<h4>Chapter 113: Pretending or Not</h4>


    <strong><i>Draven.</i></strong>


    "Good for you," I mumbled to myself.


    I cleared my tes and towards the end of breakfast, Wanda asked me if I could spar with her this afternoon, as it had been a long time since we had a duel.


    She looked excited while making that request, but I wasn’t.


    "Today can’t work. You can spar with Dennis or Jeffrey," I nced at my brother, who was giving me an eye and quickly added, "if they are avable. I have plenty of work to do."


    Wanda’s smile disappeared. She simply nodded and turned back to her food. Then I took that opportunity to wipe my lips with a napkin and stand to my feet.


    My gaze fell on my brother and my Beta. I let them know they would be the one in charge of the training today because I wouldn’t have the time to do a full session with them.


    And of course I had to leave out the reason I was breaking the training time table and reassigning some of my tasks for today.


    Who would understand that Meredith was the reason for all of this?


    I was reshuffling my schedule just on case she would need me again, and I would have toe running back to my bedroom. To have sex with her.


    I wasn’t ready to use a nicer word like ’making love’ and it was already a miracle I didn’t use the word, ’fuck’ because that’s all we’ve been doing.


    No questions were asked. I took it that they understood my instructions, so I turned to leave.


    But Dennis chased after me.


    "Are you leaving for the training grounds already?" I asked, wondering why he seemed so enthusiastic. I knew he didn’t finish his breakfast.


    Maybe he wasn’t famished like I, who had pleasured a woman all night.


    "No. Meredith didn’t show up for dinnerst night, and then for breakfast today. I want to check on her."


    I stopped walking. He stopped as well and turned to him.


    "I can see you’re bing a busybody." I narrowed my eyes at him.


    He looked me in the eyes with a smile and said, "Her husband doesn’t care much about her, so her friend should."


    Though he said that to prove a point to me, he didn’t make any attempt to move further.


    I was silent for a few moments before letting out a deliberate, slow sigh.


    "Since you had to put your words that way, even though you had good intentions, I won’t let you see her. Go to the training grounds if you are this free-spirited."


    Surprisingly, he didn’t argue with me, but the he had to tell me, "I think I will see herter at noon" before smirking and turning around to walk away.


    At least he wasn’t going in the direction of the hallway that led to the spot where Meredith’s maidservants were waiting for me. He headed out for the one that led outside.


    Letting out a soft sigh, I resumed my steps and soon, I met Azul and Kira, each carrying a portable cloth bag and a tray of food.


    Initially, when I made this arrangement, I hadn’t nned for them to follow me up to the third floor. But I couldn’t see myself doing the work of a servant because I wanted to keep everything tightly under wraps.


    Azul and Kira weren’t strangers to Meredith. And they were very close to her, so I quickly made a decision.


    "Come with me. Both of you." Then I started walking ahead, leading the way up the stairs without waiting for a response from them.


    Now on the third floor, I opened the door to my quarters and walked in, leaving one of them toe inst and shut the door.


    The heavy scent of pheromones that had been hanging in the air before I left for breakfast had dissipated by a greater amount. I sighed in relief.


    Then, I pointed at the centre table on the east side of my bedroom, and Kira set the breakfast tray down.


    Azul nced past me to see the sleeping woman on my bed. Though the only thing she could see from that angle was Meredith’s silhouette from under the duvet, I moved to stand in her line of sight.


    "Alpha, can I help my Mistress have a bath?" she requested, fixing her gaze on me.


    "Certainly, she can wash herself. Her hands are not broken," I said tly, giving no room for more protests.


    Azul and Kira bowed and left, but not without casting worried nces at my king-sized bed.


    I saw them out and locked the door before returning to the room. I noticed small movements from under the duvet and sharply turned my gaze to the bed and saw nothing.


    Instantly, I narrowed my eyes. Shoving my hands inside my pockets, I calmly made my way towards the bed. Stopping at the side, I stood there and watched Meredith briefly.


    She was still, so still, which was negligence on her part.


    If she wanted to pretend to still be in a deep sleep, she wouldn’t have held her breath. And though the covers were very thick, it would have still been possible for me to notice the fall and rise of her chest.


    I let out another sigh and shook my head.


    This woman had a long way to go if she thought she could easily deceive me.


    I get that she was awake now, and suddenly aware of her surroundings, and her head was probably flooding with memories ofst night. But she shouldn’t have to y this game.


    <i>"What if you are wrong?" </i>Rhovan asked.


    I didn’t take my eyes off the little woman. "I can never be wrong."


    As soon as I said that, Meredith stirred a bit on the bed and let out a deep sigh. Then she stopped moving, and her chest began to rise and fall in a measured rhythm.


    I narrowed my eyes and for a split second, I wondered if I had passed the wrong judgment.


    <i>"You see, Alpha, you can’t be right all the time," </i>Rhovan spat provocatively.


    "Shut up." I finally withdrew my gaze from Meredith and headed for the bathroom.