The Raven Trilogy- Complete Series

by Elle Lincoln

  “Oh, Little Raven, you could have joined us at any time.” Casseus goes back to his bacon with that parting gift, while Mac just looks thoughtful.

  “I didn’t know it was an open invitation.” If I had...

  “Enough. This isn’t a brothel.” I pout my lip at Balor, but the brute sees right through me. I’m sensing a pattern here.

  “Fine.” Back to reality. “What’s on the agenda today? Did dark and mysterious drop in with another enigmatic address?” I’m not feeling anything toward Morrigan. None at all. Freaking witch. Sorry, goddess.

  “No. But I have no doubt she will eventually show up.” Balor takes a plate of food from Mac. I see how this is. A house of masculinity. Where’s my plate? “I’d like to meet with the alpha again. I’d like him to meet you.”

  “Me?” I feel special.

  “No, all of you.”

  Again another blush. Why do I get the feeling I’m the one being overlooked here?

  “What good do you think we will get from that?” Mac, the ever logical one, questions. I steal the toast he lays out for Patrick.

  “Mine.” He holds up his hands and backs away slowly.

  “I didn’t get to talk to him too long. I’d like a plan and I’d like a history of missing person’s for the entirety of the Appalachian Trail.”

  “You do know how big that is, right?” I point my toast at him in punctuation.

  “I believe so.”

  “Then you have realized how impossible our task seems.” I’m Debbie Downer. “Thousands of miles. Thousands of missing persons. Not all of them are going to be Fae. Sometimes a bear gets hungry. Not only that, but there are only five of us playing this ridiculous self-righteous game.” I didn’t realize how angry I was until it all spilled out of me in a rush. “And some of the Sluagh are still missing.”

  “You’re right.” Balor agrees, and he reaches for me, tilting my head in his direction. “It seems too big. That’s why we need wolves. We need them to scent out the Fae.” He taps his own nose to drive the point home.

  “Oh.” That may help. “Still, it seems daunting.” I’m back to pouting.

  “If it is okay with all of you.” Balor looks to each one of us in turn. “I’d like to bring a wolf on as well.”

  “Ah, since we are running a brothel here and all.” Patrick washes down his meal with a swig of whiskey. I’d argue it’s too early for whiskey if I didn’t want some myself.

  “I’m not a prostitute,” I point out, while Mac finally slides me a plate of food and I smile up at him cheerily.

  “Yer right.” I point my fork in his direction, thinking he is agreeing with me. “Maybe one of those Roman sex houses then?”

  I bang my head on the countertop. I’m doomed. But fuck if I’d let these idiots make me feel bad for having desires. “Look, asshole. I’m pretty sure I made your cock hard too, so you’re probably just jealous I didn’t sit on your lap!”

  “Exactly.” Patrick gets up, leaving me gaping at him. “No worries, I can always use another drinking buddy.”

  Balor nods his agreement, before giving Mac and Casseus a pointed stare.

  “I’m good. I don’t mind sharing.” Casseus winks then goes to make himself a plate. Mac just shakes his head.

  This is getting hella complicated.

  “What do you think, Little Raven?” Balor turns to me, and his large hands shift my seat so that I face him. The tile scuffs and groans as he yanks the stool closer to him. “Do you mind adding another to our team?”

  I sure do like the sound of being a team. “If you’re asking me to link another then no. I’m not doing that.”

  “I’d never ask you to do something you aren’t inclined to do on your own. All I ask is that you accept him on our team.” He slides his hands up my naked thighs, leaving a burning trail in his wake. His body dwarfs mine. But I don’t feel small, I don’t feel overwhelmed by him, I feel protected, cherished.

  “Sure.” Right now I’d probably sing him the alphabet while doing jumping jacks, and patting my head and rubbing my tummy if he kept touching me that way.

  “Good. Now go get dressed.” He presses his lips to mine lightly before spinning the chair and smacking my thigh to get off.

  I hop down. “Don’t you want to help me?” I tease and flutter my eyes, laying it on thick.

  His eye floods with lust as his lips kick up in a smile. “Oh, I intend to, very soon.”

