Chapter 010

Breakfast ended without another word said. And that didn’t even help with the wetness pooling at my center.

I could swear that I saw Draven’s hand clinching one or two times but other than that his faced remained very well composed.

Daemon on the other hand had a constant smirk on his face, like he could just tell the torment I was going through and would willingly put me out of my misery.

Darius, my captor and saviour was still, and cold like he was plotting the death of each of his brothers which I would even be surprised considering his outburst early.

For once I honestly enjoyed the attention I was getting for each of them. It was euphoric. Like wine and meat beside a camp fire burning on a cold night.

But the constant hard glances I got from Amelia was like the cold wind that threatened to blow that little camp fire off.

Although my appetite had long disappeared, I forced myself to eat one more serving of the soup faster than normal just so I could escaped back into my room.

I was almost done, almost. Until I pushed my chair back excusing myself but then.

“I didn’t get your name.” Amelia said, in a soft tormented voice.

I hesitated looking across the brothers as if seeking for permission, but when none held my gaze I knew I was on my own this time.

“Um…..Rain” my voice sounding stronger than I thought it would.

“Rain…..would you mind being a friend and touring the grounds with me I assume you should know your way around.”

“I’m sorry but I really shouldn’t interrupt.”

“You are not interrupting if I asked.” Amelia quirked a brow at me in a challenge.

“I don’t know my way around.”

“I’ll take you.” Draven and Darius said at once.

Silence

“Interesting” Amelia hummed, giving a small smile.

“I’ll take you, if you wouldn’t mind Alpha Rodger.” Draven spoke looking over at Amelia’s mate.

“No I don’t, it will do the ladies good to get to know themselves don’t you think?”

Darius snarled folding his fingers into his palm, something he does if he wants to control himself which is almost all the time.

“Great, then it settled. I’d go change up and meet you guys at the front door.” Amelia called while head out of the room, following a servant I didn’t know was there.

Draven cleared his throat, swallowing before finally settling his eyes on me.

“Follow me Rain.”

I nodded unable to voice out the various reasons I’ve made up in my head not to go.

Since arriving here the night before I had not gotten the chance to see what the outside looked like, and by the gods! It was magnificent. Nothing compared to mine back home.

The air smelled of earth, wood, and freedom. Crisp, clean, and threaded with a faint sweetness that carried from the trees blooming farther off.

The manor’s grounds stretched endlessly, more like a kingdom than a home. The path ahead was carved in pale stone, edged with thick hedges trimmed to perfection. To my right, towering pines guarded the estate like sentinels, their tops brushing the sky. To the left, a courtyard opened wide, where fountains danced, their sprays catching the sunlight in silver arcs.

And beyond it all, the forest. Dark and endless, as though it held secrets older than time. The kind of forest that whispered, Step inside, and you may never return.

I tugged Draven’s coat he had placed on me the minute we fell in step, tighter around my shoulders. It still smelled of him—rich spice, pine, and something darker I couldn’t name. His hand rested casually at the small of my back as though guiding me, though he never truly touched me. Not fully. Just enough to remind me he could.

We walked slowly, the silence between us heavy but not empty. Every crunch of gravel beneath my feet made me more aware of how close he was, how easily his stride matched mine.

“This place…” I said, my voice low, more to myself than him. “It doesn’t feel real.”

Draven’s lips curved, though it wasn’t quite a smile. “It isn’t meant to.” His tone was deep, calm, almost as if he were humoring me. “The estate was built to remind everyone who enters that Lycans rule here. Wolves, humans, rogues—it doesn’t matter. This land bends to us.”

The words should have made me flinch. Instead, heat flared in my chest, like he was branding the truth into me.

I slowed as we came to a stone terrace overlooking the training grounds. Warriors sparred below, their movements sharp, brutal, efficient. My gaze caught on their speed, their power, the sheer dominance that radiated from them as if even the dirt bowed to their steps.

“They train like that every day?” I asked.

“Every hour,” Draven replied, his voice almost proud. “Discipline keeps them alive.”

His golden eyes slid toward me, lingering in a way that made my stomach flutter. “Keeps us all alive.”

I looked away quickly, to the fountain in the distance where water spilled from the mouth of a carved wolf statue. Anything but the heat in his gaze.

The moment stretched until footsteps approached.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Amelia’s voice rang out, soft yet calculated. She stepped onto the terrace with the grace of someone who knew eyes followed her wherever she went. Her gown, pale blue and clinging, shimmered in the sunlight. Every detail about her screamed Luna—the poise, the smile, the way she effortlessly slid her arm into her mate’s world as though she owned it.

But her eyes… her eyes were on me.

“Shall we?” she asked, her lips curving in a smile that was just a touch too sweet.

Draven gave a curt nod moving to the side slowing us to walk side by side while he was behind us still somehow leading the way.

Amelia’s smile didn’t falter as she let her eyes sweep across the view, then back to me. “It’s easy to lose yourself here, isn’t it? The gardens, the fountains, the way the air feels… it can be overwhelming for someone new.”

Her tone was soft, not unkind, but I could hear the weight beneath it, the careful way she measured her words.

“Yes,” I managed, keeping my voice even. “It’s different from anywhere I’ve been.”

Draven didn’t move, but I felt the faint shift in him, the way his presence seemed to thicken. His gaze wasn’t on Amelia, but on me, watching the way I answered.

Amelia’s eyes flicked between us. She hummed lightly, as though she’d just discovered a private joke. “You’ll get used to it. The pack grounds can be… intimidating, at first. But with time, you’ll find they’re not so frightening. Especially when you have someone to guide you.”

Draven finally spoke, his voice deep and steady. “Rain doesn’t need to be coddled. She will adapt fast enough.”

Something about the way he said it, possessive, almost protective—sent a rush of heat straight through me. Amelia’s brow arched, and she tilted her head, lips curving as if she’d caught more than she let on.

“Well then,” she said smoothly, stepping past us toward the winding path lined with roses and lilies. “Why don’t I give you two a moment to take it in? The gardens are calling me, and I’ve never been able to resist them.”

Her skirts whispered against the stone as she drifted away, her perfume lingering faintly in the air.

And then it was just us again.

Silence stretched, thick as the morning mist. The distant sounds of warriors sparring filled the air, the splash of the fountain behind us. But all I could hear was the steady rhythm of my own heartbeat, pounding harder the longer Draven’s gaze stayed fixed on me.

I swallowed, tugging his coat tighter around me though it did nothing to shield me from the intensity of him.

“You shouldn’t let her unsettle you,” he said at last, his voice low. “That’s what she wants.”

I blinked up at him, startled that he’d read my thoughts so easily.

“I’m not unsettled,” I lied.

A slow, knowing smirk curved his lips. “Little wolf, you’re not nearly as good at lying as you think.”

Heat curled low in my stomach at the sound of his words, the way he said them like he already knew the secret between my legs I’ve tried so much to hide.

“Don’t you think you could control yourself a little bit? I bet every Lycan here can smell you from a mile away and I do not take a likeness to that.” His gaze poured around me.

I stepped back trying to pus some space between us.

“What are you talking about.” My voice betraying and coming out as a breathy sigh.

A deep grunt came from his throat “You are a walking distraction Rain”

My back has now hit the wall that divided the park house from the peoples grounds.

“I…..I can’t help it.” I breathed, holding his gaze.

Our faces were inches apart, one of his hands above my head and the other gripped my waist tightly but not in a painful way.

“I could help with that.” He whispered, hot breath fanning my neck.