Awakening The Silver Wolf

RAVENNA POV 

The air was heavy with tension as everyone waited to see what Dalian would do. There was a brief hesitation before he began to undress. 

I turned around to give him privacy but the trio still watched him. I narrowed my eyes at Mia and she smiled.

"Turn around," I said. 

She sighed exasperatedly before she turned, mumbling, "He's good-looking."

"He looks like me," I added just for measure.

Mia shrugged. "Makes it all the more better." 

It was my turn to sigh.

I looked over at Darius and Lucian, but those two wouldn't be budged. 

"I'm a man," Lucian said in that calm voice of his as if he was discussing business.

"Who knows? He might stick a knife in our backs if we all turned," Darius muttered, his arms crossed.

I looked away from them and faced the wall. 

There was more rustling of clothes and soon it ended. 

"He's packed," Lucian said and I almost choked on my spit.

"Shut up, Lucian," Darius snapped.

"Lucian, are you gay?" Mia chortled, still facing the wall.

"Don't insult me, Mia," Lucian hissed.

"You did give the impression, though," I added.

"Shut up, Ravenna," Lucian snapped. I'm sure his jaw was clenched. 

"Tell my mate to shut up one more time and I'll punch you in the eye," Darius warned.

I heard Dalian sigh. I felt for the poor guy.

"Can we get on with this, please?" he pleaded, his voice calm. 

"By all means, boyo," Darius urged. 

"Boyo," Mia scoffed.

I'm sure Dalian was regretting why he came here and just didn't walk the other way. He was probably wondering what type of people his supposed twin sister was mingling with. I was beginning to wonder, too. 

Snaps of bones filled the room. I could only imagine the pain from the shift right now. Your bones cracking and–

I gasped, my hand moving to rub my chest. There was a feeling there, a feather-light feeling that felt like a touch, an embrace. 

"Well, at least he wasn't lying about one thing," I heard Lucian say.

I turned and my breath caught in my throat. Dalian was big, his head was like two times my own, his paws larger. His silver fur had a glow to it. And his eyes… His eyes were glowing. He was so big that he almost took all the space in this large room. 

"Wow," Mia breathed. "He's beautiful." He was indeed. 

That feeling in my chest became intense the more I kept staring at Dalian's eyes. 

Without thinking I took a step forward. Darius made to stop me but I shot him a look. He clenched his jaw but stepped back.

I took another step towards Dalian and he just stood there and watched me. Finally, I stood in front of him, and my hands reached out and touched his soft nose. 

He closed his eyes and leaned into my touch, taking a step closer to me. 

I stood frozen for a moment, my fingers brushing against his silver fur, the warmth radiating from his body overwhelming. 

There was a strange pull in my chest, something I couldn't explain, but I felt it deep within me. The room seemed to hold its breath.

I didn't know what this connection was, but it was undeniable. It felt as if I was drawn to him. Slowly, Dalian lowered his head, nuzzling my hand gently. I gasped softly, a shiver running through me at the tender contact.

"You really are a Lupinarian," I whispered, not entirely sure if I was talking to him or myself.

Dalian's eyes softened, and he took another step forward and there wasn't any space between us anymore. 

"Ravenna…" Darius's voice broke through the stillness, but I didn't move. 

I couldn't. 

"Let her be," Lucian muttered, though his tone was oddly gentle.

"We're really twins, ain't we?" I asked softly and Dalian nodded in his wolf way. My vision became blurry and my throat closed up. "How… How is that possible?" 

In a blink, Dalian shifted and he was standing in front of me fully naked. But I didn't care because I couldn't look away from his eyes. 

"We were separated," he answered, his voice low. His hand reached out to touch me but paused when Darius growled. He dropped his hand and just gave me a small smile that tugged at my heartstrings. 

"Separated?" I repeated.

"Yes. Mother separated us at birth."

"Mother." I was beginning to sound like a parrot but I couldn't bring myself to care. This was a lot to take in. "Is she still…?" I trailed off, knowing he would understand what I was asking. 

He did understand because pain filled his eyes. He shook his head. "She died ten years ago. They killed her."

I didn't need to ask to know who killed her. The same people who killed Darius' mother. A wave of grief and anger slammed into me with so force I became dizzy. I was feeling like this for a woman I didn't know, but she was my mother regardless. And those bastards had killed her, all because of their greed.

I looked back at Dalian to see him staring at me with concern and sadness bright in those familiar eyes. 

"How did you find me?" I asked softly. 

"I felt it when you shifted," he answered. He tapped his chest. "Right here. And it leads me straight to you. Grandmother told me it was like a mate bond."

"Grandmother?" My voice was barely audible now. 

Dalian nodded, his eyes filled with tenderness and a small smile on his face. "She speaks of you every day of her life like she had known you growing up. She even has a room for you in her house. She was against sending you away, but Mother wouldn't be swayed." 

I fought to swallow the lump of emotions in my throat. And then anger filled my chest and burned my eyes. "She sent me away. Why? Why would she send me away and keep you? Did she not love me? Was she the one who locked my wolf?"

Dalian took a step towards me, his hands raised. "Calm down, Daliah," he said gently. "Everything Mother did she did for your good. You would have–" He swallowed. "You would have died that day with her if she hadn't sent you away. She did everything for your own good, Daliah. And it killed her every day until she died that she couldn't watch you grow." 

The anger left me as soon as it came and in its place was sadness. I lowered my eyes and my shoulders came down. I suddenly felt tired, and exhausted. 

This was all too much. Everything was choking me right now and I wanted to burst, to scream. Maybe it'll give me a little release. 

I had a family out there. My mother was killed. I had a grandmother who loved me.

I rubbed my chest as if it would get the emotions to loosen their hold on me.

"Let me hold her," I heard Dalian begged. "Please." 

There was a pause. "Put some clothes on," Darius said.

I couldn't bring myself to look at anybody as I continued to drown. My mother was killed. She sent me away. I would have died ten years ago with her.

But wouldn't that have been better? At least I would have spent thirteen years with my family, not growing up with people who treated me like an outsider. I would have shifted early. A lot of things wouldn't have happened. 

A sob burst from my throat and my knees gave out. But before I could fall strong hands were already holding me. 

"I got you," Dalian whispered, his voice choked. 

I buried my face in his chest and let those emotions out.