Raven's Desires (Night Hunters)

by Reily, Aminta

  “Sorry vampire, I did not mean to be gone for so long. I sense that you are very weak,” Jasmine whispered before walking up to him, grasping his arm and lifting him as if he weighed next to nothing.

  They faded through the bars as she moved. This dreamwalker looked to be a nineteen year old female that couldn’t lift a twenty pound weight. And here she just lifted him and was carrying him with one arm down the hallway as if he weighed lighter than a feather.

  As he passed by the cells, he observed many of the vampires and other demons. Most were in corners hiding from the sun. Others paced back and forward talking and growling to themselves. Pain went through him knowing that his brothers were suffering like this, but most of them deserved it. They killed humans for fun. They did not live by the Council’s law. Those who were killers he didn’t feel pain for, only those who were trapped in here and innocent like him.

  The need for sleep hit Kristian hard and he could not keep his eyes open. He knew he could sleep now and would be safe with Jasmine. He needed to try again to open up his mate’s mind, to make her know who he was. If he could then he knew that his days in this prison would end.

  * * * *

  Kristian opened his eyes, and the first thing he noticed was he was standing in front of Raven. She sat in a chair, her eyes closed, her body relaxed.

  He moved closer to her, his heart pounding with excitement. It had been so long since he had seen her. Standing directly in front of her, inhaling her scent, he realized how much he truly missed her.

  Kristian didn’t know if it was a dream but he did not care. He stood over her and reached out, touching her hand. Raven’s body jerked but she did not wake.

  He looked around the room, noticing that he stood in darkness. It was just him and his mate here. A thought came to him that he had to be sleeping, but it felt so real. When he touched her, he could feel her body jerking. He could hear her breathing. It couldn’t be a dream, could it? His soul must have traveled to find her and he had.

  Now that he had found Raven, touched her, he had to get her to remember him and the love they shared. He wanted to have her in his life again.

  “You have to remember, my love,” Kristian spoke softly, his hand cupping the right side of her face.

  Raven’s hand covered his and he sucked in a breath from her touch. She smiled in her sleep before her hand fell away from his.

  Kristian knew entering her mind could make her forget him but he had to take that chance. He could not lose her now that he had connected with her after so long. They’d become one and he would be able to unlock the part of her brain that had been locked about him.

  Remember me, Raven.

  Remember me.

  Remember me.

  * * * *

  Raven Nowles jumped into a seated position in the chair. Her hand immediately touched the side of her face she felt someone touching. Her eyes widened with fear. She looked around the room, sensing that someone was there, someone had touched her. But how could she sense anyone here when it was only her in the room?

  She sighed, then lay back in the chair, trying to relax. Today she felt edgy and she didn’t know why. All day she did things to keep her mind busy. First thing this morning, she went to the gym and worked out for hours. After the workout, she decided to go into work early and get some paperwork done for the bookstore. Nothing seemed to work to keep her mind occupied.

  After hours of getting nothing accomplished, she thought about her life over the past years. She remembered walking into this book store ten years ago, confused about why she wanted to work in this particular bookstore.

  Alec had taken one look at her and hired her on the spot, saying she had the potential he was looking for. For months she worked her ass off, coming in early, staying late. In no time, she went from stock girl up to manager. She enjoyed going to work every day and putting in the hours. The customers who came into the store were so nice and friendly. Yes, half of them were in their sixties but they were so sweet. The communication and the fun she had in the bookstore made her enjoy working.

  Alec had been like family ever since…since she could remember. She did not remember much of her childhood lately. Maybe it was not a good one. Maybe as a child, something bad happened to her and she locked it away in her mind. She did remember little things every now and then. Like her as a young child sitting in front of a cake blowing out candles, while other young children cheered around her. She remembered turning around watching a couple kissing in a booth behind her at some café. She was older then, but the image was blurred. She wondered about that image a lot. The one with her in the booth smiling. For some reason she felt more attached to that time than any other image she imagined. Sadly, whenever she turned around to talk to whomever sat in front of her in the booth, the image was dark to a point she would stop thinking about it.

  Raven felt that something had happened at that time in her life. Good or bad, she still wanted to know who it was she spoke with and why watching that couple made her smile.

  Raven let out a long sigh. Sadness overtook her as it did every time she thought about the person in the booth. Damn it! This was what she was trying to prevent all day. She didn’t want to be sad. She wanted to be happy. Raven tried to think of things that made her happy. Like Alec. Even though she could not remember much about her past, Alec kept her happy in the present. He made her happy even if he had this uptight look about him. First thing she noticed was he only wore dark colored clothes. She never saw Alec in anything colorful. Nothing light colored like browns, greens or any color that a man could wear and still look manly. No, Alec only wore dark, blood red, and black clothes.

