3. Raven
CHAPTER 3
Raven
“ I s that Evangeline out there with Sal?” I asked, leaning closer to the window of the harborside breakfast shop. Sal being the water dragon who’d followed us home from our quest, the one we’d saved Maverick from. More and more, I wished we’d just fucking left him there.
“It is,” Nicholas confirmed with a clipped nod. “This is the third day in a row I've seen them out there in the morning. It seems they've become fast friends, strangely.”
As if to illustrate that point, the Duchess rested her hand on Sal's scaly nose and the water dragon leaned into her caress. Not so strange in my mind. It was easy to believe that the two were bonding over grief at the loss of their great loves. I'd be damned if that was going to be me joining them as a third wheel.
I knocked a knuckle on the windowsill. “Gentlemen, we need to talk about how we're going to ensure Diana is protected at this meeting.”
Nicholas and Dominic both bobbed their heads in agreement as they forked up bites of their egg and sausage pies.
“Loch should be here shortly, and we can all put our heads together and come up with a plan,” Dominic said. There was a fierce light in his eyes as he continued. “I know it’s been decided that no weapons will be allowed, but I can promise no harm will come to my sister so long as I’m present.”
Dominic was her brother and still, I couldn't deny the surge of jealousy that roared through me. She was mine to protect, but because our goals were aligned, I let it pass without a word. As the head of the vampire army and their king’s guard, the odds of him being allowed to attend the meeting—at least on the periphery somewhere—were much higher than mine. If I couldn't be there, I needed an ally I could trust with Diana's life. And there was no one in this world I trusted more than my old friend.
The door swung open and Lochlin strode in, a grim look on his face as he approached our table and took his seat. “I don't know what this abomination of mother nature is about, but these weather changes make me twitchy.”
He took a glance around the room and noted all the eyes upon us, then he turned to me.
“Can I ask why we're not having this meeting in the keep?”
Nicholas winced, and Dominic's lips twitched. “Because as warm as it is outside, it’s positively frigid in the keep right now.”
He wasn't wrong. Diana had left early that morning, and when she came back, I was surprised that her eye color hadn't changed back to ice blue again. Her moods were as volatile as the weather, going from despair to white-hot anger on a dime. I couldn't blame her, and she wouldn't talk to me. The best thing I could do was let it run its course and stay out of her way.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one with that course of action in mind.
And they say men are stupid. “We were just talking about security at the upcoming meeting.”
Lochlin huffed out a sigh. “I hate to say it, but I think we should consider having her accompanied by security in the interim as well. I don't think she should be alone outside the keep.”
Adrenaline surged through my body, and my hands balled into fists.
“Has there been a threat against her?” I demanded.
“No, but something doesn't smell right. Even right after the battle with the demons, things didn't feel this tense. I have to wonder if there isn't already someone campaigning to take her place.”
I took another look around the cozy room and noted the openly hostile expressions on some of the faces that looked back at me.
He was right. Those looks were new. While there had been a small faction who had protested the alliance with the vampires despite knowing that we needed to come together to protect the Territories as a whole, those numbers seemed to be growing. And I didn’t like it one bit.
“Speaking of the meeting, how are things going on that front so far?” Nicholas set his fork down and leaned back in his chair.
I grimaced, knowing that everything we were doing could be upset by a single leader throwing a fit. “We've got nearly everyone agreeing to be there and behave. Gabriel had some reservations. He’s getting pushback from his people after Malach’s death on our lands, but I think I’ve got him in hand for now. That said, the Fae are still going to take some more convincing. I think I've got an idea about how to get them on board, but I need to run it by Diana first before I pitch it to the whole team.”
“Aren't you supposed to have to hide during the daytime, so you don’t get a little sunburn?”
An icy calm flowed through my veins as I turned and met the gaze of the person talking. A massive bear of a man with ruddy skin and an unruly black beard glared down at me, Nicholas, and Dominic in turn, before turning his ire on Lochlin. “And you . Never took you for a traitor to your kind. Lycan be rolling over in his grave seeing this shit.”
I moved to stand and separate this man's head from his body, but Lochlin pressed a hand on my shoulder and stood first.
“Is that the official stance of the whole Regan clan, Paddy, or just you? I'll need to note it when I report this incident to my queen.”
The man called Paddy’s chest deflated some as he leaned back. “Come on, Lochlin. You gotta see it.” He swept his hand toward the three of us. “They goes against nature. Lycan's daughter can choose who she wants to be around, but even you can't think it’s right for her to lead us if she chooses one of them to fuck. We should be led by one of our own, and you know it.”
Lochlin took a step closer until the toe of his boots touched Paddy's, and their noses were only an inch apart.
“What I know is that you're preaching treason right now. And unless you want to be on the wrong side of a noose by day's end, I'd apologize and think before I spoke next time.”
