Looking around, he noticed they were in an ancient cemetery. Stones had been weathered away, but he realized why he had not been able to sense Alena. Their burial place was on the other side of the world. The trees around him had changed. They were taller, darker. The soul of the forest was ancient. Stones and mausoleums filled the city of the dead. And yet the graveyard was situated in the middle of a forest so dense the only clearing was the burial ground. He found himself perched on a tomb high enough he could see the entire pack and the funeral pyre at the center. Marija and Charlene were dressed in white shifts each with silver collars and silver arm bands. He knew they must have hurt, but to look at the two, he would never have known from the power coming off of them.
They circled the funeral pyre saying something, which to him seemed more grunts and growls than words. Alena stood next to Vincent with Trina nestled against her. Her head was bowed, but when he opened his mouth and squawked, she was the only one who looked up and met his gaze. Her eyes were the same dark color they had been when she woke up.
"You're hard to find."
"There are reasons for that, Raven Warrior. This is sacred ground to my people. Only werewolves have ever stepped foot on. You were allowed to find me."
Darius was taken aback by the harshness and alien answer he got from his heartmate. "Alena?"
"We are both here, but now I pay respect to the dead. You are not pack and do not understand our ways, Darius. Forgive me if I am harsh, but as my mate, you must give me the space and the understanding. We must abide by pack rules for now. Besides, Alena is saving her strength so we can carry out our plan."
He flapped his wings in frustration. The Warrior did not like the fact there seemed to be two separate personalities inside the woman he loved at the moment. He wanted them whole. He wanted Alena and not the wolf.
"We are what we are and can blend our personalities in or out as we choose. It is a gift only the half-breed has. Even the child in our arms will have the option to do this. We might one day blend together, but for now we are strongest as this. The others do not know we can shift without the help of a full moon. It is our advantage. Know we both love you and no matter what happens, we know you will be there to protect us."
"Trust her, Darius. It has to be this way for now," He heard Alena's voice echo in the back of him mind.
He did not do anything but clap his beak at her. He was not happy, but there was nothing he could do. For now, he watched Marija and Charlene bow before the family and present the two remaining children with two candles. With a twist of her hand, Marija ignited the candles and led the youngest to the pyre where her mother lay. She lit the dry tinder and then Trina left Alena's arms. Darius kept his eye on Ben, who had tears running down his cheek as if he really did miss his wife and felt bad he had murdered her.
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Chapter Twenty-Two
Alena felt Darius retreat to the back of her mind and become a silent observer. She didn't like shutting him out, but it was for the best. She had to focus on what she was going to do. She had told Marija and her mother her suspicions about Ben and what she had planned. They were against her idea, but she knew there was no other way except to do this now so no others would die. When she had followed the others to the funeral, she had been surprised she still knew the ancient words to allow herself entrance to the place. Only those who were pack were allowed on the hallowed ground. The graveyard was where they buried their dead, and only those of the pack leader's family and the seconds were allowed to be burned. The others were buried. Her father had been burned on a pyre just like her cousin was. His ashes had been scattered to the four winds. The spirits of those burned were said to help protect their sanctuary and keep out intruders. There were other stories told to her as a child, that phantom wolves were seen prowling the stones during ceremonies. They were there to watch over the spirits of those who were killed during leadership ceremony, which was also done in the cemetery. The cemetery was not just for their pack, but for all wolf packs.
Everything had a tradition, a place within the pack, and today was one for mourning even though she was going to be breaking that custom. Alena watched the fire eat away the brush and tinder under Jamie's body. As soon as the first flames licked at her body, a low howl sounded from the pack. Soon others joined until the whole pack was singing the death of the loved one. Even the wolves from the forest joined the chorus. A tear slid down her cheek. Alena let herself join in the mourning song. The howls died one by one, and the song ended.
Once the last howl echo silenced in the great night, the fire blazed before the pack. It was time for them to depart and let the blaze claim her cousin and the spirits of the wolves greet Jamie as one of their own. People started to turn and leave so they could go back to their homes and mourn in their own way. Alena closed her eyes and felt the silver switchblade in her pocket. She had always kept the blade in her purse ever since her encounter with Vincent's minions a few months ago. She hadn't wanted to be unprepared. She had not been a wolf for more than two days, and she was thinking crazy things. Throughout the ceremony, Vincent had been shooting her dirty looks. She didn't care and hoped he'd rot in hell for pulling what he had. The wolf within her was glad, too.
Pulling in a deep breath, she got a feeling of approval from the wolf and opened her eyes. Ben was lingering at the pyre, staring at the burning remains of his wife. The tears staining his cheeks were streaked black with ash. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and gave his flesh a squeeze. He looked up and smiled back at her.
"I know who you are and what you did,” Alena whispered to him.
"Excuse me?” he asked. There was no trace of an English accent.
