Chapter 10 10
Third Person POV
"What?" Hazel blurted out. She looked at the man who had saved her life twice and how he had just asked her to marry him right off the bat like that.
Feeling overwhelmed and confused, she stuttered. Words evaded her, sentences obscured from her thoughts. Draven watching her with amusement threw his head back and laughed.
He left her and laughed till his heart's content; at some point he even began choking on his laughter. Never had he laughed so hard in years, and for something so foolish.
Hazel watched him laughing, and her annoyance grew with every passing second. Part of her wanted to run back into the sea and drown just to waste all his efforts, but another part of her was joyful, that in some weird, twisted way she had brought joy to someone else.
"Laugh all you want, it's not funny," she kicked at him with her bare naked feet. She stumbled away and managed to stand up. He still chuckled, finding her reaction funny.
He placed his hand on her for a moment, trying to stabilise himself. "I'm sorry, I apologise; it just felt like the right time to do something like this, and boy was it worth it," he smiled at her.
She felt good looking at him; she was the reason he smiled so much, and even better, she had a look at his face. He wasn't as young as she had thought; he had freckles of grey hair with black silky long hair with curls at the edges.
They were almost like Adrian’s but much fuller; his hair was wet to his skin; his eyes were black with a light hue that was red in them; she didn't know how that was possible yet she saw it.
His body was definitely built like a man in his forties or early fifties, but that didn't make him any weaker; if anything, he felt more strength from him than he did from any other werewolf she had met; there was a certain calmness about him that she couldn't place.
"Alright, you've had your fun, Hazel. Can you please go back without you thinking of creative ways to kill yourself?" he said, looking at her.
"Because I assure you, this was very creative," he said with a low chuckle. She never remembered him being this way; he seemed more like the broody type when she met his earlier.
"Where's your coat? I like how it looks on you," Hazel said, meaning no bad intentions; she just hadn't realised what she said. Immediately the smile fell off Draven 's face, and he growled at her, looking a bit annoyed.
"Really woman? You just had to?" He threw his hands in the air. "Well, if you must know, my favourite coat is probably keeping some fish warm at night." He tasted the bitterness of those words as he said them.
She giggled at herself, seeing him frustrated; it felt good paying back the same coin that was given. He looked at her, giggling at him, and for some reason the coat didn't bother him anymore.
"Come," he stretched out his hand. "We have much to discuss; firstly, why you thought this was a good idea," he said, pointing upwards with his other hand to the cliff standing there in all its majesty.
She blushed with embarrassment. "I'm not really good with ideas, am I?" She asked sheepishly, "Not in the slightest, not even a little bit, he said with a sigh. She took his hand, and slowly they found their way to the forest, barefooted.
"I wanted to end it all; it was all tiring, and I didn't know what to do anymore; there was no one there to help me or cater for me; my friends and family all rejected me. Even my own fiance never supported me even once," she spoke.
Draven listened to her ardently, although he already knew the story; hearing it from the victim definitely felt different. He could really understand her pain, her solitude and hurt, the abandonment and lack of purpose, and lastly, the betrayal by your own family.
The way she said it, it felt all too real to be just an experience. "So what would you want from them? Are you just going to do nothing?" He asked her. He heard a sound from his right as she kept talking: an animal, a wild one, was approaching them.
By the smell of it, it was a coyote. Reaching forth inside him, he brought out a part of his wolf. His physical appearance didn't change, but his eyes glowed red, his bloodlust evident to those around him, and his claws sharpened like blades.
In all this, Hazel kept talking ignorant of what was happening. As he did so, he noticed the Coyote wasn't alone, a full pack with them, but they dared not approach.
At the sight of his eyes, they all backed down slowly and ran away into the forest. He calmed himself down, turning his attention back to Hazel .
He was completely surprised by how she hadn't noticed anything that had just happened; it made him wonder when last had she brought out her wolf. Ignoring your wolf for long periods of time leads to dormancy, which is absolutely bad for a wolf.
"I want them to pay, to beg and ask for forgiveness, and I want to punish them if I could, especially Thalia , to make her understand the pain I went through in that hell hole of a prison, the abuse and trauma I had to go through.”
“I want each of them to feel it, to scream in frustration and beg for mercy, but having no one to reach out to you."
"I want my parents to understand the hurt they made me go through, not just from the prison but from my childhood, how they beat and mistreated me, treating me like I didn't belong, like the right to be the heir wasn't mine.
I wasn't an outcast in my own family. I want them to suffer that. They may be my parents, but what kind of parent would leave their daughter for an extra year in a prison?" She asked, looking at Draven .
Draven , who had only begun to follow her conversation recently, felt the complete hate she had harboured for them over time, how she despised and wanted them to suffer, how they had pushed her away.
"No sane parent would do that to their pup." Draven replied, remembering his past; he didn't have the right to answer that question, but she didn't have to know that.
"So you want revenge?" He said it for her; she didn't reply immediately, but it was obvious what she wanted; her silence said it all.
They finally reached the gate to Draven 's mansion; the gates opened as Noah walked towards them. He still hadn't gotten his reply from her, but he didn't need to ask again.
"Master Draven , you look... Washed," Noah said with a hint of surprise. Draven placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Women are full of surprises, Noah; take care of her and keep an eye on her; I'm going to rest," Draven said as he walked off.
\~~~~
Sunlight leaked into the bedroom draped with thick curtains hanging over. A certain naked man slept peacefully in his bed without the covers. The room was exquisite and rich in art and wealth.
Loud bangings followed on the door, jolting him up from sleep. He looked around confused, still reeling from the effects of last night and how he lacked any self-esteem after that encounter.
The knocking came again, and this time, even louder, he dragged himself from the bed and walked towards the door, unlocking it.
"Adrian, I cannot believe it took you this long to answer the door or your calls; when are you going to tell me?" She barged into Adrian's room; he felt confused and surprised all at the same time.
How could one person talk so much and yet so early in the morning? "What are you talking about?" He asked, still wishing he hadn't gotten up from the bed.
"When are you going to tell me, huh? You know how much I hate being the last person to know things yet everyone knows about it but me!" Her hands flared up.
Adrian took a seat and watched her ramble on till she was ready to answer his question, "Why didn't you tell me your uncle was back? You understand that this changes everything for our business, right?" She said,
"Is that what this is all about?" he groaned as he held the side of his head, a slight headache taking root.
"So are you still the..." Thalia asked carefully. "No, Thalia , I'm no longer the Alpha." Adrian said, Thalia 's expression slowly changed from dread to horror.
"What's the matter? I still have control over the..." Thalia took a cup of water and splashed it over Adrian’s face.
"I thought you were a better man," she said, banging the door behind her.