Fur and Feathers [A Raven Saga Book 2]

by Crymsyn R. Hart

  "Seneca and Seth both told me they had healed you, but I was not informed about the woman. She is your heartmate then? And you love her?"

  Darius nodded. “She is my mate. And I want to hold her in my arms for the rest of my days. I understand now what you meant about fucking and making love to women."

  The Raven Warrior caught his leader's smile and little chuckle. “My, my. My toughest and most revered Warrior has finally discovered he has a heart. What will happen next? Jet will discover his mate, too, I bet? Soon I will need more Ravens to keep the Warrior numbers in our ranks. Look, Darius, I will do what I can to hold off Betha. She still has not recovered from Maili's death. It still rakes her heart. But please find the killer soon, or I won't be able to stop her wrath, and I don't want you to go through what Tremain had to with Linnea. It's bad enough the council is not happy about her having twins."

  "What's so wrong with Tremain having a family?"

  "Nothing. The council elders are only worried the children will have too much power considering Linnea is a potent witch and one of us and Tremain is still a Warrior. They will have immortality, and the Elders are not sure the children should be granted that gift."

  "That is not up to the council to decide. It is up to Morrigain to choose."

  "I agree. And that was my argument against them. Of the five, three of them agreed with me. Two of them did not. Guess who didn't?"

  Darius heard the anger in Caleb's voice. He knew his leader's father was on the council considering he was the one who had originally cursed Caleb in the first place. The first Raven Warrior. His leader had never mended the rift between them, and the other Warrior didn't blame him. “Your father I bet."

  Caleb nodded. “Okay. Go, Darius. Check on your heartmate. I sense your concern for her."

  Darius nodded. A shadow passed over the moon, and as it left, Caleb was back in the tree transformed into a raven. His leader cawed at him and ruffled his wings. Darius knew there was not a lot of time left either for him or for Alena.

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  Chapter Eighteen

  Alena felt herself running. Scenery around her was a blur. She smelled pine, fresh broken earth, rain on green leaves, and prey. The musky scent of animals surrounded her like she had never before experienced. This was an even more intense dream than the ones she had when she would join Jamie or Vincent on their hunts after they had slipped their skins. She seemed to be the actual wolf in this dream, and she was running for her life, but whatever was chasing her was getting closer and closer. She could not out run it. Her lungs were burning, and when she stopped to pull in her breath, she realized she was on four legs. When she stopped, there was a low growl behind her. Fright pushed her heart into her throat. Alena swallowed and tried to push her fear away, but when she turned, she saw a silver and black wolf with the markings of a raccoon staring at her as if she were lunch. Sharp teeth were bared and ready to tear out her throat. Its eyes were a mixture of gold and silver glinting in the light.

  Alena let herself back up until her back hit the bark of a tree trunk. Looking behind her, there was nowhere for her to run. She extended her mind to sense the wolf and found the beast was intelligent. The wolf wasn't just base instinct like the one who had been following her the other night. Whoever this was it was not the killer. She tried to move around the tree, but the wolf would jump in front of her every time she stepped to the left and to the right. She was trapped. Alena looked up to see if there were any footholds or low enough branches she could grab onto and climb the tree to escape, but there was nothing. She turned her mind back to the wolf. Maybe she could convince the animal to let her go.

  "What do you want?” she whispered.

  The wolf snapped its jaws at her, which made her jump back. "You know what I want."

  The hatred in the wolf's voice was so thick that the loathing almost bowled her over. “No, I don't,” Alena said.

  The wolf stepped forward and growled at her more. "Yes, you do. I've been locked away for years, and now my mate is calling. I will go to him, but you are keeping me from him."

  "Your mate? Darius? Is that who you mean?” Alena whispered.

  "You know it is."

  "I'm not stopping you from going to him. I want to be with him just as much as you do."

  "Then why do we stand as we are? Why are we human and wolf and not both?"

  Alena put her hand out and began to kneel down until she was eye to eye with the wolf. “I don't know. I never thought you were still there after the first time I felt you. After I ran and—"

  The wolf jumped forward almost catching Alena's throat. "After you ran, you pushed me into a cage, and now I want out. I want my freedom. I've spent too many nights away from the moon's light to not feel it on my fur."

  "I don't want to fight you. I never meant to put you into a cage. Trust me. I don't want either of this for us. I finally feel as if I am home, as if we are home. I love Darius and I'm glad that you do too. Isn't there some way for us to come to an understanding? To blend our personalities like we should have done years ago?"

  The wolf stopped, and Alena felt the beast peering into her mind to see if she was telling the truth. That the wolf was a part of her yet separate was strange. Alena thought she could feel the strength of the animal and that the animal had a bit of her power to sense emotions. However, there was no way she could keep anything and everything from the wolf. Alena peered deep into its eyes and felt its mind. The thoughts were wild, an untamable beast who had more intelligence than she had ever thought of before. But it was also a part of her so ingrained she wasn't sure she could ever separate herself from the wolf and knew she never should have driven her other half behind her mental walls. Alena never figured that by blocking out the emotions from others, she was also hindering the wolf. She knew she had been so scared and shocked at what she had done to her uncle that she had driven everything about her past behind a wall wanting to forget her history. She had even given herself a new name for a long time until she was safe and in a foster home. After that, she tried to overcome everything she was even though when the full moon rose she could never silence its hum. Even when she was in the restaurant during a full moon, she could never silence the silvery song.

