The Reaver Chronicles: Raziel (Book 1)

Chapter 4

"What the f**k were you doing?” He growled, pulling me from my erratic thoughts. Suddenly, my courage returned, pulling me back from the dark. “Well, it’s not everyday that your boyfriend gets murdered in cold blood, right in front of you after trying to rape you… which, by the way, I could have handled that myself, thank you. What was I doing? I was grieving.” I snapped, folding my arms in front of me.

I could feel his annoyance surrounding me, suffocating me. The purr of the horses underneath the hood suddenly seemed much easier to focus on. “Grieving what? He didn’t deserve you and you know it.” He replied. I scoffed. “Oh, and you do?” He hummed his disapproval but ignored my question. “There is a way to stop your erratic behavior.” He finally said after a few moments of silence passed between us. “Not likely.” I retorted.

He stopped the fancy car in front of my house but didn’t let me out yet. Instead, he turned to face me. “You know, you can’t escape me. No matter how much you may try, I will always find you. One simple touch, and my mark will adorn your face… and when it does, you will be helpless to tell me no, ever again.” He said, caressing my cheek with his hand.

Goosebumps sprouted along both of my arms and settled themselves deep into my spine. The thought of being marked by him was terrifying. I knew very little of Reavers, but I knew they were able to choose their own mates. He had chosen me long ago, and he made sure I was very aware of his intentions. Why he hadn’t just marked me yet is a question I do not have an answer for. But it seemed the more I acted out, the closer he got to just doing it.

“Please… don’t…” I stammered, as another break in my euphoria rushed through. “I am generously allowing you your freedom. The more you take advantage of this fact, the closer I become to taking it all away. Don’t force my hand, Rayne. You have seen firsthand how far I am willing to go.”

The thought of him marking me and forcing me to be with him made my stomach turn. Not that I don't find him incredibly attractive. I'm not blind, but being forced into it is not how I envisioned my story turning out. I had always thought I would find my mate someday and we would be able to experience the mate bond in all its glory. If I am marked by a Reaver... I would never have that option.

I swallowed, hard, and pulled from the copious amounts of liquid courage that scourged my veins. "I'm not mated to you." I said firmly. He looked out the window for a brief moment, then turned back to look at me. I inhaled slowly as I took in the mischief dancing though his eyes. "Oh? And you know this, how?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow and folded my arms across my chest.

"You are of age, you would feel it if we were." I snapped, knowing that I would have to be 21 to feel it, but he was past that age already so he could feel the bond if it were present. He took my chin in his hand causing me to flinch slightly as he turned my face towards his. "And how do you know that I don't?" He whispered. I could feel Wynter running rampant within my mind. She wanted nothing more than to be mated to this monster. The saliva instantly dried in my mouth, almost causing me to choke when I tried to swallow.

"You're lying!" I croaked, but still, it came out as cracked as my throat was beginning to feel. "Am I?" He said, getting impossibly closer to me. I pushed myself back as far as I could, but the black and gold bucket seat did little to allow me to shrink into the nothing like I was hoping I would. He was so close to me now that our lips were almost touching. He allowed his hand to slide from my chin, gripping onto my neck and pressing it further into the seat back, if that were even possible.

"Explain to me just why my presence affects you like it does. The thrill, the fear... the way a strategic squeeze of your inner thigh, like this, causes you to gasp out loud, like that... do explain to me why my lips being this close to yours has your heart rate increasing by the moment. Tell me, little Wolf... if I am lying, then why do my words cause shivers to run up and down your spine?"

I was completely and utterly shaken. In the state of mind that I found myself in, and against all of my previous conceptions, I wanted nothing more than for him to completely and utterly devour me. The thought of his lips upon mine, and the way I imagined he would taste... the way his tongue would dance along the edges of my lips, begging to be let in. The feel of his large hands as they claimed parts of my body that the light didn't see often.

