Chapter 028: Breakpoint

Ava's POV 

As I pulled Caleb tight, the sound of his shaking voice reaching out for me still reverberated in my head. His small hands clutched my arms as though he was reluctant to let go; his body shivered from the shock of being in the Raven's paw. Running my hand through his hair, I mumbled gentle words to try to calm him even as my own heart hammered in my chest.

Still humming with the aftermath of the struggle was the chamber. Warriors watched the entrance of the tunnel, looking for any last dangers. Jackson, who was standing next to me, had dirt on him and injuries, but his eyes were keen and his mind was already processing what had just occurred. The Raven had once more escaped, but this time we had Caleb. At least momentarily, that seemed like a triumph.

"Are you hurt?" Leaning back to check Caleb over, I asked him gently. His face was covered with grime, but other than that he appeared to be unhurt.

He shook his head, still with wide eyes full of terror. "I'm good, Mom. But I was very afraid. You wouldn't locate me, she insisted on repeating.

At his words, my heart contracted. My blood stopped cold just thinking about him alone with that woman listening to her toxic comments.

"You're safe now," I said, speaking deliberately. "We found you, and we're not letting her hurt you again."

Jackson moved in closer, his face a mix of relief and irritation. "We have to get him off this floor. She might return; we are not running the danger of another fight down here.

I nodded, staring at the black passage from whence the Raven had disappeared. The woman was unrelenting, always a step ahead, always sliding through our hands. But this time was different—something more frantic in her eyes when she had Caleb. She seemed to have wanted us to locate him, as if the actual game had not yet begun.

We started walking out of the tunnels, quiet between Jackson and me thick. Caleb's breathing had begun to equalize, but I could feel the weight of what had transpired weighing down everyone of us. This was more than a fight for control or territory. Targeting our family, the Raven wasn't going to stop until she had wrecked all we valued.

Leo and the other fighters were waiting as we came out of the tunnel into the cool night air; their looks were somber but relieved at seeing Caleb safe in my arms.

Jackson said, "Get the packhouse ready," his voice taut. "Two times the guards. Someone arriving or leaving without my consent bothers me.

Leo nodded, already headed to execute the instructions. Now the pack was on great alert, and we couldn't afford to let our defenses go once more. Not while the Raven was still on her next move, out there planning.

The strain between Jackson and me became increasingly evident as we returned to the packhouse. His unspoken thoughts—the irritation, the anxiety, the wrath at the Raven for transforming this into such a personal attack—were weighty. But there was another as well. A uncertainty that had been slinking into our life from the outset of this dream.

Once inside, I placed Caleb to bed and stayed at his side till he at last fell asleep in a fitful. His little body curled up in the sheets, his face still marked with concern even in rest. Though my heart hurt, I made myself strong. He needed to know that, no matter what, I was there for him.

Watching his breathing steady, I stood silently for a time then turned and exited the room. Jackson, his arms folded and leaning against the wall, was waiting for me in the corridor. Though his face was blank, I could sense miles separating his thoughts.

Quietly breaking the silence, I murmured, "She's not going to stop." "This is only the starting point."

Jackson did not answer right away. His eyes closed, concentrated on something only he could see, and his jaw stiffened. "I know," he said slowly at last. Still, this is different this time. She is starting to become desperate.

I scowled and stepped forward closely. "What do you mean?"

Jackson fixed me with a disturbing intensity in his eyes. "The Raven is not only seeking pack leadership now. She is after our family specifically. She understands that is how she will break me.

His comments made me shiver down my back. Not precisely, it wasn't a discovery. From the time she had stolen the twins, I knew this was more personal than we had thought. Still, it became true when Jackson spoke it out. The Raven was not merely wanting power. She wants to piece-meal ruin us.

Still, why? My voice just above a whisper, I asked. "What would she like from us?"

Jackson shook his head, expression clearly frustrated. "I'm not sure. Still, it goes beyond territory or control whatever it is. She is engaged in a deeper game; we are still in the dark.

I pushed my lips together, the weight of my helplessness covering me like a thick blanket. The more we battled, the more twisted we grew in the Raven's web; we were caught in the center of a conflict we did not completely comprehend.

"We cannot merely wait for her next action," I added, my voice tightening. "We have to determine her goals and the reasons behind her behavior."

Jackson's eyes clouded as the weight of the circumstances descended on him. “I agree. But just now we have to defend the pack—including Caleb and Lily. We will work out the rest; first, we must make sure they are safe.

I nodded, though the irritation bit me. For too long, we had been playing defense, responding to every Raven's action without really knowing her motivations. Jackson, however, was correct. First in importance was our children's safety. Everyone else would have to wait.

The packhouse sank into a strained quiet as the evening dragged on. Watching the shadows for any indication of the Raven or her companions, guards roved the perimeter. Inside, the air was tense and every floorboard squeak sent a wave of stress across the space.

I stayed up unable to fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I watched Caleb's scared expression and heard Lily's feeble gasps following the explosion. Haunted me, the images kept running over in my head. I longed to grasp them both, never letting them disappear from my view once more. That wouldn't be sufficient, but I knew. The Raven would visit us once again, and the next time we might not be so fortunate.

I was standing by the window, peering out into the black woodland past the packhouse. Low in the heavens, the moon created long shadows across the woods. The Raven watched and waited somewhere out there. And I had no idea what her next action may be.

A few minutes later Jackson came to stand next to me, his footsteps soft. Though we didn't talk, our mutual anxieties weighed thick between us.

Jackson spoke at last, his voice just a whisper, after a protracted period of quiet. "I won't let Ava win," says.

I turned to study him and found the will in his eyes. Benefit, though, I sensed the tiredness—the weight of parenting, of leadership, of the ongoing struggle we were fighting. Jackson, we cannot continue to fight her like this. We have to call it off.

Tight in voice, he answered, "I know." But just now, we are short-staffed. About her actual identity and what she wants, we still don't know.

I nodded, the irritation boiling once more. "then we have to learn. There has to be some clue regarding her identity or origin, some indication of anything we are missing. We cannot merely wait for her to attack.

Jackson tightened his jaw, but he refrained from arguing. "We shall work it out." Right now, though, all that counts is keeping our family secure.

I disagreed not once but rather Deep down, though, I understood that safety was brittle. We would never be really safe as long as the Raven was prowling in the darkness. And should we fail to halt her shortly, the following onslaught could be the one doing total damage.

I started to get afraid as I stood there seeing the moon fall down toward the horizon. Every movement the Raven made appeared to draw us more into her trap; she was engaged in a game we did not really grasp.

I was not going to allow her, nevertheless, triumph.

Not without struggle.