Raven's Rose

by Deanna Kinney

  “I cannot believe you did that!” she screamed, pressing her hand to her wound. “Now I will take it out on your new little bride!”

  “No!” he tried to yell, but she was already gone.

  Raven tried to get to his feet, but he was so weak he couldn’t even get to his knees. He didn’t have enough time to get the blood he needed to heal. That is probably why they were keeping him from Sophia. If he were to feed from her rich werewolf blood, he would heal very quickly.

  He attempted to crawl across the floor. He had only moved less than a foot when the door swung open wide.

  “Well, I see you are trying to escape, but I do not think we need to worry.” Griffin’s voice was smug. “I have a proposition for you, my brother.” He turned to Randolph. “Bring the girl in.” He reached down to Raven, pulling him to his knees. “Here is the deal, Brother. You can denounce these werewolf friends of yours and ask for forgiveness for your betrayal. If you do this, we will take you back into the coven once again. You will then help us with the location of your former wolf pack and together we will slaughter every last one of them.”

  Raven glared up at him with such hatred that he never thought he could have for his own brother. “I will never help you kill them!”

  Griffin ignored him. “Or you will be staked outside during the daylight hours where you will slowly dry up to a giant prune. I will make your bride watch, of course. She will then lead me to your pack, and I will kill them all anyway. The choice is yours. However, if you join us, I might just let your bride go free.”

  At that moment, Randolph entered the room with Sophia gripped tightly in his hands. “Raven!” She tried to go to him, but Griffin grabbed hold of her, pulling her close against him.

  “Hmm, I have never understood this sudden fascination with these human girls. But at least this one’s blood smells delicious.”

  Raven gritted his teeth, speaking through them with restrained anger. “Get—your—hands—off—of—my—wife.” He growled then.

  “Did you just growl at me? What are you a werewolf now?” He turned angry. “You will never growl at me again!” He jerked Sophia’s neck backwards and sank his fangs deep into her neck, sucking generously.

  “No!” Despite the chains, Raven stood and came at Griffin with fervent speed. Griffin must have anticipated it. As soon as Raven got close enough, he let Sophia go and backhanded Raven across the face, sending him flying over the bed across the room.

  “No!” Sophia yelled, turning quickly and slapping Griffin in the face.

  He grabbed hold of her hand. “The last girl who caused trouble here regretted it.” He jerked her along as he stomped across the room toward Raven. Raven lay on the floor unmoving.

  “I know you can hear me. You may want to reconsider my offer. It appears your wife is with child.”

  Raven lifted his head and locked eyes with a tearful and shocked Sophia. She began to cry. “Father will be very interested to hear this most unnerving news. This changes everything. She cannot be left alive now. But you can save yourself. You have two days to decide. Randolph, take her back.” He pushed Sophia into Randolph’s arms.

  Although his voice was weak, he called out to her. “Sophia, I will fix this somehow. I love you. I will fix this.” He knew, despite her heavy sobs, she heard him. Raven’s eyes filled with tears again. This could not be happening. This was supposed to be joyful news. But this news was dangerous for anyone but his pack. A baby was the one thing he did not see coming, and he did not know what to do about it. How was he going to save them now?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Two days passed in a blur. Raven wouldn’t have even known it if it hadn’t been for the constant pain in his heart keeping him barely alive. He didn’t care about his own pain, all he could think about was that his precious Sophia was suffering—and because of him. He had let her down. He was supposed to keep her safe. They had a chance at a happy life; a life with a family, something he didn’t even think was possible. And now that he knew, it was torturing him. He couldn’t imagine what Sophia was thinking. He wished he could get to her, but he could barely move. And now they would both die—all because of him.

  The door flew open. “Well, Brother. Have you made your choice?”

  Maurie and Randolph approached him and pulled him to his knees. Raven could barely hold himself upright. “Don’t do this, Brother. I won’t join you. You will be forced to kill me. Can you really live with that?”

