[{"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-45":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},923667,1212,"Chapter 45: The Rift Between Dennis and Wanda","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-45",45,"\u003Cp>Draven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let your mistress know I never stopped her from seeing Xamira,\" I said, glancing toward Kira with a firm but steady tone. \"She is free to visit the child whenever she wants. Let everything that happened... stay in the past.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kira bowed immediately. \"Yes, Alpha. I will inform her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she turned and quietly excused herself from the dining room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I picked up my cutlery again, my fingers just settling on the silverware, when a familiar voice echoed through the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t have to look to know who it was. There was only one person with that kind of voice and energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lifted my eyes to see Dennis grinning from ear to ear, striding up to the table with the ease of a man who didn’t know tension if it slapped him across the face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We clasped arms, and he leaned in briefly for a brotherly embrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Took you long enough to join us for dinner,\" I said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis chuckled. \"Had to clean up after someone,\" he teased lightly. Then he turned to Jeffery and greeted him with a solid handshake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, he scanned the table and—unsurprisingly—pulled out the chair closest to my right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same seat Meredith had refused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis sank into the chair with a pleased sigh right next to Jeffery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where is your wife?\" he asked, glancing around the table and already reaching for the cutlery. \"She’s not here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She has a headache,\" I replied as I speared a piece of grilled lamb and brought it to my mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis smirked. \"Let me guess. You said something stupid, and now she is punishing you with absence?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My hand paused slightly above my plate. I lowered my fork. \"What makes you think that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My brother does have interesting theories and likes throwing them around whenever he pleases.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis gave a lazy shrug and looked away. \"Just a guess.\" Then he stared at the meat on his plate as if it were a gift from the heavens. \"Where do I even start...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two bites later, he spoke again, mouth still half-full. \"So, I heard the woman you married doesn’t have a wolf. Something about a curse from the Moon Goddess. Is that true?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I stared at him, watching how he casually chewed the meat as if he hadn’t just repeated the most infamous rumour from Stormveil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It seems the gossips of Stormveil made it all the way to Duskmoor, and straight into your ears,\" I said, eyes narrowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis grinned without shame. \"News travels to me at the speed of light, brother. Don’t forget that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was enjoying this too much. I pointed my fork at him. \"Don’t just eat the meat. Eat your vegetables.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not a vegetarian,\" he muttered and popped another bite in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused only to say, \"I was looking forward to a horse ride today. Jeffery said you had a call from Father, so...\" He trailed off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We will ride tomorrow,\" I replied. \"I needed to brief him on the meeting with Brackham.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis scoffed. \"How did Brackham even manage to say those useless words to your face without choking on them? Do they think we are blind? I say the humans are tired of the truce.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I set my fork down. \"We will talk politics after dinner.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I reached for the glass of water beside me and gulped the whole thing. Then I set the empty glass down, but before the server could move, Dennis grabbed the jug and filled it for me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gave a low hum. \"Thanks.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis nodded and went back to devouring his food, content like a man who hadn’t eaten in days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But peace didn’t last.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanda cleared her throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound alone pulled our gazes to her, and when I looked up, her eyes were already locked on Dennis with that controlled smile of hers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So,\" she began sweetly, \"did you encounter any difficulties during your investigation? And how did you cope when we were away in Stormveil?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis didn’t blink. He stared at her for a moment before responding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I believe you’ve known I was here for hours now. You could have asked your questions then. Why now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still smiling, Wanda tilted her head as though indulging a child’s tantrum. \"You are right. I should have. But I was busy with Xamira. As you may have heard, she was poisoned and nearly lost her life.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I froze mid-chew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wanda.\" My voice was sharp. A warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked at me, arms out. \"Am I wrong? Are strawberries not poisonous to your daughter?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My jaw clenched. I held her gaze. Beneath that carefully composed exterior, I saw it—anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why was she more furious than I?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said nothing, choosing silence over words I might regret. The weight of her eyes tried to force something from me, but just then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who poisoned her?\" Dennis asked, his voice too casual, too disinterested. He wasn’t asking because he cared. He was daring her to just try and ignore my warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned my attention back to Wanda, my gaze firm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanda blinked once, then met my warning look. Then she realized the danger in pressing further and exhaled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forget I said anything,\" she said to Dennis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis scoffed and picked up his fork again. I downed the rest of my wine and poured myself another glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This night was already turning into one I wished I had skipped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tension between Dennis and Wanda was suffocating. It always had been, ever since their fallout ten years ago. A friendship that had once been strong... now irreparably broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And no one could explain why. I had asked them both over the years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis had always told me,\"You don’t need to know. Just understand that we are not friends anymore and might never be.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanda’s response?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He started it. Ask him. I have nothing to explain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I exhaled again, this time longer. At this rate, I was going to lose my mind faster than anyone expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had too much on my plate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was Wanda and Dennis, the council of Elders, the murders, and Meredith.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially Meredith.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman who wore anger like a second skin and who had every right to, which was understandable. Her entire life was unfair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a brief second, I wondered what it would feel like to disappear for a while. Just a moment of quiet... peace...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I knew better than to waste my time, wallowing in mist.\u003C\u002Fp>",1084,"2026-06-03T06:41:07.231Z","2026-06-03T06:41:13.593Z",1,"novelbin.me","abcdba7ff878573d10c106d5e7fde8d015b530c56ff97fcdff06d7e6ec39a647","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-46","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-44",685,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-cover.jpg"]