Awakening The Silver Wolf

DARIUS POV 

I rested my head on the wall and stared down at Ravenna's sleeping face. She had lost consciousness before those words had even been completed.

I drove us back to the hotel, cleaned her, and put her in bed. Despite her body being naked, no desire had sparked in me. 

The fear I had felt from that clearing still clung to me brutally. 

I had never known true fear in my life until that moment. 

At first, I didn't know what was happening until I heard her bones snap and her claws lengthen. The fear had taken root then. 

Shifting for the first time was brutal, and painful. Some didn't come out of it. Some get lost to their wolves and animal instincts take over their humanity. 

Pups were prepared from birth for their shifting. But I knew there hadn't been any preparation for Ravenna. 

If I was assuming correctly she was born without a wolf. But that… that wasn't possible. If she was born without a wolf she wouldn't have shifted now. 

Ravenna should maybe be up to twenty-five. The shift should have kicked up within her teenage years. And to think she was a Lupinari. Her fur was silver. My mother's fur had been silver as well. Lupinari were the only wolves known to have silver furs. 

They were the strongest wolves alive. She was supposed to have shifted before she even reached ten.

Unless…

I looked down at Ravenna. My hand reached out and traced her cheek. She sighed softly before she leaned closely to my touch, reaching for me even in her sleep. 

My heart clenched. 

These two days without her have been the worst days of my life. It had felt like two centuries of torture. I never want to be away from her again. Ever.

I pulled softly away from her and left the room, taking my phone out of my pocket as I walked outside. 

The moon still sat beautifully in the sky. The urge to shift and run was great but I had to push it aside. There were things I had to do. Answers I needed.

I bailed a number and he picked on the first ring. "Alpha Hale," I greeted.

"Alpha Darius," he grumbled back.

"I assume your people have got to you safely?"

"They have. They told me about your wonderful hospitality," he spat. 

"It's good to know I still have some left. What can you tell me about Ravenna's origin?" I went straight to the point.

There was a hesitating pause. "What do you mean?"

"I know you're not her real father. That your pack isn't where she's from. So what do you know about her origin, Hale?"

"I know nothing."

My fist tightened around the phone. "I'm at the edge, Hale. Don't push me over." There was enough venom injected in those words and if Hale wasn't stupid he would give me what I wanted. Even with the distance between us, I could still ruin him and he knew it.

"All we found her with was a single note," he gritted. I could tell he was clenching his teeth. "A note that says never to let her leave my pack. Never to let her meet her mate. Never let her shift."

"You've failed in all of those." 

Hale inhaled a sharp breath. "She… she shifted?"

"Yes."

"That means she found her mate."

"Yes."

"It's you." The words were growled out.

"Yes, Hale. It's me. You have no idea who wrote that note?"

A pause. "No. But I think they knew us. As in, my wife and I."

"What made you think so?"

I could hear him shrugging. "Just a hunch."

"Hmm." I messaged my temple where a headache was beginning to form. God, I was tired. "Thank you for your help, Alpha Hale." 

I was about to end the call when his voice stopped me. "Darius."

"Yes?"

"Protect my girl, would you?" The softness in his voice made me hesitate. "I know I wasn't there for her when she needed me. I know I failed her. I know I'm not even her real father but I love Ravenna as if she was my own. So protect her. Please." I could tell it was hard for him to say that word. "Whoever wrote that note didn't want her to shift for a reason. And I fear now that she's shifted, something is about to happen. Protect her with your life."

"I would die before I let anything happen to her."

"Good." He ended the call. 

I sighed deeply and raised my head to the sky, closing my eyes and just feeling the breeze on my skin. Now that the last adrenaline was fading away the toll of the past two days was settling heavy on me. 

I haven't slept a wink for the past two days. I haven't even bathed or shaved. 

I turned and walked back to the hotel, ignoring the receptionist when she tried to talk to me. 

I opened the door to Ravenna's hotel room and paused when I saw her pacing. She stopped when she saw me, her hands clenched at her side, a silver of tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey, baby," I said softly as I closed the door and walked slowly to her.

"I thought you left me," she whispered, her shoulders slumped, her eyes downcast.

My chest tightened. "I would sooner rip my own heart than leave you."

I got to her but I didn't hold her like I wanted to. I just gave her time to pull herself together. 

She still wasn't looking at me when she said, "I'm sorry." I kept silent. "I'm sorry for leaving you."

I took a step forward but stopped myself. "There's nothing to be sorry about, baby. I'm the one who should be sorry. I should never have let Zara come close to me or even let her touch me. My stupidity has caused you pain. I'm so goddamned sorry, baby." 

Ravenna shook her head and the first tears fell. I took another step until there was barely an inch of space between us. But I still didn't touch her. I wanted her to reach for me first. To know if she believed me and I was forgiven. 

Finally, she raised her beautiful eyes to mine, and they were filled with so much love and sadness that it nearly brought me to my knees. 

"What is this, Darius?" she asked, tapping her chest and I knew what she meant.

My throat closed up, and my eyes burned. "What do you think it is?"

"At the clearing, you said you wanted to mate… " Her words trailed off. It took a minute before realization dawned on her face. "You're my mate." The words were barely a whisper.

The world felt like it was spinning as I looked down at the other piece of my heart and soul. "I am." 

Ravenna shook her head. "No."

It felt like a knife was stabbed into my heart, twitching it, pushing it deep. This was it. This was where I got rejected. 

I stood still, barely breathing, and waited. This was how the almighty Darius would die. 

"We can't… How is that possible?" I said nothing. She looked up at me, fresh tears falling from her eyes. "We're mates, Darius." I still couldn't find it in me to speak. Then she laughed, a sound that was like she didn't know if she should cry or laugh. "We're mates, Darius!"

Was that… joy in her eyes? My tongue finally peeled from the root of my mouth enough for me to speak. "We are." 

And then Ravenna threw herself on me, her small arms going around my big frame. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my damn chest. 

"Oh, my god, we're mates!" she cried in between sobs.

My trembling hands went around her and held her close. "We are, baby."

And then she pulled away from me only to slam her lips on mine.