Chapter 38 38
Third Person POV
Draven sat in his office, his head laying on the backrest of his chair while both his legs rested on the table. He heard a slight sound and opened his eyes. The room seemed a bit darker than it should have been.
"Noah," he said.
"Yes, Master," a reply came back. Draven smiled at himself; he was the only one capable of knowing when Noah snuck into a room or was watching someone else, or him to be exact.
"Has Adrian settled himself in?" Draven asked. He closed both his eyes as he rocked on his seat back and forth.
"Yes, he's in his mother's room," Noah replied. Silence hung in the air for a bit longer. Draven sighed. "His countenance?" He proved further.
"Nostalgic and distant," he replied. "Good, he needs some time to himself; a man has to think once in a while," he responded, still rocking on his chair. He asked once more.
"Any reports on the family?" He asked. While the Labrinth family had come over for the wedding, Noah had sent some men to investigate the resident of Alpha Dorian.
Noah couldn't go because his absence would have been noticed. "Well, there were indeed some strange activities going on in their house," he stated. Alpha Draven opened his eyes and sat down properly, placing his legs down carefully.
His injury hurts so bad but he didn’t want to show it. "What do you mean? What did they see?" He asked; his curiosity had been spiked. For the past few days, they weren't able to get anything out of the Labrinth family.
"Today the security was a bit lax, probably due to the wedding; in the absence of the Alpha, some of the workers slacked off on duty, and we're able to sneak into the stone estate."
"Oohh, and where are they?" He asked excitedly; he wanted to talk to them if possible, so he would have a better understanding of the situation in the Labrinth family.
"All presumed to be dead," he said slowly. Draven looked at him sharply; he balled his fists in rage.
"What do you mean by presumed?" He asked, anger seeping into his voice, if they were truly dead like he thought they were, he would rain hell down on the Labrinth family.
"I have been able to reach them every since they got into one of the buildings that seemed to have one of the toughest security systems," he said.
"Why would they risk themselves getting caught just for that?" He asked calmly, obviously the men that they sent there weren't amateurs.
"This doesn't seem right; has Dorian shown any signs of hostility towards or a hint that he's aware of what's happening?" he asked. Noah shook his head gently. "I've been watching them throughout the ceremony today, and they showed no signs of awareness," he said.
"Noah, this is a difficult position, because if we approach him to ask about the disappearance of our men, it would be seen as a declaration of war; spying on each other's pack was a prohibition."
Alpha Draven sat confused on his desk; he wasn't sure how to approach the matter with Alpha Dorian without inciting trouble, which he needed to avoid at all costs.
"Noah, when last did your men reach out to you?" He asked, and Noah thought for a bit before answering. "That was immediately after the mating ceremony, where you drove off," he responded.
"And what were their last words?" Noah paused for a bit. "Well, smell humans."
"Humans?" Draven asked. "What does that have to do with anything? Humans come and go into the packs severally," he said, slightly growing confused.
"I'm not sure what the message meant either, but it's clear that it has something to do with humans," he replied. Draven thought for a moment.
"Maybe they made a deal with humans or something close, similar; I'm not sure, but we have to find out what it is they're hiding," he said.
"Yes Master"
"And don't let them catch on and no more spies; I can't risk the lives of the pack members any more," he said in conclusion. He didn't want to talk about the matter again, but Noah stood there as if expecting something in return from him.
Draven was really worried. Jason one of his best warriors was trapped in Zac’s pack and now the other men which were sent to Hazel’s pack were also dead. He had a lot to handle, but he didn’t want to disappoint Hazel.
He was going to give her the revenge she wants even if it means sacrificing a lot. He also has to handle Zac for good so he won’t trouble them anymore.
Zac had been fighting him ever since he came to him for alliance, unknown to Draven that the pack they were supposed to attack were good people. Zac only wanted to destroy them so hw would have the pick to himself.
But Draven found out and backed away from the fight. From that day on Zac has said Draven betrayed him and wouldn’t let his pack rest until he destroys it. Zac has left Draven’s pack for a while after he left.
Zac found out Draven was back and decided to continue his attacks. "Is there something else you'd like to say to me?" He asked Noah; the man simply bowed his head slightly before speaking.
"I don't mean to intrude, Master, but the ritual... did it work?" He asked hopefully, but Alpha Draven didn't look as excited as he should have; his eyes darted away from Noahs, looking to the window yet again.
"Noah, she almost died," he said softly. "I almost killed someone I care about again because of my selfishness," he continued.
"I don't understand what you mean, Master; she's sleeping soundly in her room as we speak. I checked before coming," he said. Draven waved his hand in a dismissive motion.
