My Most Precious Human novel Chapter 104

Sariel and Draven looked at each other intently, as if trying to measure each other's strength, while Draven's wolves were proving to be more than satisfied with Elora and the counselor leaving the room. The chuckling and muttering lasted for a while after they left. I guessed that the wolves from the Moon Hill Pack must have known something about Elora before coming here. Of course, it wouldn't be surprising to find out that she had managed to offend every wolf from the pack only during the ball, but I felt that their disdain for her had a deeper meaning.

"The traitorous stink is out of the room. The air is finally clear," Beta Ari snorted, then leaned out from Alpha Draven's back and winked at me.

With his dark skin, deep-set brown eyes, thick black eyebrows, and massive jawline, he looked even more intimidating than Alpha Draven. I flinched, surprised by his informal behavior, and shot him a nervous smile, which instantly made him grin like a little child. I tilted my head, stunned. Suddenly, his dangerous aura disappeared, and with his warmly smiling eyes, he began to resemble an overgrown puppy. Unluckily for him, Alpha Draven quickly wiped his smile away as he glared at his Beta meaningfully and shifted in his seat so that Ari could no longer glance at me. I chuckled, observing their childish behavior, but then felt the heat of Sariel's stare…

I turned my head to face him and gazed into his eyes with full confidence. With Elora gone, he had no restraints, and I could see that jealousy consumed him bit by bit. This situation must have made him feel uncomfortable, but I didn't feel sorry for him. He made it that way for himself. Moreover, I felt strangely comfortable with Draven next to me, and with the two most hateful vampires out of the room, I was almost looking forward to the negotiations.

Sariel meaningfully cleared his throat, silencing the crowd, and said, "Alpha Draven, convince me of your value."

Alpha Draven leaned back in his chair and gave him a lopsided smile. "The Moon Hill Pack is the strongest in the North. We have over a thousand warriors of our own, and multiple packs are willing to go to war with us once the conflict happens," he stated confidently.

"I don't really care about how strong you are, but what is your position in the werewolf world. A king should only sign a truce with a king. Don't you agree, Alpha Draven?" Sariel smirked.

"My Grandfather was the King-"

"But you are not," Sariel cut Alpha Draven's argument short.

"But I will be," Draven hissed, glaring at him.

"Arrogant statement… I like it," Sariel chuckled. "Explain."

"There are two fractions in the werewolves' lands. All the bigger packs support my pack and me, but the rest would rather see Randall D'Apolito on the werewolves' throne…" Draven paused and looked at me.

Hearing Draven say my father's name made my whole body tremble. Draven's eyes scanned my face as if to make sure I could handle him talking about Randall D'Apolito. I could tell my skin was becoming paler by the second, but I still managed to slightly nod at Draven, letting him know that I was all right. He smiled at me and then turned his eyes on Sariel.

"The southerners are mostly weak packs, less numerous. They are settled in mountain villages with little concern about the outside world. That made them easy to manipulate, and Randall D'Apolito used them. He told them that his pack would protect them from the savage north. They all believed him blindly and even paid for protection, terrified of our alleged invasion. Of course, we've never planned to attack them. They pose no threat to us alone, but if they are a part of D'Apolito's army, that's something completely different. Since there are close to a hundred small packs in the south, our intelligence estimates that Randal's army may include ten thousand warriors or more. However, we assume that all we need is one powerful strike at the Southern Woods Pack, as the army's core, to disperse the rest of their warriors."

A cunning smile formed on Sariel's lips as he listened to Alpha Draven's plans.

"And you believe that once you defeat the Southern Woods Pack, the rest of the packs will happily announce you the king?" he asked.

"Yes." Draven's confident reply sounded loudly within the room.

"What would the vampires gain if you became the king?" Sariel inquired.

"I've always wanted to strengthen the old agreement between our races and make the territory rule less strict. I am a businessman myself, and I don't like to be restrained by different spheres of influence," Draven stated.

The wave of muttering spread among the vampires, nodding in approval and stating their support for Draven's plans. I smiled. Mr. Parson would have enjoyed hearing Alpha Draven's declaration. Perhaps he would have been surprised that there was no need to convince anyone. I guess both sides were simply too tired of this ongoing cold war that was falsely called "the truce".

"If I may, my King…" Leo turned to Sariel, waiting for his permission, and then continued, "Alpha Draven, how do you want to resolve the crimes committed outside one's territory rule?" he smiled wickedly.

Alpha Draven chuckled coldly, gazing at Leo and Sariel, and then stood up, clearing his throat.

"I am aware that both sides committed various crimes over the years, and they were all covered by the old territory rule…" he stated and turned my way. "Using this opportunity, I would like to sincerely apologize to Lady Lilith for the attempted kidnapping by the members of my pack. Someone from the Southern Woods Pack spread the information about where D'Apolito's daughter was hiding, and a few members of my pack decided to retrieve our remaining spoils of war without my knowledge or consent. I apologize for that." He bowed down to me, making everyone's eyes turn my way.