  Chapter 7

  Bette

  Sugar and Spice

  I’m still hungry, even though the bacon and eggs satisfied that visceral ache for emotional food. My stomach growls for something much more sinister. Something dark and delicious. I shudder just thinking about it. Who knew sin could taste so good?

  Lucifer, that’s who. I wonder if he is real...

  I focus back on food. Good thing we are riding in this beat up pickup down winding back roads to meet some crazed shifters. I sat in the middle in the squished back seat again, wearing my fancy as fuck black spy gear. Mac is to my right, Cas to my left, and the big guys are in the front.

  Patrick’s driving, thank the Sluagh. That’s my new saying now. It makes sense because they keep me alive as long as I feed them. I’m feeling a bit bad about that right now too, because I realized only moments ago that maybe if I had fed them then they would grow stronger.

  I never wanted to be a mom. It wasn’t in my plan of breaking glass ceilings and squashing the small town conservatives. Personality wise, not the political kind. But now I have my ghosties. It’s a symbiotic relationship and I’m digging it.

  A hard bump in the road has a spring jabbing into my ass.

  “Guys.” No answer. “Guys.” I’m being ignored. I feel like this is payback for my pantyless ass last night, even if it helped some of them break past those naughty walls. “Think we can get a new car? Maybe an SUV, something roomy. The three of us are dying back here and where are we going to put our adopted puppy?”

  “It’s a wolf, sweetheart. A man.” Patrick’s lilt sounds annoyed, not sure why though. “Besides. This is my baby.” He lovingly pats the truck.

  “I thought your pets were your babies?” I draw out the word in a condescending undertone.

  “Oh, no. Those are my birthright. I have to deal with them.” He grunts. “I hafta feed ‘em soon too.”

  The blood seed, I heard about his feeding ventures with those beasties. I’m not impressed. Coating birdseed in blood? Why not just throw them raw meat?

  “Because they need my blood.” Oh, I spoke aloud again.

  “Why?”

  “Ye sound like a toddler.” Not going to argue that one. I’m feeling restless. “They are bound to me and I to them by blood. They won’t eat meat from animals unless you consider people animals.”

  This just got real. I wondered how there were no bodies that night. No news stations and no police chasing us down the highway. Those... creatures ate all the evidence. I gag. Shit, I do have a fine line. Apparently playing Hannibal is one of them.

  I hiccup and bile pops up.

  Patrick laughs at me. Time to change the subject.

  “I’m hungry.” I try to make it not terribly whiny, but at least Casseus understands where I’m coming from. Said male grabs my hand and lifts it to his lips. I look over, watching his dark eyes glitter with mirth.

  Until he bites my hand. “Me too.”

  I yank my hand away, the ass. “You think if we go on a feeding frenzy the Sluagh with strengthen?” I don’t want him to know my worry is deepening. I still hear them, hiding in the back of my head. Some crying and calling out. Others searching, seeking the Lost.

  “Perhaps. We’ll have to be careful. If the energy has nowhere to go it can hurt us as well.” He picks my hand back up to gently examine my fingertips. It’s adorable as fuck.

  “Will we implode?” I thought I could just eat my way through some fucked-up people like a very hungry Sluagh.

  He tips his lips up at me in amusement, his cheeks dimp
ling and that handlebar mustache curling just so. “No.”

  The truck slows to a stop and it breaks the spell. As we all file out like a clown car, I look around. We’ve driven down an old dirt road, grown over with blooming weeds and dirt. There is a lone trailer sitting in front of the truck, which is rusted with peeling paint and a flat tire jacked up with two by fours. The faded emblem is lit by the sun peeking through the canopy above.

  I’m transported back to the pocket between words where Balor was held prisoner and I became who I am now—the peace, and the vacant sounds of leaves blowing. No crickets, no birds, and no frogs, just the sounds of our breathing and the ticks of a cooling engine. I stand still, gazing out past the tree line with the guys to my sides in sets of two.

  Whereas in that pocket I knew no living creature thrived naturally, here? I know the deafening silence is due to a predator. Watching us. Waiting. Studying us.

