The Lunar Curse: A Second Chance With Alpha Draven novel Chapter 505

Chapter 505: A Woman Who Knew Too Much

[Draven].

Breakfast was served in the same living area as the night before, though the atmosphere had shifted.

Morning light filtered in through the open windows, pale and clean, carrying the scent of dew and herbs from outside.

Low tables were set again. The food was simpler this time—warm porridge, flatbread, honeyed fruit, and herbal tea.

There was no plum wine. Thank the moons.

Dennis looked like death had brushed past him and decided he wasn’t worth claiming.

He sat hunched, one elbow on the table, fingers pressed to his temple as if holding his skull together.

His eyes were bloodshot, his usual sharp grin nowhere to be found. Every clink of ceramic made him wince.

Jeffery, merciless as ever, leaned slightly toward him. "You look like the moon personally cursed you," he murmured.

Dennis groaned. "If she did, I would apologize."

Meredith sat beside me, calm in a way that felt almost deliberate. Her posture was relaxed, her expression neutral, her attention divided evenly between her food and the room.

She was too composed, too balanced, as if nothing inside her had shifted overnight.

And that, more than anything, unsettled me.

Across from us, her grandmother sat upright, hands folded around her tea bowl. Though her sightless eyes remained unfocused, I felt her attention more keenly than if she had been staring outright.

Because she was.

I felt it every time her head tilted slightly in my direction. Every pause that lingered a breath too long. Every moment her presence pressed against my awareness like a quiet assessment.

She knew enough.

Rhovan stirred uneasily within me. "She is watching us," he said.

"I noticed," I answered internally, keeping my face neutral as I lifted my cup.

"Not like the others," he continued. "She is weighing. Measuring."

My gaze flicked briefly to Meredith. She was listening to Dennis complain about his head, one corner of her mouth lifting faintly in amusement. Peaceful. Unaware—or pretending to be.

"Our mate is too calm," Rhovan added. "After what happened this morning."

I took a slow breath. "She always looks calm," I replied. "Even when she is standing on a fault line."

Rhovan huffed. "That’s not reassurance."

Dennis pushed his bowl away with a defeated sigh. "I swear that wine tasted innocent. Sweet and harmless. Like it wanted to be trusted."

Meredith’s grandmother spoke then, her voice gentle but edged with quiet amusement.

"Some sweetness is only a disguise," she said. "Especially under a full moon."

Dennis froze. Then slowly lowered his head to the table. "I’ve learned my lesson."

Jeffery laughed openly this time, but I didn’t.

Just then, her head turned slightly—just enough that I knew her attention had returned to me.

"She is circling the truth," Rhovan muttered. "Like a guardian deciding whether to bare teeth."

I set my cup down carefully. "She warned us," I said to him. "Last night. About timing."

"That doesn’t excuse our mate keeping this from us," he snapped. "We matter."

My jaw tightened. I wanted to defend Meredith instinctively and fiercely. But the image wouldn’t leave my mind—the silver wolf in the clearing. Powerful. Free. Whole. And hidden.

"I know," I admitted quietly. "And that’s what hurts."

Rhovan fell silent for a moment, then spoke more softly. "Do you think she’s afraid of us?"

The question landed heavier than I expected.

I glanced at Meredith again. She met my eyes briefly, offered a small, unreadable smile, then returned to her meal.

"No," I said at last. "I think she’s afraid of losing control. Of losing us. Or of becoming something she can’t walk back from."

Rhovan considered that. "Then you will wait," he said.

"Yes."

"Even though it hurts."

"Yes."

"Even though every instinct says to demand the truth."

"Yes," I repeated. "Because when she speaks... I want it to be because she chose to. Not because I cornered her."

I kept my pace even, though my thoughts were anything but. ’Why had Meredith stopped her grandmother?’

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