Chapter 118: New Wolf in Town

Ravyn POV

She was a wolf.

The transformation process had been painful. No two ways about it. When her sons spoke about their first shifts and the toll they took on their bodies, she thought she understood.

Dane talked about it in terms of the power and majesty that overwhelmed him.

Kyon spoke in more spiritual terms, telling her it hurt but it also made him appreciate the beauty of nature and of life.

Jiro described the process step-by-step, wanting to paint a clear picture.

Patch just shrugged and said it was no big deal, he'd been planning for it all his life, and it was amazing. He did add that he slept for a week after his first shift.

Dirge was full of youthful enthusiasm still, describing how he couldn't wait to be a wolf, and then he felt as if he truly started living. And he chased all his brothers around for days snapping at their heels because they'd told him horror stories about shifting. 

Cyran said he finally felt like he fit in.

She'd talked to Tulaska, Azandra, and others. She'd observed young wolves who had recently shifted for the first time. But she had no earthly idea what she asked for when she wanted to be a wolf. It made her appreciate every shifter alive. 

Her fate now belonged with the shifters, with the pack. With the three packs that were a part of her. Stately and traditional powerhouse Evenhide. Scrappy, ancient, and maverick Crimsontail. And the vibrant, enterprising, prosperous Silverpaws that her mate called home.

She smelled all of her family, their shock, their wonder. Her mate's scent overwhelmed her. She tried to speak, but it came out in a howl.

The others all reacted, howling back. Anneliese and Kelara joined in. 

"Dear Goddess," she said to Jude through the mind-link. "I never realized what I was asking for."

He huffed, rubbing his nose against hers. "I knew that, my love."

Everything felt so new. Smelled so new. The sounds filled her ears, and it seemed overwhelming. She took a step forward and her legs slid out from underneath her. Something warm and furry braced her. Jude's body. The heat of it comforted her. Then, Garnet and Jiro surrounded her, too.

"Easy," Jiro sent through the mind-link. "You can do this, Ravyn. Don't think. Just trust your new body."

She heard Hades mutter, "I wish I could."

Someone smacked him. "This isn't about you," Naomi hissed. "You had your wolf. You traded it away."

Ravyn rolled her eyes. Sometimes, Naomi could be even more blunt than Patch or Jiro.

"Destroy that barrier," Naomi went on. "Make yourself useful."

"She's right," Jiro said. "The flood will just rise, and eventually, the barrier will disappear. Then, it'll be like a dam bursting. We need to control the flood now."

"You can't control HER," Hades argued.

"Light drives out darkness," Kelara said, piling on. 

Ignoring the distractions, Jude nuzzled Ravyn. "As much as I love seeing you in your beautiful wolf form, my love, they need your magic. Concentrate. Think. TRANSFORM."

Ravyn took a deep breath.

Jiro added, "Just picture your human form, and focus all your thoughts on that."

Focus on becoming a human. Right.

Ravyn slowly concentrated, picturing her human face, shoulders, arms, torso, stomach, and legs. Pink human flesh. Human eyes and hair. Human nose. Human mouth. Hands that grasped, not paws. Come on. Think. Change. Become.

Her fur disappeared, and she shifted and became upright. She blinked. Almost dizzying, going from staring at the grass to normal height. Completely naked, she stood in the cool night air.

Her fur disappeared, and she shifted and became upright. Almost dizzying, going from staring at the grass to normal height. Completely naked, she stood in the cool night air.

No time to stand here shivering. She turned toward the barrier. Although her crystals had been swept away in the flood, she borrowed one from Garnet and added her white-hot magic to the energy that battered the wall in front of them.

"It's working," she shouted. "Keep going. Don't let up."

The barrier vanished … and the river returned to normal.

Ravyn breathed a sigh of relief. Cheers went up all around. The mages released the spell, and the shimmering lights disappeared. 

The Dark Goddess' laughter echoed around them before they had a chance to catch their breath. "Very good. You survived my mini-earthquake. But don't get too comfortable yet."

Dark beings materialized near the sopping wet and battered riverbank. Tall, thin demons with glowing red eyes and sharp black horns. Other shadow beings that looked like they wore ragged black cloaks. Midnight black wolves with eyes like fiery coals. 

Kelara shouted, "These are enslaved souls!"

Hades took a step back. "How can you tell? They could be illusions …"

Ravyn picked up a nearby stone and threw it at the menacing figures. One of the wraiths surrounded it with dark energy and it shattered.

"So much for that theory," Patch sighed. "What was that Kelara said about light being more powerful than darkness?"

Jude growled. "We're the light." His hand found Ravyn's and reassured her with its warmth. "And we're far more powerful than she'll ever be."

* * * * *

Jude POV

Hades stepped forward, energy spiraling from his hands. "I'M more powerful. There's nothing more she can do to me. She's already subjected me to every torture know to shifter kind."

The Dark Goddess' voice dripped with contempt. "I wouldn't be so sure."

Ravyn moved to stand beside Hades, which meant Jude went with her. Cyran and Garnet stood on his other side. Patch bared his teeth, sneering at the sinister army. Jude could smell Patch's defiance, but a whiff of nervousness that Patch would normally not admit to–at least in front of the enemy.

Hades spread his hands. "Then come at me."

"Oh, I won't do that," the demon said. "I'll punish your so-called friends and family."

Cyran bared his teeth. "Been there, done that, lived to tell about it."

"And me," Tulaska shouted at the deity. "Didn't you learn anything from coming into my home uninvited? Do you think the outcome will be different this time?"

Jude's heightened senses warned her before the shadow wolves charged at them. The shadow wraiths hissed, and the nightstalkers marched forward, elegant and lethal-looking. Jude shivered, seeing the nightstalkers holding what looked like axes. What damage would they deliver?

"Hades, watch out," Ravyn shouted.

Garnet's moonstone shot several light beams at the nightstalkers.

Jude and Ravyn shifted to fight the shadow wolves. Jude knew that his powerful wolf form could do more damage than his human form. Patch, Jiro, and Naomi joined them as wolves.

Jude leapt, with Ravyn following him, copying him. She may not have been a wolf for long, but she wisely watched him and did whatever he did. His heart swelled with pride.

Meanwhile, Talon, Anneliese, Cyran, Pascalline, Kelara, Garnet, and Hades all used their magic. Tulaska and the wise women shook their medicine rattles and uttered chants of protection.

The first attack from the shadow wolves knocked Jude off balance, and he spun around crazily before righting himself and charging hard at the enemy. Ravyn howled in pain. 

NO.

He felt her agony.

Then, he felt the wolves pile on them, suffocating them. From the howls and snarls of their family, they weren't faring much better.

Jude could sense the Dark Goddess increasing in strength. How could they win such a battle?

Then, severe agony shot through him. Not his pain.

His horrified cry echoed through the mind-link. "RAVYN!"