Awakening The Silver Wolf

RAVENNA POV 

Today has been one hell of a day. 

It had begun with an emotional love confession—that I'm currently trying not to think about—to revealing plans to rule the wolf world, to judging, to another emotional series.

Now, I was drained. 

Darius and I sat on the floor, our backs resting on his desk, my head on his shoulder and our fingers interlocked.

He must also feel drained because he hadn't said anything for ten minutes, or was it an hour? Who knew? 

"Will you tell me about it?" I asked, not knowing what I wanted to hear. Everything. 

"Where would I start from?" he asked, more to himself than to me. But I answered regardless. "Anywhere." 

He didn't say anything for a while. "My mother was a lovely woman," he began, his voice calm. "She always had a smile on her face, always looking out for others more than she did herself. She was loved by the pack, dearly. But she wasn't loved by other packs." A beat of silence. "You see, my mother came from a rare tribe. A tribe of powerful, rare wolves. Lupinari, that was the name of the tribe. They kept to their selves, lived far from civilization, and they were going extinct. They weren't just any wolves. They were rare. Creatures of legend. Alphas would kill to have one of these wolves in their packs. She and my father were mates. But that didn't stop the other packs from hunting her."

He cleared his throat. "Some wanted her for power, but there were some that saw her as a threat. A wolf-like her could break the balance. So they hunted her." 

I tightened my hand that was locked with his, hoping that gesture could say what I couldn't.

"They found her," he continued, his voice thick with grief. "My father tried to protect her, but it was no use. They ambushed us. She fought. She fought until she couldn't anymore. And when they... when they killed her, I thought my father would burn the world down." 

He clenched his free fist, and I saw the muscle in his jaw twitch.

"But he didn't. He just... broke. He didn't have the courage to avenge her. Instead, he turned that fury onto me." His eyes finally turned, meeting my gaze. "I was ten years old when he decided to make me into something else. A weapon. A tool for revenge. He trained me, Ravenna. Took everything I was—everything I could have been—and twisted it. He turned me into a machine. A perfect killing machine." 

The weight of those words hung heavy between us. Darius's hands were trembling slightly now, though his expression remained hard.

"He couldn't kill them himself. He was too weak—too cowardly. So he made sure I would. He made sure I'd kill the ones who killed her. But he couldn't even look me in the eyes. He pretended to be some peaceful man, some noble alpha. But underneath? He was a liar. He just didn't have the guts to do what needed to be done." 

My heart twisted in my chest, the depth of Darius's torment clear in his every word. I reached out, my fingers brushing against his clenched fist.

I had seen his back, what his father had done to him. It made my stomach turn. There wasn't a single skin on Darius' back that hadn't been mutilated. 

Burn marks, stab wounds, whipped marks, and on and on. Even the worst people on Earth shouldn't have to go through something like that. 

"You were just a child," I whispered, the words carrying a world of understanding.

Darius's expression softened, though only slightly as if the gesture was a quiet relief. But it wasn't enough to ease the weight he carried.

"I wasn't," he muttered, the bitterness returning to his voice. "Not in his eyes. He turned me into a weapon, Ravenna. A weapon that would never forget the blood on his hands. It is all I know, how to kill, how to cause pain. No one has ever been able to lay a finger on me after him. He trained me that good." 

A long silence stretched between us, heavy with the pain of the past and the uncertainty of what it all meant now.

Finally, I spoke, my voice soft but steady. "But you're not a weapon, Darius. Not anymore." 

He didn't answer immediately, his gaze drifting to the floor, lost in the memories that haunted him. 

"No," he murmured after a moment, almost to himself. "You're wrong. I still am." 

My heart clenched. I released his fist and knelt in front of him, drawing his face into my hands. He looked down, avoiding my eyes. 

"Look at me, Darius," I said, my voice hard. 

He raised his eyes slowly to mine, and once I had his full attention, I began. "Listen to me and listen to me good, you thick-headed bastard. You are not his weapon anymore, you never were. That bastard is dead, and I hope he's burning in hell right now. You don't have to live under his cause again, Darius. Live for yours. Do what you want for you not because your father has marked it into your flesh. Live for you. Breath for you." 

I paused to catch my breath, my chest heaving hard. Darius looked at me with so much sadness and pain in his eyes I felt like my chest was going to squeeze and my heart would fail. 

I leaned down and kissed him softly and slowly. Darius didn't react at first, but then his hand went to my hair and he deepened the kiss, but it remained soft. 

I pulled away and rested my forehead on his, looking deep into his eyes. "Live for you, Darius." 

"It's hard," he whispered.

I caressed his cheek. "You'll learn." 

He swallowed hard before he nodded. I smiled and kissed him softly again, enjoying everything him. 

Damn, I had fallen in too deep.

We pulled away and Darius traced my lips with his finger, a small smile on his face. "Earlier, I said no one has been able to touch me since my father. That was a lie." 

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah. A girl with silver hair and beautiful grey eyes nearly killed me once." 

I smiled back. "Really?"

Darius' smile widened. "Hmm. And she has swept me off my feet countless times, both literally and figuratively." 

"This person sounds cool." 

"You have no idea."

The smile on his face fell as if something just occurred to him. "I have to tell you something." 

My heart jumped. "Are you not done throwing bombs at me for the day?"

"No." 

I sighed and moved to sit down beside him, but Darius' arms tightened around me and he drew me into his lap.

"I'm not going to let you go, Ravenna," he said, his voice suddenly rough. "Whatever decision you make after I tell you what I'm about to I am not letting you go. Do you hear me?"

I swallowed and nodded.

Darius looked deep into my eyes, his gaze unwavering. "We're—"

A knock came at the door and Lucian's calm voice filtered in, cutting Darius off. "Alpha, you have a message from our latest ally."