"No, not that, I meant during the ritual," he said. He wasn't sure how to explain it, but he was sure Noah would understand.
"She bled out; too much blood from her, and she passed out," he said with a sigh. "I don't think her blood was enough to complete the ritual," he completed, feeling almost defeated.
It had been bothering him for the longest of times ever since he carried her in his hands; he left the life draining from her, and for the first time in a very long time, he was afraid.
Afraid of losing someone he cared about, he was reminded of his lover, how hopeless he had felt after her death, his rage and grief incomparable to none. He never wanted to repeat something like that again in his life.
He had promised himself to take care of Hazel, and that was exactly what he would do. "So you still have the curse?" Noah asked with a sigh. Alpha Draven cocked his head to the side.
"Not completely," he said. Noah's face lit up.
"There is still a chance?" He asked excitedly. Draven slowly nodded. He felt his chest; the pain had always felt in his chest; the heaviness; it felt like he had constantly carried a burden for the past decade.
The pain had suddenly grown weak, something broken, diluted. He looked at Noah and said, "I think there's a chance that we can still break the curse," he said with a smile. "But..."
"But what? Master," Noah asked.
"We aren't never using Hazel as a sacrifice again," he said with conviction. "Ever." As he said those words, he believed them; he knew that if it came to a dangerous situation, he would willingly risk his life just to save hers.
"Then how do you suppose we break the curse?" Noah asked, and that had been what Draven had been thinking for the past few hours; he didn't want to risk using Hazel again, but he also knew that he was too dangerous to be around her; he could kill her if he wasn't in full control of himself.
"We'll have to go and see the witch again," he said regrettably. The ritual that she had conducted with both of them had left the hairs on Draven's back.
He knew what it entailed to be a witch, the dark magic and instruments they used, summoning the unknowns. He wasn't comfortable with all of that, but he had made a deal with Sara.
He remembered meeting her a few years ago; she had just been banished from her coven; apparently she had mistakenly used the unborn child of a couple as a sacrifice to heal an illness that afflicted the life of the mother.
The couple had cried and wailed after they gave birth to a monster that did not have the features of a human nor a wolf. After that incident, she was cast out and wandered about going from place to place, never selling down.
Alpha Draven had met her on one of his hunts; back then, Draven was still chasing down the remnants of the Fang Pack, and he preferred to hunt them down during a full moon, when he couldn't control his powers.
It made things easier for him and also made him not feel the guilt of ripping them apart; he would always wake up and see the remains of the werewolves he had killed; his heart always grew heavy when ever he saw the parts of the women and children.
On a certain day, after he was done hunting then down, he came across Sara, who was wondering the forest, confused and lost. She had seen Draven and tried to avoid him, thinking he was just a regular werewolf, until he attacked her.
She had no choice but to restrain him with some enchantments and spells. She brought him back to his senses while the moon was still up; it had shocked him, and he decided to tell her his story if by any chance she would be able to help him break his curse.
She in turn also told her story to him, and he promised her a shelter, a place to live so long as she was alive; he promised her homage in his pack, amongst his wolves.
And with that simple agreement, she accepted these terms. They travelled together as he slowly guided her back to the pack; she read his future and told him of the girl who would save him, but he would have to wait till she was free or ready.
Alpha Draven, knowing he still had some time left, dropped Sara at the pack and left again to hunt down the remaining member of the Fang pack. "I'm tired, Noah," Draven said with a deep sigh.
He was overthinking his situation and also that of Hazel's; he really didn't want any harm to come to her again, especially not as his peril.
"Then you should rest, Master; tomorrow is another day; you'll have to be ready for whatever happens tomorrow," he said gently. Draven nodded as he stood up with a yawn.
"I'll inform Luna of your meeting tomorrow," he said with a bow and slowly turned around to leave the room. "Noah," Draven called out his name.
"Yes, Master?" He replied, turning around slightly.
"Thank you for all you do," Draven said gratefully. He really felt that without the help of Noah, he couldn't have achieved most of what he wanted. Noah smiled at Draven, although it was too dark for him to see.
"I'm just keeping the oath I made to you; after you saved me that day," he said. "And I shall serve you happily."
Draven watched Noah leave the room; he remembered the night he had found Noah—a terribly rainy night with blood splattered everywhere and body parts hanging from tree branches.
He shook his head, trying his best to forget the gory scene. He had a bad day tomorrow and he definitely needed to sleep. He dragged himself to his room and laid on the bed, immediately closing his eyes on themselves. He slept off immediately.