  Though Balor had already spoken with them regarding his hunt for Morrigan, we are still an unknown entity in their eyes. I know because this is exactly how I feel about them.

  I take a step forward but Balor’s arm snaps out, keeping me still. I glance up at him with a coy smile. I have a plan. He may as well let me see it out. I raise a brow in challenge, and I wonder if he’d save me or leave me to the wolves, literally, like the others did yesterday.

  No, not my king. I hide that smile, reserving it only for my dirty thoughts.

  I dangle a hopeful meal in front of the darkness that slumbers inside me. Like a coiled snake, it untwines, slithering up my spine to break free from me. I direct my darkness out, into the still forest where I know wolves stand sentinel. It doesn’t take long before I come across the first wolf, hidden from view by a bush. Without him knowing, I slip inside, seeking out that light that we are all born with. Through dark deeds and thought we spoil that light with the inky taint of sin. I’m not even surprised to find a shiny soul sitting inside this beast like a ray of light.

  I move on, yet keep a small thread of my own linked to him. Then over and over again I seek out each wolf, stringing myself all over. Until I find one I’m looking for.

  A naughty boy. I sink in, keeping my presence hidden, and stroke that sludge alive. Demanding that it tells me every delicious secret. I’m so hungry.

  I feel Casseus behind me, always there, linked to me in the back of my consciousness and lingering like a house cat. His body heat envelops mine, and his arms snake around my waist. One hand travels up my body to clasp my neck in a gentle embrace. With little pressure, he tilts my head and I feel his hot breath tickle my neck.

  Together, we watch the wolf’s memories spring to life and play like a movie behind our lids. Images of him talking with an unknown Fae smother any hope I had of him working with us. Money is passed, hands are shaken, and I know without a shadow of a doubt he’s working with the Fae. Yet, just before I pull back, I see him with another woman, she feels Fae. They kiss, and just before things get too heated I pull back. It takes everything in me not to feed on his soul. A part of me wants to start things right with this pack.

  Keeping my threads anchored in each wolf I yank, drawing them forth. Demanding they comply and show themselves. Because after all, I have something they will definitely want.

  A secret.

  I open my eyes and lean back into Casseus. His breathing is ragged and his hunger runs through me, sharing in my famine.

  “Soon,” he promises, while gripping my hip. Tension thrums between us. Promises and need in unspoken emotion.

  Movement catches my eye as the first wolf breaches our line of sight. His body shimmers into that of a very naked man.

  Casseus groans behind me and now I can’t tell if it’s because I’m seeing a naked man or that he finds him attractive. I don’t have time to study that thought as other wolves break free of the forest, but these, however, stay as wolves.

  “Why do you return, tyrant?” So perhaps their earlier meeting didn’t go as well as Balor had us believe.

  “To negotiate.” Balor’s voice is calm, steady. He takes a few steps forward, standing tall with his shoulders rolled back. He looked poised, even if his hair is still a damn mess, but I don’t think these wolves notice that. No, they scent the predator that lies within him. The warrior just itching to be let free of his chains.

  I scent it, and it smells like leather and sex. Or maybe that’s my own attraction to him. Because damn.

  “We have nothing to negotiate,” the naked man sneers, and I do everything I can not look below his belt. His Adonis belt, that is.

  “I believe we do. Tell me, Bette, what did you find on your investigation?” Oh, so he’s using that link to spy, is he?

  I give a mental shrug then move out of Casseus’ arms. I step forward with a little sway in my hips and a secretive smile. The alpha has moved in toward us, and I stop right next to Balor, making sure to keep my chin up.

  “My name is Bette.”

  “I don’t care what your name is. What business do you have here?” So, it’s going to be like that. Okay.

  “Do you have a name? Otherwise, I’m just going to call you puppy.” I give myself a mental pat. Snark for snark, I call checkmate.

  He sneers again, his heavy, dark beard twitching as his nostrils flare. “Killian.” With that I know he doesn’t see me as a threat. Another point to me.

  “I have a bargain to make.” His cool blue eyes pierce me, causing my spine to tingle. His power engulfs me and I sure as hell hope I get out of this without being ripped apart, because he was definitely holding himself back.

