Raven’s POVBy the time we got back to the mansion it was quiet.It was the kind of silence that wrapped around your throat and threatened to choke you, like the entire building was holding its breath, waiting for someone to scream. I could feel every eye on me the second I stepped through the grand double doors, covered in dried blood and forest dust, Elias’s hand still tightly wrapped around mine.They were all there—Cassian leaning against a marble pillar with his arms crossed and a fresh gash along his temple, Dante was seated on the velvet couch, still bruised and bloodied but very much alive, thank god. The King stood near the fireplace, his golden cloak draped across one shoulder, his expression thunderous.And then…My mother was already rushing toward me the moment I stepped in, eyes red from crying, lips trembling with words she hadn’t even formed yet. “Raven,” she whispered.But before she could touch me, I flinched hard. My entire body recoiled like she was on fire and I w
Raven’s POVThe fight was the scariest thing I've ever encountered in my life, it was bloody and awful that I did the only thing in my mind before they noticed.I ran.Branches whipped at my skin and sliced my arms and legs but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t dare it as this was my only means of redemption away from this scary era.My breath was ragged and my chest was tight with heavy hammering. I didn’t even know where I was anymore—just that I had to get away and get far from the monster behind me but it was useless to compete with the vampire speed and his speed wasn’t natural. In the next breath, I was slammed to the ground.My body hit the forest floor with a bone-rattling thud, and I cried out as the weight of him pinned me down, his fingers digging into my wrists like claws. I struggled, kicked, screamed at his face but it didn’t matter. He was stronger and faster, showing me a side I never knew he was hiding.Blood dripped from his mouth, hot and slick, splattering across my che
Raven’s POVI could still feel his fingers between my thighs, the sensation of what Cassian had done lingering on my skin was like a fever I couldn’t sweat out. His mouth had found places no one else had dared to touch in a place like this and how I hated him—hated every damn part of him. But the worst part was melting under his touch like I’d been waiting for it. I could hear the chaos unraveling behind us, the sound of twigs cracking, flesh thudding, bodies colliding. Screams… growls… snarls.And yet, all I could do was pant against Cassian's neck, my body caged in his hold like I was to break if he leaves me alone.My mind warred with my body, screaming at me. “You can’t trust him,” the voice in my head yelled. “But god, you want more,” the traitorous whisper replied.He kissed the side of my neck, just under my ear. It wasn’t tender but primal and possessive. “He’s not what you think he is, Raven,” he murmured, his breath hot against my skin. “Jerome… he’s not just a vampire.”I
Dante's POVCassian and I had tracked Raven and Jerome to this very spot, as planned. I couldn’t believe how long it had taken for us to find them, but here we were, standing just outside the edge of the trees, waiting for the chaos to unfold. We watched them and I could see Raven, her figure just barely visible through the trees. She looked tense, moving like she knew something wasn’t right. It wasn’t hard to spot Jerome. That asshole had no subtlety. He was practically glowing with anger and his skin flushed red, his hands trembling as if he could barely hold himself together. And when he yelled her name, calling her a “bitch,” after she left , I could feel the muscles in my jaw clench in fury. Raven, though… she seemed to be shifting, her body moving with the same uncertainty I’d seen in her before. The fear was obvious in her eyes, but she wasn’t showing it outright. She was playing it cool—too cool, even for her despite knowing that something was off. Then, I heard Cassian’
Raven's POVMy heart hammered in my chest, and every breath I took felt too shallow. I wanted to scream and claw at him, tear away from his iron grip, but his hand on my mouth stifled the sound before it even left my throat. He was too strong, too fucking strong. His body pressed against mine, every movement calculated, controlled. “Where do you think you’re going?” Cassian’s voice was low with a growl in the back of his throat as he dragged me into the underbrush.My heart raced as panic surged in my chest. I tried to scream, but his hand clamped down on my mouth, cutting off any sound and I couldn’t see what was happening, but I felt his grip tightening, his body pinning me against the rough bark of a tree.“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Raven,” he murmured into my ear, his breath hot against my skin. The warmth of his body against mine was both intoxicating and terrifying. “You think I don’t know the shit you’re carrying? The
:Raven’s POVI didn’t know much about vampires, but I knew enough. My mother had warned me about them when I was younger, though I never really believed it because my friends would always say they don't exist. I’d heard the stories—about the creatures that came out at night, about the garlic, the silver, and the old wood that could kill them. I always thought it was just a mix of folklore and superstition. But now? Now, I knew that some of it was real.My fingers brushed against the small items tucked carefully into the side of my bag, it was garlic cloves, a small silver pendant I’d taken from an old family heirloom, the same one I had used to strike Dante and a splinter of old wood. It wasn’t much, but my intuition had told me to prepare. Something about Jerome felt off right in the room. The way he had looked at me, his piercing gaze that seemed to go too deep, was starting to unsettle me. He’d been nothing but sweet to me, making m