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 pondered if Dom kept changing his approach and treatment of her to control her. Keep her off center. Or was it to amuse himself? She wasn’t sure. Did he care about any of this? How foolish a risk would it be to ask if he cared? Raven doubted his sincerity before all of this. But now at least she could see him wanting to know who killed his mother if he didn’t believe hers killed his. But to find out how killed his mother, he’d have to prove her mother didn’t kill his mother. Raven had found the gritty the reason behind the purpose for his mission. It didn’t matter if she died. Or that someone murdered her mother. It mattered that he found his mother’s murderer. How does anyone believe this? Once he learned for sure her mother killed his mother, that would end his investigation. He’d hate her again and that would end all of this between them. Raven had herself convinced of that. He’d accuse her of convincing him that someone would try to kill h
Dom turned the laptop around toward Raven and Paul. His question echoed in everyone’s minds as they read the file and looked at the photo. Raven sat there and frowned. “I would say it looks like my mother. But I thought my mother wasn’t seen in Pack territory two days before the fire? That’s not her name either. Wait. Klyne? As in the Klyne Pack? Are you saying my mom lost control of the Klyne Pack when my dad forced my mom to mate with him? But that means Alpha Klyne’s was my first cousin. Okay. It makes sense why he left me in the basement when he took me prisoner and wanted a mate. Did you lie to me? If so, the whole idea sickens me. I hope he thought about it sight unseen and didn’t know about the blood relation. Otherwise, he’s sick. That’s just wrong.” “Yes, it’s your mother’s sister and litter mate. They’re twins. Oh, I didn’t lie about that one-bit love. It happened just like that. You’re correct about Alpha Klyne being your first cousin. Bu
In chat Luna Aireka Wolversen of Black River Pack, Luna Raven Jones of Humber Valley Pack, Luna April? Luna Kate Daniels of the High Park PackRAVEN: [Is the Luna of the Red River Pack in this chat?]APRIL: [It’s just GTA love. The Red River Pack is in Northern Ontario. Why?]RAVEN: [Found out some odd things last night. I want to hear your thoughts on the feasibility and execution of it.]APRIL: [They declared war on your Pack again, didn’t they?]APRIL: [Yes. They experienced two attacks. We attacked once and lost three members when they attacked us. Two prisoners (forced mating), one rescued, & two deaths/They’ve lost many people in the attacks. I’m uncertain about the number or the attackers. Unsure if anyone survived or got hurt. I’m unsure of the number or identity of the attackers. They zoomed in, ravaged, and departed within minutes.]AIREKA: [You heard it?]RAVEN:
“Raven, I’ll say this right now. I’m looking to make a shift away from it and while some people will not like this I don’t care. But I won’t tell them why because I don’t want to put you in danger. If one of my enemies or rivals decides to use, you against me or use your abilities they may try to kidnap you. So, we’ll say nothing to anyone outside of our Pack and we’ll speak with those within the Pack that must know.” Dominic said. He tried to assure Raven about her safety and his sincerity. “Dominic we can’t tell anyone about what I can do. For one thing, no one would believe it. For another, you’re right they might try to use it. I never thought they might try to use me against you by kidnapping me.” Raven felt stunned at the thought that she was agreeing with him and accepting her. “So, what do we do now? You say I’m the important one, but I don’t feel like it, and I don’t know how to proceed. Or do I say, how we proceed with this.” Raven looked to Dominic a
“We couldn’t help Tom?” Kelly asked. She’d missed their arrival and Tom being bundled off to the healing center. “No, we couldn’t. Those arrows hit him when he was in this realm. We couldn’t do anything about the poison. Even in the Dream Realm the poison would kill him, and his mate must be a Dreamer to bring him back. Everything and everyone have limits no matter how powerful they are. Well, that’s what I’ve had to come to terms with.” Raven watched Brigid’s haunted face as she said this. The other dreamers were there with them now and they’d been discussing their abilities and learning about what they could do. Their situation within the Dream Realm and how much danger they were in. What dangers came from the realm and what came from the Fae. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m exhausted. There’s just too much to take in. I need time to take this all in.” Raven wanted to spend time with Dominic. She had so many questions for him. How had he
Their arrival didn’t go unnoticed for long. Which they were all thankful for. Brigid, though, was in a panic. She could do nothing in this realm to help save Tom. The arrows were poisoned. At the first mention of poison, the trickle of people became a flurry. Lily got word out to the closest healing center to expect him and arranged a mage portal to get him sent right there. In moments Tom and Luke were gone with two other wolves from their Pack. Raven watched as people moved about all weary of Brigid. They were unsure how to respond or interact with her. Did they worship her? Treat her as a ruler? Approach her as a friend or an enemy? What did they do? How did someone interact with a being they thought of as a god for thousands of years? Especially, when they’re standing directly in front of them looking rather bedraggled and lost. “Reality is never what the stories tell us. I wish it was. A goddess in one realm is a nobody in another realm. What c