  “I am not the one who betrayed our kind!” Griffin spat. “I am not the one who married the enemy and is now having a half breed. We cannot allow such an abomination. Father will not let that happen. He has been in Romania but is on his way here. It seems he too wants to be involved in destroying this pack.”

  Raven smirked. “And does he know you plan to kill me?”

  Griffin’s smile was dangerous. “He was the one who gave the order.”

  Raven’s face fell. Could his father truly be that mad at him to actually order his execution? It seemed so. Pain, mixed with shock and disappointment filled him, suffocating him.

  “So, what is your final decision? Are you joining us, or are you dying today?”

  Raven slowly peered up at his once beloved brother, a sadistic smile creeping on his face. “It looks like I am dying.”

  Anger, disbelief, and a twinge of sadness flashed through Griffin’s eyes before he straightened his shoulders, turned on his heels, and left the room. “Bring him,” he said before he disappeared from sight.

  The two vampires picked him up by his arms and dragged him from the room. He spotted Cassie in the hallway, crouched down against the wall, crying. When they reached the top of the stairs, instead of carrying him down, they threw him. He rolled violently down the stairs, crashing hard to the floor below. He heard a woman scream. “Sophia,” he whispered just before everything went black.

  * * * * * *

  Rose watched in horror as they lifted Raven’s limp body and carried it out the front door. They dragged her behind him, taking them into the center of the backyard and stopping in front of a huge tree. She watched with tears spilling from her eyes as they tied him to the big tree with chains covering his entire body. His head dangled loosely as though he was already dead, but Rose knew better. Raven was a fighter. He was the strongest man she knew. But studying him now made her heart lose hope. He looked like a shell of the man she loved; the vibrant and passionate man from only a few days ago. He was paler than she’d ever seen him. His long hair wasn’t silky and straight like usual, but messy, bloody, and plastered to his head. His lips were not the lovely shade of red as before but white, dry, and cracking. Things were looking so bad. She glanced up at the sky just as the sun began to appear. It wouldn’t be long before this part of the yard was drenched in sunlight.

  She became desperate. “Please, Griffin. Please let us go. He’s your brother.”

  “Silence! You know nothing of me, or what he has done to our family. He deserves this. He did this! Not me! And you are next! Tie her to that tree over there.” Then he smirked at her. “So she has a front row seat to the barbeque.”

  She gasped and knew then that this man was pure evil.

  * * * * * *

  Raven’s eyes flickered open but quickly shut. It felt like daggers were being shot through his skin. He tried again, forcing his dry eyes to open. It took him a moment to recognize where he was. But once he did, he filled with dread. He was tied to the huge tree in the backyard, and the now awakened sun was encroaching toward him very slowly. He heard whimpering and quickly scanned to find his Sophia tied to the opposite tree. “Sophia,” he tried to say, but his vocal cords were dried shut.

  By her expression she appeared to know what he was trying to say. “Oh, Raven,” was all she said before succumbing to the tears.

  It broke his heart to see her cry. He knew how helpless she must feel. He felt it himself. He made an attempt to break free but nothing happened. He tried again, but he was just making things wo
rse. He felt like if he tried again his bones would snap. Raven heard laughter and turned to see his entire coven, along with many others he recognized from a fellow coven, seated under a constructed tent, safe from the rays of the sun.

  “You can stop this anytime you feel like it, Raven. You can help us destroy the werewolves, or you can destroy yourself.”

  Raven tuned him out. He knew Griffin was going to kill Sophia and the baby no matter his choice. He could not live without them—he would not. His choice was simple. If he did not have the strength to save her—he would die with her.

  Raven peered over to Rose and their eyes locked, giving his heart a little more strength, though all hope was lost. They stayed that way for a long time; their eyes saying things their voices were too weak to say, until the encroaching sun finally reached his body. The intense power of the direct sunlight, and the lack of the healing blood he so desperately needed, caused the sun to begin to burn through the top layers of his skin. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Rose screamed as she watched Raven’s body slowly begin to shrivel. Steam was creeping out from under his clothing.

