Dravina’s POV
The moment we stepped into the dining hall, I noticed four figures already seated: Malrik, Foster, Vladan whom I now recognized as the Beta and a man I hadn’t encountered before.
I offered a respectful greeting, my tone calm and composed. Each of them returned the gesture, though the unfamiliar man’s response carried a stiffness to it, as though he were treading cautiously. I couldn’t blame him. Foster and Vladan seemed noticeably more at ease around me now, but that familiarity didn’t extend to someone meeting me for the first time.
I moved toward my usual seat beside Foster, but Malrik’s low voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Not tonight, Dravina. You’ll sit here,” he said, motioning to the chair beside his.
Vladan and Foster exchanged amused glances, the kind that came w
