Raff

Raff

I woke up earlier than usual, sensing something wasn't quite right med to be on edge and hyper alert this morning. Opening my eyes I see Nina laying beside me sleeping soundlessly. Forgetting my anxiety I pull her close and nestle my nose into her neck taking a deep breath in of her scent that never fails to drive me crazy. The subtle hints of honey and coconut mixed with vanilla made me sigh in content. I wasn’t sure what I had done to deserve a mate as strong, and beautiful as Nina, But I silently thanked the Moon Goddess again for giving me her as a mate. I gently place a kiss along the soft skin of her neck before pulling back a few inches taking in her scent. My hand gently stroked her small body under the blankets in a slow soothing motion not wanting to wake her with my movements. I stare at the face of my sleeping mate, and notice something glistening at the corner of her eye. I watch as a tear slowly makes its way out of her eye, and down her cheek. Concern and worry fill my entire being as she begins to stir next to me as I gently run my thumb along the trail of tears wiping them away before they fall. Her emerald eyes flutter open glistening with unshed tears locking with mine. A small gasp leaves her lips as her eyes meet my worried gaze. My hand resting gently on her cheek with my thumb slowly stroking just under her eye. Her breath comes out barely a whisper.

“I met the moon goddess.” Shock fills me moments before i'm in awe thinking that even the moon goddess thought my mate was so amazing she wanted to meet with her in person. My pride is quickly met with confusion when she sits up frantically pushing me away in her hurry. What I thought would be good news seemed to have set Nina into some kind of whirlwind around the room grabbing things. In her frenzy I saw her face change into so many…anger, pain, grief, and finally fear. When I saw the fear flash, and for a split second her body tense up something in me seemed to snap me out of my confusion. I rushed to her side placing my hands on her shoulders to halt her movements.

“Hey, calm down, and talk to me please? Tell me what’s going on so I can help you angel.” I say in hushed tones, bending my knees to look her in the eye. Her dazed eyes peer back at mine as I see her senses return. Seeming to process what I had just said she draws in a sharp breath. As she releases a shaky breath I gently lead her back to the edge of the bed, and sit down purposely pulling her into my lap. When we sit I see fresh tears beginning to well in her eyes, and I know whatever the moon goddess had told her was something terrible.

“The moon goddess met with me last night, and she told me about my cousin Sarah. About what her father did to her, then her mate….Raff he did put her in that hospital, I was right. All the things she has gone through, and now with a baby….how could I not have noticed, or known!” She spoke through sobs that racked through her body. I pull her close while trying to process what she had just told me. I feel anger bloom in my chest at the thought of someone having to go through that. I feel a darkness come over me like a blanket, and Neil stands ready to attack. His lips curl as he bears his teeth in anger. This is the reason I had considered myself a danger to Nina. My body tenses around her as I try to wrestle the darkness around me. At the very least she must be protected from this side of me. The side my father considered a monster. The last time this happened was after my mother was killed. 

*****Flashback****

My mom was supposed to meet me at the river for our morning run, but she hadn’t shown up yet. I sat down listening to the water, and picking at the grass. After a few minutes I heard faint screams begin to drift on the wind.  My body perked at the sound. Standing up, and turning towards the sounds of the screams I'm caught off guard by a blur that sweeps me off my feet. Before I realize it I'm on my back with a rogue trying to rip my throat out. I put my arms up for defense, and as we struggle I pull one arm back, and let the wolf come in close. Bringing my now free arm down across his jaw I was able to stun it, and with the pause I brought both my hands around his head, and jumping on its back I pulled the head with me breaking its neck. The rogue falls to the ground, but as my feet touch I take off towards the screams I heard earlier. Trees blur around me as I run faster than I ever have before. As I get closer to the open area of the back house the stench of blood fills my nose, and makes me run faster. Coming into the clearing i’m met with a gruesome sight. Rogues, and pack members both litter the ground as corpses. Fear and panic collide within me as I only think of one person. I race towards my home even faster. Praying I make it in time. My mom was never a fighter. She was an omega before my dad, and she always hated fighting.  The pack house comes into view, and dread settles in the pit of my stomach. I pray i’m not too late as I approach the front steps. Entering the house i’m overwhelmed with the stench of blood and death. 

