/-Raven-/I woke up in severe pain. My entire body felt sore and I couldn't help but notice injuries that weren't there before. There was a piercing pain in my head and my legs felt like they've been through hell, yet I couldn't remember anything. “You're finally awake. Thank the goddess!” Eric's voice jolted me from my confusion. I could barely keep my eyes open because the light was hurting them as well. “What… happened…” I stuttered out in between winces.“Let's just say training went a little overboard today. I just commend you,you really outdid yourself but I guess there are still skills you need to unlock,” he said and I was even more confused. What kind of training did I participate in that I couldn't remember. I took a look at my body. There were many ugly bruises and most of them suggested that I had been whipped. “Why… why can't I remember any of it?” I asked him.“I am just as surprised as you are. Perhaps it is the side effects of the medications you're taking. You kn
/-Raven-/Where is it? Even in my completely weak state, I was swallowing the pain and. Searching for the damn thing. Eric left here pissed because it was missing. I tired explaining it him that it could be anywhere and I don't know what is going through his mind but his actions suggested that he thought I was cheating on him. Me, Raven, sleep with another man while I was engaged to another? I didn't know what exactly he took me for or what gave him the impression that I was that lose but I decided to bottle it all up and bring it up and I found the ring. He was going to render an apology to me for insinuating such nonsense! Only problem was that I didn't exactly know where it was.I combed the entire room, practically turned it up side down but it wasn't there. The only other place that crossed my mind was the field where I did my training but did I have the energy to get there?No.Was I going to going to go anyways? Yes. I found myself something to wear and headed for the trai
/-RAVEN-/“Go ahead! Whose idea was it to pull this prank?” I fired. I was angry. They had me questioning everything I knew within seconds while they stood there with plain faces. Were they controlling their laughter the whole time? They enjoyed seeing me stress mentally right?“I'm sorry, Raven. It was my idea. I didn't actually believe it would work at first, but I did,” Martin said and I shot him a thick glare. “Please don't get mad. It was just a joke.” “Well your joke wasn't funny!” I hissed, pushing past him but I couldn't help but note that his confession surprised the other guys. I stared at the ring in my hand. This was one of the signs, right? But why did it feel like I had been fooled twice? Trapped in the wrong perception of truth?I decided to go in search of Eric. I thought of telling about the soldiers but I decided against it. I know how serious he takes our relationship. He might end up punishing them severely and I didn't want that. It was just a harmless joke and
/-Raven-/The blackouts have been frequent, coupled with horrifying nightmares that all ended with a metal stake in my heart. Not to forget the body pains I felt every time I woke up. I felt violated and I couldn't tell if it was real or not. I never fully understood it and when I told Eric about it, he said it could be a memory from the torture I went through in the IronClaw pack. Those agonizing dreams made me hate Declan Thorne and everything about him more and more. Not a day went by without me thinking of how to destroy him.It pushed me to train harder than I ever have and soon, the day was here. The day when I was finally going to put a face to the silver eyes that haunted my dreams. It was a solo mission and no one had any idea what I was doing or planning to do. IronClaw was hosting a big feast and I was going to disguise myself as one of the guests and get in. I wasn't quite sure what they were celebrating but I knew Alphas from far and near were going to be present. I
/-Raven-/“I'm sorry. I know you were probably not expecting to see me but something came up last minute and the princess couldn't make it,” I told him. “I see…” he said simply. “Do you mind sharing one glass with me?” I asked, offering him a glass of champagne. “I know I'm beneath your class and you probably don't want to but if you could please…”He took the glass before I could go on with my pretend rambling. “Cheers?” I raised my glass and he clanged his glass against mine and we each took a long sip of the champagne. Gotcha!“This is really good,” I commented but before he could respond, a strange woman joined him. I tried to keep the frown away from my face. Who is she now?She began flirting with him right in front of me and I know I shouldn't care but my grip on my glass was tightening subconsciously. I hated the way seeing her smile at him. I hated watching her hands drape all over him. I hated her kissing him. And I didn't know why. Maybe it was because I hated him tha
/-Raven-/There was something awfully familiar about this woman but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't place it. “Well?” She growled, stepping closer. “Where is my husband?”Husband…For some reason that word made my heart tighten in a way I didn't understand. Why should I care if he was taken? That man was flirting with me so he was hardly a good keep! He wasn't worth thinking twice about.“You're not deaf, are you?” She stepped closer, glaring at me menacingly. Woah! Someone tell this tiger that nobody wants her man. He might be hot but all I want to do is kill him. That's all!“He… he just…” “He just what?” She snapped, pushing past me to look inside the room. I glanced back and to my greatest shock, he was on the bed, passed out. At least pretended to be. I knew for sure that I couldn't waste another minute here so I took to my heels. “What have you done?!” I heard her scream and fastened my pace. I didn't know where I was headed but when I spotted the guards coming, I
/-Raven-/He was angry but I was angry as well. I might be in love with him but I wasn't stupid. “Did you just hit me?” I asked him. “Evade my fucking question and I will hit you again! Do you know how crazy we went looking for you? We thought something happened! And you just stroll in here acting like you nothing happened?” He yelled. I dropped my hand and stepped closer to him, staring him dead in the eye. “Listen to me carefully, because I am only going to warn you once. I don't care if you are the air that I breathe but the next time you lay your fucking hand on me again, you are going to regret it. If you have a fucking problem, you speak. Use your words, do you understand?” The iciness in my tone was unbelievable to me as well but I needed to set him right. “You fucking bitch! Hoe dare you speak to me like that, huh?” He yelled. “Who did you go out there to see? Don't even tell me you were flying because I know you weren't!” “Good for you,” I said coldly and turned away fr