Dominic’s mind was still scattered, but he could move, and he did. He knew who he was and who Raven was. What was different was more than he had time to think about as they made their way back to where they needed to go. They had found their objective, and he had to push his mate to get them out of there. The enemy was in there and they now swarmed over the land searching for the small female with them. If they found her, then they’d find Raven. Both were creatures who could twist the very air of this realm into whatever they wanted. Goddess, he’d been killed hours ago. He remembered the searing pain as the Fae tore into him with a magical wild-fire spell. Dominic remembered his body being torn apart and burned piece by piece. These sick creatures created a spell that could keep their victims alive until the last piece of them was consumed. Yet, the Fae creature hadn’t realized his mate was a Dreamer and there. Brigid walked Raven through recreating
“I still don’t know if I can do this.” Raven listened to Brigid’s words and instructions about how she was supposed to build a new body for Dominic. She claimed he’d be the same as he was before. If that’s what she wanted. Oh yes, she’d hinted at the fact that Raven could tweak things if something needed changing. But she’d warned her that it couldn’t be too big of a change. Raven didn’t know what Brigid meant by that. But she was still having problems believing she could do this. How could this be something she’d be able to do? If she didn’t Dominic would stay dead. If she didn’t try, he’d be dead when they returned to their reality. If she tried and failed, at least she could say she tried. If she succeeded, she’d have Dominic back. What did she have to lose? Other than hope. “You won’t know if you can do anything the first time you try to do anything until after you’ve tried to do it.” Brigid said. She was being humorous and smiled at her in a mo
Raven didn’t know how long or where she was. But she knew something was wrong long before her mind was fully functional. When she realized that she couldn’t find Dominic that Raven knew something was wrong. When Luke noticed Raven was awake, everyone moved to her side. “Hey, hey, Luna Jones, are you back with us? Okay, take it easy. Breathe. Breathe. Calm yourself. You’re okay. It’s not what you think. We need to talk, but we can’t if you get upset again.” “Where’s my mate? Where’s Dominic?” Raven sat up from where she lay on the ground in a strange place. “Where am I?” At least she recognized Luke and Tom, but she didn’t recognize the female. “Please Luna Jones, stay calm and relax. We need to explain this to you. There’s a limited time to change the outcome and we can’t stay here long. Please listen to this. It’s unbelievable but it’s a miracle. Just listen to her.” Tom begged Raven. She didn’t know what Tom was speaking about, but sh
Raven didn’t know what happened to Dominic or how to get him back. He and the guard he’d attacked were fighting in the cage on top of the column. “How do we get Dominic down from there?” There was no way she would leave without her mate. Tom and Luke turned on her. “Luna Jones, we understand our orders and your feelings. There’s nothing we can do. You and the lady here are our priority to get out of here.” “I’m going back in there to get him back. Our Pack needs him.” Raven found Tom holding her back with the help of the female. “No, you can’t. Only a living person can switch places with him. Also, the Keeper will return at any minute. He won’t let the guard, or your friend live long.” The soft voice of the female had Raven’s reacting violently to this. “We can’t leave him behind.” As we spoke in hushed tones the creature Raven assumed the female called the Keeper returned. Raven panicked and she had to get to Dominic now. So
One cage was left up on a high column with a lone occupant. Raven gasped when she saw the being move. “They’re alive up there Dominic. She’s up there. That’s her. I know it. I don’t know how, but they won’t let us use our abilities here. So, she can’t rescue herself. They’re practically tapping her of everything she has because they’ve used up or killed all the others.” “These were the others I assume.” “Yes, I think so. At least, most of them.” “Looks like someone was angry. How are we going to reach her? They shattered all the other columns.” Tom asked. He tried to work out a way to get to her, but like everyone there it was one of those monumental tasks. “We don’t have climbing equipment, and the column is solid stone. I don’t see any cracks or veins. It would take days or weeks to work our way up making footholds if we had the gear. That’s if anyone knew how to use it. I’ve only gone to a rock-climbing gym a few times.” “
Raven stepped away from the others without a word. The males debated what they found lying on the ground, but they found nothing long or strong enough to work as the tools they needed. Luke went through his pack searching for anything. “Need out strips want. Function and form are one. Take from the scrap and bring it value, beauty, use, and form.” Raven said half to herself. She muttered under her breath as she stared at her hands as if the debris in her hands was an object to study. Her hands moved over it. Pressing, pushing, and pulling at it as she tweaked the object. The object glowed with a faint light that pulsed with each movement of her hands. “This should work to pop the hinges out.” Raven returned to Dominic’s side, and in her hands lay a thick rod and a heavy mallet. She offered them to Tom who hesitated to take them. “Uh, thanks.” When he did take them, his features changed to show a look of surprise. He felt the weight of the mallet and