With Wolves

The Ravensongs

As Kassandra Ravensong moved across the dance floor with this mysterious stranger called Nero, she never would have imagined that there would be a day like this—a moment where her powers wouldn't shackle her, where she could simply exist without the constant pressure of magic threatening to explode out of her control. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt free. The Ravensongs were a family of mages, and dealing with magic or the supernatural was like the everyday norm for them, rom the moment a Ravensong child could walk, they were taught incantations and by the time they could read, they were studying grimoires that would make normal people lose their minds. The family's vast knowledge of magic was legendary in supernatural circles—spanning generations of accumulated wisdom, carefully documented spells, and hard-won understanding of forces that existed beyond normal comprehension but despite all their talents and extensive knowledge, despite libraries filled with ancient texts and vaults containing artifacts of immense power, there was one critical gap in the Ravensong understanding: they knew virtually nothing about seers. Seers were rare, their gifts were unpredictable, dangerous, and fundamentally different from the structured, learned magic that the Ravensongs had mastered over centuries as seer abilities couldn't be taught from books or controlled through ritual and discipline. They simply were—wild, chaotic, and often devastating to those who possessed them.

Roxanne and Kassandra had been born on the same night under a full moon, their first cries echoing through the Ravensong estate within minutes of each other and on that same night, as family members celebrated the birth of two healthy girls, a prophecy had arrived on raven wings—literally. A massive black raven had crashed through the window of the family's ceremonial hall, a scroll tied to its leg with silver thread that burned with cold fire. The prophecy spoke of the King and the Maid. Gillian Ravensong, the current head of the family and a woman whose power and political acumen had kept the Ravensongs at the apex of supernatural society for decades, had read the prophecy with growing concern, the words were clear enough to be terrifying and vague enough to be maddening: When the King and the Maid kiss, the seal of Vekroh the Fallen shall be undone, and the King shall claim his kingdom by slaying the Fallen. Vekroh the Fallen was a name that made even the most powerful supernatural beings go quiet, an entity of such immense destructive power that its imprisonment had required the combined efforts of multiple species working together in a cooperation that had never been repeated. The seal that held Vekroh had been maintained for generations, with powerful families like the Ravensongs contributing their magic to keeping it strong and the idea that this seal could be undone—that two people kissing could potentially release an apocalyptic force—had sent Gillian into immediate action as she'd ordered that both granddaughters be brought to the family mansion permanently, their lives carefully monitored and controlled to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled. If they couldn't identify which girl was the Maid and who the King might be, they would simply ensure that neither Roxanne nor Kassandra had the opportunity to kiss anyone who might trigger the ancient magic and from childhood, both girls had lived under this shadow but they had developed very differently. Roxanne had shown extraordinary control over her powers from an early age, she could perform complex spells by age seven that most Ravensongs didn't master until their twenties, her abilities were vast and varied, but the most dangerous—and the most valuable—was her seer gift. Roxy could glimpse possible futures, and occasionally even influence probability itself. She wielded this terrifying ability with the same precise control she brought to everything else, never letting it overwhelm her, never losing herself to the visions that could drive weaker minds to madness. Kassandra, on the other hand, had struggled, her powers were immense—possibly even greater than Roxy's in raw potential—but she had little control over them. Magic would explode out of her during emotional moments, causing objects to levitate or shatter, lights to flicker wildly, temperatures to spike or plummet without warning, her seer abilities were particularly problematic, hitting her in waves of overwhelming sensation that left her disoriented and exhausted. The family had tried everything from private tutors, specialized training to magical dampening artifacts that she wore like jewelry, designed to keep her power contained but nothing worked consistently. Kassandra remained a powder keg of magical energy that could go off at any moment, making her dangerous to herself and everyone around her.

The isolation that came with being different, with being dangerous, had been crushing, while Roxy moved through both normal and supernatural society with confidence and grace, Kassandra had retreated, having only two real friends—Mark and Gabriella, or Ella for short—who had stuck with her through everything, who didn't flinch when her powers flared, who treated her like a person rather than a liability. This morning, Kassandra had woken from the most unbelievable dream she'd ever experienced, in the dream she'd been dancing in a forest clearing surrounded by wolves and warriors—both male and female, all of them moving with predatory grace with the moonlight filtered through the trees, casting everything in silver and shadow, music played from no visible source, a rhythm that felt ancient and primal, and Kassandra had been moving to it, lost in the dance. Then he had appeared, a man so beautiful he could take anyone's breath away by just glancing at them, he'd walked straight toward her through the crowd of dancers, his eyes locked on hers with an intensity that made everything else fade away and without a word, he'd joined her in the dance, matching her movements perfectly, and around them others had begun pairing off, couples forming and moving together in synchronized rhythm. The music had built to a crescendo and then stopped abruptly. She and the beautiful stranger had been facing each other, both breathing hard, the space between them charged with energy that made the air feel electric as they'd moved closer, drawn together by something that felt bigger than choice, and when their lips met—. Kassandra had woken up gasping, but the dream's effects hadn't ended there, at the moment of that dream-kiss, something had awoken inside her, her powers had surged out in a massive wave, encompassing the whole of the estate in a pulse of pure magical energy, she'd felt it happen but couldn't stop it. The power had just poured out of her, more than it ever had before, like a dam breaking but strangely, after that initial massive release, she'd felt... calmer. The constant pressure that normally sat just beneath her skin had eased slightly. Kassandra had immediately called Mark and Ella to her room, needing to talk to someone about what had just happened, they'd listened as she described the dream in detail—the forest, the wolves, the warriors, the dance but Ella had been particularly interested in one specific aspect "okay, but tell me more about the hot guy," she'd said, leaning forward with a grin "like, describe him, was he tall? What color were his eyes?" "Ella, focus," Mark had said, though he was smiling "Kass, that kind of power release—have you ever done that before?" "Not like that," Kassandra had admitted "it was... bigger, stronger but after it happened, I felt better, like some of the pressure was gone" they'd talked about it for a while, trying to make sense of what it might mean, but eventually the conversation had drifted to other topics. That's when Mark had mentioned something he'd heard at school "speaking of interesting," he'd said, "did you hear about the new guy that Roxy approached today?" Kassandra had looked up "Roxy approached someone?" "yeah, apparently she went up to him in the parking lot, exchanged numbers, invited him to tonight's party" Mark had raised his eyebrows "he's the talk of the whole school, nobody can figure out what's special about him" "knowing Roxy, she probably just wants to use him for something and then dump him when she's done," Kassandra had said, unable to keep the slight edge out of her voice, she loved her cousin, but Roxy's calculating nature was well-known to her "I'm not really interested in whoever she's decided to play with this week" "fair," Ella had said "but for reference sake, what's his name?" "Nero," Mark had said "just Nero, apparently" The name had meant nothing to Kassandra at the time, she'd filed it away and moved on with her day.

