/-Raven-/Declan was still weak. I could see it in the way he swayed as he stood up and Azaiah was getting ready to fire. How was I supposed to run?If Declan died anyway, then all that stress of running back here to save him would be in vain. So without thinking, I stepped in front of him.Azaiah paused.“What are you doing, Raven?” Declan's exhausted voice asked. He could barely speak, yet he wanted to throw his life away by fighting off Azaiah. “Instead of fighting him, why don't you fight me?” I challenged him. “What are you doing, Raven? Have you lost your mind?” Declan asked but I ignored him. “If I win, you let us go. If I lose… well I'll already be dead by then,” I said. I knew what I was doing of course. I didn't plan to die. I just knew Azaiah would never take the risk of fighting me. I was his “queen” after all. Just as I suspected, he shifted to human form and his expression was far from happy.“Why are you doing this, Raven?” he asked. “Because you are being selfis
/-RAVEN-/“Declan…” I climbed into his bed slowly. His body was warm this time and I was relieved that he was getting better.Having him next to me felt so unreal. It was as if I had been stuck here forever. I reached for his face, caressing it gently in my arms. His face was so peaceful and beautiful. For a second, my eyes flickered to his lips, and I felt like kissing him, so Ieaned over, slowly drawing closer to him until our lips were just inches apart, but I stopped myself. That would be taking advantage of him. I was going to take off my hand when he muttered, “Don't stop.” I was paralysed by shock at first. He was awake this entire time?Those eyes fluttered open and a wave of embarrassment hit me. My cheeks flamed, and I tried to quickly retract my hand, but he caught it, holding it in place. I couldn't look at him. How would I explain sneaking into his room in the middle of the night and touching him without his permission?“Never thought I would see a flustered Raven in
/-Raven-/Azaiah was pissed. We could feel it even before we got to meet him. He must have heard me, last night. Thanks to my very “subtle” moaning.Declan, on the other hand, didn't seem to that the place was hotter than usual. In fact, it seemed like it was even more beneficial to him.We were still in bed, and I noted that at this time, the maids would have been serving me breakfast already, but I guess that wasn't going to happen now. The whole thing was somewhat amusing to me. I mean, we didn't even make love yet, and Azaiah was already ordering the maids to stop serving me. I tried to get out of bed so I could look for the kitchen and make him something to eat but when I tried to peel his arms off me, he only tightened them. “Let me go, Declan. I want to make you breakfast,” I told him, but he pulled me closer and buried his face in my breasts. “Declan,” I groaned. “Five more minutes,” he mumbled. I was about to respond to him when there was a door on my door. I thought t
/-Raven-/Hannah?That attention-seeker? I was pretty sure she was hiding somewhere waiting for her absence to be noticed. “Why was she here to begin with, though?” I asked.“Well, she felt guilty over what happened to you. Apparently, she saw when you were abducted and buried, but she couldn't do anything about it. I told her to stay back but she insisted on coming with us,” Declan explained. “I have so many questions,” I blurted. I was buried? Where? How? “I'll explain later but for now, we need to find her. We don't know what these people might do to her if they catch her alone,” Declan said.I wanted to know now but then, I guess we could find her first. “Have you asked that guy… what was his name again? Nath? Ryan? No, that doesn't sound right…” Declan muttered thoughtfully.Nath? Ryan? Who are those?“uhm… who is that?” I asked.“One curly-haired dude with mismatched eyes. He claimed Hannah was his wife,” Tim answered. Curly hair… mismatched eyes… that sounded so fucking
/-Raven-/Later that day, Tim returned to tell us that he couldn't find Nile and after conducting another search in the volcano, Hannah was still no where to be found. We had no choice but to go to Azaiah to ask for help. At first he was excited to see me, but when he spotted Declan beside me, the smile vanished. Even Declan didn't bother to fake friendliness. I ignored their feud and walked to him. “Raven,” he smiled. “Why are you here so late?”“It's still early in the evening so I don't think it's that late. Also, one of Declan's friends is missing. Her name is Hannah and they haven't seen her since their first appearance here. We think she's missing,” I answered. I almost thought he would roll his eyes and ask how any of that was his business. Azaiah’s brows pulled together. “Missing?”“Yes,” I said. “And we think Nile might have her. When he saw her, he claimed she was his wife. They had some sort of argument from what I heard and maybe… I don't know, he might have an idea o
/-RAVEN-/I could barely concentrate with the countless glares he threw our way. To think he wasn't even next to us yet we could feel the intensity of his stare. “So how exactly do dragons transform?” I asked. “Exactly the same way wolves do but easier. There's no cracking of bones, or pain or anything. It's just a smooth transition,” Azaiah responded.“Since I have this fire inside me, that means I can transform too, right?” I asked. I didn't fully believe him yet, but when I tried to reason from his own perspective, it made so much sense, so I tried my best to stay open. He was helping us, after all.“Yes, but you can't transform yet,” he told me. “Why?” I asked. “Because you haven't fully harnessed your powers yet,” he said. “You need to be able to control your fire, not the other way around.” “I don't think fire is controlling me,” I snorted. “It doesn't when you are overwhelmed or when your emotions are too strong; it just breaks out of you, and you can't stop it until you
