CHAPTER 377: EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

Meredith.

Draven’s eyes narrowed slightly, but his voice stayed calm. "I’m listening."

Brackham rubbed his palms together, that false politeness barely concealing the gleam of ambition beneath. "If your people happen to capture one of those... creatures—one of the vampires alive, I would like you to bring it to me."

I blinked, turning toward him sharply, startled by the audacity in his tone.

Draven studied him for a heartbeat before asking quietly, "And what exactly do you plan to do with it, Mayor?"

Brackham gave a short, awkward laugh. "Nothing dangerous, I assure you. I just want to lock it up—a public display of strength, you could say. If the rest of them realize we have captured one of their kind, perhaps they will think twice before coming into my city again. It’s... protection for my people."

I didn’t even have to look at Draven to know what he was thinking. His stillness said enough.

Through the mind-link, Dennis’s laughter burst out first, low and amused.

"This man doesn’t know what he’s asking for, he said. Capture a vampire and lock it up? The rest will burn down his city just to get their person back. Old fool."

Jeffery’s mental voice followed, calm but edged with irony. "Then it’s a good deal for us. Let the humans draw all the fire while we watch the chaos unfold."

I almost agreed aloud. They were both right. Brackham was digging his own grave, and he didn’t even know it.

Then Draven’s voice broke through the link, quiet, sure, final. "We will give him what he wants." To Brackham, he simply nodded. "If one of them is caught, you will have it."

He said it so effortlessly, like he wasn’t handing Brackham the spark that would set his city on fire.

Brackham’s expression brightened instantly. "Excellent. I knew I could rely on your cooperation, Alpha."

Dennis and Jeffery exchanged quick looks but said nothing aloud as Draven’s men began to move toward the cars. Doors opened, boots scuffed against the gravel.

Dennis and Jeffery entered one of the vehicles ahead. Brackham extended a hand one last time, shaking Draven’s firmly before turning to me.

"Luna," he said with a too-smooth smile, "it was an honor."

I held his gaze, forcing the corners of my lips up just enough. "The honor was mutual, Mayor."

But I was certain he saw something in my eyes because his own flickered with unease.

Draven opened the car door for me. I slid into the seat, smoothing the hem of my lilac suit dress as he joined me, closing the door behind him with a muted thud.

The engines rumbled to life. As the convoy rolled out of the government house gates, I caught one last glimpse of Brackham in the rearview mirror, standing on the steps, smiling like a man who thought he had just won.

If only he knew.

---

The silence in the car was comfortable at first. The kind that let thoughts settle after a long day of restraint.

The city streets outside were eerily empty, just the muted hum of our convoy slicing through Duskmoor’s lockdown.

I exhaled, leaning slightly toward the window. "I still can’t believe how foolish that request was," I muttered.

Draven’s lips curved faintly, though his eyes remained on the road ahead. "It wasn’t foolish, Meredith. It was calculated."

I turned to him, brow furrowing. "Calculated?"

He nodded once. "Brackham doesn’t want a vampire for display. He wants its body for experiments."

My stomach twisted, though the revelation didn’t surprise me. I had already seen too much of human greed to be shocked anymore.

"So that’s his next obsession," I said quietly. "He just never stops playing god."

Draven’s gaze stayed forward, his tone even but cold. "Brackham’s curiosity has always been deadlier than his fear."

I hesitated, glancing at him. "There is something else, something important I learned during the meeting," I started, ready to tell him everything I heard in Brackham’s mind.

But Draven lifted a hand slightly, his expression unreadable. "Wait until we get home," he said. "Dennis and Jeffery should hear it too."

I nodded, understanding. "Alright."

The hum of the car filled the quiet for a while. My eyes drifted toward the window again, tracing the skyline. The helicopter that had followed us earlier was gone.

"There’s no helicopter above us anymore," I noted.

Draven’s voice dipped into that dry, sardonic edge of his. "Brackham has got what he wanted. There is no need for him to offer us his protection anymore."

I couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out. "That man’s gratitude doesn’t even last an hour."

Draven’s smirk was faint but unmistakable. "That’s because gratitude doesn’t suit him. It reminds him he owes someone."

For a moment, the car was filled only with the rhythm of the tires against asphalt. Then Draven’s phone buzzed on the dashboard.

He glanced at the screen, his expression hardened, and he declined the call.

I said nothing, watching him from the corner of my eye. When the phone rang again, he declined it a second time, the muscle in his jaw twitching slightly.

The third time it rang, I couldn’t hold my curiosity anymore. "Are you planning to ignore whoever that is forever?"

He sighed softly through his nose, not looking at me. "It’s Wanda."

That name made me pause. "Wanda?" I blinked.

Draven nodded once, still not looking at me as he slipped the phone back onto the dashboard. "She has been trying to reach me all morning, apparently."

"After all this time?" I asked, and then leaned back in my seat, crossing my arms as I turned toward the window.

The afternoon light spilled in, soft and gold, but there was nothing warm in the quiet that settled between us.

If Wanda hadn’t been sent away, I might not even be here now, sitting beside Draven, helping him navigate politics, proving that I could be more than just his Luna.

I turned slightly, watching Draven’s reflection on the glass. His expression was calm and collected, but the weight in his eyes told me he was already thinking three steps ahead, calculating what Wanda’s sudden call meant.

"Do you think she will cause trouble again?" I asked softly.

He finally looked at me, his gaze steady. "She wouldn’t dare."

I nodded, satisfied. "Good."

Then I faced forward again, feeling a strange, quiet pride settle in my chest. Because whatever game Wanda was trying to play from afar, she was no longer part of this story.

And me?

I wasn’t just watching from the sidelines anymore.

I was in the room, reading minds, uncovering secrets, standing beside my husband every step of the way.