Chapter 2 (Whispers in The Wind)

Raven's Point of View

"You are not my Luna because you are not strong enough."

Sharp as a sword, Kael's voice reverberated in her head.

Raven pushed into the dense forest while gritting her teeth. The chilly wind nipped at her skin as the leaves crunched beneath her boots. She pushed the past aside despite its claws. Old wounds were not important to her.

She could smell the blood in the air and sensed the danger. She detested Kael, but she couldn't deny the tie when the Silverfang Pack was in danger.

Dax walked next to her, his reddish-brown wolf following. "Are you certain about this?" he said softly.

"No," Raven acknowledged. "But I must leave."

Dax let out a sigh. "Your assistance is not worthy of that bastard."

Raven remained silent. He was not mistaken. Kael had broken her heart and thrown her away as if she didn't exist. She had been rehabilitating herself for years, transforming her suffering into fortitude.

She was running back now.

Whispering secrets, the wind howled through the trees. Raven's hands clenched. His rejection was still audible to her.

"You are not what I want."

Back then, the words had broken her heart. With hope in her eyes and her pulse pounding, she stood before him. She had experienced the intense and indisputable mate bond. She believed that he had also sensed it.

However, he had treated her as though she were an error.

"You lack sufficient strength."

Raven had desired to defend him, to disprove him. He hadn't given her an opportunity, though. Her heart was aching with each step he took away from her as he had abandoned her and left her alone in the cold.

She had run that night.

She was racing back now.

A piercing wail pierced the darkness. Raven stiffened, her inner wolf growing. That howl wasn't typical. It served as a warning.

Dax stated, transforming into a human, "We're close." His bright eyes scanned the treetops as he rolled his shoulders. "You sense that?"

Raven gave a nod. There was something dark and sinister in the air. She felt a chill go through her body.

In the distance, there was another howl, this one with pain in it.

Kael.

Raven's breathing became labored. Despite her hatred for him, she was unable to deny the connection. She was unable to cut the thread that continued to tug at her.

She started running.

Her heart thumping in her chest, she watched the trees fade into the distance. The bloody smell intensified. There was an attack on the Silverfang Pack.

Her breath froze in her throat when she arrived at the forest's edge.

The village was on fire.

Thick smoke curled into the sky as flames licked at the wooden dwellings. Howls and screams blended as wolves battled in the streets.

Rogues.

Their red eyes gleamed in the firelight as they flooded the village.

Kael stood in the center of it all, his claws pouring blood. With his golden eyes blazing with rage, he was surrounded.

He was outnumbered, though.

He clutched his side as he stumbled. His shirt was heavy and darkly soaked with blood.

Raven felt her heart tighten.

Dax took hold of her arm. "We're not fighting this."

Raven ripped from his grasp. "Yes, it is."

Leaping forward, she shifted in mid-air. With its claws shredding through the soil, her wolf slammed to the ground.

She lunged into the fight, and Kael looked up just in time.

His gaze expanded.

"Raven?"

She continued. With her wolf howling with rage, she cut through the closest outlaw.

Kael was injured. The pack was dropping.

Furthermore, the conflict was far from ended.

The smell of blood and smoke filled the air. Raven's heart thumping against her ribs, she stood at the edge of the trees. It was too quiet in the forest. The wind seems to pause its breath as well.

She listened while closing her eyes. She sensed it — the connection — beneath the rustling leaves and faraway sounds. Faint but relentless, it pulled at her chest. Kael. She could never really get away from him, no matter how far she ran.

"Raven," Despite its gentleness, Dax's voice carried a warning. "This is not necessary for you to do."

She opened her silver eyes. "Yes, I do."

As she speed through the trees, branches scourged her arms, she pushed forward. Darkness was cast on the ground by the moon's low position in the sky. Her inner beast rose, restless and hungry. The link beat grew stronger with each step into Silverfang territory.

She gasped. She recalled the last time she had been here. The night she was turned down by Kael.

"You lack sufficient strength."

His tone had been icy and decisive. That night, she had felt the bond break. Or so she believed.

Still, she found herself sprinting back to the pack that had abandoned her. Let's go back to him.

As the woodland dwindled, a slender trail toward Silverfang village became visible. Raven halted, acutely aware. The blood odor had intensified. She squatted down and looked around the shadows.

The wind suddenly changed direction. Steps.

Raven stiffened. Her throat rumbled with a low growl. She spun around, her claws slipping from her hands, but Dax was the only one there, his worried eyes darting.

"You're tense," he muttered.

"Something is not right." She hardly raised her voice above a whisper. "Do you not sense it?"

Dax sniffed the air and scowled. Indeed. I sense it. He clenched his jaw. "Dark magic."

Raven shuddered. Voices that were not there were carried by the wind as it whispered through the woods. With each step becoming more difficult than the last, she pushed forward. The air grew cooler and the trees darker. The link becomes more tightly bound.

The ground shook beneath her feet all of a sudden. Raven grabbed a tree for support as he staggered. Dax swore behind her back. Her jaws ached when the earth rumbled once more, deep and low.

"What on earth was that?" Dax muttered.

Raven's heart was racing. "There will be something."

A lengthy, sorrowful, and agonizing wail tore through the night. Raven's blood became icy. That wail was familiar to her.

Kael.

She started to run. She didn't care that branches were tearing at her skin. She was drawn forward by the intense and urgent bond. She froze as she exploded through the trees.

The village had been destroyed. Unsettling shadows were thrown against the night sky by burning houses. Some of the wolves were still as they were strewn across the ground. The air was thick with the smell of death.

Kael was standing in the center of it all.

His golden eyes were flaming, and his black hair was tangled with blood. His motions were quick and lethal as he tore through a rogue wolf with his claws out. He was wounded, nevertheless. His clothes was soaked with blood, and his left side drooped.

Raven felt her heart tighten.

She ought to go back. Let him handle his own problems. He had already decided.

However, she was immobile. She couldn't because of the relationship.

Kael faltered. He was rushed at by a rogue.

"No!" Raven let out a scream.

With its talons tearing through the air, her wolf charged forward. The rogue crashed to the ground once she slammed into it. Eyes wide, Kael whirled.

"Raven?" He spoke in a gritty, incredulous tone.

She didn't respond. She confronted another rogue's attack. Teeth snapped, claws cut, and blood spattered the ground. She could only see Kael as the battle merged around her.

The final renegade was brought down. There was silence throughout the village.

Raven was panting and her claws were pouring blood. Kael's golden eyes searched her face as he gazed at her.

"You returned," he muttered.

Her fists clenched. "Avoid flattering yourself."

She raised a hand, but Kael took a stride in her direction. "Remain back."

His gaze grew gloomy. "Raven—"

Behind them, a deep growl rumbled. Raven whirled.

A figure stepped out of the darkness. slender and tall, with cold blue eyes that shone in the shadows. Elias.

"Well, well," Elias said in a silky, sarcastic voice. "Look who scurried back."

Raven's blood became icy.

Beside her, Kael stiffened. "Elias."

Elias grinned. "Raven, you ought to have stayed away." He glanced across at Kael. "You two will now perish."

Behind him, the shadows changed. More outlaws entered the moonlight, their red eyes gleaming.

They were encircled.

Raven's heart was racing. She gave Kael a quick glance, and their eyes were

briefly locked. Their relationship blazed with passion.

Kael's claws slid loose as he roared. "Remain near."

Raven grasped her wolf's strength more tightly. "Don't give me instructions."

The outlaws lunged.