Fur and Feathers [A Raven Saga Book 2]

by Crymsyn R. Hart

  And then, after some banter, she was in his arms. Her lips were on his and they were so soft like bird down. A copulation of smells clung to her. The gamey aroma of the turkey to the cinnamon she used on the ham had stayed on her skin and blended with the flowery scent of her hair. He felt her heart beat synching with his while he held her. Everything inside of him demanded he take her in his arms and protect her from the world, but he was hesitant to because he didn't want to start to change. He knew Alena desired him, and he craved her with such a ferocity that all he could do was hold her gently in his arms and sample her lips like they were tangible ecstasy. It was all he would allow himself fearing he would start to change at any second, but he hadn't. That had to count for something. Was she his heartmate? He didn't know for sure. And then she had asked him to be with her. He dreaded the question because he couldn't be with her like a man could. She didn't understand, and he couldn't tell her. He couldn't let his mission come before a woman. He had learned that mistake in the past. He would not let himself be condemned to an even worse hell. No, she had to stay at bay even if their separation broke her heart, which he knew it did.

  Now in the darkness, her sobs tore at his soul. He had to escape. Darius let himself become as thin as any shadow and willed himself away. He didn't care where he ended up. But when he opened his eyes and heard the eerie music of the Banshee court, he knew his course had been diverted and his queen was taking control. He bet she was upset he had not found anything else except the cave and the bracelet, which he still had to turn over to Marija. He was not about to give the trinket to Vincent. But he had gotten distracted.

  "Why, Darius, it seems you have forgotten your duty and exploiting the gift I have given you."

  He went to one knee in front of Betha and did not dare to meet her eyes. “Pardon my insolence, mistress. I have not forgotten my oath to you and my fellow brethren. I'm searching for the killer among the pack. I have found very little proof. Please—"

  "Oh, can the kiss-ass act, Darius. I'm not going to curse you because you haven't found much evidence. I called you here to remind you your duty comes first before your dick. Is that understood?"

  "Highness. I haven't—"

  "Yeah, yeah. You're a typical man. Now get out of my sight. Go to Caleb. He wishes to see you."

  Darius looked up and was amazed the Banshee Queen looked better even though everything about her seemed harsher. Maybe she was processing the death of her daughter finally. The music in the court was being played by a skeletal crew. The mirrors on the walls were still veiled with black lace. Staring at his reflection through the intricate cloth, he saw himself paler than normal, and his flesh seemed to be melting away. Maybe Betha was not back to her old self. He was not going to find out and without a second thought folded the shadows and went to his leader.

  * * * *

  Instead of finding Caleb deep in the South, he found him perched in a familiar tree. The leaves were now completely gone, and the piles had been gathered into black trash bags lining the sidewalk like errant sentinels. Now the only foliage was scattered across the ground, littering the brown grass as refuse that would be mulched by lawnmower. He stared up into the tree seeing his leader staring down at him. Darius extended his arm and allowed Caleb to settle there.

  "Where's Tremain? I thought he was watching Jonathan and not you?"

  "He was, but he discovered Linnea was pregnant so they are celebrating."

  Darius didn't reply. A bolt of jealousy shredded his heart. Part of him had always wanted a family and children. The news also brought back the sadness when he learned he had had a daughter who died. Tremain, of all of his brethren, had found happiness when he was the last anyone would have thought would have found prosperity. “I guess he's earned it."

  "Jealous, Darius? I sense it in your thoughts. You are the last of us I would expect to be jealous. When have you ever thought of having a family? Unless things have changed over the past few days you have been on your new assignment."

  Darius stared at the silver sheen of the Raven Warrior's leader's feathers. In the night, he seemed to glow. Even his eyes were metallic, illuminated, like a wolf's flashing in the moonlight. His thoughts turned to Alena for a minute. Caleb knew something.

  "What gives, Caleb? Why did you want to see me?"