The three of us watched, tense and at the ready, as the rest of the place went silent. There were at least twenty werewolves scattered around at various tables, and only three of us, plus Lochlin, but I still liked our chances so long as we acted fast. I almost welcomed the opportunity to let my fists fly and work off some of the rage, sadness, and fear for Diana that had been my constant companion for so long now.
But Paddy blinked first, tilting his head and lowering his eyes as he took a step back, hands held up in surrender. “I'm not saying I'm going to start a war or stage some coup, Lochlin. I'm just letting you know that the hearts and minds of our people have been changing. And she's going to have to make her choice soon enough. Him or us. We can smell him on her, same as you.”
He dipped his head in my direction.
Loch didn’t so much as glance my way. “I'm hearing your words, Paddy. And you can be sure I'll be sharing them with the head of your clan. Now go on out of here before I allow these gentlemen to address your insults the way I would if I were in their shoes.”
Paddy stepped away, not turning his back on our table until he'd reached the door. Then he let out a low whistle calling to his two companions, who rushed to join him.
“Anybody else got a problem they need to speak with me about?” Lochlin called, scanning the breakfast shop for any takers. They all averted their eyes, suddenly, much more interested in their food and drink than they had been moments before. “All right then, enjoy your meal,” he said before taking a seat.
“That was pretty good,” Nicholas said, giving Lochlin a clap on the shoulder. “Way to de-escalate the situation.”
His grimace pulled at the scar bisecting his upper lip. “I don't know how much longer conversations like that are going to do the trick. I'll admit I've had several of them the past few days. I just hope tempers hold until after the meeting at the ruins.”
He hunkered down and leaned close, keeping his voice low. “Circling back, I truly do feel that we need to make Diana travel with security from now on. This interaction shows just how restless our people are.”
Even as he said the words, Dominic and Nicholas let out low chuckles.
Making Diana do anything was dicey on the best of days, and these certainly were not the best of days. Lochlin flicked his eyes to me, a silent request.
“I'll try to talk to her before the full moon tonight,” I said, pushing my untouched plate aside.
“Maybe it should be me,” Dominic shot me a sympathetic look before taking a long pull from his mug of coffee. “It's hard to hear, but I think anything you say right now is going to be met with resistance. If we want our answer to be yes, it should come from someone she doesn't feel like castrating right now.”
I couldn't disagree with him, much as I hated the truth of his words. With reluctance, I dipped my head in his direction. “Fine.” Fuck me, that was the only thing I could bite out without snarling.
“Do we know what her plans are for tonight?” Lochlin asked as if I weren’t sitting there vibrating with irritation. In fact, if I didn’t know better, the three men were deliberately ignoring me, letting me stew.
Dominic tapped the side of his mug. “I can check with Sienna to see if she's spoken to her. And if not, I'll find out as well. Given the current tensions in the community, it's probably best if she stays indoors under lockdown.”
“Agree,” Lochlin said, scratching, running a hand over his scruffy face. “We all saw here with Paddy today how the coming full moon makes our people more aggressive. Once they're in their wolf forms running in the night…well, things will only get worse. We need to be prepared for it.”
Lockdown sounded perfect to me. Having Diana safe behind closed doors where no one could hurt her was the only way I'd get any sleep tonight. But I had already imposed my will on her one too many times. I would just have to watch as she handled this how she thought fit.
And I would be there if she needed me. It was all I could do.
I left my friends behind as I headed back to the keep with a mumbled excuse about needing to think.
My problem was thinking was all I’d been able to do—there was no action I could take that would help Diana. She didn’t want my support. She didn’t want my presence.
So how did I help her? How did I help carry this incredible burden she was carrying?
“One more time,” I muttered as I reached the outskirts of the keep. “I have to try one more time to convince her.”
Because at this point there was nothing else I could do—no dragons to slay, no quests to take on, no demons to fight.
But as I walked into the great room and saw her standing there, staring at the picture of her father above the fireplace, shoulders slumped, the last thing I wanted to do was argue with her that she should let me be at her side. But the alternative was to walk away for good and right in that moment…I could never do it.
She looked…lost standing there, as if she’d come free of whatever moored her to who she knew herself to be. Perhaps I was projecting…then again, her emotions washed through me and that was exactly what they told me.
I’m lost, drowning in this sorrow and fear with no land in sight.
I saw her stiffen as she sensed my presence, her emotions clamping down, as if she knew I was picking up on her feelings.
“Did you need me for something?” she asked without turning around.
“I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes.”
She faced me then, and my heart gave a squeeze at her pale and hollowed out cheeks. “I don't have a few minutes. I have a meeting in my office that I’m already late for. Maybe tomorrow…” she trailed off, not meeting my gaze, looking past me over my left shoulder.
If I let things continue like this, tomorrow would never come. The situation was getting dangerous, and I couldn’t protect her when she was icing me out.
“I'm worried about the way some of the wolves are handling recent events, and I'm hoping you'll consider staying indoors tonight. To stay clear of them.” The words came out before I could stop them, knowing instantly they were a mistake. I should have let Dom handle this discussion as he’d suggested but seeing her made me forget myself.