Now, as the party was in full swing, Mark and Ella had gone downstairs to join the festivities while Kassandra had told them she'd join shortly, she'd needed a moment to herself, sitting on her bed and trying to prepare for the evening ahead, that's when it happened, the energy pulse she'd released that morning—the one that had settled into a constant low hum—suddenly shook violently, it spiked, fluctuated wildly, and then... calmed but more than calmed, It felt like it was being absorbed and for the first time in forever, Kassandra felt genuinely calm, her powers, which normally roiled beneath her skin like a storm constantly threatening to break, had come to a rest, the overwhelming pressure that she'd lived with for years simply... eased. It was like someone or something was absorbing the excess magical energy that constantly threatened to overwhelm her, taking the burden and leaving her with peace as she'd sat there in shock, hardly daring to believe what she was feeling, freedom, actual freedom from the constant struggle. Whatever had caused this—whoever had caused this—she was feeling genuinely thankful. Kassandra had moved quickly then, going to her closet and pulling out the outfit Ella had brought for her earlier, she'd done her makeup with hands that were steady for the first time in months, her hair had cooperated beautifully, falling in natural waves, when she'd looked in the mirror, she'd barely recognized herself as she looked radiant. Kassandra had left her room feeling lighter than she had in years, she'd reached the first floor landing and looked down at the party below, and that's when she'd seen him, standing in the foyer was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, crystalline blue eyes, dark hair, features that seemed designed to make her forget how to breathe and the moment her eyes landed on him, she'd felt it—the pull and then she'd seen her, seen herself from his perspective, somehow, like their gazes connected and created a circuit, they'd moved toward each other, introduced themselves, and now here they were—dancing like they'd done this a thousand times before.

Kassandra couldn't believe she was actually doing the dance from her dream, every step, every turn—he was matching her perfectly, it felt natural for them both, like they'd choreographed this together but as she moved in his arms, Kassandra felt a familiar presence approaching, Roxy, her cousin was coming, and instinct took over as she grabbed Nero's hand and ran "what—" Nero started, but she was already pulling him through the crowd, weaving between people, she led him through a hallway and out a side door that opened onto the back garden. They burst out into the cool night air, and Kassandra finally stopped, releasing his hand, for a moment they just stood there, both breathing hard, it was awkward, She'd just grabbed a guy she'd met maybe twenty minutes ago and dragged him out without explanation. Then Nero opened his mouth, probably to ask what was going on, and Kassandra felt a laugh bubble up, it started small but grew, and within seconds she was genuinely laughing, Nero stared at her for a second, then he started laughing too, deep, genuine laughter that transformed his entire face. They laughed together in the garden until the awkwardness dissolved "okay," Nero said when they'd caught their breath "so are you going to tell me why we just ran?" "honestly? Impulse," Kassandra admitted "I felt her coming and I just... didn't want her to interrupt" "Interrupt what?" "This" Kassandra gestured between them "whatever this is" they started talking, the conversation flowing as easily as the dance had, Kassandra found herself opening up in ways she normally didn't, and Nero seemed to understand without her having to explain everything, then she asked him, "who are you, Nero?" he glanced at her, a little confused "you know who I am, I told you" "no," she said, stopping and turning to face him "do you know who you really are?" Nero's expression shifted "I don't understand the question." "I think you do," Kassandra said gently, she could see it in his eyes—uncertainty, secrets "there's something about you, something different, I felt it the moment I saw you" "Kass—" "the dreams," she interrupted "do you have dreams? Strange ones?” Nero went very still, and she knew she'd hit something "why are you asking me this?" he said quietly "because I think we're supposed to find each other," Kassandra said. "I think there's a reason you're here" Before he could respond, before she lost her nerve, Kassandra turned and started walking deeper into the garden, following a path that led away from the lights of the mansion "Kass, wait—" Nero called after her but she kept walking, moving between trees and flower beds, going deeper into the darkness, she heard his footsteps behind her, following, and she felt a smile cross her face.