Chapter Five

Melissa

In a matter of seconds Draven had cleared his plate. He pushed the plate forward and used the napkin to clean the sides of his mouth.

"Come with me Mel," he ordered in his deep baritone voice.

I didn't answer. Did he expect me to leave my food simply because he was done? Hell no. I kept on eating.

Draven walked farther from the table, maybe he thought I was behind, which made Briston laugh and nod his head.

It was at that moment I knew my day was going to be hell.

Draven turned back in anger, reached for my hair and held it, then drew me forward.

"Ahh ahh," I screamed.

"Didn't I say come with me? Didn't I fucking ask you to come?" he growled.

I could see the genuine concern in Briston’s eyes but he didn't say a word.

Draven yanked me forward and off we went. I followed him behind and we walked into what looked like a council room.

Immediately Draven walked in, all of the council members bent their heads.

"All hail the Alpha," they all shouted in unison.

"Please sit," Draven commanded.

I walked to the chair beside my supposed mate and was just about to sit when he shouted.

"How dare you!" He growled and it was as though his wolf was going to leave his body and eat up my tiny wolf.

"How dare you sit in my council chamber?"

I got up in shock. Was I some guard? Did he expect me to stand?

I rose quickly and he gestured with his hand.

"You'll stand behind my seat, always, in every meeting. That is your position," he stated coldly.

I could see eyes glare at him in shock.

"But Alpha..." an old man tried to protest.

"Don't Alpha me, boy," Draven spoke rudely to him. "Let's begin with pack matters."

I felt more than anger boil in my chest. This man was more than the devil.

I stood behind Draven's chair and tried not to let my knees buckle under the weight of being invisible while every eye in the room tracked my presence. Beta Luther stood at the front with maps and reports spread across the table, and the council members sat in their high-backed chairs waiting for the meeting to begin.

"The rogue attacks have increased by thirty percent," Luther announced as he pointed to marks on the map. "They are testing our defenses."

"Then we eliminate the weakness," Draven replied without emotion. "Double the patrols and execute any rogue caught within five miles of our border."

The council members nodded in agreement and I felt my stomach turn at how casually they discussed killing wolves. I shifted my weight slightly to ease the ache in my lower back, and immediately a guard stepped forward and placed his hand on my shoulder. It wasn't a grip but it was a warning that I understood perfectly.

A younger council member glanced at me and cleared his throat.

"Alpha Draven, may I ask Melissa about her perspective on the alliance with her former pack?"

The room went silent and I felt Draven's body tense in the chair.

"You may ask the Luna," Draven corrected him coldly. "She is not Melissa to you or anyone else in this room."

"My apologies Alpha," the man stammered. "May I ask the Luna?"

"The Luna has nothing to say," Draven answered for me. "She belongs to Dark Moon Valley now and her past is irrelevant."

I stood there and swallowed the humiliation while my hands trembled at my sides. He had erased me completely and turned me into nothing more than a title that he controlled, but inside I was cataloging this moment along with all the others and storing it in the part of my mind that was building a map of how to destroy him.

The meeting dragged on for another hour and by the time it ended my legs were numb. The council members filed out while bowing to Draven and barely glancing at me, and when the last one left Draven stood and took my wrist in his hand.

"Come," he ordered as he pulled me toward the entrance hall.

I followed him without resistance and we walked through corridors lined with guards who bowed as we passed. When we reached the entrance hall I saw a group of visiting pack leaders waiting with their entourages, and Draven stopped in the center of the room and turned me by my shoulder to face them.

"This is Luna Melissa of Dark Moon Valley," Draven announced as he lifted my chin with one finger. "My mate and the mother of my future heir."

The visitors stared at me with expressions that ranged from curiosity to pity. I kept my hands still at my sides and my eyes level while I performed composure, but underneath the mask I was studying every face and listening to every name that was spoken.

Alpha Vincent from the eastern territories. Alpha Kael from the mountain pack. I filed each one away and noted the flickers of doubt I saw in their eyes when they looked at Draven.

"She is very young," Alpha Vincent observed carefully.

"She is exactly what I need," Draven replied with finality.

I stood there and let them examine me while my wolf Mia growled with rage in the back of my mind. Information was the only thing in this fortress that truly belonged to me.