My Most Precious Human novel Chapter 99

Even though Kanan did whatever he could to improve my mood during the ball, Mr. Parson's words circled inside my head the whole night long. As terrifying as it all sounded, I knew that he was right. If I could become a part of the negotiation squad and sign my name on the peace treaty that would secure my position in the vampire world. The problem was, there would be Elora's name on that treaty as well, right next to Sariel's, because she still remained the damn queen and vampires' legal representative. When I found myself back inside my chamber I became even more restless.

"God, this is so frustrating!" I shouted, looking at the bathroom mirror.

By the time I washed my face and prepared myself for bed, I already knew that it was going to be a sleepless night. My entire life, the hatred towards werewolves had increased. Even though there were exceptions, like Ezra and my mother, I couldn't talk to any wolf without even an ounce of spitefulness. Was I prejudiced? I surely was. Could I change it? Certainly not within a day or two. I couldn't see myself as anything near being neutral while talking to werewolves, not to mention talking to those from my father's pack. Talking to those wolves from the Northern pack didn't sound good either.

"How could I ever "side" with someone like Draven?! He is like a caveman!" My frustration arose by the time I recalled Draven's words and the way he looked at me later during the ball. "Besides, what am I supposed to persuade the wolves and vamps to do?! Play nice and don't kill each other?!"

I sucked as a politician. I threw myself on the bed and started hitting pillows with my fist to release all of my confusing emotions. I couldn't comprehend what role I should play in this mess, according to Mr. Parson. Did he think that the Northern pack's wolves would listen to me because I was the daughter of an Alpha? It was naïve to think it would be this simple, and besides, who would even want to listen to me, and why? Sariel didn't even tell me that he was planning to negotiate peace between races. I bet that if he planned this as a King it would only be natural if the Queen joined him. According to Mr. Parson, it was crucial for me to take part in those discussions, but it wasn't going to happen unless I had been invited by the King, who already decided to leave me out in the dark with it, or Alpha Draven, and I couldn't find a reason why he would want me there. It hurt a lot knowing that Sariel's decision made it harder for me to become fully acknowledged by the vampire society. I even started to think that he felt comfortable in the situation where he had Elora by his side, and I patiently waited for the moment he decided to generously give me some of his attention. I hated this situation more and more, and I was willing to do whatever it took to change it. I just had no idea how…

I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling all night long. Anxiety and depression kept arising within me, leading me to all kinds of gloomy and miserable conclusions. By the time dawn came, I was almost convinced that it would never be Sariel's priority to get rid of Elora and let me stand by his side as his official wife. He hadn't spared me a glance during the entire ball, although I was certain he could have used any kind of pretense to find me. He didn't even care that I was talking to other men, although he had used to be incredibly jealous before. It wasn't that I missed his possessiveness, but I would rather have had his attention instead of Alpha Draven's. I knew I was greedy, but Sariel was the man I loved. I think I had the right to want him for myself.

At eight o'clock, Martha came with breakfast and an expected question: "How was the ball?"

I sighed heavily as a response.

"That bad?" she asked, concerned.

I knew I had to tell her everything in detail, otherwise, she would keep asking a series of questions until she satisfied her curiosity. I ate breakfast releasing my frustrations on the food, frequently stabbing different vegetables with my fork, and told Martha everything that had happened.

"Wow…" she sighed once I finished my story, "What are you going to do? Will you try talking to Alpha Draven?"

"I am not really in the position to get involved in the negotiations. As much as I hate to admit it, it is up to Sariel and Elora to talk to members of the Northern pack. I'm pretty much a nobody…" I smiled bitterly.

"So, are you going to give up, just like that?" she asked with a scolding tone.

"What else can I do?! Beg Sariel?! Even when he was the one who didn't even mention his plans for negotiations in the first place?!" I burst out.

"Please, don't take it out on me. I am only trying to help you." Martha lowered her gaze.