  Along with his strange taste in clothes, he didn’t smile that much. He did smirk if you told him a funny joke. He did give a creepy smile when he greeted people, but to Raven it seemed fake. Oh, and he always did that disappearing thing that freaked her out sometimes. One moment he stood in front of her and if she blinked, he would be gone without a trace. Out of all the unusual things about Alec, the most was that she only saw him at nightfall. She was really tempted to ask him if he was a vampire or something. Not that she believed in those things. Raven thought it would get him to smile if she did, but the moment she thought about asking she would shake the thought from her mind. She knew if she asked Alec about him being a night walker he would probably fire her on the spot—or worse, admit her to some psycho ward where they would dope her up on meds all day and night until she stopped thinking that creatures of the nights were real.

  All in all, Alec did make her smile all the time. They did have very intelligent conversations. He said things that would make her smile and he seemed to know exactly when to do it. Like now, if he were around he would tell her something funny to lift her spirits. Alec had more good parts about him than bad. Not that the clothes he picked were considered bad—the fact that he did not want to change his image just a little made it bad. How many black suits could one person own? With Alec, it had to be a lot. More than he needed that is for sure.

  Raven sat back in her chair, closed her eyes and concentrated on relaxing her mind. She’d learned that deep meditation helped her to relieve stress a lot. For hours she would sit here and think of herself on some far away island with no one around. The thought of lying on the beach, watching the waves rush onto the shores, rolling onto the sandy beaches would ease the first of her stress. The birds chirped happily in the skies as they flew by. Raven would be on a beach lounger looking out over the ocean as the sun descended over the horizon. It was a beautiful thought, just beautiful.

  Raven took several deep breaths, inhaling through her nose and exhaling from her mouth. Again, she inhaled, then exhaled. Raven frowned as the trees began to sway back and forth in the breeze. The clear skies turned dark in a matter of seconds. Her now clear and sunny day was turning into a storm. That was not right, she controlled her thoughts and today was not a rainy day thought.

  Raven tried to open her eyes but she could not—she was
stuck inside her mind where her dream getaway was turning into the horror from hell.

  A loud boom sounding like lightning striking exploded in her mind. Raven jumped and her fingers dug into the cushion of the sofa. Her heart leaped and it beat at an unusual speed. Her breaths came in short pants. The lightning struck again, this time louder than before. Raven tried to force her eyes open again but couldn’t. She groaned when the lights flashed brightly behind her eyelids. One after another. Each one came faster and louder than the next. The sound of ocean waves roared in her mind. Raven reached out for anything to anchor herself to. She didn’t feel that she was in control of her body any longer.

  What the hell was happening to her? Raven felt warmth spreading through her body. Starting from her head where it burned brightly before traveling down her neck to her heart, it beat triple time before the feeling moved down to her legs. By the time the feeling reached her feet she had no control of her body. She could not move at all.

  Raven managed to pry open her eyes some time later after everything went quiet again. She looked around to see darkness. She no longer lay on her beach but floated in midair in nothing but darkness. The only light was the dim light surrounding her. A small eruption exploded making Raven close her eyes from fear. If she was going to die, she didn’t want to see what was going to happen.

  When she reopened her eyes again she was floating in midair surrounded by stars. Raven looked down and concentrated on moving her fingers. She stretched her hands in front of her, glad that she could move again.

  Her heart was still beating quickly. Her body still shook from the feeling. Her gaze traveled around where she floated. It was so beautiful. She reached out trying to touch a star. When her finger touched the star it shimmered like what would happen if you touched stilled water.

  “Raven,” the voice that she had heard many nights called to her in the wind. “You have to remember. You have to remember.”

  Raven turned to only see more stars. No one was there with her. Not a single soul.

  “Remember the love that we had.”

  “What love? Who are you?” Raven never answered the voice before, but tonight she felt impelled to.

  No response. Nothing.

  “Who are you?” she repeated.

  “Your soul mate.”

  “I don’t have a soul mate. Who are you?”

  Raven screamed as her body jerked and she moved through the space faster than she had ever moved. She was being pulled through the stars by an invisible force.

  They zoomed by faster and faster. Flashes of light shot through her body and when they touched her she could feel her body absorbing them. Memory after memory of her past life flooded her mind. She remembered now, herself as a child blowing out the candles. It was her tenth birthday. Her friends were all around her cheering her on as she tried to blow out the magic candles. She remembered her mother and father standing in front of her laughing as she tried her hardest to get those candles out. She also remembered the café and who sat in front of her. She knew the couple kissing in the booth behind her. That night at the café was the night that changed her life. She remembered everything.

  She knew who and what she was. Oh god, she knew what Alec had done to her. Even worse, she knew what she had done to people along the way.

  Raven remembered her soul mate Kristian. She remembered him. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around her body as she remembered him. She remembered how much she loved him.

  More flashes of light came, this time followed by images of her and Kristian together. Images of them kissing. Laughing. Playing. Kristian—the voice that spoke to her was him. The love of her life.

  Raven wanted to scream as one memory came back to her. Alec had tricked her from the moment he came into her life at the school. He wanted her. He wanted to control her. She remembered it all.

