Chapter 32 Back for answers
Auren's pov
The gates open with a low metallic cry and our car rolls through them.
Silverveil’s mansion rises in front of us, pale stone and dark windows, nothing like the vast, towering strength of Dravik’s home. The pack house looks tiny now compared to Bloodborn's pack.
My stomach ties itself in a knot as the door opens.
Alpha Dravik takes my hand as we step out of the car and I hold on for dear life, unlike before. He afterall said he wanted to piss my uncle off.
The warmth from his touch is comforting and calming which is surprising to me.
A woman stands at the foot of the stairs in a long black gown, her fingers twisting in the fabric as if she is wringing water from it.
She is not my uncle’s Luna or Seris.
That alone makes my skin prickle.
“Alpha Dravik,” she says, lowering her head. “We were not expecting you. I hope there is no problem.”
Dravik gives her a flat look. “If there was, you would not be the one I explain it to.”
“Of course. Please come in and make yourself comfortable.”
She moves inside too fast as if something was on her heels. She takes us to the sitting room offering us chairs which we didn’t take. Her hands visibly shake as she reaches for a bottle of wine on the table, the glass clinking hard against the decanter. Red liquid sloshes over the rim and spills onto the table.
She has this terrified and guilty look around her like she is uneasy or hiding something and it seems Alpha Dravik notices too.
“Where is your fucking Alpha?” he asks quietly, “or his Luna, or anyone here with real authority. I will love to get this over with.”
She jumped, the bottle falling from her hand. “I… I…”
Fear fills her eyes so thick it almost glistens.
I know that look. I have worn it.
The way she is staring at Dravik reminds me of how I felt the first time I met him, when I thought he was death in wolf form. Only now I see him through different eyes. Surely with how muscular he is and that threatening powerful aura he has, combined with his weird silver eyes everyone should be quaking in their boots. But somehow, it does not crush me anymore.
“I asked you a fucking question,” he growls.
“I… I really do not know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know.”
“You will get nothing from her, Alpha Dravik.”
Seris’s voice floats down from above as she steps into view on the balcony and every part of me goes tight.
She comes down…….no, she glides down the stairs like she is descending into a ballroom. Her dress clings to her curves, deep green silk cut low at the chest and high at the thigh, every step meant to draw the eye. Her blonde hair falls loose down her back, glossy and perfect.
“She is telling the truth, she knows nothing.,” She says lightly. “She is only a servant.”
“And you will tell me?,” Dravik asks.
She stops in front of him, too close and too confident, staring him directly into the eyes. It’s as if she doesn’t fear him at all. That's one thing I had always envied about her.
“Oh yes,” she raises her finger, trailing it down his shirt. “I can. It’s nice to see you again, Alpha Dravik.”
Her green eyes slide to me, taking me in from head to toe before dismissing me like I am nothing.
“We were not expecting you for another thirty days,” she continues. “That is what the contract stated, was it not?”
“The contract also states I’m free to return after fifteen days if I’m not satisfied with something in the contract.”
Her lips curve. “Oh. I see.”
She looks at me again, this time with open contempt. “I have an idea of what isn’t up to your standard. Well, since this is business not pleasure, let's head to my father’s office shall we? He and his Beta are out hunting and will be back soon.”
“What about his Luna? Shouldn’t she be welcoming us?”
She shrugs. “Unfortunately, that didn’t work out. My father divorced her.”
Of course he did. Like I said before, my uncle changes Luna the way one changes their phone pouch.
I wonder what the reason for this one was
Her trust wasn’t as big as he expected?
or he found another one with bigger pockets.
There is always another woman…….Always another bargain.
“Okay then, follow me. Let’s make you more comfortable in his office,” She turns walking towards the office, her hips swinging more than usual.
We follow her.
Every step through these halls feels like walking through old wounds. The walls are the same, the smell is the same. My chest tightens as memories scrape against me.
“Please sit,” She tells Dravik as soon as we enter, then she turns to me. “You too.”
She gritted her teeth as the words left her mouth. It must have hurt her to say them and it almost made me smile.
Dravik sits across from her, and I sit beside him, my knees pressed together and my pulse racing.
“So, what part of the contract is not to your liking? Alpha Dravik.”
“I just needed some questions answered,” Dravik says. “Who bound Auren?”
My head turns towards him………That is not what I expected him to ask.
“Unfortunately,” Seris says, “that is information I do not have.”
“But she was bound twice, correct?”
Her green eyes flick to me.
“So I heard.”
“Because she is mated to Eron,” Dravik says. “Who I believe now is your fiancé?”
Her nose flares. “Was mated to her. He rejected her! Who would want to be mated to a disgusting useless thing like her. A wolfless slave.” She laughs. “You finally found out she is as worthless as she looks, didn’t you? Is that what this is about? You want to return her?”
I held my breath.
“No,” Dravik growls. “I just want answers.”
I release the breath I held, as relief washes over me. Dravik must have felt it because his hand went to mine, his thumb rubbing over mine. Seris’s eyes went to our joined hands and I see something like anger flare in her eyes.
“How disappointing. Well, you won’t get much from me. I’m the same age as her so I know little. All I know is she committed a crime and was bound as punishment, then bound again at eighteen. Obviously the first witch didn't give her what she deserved,” she glared at me with pure hatred.
“So you guys deal with witches then?”
Her eyes go back to Dravik, as she hesitates, realizing she has revealed too much.
“Uhhhh, I don’t really know, it’s just what I assumed since it’s only witches that are capable of that right?” she chuckles uncomfortably, adjusting her seat.
It was a good save but sounded rehearsed.
“That’s all I know.”
“Then I will wait for Magnus to give me the answer that I need,” Dravik leans back, crossing his legs.
She stands. “Would you like anything while you wait?”
“Water will do just fine.”
“Nonsense,” she waves her hand dismissingly. “Special guests deserve special wine.”
She grabs a bottle from her father’s bar with two glasses, pours the drink into one glass and hands it to me. The moment it touches my fingers, Dravik moved like lightning.
One moment he is sitting besides me, the next, he is over the desk in a blink, slamming Seris into the wall, her feet lifting off the floor as his hand closes around her throat. She whimpers clawing at his hands.
“Do I look stupid,” he growls. “I can smell it from here. What the fuck is in that drink?”