Alena met his eyes, gathered her emotions, and shot them like an arrow into his mind with all the force she could muster. Ben squinted and stumbled back. The pack stopped and looked at the two of them. Ben stood slowly and wiped the blood from his nose. Alena gathered her pain for a second strike and this time added in the fear his daughter felt too. This one left her winded as it left her, and she stumbled and grabbed onto a grave. She was not used to doing this deliberately and using her gift as a weapon. She wasn't using all her strength because she only wanted to draw out his other personality, not kill him. This time she was using her ability with knowledge instead of being a teenager and not knowing what she was doing. Ben stumbled again from her arrow of pain and this time she was left light headed as all her emotions left her. As a result, Ben fell to the ground this time with blood pouring from his nose. Vincent knelt next to him and tried to examine him, but Ben shrugged him off. The pack leader swung around and growled at Alena.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"He killed Jamie. He killed his own son and the other boy. He's been the cause of the mutilations to animals and the other hitchhikers and campers you've been finding in the woods."
The color drained from Vincent's face. To accuse another pack member of something so serious meant the possibility of death if the allegations weren't backed up, and the accusation wasn't supposed to be done on hallowed ground. “You dare accuse my second, when we are grieving at his wife's funeral? My sister!"
Alena met her cousin straight in the eye. “I dare. I bring the charge of murder on his head. And I blame you for doing it too and not putting him down. You've been covering for him because you knew that night at the leadership ceremony that when you bit him something was wrong. You could feel it, couldn't you?"
"Alena, this is not the time or place!” Marija shouted.
Alena looked at the vedma. The gypsy and she had become friends, and right now, she was playing her part. The part she did not want to play. “This is the only time,” Alena hissed.
At this point, the pack had stopped and was staring at the commotion. The fire was dying and throwing diabolical shadows around the bone yard. Vincent was in stunned silence, and Ben had a small, knowing smile on his face. Alena sensed the change in his personality. So
mething darker and more sinister loomed in the mind of the werewolf behind the friendly smile.
"I challenge you, Ben. I call you out to the pack and to our ancestors. It is against our laws to kill our own unless it is in ascension ceremony. You have murdered three of the pack. It would be blasphemy enough to kill your mate, but you brutally tore apart two children, just pups, and one of them your own. What do you say against this?"
Twisted hissing laughter spilled from Ben's lips. His eyes grew wild and the firelight danced in them. The moon was on the waning side of full. Alena saw his sharp canines. He stepped forward out of Vincent's grasp. “I accept your challenge. It will feel good to see you sliced to ribbons under my claws. But, oh wait, you can't change now can you. So how are you going to fight?"
"I don't need claws, Ben. Or should I call you Jack?"
The pack gathered around them in a larger circle, giving the opponents enough room to fight. Ben unbuttoned his shirt and handed the garment to Vincent. Charlene stepped next to her daughter. “Alena, you don't have to do this. You didn't know what you did to your uncle would result in this."
She looked at her mother and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I know, Mom. But it is my responsibility. I should never have run away in the first place. This is my way of making things right. Everything happens for a reason, right?"
Her mother didn't say anything, but squeezed her arm. Alena closed her eyes and felt the wolf come forward. Not all the way, not yet. She did not want to change just yet. She stared at Ben. His teeth were longer and so were his hands. They were now tipped with razor-sharp claws. The same ones he had torn apart his prey with. She knew the story about Jack the Ripper. Crazy surgeon who killed prostitutes in London, but who was never caught. What had he been thinking in ages past? How did he become a werewolf? Was one of his victims a wolf and had bitten him in the first place?
"Come on, pretty pet. Let's play.” There was a hint of an English accent in Ben's voice. Alena could hear it and with the bloodlust circling through his veins she knew it was only ready to come out. The tension in the air was growing with the pack's anticipation of the fight, and already she sensed they were salivating.
Alena and Ben circled one another a few times until finally he moved with lightning speed and swiped his claws across her arms, tearing the skin. The sting of the claws hurt. Ben laughed and his eyes darkened. He licked the blood from his claws. Alena slipped her hand into her jeans and pulled out the switchblade. Her finger pressed the catch and the blade glinted in the moonlight. She held the blade tightly in her hand. Ben smiled, and she heard chuckles among the pack. They were thinking, “What is a knife going to do against one of us?” None of them knew the switchblade was silver. The weapon had cost her a pretty penny because she had the blade custom made.
Ben stepped a little closer to her. “If you think to carve me with your knife, you need a bigger blade, pet."
Alena didn't wait and jabbed the switchblade, catching Ben in the side. He screamed. She smiled. He deserved every howl.
"Bitch, that hurt! That's real silver!"
"I know. Just like the silver blade you poisoned your wife with. So why not come out of your hole, Jack, and tell them all what you did!"
"Why do you insist on calling me Jack?” he asked with a hiss.
Alena didn't wait. She curled her fist into a ball and aimed for his chin, but he sideswiped her, and she landed on one of the tombstones. The headstone caught her in the stomach and took her breath away. The hard impact hit the left side of her ribs and she felt one crack. The pain paralyzed her, but she knew her healing abilities would take care of the injury, but landing on the gravestone knocked the switchblade out of her hand. Bent over the grave marker, she felt her hands grow into claws. Neither Ben nor the pack knew she had the ability to change without the full moon. She spun around and swiped at her opponent, catching the soft flesh of his stomach. This time her claws did some damage. A hushed awe ran through the pack. Ben was not pleased as he roared in pain.
