Raven wore a vacant smile, utterly lost in the shifting landscapes of her mind. She chased after fantasies of what if and what could have been. Before her eyes, she could see a bright blue sky and grass so plush it demanded her fingers trace its tips. But every time her eyes blinked, they forced her back to the hard, compact earth beneath her face. Each blink was a brutal return to the cold ground and her fresh, agonizing memories. She didn't want to be here.
"Focus!" Missy commanded, lying beside Raven. Her body was curled in the fetal position, her gaze fixed on Raven's eyes, which seemed almost as hollow as her own. The sight made Missy wonder which of them was the fortunate one. Was it better to have a mate die, or to be betrayed and utterly abandoned?
"Don't let your pain steal your Justice! Make sure she dies!" Missy hissed, pulling her arms tighter around her own torso. Missy had spent the night in agony, howling in the forest as the pain of her mate claiming another woman had wrecked her body. She felt utterly exhausted, but her mind was anything but weak. It was sharp, venomous, and vengeful.
Missy abruptly grabbed Raven's face, her fingers subtly shifting into claws as she held her painfully tight. The blinding fog in Raven's eyes snapped away at the sudden, sharp pain, which felt like an anchor grounding her to the present moment, steeling her will.
"Speak!" Missy refused to yield, determined not to let Raven sit there and wallow when she could instead have vengeance.
Raven's face, streaked with drying blood and tears, cracked into an earth-shattering smile—a terrible sight filled with pain and the nascent edge of madness. "I want to die!"
"Me too!" Missy's words were a harsh, throaty growl as her nails bit deeply into Raven's skin, though Raven didn't wince. "Die, but make sure she dies too!"
Raven slowly nodded, a terrible realization settling in. She could have both.
Retracting her claws, Missy simply lay back down next to Raven. The two women stared into each other's eyes, mirror images of pain and shared ruin reflected between them.
The moment of dark understanding shattered with the stomp of feet entering the underground bunker, accompanied by excited chatter and speculation about the trial's outcome—who was wrong, who would be punished. The air was thick with the scent of fear and anticipation.
"Missy?" Elizabeth called out, confused to see her sister lying on the ground. Missy had been acting strangely all day.
Boris couldn't focus on Missy; the pack was in chaos, and he was paralyzed, unsure if he should report to the council or rush back to his own territory. He felt stuck at a complete standstill.
Missy pushed herself up from the ground, walking over to the gathering pack, then slumping down at the very back. She didn't want to look. She wanted to go home.
"Missy." Elizabeth crouched down before her, wanting to reach out, but feeling a chasm widen between them—a space she was no longer allowed to cross. What happened? Are you okay? Elizabeth spoke the words directly into her sister's mind, seeking a semblance of privacy amid the crowd.
Missy frowned, but at the sound of her sister's voice in her head, she realized something. She had never thought of it before. With a simple, willful thought, she slammed her mind link shut, tossing everyone—including Elizabeth—out of her mind. The sensation was profoundly odd, something she'd never attempted. After a few seconds, the connection closed not just to her sister, but to everyone. The pack was gone. With a single action, she had severed her connection, finally alone in her mind. It was no better, but it was no worse, and she decided to keep the link off.
Elizabeth felt as if a piece of her family had just vanished. None of them had ever turned the bond off, cut the connection. The silence was lonely. Missy had been the only one she ever truly spoke to.
A short, sharp howl suddenly called the attention of all in the bunker back to Alpha Sean. "We've heard the charges! How do you respond, Raven?" Alpha Sean had tried to speak to her, but she had only stared ahead blankly. He couldn't grasp her mental state. For decades, every wolf in the pack had abandoned the mate bond to secure the border—it was the principle that safeguarded their world. He believed he had raised his daughters to understand this simple truth.
Standing tall, he stared at his daughter, who remained silent. The pack grew restless, eager to return to their duties.
"Die later!"
Sean's head whipped up at the odd words yelled by a woman. The crowd was too thick to see the speaker, but he knew the voice was not from his pack.
The world around him changed violently. There was a sickening lurch as Raven's fractured mind suddenly yanked everyone into its space.
Like before, a sea of lush greenery replaced the cold bunker wall, the sun so blindingly bright it physically assaulted their vision. They were seeing the world through Raven's eyes.
Then, the images snapped to a halt, and confusion rippled through the pack as the dull, brown earth of the bunker floor rushed back into view, only to be yanked back a heartbeat later into Raven's memory.
The sun's rays were a physical assault now.
Looking down, they saw a strong arm wrap around their waist, pulling them tight against a large, muscular chest. They could feel the tight coil of muscle pressing against their back. Looking up, the man's features were indistinct—the sun behind his head hid him—but his touch was enough! Every wolf in the bunker could feel it: the sparks they had only heard of, the undeniable feeling of completion. This perfect, fleeting moment was prolonged, extended well past its actual duration.