  The raven on his arm cawed, laughing. "I wanted to see how things were going. If you were behaving yourself. Clashing with anyone?"

  Darius set his jaw knowing then Caleb knew Marija was involved with the pack. “No, we worked things out. But you knew that anyway."

  Caleb nodded his head. "I did. But there is something else bothering you that's keeping you from your task. And by my guess, it would be a woman. Is this true?"

  The Raven Warrior threw his arm up so Caleb went airborne and settled on the lowest branch, still meeting his gaze. “Yes. It's a woman. A stubborn, fuckable, gorgeous woman who makes me crazy. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

  "Have you made love to her yet?"

  Darius kicked a stone and watched the rock hurl through the air and hit the mailbox across the street. The stone dinged when it impacted the metal. The sound made him smile. “No, I haven't fucked her yet. You know what happens if we—"

  Caleb cawed twice showing his displeasure. “I didn't ask if you fucked her. I asked if you made love to her."

  "Like there's a difference."

  His leader opened his wings, and Darius felt a mental slap across his mind that made his cheek sting. Caleb had never acted harshly toward him before. He was normally contained, kept his cool, which was one reason everyone respected him. That and he was the oldest Warrior among them. “There is a difference, Warrior! Don't you forget it. If you had realized that before you slept with Marija's sister, then you wouldn't be in the predicament you are in now. Listen to me, Darius, if you truly love the woman and not the act, then you can make love to her. You won't change. If that happens, even at the first touch, then she is your heartmate and the only one who can free you from your curse just like what happened to Tremain. Now think about it long and hard. When you had Alena in your arms, listening to her heartbeat, did you begin to change?"

  Darius stared up at the moon not going to answer his leader. His words sunk in, but he was too preoccupied with being berated. The moon would be full tomorrow night. Then he would be free during the day as well as his other brothers. It was his three days of reprieve. The break in their curse. “Is that it?"

  "Yes."

  He sensed the disgust in Caleb's voice. For the first time in four centuries of being a Warrior, his leader had criticized him. Darius checked in on Jonathan, sensing the boy was up late, as usual, playing video games. "You should go to bed. It's way past your bedtime, kid."

  He felt Jonathan pause from his game. "Where you been?"

  Darius sighed. "Taking care of something else. I'll be back once it's all over. How you doing?"

  The teenager mentally shrugged. "Fine. Oh, don't be mean to her, okay? She's going to need you soon, so don't push her away."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I don't know. I just know I'm supposed to tell you that. I'll see you soon. And yes, I'll go to bed soon. I promise."

  "Good. I don't want to come back here and find your grades slipping." Darius smiled and let the shadows completely claim him. He liked Jonathan. He was a good kid. And his gifts were strong. The things he saw always came true no matter what they were and how horrible. Darius had talked him through many a nightmare the little boy hadn't understood. Getting older, Jonathan had been able to understand the visions better. The Raven Warrior wondered what the teenager meant about being mean. Who was he not supposed to be mean to? Alena? Marija? Both of them?

  He cringed, thinking about someone needing him. The Raven Warrior had never had anyone to call his own. Back when he was human, he had been with many women because he loved claiming them. With Marija, he had found some semblance of a relationship, but he had never really loved her. Darius thought he had, b
ut when her sister had started to flaunt herself in front of him, all he saw were her lovely curves. He had tried to stay away, but she was so enticing that what did it matter if he was doing Marjia's sister? He would have loved to have both of them together at once, but he knew that would never happen. He'd had women fight over him before, but he never figured the gypsy would call down a horrible curse on him.

