My Most Precious Human novel Chapter 111

We drove in Draven's car for about an hour. I stayed silent the whole time, constantly recalling the last view of the Palace the those whom I left behind. I hoped that they would forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye and that they would respect my decision. Draven kept glimpsing at me, checking if I was all right, but he didn't force me to be more sociable. I tried smiling at him a few times, silently thanking him for taking me away from that place, but for now, my smiley-grimaces couldn't be called sincere…

I kept asking myself if I was doing the right thing. I still loved Sariel, but the relationship we had suddenly became polluted. I kept telling myself that he had to have a plan to act this way… He simply ignored me in it. In the end, when I saw him with Elora, looking at her the same way he had been looking at me, I started to question every single bit of the thing we had. I realized that if I wasn't able to tell the difference, he might have lied to me as well. I didn't want to believe that was the truth, but I knew that I wouldn't handle it if I found out that I had been lied to while being in the Palace. Was I a coward? Perhaps… But I also thought that going away with Draven could have been salvation to my mental health. Not to mention that I needed to gain some perspective, and it was time to look at the whole picture from a different view. There was only one thing I needed to get straight…

"Um…" I opened my mouth after an everlasting silence without having the slightest clue how to start. "Alpha Draven… I just want you to know that…"

"Yes?" He shot me a mischievous smirk while speeding up on an empty road at over a hundred miles per hour.

I swallowed, gathering my thoughts, "The thing is… I'm going to your pack, and I'm going to do my best to help you in your fight for the throne… but…" I paused, taking a deep breath.

"But?" he repeated, impatiently.

"It doesn't mean that… I accepted the mate bond," I choked out.

"I expected that much."

The meaning of his words denied the tone of his voice. He sounded disappointed and I registered annoyance, marked in him clenching his fists on the wheel.

"I'm sorry…" It slipped out automatically.

"Don't be," he tossed but refused to look me in the eyes.

"I just don't feel it the way-"

"Stop. Just stop," he hissed.

His cold voice made me flinch. He noticed it, and in an instant, his expression changed.

"Lilith…" He reached out his hand and delicately placed it on my forearm while keeping the other hand on the wheel. "I didn't mean to sound harsh… It's just… This situation between us is really giving me a hard time, you know?" he chuckled, forming a wry smile.

"Yes… apparently, your destiny sucks," I smirked at him, "You found yourself a mate that is already broken and can't even feel that she is your mate."

His hand on my arm slid down. He tangled his fingers with mine, gently stroking the sensitive skin on the inner side of my palm.

"If you're broken then I will fix you," he said alluringly low.

Chills ran down my spine. My body reacted to him, although I didn't want it to react. I was more than aware that currently, I was an easy target. I was emotionally unstable and needed time to sort out what I wanted and what I didn't want. For now, my heart was a sucker for warmth and kindness, trying to compensate for all its aching. That made Draven, with his talk about the destined mate bond and me being his one and only, dangerous as hell!

"So… tell me about your pack..."

I was more than eager to change the subject, but the problem was, Draven was still holding my hand. I tried to swiftly slip out of his grip, but he intertwined his fingers more each time my hand moved.

He smirked and gazed my way. "The main core of our pack is in Blue Crescent Town. It's the town lying at the foot of Moon Hill. More than 99% of the town's population are werewolves and mixed breeds. The few humans living in the town are mates. Either way, the town is literally the pack."

"Wow…" I mumbled, processing the information, then asked curiously, "So how big is the Moon Hill Pack?"

"I would say that it's close to five or six thousand," he stated indifferently.

"Seriously?! That is huge!" I called out, "Over twenty-five thousand people were living in my father's Greystoneville, but only ten percent of them belong to the pack…"

"The Blue Crescent Town was founded centuries ago, and it always belonged to werewolves, not taken over by them," he explained. "I'm sure you're going to love the place."

I smiled faintly at him. As strange as it might sound, I had never "loved" any town or place, mainly because I had always been prepared to leave it. No matter how great Blue Crescent Town was, I knew it might take ages before I feel any kind of attachment to it.

Suddenly, Draven's phone rang, and he let go of my hand to answer it. It was one of his subordinates. He replied with a quick command and finished the call in less than five seconds, but in the meantime, I froze… Only then did I realize that he was still holding my hand up until that moment, and the worst part of that was, I was holding his hand too! I hurriedly took my guilty hand away, hiding my palm between my knees. He grinned slyly at my more than visible flusteredness.

"You'll get used to my touch in time," Draven chuckled.

His arrogance made the temple vein throb. I sighed angrily and turned my head to the side window.

"You don't have to act shy around me. Otherwise, I might think that you're still a virgin," he smirked, his eyes scanning my chest wrapped in a tight white shirt and my legs exposed in fitted jeans.

If it weren't for the fact that I had left the one I love no longer than two hours ago, maybe I would have taken his bold approach as a turn-on, but currently… I seriously wanted to slap him. I didn't only because of my brief strike of logical thinking that reminded me that getting physical with a driver going over a hundred miles per hour wasn't the brightest idea.

