[{"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-337":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},923709,1212,"Chapter 337: He Wants Me","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-337",337,"\u003Cp>Meredith.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draven withdrew his hand, leaning back, his expression shadowed by the firelight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is why you think I am heartless in some of my decisions. But no, Meredith... it is simply me letting my mind lead me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes darkened, voice dipping lower. \"Sometimes, I must make little sacrifices for the greater good. Even if it means shedding innocent blood.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My stomach turned at the bluntness of it. My lips pressed together, unease prickling through me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if sensing it, Draven’s mouth curved into a small smile. He lifted a hand to cup my face, his thumb brushing against my cheek. His touch was warm and steadying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You have much to learn,\" he said, softer now. \"And I will be happy to put you through.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reassurance should have soothed me, but my chest tightened instead. His earlier words echoed sharply inside me.Shedding innocent blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I caught his wrist gently, holding his hand against my face. \"Draven,\" I whispered, searching his golden eyes, \"I don’t like that. Innocent blood shouldn’t be shed. Not for anything.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze deepened, unreadable. He didn’t pull away, but his silence weighed heavily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know you’ve lived longer than me,\" I went on, my voice firmer now though my heart pounded, \"and you’ve seen things I can’t even imagine. But... killing innocents, doesn’t that make us no different from Brackham? From those who abuse their power?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a heartbeat, there was nothing but the crackle of fire between us. His hand stayed on my face, unmoving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he sighed, low and controlled, though his eyes never left mine. \"You see, Meredith... this is why I say you still have much to learn.\" His tone was not cruel, but measured, like a teacher correcting a pupil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sometimes, we don’t have the luxury of clean choices. Sometimes, sacrificing a few saves the many. I’ve carried that burden more times than I care to count.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words pressed against me, heavy and cold. I wanted to argue, to fight it, but the certainty in his voice—the weight of lived experience made my throat tighten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, I whispered, \"I hope... I hope I never lose the part of me that sees their blood as innocent.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something flickered in his eyes then—pride, sorrow, perhaps both. He leaned closer, briefly pressing his forehead against mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hold onto it,\" he murmured. \"That’s what makes you who you are. But know this, when the time comes, you may not have a choice. And when that day comes, I will be there to carry it with you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath caught, the mix of dread and comfort coiling inside me. Draven was a man carved by necessity, and I—I was still learning what it meant to live under the weight of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his words lingered against me, heavy with truth, and for a long moment I couldn’t answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart ached to insist, to promise that I would never spill innocent blood. But deep down, I knew better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until I fully embraced the role of a leader, I couldn’t say what choices I would have to make.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reality pressed at me like a shadow. There might come a day when the greater good demanded a price I didn’t want to pay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if that day came, I couldn’t say for sure that I would choose differently from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I drew in a slow breath, lowering my eyes. I couldn’t promise him my ideals. I could only promise to try.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silence between us thickened and then shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, I felt Draven’s gaze sharpen, warm and unyielding, before he murmured, \"I find myself... suddenly hungry for something.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked up, completely caught off guard by his statement, his golden eyes gleaming in the firelight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it you want?\" I asked, my voice softer than I intended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t answer with words. Instead, his hand moved precisely and deliberately, undoing the first button of my shirt with just one hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath stilled as his finger slid to tug at the collar, pulling it slightly aside as he brushed against my skin beneath. His eyes didn’t leave mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heat rose to my cheeks, my pulse quickening. The air shifted, thickening with something no lesson, no lecture of leadership could prepare me for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Draven...\" I whispered, not as a protest but as a breath I couldn’t hold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mouth curved faintly, the kind of smile that promised he knew exactly what he was doing to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without rushing, he undid another button, exposing a little more of me to the glow of the fire. His knuckles grazed my skin deliberately, leaving sparks in their wake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My pulse pounded, each beat loud in my chest. The weight of all we had discussed seemed to fade away, leaving only him, only us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want this,\" he murmured, his voice low, rough with hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heat flooded me at his words. I leaned closer, closing the space between us. \"Then take it,\" I whispered back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he did, without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mouth claimed mine, firm and possessive, yet softened by the warmth he reserved solely for me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My hand rose instinctively to his chest, feeling the hard lines of muscle beneath, the steady thrum of his heartbeat. His hand slid behind my neck, pulling me deeper into him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sofa seemed too small for the intensity of it. His fingers trailed along my collarbone, slipping beneath fabric, leaving fire wherever they touched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath hitched, caught between the need to yield and the thrill of matching him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When his lips left mine, they travelled to my jaw, my throat, each kiss sending waves through me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Meredith,\" he murmured against my skin, my name more like a vow than a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I clutched at his shoulder, my body arching into his touch. Every thought of doubt, of politics, of power was gone entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All that remained was the truth of him, of us, of the bond that tied me to him so deeply it frightened and steadied me all at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draven’s mouth returned to mine with a hunger that stole my breath. His kiss deepened, consuming, his tongue claiming me as if to remind me I belonged to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My fingers clutched at his shirt, pulling him closer, as I needed more of his warmth, his strength, and his unshakable presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My clothes shifted as his hand slid lower, cupping my waist before finding the curve of my hip. He tugged me gently until I was straddling him, my knees sinking into the cushions on either side of his thighs.\u003C\u002Fp>",1091,"2026-06-03T06:41:07.525Z","2026-06-03T06:41:13.871Z",1,"novelbin.me","abfc527ed78632a8119673f127e51dd7bf356284fb7fb6263a075bb4eb5cb10c","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-338","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-336",685,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-cover.jpg"]