  Now look where he was. Caleb had told him only his heartmate could break the damnation he had suffered for four centuries. He thought about how he had held Alena in his arms and nothing had happened. Darius had waited for the change to overtake him, but he remained human. Even when he kissed her perfect lips, nothing had happened. Unlike with the first woman he had met after arriving, he had not started to change. Maybe she was his heartmate. Darius shook his head with confusion wracking his brain. Women. Curses. He didn't understand them. He had been bred in a time where men were warriors, living and dying by the sword. Women worked hard to feed them and take care of families, but they were also there for men's pleasure. His society honored some females, but not all of them. His mother had been used by his father, and there had been no love between them except that she bore him sons. His father had been a local lord and had three mistresses besides his wife. His mother had born five sons and two daughters. Out of the seven, only three boys and one girl had lived to adulthood. His sister had been given away to the warring tribe to the east to cement a peace treaty. Darius was the middle son, bred to fight because he had the build of his father, a strong warrior. His elder brother was a scholar. Respected as a fighter, still, he had gone to school. Once his father died and it was noted he was not needed any longer, Darius took his cut of the family fortune and began to travel.

  He traveled and fought his way across the country as a mercenary, shedding blood wherever his travels took him and paid well. He was good at fighting and he was good at lovemaking. He liked sex. The women he coupled with enjoyed him too. Finally, he braved the mainland and ended up traveling to the distant steppes of Russia, where he met a traveling gypsy band. They were leery with him at first, but Marija caught his eye, and even though they did not speak one another's language, they knew their bodies’ language. Together they had many fiery nights until he learned her tongue and found he liked her and her family and wanted to stay with them for a while. In the old days, she had a spitfire temper to match his hair, but then her sister had been his downfall.

  Pushing the past behind him, Darius reappeared on Marija's porch. He had many nights to think about how he felt or if he felt anything for Alena. Now he had to tell Marija about the bracelet and the cave. He went to knock on the door, but it opened before him to reveal the gypsy bathed in the firelight, wearing nothing more than a loose wrap skirt. Her long, lithe leg peeked out from the slit in her skirt. His cock hardened from looking at her. The cold made her nipples hard against her olive colored skin. The slightly darker hue of her areola made for a wonderful contrast. He remembered the texture of her breasts under his tongue. He knew their weight against his fingers and knew how, if he licked the space between her pendulous mounds, she would arch her back and moan.

  "Getting a good look?"

  Darius ripped his eyes away from her chest and forced a smile. “Sorry. I wasn't expecting you to be—” The Raven Warrior gestured to her appearance.

  A wicked smile appeared on her sultry lips. “Naked. Darius, you've seen me like this before. It shouldn't surprise you in the least."

  "That's not why I came here.” He looked away since he felt his skin begin to tingle and tighten.

  "I know. You have something for me, don't you?"

  "Would you mind covering up please?"

  "My, my, the fierce Warrior has learned some manners. Are you modest now? Or is that the tingling of feathers you feel on your flesh?"

  Darius gritted his teeth and fought to stay in control. “Please, Marija. Can you cover up? I'm not here to banter with you. I'm here because you called me. Remember?"

  "Fine,” the vedma muttered. She walked into the house, and Darius felt his power recede along with his transformation. He closed his eyes, gathered his thoughts, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the bracelet.

  When the wood creaked, he looked up to find the gypsy in a robe. “Well, what is it?"

  He held out his hand with the bracelet. “I found this in a cave about thirty miles from here. The cave is hard to spot."

  "I've seen these before. They are given to wolf mates, husbands and wives. This was made for a female. Each clan as their own design. There should be a brother to it for the man. Was this all you found?"

  The Warrior nodded. “I didn't go all the way into the cave. It was too dark. It appeared something might have lived in it, but I didn't sense any life. There were wolf tracks leading into it, but not at the entrance since it was made of stone."

  "Can you show the others where it is? Maybe they can find something else."

  "Do you pick up anything from it? Maybe you can use your magick—"

  "Ehh, I wish. My powers don't work that way. I'll show this to Vincent and see what he says. Jamie has something similar to this, but it is not so heavy. Hers is more modern and this seems to be older. Was there anything else?"

  "No. I wish. I will take to the skies tomorrow and look again."