  "We can be one, but you have to accept everything you are. You have to take me into your arms. The barrier is not completely gone around your mind. We cannot be together unless you completely let go."

  The wolf stepped closer to Alena. She was able to pet the wolf. Her fur was soft, and Alena was able to stroke the wolf's head. “How?"

  "For us to be together complete, you must die."

  Die? Alena backed away and felt a sliver of fear run through her. How could she die and then have the wolf and she be completely one? She didn't understand how that would work.

  "Don't you know that Death is only the beginning?"

  Both wolf and Alena looked over to see a tall pale figure dressed in black leaning next to the tree next to them. Alena jumped. The figure seemed familiar, and she was surprised that the wolf was not afraid of the figure. She looked up at him and let him pet her. Alena noticed his nails were pointed and translucent. His hair was dark and fell in waves around his shoulders. He was dressed entirely in black and wore a black trench coat. He reminded Alena of one of the Warriors, but she sensed that he was more powerful and seemed to vibrate on a higher level. Trying to sense his mind, she found nothing there save a blank wall. He smiled at her, and she saw his canine teeth were pointed like a vampire's.

  "Alena, I'm surprised at you. We only met a few days ago."

  She swallowed, realizing who he was. “You're the Angel of Death."

  "Very good."

  Alena stared at the wolf. She felt her resolve. As the wolf said, it was the only way for them to be together. “So I just surrender my soul to you and poof! I'll be complete."

  The Angel of Death shook his head. "It's not that easy. Always with transformation, there must be sacrifice, and in your cas
e, there must be pain. If I could spare you it, I would, but even I have learned to face my past and the monsters inside of us, there must be some kind of sacrifice. If all goes wrong, I will be there to escort your soul to the other realm. If not, well, then there will be perfection. Trust me. I've known a werewolf or two in my day. Things always work out the way they are supposed to with them, as well as with a few vampires I've met too."

  Alena heard the amusement in his voice and wondered exactly what he meant, but she was not about to question an angel. All she knew was that if she didn't make a decision soon, something was going to happen. Alena didn't feel right. She sensed her body was trying to fight against the change. Maybe that was what the wolf meant about her blocking her. She wasn't trying to stop the change, but something in her unconscious must be. Alena knew from experience being stuck in the middle of transformation was not safe for her body. She could die. Was it better for her to be trapped in between or for her to take whatever offer the wolf was giving her? Alena hung her head and then opened her eyes, feeling the resolve in her mind. If she did not do something soon, then she would never be able to go back. She wanted to feel Darius's hands around her. Maybe this time she and the Warrior would be able to finish what they had started. Her body ached to be with him.

  The wolf gave a little yip, and she felt a positive response from her. The wolf wanted that to. She met the animal's gaze. “Okay, so what happens now?"

  Without another word, the wolf leapt forward. Alena didn't have time to react, and she felt the pain from the bite and tried to get the animal off of her, but she couldn't move or speak. The Angel of Death put his hand on her, and her pain stopped.

  "I promised Morrigian I would help you find the one haunting your pack. But know this, Alena. The information is for you and your lover. Get the Ripper."

  "Ripper?"

  "You'll see."

  Before she could respond, blackness enveloped her.

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  Chapter Nineteen

  Darius felt the shadows release him from their hold, and as soon as he did, he sensed something was wrong. The link between him and Alena wasn't vibrating. Panic seized his heart. He ran to the cabin. Marija was at the door as if she expected him. The look on her was not a good one.

  "Darius, you don't want to go in there.” She put a hand on his chest. He felt his soul harden. After all this time, he had found the woman he loved to free him from his curse to spend an eternity with and she was gone.

  "What happened?” his voice escaped his lips in a gasp.

  Marija shook her head, and tears trailed down her cheeks. “I don't know. We tried everything, but it seems she just gave up. She calmed, and then after a while of lying still, her fever broke, but she never regained consciousness."

  "Let me see her!"

  The gypsy moved out of the way and let him pass. Inside, he found Charlene sitting on the side of the bed. Alena had been covered with a blanket. Her face looked peaceful. Her mother looked up when Darius entered. He did not smile at her, but there was an understanding between them. They had both found her only to lose her. The werewolf got up and left the room, leaving him to be alone with Alena's body. He knelt by the side of the bed. A stray piece of her dawn-streaked hair was in her face. He smiled and moved the tendril out of her eyes and then looked at her eternal beauty locked in death.

  Something unfamiliar and wet hit his cheek. He blinked and brought his hand up to his face. He was crying. He clutched her limp hand and brought it to his lips. “I just found you and you're taken away from me. How is that fair? How can the goddess be so cruel?” He let his head fall against her chest. His mind opened, and he searched the blackness in his thoughts for her. Her heart was silent. Her lungs empty of air, but there was something within his mind. He sensed her off in the distance, but he wasn't sure if the spark was she.

