[{"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-505":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},924280,1212,"Chapter 505: A Woman Who Knew Too Much","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-505",505,"\u003Cp>[Draven].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Breakfast was served in the same living area as the night before, though the atmosphere had shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Morning light filtered in through the open windows, pale and clean, carrying the scent of dew and herbs from outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Low tables were set again. The food was simpler this time—warm porridge, flatbread, honeyed fruit, and herbal tea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no plum wine. Thank the moons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis looked like death had brushed past him and decided he wasn’t worth claiming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat hunched, one elbow on the table, fingers pressed to his temple as if holding his skull together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes were bloodshot, his usual sharp grin nowhere to be found. Every clink of ceramic made him wince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeffery, merciless as ever, leaned slightly toward him. \"You look like the moon personally cursed you,\" he murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis groaned. \"If she did, I would apologize.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meredith sat beside me, calm in a way that felt almost deliberate. Her posture was relaxed, her expression neutral, her attention divided evenly between her food and the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was too composed, too balanced, as if nothing inside her had shifted overnight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that, more than anything, unsettled me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Across from us, her grandmother sat upright, hands folded around her tea bowl. Though her sightless eyes remained unfocused, I felt her attention more keenly than if she had been staring outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because she was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt it every time her head tilted slightly in my direction. Every pause that lingered a breath too long. Every moment her presence pressed against my awareness like a quiet assessment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rhovan stirred uneasily within me. \"She is watching us,\"he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I noticed,\"I answered internally, keeping my face neutral as I lifted my cup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not like the others,\"he continued. \"She is weighing. Measuring.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My gaze flicked briefly to Meredith. She was listening to Dennis complain about his head, one corner of her mouth lifting faintly in amusement. Peaceful. Unaware—or pretending to be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our mate is too calm,\"Rhovan added. \"After what happened this morning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I took a slow breath. \"She always looks calm,\"I replied.\"Even when she is standing on a fault line.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rhovan huffed. \"That’s not reassurance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis pushed his bowl away with a defeated sigh. \"I swear that wine tasted innocent. Sweet and harmless. Like it wanted to be trusted.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meredith’s grandmother spoke then, her voice gentle but edged with quiet amusement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Some sweetness is only a disguise,\" she said. \"Especially under a full moon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis froze. Then slowly lowered his head to the table. \"I’ve learned my lesson.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeffery laughed openly this time, but I didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, her head turned slightly—just enough that I knew her attention had returned to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She is circling the truth,\"Rhovan muttered. \"Like a guardian deciding whether to bare teeth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I set my cup down carefully.\"She warned us,\"I said to him.\"Last night. About timing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That doesn’t excuse our mate keeping this from us,\"he snapped.\"We matter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My jaw tightened. I wanted to defend Meredith instinctively and fiercely. But the image wouldn’t leave my mind—the silver wolf in the clearing. Powerful. Free. Whole. And hidden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know,\"I admitted quietly.\"And that’s what hurts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rhovan fell silent for a moment, then spoke more softly. \"Do you think she’s afraid of us?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The question landed heavier than I expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced at Meredith again. She met my eyes briefly, offered a small, unreadable smile, then returned to her meal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\"I said at last. \"I think she’s afraid of losing control. Of losing us. Or of becoming something she can’t walk back from.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rhovan considered that. \"Then you will wait,\"he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even though it hurts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even though every instinct says to demand the truth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes,\"I repeated.\"Because when she speaks... I want it to be because she chose to. Not because I cornered her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Across the table, Meredith’s grandmother lifted her tea and smiled faintly—just enough that my spine stiffened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if she had heard every word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Breakfast ended quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bowls were cleared, low voices faded, and people began to disperse in small, polite groups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had just risen from my seat when Meredith’s grandmother spoke, her voice calm but unmistakably directed at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alpha Draven,\" she said. \"I would like a word with you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I could respond, Meredith moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We were actually about to take a walk,\" she said quickly, slipping her hand into mine. Her tone was light, almost casual. \"I wanted him to see more of the surroundings.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her grandmother paused. For a brief moment, I thought she would object. Instead, she inclined her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very well. The air is good this morning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She said nothing more, but something in her expression, something unreadable, settled heavily in my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meredith didn’t look at me as she led me away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As we walked through the narrow paths between the houses, the village stirred awake around us. Doors opened. Smoke rose from hearths. The place felt quiet but watchful, like it existed half a step away from the world I knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I kept my pace even, though my thoughts were anything but. ’Why had Meredith stopped her grandmother?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it out of her protection for me? Delay? Or fear of what the woman might say to me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meredith broke the silence first. \"You’ve been quiet all morning,\" she said. \"Even more than usual.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I told you,\" I replied evenly. \"I have a lot in my head.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. \"You’re avoiding me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stopped walking. \"No,\" I said. \"I’m trying not to say the wrong thing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turned fully toward me then, her brows knitting slightly. \"That doesn’t make it better.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I exhaled slowly. \"Meredith... whatever is bothering me isn’t something a one-hour conversation will fix. I hope you understand that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t answer, so we resumed walking, but the space between us felt heavier than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few steps, I spoke again, more deliberately this time. \"Still,\" I added, \"a piece of good news would help. Even a little.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stopped so abruptly that I had to take another step to avoid colliding with her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I turned, guilt was written all over her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her lips parted, then pressed together. Opened again... closed again. She looked like someone standing at the edge of a confession.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just then, something inside me tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Say it,\" Rhovan urged quietly. \"Let her say it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I-I... I have a lot of things—\" Meredith finally began. But my patience snapped in exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I think I should go see your grandmother,\" I said, cutting her off before I could stop myself. \"She clearly has something important to say to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes widened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stepped closer and lifted my hand, brushing my thumb once against her cheek—a touch meant to soften the words, not wound her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will see you later,\" I added quietly, then turned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t look back as I walked toward the house, though every instinct screamed that I should.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind me, Meredith remained standing on the path—silent, conflicted, and carrying truths she still wasn’t ready to give me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And ahead of me waited a woman who already knew too much.\u003C\u002Fp>",1184,"2026-06-03T06:41:20.201Z","2026-06-03T06:41:21.983Z",1,"novelbin.me","9d6204fdb7d46977e5179e61f2a7d65503c2536aeb21b176b920ff7f63a308dc","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-554","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-553",685,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-cover.jpg"]