[{"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-580":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},924331,1212,"Chapter 580: Anchoring Him","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-580",580,"\u003Cp>[Meredith].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Early the next morning, Draven and I stretched quietly in the training space before returning to our bedroom in the main house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked better now, rested. But not healed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sharp edge from last night had dulled just enough for me to breathe easier. Still, I knew better than to think the storm inside him had passed. It was only sleeping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he lay back down on our bed, staring at the ceiling, I hesitated before speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you have any meetings today?\" I asked carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes,\" he replied. Then, after a pause, he added, \"But I won’t be attending.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded, not surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And I won’t be joining breakfast.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That one stung more than I expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t push him. I knew that look in his eyes—the one that said he couldn’t bear to sit across from his father yet, not with everything still raw and burning in his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will stay with you today,\" I uttered instead. \"At least until after lunch. I have... something important to do later.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t respond, but he didn’t object either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Would you like a bath?\" I asked softly after a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shook his head and closed his eyes. \"I don’t want the servants disturbing me today.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will make sure they don’t,\" I promised, knowing he wanted to be left alone without the presence of the servants in our room to do their duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I left Draven there and went straight into the bathroom. There were still a couple of hours before breakfast, and I needed the water as much as he did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, I ran a warm bath and added a few drops of aromatic oils—nothing too sharp, just calming scents meant to loosen tension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the tub was ready, I stripped and slipped in, sighing as the warmth wrapped around me. My muscles finally began to relax.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I leaned back, my thoughts drifted to Rosalie. I had planned to visit her today. I needed to. But Draven needed me more right now, so I pushed the visit to the evening. I couldn’t bring myself to mention anything about his mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the bond, I sent a quiet instruction to Azul to keep the servants away from our room for the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I closed my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after, the bathroom door opened. I didn’t need to look to know it was him, but I still opened my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draven stepped inside, shut the door behind him, and began unbuttoning his shirt in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath caught—not in surprise, but in understanding. In the end, I shifted slightly in the tub, making room for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He finished undressing without a word and stepped into the water, settling at the opposite end. The tub instantly felt too small for both of us, our knees brushing, the heat intensifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when his leg pressed more firmly against mine, and his shoulders finally lowered just a fraction, I knew why he was here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t need words. He just needed me, his mate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, I shifted closer to him first, just enough that my thigh rested fully against his, skin to skin beneath the water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draven inhaled sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I leaned back into him, slowly, until my shoulders rested against his chest. The heat of his body surrounded me instantly, solid and grounding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His breath stuttered once, then his arm came around me, firm, almost desperate, pulling me flush against him as if letting go might undo him completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither of us spoke. Our breathing began to sync, slow and deep, the water lapping softly against the porcelain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could feel his heartbeat through my back—too fast at first, then gradually easing as I stayed there, unmoving, letting my presence do the work words couldn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This,\" he murmured finally, voice low and rough near my ear, \"is the only place I don’t feel like I’m falling apart.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My throat tightened a bit. Then, I lifted one hand and traced slow, steady lines along his forearm, my touch deliberate and calming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then stay,\" I whispered. \"You don’t have to hold everything together right now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His grip tightened briefly. \"I keep thinking about what I am,\" he admitted. \"What I’ve always been, without knowing it. And what happens if they find out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t interrupt. I let him speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What if they decide I’m unfit?\" he continued quietly. \"What if the throne—everything I’ve been raised for was never truly meant for me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned my head just enough to press my cheek against his shoulder. \"You are not your blood,\" I said firmly. \"You are your choices. Your restraint. Your loyalty. Your strength.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His breath trembled. \"And what if that strength was never mine to begin with?\" he asked. \"What if it was the vampiric blood all along?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stopped tracing his arm and instead laid my palm flat over his chest, right above his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You still chose what to do with it,\" I said. \"Power doesn’t define a man. What he refuses to become does.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A short silence followed. Then, through the bond, I reached him deeper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let the bond open fully, unguarded. I sent him calm. Stability. The steady certainty I carried even when everything else felt fractured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I poured reassurance into the connection, wrapping it around him the way my body already was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draven sucked in a breath like he had been hit with a wave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then his arms came around me completely, locking me against him. His forehead dipped, resting against the side of my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know who I am without you anchoring me anymore,\" he admitted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I closed my eyes and leaned into him fully, my back pressed to his chest, my head tucked beneath his chin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then let me,\" I said softly. \"Until you remember.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His breathing slowed, and his hold loosened in relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We stayed that way for a long time, the water cooling around us, the world beyond the bathroom walls fading into nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, this was enough. And he was safe. That’s all that mattered to me now.\u003C\u002Fp>",1012,"2026-06-03T06:41:21.262Z","2026-06-03T06:41:28.090Z",1,"novelbin.me","b22c35a32a02ed191ad891ee78ca3df96cae09d5f7b3b9131e17fb2d0b96d915","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-581","the-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-chapter-529",685,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-lunar-curse-a-second-chance-with-alpha-drave-cover.jpg"]