  He closed his eyes and clutched her hand to his chest. "Alena. Come back to me."

  There was recognition, and a questioning that answered him. Whatever was on the other end was Alena and not her at the same time. The personality was more instinct. More like an animal. There was uncertainty in the probe while he listened and waited for Alena to come closer to him.

  "Please, love. I want to hold you in my arms, and I can't do that."

  The other wrapped around his open mind like cracking a whip. Its intensity was more than anything Alena had ever shown him. It was stronger knocking his mind back. Whatever, whoever was on the other end had a sense of Alena, and then there was another. A wolf. He realized. This was her other half, what she had kept behind walls for so long. What she had warned him about.

  A low growl moved through his thoughts at his realization. The wolf thought he wasn't accepting her. "You know that's not true. I'm surprised. You know that."

  Silence filled his thoughts like an echo in a well. "Darius?"

  "Alena."

  "Yes and no. We are more than her. We are one now." The wolf found its voice. The tone sounded like Alena even though there was an edge he hadn't felt or sensed before, something wilder.

  "Will you come back? Your flesh is getting cold. I don't want to lose either of you. Whatever you have become I want to hold both of you in my arms. Come back to me, please."

  "You will accept me as I am. You will accept I am part of the pack."

  "I accept you for what you are. I accept you might think of me as dinner. Please, Alena. Don't leave me alone forever."

  Again, there was silence, but suddenly he was pushed out of the link he had shared with Alena. Her hand returned his grip, and he felt the other running through his hair. Her nails were sharper, and they scraped along his scalp. He looked up and saw her eyes were open. They were different than the ones he remembered. They were no longer blue, but dark as pitch and flecked with yellow so they shined in the light. Her mind was more powerful than before. Whatever powers she had as a wolf and whatever she had as a human had combined, and now he figured nothing could stop her.

  "Darius."

  "You came back."

  She swallowed and took a deep breath. He was glad to hear her heart beating again. “We—I am here.” To him, she didn't sound completely sure she was back. Her eyes studied his face, and her free hand caressed his cheek. He rested his face against her palm. Relief flooded through him now she was back and alive.

  "Do you know me, Alena? Do you know everything I've said to you? I—” Fear took his breath away. What happened if she did come back complete, but she didn't remember anything that had happened between them, what he had said to her? Was her love for him still the same?

  Her wild eyes softened. Alena sat up a little in bed. She leaned in and touched her lips to his, gently at first and then with more force. He ached to wrap his hands around her and crush her against him, but he waited and retuned her kiss, running his tongue over her teeth and feeling her sharper canines.

  "I know you, Darius," she whispered in his mind.

  He drew back from her, surprised she had acquired a new skill. Her seductive smile made his cock harden, but she leaned in and bit him lightly on the neck. Her hand wrapped around his neck and held him in place. “You are my mate,” she growled in his ear. “Wolves mate for life, Raven Warrior, and I claim you as mine.” Without another word, he felt the pain of her bite on his throat. He flinched and tried to pull away, but she held him with an ironclad strength she hadn't had before. She bit him deeper and a moan escaped his lips. He hated to admit he liked it.

  "Alena."

  The werewolf pulled away from his neck, and there were blood on her lips and chin. His blood. Her eyes shined with excitement. She licked the stain from her mouth and dragged her arm across her mouth to get rid of the rest of the mess. He placed his hand over the still-bleeding spot. A crimson droplet balanced on the tip of his fingers. Her eyes trained on the blood. He smiled and offered his finger to her, and she extended her tongue savoring the blood. Yes, Alena had definitely changed.

  "Do I scare you, Dar
ius? Now that you're mine, we're linked forever."

  "We already were linked, Alena. And I don't fear you at all."

  "Darius, did you find out—” Marija came in the bedroom, and when she saw Alena, she clutched her chest and nearly fainted. Darius got up quickly and caught her. He looked at his heartmate, who nodded knowing they had to talk. Darius took her into the other room and sat her down. Marija was shaking. He knelt down and made sure she was okay.

  "She's alive. My God. And you're bleeding!” The gypsy pulled down his collar and saw the bites. “She bit you! God, Darius, you could become one of us. Why did she bite you?"

  Darius hadn't thought about becoming a wolf, but he doubted that would happen, considering he was still cursed and didn't feel any different. “I don't think Morrigain will let me go that easily. And Alena is back. She's changed. Her personalities have merged. And she bit me because she said wolves mark their mates."

  "That's true. They do. Well, werewolves do. Good Goddess, she accepted everything she was. I didn't know it was possible."

  "It seems it is.” Both looked up when Charlene entered the room. “I felt her when she awoke. She has the true power of the wolves running in her blood given to her by her heritage. If she marked you, Darius, then you are her chosen mate. The only way she can reject you is to kill you."

  The Raven Warrior rose feeling his neck. The wounds had healed. “I don't think I have to worry about that."

  Her mother stepped forward and growled. “You'd better now. If you hurt her."

  "Charlene, he won't. Trust me,” Marija stepped between them. “Enough. We can worry about Alena later. Did you find anything out, what is attacking the pack?"