*****CHAPTER 38

DRAVEN'S POV
 
I knew Alcot and the servant girl had spent time together. I could tell that I was right because for a short while, something that looked like an hour, Alcot had been absent from the castle, and when he returned, I noticed that the servant girl had returned to the castle at the same time that he did.
 
As I watched them from the balcony of my chamber, I wondered what they could possibly have done with the time they had spent together. Maybe they had slept together or spent some lover's time together. Either way, whatever they had done while they were together was none of my business. But discovering this interesting secret about the Alpha and his little mistress pleased me greatly. It felt oddly satisfying that I had managed to own a weapon that I could use against Alcot whenever I wanted, even without trying so hard. Father would be so proud of me if he found out about this.
 
I spent more time on the balcony, sipping wine from the goblet in my hand, and watching the nightlife of the castle. Everyone is rewinding for the day, and servants are returning back to their quarters. I was cut off from my thoughts, however, when a knock came upon my door, and I turned my head to look at the direction of the door, a frown crossing my face.
 
"My Lord.  "I was ordered by Luna Marilyn to deliver these to you." A soft female voice spoke from outside the door, and with a sigh escaping my lips, I strode lazily towards the door, dropping the goblet on the center table in the room.
 
I reached the door and twisted the doorknob, pushing the door open to reveal a girl with a food tray in her hand. That girl.  I noticed how she froze upon seeing me. Her pupils dilated in disbelief, and she instantly went pale, as if she had seen a ghost.
 
My lips thinned in a small smile as I stared back at the same girl who had been rude to me and my guards on our way to the castle. This small, timid girl has exceptional beauty that could make a man stare for hours. Including me.
 
"What a small world." I said, a little astonished at her presence. Who would have thought the peasant girl who interested me was actually a servant and just an arm's length away from me?
 
The girl cleared her throat, quickly collecting her composure again, and with her head now raised to the air like a proud peacock, she replied with a sneer.
 
"Indeed, it is a small world. And don't get it twisted. I am not a servant. "I came to see my sister, and because I am kind and not... rude or arrogant, I agreed to take these to you and spare the other servants some trouble."
 
Okay, here we go again with the rude comment. I guess I was wrong when I thought for a second that she would be humble now that she knew who I really was. But I guess I was wrong. She was willowy and looked vulnerable, yes. But she was unpredictable—and exciting.
 
I couldn't come up with a reply this time. Her words had caused my tongue to remain frozen to the roof of my mouth, and I could only stare, completely disarmed by a girl for the first time in my life.
 
"Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to leave this with you and head back to my room immediately." She shoved past me, almost brushing me out of the way, and went ahead to arrange the various meals on the table.
 
I gently shut the door behind me and continued to stare at her, wondering what kind of power she had over me that had caused me to go quiet and timid instantly.
 
"How old are you?" I found myself asking her.
 
"Eighteen."  She replied with an air of nonchalance, not even taking a second of her time to glance at me.
 
Hold on.  I thought I was breathtakingly good-looking! Why wasn't she paying any attention to me? Why wasn't she looking at me or glorifying my face and body with her eyes? Why was it the other way around?
 
And she was what? Eighteen!  And I was what? Twenty six!  I was fucking twenty six!  Why would an eighteen-year-old girl have such dominance over me for the second time?
 
After she had set the table, she picked the now-empty tray up and straightened her posture again to look at me.
 
"You're a child." That was the only statement I could make out of the thousands of spiraling thoughts that danced around my head.
 
With a sarcastic laugh and a scoff, she sized me up with her eyes, staring at me as though I had said the craziest thing in the entire world.
 
"And what are you, good sir?" A hundred-year-old man? Or maybe you're a vampire who has lived a thousand years already."
 
"Maybe I am." "So, stop being disrespectful." I felt slightly pissed at the way she ridiculed me. No one had ever spoken this way to me before—worse, a common peasant.
 
An attractive peasant, you mean.
 
"Okay, father."  She had a smirk on her face as she gave me a quick mock bow. "May I take my leave now?"
 
"You said you were visiting your sister. Who is she? "Is she a royal?" I asked inquisitively. I had never heard of the Alken shaving a peasant relative before.
 
"No, she is not." She rolled her eyes at me, signifying that she was already getting tired of our conversation and would like to leave. "She is a servant. And no.  "I am not going to tell you her name, lest you try to bully her just to get back at me."
 
I tried to fight back a laugh from escaping my lips, but it only converted into a smile instead.
 
"Bully your sister?" Why would I do that? "Is that how low you think of me?"
 
"Yes, sir.  You might be a psychopath. I can't be sure. I just have to be careful around people like you. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take my leave now. "My job here is done." She walked past me, heading towards the door, but as soon as she opened the doorknob and made to leave the room, I turned quickly and threw her a question, which caused her to pause on her feet too.
 
"And what about you?" "What is your name?"
 
She paused hesitantly for a moment before answering, her beautiful dark hazel eyes staring at me as if deciding if she should answer my question or not.
 
And then…
 
"Pearl."  This time, there was a small, beautiful smile playing on her lips. The kind of smile that could thaw the hearts of the most heartless of kings and princes, the kind of smile that melted my own heart too.
 
"My name is Pearl."
 
"Call me Draven." I did not know when a smile danced on my lips too.