  “It wwwill be o-kay, Sophia. I-I—love—you,” he finally managed to force the words out. But she knew he was already too weak and the sun was too strong. He couldn’t hold his screams back any longer as he let out the most heart-wrenching, blood-curdling scream of agony. Rose could feel it all the way to her bones. Raven’s screams continued as his face sunk in and the moisture was sucked from his eye sockets. His head flopped forward as the steam surrounded and engulfed him.

  “No!” Rose screamed. “Somebody help him! He’s dying!” she peered at the vampires huddled under the tent, safe from the sun, and lost all hope. They were enjoying the scene playing out before them. She turned back to look at Raven, his head still slumped forward in an awkward way. “Raven, I love you!” Her desperation quickly returned. “Somebody please help him! Raven, don’t leave me!” She struggled violently with the chains until they began to dig into her flesh and blood trickled down her limbs.

  “Did somebody call for help?!” Eli’s voice penetrated the thick smoky air as a rumbling surrounded the yard. Then furry bodies burst from the forest with one mission in mind—total annihilation. Rose sighed, letting the tears fall as the relief flooded her heart. The werewolves had finally arrived, and the slaughter was about to begin.

  Rose glanced over to Griffin, but instead of fear he displayed an arrogance that said he was prepared for this. He pulled out his phone and within seconds a dozen or more vampires poured out of the house. The last one was Maurie. She emerged from the door almost in slow motion, snatching her whips from her hips and slicing them through the air like a master. The sound was deafening. But, from the forest, the werewolves kept coming—and they were angry. At last count—forty-five. The vampires were outnumbered—again. And soon they would be no more. This thought brought a comfort to Rose like no other, but she would have to watch it all play out before help would come to her and Raven. But could he survive long enough? Did he even realize help had arrived?

  The fighting had begun, and Rose had to suppress the bile that formed in her throat as heads rolled and bodies were ripped apart with eagerness. Blood splattered across her chest as one vampire came at her, preparing to destroy her, when Hector, in one long swipe, split him in two, the pieces falling on either side of her. She knew this was Hector because no one, werewolf or vampire, could match his size. She had never seen anything like this in her entire life, and she would be terrified if she wasn’t so worried about Raven’s survival.

  Randolph was the first vampire overtaken. With his white skin and hair, he was an easy target.

  Rose watched the vampire Maurie, in an almost awe at how easily she wielded her whips, slicing anything that came at her. She did not seem to be affected by the sun at all, and every werewolf her whips touched would shriek; the blood splattered as it sliced. But Maurie soon became surrounded by werewolves hungry for her blood. It had quickly turned from a fight for her, to survival. Somehow it seemed sad, and Rose made herself look away from the scene.

  She struggled to tell one werewolf from another, but she felt she would know her brother, Eli from anywhere. She was relieved when she spotted him running to Raven and slashing the chains free. Raven fell limply into his arms. He ran his claw over his own arm and pressed the wound to Raven’s lips, but too soon a vampire jumped him from behind. The two fought wildly until Eli got a hold of him around the neck and swung him like a baseball bat into the nearest tree. The impact splintered the tree and twisted the body in an unnatural fashion. Eli quickly returned to Raven. Wait, that wasn’t Eli. Eli had a white patch under his chin. It was Levi. They indeed did look exactly alike. But where was Eli? She searched through the bloody chaos and flying body parts. Her eyes finally distinguished Eli, and to her horror, he was fighting Griffin. He was taunting Eli; circling him with speed. Eli swung out trying to hit him, but Griffin was too fast, and the blows never made contact. Rose suddenly had a bad feeling come over her.

  A hand swung out of nowhere and punched Eli in the back of the head, sending him flying. He crashed hard to the ground but was straight back to his feet and ready for more. And more punches came; one to the face, two to the stomach, and one last one to the chest which sent him flying into the air. He flipped so that his feet hit the tree and then he catapulted himself off, did another flip, and landed on his feet in front of Griffin. With an angry growl, he swiped his paw; claws extended forward, and slashed Griffin through the chest. Griffin, stunned, stared down at the open wounds as blood spilled out onto the ground.

