Awakening The Silver Wolf

RAVENNA POV 

Darius had said I was his, had said his heart had claimed me as its own. And now Darius was close to me, our bodies almost touching, his lips hovering over mine. 

My eyes left his lips and raised to his eyes. Those beautiful mismatched eyes were soft, softer than I've ever seen them. And they seem to be asking a question. They seem to be asking for permission. 

My eyes dropped back to his lips—his wonderful-looking lips—and I took a deep breath and pulled away from him, even though my heart was screaming for me to close that space between us and kiss him. 

My heart was a confused bitch. My head was more reasonable. 

"We-we can't do this, Darius," I said softly, avoiding his gaze. "This can't happen between us. I am the prisoner, and you are my captor."

Even as I said the words they sounded bland, unreasonable, an excuse. I managed to raise my eyes to Darius' and the hurt I saw shining in them had me looking away. 

Darius cleared his throat and straightened. "Of course," he said, his voice betraying nothing. "It can't. Have a nice day, Ravenna." 

He turned and left, his back a retreating silhouette. I was used to being the one who walked away, but watching him go, I finally understood the sting of it. 

I scoffed to myself and walked to my room. My heart was confused indeed. 

Mia meets me halfway and loops her arm with mine. 

"So," she said, dragging out the word. "What was that?" 

I glanced at her from my side-eye. "What was what?" 

She nudged my side with her elbow. "The alpha claiming you? 'She's mine'? The whole pack is talking about it: 'The Alpha's claimed human.'" 

I snorted a laugh, shaking my head. "That's one hell of a headline." 

"So you're going to explain?" Mia asked as we began claiming the stairs. Oh, how I hate these many stairs. There should be an elevator for fuck's sake! 

"Explain what, Mia?" 

"The Alpha claiming you. It's not every day you see something like that." 

"He just did it so your pack won't kill me," I explained, wishing I could just grow wings and fly up these endless stairs. "There's nothing to explain there, Mia. It's as simple as that." 

Mia sighed, deep and long. "What a shame." 

I glared at her. "There's nothing shaming about that. Nothing is going on between us." 

We climbed in silence, me wanting to die because of these stairs and Mia lost in her thoughts. 

"Have you seen the way he looks at you?" 

Ah! Finally! We've gotten to the end of these damn stairs. 

I turned to Mia, grinning. "You said something?" 

Mia shook her head, a small smile on her face. "I thought you would have gotten used to the stairs by now. You've been claiming it every day for two weeks." 

"One never gets used to torture." 

We entered my room and I immediately flopped down on my bed, breathing heavily. Training hasn't made me this tired, but goddamn stairs have. 

I felt Mia's eyes on me and I raised my head to look at her. "What is it?" I asked as I dropped my head back down. 

"Have you seen the way Darius looks at you?" she asked, her voice soft. 

"No." I was too busy trying to ignore him. 

"He… he cares, Ravenna. I've never seen him look at anybody like this, with that softness in his eyes." She hesitated. "He has had it hard, you know. Growing up, even now." 

I raised my head back to her. Her eyes were fixed on a spot on the bed, glazed over with pain. 

"Do you care for him?" I asked. 

She raised her gaze to mine and nodded. "I do. He's my alpha. And we also kind of grew up together. His father and mine had been close." 

"Why are you telling me this, Mia?"

She inhaled. "It's just… I know you hate him. He killed your best friend, he's holding you prisoner. I know how you feel. But give him a chance? I can see he's trying. No matter what you must have heard, Darius is good."

I snorted. "Good?" 

Mia's expression hardened. "He's good," she said, her voice hard. "If you could look beneath all he's done, all the masks he wears, you'll see good in him, Ravenna. Good and pain." 

I sat up on the bed and fixed Mia with a hard look. "You're saying all these because he's your alpha. You're loyal to him. Even though he chews a person and spits them out you wouldn't see anything wrong with that. Darius is not good. If you had seen him that day killing my pack, my best friend, you wouldn't call him good. A good person will not go from pack to pack killing them off, Mia." 

Mia shook her head. "You don't… you don't understand, Ravenna. Yes, I know all these. I've fought with him in some of those battles. But what you should know, Ravenna, is that none of this is his choice." 

Now Mia wasn't making any sense, and I was growing irritated and angry. "Is there someone pulling his strings? Is there someone in this pack that holds more power than him?" 

Mia lowered her eyes. "No."

"Then all of this is his choice. He does it all for his own greed. Stop defending him and see sense, Mia." 

Mia shot out of her seat and walked to the door, slamming it shut on her way out. I stayed in the same position long after she was gone, staring at the wall. 

First, Anya had told me Darius was broken. Now Mia was telling me all this. What did they want? For Darius and I to be together? After the pain he had caused me, I didn't think that was possible. 

Every time I find myself thinking about letting go of my hate and embracing my desire for him, guilt washes over me. Guilt for failing Lilith, for letting her go by wanting Darius. 

I should be thinking of ways to kill him, to avenge Lilith, but lately, all I've been thinking about was how I wanted him to kiss me, how I wanted to be under him and feel his hard body on mine. 

I shook my head as if to clear my thoughts and went to the bathroom. Nothing like a nice bath will clear my head. 

Mia didn't come back that night. I stayed up waiting, but she never showed up. For the first time since my arrival, I ventured to the dining hall alone. The stares felt like daggers, their whispers seeping into my mind, making my skin crawl.

With Mia by my side, those things had never bothered me. But alone in the hall, I felt exposed, longing for the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

I sighed and tried to settle into the bed, convincing myself that Mia would return.

Just as I began to doze off, a cacophony of shouts jolted me awake. I jumped from the bed and rushed to the door, heart racing as alarms blared and voices cried out, "We're under attack!"