  “And what could you possibly have to bargain with me?”

  I lean in and whisper, “You have a traitor.”

  He jerks back like I’ve slapped him. I don’t know pack dynamics, but I have no doubt with that link he believes he knows everything. He doesn’t. Plus, they’ve all been out of commission for a while. I also like to know how, considering they aren’t wearing collars like those in the Realm.

  “Impossible.” He takes a step back.

  I roll my eyes and let my darkness dive into him, seeking for a naughty memory. It’s unfortunate I can’t see the good ones. I find what I’m seeking just as he turns to dismiss me. “Tell me. Did you want to cheat on your wife?”

  I hope I didn’t go too far.

  A snarl rents the air and Balor is suddenly shielding my body from a partially changed wolf. I’m peeking through his arms. The others have stepped closer, blocking me from any danger. It’s cute really. Even though they know the only way I can die is if the Sluagh let me. “I will advise you to take a step back.” Balor’s voice is low and dangerous. His one arm is bent and I have no doubt he is threatening the wolf with his eye of doom.

  “She knows not what she speaks.” Killian’s voice is nothing more than a growl, his wolf close to the surface.

  “Oh, but I do. Want to know how?” I tease.

  Patrick pinches my hip. “There’s a time and a place, wee one.” I scrunch my face up at him for spoiling my fun.

  “Fine. I’ll tell you on one condition.” There, serious Bette. Casseus snickers behind me.

  “Speak.” I hear Killian’s voice but I don’t see him.

  I elbow the guys out of my way. With grunts of annoyance, I break free. It was getting hot in there, and not in a fun way.

  “First, I’m curious.” I tap my finger, noting the wolf daring to get closer to me.

  “Woman!” Killian runs his hand through his hair, tugging at the strands. “Is she always like this?” He directs his words at the guys.

  “Right pain in my ass.”

  “No”

  “Occasionally.”

  “More and more as of late.”

  Well, I take note of each one who threw me under the bus and move Mac up on my favorites list.

  “Moving on.” I give the guys the side-eye of bitchiness. “Did you have collars? Because the wolves in the Realm had collars.”

  Killian rubs at his neck. “Not all o
f us. The alpha in the Realm is the original. When they got him, many were too weak to resist the call of the Fae. It’s rather ironic to us to have our omegas free the alphas and betas…” His words trail off, yet they strike me as intriguing. I hope he honors those who have freed the others. “Now, will you speak of this traitor?”

  I know what he really wants to know. How I saw his one bad deed, but I have no intention of telling him this. “I’ll give you all the details. If you work with us to take down the Fae.”

  He snorts. “Easy, we are already working toward this goal.” He waves his hands for me to carry on.

  “Yes, but we are at a disadvantage.” I glance at my guys. “We cannot scent out the Fae as you can.”

  “What are you asking for?” he all but growls at me. I’m not making a friend here.

  “Help. That’s all.” I speak as softly as I can, lowering my head just a bit in deference to him. I sure as hell hope it works.

  “You want a wolf.”

  Yes, if you are offering. I don’t say this of course.

  He sighs but doesn’t answer me. “Tell me of the traitor.”

  The said traitor has been slowly inching his way away. Must I do all of the work here? I yank on him. I sense his confusion, his despair. He’s worried. Not about being caught, no. But of his ladylove. I roll my eyes. It’s always about a woman, isn’t it?

  His steps falter as I yank once again. I’m not sure I can pull him all the way back, but I don’t need to. He has caught the attention of Killian who glances at me. I give him a nod.

  I don’t sense them talking, but I know it is occurring. Killian’s gaze trails off. Several wolves tilt their heads as though listening to something only they can hear. I wonder if this is what I created with my guys.

  A man battles against two others who pull him from the forest. He falls to his knees, struggling to get away. I tilt my head in confusion at his cries. Guilty men sing their innocence, this man cries about no choices. I know he is the traitor, but it isn’t making much sense. I dive into him, feeling his emotions. Despair. Regret. Desperation.

  I walk toward them just as another comes barreling out to punch the traitor in the jaw.