Alena gripped her side and turned to face Ben. She licked her lips and found her teeth were longer too. The burn of a full change raced beneath the surface of her skin like an electrical current, but she had to keep her beast at bay. The warmth from the funeral fire was making Ben sweat.
"Did you kill all your victims this way?"
Ben sneered and launched himself at Alena. His first connected with her jaw, which knocked her to the ground so he was able to straddle her, pinning her to the hard earth. He leaned over her while she lay helpless under him. Somehow he had her silver blade and took her right hand. He had the switchblade above her head and then brought it down. She felt the silver blade cut through her palm. Once the silver touched her flesh, the poison was like acid and began to burn through her system. The longer the silver blade stayed in her palm, the more toxic it would become. She screamed this time. Ben ran his tongue along her cheek.
"I'm going to have fun ripping your chest open.” His voice had completely changed into that of a guttural English accent.
"It's true,” Alena whispered.
"Oh, yes."
"Finish her, Ben!” one of the pack yelled.
His smile widened more than it should have. His face elongated into a muzzle. Alena already felt his weight shifting on top of her. Ben's legs popped and his tendons tore.
"I will not lose you to this freak. Let me help you!" Darius cawed, flying above them.
"No. You can't. They'll kill you."
"I'm your mate. Doesn't that count for something?"
She didn't answer, feeling the burn starting inside of her gut. This was it. Now or never. She let the wolf race through her system. The pain of the change contracted her hand so she was able to pull her palm free from the blade and knock the switchblade loose. Ben was lost to his own change for a split second while he bulked and became a half wolf half man creature. She, on the other hand, let her whole body shrink. Where there was skin was now fur. Her back arched and she thrashed around. Pain was her world. Ben fell away. Alena was able to wiggle her way out from underneath him before he could completely finish changing. Alena felt herself slip her skin and become the wolf. There were gasps of surprise from the pack, but she didn't care. She wanted Ben dead. He was not going to kill anyone else. But he towered over her in man-wolf form. She jumped and snapped at him while he swiped at her with his massive claws. She easily bounded out of the way. She jumped at him from the other side and kept dodging his moves until the fire was at his back. The pyre was still blazing, but going down. Ben was getting frustrated. She sensed his irritation because she was moving faster than he had thought where he was big and bulky. He slashed at her and caught her ear. Alena yelped, but didn't stop. She bared her fangs at him and growled. His back was to the fire and he was only a few steps away from the searing heat. She crouched down low and was getting ready to spring.
Suddenly, there was a loud caw above her. She looked up to see a raven with talons and wings spread coming down at Ben ready to tear his eyes out. The werewolf roared.
"I told you not to interfere."
"I will not let you die. Besides. I'm not fighting. I'm only diving because I saw a rat."
"Yeah, and you eat rat."
"They taste like chicken."
Alena didn't answer him, but jumped on Ben tottering him into the funeral bonfire. Darius flew away from his target leaving Ben blind in one eye. Alena leapt off the flames before they caught her fur, but long enough, they got Ben's clothes. He roared and was consumed. The fire grew large once again. Alena caught her breath on the ground panting and willed herself back to human form. The transformation back was swifter and less painful than it had been into wolf. The other pack members were speechless. They stared at her naked form. She looked into the shadows and saw misty forms running across the graveyard from the forest and coming closer. Darius stood off in the shadows and nodded at her. She felt his joy and triumph for her since she destroyed Jack the Ripper.
Alena stare
d at Vincent and then at Marija. “Do any of you doubt I deserve my place in this pack?"
They met her eyes and the rest of the pack was silent. The misty forms had solidified and one now stood at the edge of the circle. Marija noticed and motioned for the pack to divide. The wolf was white and streaked with grey. As the wolf came forward, the ghost became more solid. The creature sat before Alena and looked at her with bright yellow eyes. Its pink tongue lolled out of its mouth.
"What is it?” Vincent asked.
The wolf turned to him and growled. He shrunk back. Marija knelt down next to the wolf and touched the animal lightly. After a moment the gypsy turned to Alena. “It's the spirit of your father."
Alena met her mother's teary eyes. “Why is he here?"
"He says he was sent to collect the body and the spirit of the one you killed. He says, ‘Let it be known the one who was pack is shunned forever. He was welcomed into the pack two centuries ago by a bite and the man we knew died the day Vincent bit him in the leadership ceremony twelve moons ago. The wolf who died was Jack the Ripper."
"I didn't know."
The white wolf growled, and behind Vincent was a black wolf, who growled at him. Alena recognized that wolf. It was her uncle. “I don't think your father would agree. You knew what Ben was doing even if you didn't know who he truly was. You hid the other deaths of the animals and the humans mutilated in the forest. You had a hand in all of this."
The white wolf padded over and rubbed against Alena's leg. She dropped down and touched the wolf hearing her father's voice in her mind. "I am so proud of you. Not because you accepted who you are, but because of who you are in general. I watch out for you even if you don't know it. Just like I watch out for your mother."
Fur and Feathers [A Raven Saga Book 2] Page 21