The Lunar Curse: A Second Chance With Alpha Draven
Chapter 206: A Blade Through My Patience

Chapter 206: A Blade Through My Patience

Meredith.

As I settled into my chair at the breakfast table, my eyes—unfortunately—locked with Wanda’s.

There it was again. That smug, self-satisfied smile she’d been parading around for the past two weeks like it was permanently stitched to her lips.

Honestly, I wished half her face would go numb or into full-time paralysis from all that grinning. Maybe then she’d finally find some humility.

I looked away, refusing to waste more of my morning staring at someone who thought causing pain was a hobby.

Just then, the double doors opened and Draven walked in.

Everyone immediately stood. Even the servants straightened up like soldiers answering to their general.

For a fleeting second, I considered remaining seated—letting him see how little his presence meant to me now—but I wasn’t about to hand Wanda the satisfaction of seeing me act like a petulant child.

I rose to my feet with the rest, but not because I wanted to.

Maturity wasn’t about how I felt. It was about what I chose to do in spite of it.

Draven gave a subtle nod, a silent order for everyone to sit again. We obeyed.

The servants moved quickly, gliding between chairs as they filled our plates.

The sweet scent of blueberry and banana smoothie floated through the air, mingling with the rich aroma of freshly baked bread, steaming burritos, scrambled eggs, and syrupy carrot pancakes.

Fruit salad gleamed in chilled bowls beside golden banana muffins.

I inhaled deeply, and for the first time in days, something warm loosened in my chest.

I reached for the smoothie and took a sip. I was sweet, cold... Perfect.

I was tempted to gulp it down, but I needed room in my stomach for the rest of the meal. I had a point to prove, and a woman couldn’t make statements on a full smoothie alone.

The burrito called to me next. I picked it up, took a hearty bite—and oh, stars, it was stuffed with juicy, spiced meat.

It was exactly what I needed; each chew brought comfort and satisfaction I hadn’t realized I was craving.

I took another big bite, then another. A low hum escaped my throat.

Let him see it. Let Draven sit right there and watch me enjoy this food as if it were the best thing to happen to me all week.

Let him see that I was fine. No, not just fine—I was better, happier, unaffected and thriving.

I even licked my fingers in slow, deliberate strokes, then turned slightly toward one of the servants standing nearby.

"I want burritos for brunch," I said.

She nodded quickly. "Yes, my lady."

I turned back to my plate, the corner of my mouth lifting just a little. That should do it.

I didn’t need to look to my right to know Draven was watching me. His gaze was sharp enough to burn holes through steel.

I could feel it grazing my face, tracing my expressions, probably trying to decipher what the hell was going on in my mind.

He didn’t know that I’d mastered this performance. He didn’t know that every sip, every chew, every contented sigh was carefully executed to tell him one thing—"I don’t need you."

And yet...

Even while I chewed, a part of me wondered if he noticed. If he knew that I could sense him.

That even though I didn’t say a word to him, I was screaming louder than usual.

But he didn’t speak. And that was fine because two can play this game.

---

~**Draven**~

Meredith was doing it on purpose.

I could see it in the way she bit into that burrito like it held the answers to all her problems.

Sipping that smoothie with all the grace of royalty, licking her fingers like she was trying to drive a blade through my patience.

And it was working.

I tried not to look. I really did. But every few seconds, my eyes flicked sideways on their own, drawn to her exaggerated smiles and her barely-there smirks.

She didn’t even have to speak. The message was clear: "I’m fine. Happier without you."

Of course she was exaggerating it. She wanted me to see it.

I leaned back slightly in my chair, resisting the urge to rake my fingers through my hair.

Meredith was unbelievably stubborn.

Not like I hadn’t known that already—hell, that was part of the package when I married her. But this... this version of her?

This was something else. It was Petty. Proud. Deliberate.

She had a wolf now. And instead of softening her... it only made her worse.

She used to be proud, yes. Standoffish. But this level of defiance?

I found myself wishing—just for a moment—that the Moon Goddess had waited. That she’d held off until Meredith had been... tamed.

But of course, that wasn’t our fate.

No, I was mated to a woman who had hidden the most vital truth about herself.

A woman who could lie to my face without blinking, who could show up every morning and pretend that nothing was wrong while sitting beside me like she didn’t just shatter what little trust we had.

I barely touched the food on my plate.

"You’re too grumpy for this early in the morning," Rhovan’s voice stirred at the back of my mind.

I sighed inwardly. "You think any of this is good reason to be cheerful?"

"Not asking you to be cheerful," Rhovan replied smoothly. "But you don’t have to make everyone else’s skin crawl with tension either."

I glanced at Meredith again.

She had moved on to scrambled eggs now, humming softly to herself with every bite. Completely unbothered.

"Does she look like someone affected by my mood?"

"No," Rhovan admitted. "But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fix your own. Our mate is our priority, remember?"

I scoffed. "Then why don’t you come take care of her, if you’re so invested? Seems like you’re still swooning over her ’glorious reveal.’"

Rhovan huffed. ’Be the bigger person, Draven. Forgive her for her shortcomings already.’

"Forgive her?" I almost laughed. "That wasn’t a shortcoming. That was betrayal. She looked me in the eye every day for two months and said nothing."

And now she had the nerve to act like I was the problem.

Silence hung between us for a moment. Then, I asked, "Can you feel her wolf now?"

"No," Rhovan answered. "She’s still hidden."

Of course, she was.

Meredith still wouldn’t let me sense her wolf. She was still keeping it a secret, like some hidden card she wasn’t ready to play.