CHAPTER 261: TREATED AS HIS QUEEN

Meredith.

Draven’s fingers found mine halfway up the staircase to the third floor and stayed there until we reached his bedroom.

Then he closed the door behind us. The room smelled like cedar and cool stone, the lamplight amber and soft. He stood a breath away, studying me as if re-memorizing a favorite page.

"You’re staring," I said, trying not to smile.

"I’m allowed to." His gaze dipped, appreciative. "You look... dangerous."

"Dangerously presentable," I corrected. "Go shower. You smell like highway and happiness."

One corner of his mouth lifted up in a smirk. "That’s flattering."

I nudged him toward the bathroom, tugging his travel shirt free of his belt as I went.

He let me, catching my wrist before I could turn away and drawing my knuckles to his lips. He gave them a soft slow kiss. Heat curled low in my stomach.

"Ten minutes," he murmured. "If I take longer, punish me."

"Don’t tempt me," I said, but my voice came out softer than I meant.

The shower hissed on as I crossed to his walk-in closet, choosing a charcoal button-down and dark trousers, set out cufflinks and his watch.

Then I checked my hair in the mirror. My updo was still neat, and a few strands coaxed loose on purpose. A touch of balm on my mouth, a light press of the vanilla-amber scent at my wrists and throat.

I wanted to be the soft thing Draven fell asleep holding.

A few minutes later, the water shut off, and steam spilled as he came out with a towel at his hips, clean and warm-looking in a way that made my heart misbehave.

I handed him the shirt to distract myself and he got dressed without teasing me. I buttoned his cuffs. He watched me do it, and when I finished, he caught my hand and turned it, mouth brushing my pulse.

"You’re tense," he said quietly. "Gary and Mabel?"

I exhaled, nodding once. "I don’t know how I will feel when I see them at the dinning room. I’m trying not to think about it."

"Think about me," he said simply. "I’m at your side. Anyone tries to unsettle you, they answer to me." A moment later, he added, "And if you feel like answering them yourself, I will enjoy that too."

A soft chuckle escaped me. "You would."

He slid his hands to my waist and rested his forehead against mine for a moment—just breathing the same air, just quiet. The knot behind my ribs loosened.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes, I am." ’With you by my side’ I finished the second half of my statement in my head.

Draven opened the door and offered his arm. I took it. Together, we stepped back into the corridor’s light, the hum of the household rising to meet us, dinner waiting on the ground floor.

But his hand was warm over mine, and that was enough.

---

The dining hall glowed with soft lamplight, the polished mahogany table stretching long and dignified under the chandeliers.

Silverware gleamed, the scent of roasted herbs and warm bread drifting from the platters already waiting.

When Draven and I stepped through the tall double doors, hand in hand, the low hum of the room fell silent.

Every pair of eyes turned to us. Chairs scraped back as everyone rose.

Dennis stood straight-backed, steady at Xamira’s side. Jeffery, immaculate as always, held his posture with that quiet authority of his.

Wanda, rigid and pale, barely masked the way her eyes narrowed. And beside her—my siblings. Gary, tall and rigid, staring at our clasped hands as though he couldn’t believe what he saw.

Mabel’s expression faltered, that little smirk she usually wore gone for once.

Oh yes, they saw it once again. My fingers in Draven’s. His thumb brushing over my knuckles, deliberate, claiming.

For years, they had only ever known me as the discarded sister, the burden, the one no one wanted. And now here I stood by his side... by the side of the one man they all thought would never love me.

I felt my shoulders straighten, my chin rise. For the first time in a long while, I wasn’t shrinking in their presence.

I was proud—of myself, of where I stood, and of the man who had given me this place.

Draven didn’t even pause. He guided me all the way to the head of the table. With one smooth motion, he pulled out the chair at his right.

"For you," he said, voice low but carrying, his eyes never leaving mine.

Heat touched my cheeks at his gesture. This was a first, but I let a small smile play on my lips.

"Thank you," I murmured, my voice soft yet confident enough for them all to hear.

I lowered myself into the chair with composure, my gown sweeping around me like silvered water. At my side, Xamira brightened with a wide grin, her little hand reaching for mine under the table.

I squeezed it gently, heart softening, then glanced past her to Dennis. He stood at quiet attention, protective as ever, his eyes flickering with pride when they met mine.

Draven took a step back and the moved back to the head chair with that commanding ease only he possessed.

Jeffery stood at his left, steady and composed, nodding slightly as his Alpha approached.

Wanda’s lips pressed tight, her knuckles white where her hands gripped the back of her chair. And Gary and Mabel—still staring at me, their shock barely veiled.

Finally, Draven looked over the table, letting the silence stretch, his presence filling every corner of the room. Then, he sat with a calm authority that made the very air shift.

"Sit," he commanded.

At the same time, chairs slid in unison as everyone obeyed.

I sat taller in my seat, fingers still loosely intertwined with Xamira’s under the table, the weight of my siblings’ stares lingering but no longer burning me. Instead, it only made me stronger.

This time, they were forced to see me, not the girl they used to trample, but the woman sitting at the Alpha’s right hand.

And I savored every second of it.