"This is an outrage, Alpha Draven!" Leo called out, as if he didn't have a clue what had happened, "I hope that all those wolves have been punished properly."

I had to give it to Leo; he was one hell of an actor. He didn't even blink while claiming to be shocked. Of course, the show was for those who didn't know what had happened after I had been kidnapped. Unfortunately for Alpha Draven, he had to play along, even if he did it reluctantly.

"All the wolves involved in the kidnapping have been killed," he said, looking straight into Sariel's eyes, telling him that he knew who had served their punishment.

"Well done, Alpha Draven," Leo smirked, falsely applauding him. "Strictness and righteousness are great qualities for the future king."

The air became tense as Leo's teasing got a little too far. The wolves from Draven's pack started glaring at him, ready to pull out their claws and aim for the vampire's neck.

"I bet that King Sariel would do the same in my place," Draven hissed.

The Alpha's tone of voice immediately alarmed the other vampires, who suspected he was attempting to insinuate something to their king. I laughed hysterically inside my head but was too petrified sitting among those creatures to make a sound. Quickly, the glares on both sides became more vicious, and I could feel the peace negotiations were hanging by a thread, and I was the only one staying neutral in their conflict. I felt that I should do something, say something, anything!

"T-the court!" I burst out, just to grab their attention, "How about creating a neutral court… in the future?" I suggested hesitantly, forming an awkward smile.

All the vampires and werewolves looked at me dumbfounded, trying to process my sudden and unanticipated words. My heart hammered and my subconsciousness escaped from that conference room three times already, but I knew this was my only chance to make use of my presence and disarm the situation.

"T-the court could be stated to punish the crimes committed between two races… The judges in the court should be equally divided between vampires and werewolves to prevent unjust verdicts," I said, trying to restrain my voice from trembling.

The room went silent. I looked at everyone's faces, hoping to get any positive reaction to my words.

"That's a good idea, Lady Lilith," Sariel said with a smile.

His warm voice immediately made me heave a sigh of relief while uncontrollably grinning. Once the King supported my idea, everyone else started nodding, agreeing with Sariel. My heart rate slowed down as I noticed the air becoming less dense.

"See? I knew it was a good idea to bring a human to our negotiations," Draven laughed, making a wave of chuckles spread through the room.

The latter part of the meeting went on smoothly. Alpha Draven proposed new regulations concerning the vampires' and werewolves' territories, to which Sariel suggested some minor changes, but the mutual agreement kept sealing every discussed issue. But this turned out to be the easy part…

"I assume that the Moon Hill Pack would like the Royal Army's support in the fight with the Southern Woods Pack, but what do you offer in return?" Sariel finally got the major issues.

Draven chuckled. "I see that King Sariel pretends he doesn't know that Randal D'Apolito's pack is our common enemy."

"I would gladly hear what makes you say that," Sariel smirked.

Alpha Draven comfortably leaned back in his chair. "We have multiple proofs that the Southern Woods Pack was involved in many vampire noble assassinations, including the slaughter that happened in the House of Calvet."

A loud commotion rose on the vampire side of the table. Alpha Draven's words didn't reveal anything new to Sariel, but it might have been quite shocking for the rest of the vampires. Knowing that he had caught every vampire's attention, Draven continued.

"We also believe that the House of Adragna wasn't the only vampire family collaborating with Randal D'Apolito… which sets us at the point where we have an equal number of reasons to destroy the whole pack."

Chills ran down my spine. The hatred I felt for my father was undeniable, but I had never wished him dead, nor did I want the whole pack to be killed. I was certain that there were many innocent members, unaware of their Alpha's cruelty, not to mention my mother, whom I was certain was never involved in Randal D'Apolito's schemes.

"T-the whole pack?" I asked fearfully, praying for someone to deny it.

"We are not ruthless, Lady Lilith," Beta Ari assured me, "and those who surrender will be spared."

I guessed I couldn't count for more than that. I was in a position to judge their plans. I could only hope that once the war broke out, those innocents would somehow survive.

"Fine," Sariel sighed and said, "We will support your fight with three thousand warriors from the Royal Army."

"We are thankful for King Sariel's graciousness." Draven bowed, and then he raised his eyes at Sariel again. "However, in the fight that concerns us equally, only the werewolves suffer the consequences… Not to mention the warriors the King has just granted us," he smirked slyly.

Sariel's expression became cold. Draven was taking advantage of the fact that the war, benefiting both sides, was about to take place on the wolves' territory only.

"Do you have other demands?" Sariel glared at Alpha Draven, sending him a warning that there was a line he shouldn't cross.

But Draven ignored the intention hidden in King's eyes.

"I want Lady Lilith to become a member of my pack."

"What?!" I burst out.

Sariel's eyes blazed with a fury I had never seen before.

Instantly, Sariel jumped on the table and grabbed Draven's neck, slowly pulling out his claws and piercing his flesh. "Give me one good reason not to kill you for your insult!" he roared.

Draven grabbed Sariel's arm, squeezing his neck, pulling it away, and looked straight into his eyes. "Lilith is my mate."