My breath hitched in my throat when he removed his hand from my throat suddenly, and took his place in his seat, ripping me from my thoughts and leaving me begging for more. I squeezed my legs together, trying to calm the heat that had been building between them, but not without a snicker from the peanut gallery. "Tell me, little Wolf, am I lying?" He asked.

I couldn't even look at him. I could feel the redness grasping onto my cheeks for dear life. "I... I don't know." I mumbled, fighting over words because my mind was not in its right state. Not in the slightest. Even Wynter had gone quiet, which was an eerie feeling.

"Then I guess you will just have to wait and find out." He said. I grasped onto my courage momentarily. "Find out? I won't have a chance, you're going to mark me far before I get that chance." I huffed, clasping my hands together in my lap in frustration. "Am I?" He asked.

I glared at him. "Ughhh, you infuriate me!" I growled, and attempted to open the door, forgetting I was locked in like a f*****g child. "I wonder how many days you'd have to be missing before someone came looking for you..." He said, nonchalantly, causing my heart to stop beating in my chest momentarily. I turned and we locked eyes. The disbelief was clear on my face as I glared at my captor.

"You wouldn't dare." I growled, realizing that daring this man to do anything was just as good as a death threat, but the words had already left my lips before I could stop them. He reached for my arm, but I wasn't fast enough to avoid his death grip. Panic gripped onto my wrist and yanked me through space and time. I was falling and tumbling, disoriented and confused. I landed on the ground, hard, and then had to close my eyes to fight a bout of nausea that threatened to swallow me whole.

“What the f**k was that?!" I cried as soon as I was able to form a coherent sentence. I opened my eyes and noticed that we were no longer in the gold sports car in front of my house. No, we were much further away than that.

The ocean crashed in furious waves against the rocky shore below the cliff I found myself lying on top of. To my right was a dense forest full of evergreens spanning hundreds of feet into the sky. I could hear birds chirping and singing in the distance. The smell of pine was strong as it wrapped itself around every fiber of my being. As I sat up I cringed, pulling small rocks and twigs from the skin on my elbow. "How fast can you run?" He asked, pulling my attention from the breathtaking scenery that surrounded us and directing it straight onto himself.

"What?" I replied, confused as I got up from the floor and brushed myself off. "I will not repeat myself." He said, nodding towards the tree line. I turned, but before I could even take a step I heard him snap his fingers, and then my ankles were suddenly bound together. I turned and looked back at him. "What the f**k?" I growled. "You and that mouth of yours." He tsked.

Another snap, and the golden rope that bound my ankles made its way to my mouth. It slithered around my face and wrapped around my lips, closing them as it constricted. Anger burned its way through my veins as he made his very f*****g clear point.

Another snap and the rope made its way down to my wrists, wrapping them up like a golden silk cocoon. The golden rope was glittering in the absence of sunlight, and albeit beautiful, it only pissed me off more. He then walked up to me and took my restrained wrists in his hand. Slinking his fingers around the ropes that bound me, he pulled me to his chest, forcing me to look up at him.

"Tell me again how you think I wouldn't kidnap you... tie you up, just like this, and keep you as my pet for all of eternity." His fingertips danced along the edge of the ropes that silenced me causing heat to build in places I knew it shouldn't.

"Explain to me just exactly how you think I wouldn't force you to do anything I ever wanted... get on your knees." He said, as he yanked me down by my wrists. The small whimper that left my lips as small rocks and twigs dug into my soft skin, was more than pathetic. He pulled my chin up so I was looking at him.

"How perfect you look down on your knees for me." He hummed. The alcohol was beginning to wear off by this point, and my snarky attitude was starting to fade right along with it. I concluded that he enjoyed f*****g with my feelings, which should have upset me, but it only scared me.

"Do you enjoy being able to speak freely?" A snap, and I felt the golden ropes that bound my mouth begin to unwind. "Do you enjoy being able to go anywhere you please?" Another snap and the ones around my ankles loosened and snaked their way off.

