ˏˋ°•*⁀➷  Raven ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

All day, there was a stirring feeling in my chest. Like there was something for me to be excited about and my wolf kept clawing through our connection as if trying to tell me something was here.

It was actually getting pretty annoying, so I tried my best to quickly find out the source of my wolf's unrest but to no avail, I remained clueless as to what was causing my wolf to go coo coo for coco puffs.

"This is so weird..." I grumbled and Lyra, who'd been tailing me like a lost puppy, tried to match her pace to mine in order to make eye contact with me.

"What's the matter?" She asked, hands swaying from side to side as we walked.

"It feels like my wolf is trying to tell me something" I said, putting a hand to my chest as I spoke.

The ever quizzical Lyra gave me a confused look in response to my actions, giving me the impression that she likely has yet to have her first shift.

Our wolves are dormant until our first shifts, that's when we finally come into our own and become recognized members of our respective packs. Until then, you're quite literally treated like a fragile child amongst the community.

Becoming one with your wolf is not an easy process as you have to battle against your innate instincts for quite some time but once that process is over, it's smooth sailing from there on out and being able to sense your wolf's emotions become easy.

"Are you sure that's not just all the food you had earlier?" She asked and I sucked my teeth at her reasoning.

"No" I replied.

"So let's put our heads together and figure it out" Lyra said.

This girl...

"You're a kid, I'm not gonna bother you with problems that have nothing to do with you" I said and Lyra shook her head.

"Nope, I'm officially your only friend here as you are mine and friends help one another!" She cheered but I was less than reciprocal to her enthusiastic words.

Taking a breather, a faint scent caught my attention and I looked in the direction it was coming from. It smelled like...uh, medicine? Like, there was no real descriptive scent but it just reminded me of some kind of medicinal cream and yet that isn't what bothered me about it.

For some horribly odd reason, the scent was appealing to me. It seems that the longer we stay here, the more weird shit continues to happens to us.

"Has there been anyone new here recently?" I asked and Lyra took a moment to think.

"Uh...as far as I'm aware, our head pack doctor as well as a few guards has returned from some kind of trip. They were gone for a bit to help another pack out" Lyra explained.

"I see..." I trailed off.

The sudden sound of my brother's voice in my head had me stopping for a moment to listen.

'I'm on my way to you right now, we're heading to the cabin today' Mika said and just like that, the connection was gone.

Well, geez Mika, your timing is disturbingly impeccable.

Looking down at Lyra, I cleared my throat to grab her attention.

"Something's come up and I've gotta go. I'll see you later kid" I said and Lyra put on a frown in response to my abrupt announcement.

"Where are you going?" She whined.

"To grab some stuff from our old home seeing as this one...seems to be working out" I trailed and Lyra's smile was lackluster this time around.

"You still haven't gotten used to us yet, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah...I don't really like the idea of being cooped up in some unfamiliar place. You'd understand how fun it is to be on out in the real world when you get to be old enough some day" I said but Lyra seemed to remain unimpressed by the idea of the world she hasn't seen much of.

"You speak as if I'm a child. I'm twelve" she said and I raised a brow.

"That is a child. You have a long way to go before your parents let you out of their sights" I said.

"..."

Lyra face went void of all emotions and she had suddenly become silent at the mention of her parents. In seconds though, like a holographic image, her expression became that of faux content and I watched as her lips turned up into one of those fake polite smiles.

"I hope you have a safe trip" was all she said before turning around and walking off.

Well that was weird. I guess even that kid has some things she's uncomfortable with.

One would say that this is the part where I feel guilty and think to apologize the next time I see her...well, it's not. The thought of apologizing for upsetting her never crossed my mind at all, I was just speaking freely so if she didn't agree with me, then that's just how she feels.

How am I supposed to know where a land mine is if it's hidden?

"Raven, there you are. Are you ready?" Mika's steady voice called out from behind me and I turned to him with a nod.

Seeing as he reeks of that alpha, I knew the man wasn't too far behind and I just kept my negative words to myself for once.