/-Azaiah-/“How long are you going to endure it?” The question startled me and I turned to see Nile behind me. He walked to my side where I stood, watching Raven and Declan kiss. “You said she is your mate, yet you watch her be with another man, and you do nothing. The same man who Hannah left me for.” That statement immediately caught my attention. “What?” I blurted. “I thought they were merely companions who came to find Raven together.”He scoffed. “She was away from him for years yet he was all she would talk about. Not a day went hh without her reminding me of how worthless I was compared to him. For years I wondered what he looked like, wondered why he was better than me. I treated her right to the best of my abilities. I took care of our child so she wouldn't feel overworked. I handled the chores and treated her like a queen. I just didn't have the money to get her the expensive things she craved…” he sighed. My gaze returned to Declan who was staring at Raven as if she w
/-LISA-/I couldn't wait for them to come back. Life has been hell. I don't know what kind of magic Amelia used or how she was able to subdue the Elders, but she was now in charge of the pack. Tonight, the most abominable thing in the history of wolves was going to happen. A witch with no wolf blood was going to be crowned Luna. I knew it was definitely black magic. There was just no fucking way she could just make the pack elders submit and agree to marry her to Declan without his consent. “I guess this will have to do,” Francesca sighed, throwing her least favourite dress on the bed. “Heaven knows I will give anything to sit this one out!” “You and me both,” I sighed.But we couldn't. It was mandatory for everyone to attend. Disobey her and you would have your head on a platter. “This is just so outrageous!” Francesca exclaimed. “How do you just show up from nowhere and suddenly declare that you are the Alpha's mate? Even going as far as asking to be wedded to him when he clear
/-Declan-/Pain. That was all I knew these days. Sometimes, I felt empty, like I was living someone else's life and other times, it felt like I was floating in this empty space I had no control over. I didn't know what I was going with my life until I met her. That fiesty red head that got on top of me with those intense beautiful eyes. All she wanted to do was kill me and leave. Bold of her. At first I was going to let her be but when her sweet scent hit my nostrils, I couldn't hold it in any longer. But I had to let her go. For her own safety. The rumor was already spreading around the palace that my Luna was looking everywhere for her. I didn't care enough to ask her why. I assumed it was because Amelia saw her walking out of my room. She never really talked to me about her or even asked me about that night because she thought I was completely passed out and I preferred it that way. I didn't have the energy to argue with anyone or prove anything. I just wanted to be on my
/-LISA-/“Why did you say Rum was arrested again?” Francesca asked suspiciously. Now was not even the time for her baseless suspicions. We needed to find out what he was hiding. Convince him to tell us where Raven is so we could bring her here to save the Alpha. It was a lie of course, I just wanted Amelia and Raven to meet again so whoever was more powerful could take the other out of the picture. Though, I knew for sure that Amelia could take out Raven. I mean, she did so before, didn't she? This time it was going to be for good. “You should answer her question because if she doesn't agree with whatever you have to say, then I am with her,” Othelia said. I rolled my eyes. When did all this nonsense bonding start? “You should channel your friendship in helping her learn magic or maube you both are just pathetic witches. I mean, think of it, she has been practicing magic for two months now and she still can show us even a flicker of that magic,” I huffed. Both of them glared at
/-Eric-/For a second, I thought I might die but something wanked from behind before she could stick the glass in my neck.She dropped to the ground unconscious and I looked at the person who saved my life. It was aere guard of course, but I guess I still had to be grateful he saved my life.However, the gratitude was going to the goddess, not him. He was merely a tool she used to save me. Other guards running in, picking up their fellow guards to check on them.“What took you morons, so long huh? She could have killed everyone!” I snapped at them.“Forgive us, your highness. We were just coming from the gate,” he answered and I rolled my eyes. If she had succeeded in killing me, I wonder who they would render their apologies too. “Take away these bodies and tie her to the two pillars outside,” I instructed. They exchanged glances and my fists clenched. “What was that for? Are you question my authority?” “No, your highness. Please forgive us,” one quickly apologised. I rolled my eye