/-Amelia-/“Why do you keep staring at me?” He asked. His tone was neutral so I figure the spell was still active. “Why did you suddenly go off like that? The feast barely even started,” I asked suspiciously. “I was drugged by one of your numerous guests and I passed out. Anything else you'd like to know?” He asked. I let out a sigh. He was right. There was no way he would have known what happened while he was drugged and he never liked the idea of a feast. “There was this veiled woman I saw in your room when I came to check on you,” I started, monitoring his expression closely. There was nothing I could accuse him of because his expression remained blank. Once again, I reminded myself that he wouldn't know. There was no use being suspicious over him. “So, what now?” He asked. “Did you find her?” “No, we couldn't find her. She just sped away and I suspect that she might have been the one who drugged you,” I said. “Good to know,” he said dryly and walked towards the bathroom. I
/-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
/-Amelia-/“Why do you keep staring at me?” He asked. His tone was neutral so I figure the spell was still active. “Why did you suddenly go off like that? The feast barely even started,” I asked suspiciously. “I was drugged by one of your numerous guests and I passed out. Anything else you'd like to know?” He asked. I let out a sigh. He was right. There was no way he would have known what happened while he was drugged and he never liked the idea of a feast. “There was this veiled woman I saw in your room when I came to check on you,” I started, monitoring his expression closely. There was nothing I could accuse him of because his expression remained blank. Once again, I reminded myself that he wouldn't know. There was no use being suspicious over him. “So, what now?” He asked. “Did you find her?” “No, we couldn't find her. She just sped away and I suspect that she might have been the one who drugged you,” I said. “Good to know,” he said dryly and walked towards the bathroom. I
/-Raven-/He was angry but I was angry as well. I might be in love with him but I wasn't stupid. “Did you just hit me?” I asked him. “Evade my fucking question and I will hit you again! Do you know how crazy we went looking for you? We thought something happened! And you just stroll in here acting like you nothing happened?” He yelled. I dropped my hand and stepped closer to him, staring him dead in the eye. “Listen to me carefully, because I am only going to warn you once. I don't care if you are the air that I breathe but the next time you lay your fucking hand on me again, you are going to regret it. If you have a fucking problem, you speak. Use your words, do you understand?” The iciness in my tone was unbelievable to me as well but I needed to set him right. “You fucking bitch! Hoe dare you speak to me like that, huh?” He yelled. “Who did you go out there to see? Don't even tell me you were flying because I know you weren't!” “Good for you,” I said coldly and turned away fr
/-Raven-/There was something awfully familiar about this woman but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't place it. “Well?” She growled, stepping closer. “Where is my husband?”Husband…For some reason that word made my heart tighten in a way I didn't understand. Why should I care if he was taken? That man was flirting with me so he was hardly a good keep! He wasn't worth thinking twice about.“You're not deaf, are you?” She stepped closer, glaring at me menacingly. Woah! Someone tell this tiger that nobody wants her man. He might be hot but all I want to do is kill him. That's all!“He… he just…” “He just what?” She snapped, pushing past me to look inside the room. I glanced back and to my greatest shock, he was on the bed, passed out. At least pretended to be. I knew for sure that I couldn't waste another minute here so I took to my heels. “What have you done?!” I heard her scream and fastened my pace. I didn't know where I was headed but when I spotted the guards coming, I
/-Raven-/“I'm sorry. I know you were probably not expecting to see me but something came up last minute and the princess couldn't make it,” I told him. “I see…” he said simply. “Do you mind sharing one glass with me?” I asked, offering him a glass of champagne. “I know I'm beneath your class and you probably don't want to but if you could please…”He took the glass before I could go on with my pretend rambling. “Cheers?” I raised my glass and he clanged his glass against mine and we each took a long sip of the champagne. Gotcha!“This is really good,” I commented but before he could respond, a strange woman joined him. I tried to keep the frown away from my face. Who is she now?She began flirting with him right in front of me and I know I shouldn't care but my grip on my glass was tightening subconsciously. I hated the way seeing her smile at him. I hated watching her hands drape all over him. I hated her kissing him. And I didn't know why. Maybe it was because I hated him tha
/-Raven-/The blackouts have been frequent, coupled with horrifying nightmares that all ended with a metal stake in my heart. Not to forget the body pains I felt every time I woke up. I felt violated and I couldn't tell if it was real or not. I never fully understood it and when I told Eric about it, he said it could be a memory from the torture I went through in the IronClaw pack. Those agonizing dreams made me hate Declan Thorne and everything about him more and more. Not a day went by without me thinking of how to destroy him.It pushed me to train harder than I ever have and soon, the day was here. The day when I was finally going to put a face to the silver eyes that haunted my dreams. It was a solo mission and no one had any idea what I was doing or planning to do. IronClaw was hosting a big feast and I was going to disguise myself as one of the guests and get in. I wasn't quite sure what they were celebrating but I knew Alphas from far and near were going to be present. I
/-RAVEN-/“Go ahead! Whose idea was it to pull this prank?” I fired. I was angry. They had me questioning everything I knew within seconds while they stood there with plain faces. Were they controlling their laughter the whole time? They enjoyed seeing me stress mentally right?“I'm sorry, Raven. It was my idea. I didn't actually believe it would work at first, but I did,” Martin said and I shot him a thick glare. “Please don't get mad. It was just a joke.” “Well your joke wasn't funny!” I hissed, pushing past him but I couldn't help but note that his confession surprised the other guys. I stared at the ring in my hand. This was one of the signs, right? But why did it feel like I had been fooled twice? Trapped in the wrong perception of truth?I decided to go in search of Eric. I thought of telling about the soldiers but I decided against it. I know how serious he takes our relationship. He might end up punishing them severely and I didn't want that. It was just a harmless joke and