NALEDI’S POV
I was one step closer to winning his trust.
Draken was confined in his room. Not his office. Another room was dedicated solely for his use. I didn’t think I’d see the day he was confined to bed rest, but apparently, when you lived long enough, you would get to see a lot of things.
Ezra who went on a specified mission he said he couldn’t disclose to me just stepped in this morning to attend to our dear Alpha, who was not healing as fast as I’d assumed he should.
Taking into account that he wasn’t getting his powers restricted and all that, it was clear that something was wrong. I sat beside the devil like the doting soon-to-be bride I was as we listened to Ezra’s diagnosis.
“The wound is not healing because the bullets were spelled. Nicolai must have asked some of the witches under him to spell the bullets so it could affect supernaturals.”
“Had he put that bullet to your head, you would be a dead man, Alpha.” The room went down a few degrees as we digested the meat of his words.
Knowing that I saved this devil from being killed was bittersweet. Bitter in the sense that I could have let him do the darn thing, save us all the trauma of keeping him alive.
Sweet in the sense that the fact I saved his life was now cast in concrete. A fact with evidence to prove it. At that moment, Draken’s eyes met mine and I could see the shift in them.
Even if he didn’t say the words, I could tell he was grateful and that was all I cared about at the moment. I needed him to remember clearly who saved his life and accord me the benefits that came with it.
“I have checked your body and thankfully, all you have to do is recuperate. You should be back to your feet in one week.” Ezra said, concluding.
Draken looked like he’d been slapped. “One week?!” He shook his head, “I can’t possibly be bedridden for one week. I fucking have a business to run.”
I tutted, shaking my head. “No, you don’t. Not when your life is at stake. The business will survive without you.”
“There is a lot to be done. I am not at liberty to just step out of my duty, Attai.” His tone was grave. “Tell me you have something up your arsenal of gifts that can hasten this darned process.” He gritted, asking Ezra.
“I’m afraid there is nothing more I can do. In order to regain your mobility and heal perfectly, you need to rest up and let the spells and herbs run their course. Besides, we are currently fishing out men who are unnervingly loyal to Nicolai. Just to prevent a re-occurrence.”
“I think you should stay under the radar while we ensure that things are going perfectly well,” Ezra noted and I couldn’t agree more.
Seeing that we were a front, Draken let out a frustrated sigh. “What am I supposed to be doing the entire time?”
“Planning our wedding?” I supplied, and he gave me a look I couldn’t ascertain. “It’s just two weeks away!” I added when the silence became unbearable.
His eyes moved over to Ezra, who shrugged, clearly not interested in being a part of the conversation. “Besides, I could help make your job lighter. Maybe read your documents aloud and show you where to sign. Or you can just take a breather and let me handle things.”
I meant the last part as a joke. That bit was clear in my tone. What I didn’t understand was why he had a glare on his face, directed at me. He couldn’t even take a fucking joke.
“Trust me, I am so not interested in running this pack. I have a hard time handling my job as is.” I added with an eye roll. “You do a good job than anyone ever would.”
Draken made to sit up, groaning in pain all through the process. The last thing I could do was help him out. From my assessment of him, that would be adding salt to the injury.
He wasn’t loving the idea of needing help to get by. Even if it would save him a load of pain. I couldn’t lie. It was hard to feel sorry for him with everything he’s done. Not to talk of how he’d intentionally prolonged my pain to ‘teach me a lesson’.
Karma was a sweet little bitch. She freaking worked overtime on this one.
“Think you can work side by side with Ezra?” He suddenly asked, dragging me out of my reverie.
“W-what?” I blurted, wondering if I had heard correctly.
Draken never repeated himself. Instead, he gave me a look. Waiting for my response.
“Sure! I mean, I could try to help out in whatever way possible.” I’m just going to shut up now because what the hell was I saying?!
“Good.” he turned to Ezra. “Do you have any objections?”
He shrugged. I took that as a no. And so did Draken who followed up with the word, “Return to your former duties.” He said to me, “Ezra will help you select someone who will stand in for you for the time being. As well as tell you what it means to take over my duties for a week.”
“You will be my bride soon. It’s about time you got into the intricate part of running this pack.” He corked his brows, “While I take care of the wedding plans. You will be reporting to me daily on the progress of things until I am fucking able to do my job.”
“Is that clear?” This man still managed to be authoritative, even in his state.
I nodded, desperately trying to hide my glee at the beautiful turn of events.
“That would be all. I want to be left alone.”
We made our way out of his room, and I shut the door behind him. Feeling a new weight of responsibility weighs on my shoulders. I felt Ezra’s gaze on me and that prompted me to look up to meet his eyes.
“Where do we start?” I asked when he refused to speak.
“I have a little thing to clean up. I’ll meet you in your office?” He asked, hand in pocket.
I nodded. I needed some time alone anyway. We split up in the hallway and I made my way to my office in the pits. I noticed that people stared at me a lot longer than usual.
Gone were the former snide looks that were being thrown my way as a result of my deep betrayal of the Yakuza. I believed all of the changes could be charged to the fact that I helped save their Alpha in front of witnesses.
If only they knew I only did it because I planned on having the pleasure of finishing him myself. Nevertheless, I knew when to take my wins so I took it in every sense of the word.
I soon got to my office, and the journey through the cells reminded me of the reason why I needed to make good use of the opportunity in my hands to get things wrapped up around here.
As soon as I got settled in, I reached one of the files on my desk, opening it to the middle page. Where I hid the documents I had photocopied – stolen from Draken’s office. Immediately, I dived into the details of the documents, arming myself with every information it provided while my mind drew up possible ways to exploit it in getting back at Draken.
A move I planned to execute while he was still bedridden. What better time to plan a coup than when his guard is lowered?