“Raven, I won’t allow you to deny that we’re mates. The fact is we are. There are others out there that recognize that we are, and it can be made official with a simple word. I don’t want to be a hard ass Alpha male. But after all this time I will.” Dominic could feel his more dominant nature coming to the forefront after all the violence and bloodshed he’d seen. The anger and the betrayal he believed he’d discovered. This was something else he had to get to the bottom of.“Is that a threat?” Raven asked. Dominic looked her in the eye. Of course, she had to give him attitude right now. He gave a withering look.“It’s a promise and a threat if it has to be Raven. I don’t care that we were young and there were elders saying that we should hold off and wait. It was wrong then and it’s wrong now.” He’d set down the boundary line and if she dared to cross it, he’d show her how he’d discipline her, and she’d bloody well enjoy it.“What do you mean there were elders saying we should h
Raven stood there and stared at Dominic, stunned. Unsure if she heard him correctly. He’d changed her view of him several times within this conversation. But he hadn’t changed her decision to change her decision to not tolerate accepting a gambler as a mate. He didn’t get it, did he? The pain and torture she had to suffer. The humiliation and injuries were too much. Her life was nonexistent. Raven gave up everything for them and she had nothing to give anymore.“Raven. I don’t know what you’re talking about. What do you think I’m asking you to do? No. Don’t answer that. Let me say this. You won’t be doing anything of the likes like that again. No one will come after you anymore. What happened then, won’t happen now. I am not them. You are my mate. Not their’s. I made a mistake before, but I won’t repeat it. You won’t be in that position ever again, I promise.”She looked at him. Not knowing what to say or do. Was he aware of his promise and its delivery method? Raven never had th
“Dominic.” Raven said his name in warning and backed up. She raised her finger in warning and an eyebrow, too. Dominic approached Raven as though he approached a spooked and cornered animal that they had to capture. “Raven Miller. This is going to happen. It’s fate. If I touch you now, I know you’ll feel it everywhere. It’s just how it is. We’re wolves. I need you as much as you need me. You can’t tell me that you haven’t felt it all these years. That’s why you’ve stayed away, but you couldn’t quite leave. Not fully, could you?” Dominic leaned down then and claimed Raven’s lips in a kiss that demanded everything from her. She knew what he’d said was true. She couldn’t deny it. He pursued her for years with tireless determination, chasing her around the room. Raven could feel her heartbeat rise as he approached ever closer. With every step, she expected the outcome. Her mind and heart continued to battle. Fate and experience polar opposites in her mi
Raven didn’t know if she wanted to run, kill, or stand tall. She felt so conflicted after this. She’d experienced nothing like this ever. Raven didn’t have words for it. She never heard about the annoying pain of the healing bite wound. No one had ever bitten her before. She wasn’t a fighter and Raven was skilled at avoiding bar brawls. So, it never came up. At this moment, Raven confronted a prowling male. Otherwise known as her mate, Alpha Dominic Jones. She was so screwed when this became public. No one would feel happy about this. For an hour, he had planned how to address the Pack and remove troublemakers. In her view, he could remove half of the Pack. It made little sense to her. He removed her from the Pack. Reject her and he’d please the Pack. This made no sense to her. “Can you please explain to me why you are trying to please some disembodied mythical creature? Who may or may not exist? While pissing off your Pack and risking y
Raven’s expectations were very wrong. Right now, nothing was going according to plan, she’d say. Raven saw no plan. Dominic wasn’t acting as she expected him to act. Again, when did Dominic act like she expected him to? Now she pondered if a mental institution for shifters existed. She required time away from everything. Her hands were shaking. She was sure everyone saw it. Dominic had called another Pack meeting. This time, Raven sat on the stool by his feet. When everyone settled in their seats, he had their attention. The room went silent, and the air grew heavy with anticipation. Without speaking, Dominic lifted Raven from the stool and placed her on the seat beside him. Then put a clawed finger in front of her nose and said, “Stay there.” With that, he tore the bandage off her shoulder as the pack looked wide-eyed and revealed his bite imprint. He looked out over his pack with a narrowed glare. “Yeah, mine. It’s done and over. She had the same
“Hey, hey. Alright, there. We’ll take a break. I thought you knew some of this. At least suspect some historical details. I didn’t know you knew nothing about it. It happened when we were all tiny pups. It’s okay.” Dominic said. His voice was low and soothing to Raven. He’d not realized how this would affect her. He felt like he’d done this to her. Why did everyone let this go? How did they allow Kelsey to escape without consequences? Who allowed such injustice to spread and persist? The rotten wolves didn’t suffer, in any actual sense. They had others they could hurt. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember ever hearing anything like that. Nobody ever mentioned that about my mother to me. Raven said. “No, that’s not quite true. They’ve inferred it, but stated no facts. I can’t identify any specific incident or time. “It’s okay because it’s not true and they didn’t know what they were doing. It was them spreading vicious lies.” “Lies that got her