“Mom!” I call out, not caring if any rogues hear me. I only care that she is okay. I search desperately through the house, finding rogue bodies already dead on the floor. “How did so many get in?” I thought seeing yet another body of a rogue. I couldn’t smell where she was with so much blood and death, so I searched through every room in the house. Coming to my dad’s office I hear sounds coming from inside. Preparing myself for what I might find I push open the door to see what I had feared the most. My father sat on the ground holding my mother in his arms sobbing. 

“MOM!!” I scream as I rush forward praying my eyes are wrong, but as my knees hit the carpet all the breath leaves me. I can’t hear a heartbeat, or her breathing. I feel warmth on my face from my tears as I see a black shadow cover my vision. I can’t remember what happened next, but when I woke up I found myself in a cell with four guards outside. “What happened? How did I get in here? Mom!” The memories of what happened right before I blacked out come flooding back to me. The rogue attack, my mom, everything. “I want to see her, I have to tell her goodbye, let me out.” I heard no response from the guards who were probably ordered to not speak to me. Feeling nothing but frustration I try to approach the guards, only to find my wrists and ankles shackled in silver chains to the wall. “Wha-what is the meaning of this?! What is going on?! Did my father make you do this?!”

“No, I did.” A calm deep voice speaks from the entrance of the cells. Walking further down the line of cells the beta steps into view. Confusion and anger swirl together inside of me. I am the alpha’s son, and my mother had just died. How dare him refuse me the right to be with her. A growl comes from deep within me as I think this.

“Why?” I ask through clenched teeth. Surprise flashes across his features briefly before he lets out a deep sigh. 

"It seems you truly don’t remember anything.” He sighs out shoulder’s sagging. Worry strikes me, what could I be forgetting? Did it have something to do with that shadow I saw right before I passed out? 

“What happened?” I question more earnestly. Uncertain of what could have happened to get me locked up in such a way.

“You snapped.” He speaks as if he is reliving a nightmare while his eyes hold a far off look. “I didn’t know if we would ever be able to stop you, you killed three pack members who tried to stop you, but ultimately they lost their lives trying to protect their alpha. We don’t know what happened, but after the attack we began to hear a commotion from the pack house, before we could even get there, both the alpha and you came out of his office window. You were a monster, stuck in a half transformed state, you had gone rabid. We tried to calm you both down, but you wouldn’t stop attacking the alpha. The sounds you were making. They weren’t human, or animal. It’s ;ike you were possessed, or a rabid animal. Even when the alpha could no longer speak, or stand you didn’t stop. That’s when we decided we couldn’t let you continue. Eight of us went in to stop you, but three never made it out, another two are in the hospital as we speak, and the alpha….” he trails off letting the sentence hang in the air. Fear grips at my insides. Had I just killed my father with my own hands after just having lost my mother? My breath quickens as I hear him let out a sigh again. “The alpha is in a coma, and they aren’t sure if he will wake again. Until then you will remain here. If he wakes up we will ask him how to proceed, but if he doesn’t…I will have to decide…..for what it’s worth, I'm sorry about the luna.” I spent a month in that cell, before my father came to retrieve me. When he came for me though I saw a change in him, in the way he looked at me. He was disgusted, and full of hate. After that he took joy in making my life hell every day, but hated to see me. I was banned from shifting at the age of twelve for my attempt to kill my father is what the council called it.

*********End Flashback********

I snap back to the present as I feel Nina’s sobs begin to subside. Using every bit of strength in me to fight off the dark shadow that has now engulfed me. I push her away before everything goes black begging with everything I have that she listens to me, and gets as far away from me as she can before I lose this fight.

“Run.” I manage to whisper before I feel my body no more.