  His face turned smug as he stared up at the huffing, snarling beast. “You stupid werewolf! You cannot defeat—”

  In one swift swipe, his head was gone. And just like that, Griffin Vanderburg, the vicious tyrant and their number one enemy, was no more.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Levi watched the scene unfold before him.

  Eli slashed the chains holding Rose to the tree and pulled her into his arms as he shifted into his human form. “I was so worried about you, Rose. Are you okay? Did they harm you?”

  “I’m okay, Eli. I just have to see Raven.”

  “Of course.” He picked her up and in seconds he lowered her to the ground at Raven’s feet. His eyes were barely open but his coloring was returning. Instead of a ghost pale, he was returning to a normal pale, and the pink was slowly returning to his lips. Levi’s blood was doing the trick and healing him quickly.

  “Raven,” Rose whispered, touching her hand to his face in a delicate motion; careful not to harm him further.

  His eyes opened fully then. He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “I am okay, my love. Now that you are free and here with me, I am okay.” He smiled, and the relief on Rose’s face was evident. Her face brightened and she seemed to be breathing more steadily. Levi could hear it. She was at peace until the next words were spoken.

  “Levi,” Raven said, peering up at him, “Sophia and I must leave North Carolina as soon as we can.”

  “What?” the entire pack said in unison, stopping what they were doing and staring in confusion.

  “Sophia is with child. Griffin knew and he told my father, Julius, who is on his way here. When he finds this mess he will be angered and desperate to find me. He will want to destroy our child. He believes it to be an abomination. He will seek to destroy the three of us. We have to disappear. At least for a while until we feel it is safe to return. Do you understand?”

  Levi was rubbing his chin, deep in thought. “Hmm, yes I think I do. And I agree. It isn’t safe for you here. We have a fellow pack in Alaska. You will be welcomed there—and safe. You’ll also have less sunlight to deal with so you’ll have more freedom. I’ll make contact with their alpha, Sergeant they call him, and for good reason. But he’s a good man—and a good friend to us.”

  Raven took his hand. “Thank you, Levi, for everything. I do
n’t deserve it.”

  Levi smiled. “You’re a friend, and now family as well. You deserve it and more. And you’re welcome.”

  Levi noticed Wesley watching this exchange with seemingly curiosity. Something that was spoken intrigued him greatly, but he remained silent.

  More than a dozen werewolves collected and piled the bodies of the dead vampires in the middle of the yard and set them ablaze. The others had shifted back into their human forms and were discussing the outcome. Twenty-five vampires were destroyed, including Griffin, their leader. The only ones left alive were Maurie, who somehow managed to escape though no one knew exactly how, and a female inside the house who was huddled in a corner, crying. The werewolves couldn’t bring themselves to harm her. This, of course was Cassie. Reluctantly, Levi let her go, knowing she would find, and join, Julius Vanderburg. Levi wasn’t worried about Julius. Too many vampires were destroyed. He knew he would most likely never be able to replenish the numbers needed to take his pack down. Julius would know their numbers were great, especially with them being joined by the Windsor pack.

  Levi walked into the mansion to call Charity and let her know they found Raven and Rose, that everything was fine, and they would all be returning very soon. He knew her well enough by now to know she was pacing, anxiously awaiting news, despite the fact that she was supposed to be on bed-rest.

  Afterwards, he dialed up the Mason pack from Alaska. “Sergeant Mason, this is Levi Drake.”

  “Levi! What a nice surprise. How are things in North Carolina?”

  “Things are good here. Um, Sergeant, I have a favor to ask of you.”

  “Of course. You know we’ll do anything we can for you guys. What’s up?”

  Levi then proceeded in telling him of Raven and Rose’s situation, the kidnapping and battle, and finally the danger they were now in. “I was hoping you would take them in for a while until things are safe for them to come back here?”