He reached down, clasping his fingers around the ropes that still bound my wrists. He pulled me up until I was standing before him once again. "Do you enjoy being able to use those pretty little hands of yours to pleasure yourself after our meetups?" A snap, and the ropes binding my wrists began to untangle.

I gasped, horrified that he would watch me like that... but why was I surprised? "You didn't..." I stammered, fully aware that I sounded like an i***t. "Oh trust me, darling, I did. You are very skilled with those hands. And you are absolutely breathtaking when you come undone. Maybe, just maybe, I'll tell you my first name so I can hear you moan it next time." He purred, while running his fingers along my collarbone and down my chest.

He stopped just before the edge of my shirt, allowing his fingertips to dance along the swell of my cleavage. He didn't go further. I was standing there, frozen, horrified, and unable to make a coherent thought. He circled me like prey, but I didn’t dare to move a single muscle. “Feeling violated yet?” He hissed, causing me to flinch. The alcohol had all but worn off and I was beginning to panic. He stopped directly in front of me and pulled me close.

“This is your one and only warning, Rayne. Behave, or mark my f*****g words I will come for you… I will not be gentle, and I will not be kind when I do. I will break every single deal I have made with your Alpha. And at that point, no one will stop me from collecting what is mine.” He whispered in my ear.

My feelings of horror and disgust quickly turned into fear. He wasn’t f*****g around, not at all, and I knew this. I took a few steps back away from him, surprised that he allowed it. Fear and unease swam through my chest, allowing me one brief moment to call Wynter forward. I turned and began to run when Wynter broke through.

I exhaled in relief when I felt us begin to shift and then 4 paws hit the forest floor. She ran like our lives depended on it. Maybe they did. It was sunrise before we finally slowed down enough for me to comprehend where we were. The clearing was unfamiliar, regardless, I knew we were outside of pack lands.

A forest full of towering pines was behind us and there was a clearing adorned with small wildflowers in varying colors to the side of us. I still had no idea exactly where we were, but the sun was just rising up over the horizon, casting a beautiful orange glow over the valley.

Living here in Maine my entire life, I could tell you that it never lacked a beautiful landscape no matter which way I turned. Looking down into the city below us, the cityscape was immaculate. Skyscrapers reached through the air, and you could clearly see the outline of the entire city, block by block from up here. Even as early as it was, there were plenty of vehicles on the roads. That must be a Human town, as we rarely used vehicles in the pack, but only because we never left the pack… it wasn’t allowed.

There was only one Human town that bordered our pack, and it was directly across the river… The town that Eric lived in. We had come much further than that. I looked down at the grass under my paws, noting how green and lush it seemed to be. It was almost springy underneath my weight. I could feel the dewdrops that clung to the blades of grass surrounding us as they soaked into the fur around the pads of my paws.

I shook the thoughts. I knew I was only distracting myself with the small details. I knew damn well we weren't supposed to be here, or anywhere for that matter. The rules are simple. You don't leave the pack territory without the Alpha’s permission… but no one ever got permission from Alpha Drake. I doubt many dared to even ask him for it.

He was intimidating, to say the least. That’s even an understatement… a big understatement. He was six feet tall, dark complexion, and had large muscles that cascaded throughout his entire form. The man never left the gym, I swear. He had black hair that was always kept short and a little messy, with dark blue eyes like the depths of the ocean. His facial hair was always kept neat and tidy, as if one hair out of place would ruin him. And maybe it would…

He had a long scar that ran down the right side of his face down onto his neck, and many similar scars on both of his arms and back. He never spoke of how he got them, but there were rumors. A smile never fell on this man's lips. He had a husky voice that demanded respect and attention. And he got it… good God did he get it.

Even just the venom in his voice alone was enough to make a grown man shudder. No one ever disobeyed Alpha Drake, or lived to tell about it… “Rayne, we need to go back… we are so far outside of pack lands. Alpha Drake is going to kill us.” Wynter whined. “It doesn’t even matter now, we’ve already disobeyed, we are already dead. Why even go back?” I snipped. It wasn’t her fault. Sure, she was in control in this form, but we were both hurting.