/-Eric-/“Is she awake?” Father asked.“Yes, father,” I responded. “And?” “Still as stubborn as she was the night before. She threatened to kill us, starting with me first,” I answered. “And do you believe her?” He asked. “Well, she is Raven, father. She doesn't just go around bluffing. She will definitely find a way to exert her revenge, unless we kill her,” I said.“Kill her?” He frowned. “I don't want that. She is a very valuable asset to us. We were supposed to use her on Declan but we let gresd get in the way and diverted her to the men who were ready to pay up to a ten bags of gold for a night with her.” “I strongly believe that we can still use her,” I said and he raised a questioning brow. “Raven might think she is tough but every person has a limit. A breaking point. We just need to find hers.” “What are you suggesting, Eric? That we experiment on her every day?” he asked with disbelief. “Exactly, father. We experiment with her during the day and at night, we let the m
/–Raven–/“Let go me, where are you taking me?” I screamed but despite my struggles they didn't release me.I was still bleeding and my vision was blurring at a rapid rate. I was going to lose consciousness in a matter of seconds and I still didn't know what he planned to do with me. They were taking me back to the very house I had escaped from. This time, Eric appeared and I had a little hope. I was his fiance right? There was no way he would just stand by and watch his father give me out ot some strangers, right?“Eric…” I muttered weakly. “Please…”“Oh, you can beg now? Did I just hear the mighty Raven beg me?” He taunted. “You wanted to prove that you were better than everyone else right? I gave you a simple instruction and you couldn't even obey it. Now you stand there, begging for mercy? From who?” “I… fiance…” at this point, I was so weak that even the words wouldn't come out anymore. I was loosing a lot of blood but nobody seemed to care. Alpha Timultin, the one I called fa
/-LISA-/I watched as Tim was brought before Amelia. My heart was pounding. I didn't know what she was going to do to him. Hell, I didn't even know if he was going to live past this minute.Why did he have to lie to me? I know we had our differences but that wasn't enough reason for him to lie about Raven's death. “I am only going to ask you this once and I expect a direct answer from you, otherwise you will be held responsible for whatever happens to you,” Amelia started but Tim didn't even look a quarter as terrified as I was. He didn't even look afraid of her. “Yes Luna,” he answered in a monotone. Since he came back from wherever they went to and Raven was allegedly killed, he has never been the same again. This time was cold and emotionless. If he was asked to stab a baby, he would do it without hesitation. With Declan under her control, it made things even worse. I didn't know this man anymore.“Where is Raven?” She asked.“Lying at the bottom of the river somewhere,” he re
/-Raven-/I don't know how it happened but it did. The chains fell off me like it was nothing and I found myself wondering if I could do that the whole time.I mean, if I could, why the hell was I stressing myself? I could have just easily freed myself before those animals got the chance to lay their hands on me. Now was not the time for that, anyways. I needed to get out of here before they realized what was happening, but where would I go?Back to Azaiah? Or just complete my mission by killing Declan? I didn't have the luxury to contemplate on that so I shifted and flew as high as I could. I left the mountains and just flew high into the sky, wondering where I was going to go. Azaiah might have treated me well but there was no guarantee that he wouldn't just hand me back to that crazy man and his son if they came asking. Something struck me by the side and I let out a painful roar but then it hit me again, and again until I stop seeing myself fly and crashed to the ground in a ma
/-LISA-/"Are you sure it was Raven you saw?" Othelia asked again, her voice filled with skepticism.I folded my arms, forcing myself to remain calm. This entire conversation was ridiculous. Francesca was grasping at straws, desperate to hold on to the idea that Raven was alive. But if she was right… no, that couldn’t happen."I know what I saw," Francesca insisted, her eyes blazing with conviction. "She walked right through that door in a red dress. She looked real, alive, but she didn’t even seem to recognize me."Othelia sighed. "Francesca, do you hear yourself? You’re telling us that Raven, Declan’s mate, the woman who was supposed to be dead, just strolled in like nothing happened? And then, what? She attacked you and disappeared?""I don’t think she attacked me," Francesca admitted. "It was more like… she was surprised to see me. I mistakenly shattered the vase and slipped out her name and she panicked. Then she hit me" She shivered. "Everything went black, but there was somethi
/-RAVEN-/I could barely move a muscle. When talpha Timultin mentioned the whips at first, I thought he was joking. That there was no way he was actually going to sit back and let me get whipped but I was wrong. This man was as strict as he was merciless and his men couldn't afford to disobey him so I got whipped. Over and over again until I passed out. Now I woke up, I was still tied to the pillar with the pain shooting through me from all angles. How coido Eric do this to me? How do you even watch someone you claim to love go through such pain and you do nothing about it. It was cruel and wicked but he didn't obviously give two shits about that. Speak of the devil, he stroleld towards me like my suffering was a delightful sight. “What are you doing here?” I glared at him with all my might. “I'm guessing you haven't learnt your lesson yet. Else, you wouldn't be speaking to me in such a disrespectful tone,” he said. I looked at him in shock and anger. Was he being serious right