The need to protect her overrode any other sense.
Her green eyes sparked with anger as she folded her arms over her chest. The color in her cheeks rose, pushing back the pallor of her skin.
“You make one decision for me while I was comatose, and now you think me incapable of making decisions for myself? Is that it?” she asked, cocking her head and eyeing me as if I were prey, she was considering whether or not to tear me into pieces, or let me get a running start. “I managed for a very long time before you came around, Raven, and I did just fine, so forgive me if I don't consult you on matters of diplomacy or my well-being.”
She marched towards me and stopped a foot away, her scent instantly curling around me and squeezing tight, like a fist. How could things be so terrible between us, and I still wanted her the way I did?
“The next time you invade my dreams, beware, bloodsucker,” she hissed. “Now that I know you're coming, I'll be ready for you, and not in the way you’re hoping.”
She shouldered past me, and I resisted the urge to watch her go. As frustrating as our all-too-brief conversation was, I couldn't deny that seeing the spark in her, the peak of color, was better than the dead stare of late. Once I was free of the grasp of her smell, though, I actually thought about her words. Not just that she'd been dreaming about me too, but the insinuation that I'd infiltrated her dreams on purpose. I would take responsibility for the shit I’d done, but I wasn’t about to let her think I was engineering some elaborate mindfuck to force myself on her.
My feet moved of their own accord as I followed her, down the hall towards her office to argue the fact that as good as I was, even I was not that good.
The door was closed when I got there, and I reached out to knock, but low voices echoed through the wooden panel. Apparently, her meeting had already begun. But it was the voice I hated most that had me seeing red.
“Thank you for agreeing to see me.”
Fangs pricked at my gums as Maverick's voice echoed through the wood.
Weasley little bastard. What could he possibly have to talk to her about after what he'd done? Trading spots with her on that beach, letting her take his place as a sacrifice…fucker.
“I don't have a lot of time, Mav, so make it quick.” Diana’s voice held no trace of warmth which brought a grin to my face.
He cleared his throat. “Fine. Straight to the point, then. Raven might have you thinking that the reason I allowed you to take my place in Malach's grasp is because I don't care for you, but the truth is, I care so much . The difference between him and me is that I truly respect you as well as love you. I might not be a werewolf, but you are my queen and allowing your people to see me dissent and defy your leadership would have only made a bad situation worse.”
The bloodlust lashed at my throat even as a haze of crimson distorted my vision. What. The. Actual. Fuck. She wouldn’t buy what he was selling…would she?
“Look, I know I've been selfish in the past, but we're aligned in our desires, you and me. I want the Territories to remain strong and united so we can defeat the dark goddess, but how can that be when your own people aren't united?”
The haze of fury melded with a growing sense of dread. He was full of shit about the first part—he’d done what he’d done to save his own hide—but I'd always known he was a good spin doctor. It was that second part that had me suddenly fighting back a rush of bile.
“Diana, sacrifices must be made, I think we all know that. You can still have the life you want, leading these people as your father raised you to do, but from what I’m hearing, you would need to make a stand now. Show them that you aren’t tied in any way to Raven and choose a mate that they will accept.”
“What have you been hearing?” Diana asked. There was no anger in her voice, just solemn resignation.
“People are talking about replacing you. I’ve been telling them that it’s not what’s best. They are looking to me, as a friend of yours, Diana.”
Fucking fucker. I hated that human.
“They look to you?” Diana’s question was soft, and shocked. “Why?”
I could just imagine him shrugging, trying to look innocent. “I don’t know. But they are, and I’m trying to help you, Diana.”
Her emotions flicked to me. Uncertainty. Sadness.
Then shithead took it one step too far and I wanted to laugh. “Diana, I think the best thing you can do right now is listen to me and find a mate, I think people would look to us if–”
Us?
There was the sound of a hand on wood, as if she’d slapped the desk. “I am your queen, and I will decide what's best,” she cut in, an edge to her tone now. “Thank you for your input, and information. I will take it into consideration. Dismissed.”
“Understood.” The scraping of a chair on the stone floor had me backing away from the door.
Maverick's cards were on the table now. Or at least some of them. He'd graduated from long-suffered annoyance to wily adversary. But he didn't know who he was fucking with. I strode down the hall, already planning how to exterminate this rat, but I couldn’t seem to silence the little voice inside me that wondered…
What had he said that wasn't true?
Diana had a better chance of maintaining her position as queen longer and regaining the loyalty of her people if I was out of the picture. At least long enough to see the end of Lilis and to repair the Veil. Long term they would never accept her as queen, not as a vampire. But for a year or two? She could keep them in the dark longer if she had a mate her people respected and wanted on the throne.
A mate that was not me. A mate that had better the fuck not be Maverick.
I couldn’t even think about the werewolf male she would choose to replace me, and yet I could see it was possibly the only way to help her.
Then the only question was…Was the truest, purest act of love…to leave?