NALEDI’S POV
“Attai,” Draken breathed as soon as his eyes fell upon me. “You are dressed.” He said in an accusing tone.
“It’s late.” I replied, leaving the shelf and walking closer to him. “If you hadn’t locked this door, I probably would be passed out on my bed right now.”
“I have a big bed, Attai.” He stepped closer to me, “You could be laying in my bed right now, except you wouldn’t be passed out, we’d be doing other things.” His eyes glistened with mischief.
“Maybe it’s a good thing I locked the door.” His nose lingered on the skin of my neck. “I want you.” His hands tightened around me possessively. “I want to possess you. Mark you as mine.”
His lips peppered kisses on the skin of my neck, then I felt his fangs nip on my skin. I stepped out of his hold, refusing to let him do anything stupid. Draken didn’t like the space between us, his face turned dark and when he made to speak, I placed a finger on his lips.
“Good things come to those who wait.” He was not phased by my words. “We had a deal. By the month’s end, I’ll be all yours.” I murmured against his lip, kissing him in the process, “Think you can hold out a bit more?”
“I don’t see the need to wait if you will be mine anyway.” He growled possessively. “Except you have other plans?”
I shook my head. “You should know me by now. I only roll with the top dogs. And that is a position you have amassed. I will be honoured to be your bride.”
“You heard me speak on the phone.” He threw it out in the open, watching me for a reaction he wasn’t going to get.
“Yes.” I affirmed, interlocking my hands over his shoulder. “And that was all I needed to make my decision on what I want to be.”
“Which is?” He stepped away from me, snarling.
“Your bride. An ally. Anything furtherest from your bad side. I’m all in.”
This seemed to do wonders to his ego. “You have always been a smart girl.”
I didn’t say a word to that, still deciding if it was a trap or a compliment.
“Since you are so sure of what you want, why not push the wedding forward? Let’s say, tomorrow?”
I smiled, a genuine one, except it was for a whole different reason. “As much as I’d love to have it tomorrow, It will take the fun out of it.” I replied, searching his eyes.
“Next week?” I shook my head, “Nine days?”
“The month is already far gone. Besides, I’d like to have some time to properly plan my wedding. You know I can’t stand a cheap wedding.”
I was aware that I sounded a bit snobby and bratty but I was ready to do anything to get him as far away from me as possible. To buy myself more time to figure out what my plan was and how I was going to execute it.
Draken gauged me for a second, then released a breath. “You’ve always been a woman of class, Attai. The reason my father couldn’t get over you.” I froze at the mention of that bastard. “And the more reason I must have you.” A brief silence. “All in due time.”
I’ve never been so happy to hear those last phrase of words. A clicking sound ensued and the door was opened. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“Go on, Attai. Unless you’ve had a change of mind, I suggest you leave my fucking office.” His tone bit towards the end.
I didn’t let his rudeness get to me. He had the mood swings of a woman on her period. I was done with him for the day. Without further ado, I walked towards the door, intensionally swaying my hips as I went, giving him a good show.
I heard him growl and I took it as a good sign. If I couldn’t get to him the smart way, then I would make use of the arsenal I had. I was far too gone into this dance anyway.
The door shut behind me and sure enough, some guards were situated outside. I proceeded down the hall, towards my room, only stopping when I was in front of the darned room.
I turned around and I caught one of the guards coming out of the office I had exited. They did it every time. Whenever I left Draken, they always went right in. My guess was to check if I had done the same thing I did to the former Alpha.
I didn’t blame them though. Not when they were right not to trust me. My door clicked open and the moment I got in and safely locked the door behind me, I felt the day’s event return to me with a vengeance.
Korah was dead.
I slipped to the floor, and relived every stab, until the final that led to her untimely demise. I had killed her. I was a killer. My body shook as I wrapped my arm around my legs.
My mind reverted to how I’d gobbled down that bastard’s seed. I didn’t make it to the bathroom. I puked on the floor, retching bouts of saliva until I couldn’t any more.
That night, I barely slept, tormented by everything I had done and will continue to do. At that moment, every thought of ever getting a good life was washed down the toilet bowl.
There was no way I could recover from this. Even if I made it out alive. I reiterated the words until they were fused in my head and heart. Becoming my reality.
The sun rose up and I got out of bed with dark circles. I looked in the mirror with one word in mind. Not today. I was going to look the absolute best today as I moved in on my prey.
With Korah’s death on my hands, I had all the encouragement to hasten up my mission to get rid of Draken and recover Caellum’s shipment. And with my time snooping around Draken’s office shelf, I figured a good start would be there.
And that became my goal for the day. Get into Draken’s office and gather as much information on both his and Caellum’s shipment. I know it was a long ask but I lived by the mantra, go big or go home.
I wasn’t going home.
The day had other things in store for me because when I stepped out of my room, dressed in a stylish dress and clouded with minimal make-up, I realized there was no one outside my door.
Strange.
I looked both ways of the hallway, wondering if I woke up on another planet. There was nobody in sight. Not even in front of Draken’s office. Unable to resist the temptation, I turned the knob, knocking lightly just in case he was in there or not.
Much to my surprise. The door sprang open. Now I was confused. My eyes skidded through the hallways, then into his office which was shockingly empty. Where the hell did he go?
I walked inside, leaving the door slightly open and in sight at all times. With my heart in my throat, I made for the shelf.