RAVENNA POV Today has been one hell of a day. It had began with an emotionally love confession—that I'm currently trying not to think about—to revealing of plans to rule the wolf world, to judging, to another emotional series.Now, I was drained. Darius and I sat on the floor, our backs resting on his desk, my head on his shoulder and our fingers interlocked.He must also feel drained because he hadn't said anything for ten minutes, or was it an hour? Who knew. "Will you tell me about it?" I asked, not knowing what I wanted to hear. Everything. "Where would I start from?" he asked, more to himself than to me. But I answered regardless. "Anywhere." He didn't say anything for a while. "My mother was a lovely woman," he began, his voice calm. "She always had a smile on her face, always looking out for others more than she did herself. She was loved by the pack, dea
DARIUS POV "I'll leave you to do your alpha work," Ravenna said, leaning in to kiss me softly on the cheek before she stood up and headed for the door. She opened the door and gave Lucian a nod before he strode in and she out. I stood up and walked around my desk, slumping on my chair, I ran a hand through my hair. When Lucian remained silent I looked up to see him staring at me with a slight frown on his face. "You're shirtless," he remarked helpfully.I was too drained for this. "Such a wonderful observation, Lucian," I said dryly. "Give yourself a pat on the back."He ignored my taunting. "She saw your back?" he asked, his lips pressed tight."Yes." "What was her reaction?"Recalling the way Ravenna had sobbed on my back made my chest tight. "She cried," I whispered, my eyes staring downwards. "She cried on my back with her arms around me." Lucia
RAVENNA POV I haven't even closed the door to my room before Mia was on me. "Tell me everything," she said, dragging me towards the bed."What's everything that I'm supposed to tell you?" I asked, confused as Mia particularly threw me on the bed and climbed in, sitting leg-crossed opposite me. "Everything that just happened in the office between the alpha and you." Heat rushed to my face. "Oh. There's really nothing to tell, Mia.""Oh, shut your mouth," she chuckled. "Your red face gave you away." Her eyes dropped to my lips and a smirk curved her lips. "Your lips are swollen too. And," she continued, dragging the word, "the way the alpha had looked at you says everything. You were all he was seeing, Ravenna. I didn't exist." I looked away, the heat spreading. "It's not like that." Liar. It was a matter of fact like that."Mmm-hmm," she grinned wickedly, unconvin
DARIUS POV I wanted to put an end to this meeting and it hasn't even begun. The agents Alpha Hale sent gritted on my nerves. The girl—I had forgotten her name as soon as she said it—was annoying as hell. Her voice was too high pitched, her face too doll-like with makeup, her smile too fake, her body language too forced. Like someone had instructed her to impress the savage alpha unless they'll take away her favorite doll.Then the guy—whose name I had also forgotten—was plain arrogant. His nose was up in the air like something was stuff on it, his shoulder forcefully high. Hell, I wanted this day to end already. "Your pack house is really beautiful, Alpha Darius," Barbie—that was the perfect name for her—said, as we walked towards the pack. That pitch made me clench my teeth. "It's like a castle.""It's a castle," I replied dryly, not bothering to look at her. S
RAVENNA POV Zara knew where to hit, always did. Her words dragged me back to my old life. A life where I was a nobody, a wolfless person, an outcast, the alpha's least favorite daughter.Those memories came crashing down on me like an avalanche, hit and brutal. I remembered Lila's sharp slaps, and her sharper words. My father's disapproving looks. Zara's cruel smile when she got away with everything and I took the hit. Lucas's betrayal. The pack that was never there for me.I remembered it all. I had thought I had long since healed and moved on from that life. What a lie that was. I was just too good at convincing myself that it was all behind me. And so here I stood, listening to Zara unfold my linens to this pack that I'm starting to see as home even though my first impression of them wasn't perfect. Now they knew I was banished from my old pack, now they knew Zara and I wer
RAVENNA POV I snorted a laugh and shook my head. "You've ran out of ways to taunt me and now this is what you found, huh? It's not going to work, Zara." The witch still had that smile on her face. "Oh, but this is no taunting, Ravenna," she snickered. "Poor daddy got drunk one night and his tongue just kept running. The Alpha and his former Luna were not your real parents, Ravenna. You were abandoned, found by them in a basket, not even a single note found on you, no trace of who you were. Since the former Luna was so kind—may she rest in peace—she begged to keep you. They were childless and had no hope of having a child of their own so they took you in."I was shaking my head while she spoke, my heart beating wildly. "No, no, no," I kept repeating, my voice hoarse. "No, you're lying, Zara! This is one of your stupid taunting games. You won! Goddamn it, you won! Tell me it's not true. Please, Zara, tell me."My heart fel
RAVENNA POV "Ravenna, is that you?"His voice still sounded the same, still had that deepness that was soft to hear, and a little bit of rasp to it. I tried to speak but my voice came out choked. So I waited until the tears had subsided and the lump in my throat had cleared a little before I replied, "Yes, daddy. It's me." There came a sound from the other line that sounded like he exhaled. "How have you been, my girl?"I had to press my fist into my mouth to keep the sob from bursting out, looking up at the ceiling. He called me 'my girl'. He called me 'his' girl. He hasn't called me that since mom died. "I'm fine, daddy," I croaked. "I'm fine.""You don't sound fine, Ravenna. Are you okay? Where are you? Are you hurt?"I breathed in deeply and got myself under control so I could ask the question that was currently tearing at my insides. "Zara told me something," I began slowly.I could particularly feel his confusion from this side. "You met Zara?" he asked, the confusion plain i
RAVENNA POV There was a buzz in my ears, a thump in my head, a knife in my heart.Why the hell was Zara touching Darius?It was just a small touch: her hand on his arm, but it made my vision red. Also because his shirt was sleeveless so Zara was touching skin. Why wasn't he pushing her hand away? Why was he looking so relaxed? There was even a smirk on his face. That smirk that he has given me countless times. I had to breathe in deeply to clear the buzzing in my ears so I could hear what they were saying.Zara's voice drifted through the door, light and playful, teasing him in a way I had never heard her before."You’re so cold, Darius," Zara cooed, her laughter a soft melody that curled around my insides. "You know, I could make you feel something real. You’re not fooling anyone."I froze, my fists clenching as the knot in my stomach tightened.I shouldn’t have stayed. I shouldn’t have listened. But I couldn’t help it. The temptation to know what was happening, what was really ha
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