already knew that I screwed up. The screen displayed thirty unanswered calls and seven text messages. I took a deep breath and took a closer look at the details. The calls were mostly from Martha, Kanan called me three times. The sense of guilt swallowed me entirely. In my defense, I could only say that I didn't usually carry a cell phone with me since I had neve
The knocking on the door woke me up. It wasn't an aggressive bang, but because I had learned to sleep on constant alert, the sound made me open my eyes right away. "Who is it?" I asked with a hoarse, sleepy voice. "It's me… Draven." I heard through the door. His voice sounded strangely soft, with a hint of nervousness. I crawled out of bed while abruptly combing the strands of my hair with my fingers. I walked to the door and opened it. "Do you want something?" I muttered, trying to focus my attention on Draven's face. The first thing my eyes noted was his fitted tank top, exposing his wide shoulders and beautiful, massive collarbones. His face was slightly unshaved, leaving a delicate black shade on his cheeks, jaw, and chin. The strands of his hair were a little messy and wavy, giving him a savage and sexy vibe. He gave me an amused look, then his gaze slowly moved down my shape, revealing that I was barefoot and wearing nothing but a black
My heart still pounded restlessly as my mind slowly processed everything that happened in the kitchen with Draven. I couldn't blame him for acting the way he did. According to him, I was his mate, and I was the one who triggered him, unintentionally but still. What scared me the most was that I couldn't push him away. At that time, what I saw in his eyes seemed uncomplicated; it was pure passion, desire, lust… Merely recalling the picture made me aroused. I was hungry for him, and that feeling terrified me.I knew that my flight out of the kitchen was probably the dumbest thing I had ever done in my life. The immaturity of that deed was unexplainable, and I knew that it was my turn to apologize and tell Draven exactly how I felt. However, confessing to him seemed more terrifying than anything else. I also knew that I had to put my love life aside if I wanted to deal with my demons, who have haunted me since I was a child, especially with the main one named Randall D'Ap
I read the note with my name on it at least thirty times. Chills ran down my spine. The person who had written it knew who I was and was somehow interested in me personally. Was it somebody I already knew?I studied the rest of the messages from JD once again. The person was definitely a man, someone who had a personal relationship with Elora. He had never addressed her as "princess" or "queen" and his tone had been superior and often harsh. The way those notes sounded, I couldn't think of anyone that had the audacity to talk to Elora. I knew I had to discuss this with Kanan. I called him, and he answered right away."Well, what do you think?" he asked anxiously."It freaked me out." I cringed even saying it."We need to get a grasp on who this JD is. This might be the only way to take Elora down for everything she did," he stated agitatedly."I agree, but don't know any JDs. Those messages are so different from the ones from Beta Jax…" I wo
I took a deep breath and stepped towards Draven's bookshelves. I reached for one of the paper folders and briefly looked through it, hoping to find any documents signed by Draven. I found nothing. I took out a few more folders and put them on the floor. Then I crouched down and skipped the pages, but they were only printed. In another folder, I finally found his handwritten initials, D.E., but it was far from being any kind of proof. I sighed nervously and put the paper folders back in their place.It looked like I had to go through the huge pile of documents on Draven's desk. When I got my hands on the page with Draven's full signature, I almost screamed out of happiness. My heart started to pound while I examined each letter he had written with great attention. Even from his written name, I could see that he had beautiful handwriting. His letters were perfectly curved and flawless. The edges were smooth, and each line was solid. There was nothing edgy or aggressive in his w
Draven's voice sounded calm and still, and it was probably the most terrifying tone I had ever heard. My eyes widened while my throat went perfectly dry, making me unable to swallow. Draven's eyes slowly roamed down my terrified body. Then he slammed me against the wall and caged me between his hands, on each side of my hand."I'm sorry!" I choked out hoarsely."Why are you here, Lilith?" His eyes drilled deeper, forcing me to answer his every question.The raw force Draven released upon me, considering that he stood almost naked, should have felt as intimidating as arousing, but it was the intimidating part that swallowed my brain. Within less than a second, all the possible answers ran across my head. Every lie sounded ridiculous and had the potential to get me into even more trouble."I…" My throat clenched so tightly that a single sound felt painful.Unknowingly, my eyes roamed down to my pocket, and his eyes followed. A tiny piece of th