DARIUS POVRavenna was staring at me like she wanted to see my head on a spike, her eyes blazing with the fury of a thousand storms. That was normal though. But what wasn't normal were the tears in her eyes and how badly she was trembling. But that didn't surprise me. What surprise me was how my chest tightened at the sight of her tears. What surprised me was my wolf whining. What was wrong with the both of us? Just last night I had fantasies of ways I was going to cause her pain. Fantasizing of how I was going to kill her. Yet here I was, just wanting to draw me into my arms and kill whoever caused her pain. "You bastard," Ravenna growled, hitting my chest forcefully. I was caught off guard so I stumbled back a few steps. I guess I'm the one I was going to kill then. "You cruel, evil, vile bastard." She kept hurtling the insults at me as she smacked my chest. I watched her, for once in my life speechless. "I am going to kill you! I am going to kill you ever so slowly.""Raven
RAVENNA POV"Today we're training in sword fighting," Mia said as we both picked our sword from the weapon table. "Yes, master," I teased with a small grin. Mia rolled her eyes and took a fighting stance. "I don't even know why you need me to train you. Seriously, I think you're better than I am." I rolled my shoulders. "I'm not. Now enough talking, let's fight." "With pleasure." With a swift motion, Mia charged forward, her blade aimed at my shoulder. I sidestepped, the steel glinting as I raised my sword to parry the blow. The two of us exchanged a series of strikes, each movement precise and practiced.I spun low, aiming for Mia’s legs, but Mia jumped, landing gracefully and countering with a quick thrust. I deflected it, our swords ringing out with every clash. We moved like a well-rehearsed dance, the rhythm of our duel captivating."This is boring," Mia grumbled. And then she feinted left, then lunged right, pushing me to the edge of my guard. With a quick flick of my wri
RAVENNA POV Suddenly, a sharp tingling sensation shot through the scar, spreading warmth through my veins. It felt like something awakening inside me, a pulse of energy that flickered with life. I gasped, eyes wide, as I sensed a presence curling within me. Mia, sensing my discomfort came back to my side, whining as she rubbed my leg. "I'm fine," I said, even though I felt anything but. "I'm fine." But just as quickly as it arrived, it vanished, leaving me breathless and disoriented. I staggered back, pressing my palm against my chest as if to contain whatever had surged through me. Darius finally moved from where and walked towards me. I tried not to turn back and run because of how big he was. The man was literally towering over me even in his wolf form. His snort was twice as large as my head. The other wolves had resumed their run but Mia still stayed beside me. Darius got to where I was and he circled me, those intense eyes fixed on me. The way he was circling and assess
RAVENNA POV "Day..." "Day five," I answered Mia. We sat on the roof on one of the smaller buildings in this ridiculously large castle, watching the sun disappearing through the trees, the breeze cool on my skin. Winter will be here soon. Mia hummed. "Day five since your last fight with Alpha Darius," she said. "When do you think the next fight will be?" I raised a shoulder, and shrugged. "I haven't not the slightest clue, Mia. It could be today or tomorrow. Darius is a prick." Mia chuckled and exhaled slowly, her face facing the heavens with her eyes closed. "I love it here," she whispered. I looked away from her and closed my eyes, mirroring her posture. "Me too." This reminds me of the last day I had spent with Lilith and Joseph. On the roof before Darius came and ruined everything. I pushed that thought away. I didn't want to think of anything. Not Darius. Not how my life keeps changing. Not how I've lost Lilith. I want to think of nothing. I released a breath and felt my
DARIUS POV Ravenna stared at her hands like they were strangers, and I stared at her like I didn't know who was standing in front of me. In a way I didn't. My hand went to the shoulder where she had struck me and it hurts like hell. "I… I didn't mean to hit you that day," she stuttered, her hands shaking. "I just… I just felt this burst of energy. My veins felt like they were on fire." I rose from my knees and held her shaking hands in mine, she stared up at me, her eyes lost. My chest tightened at the sight and I just wanted to hug her but I resisted. I had also felt that energy, with how hard the nunchaku had landed on me. Her arm had vibranted with the force. And I think my goddamn shoulder must be broken. That strength was not natural, and even her fast reflexes. The way she had dodged that strike was next to impossible if you were a human. Ravenna squeezed my hands with her own that has stopped shaking. She looked up at me and my throat closed up. Her eyes were soft. She
RAVENNA POV"Why do we have to do this again?" I asked Mia for the hundredth time. "Because Beta Lucian asked us to," she replied, voice patient. "Lucian can go to hell." Mia and a few people near me snapped their heads to me, their eyes hard. I suppressed a sigh and held up my hand. Their eyes left me and I released a breath. So we're training with the pack today. Since the weeks I've been here I've only ever trained alone with Mia. But then today Lucian walked up to us with his expressionless ass and declared we were going to train together with the pack. I had wanted to tell him to fuck off but Mia had stepped in and agreed we'll train with the pack. Not like we had a choice. It was a goddamn order from Lucian. So here we were, standing with the rest of the pack who were either snarling at us or ignoring us—I liked the latter better—with Lucian nowhere in sight. We didn't know what to do without our trainer so some of us just stood and waited while others started training.