  "Tomorrow you will go with Vincent and the others and show them the cave. Is that understood?"

  Darius bowed. “As my lady commands. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to get some sleep.” The Warrior didn't like to be bossed around, but he was not about to tell Marija to go to hell since he did not want to rock the boat.

  He inhaled and caught the aroma of Alena. Part of him wanted to go talk to her and explain why he had left her, however doing that was against the rules. The Raven Warrior couldn't tell her exactly what he was unless she figured it out on her own. Maybe one day. He shook his head. I don't need a woman bogging me down. I have to do this assignment and then move on. But even thinking about his task under the almost full moon, his soul did not agree with something deep down.

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  Chapter Ten

  Alena was heartbroken when she got back to the cabin. She shouldn't be, but something about the gruff Warrior made her heart tingle with glee. When she had been in his arms, she was complete. Cliché, she knew, because Alena had never believed in soul mates or love at first sight. But there was something about Darius. His lips felt perfect against hers. He had rekindled a deep passion inside of her and something she thought long since dead. He had brought the wolf out of its cage. She didn't know if she would ever be able to slip her skin, but being around Darius, anything seemed possible. But he wanted nothing to do with her. The meaning was plain and simple the way he had left her in the night. His rejection had shattered her heart, but not her spirit. If he wasn't going to be there for her, then she would be fine on her own. She had been for years.

  When her head fell against her pillow, her nightmares started.

  Alena dreamed about the day her parents had been killed. Murdered. The first day of the full moon. Her parents had left her with her aunt and uncle so they could drive farther north to a remote spot where her father kept a cabin. She had only been there a few times, and her mother said the cabin was a place they could be alone together. Alena had never liked the spot much. The small house was way off in the woods and only reachable on foot. She didn't even think her aunt and uncle knew about her parents secret place.

  In her dream, she saw her parents happily driving along. Something bounded out in front of them. A deer or another kind of animal. Her father stepped on the breaks to avoid the deer, but they hit the animal head on and went down the steep embankment. She saw herself inside the car, tumbling end over end, screaming, reaching out, and then there was silence. The car had caught fire. Her father was knocked unconscious so he couldn't release the seatbelt. Her mother was thrown from the car somewhere in the brush. Alena was on the sidelines, watching the car burst into
flames, and she could do nothing but watch her father burn.

  Listening to the screams of her father, she still searched for her mother, but could not find her. In her dream, she scouted the hillside for her mother, but she heard something in the brush. Twigs snapped.

  "Mom? Is that you?” she called into the dense forest.

  There was silence for a few minutes, and then inching closer to the sound, Alena saw a blur. Before she could do anything, the blur jumped out at her with fur and dripping fangs with glowing red eyes.

  At the moment the creature locked its jaws to her throat, Alena woke up screaming and quaking. She'd had a similar dream looking for her parents off and on for years, but nothing as terrifying as what she had. Normally, dreams about her parents left her with a sense of sorrow and incompleteness. Nothing could fill the hole in her heart they left behind. This dream had filled her with terror. Her heart galloped inside her chest now and again as she caught her breath. Sweat had broken out on her skin, and her hair was plastered to her forehead. Even as she looked at her hands, they shook from the fright. Her sheets were tangled around her legs. She heard something outside her window. When she got to the glass, she saw the back end of a wolf dashing off into the forest. Her jaw hardened, knowing the animal was Vincent. That asshole was watching her sleep. It gave her the creeps.

  Alena sighed. She would have to face him in the morning. She was getting tired of his little games. The letters sent to her house, stalking her at the restaurant and her apartment, and now he was spying on her. Trying to calm her nerves, she closed her eyes and let her forehead fall against the cool glass trying to calm her nerves. When she opened her eyes, she saw Trina running in the same direction the wolf had. Quickly, she threw on her jeans and T-shirt now wide awake. She didn't want to wake Marija so she opened up the window and slipped out to follow the teenager.