Awakening The Silver Wolf

RAVENNA POV 

Zara knew where to hit, always did. 

Her words dragged me back to my old life. A life where I was a nobody, a wolfless person, an outcast, and the alpha's least favorite daughter.

Those memories came crashing down on me like an avalanche, hit and brutal. 

I remembered Lila's sharp slaps and her sharper words. My father's disapproving looks. Zara's cruel smile when she got away with everything and I took the hit. Lucas's betrayal. The pack that was never there for me.

I remembered it all. I had thought I had long since healed and moved on from that life. What a lie that was. I was just too good at convincing myself that it was all behind me. 

And so here I stood, listening to Zara unfold my linens to this pack that I was starting to see as home even though my first impression of them wasn't perfect. 

Now they knew I was banished from my old pack, now they knew Zara and I were step-sisters, now they knew Lucas and I had a history.

But honestly? I didn't care what they knew or didn't know. The only person I cared about right now was Darius.

What was he thinking right now? Were the feelings he had for me fading as Zara's poisonous tongue continued to lose?

I was fighting the urge to look at him, not wanting to see what emotions were on his face.

I also fought hard to keep my face blank, acting indifferent while my hands shook. That was until Zara said Lucas might still have feelings for me. 

I couldn't help the hysterical laughter that burst out of me. 

I crossed my arms as I looked at Zara's hateful eyes with a cruel smile on my face. "Lucas? Have or had feelings for me?" I snorted. "No, dear sister, he never did." 

I turned to Lucas, and was that… hurt in his eyes? He opened and closed his mouth but no words came out. 

I looked back at Zara. "If he had even the tiniest drop of feelings for me he wouldn't go behind my back to sleep with my step-sister."

The pack gasped, some whispers going around. Zara shifted on her feet, looking uneasy. She had lost the spotlight.

I was so going to enjoy bringing her down. "Did you enjoy spreading your legs for him, dearest sister?" I shook my head. "You just couldn't help it, could you? You saw what was mine and you went for it. Did that idea come to you yourself or was it your mummy that planted it inside your head?"

Zara's face twisted and my smile grew. "Shut your dirty mouth." 

I raised a mocking eyebrow. "Why? You don't want these people to know that you're just your dear mummy's puppet? That you have no voice of your own? Was she the one who dressed you up and put you in a car and sent you here? Hmm… " I placed my finger on my chin, feigning thinking. "Did she tell you to smile and flash your tiddies at the alpha when you get there? Well, I hate to spoil it to you, Zara, but he's mine." The last part was gritted out through clenched teeth. It had come out of my mouth before I could stop it. 

"Damn straight," I heard Darius say. I looked at him in surprise and saw him grinning, his eyes bright. He looked back at me and winked. Those butterflies were back in my belly. 

Zara opened her mouth but Lucas cut her off, his eyes now hard but looking a bit pained. What the hell was his deal? "Alpha Darius, please let's get down to why we came here." 

Darius nodded, but he was still grinning. "Of course." 

He walked towards me and leaned down to kiss my cheek before he walked towards his office. Some people whistled while some whispered in each other's ears, mostly the females. 

Zara and Lucas followed behind him, but not before I saw Zara grounding her jaw, and Lucas clenching his fists.

Seeing them so worked out has now become my favorite thing.

As soon as they were out of sight, Mia was suddenly in front of me, dragging me to a corner.

"I'm supposed to go to our room but I'm too impatient for those stairs right now," she said as we got to a corner far from people.

"See, I knew you were tired of those stairs, too," I muttered.

Mia rolled her eyes before she clapped her hands once. "Now, what the hell was that?"

I waved her off. "Old pack matters. That's all."

"Old pack? I thought you were from Stonehowl."

"I'm not." 

When I didn't say anything more Mia raised an eyebrow as if to say "Well?"

I sighed. "You're such a gossip, Mia."

"Why, thank you," she said, grinning. "But this is not gossiping, Ravenna. You are my friend and this is me wanting to know more about you." 

I swallowed. "Right." I exhaled. "So, as you've already heard my lovely step-sister, I was banished from my old pack. All because I gave her a little beating."

Mia blinked at me, her eyebrows pinched. "W-what?" she faltered. "You're saying you got banished, exiled, kicked out from your old pack all because you beat up that bitch?"

I nodded. "That's what I said." 

Mia's nostrils flared and I could feel her anger. "That's fucked up," she gritted. "I don't know what that bitch did but I'm sure she deserved it."

"She did. I wasn't really loved by my former pack, you see, especially by my step-mom. And then I went and beat up her daughter, so my father gave her permission to punish me. She saw banishment as a fitting punishment."

Mia looked at me with a sad glow in her eyes, her anger now dimmed. "Your father did nothing?"

I looked away from her sympathetic face, a lump forming in my throat. "He didn't."

"What is it with my friends and having shitty fathers?" she groaned in frustration. Then her arms came around me in a hug. "But I'm glad he didn't do anything. I wouldn't have found you if he did." 

I rested my chin on her head. "Yeah, me too."

***

Later that evening I sat under the tree by the far end of the field, needing a moment to myself. 

After all these months it seems my past has decided it was now time to visit me. Why now, though? Why now when I was finding happiness and I finally had someone I lo–

Hold on. Do I love Darius? Was what I was feeling love? Was I even capable of love? 

"So much for that show of bravado earlier." I groaned deeply as I cleaned the few tears that had fallen out of my eyes. I didn't turn to look as Zara approached me. I didn't need to turn when she stood in front of me. I didn't need to raise my eyes to see she was smiling.

"Aww, what makes you so sad?" she taunted, her voice dripping with mockery. 

I stood up and dusted the dirt off myself. "Go burn in hell, Zara." I moved to walk away but she grabbed my arm, stopping me. 

I looked into her hateful eyes and calmly said, "Let me go."

"Did you spread your legs for him?" she asked, her voice hard. "Are you fucking him? Is that why he's that way with you?"

I shook my head as a bitter smile curved my lips. "You're the whore, Zara, not me." 

My head whipped to the side when her slap landed on my cheek. I would have staggered back if it weren't for her tight grip on my arm. 

She tugged me closer, her face a breath away from mine. "You're pathetic, Ravenna," she spat. "Always have been. No wonder your real parents didn't want you."

I glared at her, hoping my eyes told her of all the ways I wanted to kill her. But something made me pause. "What do you mean by my 'real parents'?"

A cruel smile entered Zara's lips and she released me. "Oh, you didn't know? Dearest daddy is not your real father."