Raven thought he’d spend a moment with her. Perhaps he would have amused himself by testing the limits of his influence over her. Then he’d destroy her and return to his mission of destruction of his Pack as he seemed bound and determined to do. Raven saw no logic behind this. She knew her imagination went crazy, and it went too far. Dominic had no intention of destroying his Pack. But where did she fit in this? He’d done another change in personality. How should she interpret it? He sat with her, wrapped around her. He’d comforted her and spoken about what little he’d learned. Dominic didn’t have many details, and he seemed angered by this. Actual anger. They weren’t platitudes said to silence others. He wanted answers. Dominic informed her he and Paul had difficulty finding any because of the fire at the old Pack house. We’d been pups back then. Dominic had lived through it. He could have died in the fire. Everyone claimed my mother ha
Paul watched his Alpha take his former Pet, now Luna, out of the Grand Hall, leaving him to deal with the Pack’s confusion. Forty wolves stood before him, uncertain of their purpose here- to testify or to protect themselves. Until Alpha Jones spoke, no one knew what he’d called the meeting about. When he deciphered the jumble of facts, confusion gave way to the horrifying truth that everyone was aware of. Paul stood there. His own understanding had changed in the last weeks. Raven was not what he expected. The Pack was still very confused. “Beta Grouse. What is going on? What had he been telling us?” “That is your Luna, and you will treat her with respect. How can you say that? Did you see her response when she heard the report? The Luna just learned that information. She was a pup when it happened. People forget she could barely speak back then. Yet you treat her as though she were a collaborator. You’re here because we’ve
Raven had gone to the meeting with Dominic and they’d discussed the situation along with as many of the complications as they could predict. Gregory had expressed his appreciation that they’d brought this idea to him before they had put anything into play. It meant he and the Council of Alphas could make plans to counteract any negative fallout.She had to admit she wasn’t sure if they’d be welcome to bring their Pack into the Dream Realm. Or if they would leave this realm entirely. It’s too early to know how they would proceed with this plan.The Dreamers had spread out and had begun to use their training. Stabilizing the timelines, dealing with the more aggressive shadow creatures, and learning about the abandoned things within their area. They had to record everything and the state it was in. With their contact with the mages it wasn’t difficult to reach out to other species who possessed magic. Much of the lost magical items were responding to one kind of magic or another.
“Brigid says she’ll be in touch soon with scheduling so we can have a rotation of sorts. That way we can have a consistent rebuilding going on inside the Dream Realm. So, how are we going to run this place around all that? I don’t even know what anyone thinks about all of this because no one’s dared to speak to me. It’s like they think I’ll unmake them or something.” Raven said to Dominic as she returned from the Dream Realm where she’d had a meeting with Brigid and the other Dreamers. Dominic had seen the changes in her and the Pack. He’d said nothing to anyone about his idea of taking the Pack into the Dream Realm and becoming part of the enforcement powers there. He could see their Pack as a foundation of a future power.He wanted to support Raven the best way possible and he didn’t think he could do it from here.“Raven, love. Everyone is in shock because nothing is how they thought it was. They’re trying to figure out where they and you now rest in the world. People have
“Dominic, don’t worry about it. I know you don’t have to explain to me. When you disconnect your call with me I received a message from someone that explained what was happening.” Lily said as soon as they returned and she made them sit down to eat a meal.“Then can you explain it to us?” Dominic practically begged Lily to explain what they had witnessed even though she hadn’t been there to witness So, he wouldn’t stop the stow for anything and allow her to explain what she’d pieced together through some of her very odd channels, not that any of this was straight forward.“Please tell me she isn’t doing the biggest mistake of all time.” Raven stepped in now and she was practically begging to know that they weren’t letting her do something foolish. It was something they’d all been questioning since Brigid first said she was going to investigate the situation and she didn’t want anyone else going with her, because she didn’t like the idea of the risk. She had Het’ Tur and she didn’