"I… I'm sorry…" I muttered, "It's just… I don't know anything about the vampire-werewolf conflict. Maybe I shouldn't get involved in this and just look for other opportunities to receive acknowledgment in the future…"

I hated to admit it, but I was giving up without a fight. Perhaps some part of me was scared of finding those "alpha genes" Mr. Parson mentioned within me. I knew he meant me having my father's blood running in my veins, and I didn't think I could ever embrace the fact that I inherited anything from that sick bastard. Of course, I knew how genetics worked. I was aware that my super genes were created from his DNA combined with my mother's DNA, but when I heard the name "alpha genes", chills ran down my spine. Perhaps having genes from two Alphas should make me a natural-born leader, even if I wasn't a werewolf. The problem was, I had always felt like I was a natural-born coward, and I still felt like one.

"No!" Martha stood up, frowning at me. "Talk to the King! He has to listen to you! Don't give up unless you talk to him!" She looked into my eyes, demandingly.

I smiled nervously at her. I had never seen her so determined before, not to mention that it was the first time she decided to object to me.

"Ok!" I called out, chuckling, "I will try to talk to Sariel first, all right?"

"You'd better do so." She crossed her hands over her shoulders.

"Anything else?" I smiled teasingly.

"Yes." She pouted, "You need to tell me what the King said."

"I will, I promise."

Only after hearing those words of mine, did she heave a sigh, as if she was actually relieved that she had managed to change my mind. Then she took the empty dishes from my breakfast and headed to the door.

"Martha…" I muttered as she was about to grab the door handle.

She turned around, questioningly.

"Thank you," I smiled warmly at her.

"You're welcome," she grinned and left the room.

Martha was right. I should at least talk to Sariel before claiming my surrender. I was still mad at him, but I also missed him already. Nonetheless, I didn't want to stand before him showing all of my emotions. The plan was to play it cool. This cool Lilith had to look confident and talk only about the negotiations while behaving seductively.

I took a shower, then sprinkled an alluring perfume on my skin, and wore a fitted black dress with a shallow neckline and an intriguing zipper that went all the way down at the back. I didn't want to be too obvious. Nonetheless, this type of dress could become… convenient.

I used the passage to get right in front of his chamber. I looked around cautiously, and after getting certain that the coast was clear, I stepped outside the passage and knocked at Sariel's door. I waited impatiently while my heart pounded widely, but… nothing happened. I waited a few more seconds and knocked again — with the same result.

"Of course…" A bitter chuckle escaped my throat. "It couldn't be that easy, could it?"

I hated that I had to sneak around like some kind of criminal just to talk to the man I loved. It felt pathetic. I couldn't even ask where he was because no one felt obligated to tell something like that to a mere concubine. I walked back, nearly crashing through the passage door on the way to my chamber. I was pissed. I felt I needed to get out of there before my mind suggested I break a few pieces of furniture. I walked out of the east wing and started walking towards the west wing of the Palace. At one moment, I saw a garden.

"This could be a kind of stress reliever…" I thought as I entered a green hedge maze.

Of course, there was a huge probability that I would get lost in there and spend hours trying to find my way back, but it could still help me take my mind off the fact that I was filled with anger and restlessness. I kept taking mindless turns, wandering around the soothing green alleys. My heart slowed down. I started to breathe regularly. I felt relaxed… for a short moment before I felt someone's presence and turned around.

"Good morning, Lady Lilith," Alpha Draven smiled warmly.

My eyes hurriedly scanned everything around. It looked like there was no one else except for him, but why was he there in the middle of the maze right where I was?!

"Were you following me?" I asked with a straight face.

"I did." He admitted bluntly, making me speechless. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday…" He scratched his head with a clear grimace on his face as if apologizing to anyone was completely against his nature.

"And now you are apologizing by ambushing me?" I smirked, taking advantage of his awkwardness.

"Listen… I'm not good at this, and I was surprised myself yesterday. I didn't expect to meet you in such circumstances… I really didn't mean to sound like an asshole."

"But you did." I shrugged.

I wasn't planning to use him as a punching bag to release my irritation caused by Sariel… or maybe I was… a little bit. Sure enough, I was going to let him know that I wasn't a pushover.

"You are not going to make this easy for me?" Alpha Draven gave me a lopsided smile.

"Nope."

He sighed, and then cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, ok? Can we start one more time? I'm Alpha Draven. Pleased to meet you." He reached out his hand, locking his wide onyx eyes on me.

I took my time, looking him up and down with a sly smirk, before stepping towards him and reaching out my hand to shake his. "Nice to meet you, Alpha Draven. I am Lilith Leber."