I get why she wanted to get back. It was for good reason, really. But I honestly could care less if we ever returned… Alpha Drake looming or not. I will admit that while Wynter was in control, I should have had a chance to process what happened with Eric. Should have… but my mind continued to betray me, forcing me to focus directly on my Demon and the s****l tension that sat so thick between us that you could cut it with a knife.

Still, it was going to take time to get over Eric whether I processed the situation or not. I needed to compartmentalize it and work through it. I couldn’t do that under Alpha Drake’s tight rule. If we survived this he would have us doing extra rounds for weeks… unacceptable, because I needed to grieve. I tried not to focus on it, which was harder than it seemed. The main issue on my mind was the next year and what my life would be like until then. Or even after.

I was only 20, if my Demon was willing to literally kill my boyfriend for touching me, stalk me at a frat party, and kidnap me, promising to hold me hostage forever, what else was he capable of? The thoughts made me shudder.

Not that I hadn't thought he would do something like this… but he had never actually hurt anyone before. Sure, he had scared other romantic interests of mine away, but never to the extent of hurting someone, let alone killing them. I guess it didn’t help that Eric was Human. In all my time being haunted by my Demon, I never thought he would become so crazed. I was struggling to understand the true reasons behind his insane behavior.

‘Do you enjoy being able to use those pretty little hands of yours to please yourself after our meetups?’ His words floated through my mind, settling right behind my eyes.

Embarrassment dug its way into my chest and onto my face. The thought of him watching me was haunting. I pushed away the spicy thoughts and tried to focus on anything except his erratic behavior but my thoughts then began to run a bit wild. What would he do to my other friends? Jae? What if I ran away? I was already this far, why go back now? Why not just continue running? What if I never looked back? Maybe he wouldn't find me. I could start over, somewhere new and far, far, the f**k away from here… and him.

Wynter let out a growl at my intrusive thoughts because she was infatuated with the man. I never understood just why. He may be gorgeous and God-like, but the man was absolutely f*****g terrifying. I ignored her.

My mind flitted back to when Eric was killed. Once I started to think about it, I couldn’t help but replay it over and over until it drove me mad.

My Demon, ripping Eric's throat out with his Vampire fangs… the blood was dripping off his fangs as he closed in on me… I wasn’t sure if I was next. Me, attempting to cover myself with the sheet, with anything. Attempting to hold back the tears, the pain, the guilt…

Reavers were terrifying because of all the powers they possessed by nature. Honestly, I felt there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. It all made sense why every other Supernatural creature was afraid of Reavers… yet I was supposed to, what? Just forget that I was claimed by one of the most ruthless creatures in the world? Or worse, accept it? I don’t think so...

I was snapped from my internal panic when I heard Alpha Drake's powerful voice snaking through my mind link. "Rayne, get your ass back to the pack lands, immediately." Venom snaked its way through his words. I could feel it seeping into my very bones. Then he ended the mind link. “Son of a bitch.” I growled. Wynter whimpered like a hurt pup in my mind.

“He’s going to f*****g kill us, Rayne. Straight up kill us. We will be just as f*****g dead as Eric when we return.” Wynter scolded. “Jesus, Wynter! Too soon. Too f*****g soon!” I huffed. She didn’t apologize, she just went silent. I mean, she was right. What did we expect? A homecoming? Balloons? A party? Ha… I knew this was coming, I just sort of hoped that he wouldn’t even notice. But I couldn't be so lucky.

With everything else going on, I wasn’t anywhere near ready to face Alpha Drake, and I knew this… but it didn't matter. What he says, goes. And that includes whatever punishment he has in mind for everything that I’ve done in the past however many hours.

I exhaled an annoyed breath before Wynter turned back. We started running but every single step was absolute pain and agony, bringing us forever closer to what was sure to be our imminent doom…