Chapter 037

Breakfast the next morning was quieter than usual, though the air still hummed with whispers from last night’s festivities. My body still ached faintly from the sparring, and I could barely tell if it was exhaustion or the constant weight of being watched that made my shoulders tense.

Maris sat beside me, pouring tea into our cups, while the other she-wolves exchanged murmured gossip down the table. I was halfway through my bread when Selene’s voice broke through the chatter, sharp and sweet as venom.

“Some of us seem to think they can win a Luna’s favor overnight,” she said, smiling faintly as her gaze flicked toward me. “A little dance, a little attention, and suddenly they think they belong at the top of the table.”

A few of her friends laughed softly.

I kept my eyes on my plate, pretending not to hear her. I’d learned by now that reacting only made things worse.

Maris shot her a warning look. “You should be careful, Selene. The walls here have ears.”

Selene’s smirk didn’t falter. “Oh, I’m only stating facts, dear. Unless of course someone here feels guilty enough to take it personally.”

Her words dripped with challenge. I could feel my pulse pick up, and for a split second, I wanted to tell her exactly what I thought of her smugness, but before I could speak, the heavy doors to the dining hall opened.

Every head turned.

Draven stepped in.

The air changed instantly. Conversations died, chairs scraped against the floor as a few women bowed their heads slightly. Even Selene’s perfect smile faltered for a heartbeat before she straightened, adjusting her gown.

Draven’s gaze swept across the table until it found me. His expression was unreadable calm, controlled, but there was an edge beneath it that made my stomach tighten.

“Rain,” he said simply. “Come with me.”

The room went utterly still.

Selene’s face twitched, jealousy flashing for a moment before she masked it with a coy smile. “Of course,” she murmured. “When the Lycan calls, the little guest must obey.”

Draven’s eyes flicked toward her, cold and deliberate. “Mind your tongue, Selene. It’s becoming a bad habit.”

Her smirk died completely.

I pushed back my chair and rose, heart pounding in my chest as I followed him out of the hall.

The silence stretched thin between us as I followed Draven through the corridors, the echo of our footsteps bouncing off the marble floors. He didn’t speak, didn’t even glance back at me—just kept walking, his shoulders broad and stiff, like a storm barely held in check.

When he finally stopped, it was in one of the side halls overlooking the garden. Morning light streamed through the tall glass windows, spilling gold across his dark hair and sharp features.

He turned to face me at last, eyes hard. “What were you thinking, Rain?” His tone wasn’t loud, but it carried power—a quiet, dangerous authority that made my chest tighten.

I blinked, thrown off. “What do you mean?”

His jaw flexed. “You keep drawing attention. At the dance, at breakfast, everywhere you go, eyes are on you. And not to mention, allowing other men touch you. You’re too careless. You’re supposed to be blending in, not—”

“Not what?” I cut in, anger rising in my chest. “Not breathing? Not existing?”

He exhaled sharply, clearly trying to hold himself together. “You don’t understand how dangerous it is here. You can’t keep walking around like nothing matters. One mistake, one wrong look, and someone will use it against you,?or worse.”

I took a step toward him, heat building in my throat. “You keep saying that. That I don’t understand. But maybe you’re the one who doesn’t understand me.”

Something flickered in his eyes, surprise, maybe—but it only made me angrier.

“I’m not your responsibility, Draven,” I snapped. “You don’t get to order me around like I’m some child who needs protecting. You think you can decide what’s best for me, who I talk to, where I go—but you forget one thing.”

He folded his arms across his chest, gaze locked on mine. “And what’s that?”

“That I’m your mate,” I said, the words sharp and trembling on my tongue. “Not your soldier. Not your pet. You can’t treat me like everything you want one moment and expect me to act grateful the next.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

Draven’s eyes darkened, his expression unreadable as he took a slow step toward me. “You think that’s what this is? Control?” His voice was lower now, quieter—but it sent a shiver crawling down my spine. “You think I do this because I enjoy it?”

“I think you do it because you can,” I said, my voice shaking, though I held his gaze. “Because everyone here bows when you speak. Because you’re the mighty Lycan king and I’m just… me.”

He stopped a breath away from me. I could feel the heat radiating off his body, could see the flicker of restrained emotion in his eyes.

“Maybe I even prefer Daemon, at least he doesn’t try to hide the fact that I’m just an unwanted bug that somehow came into his life unlike you and fucking Darius that has refused to touch me!”

Silence filled the air.

Suffocating, sexual silence.

“You have no idea,” he murmured, almost to himself.

“Then make me understand,” I challenged. “If you don’t want me rejecting this bond I have with you and your infuriating brothers now. Make me understand.”

For a moment, it felt like the world held its breath. His hand lifted, hovering near my face, but then he clenched it into a fist and stepped back, his expression shuttered once again.

“Go back to your room,” he said roughly. “Before I forget why I’m supposed to stay away from you.”

My throat tightened. “And why is that?”

He hesitated just long enough for me to catch the raw edge in his gaze. “Because if I don’t, Rain… I won’t stop.”

He turned and walked away before I could say another word, leaving me standing in the golden light, heart hammering, anger and confusion twisting into something I couldn’t name.