"Alpha Draven… I would appreciate it if you didn't make sexual allusions to me," I hissed, "Otherwise, you might learn that I'm quite fierce for a human."

"Oh, I'm sure you are!" he burst out laughing, "In fact… I'm planning to find out exactly what you're made of." He dangerously locked his eyes on me.

I had enough of his teasing. Fortunately for him, my head was in a way too big mess to find an instant biting response. I ended up widely opening my mouth, which obviously worked quicker than my brain, and waiting for the sound to appear… Draven was faster.

"I meant to find it out in a gym, Lilith," he grinned wickedly.

My immediate flush came as undoubtful proof of my one-track mind. He waited until I closed my mouth in embarrassment before continuing.

"You know… It was quite exciting to find out that you crushed one of the strongest warriors in the Royal Army. I'm dying to know what else you can do."

"Truthfully… I didn't have a good training session for a long time. Not to mentions those three days I was working out with Leo before my fight with Kylo," I smiled nervously.

"Leo? You mean General Leonard Gotha?" he asked, a surprise painting on his face.

"Um… yes," I replied hesitantly.

"Well, that only makes me more impatient to test your skills."

He seemed sincerely fired up about it, but I wouldn't refuse a good workout. Blowing off some steam might have worked therapeutic, and I had a lot to process. I smiled at that idea.

The sun was already high in the sky when I noticed a road sign saying that we had five miles to go before reaching our destination. I was awake the entire way, and although Draven encouraged me to get some sleep, how could I? I might have managed to build a solid, composed appearance on the outside, but on the inside, I was shivering and aching. That anxious state wouldn't let me sleep even if we were driving two nights and two days without stopping.

"Look, Lilith. This is going to be your new home," Draven announced proudly, passing the "Blue Crescent Town" sign.

The place was bright and clean. It resembled those perfect small towns where every picture you take looks like a beautiful postcard. The further we went the more magnificent it seemed. From the adorable small-town vibe, it quickly transformed into a wealthy big city's district with luxurious villas and fancy facilities. I kept blinking my eyes, checking if I didn't accidentally enter a Hollywood movie set. We kept driving, going up on a hill where I could see an astonishing mansion… No, actually, it resembled a magnificent fortress.

"Where are we going?" I asked nervously.

"To the pack's main house and my home," he tossed casually.

"Oh…" I responded, mumbling, "And… where would… I live?" I asked hesitantly.

"With me," he replied confidently.

I gazed at him, widening my eyes. I seriously wished to live in a place that would put less pressure on me

"Don't worry, Lilith," he smirked, registering my awkwardness. "I'm not going to force you to do anything. I just want to have you by my side all the time."

That was exactly the right reason to BE worried! My heart was like a fragile, fluffy mess craving warmth and attention. It was scaring the hell out of me that I might truly submit to Draven's wooing for all the wrong reasons. Knowing how strong the mate-bond can be, I might easily hurt him even more than I would hurt myself. Nonetheless, I had already figured that Draven wasn't the type of guy who would give me time and space for me to heal. Sitting still and doing nothing couldn't be more out of his style…

The long column of cars parked on the driveway leading to the entrance of the fortress. Certainly, Draven stopped his car right in front of the main door. Then he got out of the car and walked around to open the door for me and gentlemanly help me out. The rest of the pack members riding in the vans watched their Alpha and me walk inside the mansion with huge grins on their faces. I couldn't say that I felt comfortable with it. I felt like an item that their leader had won, but I clenched my teeth and chose to ignore it… for now.

"You're going to live with me on the top floor," Draven said, pointing at the wide, massive stairs glamorously closing the dark stone floor and raw walls ennobled with ebony of the masculine entrance hall.

His tone reminded me how much I hated being ordered around. I felt as if nothing had changed. I was no longer weak and defenseless but still needed someone to shield me from my father. As long as he was in charge of his powerful pack, I could only rely on those who were equally strong. I sighed, exhaling my irritation, and followed Draven upstairs. As we reached the top floor, I noticed that there were only two doors, both in the middle of the corridor, opposite each other.

"This is your room…" Draven pointed at one of those doors. "The other one on this floor is mine."

He looked at me, anticipating my reaction. His intense stare only put more pressure on me. I nodded, acknowledging his words, and looked away.

He cleared his throat. "Ari will bring your suitcase in a moment."

"Thank you," I smiled slightly awkwardly at him.

He stayed like that with his eyes locked on me for the next, extremely long ten seconds until he decided to point at my door as if allowing me to walk inside. I opened the door hesitantly while he observed my every move. I entered the room and formed another kind of smile while aiming to close the door. I looked at him and gasped. I found him slowly scanning me from my head to toe through his narrowed eyes. Once his gaze traveled back to my eyes his full lips curled up in a seductive smile, a one that I completely couldn't handle. A hysteric laugh escaped my throat and I shut the door. I could clearly hear him chuckle just before he walked into his room.

I leaned against the door and collapsed onto the floor. I just realized that living close to Draven was going to be even more complicated than I thought…