DARIUS POV I brushed myself off and rose to my feet. This was the second time this woman had swept me off my feet. It wasn't unwelcome, not at all. In the privacy of my own thoughts, I even admitted to liking it. Though I would never let that slip, not to anyone. My pack would surely think I'd lost my mind. Perhaps I had. Ravenna has unraveled my senses, made me a man with less reasoning. Training had always been a chore, something I endured rather than enjoyed. But now, I've found a new challenge. One that ignited my blood, drove me wild, and strangely enough, brought me a strange sense of peace. That challenge is staring at me right now, her eyes wide with panic and… fear? "Is this how you plan to kill me?" she whispers–yells. I wanted to tell her that there was no need to whisper. We were surrounded by wolves with sharp hearing. I bit down those words and instead said, "What do you mean?" Ravenna opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Her gaze swept across the p
RAVENNA POV Darius had said I was his, had said his heart has claimed me as its own. And now Darius was close to me, our bodies almost touching, his lips hovering over mine. My eyes left his lips and raised to his eyes. Those beautiful mismatched eyes were soft, softer than I've ever seen them. And they seem to be asking a question. They seem to be asking for permission. My eyes dropped back to his lips—his wonderful looking lips—and I took a deep breath and pulled away from him, even though my heart was screaming for me to close that space between us and kiss him. My heart was a confused bitch. My head was more reasonable. "We-we can't do this, Darius," I said softly, avoiding his gaze. "This can't happen between us. I am the prisoner, and you are my captor."Even as I said the word they sounded bland, unreasonable, an excuse. I managed to raise my eyes to Darius' and the hurt I saw shining in them had me looking away. Darius cleared his throat and straightened. "Of course," he
DARIUS POV THREE YEARS LATER "Jasper, come back here right this instant!" Ravenna yelled, her hands on her hips.Jasper giggled and ran towards me, his arms raised. I picked him up with a laugh and looked over at Ravenna."Bring him here," she commanded."No, daddy! Don't!" Jasper shouted as I carried him towards his mother, fighting against me with his little hands."Sorry, buddy," I said as I handed him to Ravenna. "Your mother is scary when she's angry." Said mother rolled her eyes and carried Jasper back into the bathroom where she was trying to bathe him before he all but ran out naked. Something nudged my leg and I looked down. A smile spread across my face as I picked up my little girl. "Morning, angel," I said softly as I pressed a kiss on her forehead."Jasper is making trouble again, isn't he?" Juniper asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes.Unlike her twin, Juniper was a late raiser, calm where Jasper was restless, silent where Jasper was loud. Yan and yang, these two. "Yeah,
RAVENNA POV I cupped Darius’ face and kissed him harder when he hesitated to kiss me back. After a few moments his tongue slipped into my mouth and he deepened the kiss. He left the ground and climbed into the bed, laying me on my back and he climbed on top of me. He sucked my bottom lips before he bit it gently, causing me to moan. I tugged on his shirt and he broke the kiss to pull it off. He kissed me as he took off his remaining clothes, before he took off mine. His lips trailed down to my nipples but I fisted his hair and dragged his head up so he could look at me. "No time for that. Just fuck me." I wanted to feel him, wanted to feel if this was real. I wanted to know that I wasn't in that cell and this wasn't just a dream. Darius studied me for a while before he kissed me again, softly, and positioned himself on my entrance. He pulled away to look down at me as he pushed slowly inside. The both of us moaned at the same time and I struggled to keep my eyes open. Darius pu
RAVENNA POVRowan had shifted so suddenly, that Darius didn't have time to react. Rowan's massive wolf jaws locked around Darius's hand with a sickening crunch, and the sound of bone breaking sent a ripple of terror through me. My heart stopped as Darius roared, a sharp, agonized cry that echoed in my mind."No!" I screamed, my voice weak but filled with panic. The pain in my shoulder was blinding, and I could barely keep my head up, but the sight of Darius in agony was too much. My body trembled as I tried to push myself up, my hand pressing against the bleeding wound, but I collapsed back down. I was losing blood too fast.Darius was struggling now, his face contorted in pain, and he was trying desperately to pull Rowan off his hand. He pushed and shoved, but the wolf’s hold was relentless. And then, in the blink of an eye, Darius shifted.His body twisted and contorted, bones cracking as they rearranged into his wolf form. I could hardly take a breath as I watched him grow in si
