*****CHAPTER 33

DRAVEN'S POV
 
I couldn't stop thinking about the peasant girl for a moment, no matter how hard I tried to stop my thoughts from drifting to her. And each time I caught myself thinking about her, a small smile crossed my face. I had never met a girl that tiny with so much audacity and guts.
 
It excited me. It interested me.
 
When I finally arrived at the castle, Alpha Alcot was standing at the entrance of the Alpha Quarters with his beta and zeta. He had no welcoming look on his masked face, and I wasn't disappointed because I never expected a different treatment from him. I was sure that if he had the chance to snap off my head and cut my throat, he would do it right now. Alpha Alcot wasn't one to hide his hatred for anyone, and I respected him greatly for that. He was a man of his words and never tried to please anyone unless it was himself.
 
"Greetings to the Lycan King and Greatest Alpha of them All!" I bowed a mock salute before him, and even though he totally ignored my greeting, I kept a small smile playing across my lips and straightened my posture to face him again.
 
"As proposed, I am here in honor of the treaty between our two packs. "I hope we work together in peace and harmonize our individual packs as one." I added, and his eyes only peered at me without any trace of emotion in them.
 
"I can't wait to see what you bring to the table, Alpha Draven." He finally spoke in a final tone before signaling his servants to take my belongings.
 
"Take him to the guest chamber." He commanded, and the servants immediately set out to carry out his order. "Throwing another cold and expressionless look my way," he added. "Come.  "We have a feast prepared for our guest already."
 
He nudged me on with his head and turned his back against me, heading further into the large mansion while I followed through with my servants and Kai. When we got to the large dining room, my eyes took in the sight of the full table. There were some elders of the council seated around the table. The Alpha's mother was seated on one of the high chairs, and beside her was a younger, beautiful woman whom I concluded was the Luna. They all had their eyes set on me, inspecting my every move as though suspicious of my presence.
 
They should be. The fact that they could sense just how I might be bad news to their pack made the game interesting already.
 
"Everyone, please welcome the Alpha of the Red Wolf pack to our humble abode." He announced it to the table, his tone reeking of sarcasm. A few of the elders bowed their heads in respect, and the rest kept their stares fixated on me, not breaking their gaze even for a second.
 
"Welcome to our pack, Alpha Draven." The Alpha's mother had a small, welcoming smile stretching across her face now, even though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "We have prepared a small feast for you." "Please join us at the table." She gestured to the empty seats on the table, and the Alpha led me to mine, taking his own seat after he saw that I had taken mine.
 
"The pleasure is mine, Luna Marilyn." I said to the Luna after taking my place at the table. "Indeed, the rumors are true. "You are the fairest of them all."
 
The Luna's smile deepened before she turned back to her meal again. The Alpha signaled to the servants to fill my goblet, and as one of the servants hurried to fill my goblet, I took notice of how the Alpha's gaze met hers as it lingered. It was as if he wasn't expecting her to be here, and even though she was, he couldn't take his eyes off her.
 
It was as if he was smitten by her, as if they didn't just have a servant-master relationship. Maybe there was more to the story than meets the eye.
 
The servant girl seemed to be a little conscious of the Alpha's eyes on her, and as she poured a glass of wine into my goblet, I decided to try a little experiment on these two. Intentionally, but in a discreet manner, I pretended that I was trying to pick up a napkin from the tabletop and brushed my elbow against her hand, causing her to mistakenly spill some of the wine over my clothes.
 
"The gods!" I faked a shocked gasp and brushed the red liquid contents off my body. The girl's eyes protruded in fear, and I heard someone behind her call her clumsy.
 
"F—forgive me, my Lord. "It was a mistake." The girl pleaded, and I stole a glance at the Alpha, who now had a worried look in his eyes.
 
"You foolish girl!" The Luna cursed from behind her, sounding bittered, as if the sin she had committed was grave. "You have to be punished for this!"
 
"Stop being so dramatic, Scarlett." You heard her. "It was just a mistake." The Alpha finally spoke, his tone bearing a strong warning.
 
"You are going to take her side again, aren't you?" The Lunasuddenly sparked, and everyone at the table murmured to each other. It was as if this was not the first time the Luna had been caught up with the servant girl. And each time it happened, the Alpha always picked her side.
 
"It's fine, my lady." I smiled at Luna, whose face was contorted with anger now. "It's just a petty mistake." "Please forgive the girl."
 
"Leave." The alpha's voice seconded mine; his tone was commanding and authoritative.
 
Immediately, the girl bowed in gratitude and hurried away. As she walked away, I stole a second look as well. She was pretty. Undeniably attractive.
 
The pulchritudinous servant girl The Alpha who likes her And the Luna who detests her.
 
It was an interesting love triangle that I was sure I would enjoy toying with. I would most definitely use this against the Alpha.
 
Let the game begin.