Raven

Chapter 4

As I dart in and out through the endless sea of tree trunks expanding deep into the North American wilderness, I pause for a moment and flutter onto a pine tree branch. I flit myself around to face the direction that Tessa will be coming from and listen for her approach, the branch bouncing slightly under my weight. I cautiously scan the pitch black darkness of the woods and try to pick out if there are any abnormal sounds or smells, but I hear nothing except the hum of cicadas and the crunching footsteps of Tess about 1/4 mile out. I can't see very well at night when I am in this form, so I am relying almost entirely on the glow cast by the full moon in order to see. I hear Tessa muttering a long string of profanities as she comes into view while she drunkenly strips off her clothes to shift. As soon as she is completely naked, she quickly shifts into her Canadian Lynx and picks up her clothes in her jaws, giving me the I'm ready to go look. She already knows something must have happened which is why we are headed in the direction of the safe house. I pump my wings twice and take flight. I direct myself pointing upwards at a 90 degree angle and break through the thin canopy of pines and oaks. I straighten out horizontally and head north towards the safe house, coasting on the breeze. If I fly above the treetops, I won't run the risk of smacking into a tree trunk with my poor night vision.

The greater in distance Dixons becomes, the more I begin to relax a little bit, enjoying the cool night air rustling through my wings. We finally cross over into our territory as I soar effortlessly through the clear, star speckled night sky.

For some reason, my mind begins to drift back to Reid.

Who is he, and why didn't he try to attack me? The name Reid certainly isn't Italian in origin, but he fluently speaks the language. What would have happened if he hadn't interjected when his friend had me cornered in the bathroom? Why did his ominous, musky scent scare me so much whereas those inky black eyes had me curious and transfixed?

The duplicity these thoughts creates the perfect storm of confusion in my mind. I’m afraid of him and I know that I should be, because werewolves plus shapeshifters equals disaster. My deceased family is proof of that in itself. On the flip side, there is this other part of me that doesn't feel panicked. Something about him has me captivated in a way that makes me want to play with the fire of his soul. I’m doused in gasoline from head to toe, but I still want to strike his match.

Apparently a significant amount of time passes while I'm lost in thought and I faintly recognize the Noctis safe house coming up. I begin my decent towards the clearing on the ground as the house pops into view. It isn't really much of a house, more like a rustic old cabin. The dark log frame with a narrow wrap around porch, weathered railings, and a stacked brick chimney arising from the back of the house give it a homey look. No one ever comes here because we rarely need to use it and it is situated smack dab in the middle of nowhere. There is only a tiny dirt road leading to the dwelling, so this is the absolute last place that anyone wants to come. No one I know enjoys this place, except me.

I love this little cabin. Sometimes, I'll leave Tessa for the weekend and come out here by myself because it is the perfect place to be alone and shift without being seen. About one weekend per month, I'll load up my car with a duffel bag full of books, some Ramen, comfortable clothes and drive out here just to catch my breath. I will spend the entire weekend becoming immersed in the solitude, which is surprisingly easy for me to do. Everything about this place gives me a renewed sense of mental health and it helps me to realize that I need to embrace and be at one with the silence that is my life. If I don't, I will literally drive myself insane.

I do a quick loop around the roof of the cabin before landing myself on the front porch, shifting back into my human form as soon as my feet touch the wooden boards of the patio. Tessa comes trotting up the steps right behind me, slowly shifting while I fumble my hand around the top of the door frame for the spare key. My fingers finally grasp onto the metallic little silver object and I retract my hand, squinting my eyes as I insert it into the lock and twist. I push the door open and step inside, flipping on the light switch which reveals a small kitchen and light wood island packed with utensils and cutlery to the right. An equally crammed living room consisting of a wooden coffee table, brown sofa and love seat occupy the left. I navigate my naked body between the kitchen and love seat before heading into the singular bedroom, pulling open the top dresser drawer where I've stored some spare clothes. I pull out a blue t-shirt and black yoga pants, quickly tossing them on. I hear Tessa’s feet stomp across the wooden floor and the front door snap shut.

"Okay, do you mind telling me what in the hell happened back there?" Tessa states in a concerned voice from the living room. I walk back out and plop myself down on the couch, shutting my eyes and massaging my temples with my fingertips.

"Did you happen to smell any werewolves while you were hooking up with bowl-cut guy?" I mutter with my head leaned back on the armrest of the worn cloth sofa.

"Uh...no, I don't think so. I was a little distracted though." She rubs her neck with guilt, clearly feeling bad that I was left to fend for myself. I didn't smell them initially either, so it's not like she is the only one. "What happened?" she probes and I take a deep breath.

"I don't know, it was all really weird. One of them approached me at the bar and was trying to hit on me. I obviously refuted his advances and then went to the bathroom, but he followed me inside. He…he said that he knew who I was, Tess," I recall, propping myself up into a seated position. She furrows her brow with confusion as she lowers herself on the opposite end of the couch.

"Damnit Rae, I'm sorry…I should have been more aware of my surroundings,” Tessa replies with remorse. “Could he have you confused with someone else?"

"I don't know. Maybe..." I trail off as my mind wanders back to Reid for the second time tonight.

"Well what did he want? To kill you?" her voice suddenly shifting from remorseful to bitter. I exhale sharply and readjust myself on the couch.

"I mean probably that, amongst other things. He didn't exactly get the chance to do anything before some other werewolf intervened." Tessa sits straight up, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"Wait, another werewolf showed up to help you out?" she inquires.

