The Lunar Curse: A Second Chance With Alpha Draven novel Chapter 517

Chapter 517: Negotiating Like A Tyrant

[Third Person].

"I’m okay," Meredith said. Then, with a small grimace, "But there’s still water in my ears. And my nose."

Her grandmother nodded once, as if she had expected that answer. "I will take it out."

Next, she sat on the edge of the bed with practised ease and gestured. "Shift closer to the edge."

Meredith obeyed without question.

"Bring a bowl," her grandmother instructed.

One of the servants hurried into the bathing area and returned moments later with a wide basin.

Draven remained close and silently watched carefully.

Meredith’s grandmother guided Meredith gently, positioning her head just so. She murmured low, rhythmic words—not loud enough to sound like a spell, not soft enough to be accidental.

Water began to pour from Meredith’s nose first.

Meredith gasped and coughed reflexively, gripping the sheets, then groaned as more water drained—thin streams slipping free, the pressure easing.

Then her grandmother tilted her head slightly, and water trickled from one ear.

Meredith sucked in a sharp breath, eyes widening as relief washed over her in a wave so intense it made her dizzy.

"Oh," she breathed. "That feels... so much better."

Only when the flow stopped did her grandmother straighten.

Draven stepped forward immediately, taking a clean towel from the servant. His movements were careful, intimate without being intrusive as he dabbed gently at Meredith’s nose, then her ear, then brushed strands of silver hair away from her face.

Meredith leaned into the touch without realizing it.

Her grandmother watched them closely. She waited until Draven finished, until the towel was set aside, until Meredith’s breathing had evened out completely. Then she spoke.

"Power," she said calmly, "or advantage, does not excuse secrecy."

The words landed heavily.

"If you hide from your mate again," she continued, her voice firm, unwavering, "you will lose a part of him. Trust does not fracture loudly—it erodes."

Meredith felt a chill crawl up her spine. She nodded slowly, swallowing hard.

For a brief moment, she wondered whether her grandmother spoke only of the secrets already revealed... or of something else entirely.

And then the thought struck her.

’She knows,’ she realized suddenly. ’Grandma knows what Draven is.’

She kept her face still, masking the flicker of panic behind her eyes, and nodded again in understanding.

Her grandmother seemed satisfied. Then she turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

"Right now," she said, "there is little difference between you and an unwrapped candy."

Meredith frowned faintly.

"You have begun to draw attention," her grandmother explained. "Things that unravel. Things that hunger for what you are becoming. You must be careful. Remember, keep your powers hidden until the right time."

Draven’s jaw tightened. "And when," he asked evenly, "is the right time to stop hiding?"

Her grandmother smiled. "She will know," she said simply. "Valmora will know."

Meredith nodded, but unease curled in her chest as she recalled how her grandmother had warned her before not to let Valmora lead her.

And yet now—

As if hearing the unspoken question, her grandmother added, "You will know too. Do not mistake guidance for surrender. But do not show off unnecessarily."

Draven didn’t answer. He simply looked at her. That look—the Alpha one. The you-will-do-as-I-say-and-you-know-it look.

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