The Lunar Curse: A Second Chance With Alpha Draven

Chapter 192: Wanda Won’t Forgive or Forget

Meredith.

I climbed the staircase, each step echoing faintly behind me, my chest still rising and falling from the leftover adrenaline.

For the first time in so long, I felt as if the power I had quietly been nurturing inside me had finally slipped through my fingers and left a loud, bruising mark on Wanda’s perfectly arranged face.

My mind replayed the moment over and over: the sharp shock in Wanda’s eyes, the helpless shriek when her face slammed into the plate, the flare of horror among the servants.

A slow, small smile curled the corner of my lips.

When I pushed open the door to my bedroom, I found all five of them waiting—Azul, Kira, Deidra, Cora, and Arya—standing in a neat line by the window.

Their heads lifted when they saw me, and something in my stride must have given me away.

"My lady," Azul started carefully, "you look... pleased."

That did it. The smile I’d been trying to suppress spread across my face.

I took a few steps into the room, letting the door close behind me. "You won’t believe what just happened," I began, still catching my breath.

I didn’t even bother to wait for them to ask. "I taught Wanda a lesson at the dining table. Right after everyone left. I slammed her face into my plate... then punched her straight on the nose."

A tiny gasp flared among them.

Deidra’s dark eyes flew wide open, and her mouth dropped. "You did what?" she breathed, and then her shock melted into the slowest, most delicious grin. "Serves that woman right!"

Cora clapped her hands together softly, her excitement dancing in her gaze. "Oh, that must have been glorious to watch."

But Azul’s brows pinched together immediately, her lips thinning.

Kira exchanged a glance with her, worry already seeping between them.

"My lady," Azul said, her voice quiet but firm, "you embarrassed Miss Fellowes... in front of the servants. She will not let this pass."

I walked past them to the edge of the bed, my fingers brushing over the embroidered coverlet.

"Let her try," I replied, my voice braver than I felt. "She’s had it coming for months."

I sat down, my skirt pooling around me, and let out a long breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

But Azul wasn’t done. She stepped towards me.

"You hit her, my lady. And worse, you humiliated her. Miss Fellowes will definitely retaliate. That woman’s pride is too high to forget something like this."

For a moment, the warmth of victory cooled in my chest.

The truth of Azul’s words tugged at my conscience. Wanda wasn’t the sort to lick her wounds quietly.

And I had given her a wound she wouldn’t forget soon.

My mind briefly danced with the idea of telling Draven what had happened.

He had always seemed to never see through Wanda’s venom, even if he sometimes openly took my side.

But what if he scolds me?

What if he sees me as reckless, childish, unable to keep my temper?

No matter how poisonous Wanda’s words had been, he might still think I should have ignored her.

My lips pressed into a thin line.

No. I wouldn’t tell him.

Let this be my mess to handle.

Just then, Kira cleared her throat gently, drawing my gaze.

"My lady, should I bring your training clothes now?" she asked. Her tone was careful, as if testing the mood.

"No... not now," I said, blinking back to the present. "The combat lesson was postponed. I’m still waiting to hear from Draven if it will hold later today."

Kira nodded, folding her hands before her.

I let my shoulders drop a little as the leftover heat of anger in my chest faded, replaced by a dull ache, part anxiety and part fatigue.

A hundred thoughts spiraled in the quiet of the room.

What will Wanda do?

Will she go to Draven? Will she wait and find her chance?

Despite my moment of triumph, a small knot of unease began to tighten at the base of my throat.

Finally, I forced my thoughts to still and dismissed my maidservants.

One by one, they turned and quietly left the room, the heavy door closing behind them with a muffled click.

My hand drifted to the spot on my palm where I had gripped Wanda’s hair, still feeling the ghost of the moment.

Wanda wouldn’t forgive. And she wouldn’t forget.

But somewhere, just beyond my reach, I could almost sense Wanda’s rage coiling and waiting.

I drew a slow, deep breath, steadying the tremor in my chest.

Wanda should know that I was no longer the cursed girl who had only known how to endure.

I was someone who could fight back now.

As the quiet stretched in my room, my gaze drifted to the bedside table where my phone sat, the screen dark.

Almost as if he could sense my restless thoughts, it buzzed to life a second later, the soft vibration startling me.

I reached over, unlocking it to see Dennis’s name pop up at the top of the screen.

[What flavour of ice cream do you want to try today?I’m picking some up for you].

A small, unexpected smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. Dennis and his soft heart.

I let my thumbs hover over the keyboard for a second, then typed back quickly:

[Vanilla almond crunch if they have it. Or anything you think I’ll like].

I paused, then added:

[Why didn’t you tell me you were going into town?My morning combat class got moved. I could have come along].

A minute passed. The phone screen dimmed, then lit up again with his reply:

[Draven won’t allow it.Duskmoor isn’t as safe anymore, Meredith].

I read the words twice, my lips pressing into a small, resigned line.

Of course.

The world outside these stone walls had shifted—and it wasn’t shifting in our favour.

I typed back only:

[Okay].

Then set the phone down on the bed beside me.

A quiet sigh slipped out as I leaned back on my palms, staring up at the ceiling.

Even a simple thing like going into town... no longer possible.

And though I knew Dennis meant well—and Draven too—it didn’t stop the ache of feeling just a little more caged than before.noveldrama