  The injection.

  The plot.

  Kristian being in prison.

  Everything.

  Raven opened her eyes to see Kristian floating in front of her. She opened her mouth a few times trying to find the words but nothing came out.

  Kristian lifted his hand and she followed his movements. Their hands touched, making her shiver.

  “Kristian,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry. I…I…”

  “Don’t say a word, my love. Just come and get me. Let them know what happened.”

  More tears rolled down Raven’s face.

  “I will. I promise you, I will.”

  Raven’s head pounded until it felt like it would explode. She groaned and held her head.

  “What’s wrong, Raven?” She heard Kristian’s voice, but the pain came ten folds.

  “My head. Ahhhhh! It hurts.”

  “No, you stay with me, Raven. Don’t go back.”

  “Help me, Kristian. Please, make it stop.”

  Raven felt his strong fingers laced with hers.

  “I’m here with you. I will not let you go. Never. Stay with me, Raven.”

  Raven could feel herself being pulled away from Kristian. Their fingers unlaced and she knew that she was waking up.

  “Kristian!” she screamed and opened her eyes.

  Tears flowed down her face as she looked around the room. She blinked a couple of times trying to remember what had happened. The last thing she remembered was sitting on the couch. How did she get on her bed? She moved her arms but couldn’t move them much. Her arms and legs were strapped to the bed.

  “I almost didn’t get to you in time,” Alec said from the side of the bed.

  Raven turned her head quickly to see Alec standing there, his black eyes staring down at her. He wore his usual clothing. Black shirt and pants, neat and clean. The bastard was a vampire! He pretended to be a close friend to her. He was no friend. He tricked her.

  “Alec, you son of a bitch. Let me go!”

  Alec chuckled at her.

  “In a moment, dear. Just one moment and this will all be over with. I hope you had fun remembering Kristian. I don’t know how he got to you this time but I guess I will have to give you a double dose. I knew when you started to remember little things about vampires I should have injected you then. Last night after you started to talk about things I know you shouldn’t have remembered, I knew it was time to inject you again.” Alec growled. “If this happens again, next time I will not wait.”

  “No,” Raven begged and struggled to get free.

  “You can try to get out of that restraint, little slayer but it is no use.”

  Alec unzipped a bag and took out a needle.

  “Alec, please, no. I don’t want to forget. I need him.”

  “You do not need him. You have been without him for ten years now.”

  Raven screamed and struggled to get free from the straps.

  “Help me!”

  “No one can hear you scream.”

  Alec flicked the needle with his finger.

  “When you wake, my ebony beauty, you will be right back in your hometown. Meadville, Pennsylvania, here we come.”

  “No!” Raven pulled at the strap but to no avail.

  Alec pushed down with one hand on her arm.

  “Say goodbye to him, Raven. Now and forever.”

  “Alec, please don’t.”

  Raven screamed as he injected the liquid into her arm.

  Her veins quickly spread the solution through her body. Moments later her eyes felt heavy. She frowned as she looked at Alec as he stood there with a smile on his face.

  “I will kill you,” she whispered before closing her eyes.

  The sound of Alec’s voice spoke to her, calming her, reprogramming her.

  Chapter 2

  “No!” Kristian screamed, coming awake.

  He sat up, his heart pounding furiously against his chest. He breathed in and out, trying to calm his overacting heart. He looked around the darkened room searching for his mate. At long last, after so many endless tries and failures to communicate with Raven, she fin
ally remembered him. She remembered the love they shared. She wanted him again. Her promise brought tears to his eyes and strengthened his heart to know that he had gotten through to her.

  Kristian knew that if he’d broken through whatever Alec had done to her, he would be able to do it again. He didn’t care if it took another ten years. He wanted his mate and he would fight each and every day of his life until she was in his arms again.

  It took him several moments to realize that he sat on the couch in Jasmine’s office and not in Raven’s mind with her. He sighed. Once again, he was alone—alone in this prison, where he would probably rot for the next hundred and ninety years.

  The sounds of approaching footsteps made Kristian tense and jump up from the couch.

  “Careful.” Jasmine said softly as she walked into the room.

  Kristian breathed out a sigh of relief before looking down at his hands. He had them balled tightly, ready to strike at any moment. Slowly he opened his hands, extending his fingers to see his nails were long. The nails had actually carved small half-moons into his palms from the pressure. He was sure that his eyes were red with anger and he’d probably even growled at Jasmine unintentionally. Instead of attacking him as any dreamwalker would have, she only spoke one softly uttered word.

  Careful.

  Kristian knew that careful from Jasmine wasn’t for him hurting her, but the other way around. He couldn’t do any harm to Jasmine in his current weakened condition.

  After several long breaths he calmed himself and flopped down on the couch.

  “My apologies,” Kristian said before leaning back on the couch.

  “It is fine, Kristian.”

  “How long was I sleeping?”