“Does this mean that the danger is over?” Raven asked Brigid as she looked over the woman’s shoulder to see the males in the golden armor.“My family is gone and they won’t be offering the Dream Realm to the Fae again as a travel hub. But there’s still other dangers that they and the Fae abandoned in my realm without my permission. Then there’s the instabilities within it created by their interference and war of Dreamers. Add in now I have the dimension version of surprise boarders complicating all of this.” Brigid glared at the male standing in the golden armor watching her explain this to them.He stood with his guards in eire silence. They hadn’t drawn a single weapon or removed a piece of armor including helmets.“You have got to be kidding. How exactly are they dead? Did he say how he killed them? I mean if he killed your father. How is he alive? Why was he in the prison and not on the throne?” Heather didn’t sound like she bought the story he’d given Brigid.Brigid blink
“What about my brothers? Or brother? What ideas do you have to deal with them?” Brigid didn’t blink, but her tone was her reminding him of the situation she faced rather then asking him for help with a solution.“When I got through with him. He knew I was your mate, but he couldn’t do anything about it and he’d not be the one to sit on your father’s throne.” Het’ Tur said. He was smiling and trying not to laugh. He’d been angry with the brothers. They’d been so focused with their plans and emotions. This was why her brother was going to kill her. She was alive to work for him, but when she escaped he acted like like she’d betrayed him. Or she’d tried to kill him. Het’ Tur knew Brigid had never done anything to betray or hurt any of her relatives.“Het’ Tur, how did he ever learn about where you were or that you were my Fated mate?” Brigid didn’t understand how her brothers would have discovered him among the masses. Or that he was connected to her. That’s what she was asking, but
“That? Is your reaction Lady Brigadetta?” Het’ Tur asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. Brigid winced at the name he used to her question before she looked at him in disbelief.“The woman no longer exists and you know that. She hasn’t existed for so long that I can’t tell you the last time I heard someone say her name. The noble house died ages ago and the few that didn’t have been fighting each other trying to finish the job of ending that noble house. I’ve been surviving in my own way doing my own thing until recently. But I will not answer to that name ever again.” Brigid stood up to him. She didn’t want to be that woman. Her past would stay there and she was determined of that.“Do you have a choice to do that? Really?” Het’ Tur asked in disbelief that she would believe she could believe change her life like this.“Welcome to the modern era and a new realm Het’ Tur. Here, I have the right to chose the way I lead my life. I choose how my life unfolds here.” Brigid s
Dominic didn’t know how to ask Brigid about Het’ Tur. If she didn’t know he was her mate. How would she react to his claim? She must help him get Raven back. First Dominic wanted to contact Lily. He wanted her thoughts on Het’ Tur. Did she know anything about him or what he was talking about? Could she tell if he was lying about anything? Any confirmation of facts he’d been giving out would be appreciated by him.Lily answered faster than he expected. “Lily, I don’t know where to start. Well, I do. Raven’s been kidnapped by a creature who says his name is Het’ Tur and is Brigid’s mate. He wants to exchange Raven for Brigid. Who is he? Do you know him? Do you know if he’s telling the truth?”“Oh, wow. I haven’t heard that name in a long time. A very long time. He was the Head of the Crystal Lord’s Guard. He disappeared when the Crystal Lord did. Mind you that time period is a historical mess. There’s a lot of deaths and missing persons. Missing treasures and all that. He’s ther
“We are stronger together than he can ever be. After all, the fool killed his mate and his offspring. He has nothing, but the fool believed that because he can’t die from old age that he’s all powerful.” Het’ Tur shrugged and acted like he found this entertaining as anything. “Wait, he’s immortal. But not eternal. Is that what you’re saying?” Dominic waved a hand momentarily distracted from his need for his mate by the discovery he’d learned. The big bad wasn’t as big and bad as he’d thought. “That is exactly what I have said. My mate understands this, but her brother appears to not understand it. I want to use it against him once and for all. He seems to use it easily enough against his relatives. I see no reason why I can’t use it against him before he uses it against my mate.” He seemed at ease with the knowledge that death was a lot easier and permanent than it was expected to be. Dominic wondered if he understood how permanent. Permanent was.
“I’m told, I have you to thank for doing what I couldn’t do.” The tall leader in his golden armor stood tall and straight and spoke to Dominic. His posture was stiff. One of his men held Raven’s unconscious body behind him as they lingered close to the portal. Another armor man held a squat brick colored statuette which Heather assumed was the anchor they searched for. “I’ve not said who I am and I’m not sure what I’ve done that you couldn’t do.” Dominic was off put by this creature. After all, it stood almost three times Dominic’s height, and he was fighting his instincts not to try to find it’s throat through the armored gorge. He wanted to get to his mate now. “There’s no need I can see it was you. But I still want her back.” The creature was certain in this as if he saw something only he could and that he felt made him superior to everyone else. “However, I don’t have that luxury.” Dominic crossed his arms struggling with his patienc