RAVENNA POV I tried to struggle against Rowan but he had a choke hold on me, and he also had strength that I didn't have. That poison was still taking a toll on me and I haven't regained my full strength. Plus, I couldn't feel my wolf. That filled me with so much fear and panic. I had thought after the poison had worn off I would feel her again but I couldn't. Have I lost my wolf again? I wasn't sure I could live with that.But I pushed that to the back of my mind. I couldn't panic now. I had to stay clear headed.Darius was here. My mate was here and Rowan was going to use me as leverage against him before he would kill him. I couldn't let that happen. But no matter how I fought against Rowan he didn't let up.I had bite, and pinch, and stepped on his foot but he remained unfazed as he held me and waited for Darius to come through that door. When he finally did, my knees buckled, but Rowan's hold on me kept me standing.Darius was here, covered in blood, his hair tied up, his han
DARIUS POV The heavy air of the night clung to my skin as we approached the border. Isabelle, still bruised and battered from Mia’s interrogation, shuffled in front of me. Her hands were trembling slightly, and though she kept her gaze fixed ahead, I could tell she was trying to suppress the fear bubbling beneath the surface. But that didn’t matter anymore. We were close.Dalian and Mia flanked her, their eyes scanning the horizon, ever alert. The men I’d brought with me were scattered around the perimeter, watching for any movement, any sign that Rowan's pack had caught wind of our approach."Don't do anything stupid, Isabelle," I warned. "Take down the ward quietly."She nodded shakily before she raised her hands, muttering under her breath. The air around her seemed to warp, a subtle flicker of light shimmering in the distance. I felt the hum of magic in my skin. It felt like something shifting beneath the surface, a barrier dissolving, like a dam giving way to the rushing force
DARIUS POV Mia was right. I was a selfish bastard. I didn't want to face my pain, I didn't want to acknowledge it so I remained in my wolf form where all I could think of was kill. And kill I did. I haunted animals like it was nothing. And any unfortunate human who happens to come across me went down too. I didn't feel guilty about it. I wanted the world to feel my pain. But then sense returned to me when Mia had dared question my love for Ravenna. There was no questioning it, there shouldn't be any doubt. I loved Ravenna more than I loved myself, more than I loved to live. I would have traded my place for her in a blink if I was offered the chance. I would lay my heart in her palms if she asked for it. I would burn the world down for her if that's what she desires. But I needed to save her first before I could prove my love for her. The ward surrounding Rowan's territory was strong. We had tried without success to find a weak point in it and break through it. There wasn't any
RAVENNA POV For the second time in less than a year I found myself in a cell, but this one was cleaner and had more light than the last one. Small mercies. When I woke up, a part of me wished I hadn't. I had felt hollow, my body weighed down by exhaustion, my mind clouded with pain. The poison had worn off, but it felt like something inside me had died with it. My insides hadn't felt right, my head had felt too heavy. I had nearly choked on my vomit until I managed to get up and dragged my body to the bucket at the corner and vomited what should be in the body. I had almost vomited my organs and I had to force them back down. After that I had dragged my body back to the thin mattress. Then the shaking began.I didn't feel cold or anything but I had shook so hard that I feared my bones might snap. I had wanted to scream, to fight, but the silence of the cell had crushed any thoughts of rebellion. I didn't know how but I had managed to fall asleep with the shaking. When I had wok
MIA POV I sat at the edge of the cliff, wiping tears off my eyes. But fresh tears kept replacing them. I couldn't stop crying no matter how hard I tried to stop. My face was puffed up, my eyes were so swollen I could barely see through it, my throat felt like sandpaper. My heart felt like there was a knife in it, twisting everything I breathed. We couldn't find Ravenna. Not even a single trace, not even a wisp of her smell. Nothing! It's like she vanished from existence, and she took a piece of me with her.Even though Ravenna had found her mate and I knew mine was probably out there, she felt like the other piece of my soul. The other half of me. I grew up as an only child. My mother died during childbirth and my father refused to remarry. So I grew up alone, but back then I had Darius and Lucian, along with the pack. Darius and Lucian were fine but I never had that sliding connection with them. But then Ravenna came and I felt it all. I felt more than just siblings' connection
DARIUS POV The poison burned like ice in my veins, draining every ounce of strength I had left. My body trembled under the weight of it, but I refused to go down. I had to protect her. I had to—Another figure lunged at me, their syringe aimed for my neck. I fought with everything I had left, swinging out wildly, but my limbs felt like lead. I caught the man by the wrist and threw him across the battlefield, but before I could recover, two more were on me. They moved with brutal efficiency, and before I could react, their needles found their mark."No..." I gasped, my voice barely a whisper, as the poison spread faster now, flooding through me like a wave of frost.I fought harder, I couldn’t let them take me down, but the world blurred at the edges. My body was slowing, my movements sluggish, like I was moving underwater. I felt like I was sinking into it, and no matter how much I fought, my strength was draining too fast.I wanted to scream for Ravenna but I couldn't. My tongue f