"Yeah, some guy named Reid,” I answer. “He came out of nowhere and busted down the bathroom door before yelling at the other guy in Italian. Also...he was kind of hot. Actually, he was really hot,” I begin to unintentionally swoon. “God Tess, he was tall, had this naturally tanned skin, these dark brooding eyes and a bunch of tattoos. He also didn't try to attack or kill me, which is a plus. Tessa Ann Fitzgerald...if you could have heard his voice when he spoke Italian, you'd probably think it was the sexiest thing to ever grace your ears.” I grin while staring up at the rafters, allowing his voice to replay in my head. Tessa doesn't say a word for a moment, I can feel her wide, incredulous eyes glued to my face. I know she can't believe that any of those words just slipped out of my mouth for two big reasons;

A) I've never, I repeat, never, initiated a conversation with her where I have discussed how attractive I thought a man was. I don't like being touched, therefore I have no reason to lament over the subject. I won't let them come near me anyways. Plus, all of the men in Noctis are not even remotely my type and none of them try with me. They know it's a lost cause.

B) Reid isn't a shifter. Hell, he isn't even a human. He is a werewolf, straight up. So, the fact that I am commenting on his arresting features based on that tidbit of information is a huge no-no. Me being physically attracted to a werewolf isn't a good thing because nothing could ever come of it. Shapeshifters can't find an Aequilavii in anyone else other than another shifter. Not a vampire, not a werewolf, not even a human.

Well, at least I've never heard of it happening before.

"Okay, I'm just going to come right out and say it...have you lost your damn mind?” Tessa snaps. “He's a werewolf for Christ sake. We don't affiliate with them and we certainly don't talk about how hot that we think they are. You are skirting a very dangerous and idiotic line right now, Raven Lancaster," she reminds me with a stressed out look. I groan and throw my head back, covering my eyes with my palms.

In the off chance I ever hooked up with Reid, Zander would lose his s**t, all of Noctis would overthrow me as Alpha, and I’d be banished from the cluster. Ironically enough, I take a moment of silence to think about the aftermath if by some crazy chance I did hook up with Reid. How amazingly satisfying it would be to free myself from the constraints of Noctis solely based on the fact that I was hooking with an extremely attractive werewolf. I grin as I picture myself giving them all the middle finger and walking off into the sunset without a care in the world. Tess narrows her eyes at me before shoving my shin with her foot.

She already knows what I’m thinking.

"Don't even think about it, Raven. I will literally kill you if you leave me high and dry to go off gallivanting with some f*****g mutt," she seethes. I laugh a little and dreamily sigh, snuggling against the couch even more.

"I wouldn't do that to you Tess, don't worry. Plus, I'm not that much of an i***t to hook up with a werewolf," I respond while staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, you'd better not. There’s no way that’ll end well," she grumbles.

•••

"What the hell, why doesn't this key ever work properly?" I mutter with irritation. I fumble around with the bulky gold key that opens my office at work in the barely visible light. At 6:30 AM, I'm always the first one here and my three coworkers don't arrive until sometime after 8:00 AM. I shove it into the lock and twist it back and forth, but nothing happens and the door doesn't open. I groan and rest my head against the glass pane of the door, shuffling my left foot back and forth against the rustic pavers.

It’s been a few days since the incident at Dixons and my life has gone right back to normal; work, work and more work.

My environmental law office is situated at the very edge of the Noctis territory on the upper west side and it is smack dab in the middle of a bustling metropolis. I specifically chose my career as an Environmental lawyer because I love nature and I knew that I'd be able to open up my own practice. I wanted to hire other people to most of the upfront, face-to-face interactions with clients that I don't care to do. The three girls who work with me (Natalia, Hannah and Anna) are awesome coworkers who handle the vast majority of the personal client interactions. My unit is located at the edge of a grey, one story building that boarders a large park lined with ancient oak trees and a constant influx of people. I purposely picked a highly populated place to set up shop to maintain a sense of normality and to detract from any hostile entities (such as werewolves like Matteo or Reid) who might like to harm me. The way I see it, if I'm in an area with a ton of human activity, the chances of a werewolf risking exposure by shifting or launching an attack on me is slim to none.

After fidgeting with the lock for some unknown amount of time, the key turns over and the door unlocks.

Thank god I internally revel, looking up towards the sky while my dark braided hair cascades down the center of my back. I push the door open and step inside, strolling past the front desk and variety of potted plants on the ground back towards my office. Before I reach my personal office space, I hear the chime of the front door opening and the sound of two sets of feet shuffling inside. I quickly turn around to face whomever came in and I immediately freeze up.

Standing in my doorway are two men who I've never seen before. They are both dressed in black clothing. One guy has slicked back blonde hair with hazel eyes, while the other has long brown hair and brown eyes. Both stand at about 6'0'', and each of them are staring at me intently with arms crossed, grinning from ear to ear. I don't even need to smell these guys to know that they are werewolves. They're definitely masking their scents, but their demeanor and the fact that they are standing in my office at 6:30 AM when the streets are pretty deserted says it all. I questioned my instincts last time I was in Dixons, and I won't do it again. They are obviously here for one of two reasons;

Firstly (a highly unlikely scenario), they are here to solicit my legal services and/or they don't care that I am a shapeshifter.

Secondly (and probably the most likely scenario), is that someone sent them here to either kidnap or kill me.

Someone who didn't finish the job the first time around. Someone like Reid.

I swallow the huge lump in my throat and straighten myself out, gently brushing off my long black pencil skirt and bright blue blouse. I need to work on lowering my heart rate so they don't realize how nervous I am. I don't need them to know that I can tell what they are. If I maintain the illusion that I'm completely oblivious to them being werewolves, maybe I can distract them long enough for me to escape.

So, I paint on a beaming fake smile and speak in a chipper, ditsy voice.

"Good morning gentlemen. How can I help you?"