<h4>Chapter 52: The Winner</h4>


    <strong><i>(Third Person POV).</i></strong>


    Dennis opened his mouth to say something else—undoubtedly another teasing remark—but he snapped it shut when he caught the darkening shadow approaching behind Meredith.


    Draven.


    His steps were smooth, measured, but the tension in his shoulders was visible to anyone who cared enough to look.


    His gaze was locked not on Dennis, but briefly on Meredith—assessing, unreadable—before shifting to his brother.


    Dennis straightened like a guilty schoolboy but wore a crooked smile to mask it.


    "Brother," he greeted lightly.


    Draven didn’t answer. instead, he turned to Meredith. His cold gray eyes locked with hers for a moment that stretched too long, too heavy.


    Meredith refused to drop her gaze. If he expected her to shrink away just because he was Alpha, he would be sorely disappointed.


    Already, she was mad at him, at least he shouldn’t try to provoke her any further.


    After what felt like an eternity, Draven spoke, his voice cutting cleanly through the charged air as he turned his gaze to his brother.


    "The race will start soon."


    Without waiting for a response, he moved past them, toward the horses where a few warriors were already adjusting the saddles.


    "See you in a bit." Dennis winked yfully at Meredith, then jogged after his brother.


    Meredith exhaled slowly,pletely dissipating her irritation. She tried to understand if Draven hade over just to remind his brother about the race or just to show himself.


    Meredith turned her attention back to thewn.


    Several horses had been led out now—sleek, powerful creatures, their manes brushed until they shone like silk.


    Two ck stallions stood at the center, snorting and stamping, their muscles bunching under glossy coats.


    The warriors finished their final checks and backed away respectfully.


    Under the other umbre, by Meredith’s left, Wanda fussed over Xamira, pointing excitedly at Draven like some proud queen.


    Meredith looked away, uninterested in her performance. Letting her gaze fall on her was a huge mistake in the first ce.


    Then her gaze caught Dennis struggling with a horse. He tried to climb it, but it grew a bit aggressive, snorting and moving its neck about restlessly.


    Just then, Draven approached him and took over the reins of the horse before cing a hand on the stallion’s neck. And Meredith was once again reminded what Dennis told her about Draven being able to tame horses.


    <i>’It looks like he is doing that now,’</i> she thought to herself as she watched the scene with interest. She wanted to see how he does his charm.


    The moment Draven started to caress the stallion’s neck, the restless animal stilled, nostrils ring but submitting instantly to his quiet authority.


    Meredith narrowed her gaze. "That looks easy," she mumbled to herself.


    Kira overheard her and smiled. "You are right mydy, but it’s only with the Alpha. The horses don’t submit to the others."


    Finally, Dennis mounted the horse with surprising ease. He looked natural in the saddle—rxed,fortable.


    But it was Draven who trulymanded attention.


    Meredith watched as he swung up onto the other horse’s back in one fluid motion. No stumbling, no coaxing, no hesitation.


    The reinsy light in his fingers, yet the beast beneath him obeyed as if under a spell.


    Around her, the warriors murmured softly in approval.


    Kira leaned in and whispered to her "The Alpha is amazing, isn’t he?"


    Meredith said nothing. She didn’t want to admit—even to herself—that the sight was... impressive.


    Without a word, the brothers positioned their horses side-by-side, facing the long, open stretch ofwn that disappeared into the evening dawn.


    Jeffery stepped forward, raising a small ck g.


    "When I lower the g," he called, "the race begins!"


    The horses pawed the ground impatiently, sensing the tension.


    Dennis grinned at Draven. "Try not to lose, brother."


    Draven didn’t so much as blink at the provocation. His eyes stayed forward, fixed on the invisible finish line ahead with a smirk. He always knew the winner.


    The g lifted high. Then a beatter, it dropped.


    And the horses surged forward like twin arrows loosed from the same bow.


    The entirewn seemed to hold its breath when the horsesunched forward. Two ck stallions raced across the vast green expanse, their hooves pounding the ground with thunderous force.


    From her seat under the umbre, Meredith watched silently.


    Draven and Dennis rode like shadows, neck and neck at first, their bodies low over their horses’ necks, the wind pulling at their clothes and hair.


    Azul, sitting beside Meredith, gasped softly as the brothers leaned into their mounts, urging them faster.


    "They are incredible," Kira whispered.


    Deidra simply nodded, her eyes wide.


    Meredith, however, kept her face carefully neutral. Inside, she felt something ufortable twisting.


    Draven. The man was infuriating, arrogant, cruel—but there was no denying what she was seeing now.


    He didn’t just ride the horse. Hemanded it without force, without violence, without fear. The stallion carried him because it trusted him.


    And Dennis, though yful, was no less skilled. He urged his horse on with grins and soft words, riding with ease.


    The crowd was small: a handful of warriors and a few staff members stood at a respectful distance, and Wanda perched regally under her umbre with Xamira at her side.


    Meredith caught Xamira pping her hands excitedly, her face lighting up for the first time since that strawberry incident.


    Her attention returned to thewn as the brothers rounded a marked post halfway across the field, preparing to loop back toward the starting point.


    Dennis was grinning madly, shouting something inaudible over the rush of the wind.


    Draven, as always, remained silent, focused, and relentless.


    It was clear now that he was beginning to pull ahead.


    Little by little, inch by inch, the gap widened.


    Dennis pushed his stallion harder, but Draven’s mount answered its rider’s call with a final burst of speed.


    Azul clutched the edge of the couch in excitement.


    "The Alpha is going to win!" she whispered.


    Wanda’s voice floated faintly across thewn toward Meredith’s umbre.


    "Of course, the Alpha will win," she said, loud enough for several people to hear. "He’s superior in everything."


    Meredith ignored her. She kept her eyes on the race, her fingers unconsciously curling into the fabric of her dress.


    The brothers thundered back across the grass, the finishing point just ahead where Jeffery waited, holding a small ck handkerchief as a marker.


    And with one final, explosive push, Draven crossed first.


    Dennis followed only a breath behind,ughing breathlessly as he pulled his horse to a stop beside his brother.


    The small crowd pped politely.


    Xamira bounced in her seat, pping louder than everyone else. "Daddy won!" she cried happily.


    Wanda smiled and stroked the child’s hair as if she had orchestrated the entire thing herself.


    Under the umbre, Meredith allowed herself a small, almost breath of relief.


    The moment the horses slowed to a stop, the energy across thewn shifted. Dennisughed, pping Draven’s shoulder as he slid off his horse first.


    "That was unfair, brother," Dennis teased, tossing his reins to a warrior who came running up. "You could have let me win."