Boris scanned the faces of the wolves around him as they watched the images Raven forced upon them. He didn't know the purpose of the showing, but he felt its devastating effectiveness. Some wolves cried openly; others had their eyes squeezed shut, as if in the presence of the most terrible and beautiful sight.
The idyllic vision before everyone's eyes shattered suddenly. The pack watched in horror, the protective feeling of a mate's arms ripped away, replaced by the sickening sight of that same man losing his sanity, forced over the border.
The wolf screamed, blood leaking from his nose. His eyes turned black, his body screaming as his forced shift racked his frame. His transformation was hideously irregular: his ears had morphed to that of a wolf, his right arm had formed up to his shoulder, and his spine was hunched, an awkward arch of human and wolf bone.
Everything became chaotic! The wolf's screams, the sight of the feral changes, then darkness as Raven closed her eyes. They could only hear the snarling, the painful crack of the whip.
"Now we can leave!" The coldness of Raven's recorded words caused an unconscious, visceral growl to rumble in the throats of those in the bunker.
When the blackness faded again, the world was blurry. They were on the ground. Her back was pressed to the plush grass. Above her was the once-gentle wolf, his teeth bared, his eyes clear with madness.
"Stop! Please stop!" she cried, begging her mate. She felt the cold, smooth wood of the handle in her hand, knowing it would end in a deadly silver point. "Please." She screamed.
The world instantly turned black as she closed her eyes. Her hand moved by muscle memory alone. She plunged the blade into her mate's heart. Felt the hot blood spill onto her chest, the sharp sound of his breath rush from his lungs. His body sagged, lifelessly next to her. But she still didn't open her eyes. All the pack could hear were her screams—they echoed not just in their minds, but in the bunker itself, an endless reverb of her unbearable pain.
"Enough!" Alpha Sean roared, his voice cracking like a thunderbolt. His words violently dispelled the mind link, instantly drenching them in the stale, earthy scent of the bunker. The hum of the lights suddenly felt exceptionally loud.
The underground hall was plunged into a stunned silence. Every wolf needed time to absorb what they had experienced, to feel as if they were back in their own skin.
"I hadn't—" A broken, tiny voice spoke from the ground for the first time. Raven's nails were digging into the cold dirt. "It was my choice! I hadn't decided!" Raven's eyes snapped into focus and landed on Skylar. This woman had been her mentor; Raven had spent her entire life wanting to be just like her—an impossible irony in this moment.
Skylar stood tall as the silver bit into her arm. She needed to remind everyone of the commitment of being a Warden Wolf, of what they had to sacrifice. "We do not have mates for a reason! We do not add to the feral wolves. We hold the line. You have fooled yourself into thinking there was a choice!" Skylar spoke without a trace of understanding. She didn't care about Raven's feelings; they were swords, and a sword never cries.
"Your mate is ten feet away from you. Bonded." Skylar fought the urge to look behind her, but other wolves did, looking to their fated mates across the room. "Mine is dead!" Her voice rose to a shrill scream. "I don't even know his name!" She pushed herself to her feet.
"The tide has turned!" Marina said, a deep frown still etched on her face.
"It will not matter!" Philip had entirely distanced himself, trusting Marcus would step in if all else failed.
"You are lucky! Your mate will never affect your duty to the pack!" Skylar declared, feeling the hate-filled stares boring down on her.
A vicious growl ripped through Raven's chest as she launched herself at Skylar. She wanted to rip the wicked bitch apart. "Do I seem lucky!" Raven was still covered in her mate's blood. She looked crazed. Her hair, which had been in a messy bun, now fell wildly around her shoulders.
The acrid scent of grief was pungent in the room. The pack watched as the Alpha, Beta, and Elders spoke quickly, arguing over what they had witnessed and who was owed blood. The once-united pack was stunned by the speed of the conversation between their leaders.
Alpha Sean knew his daughter's emotions meant nothing. "Beta Skylar acted in haste. But she was not wrong! There were no choices." As a father and an Alpha, he was pleased his daughter hadn't committed treason.
Two of the pack warriors approached Skylar to remove the silver bindings. She rolled her wrist as a warrior handed back her weapons.
Raven held her head high as she watched Skylar release her sword from its scabbard. Skylar's steps were confident as she stormed over to Raven.
"Blood must be paid! Take your blood, Beta!" The Alpha's words signaled the end of the trial. All that remained was the punishment.
Skylar's mind teetered on how much blood she should take. Raven had caused irreparable damage to her reputation within the pack. It didn't matter that she had been right, that her actions had been just and appropriate for their pack laws. Raven had managed to malign her against the rest of the pack. Blood could be as simple as a scratch, or as heavy as a slashed throat.
Author's note:
Been a while, if you read my other book you know that I've been out of town. And I have no internet in the boonies. I plan to drop at least 5 to 10 chapters in the next few days.