<h4>Chapter 234: Missing My Husband</h4>


    <strong><i>Meredith.</i></strong>


    The warm oil still lingered faintly on my skin as Iy sprawled across the silk-lined mattress, limbs heavy, muscles loose, and my mind trailing into quiet.


    As soon as dinner ended, I had requested a massage from Azul after walking Xamira to her bedroom first before going upstairs to mine, and here we are.


    Azul took special care with my hair, brushing it back until it shimmered like real silver in the candlelight.


    Kira and Arya worked the knots out of my shoulders, their thumbs digging in just right.


    Cora added the faint rosewater scent behind my ears, and Deidra made sure the sheets were freshly drawn, cool against my still-glowing skin.


    Half an hourter, I relieved them from their duties.


    "I think my muscles are no longer stiff. Thank you for tonight," I said to them. "Good night."


    "Good night, mydy."


    Their voices, cheerful and soothing, slowly faded as they left the room, bowing quietly before closing the door behind them.


    As soon as the soft thud reached my ear, I turned my attention to the only person who was still with me.


    "Valmora," I whispered, eyes closing as my fingers traced absent-minded lines along my thigh. "Tell me about the mark."


    Her presence rose like mist curling through my thoughts—slow, ancient, assured.


    <i>"For others, the bond might just be for sentiment, but it is different for you,"</i> she said calmly. <i>"It unlocks a little bit of what you are—a bit of me. Until he marks you, you will be fighting way below your potential."</i>


    I chewed the inside of my cheek. What she uttered made sense, but there was one important question. "And how exactly do I get Draven to mark me?"


    There was a brief pause, like she was waiting for me to catch up with my own thoughts.


    <i>"You ask him,"</i> Valmora said simply. <i>"Or you show him."</i>


    I cracked an eye open, lifting a brow. "Show him? What does that even mean?"


    <i>"You will figure it out."</i>


    The way she said it made something flutter deep in my belly. I sat up slightly, brushing hair from my shoulder.


    <i>"Wait... Are you asking me to seduce him?"</i>


    Herughter rolled through my chest like a warm wind over stone.


    <i>"You’ve done it before. You will do it again. You think he’s immune to you?"</i>


    Heat prickled my cheeks. I wasn’t a stranger to Draven’s hunger—his hands, his eyes, the way he could devour me with just a nce.


    But this... this felt different. This wasn’t just passion, this was asking him to seal something permanent. Something ancient and binding.


    And he hadn’t done it yet. He hadn’t marked me, not even in the heat of our nights.


    Maybe he didn’t want to. Maybe he was waiting.


    <i>’But for what?’</i> I wondered. A sign? Permission?


    Still sprawled across the bed, I turned onto my side and stared at the flicker of firelight ying on the wall.


    My thoughts drifted—to the field earlier, to Dennis’s surprise... to how I had made him lower his arm. That power—it had been real, raw and fleeting.


    <i>But what happens when my powers are fully awakened?</i>


    The idea made something coil inside me, tight and sweet. I didn’t just want the mark for power’s sake.


    I needed it—for myself, for Valmora, for everything thaty ahead.


    And... perhaps, just a little, to put Wanda in her ce.


    That thought brought a slow smirk to my lips. I could already picture it—Wanda’s scowl, her smug posture faltering.


    What if Ipelled her? Made her kneel, beg for forgiveness... confess the things I knew she’d done?


    <i>"Petty?"</i> Valmora asked, the edge of her voice a smirk.


    "It’s a righteous course, Valmora," I whispered back.


    Because Wanda had tried to sabotage me and even heartlessly tried to use a little child to fight me.


    I sighed deeply and had just settled into the pillows, heart quiet but intent, when my phone buzzed softly on the nightstand.


    A small flutter danced in my chest when I saw it was Draven.


    I answered on the second ring, the device pressed gently to my ear as Iy curled on my side.


    "Hello?" I murmured.


    His voice was immediate, deep, low, and warm. "Hey... I was hoping I didn’t wake you."


    "No, I was just..." <i>Lying here, thinking about you. About us. About the mark I’m too shy to ask for.</i> "...winding down."


    "I figured you might be tired," he said, "You had your first two-a-day training session, didn’t you?"


    A smile tugged at my lips. "Mhm. Dennis is thorough."


    He chuckled. "He better be. I told him not to go easy on you."


    "And he is doing a good job following your instructions."


    His low chuckle from the other end rang in my ears. Then he asked, "How are you feeling?"


    I hesitated, considering whether to tell him about the power and the mark Valmora mentioned. But instead, I simply said, "Sore. But... good. It feels good to move."


    "I’m d," he murmured. "You sounded happy. That’s what I wanted to hear."


    My fingers curled in the sheets. "And you? How was your day?"


    "Busy. Exhausting," he admitted, "but I needed to hear your voice before I sleep."


    That made my heart squeeze. I swallowed and shifted on the bed. "When are youing back?"


    He sighed into the phone. "Tomorrow I will be inspecting progress on the Great Wall. Then the day after that, another meeting with the Council of Elders and the Alphas of each n."


    "So... not for a few more days." I tried not to sound too disappointed.


    "Just three or four more nights, Meredith. I will be home before you know it."


    There was a beat of silence between us. Then, he asked softly, "Do you miss me?"


    I blinked, heat brushing my cheeks. "That’s... a bold question."


    He let out a softugh. "I’m allowed to be bold with you."


    Instead of answering, I rolled over and tucked my arm under the pillow. "Do you miss me?"


    Without missing a beat: "More than I should."


    I smiled. "That sounds dangerous."


    "It is," he said. "And I can’t stop thinking about how you looked that night before I left."


    My breath caught faintly, heart tripping over itself. "Which part of it?"


    "All of it," he said with that low, velvet voice. "But mostly the part where I almost didn’t leave."


    "Then why did you?" I teased.


    He paused, then: "Because if I’d stayed, you wouldn’t have left my bed for days."


    Iughed, tucking my chin into the pillow, warmth pooling beneath my skin. "You say things like that, and then expect me to sleep peacefully?"


    "I never promised to make it easy for you," he murmured. "Just promised toe back."


    I closed my eyes, letting thefort of his voice lull me. "Alright, Draven. You win."


    "I always do."


    I rolled my eyes with a sleepy smile. "Get some rest. You have walls to inspect and cranky old Alphas to impress."


    "And a stubborn wife waiting to seduce me when I get home."


    My eyes snapped open. "Excuse me?"


    Heughed softly. "Goodnight, Meredith."


    Before I could form aeback, the call ended, leaving me stunned, blushing, and smiling into the quiet.


    And for the first time that evening, I didn’t feel overwhelmed by what was ahead.


    I just... missed him.


    Badly.