[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave":3,"chapter-the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-265":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Lunar Curse: A Second Chance With Alpha Draven",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},923945,1212,"Chapter 265: Safe in His Arms","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-265",265,"\u003Cp>Meredith.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My body still trembled in Draven’s arms, every breath uneven as I lay sprawled against him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The storm of passion had finally ebbed, leaving behind a quiet warmth that spread through my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His skin was hot against mine, his heartbeat strong and steady beneath my ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draven’s arm curled around me possessively, his fingers tracing lazy, soothing circles along my bare back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The roughness of his touch contrasted with the gentleness of his hold, and it made my heart ache in the most beautiful way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a long while, we said nothing. The silence wasn’t awkward—it was heavy with meaning, thick with the knowledge of what we had just shared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My lips curved in a faint smile, still swollen from his kisses, and I whispered into the hollow of his throat, \"You’ve exhausted me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His chest rumbled with a low chuckle. \"You’re welcome.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I rolled my eyes against his skin, but I couldn’t stop the soft laugh that escaped me. Then he shifted slightly, enough for me to see his face, and I caught the rare softness in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fire that had burned there earlier was still present, but now it was tempered, wrapped in something deeper... something that felt dangerously close to devotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re mine, Meredith,\" he said, not as a command this time but as a vow. His thumb brushed over my cheekbone, tender in a way that made my throat tighten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And no matter who might come into any of our homes in the future—your family, mine, the elders, anyone—I won’t let them touch what’s mine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My chest swelled with pride as I allowed the words to sink into me, stronger than any armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For once, the fear of facing Gary and Mabel again tomorrow felt small, like shadows shrinking under the light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a slow breath, nodding. \"I know,\" I whispered. \"I trust you with my safety.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His lips curved faintly at that, but he didn’t answer right away. Instead, he leaned down, pressing a lingering kiss against my forehead—so tender it almost undid me more than his passion had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I snuggled closer, breathing in his scent, letting it lull me. For the first time in years, maybe ever, I felt like I belonged exactly where I was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His warmth wrapped around me like a shield, and the weight of the day melted away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tomorrow, there would be tension. Tomorrow, there would be games, whispers, and tests from those who wished me ill. But tonight, in the safety of Draven’s arms, none of that mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight, I was not the girl bullied by her siblings. I was not the outcast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was his wife, his Luna. And the woman he had just vowed to protect with everything he had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that thought warming me from within, my eyes fluttered shut, and I drifted into sleep to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first thing I felt when I woke was warmth—solid, grounding, and impossibly steady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a blissful moment, I didn’t open my eyes. I only let myself sink deeper into it, my cheek pressed against the firm wall of his chest, my body cradled in his arm like I belonged nowhere else but right here in Draven’s arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The faint scent of pine and mint clung to his skin, wrapping around me, making me want to burrow even closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I finally stirred, his arm instinctively tightened around me, a low hum vibrating from his throat as if his body refused to let me go even in sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tilted my head just enough to see him. He was still asleep—or close to it. His dark long hair was tousled, falling across his forehead in a way that made him look younger, almost boyish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there was nothing boyish about the hard line of his jaw, or the strength in the arm curved around me that I traced with my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I moved my gaze back to his strands of hair that covered almost half of his face. I couldn’t resist sweeping them away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as soon as I did that, his flicked open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gold and sharp, they pinned me as if I’d just woken a beast instead of a man. But then they softened the instant they focused on me, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good morning, wife,\" he murmured, his voice low and husky from sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heat crept into my cheeks. \"Good morning,\" I whispered back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His thumb brushed the back of my hand where it rested against his chest, slow and deliberate. \"You look different this morning,\" he said, studying me with a gaze that made me feel bare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Different?\" I frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Content,\" he replied simply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My throat tightened. He wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t woken up weighed down by dread or uncertainty. I’d slept deeply, safe in someone’s arms. Safe in his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maybe I am,\" I admitted, the words slipping past my lips before I could stop them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His golden eyes softened further, and without another word, he leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead. It wasn’t a kiss meant to claim or ignite fire—it was gentler, reverent, a promise woven into the touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I closed my eyes and let it linger, my hand curling against his chest as I whispered into the silence, \"Don’t let me lose this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t ask what I meant. He didn’t need to. His answer was a low growl, deep in his chest as he pulled me even closer. \"Never.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let myself believe him, that as long as I had this—him, us, this rare and quiet peace—then maybe facing my siblings later today wouldn’t be as terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because when he held me like this, I didn’t feel small. I felt very much untouchable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few moments later, I knew it was time to get off the bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stirred, stretching slightly, only to realize I couldn’t move far because Draven’s arm was locked tightly around my waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shifted, intending to slip out of bed. But the moment I tried, his grip tightened, pulling me back against his chest once again.\u003C\u002Fp>",1023,"2026-06-03T06:41:07.525Z","2026-06-03T06:41:13.870Z",1,"novelbin.me","1eaa168e3d2c4485095f06480cc8b80b801fe07ab3b028b7507fe4c59cd3f8b0","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-59","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-264",685,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-cover.jpg"]