"Yeah" I said.

Following Mika, we ended up a little ways outside of the main pack house where a car was parked on the grass. Yulin was already waiting for us, his eyes meeting mine briefly in greeting and I simply just frowned.

Since no one else appeared to be around I guess that means I get to third wheel with the couple, how great.

The ride there was pleasant enough, Mika wasn't one for small talk and Yulin didn't seem to have many questions either so the sound of the wind whipping past us through the open windows was the only conversation I could actually listen in on.

I hadn't realized how far we really were from our old place as we hit the hour mark of being in this moving contraption. It was mind boggling to me to think that Yulin and Mika had managed to meet all the way out here when there was such a great distance between them...maybe the Moon Goddess really does have favorites.

It wasn't much longer before we reached our cabin, though we did have to leave the car parked towards the main road since the cabin was in the forest. On the outside, the place looked seemingly untouched, the door and windows all looking in tact.

"This is quite the house" Yulin commented as we walked inside.

Everything was how we left it and I could only silently thank the Moon Goddess for watching over our home while we were away.

"It's good to see the place is untouched" Mika said with a smile and I nodded in agreement.

Leaving the two by themselves, I headed to my room and opened the door. There wasn't much decorations or anything as we were always on the move, I never thought it important to do such a thing. Grabbing the slightly filled duffel bag from the corner of the closet, I began to start gathering my things.

Small trinkets that I'd found while hunting was a majority of what filled my bag, other than one special photo that was gaining a little wear and tear from being moved around all the time.

It was just a photo of our family, from before everything went to shit.

Before father became a blood lusting power obsessed demon, before Clara turned into the anti-christ's prized spawn, and before Mother and Olivia passed. Even before I was born as I was still in my mother's womb at the time.

Being tried and taunted for so long by the thought of losing your life at any given moment had really changed all of us, and unfortunately, nothing could be resolved now. I know for sure that if we were to ever encounter Clara again, things would not end with apologies and common grounds.

"Mika's got everything he needs, we're just waiting on you. You ready?" Yulin's voice brought me out of my thoughts and unknowingly, I gave him a less than friendly look to which Yulin rose a brow.

"Is there a particular reason you aren't so fond of me?" He asked suddenly and I almost laughed at the question.

"I don't have to tell you shit" I muttered sourly.

"As your future alpha it'd do you well to have a little more respect when speaking to me. I understand you're not fond of me, but I've done nothing to warrant your hostility" Yulin said and that's when I felt it.

That annoying powerful aura that came off of him, it felt like I was being challenged in some kind of passive-aggressive way and it honestly pissed me off. He was acting all holier than thou just to win Mika's affections but any day now we'd see him for what he really was.

Standing my ground, I looked Yulin in the eye with a glare.

"Why should I respect you? I don't know the first thing about you, all I know is that you're some stranger who's swooped in and stolen the only person in this world I have left" I said, the unspoken fears that I'd left to rot in my heart finally coming to the surface.

I was expecting many reactions from him, but Yulin proved me wrong for the almost hundredth time since we've arrived here. He didn't get angry at me, he didn't even laugh or jeer like I thought he would. He merely gave me an apologetic look and for the first time in a long time, I felt the smallest piece of regret.

"I would never dream of tearing the two of you apart" Yulin said and I scoffed.

"Don't give me that, I'm sure if we weren't brothers you would have no reason to give a shit about me" I argued.

When Yulin took a step forward, I took several back and that seemed to discourage him from moving again but his will didn't waver as our eyes met.

"Raven, you said it yourself, you don't know me. How can you assume I'd feel such a way before even getting to know me? You're the person who's been by Mika's side all this time, he wasn't lonely all these years on his own and dwelling on some kind of depressing thoughts that would surely eat him up had you not been there for him. I'd be grateful to you all the same, no matter who you are to him" Yulin's eyes expressed only the most profound sincerity as he spoke, leaving me utterly speechless.

I'm such a selfish idiot.

Here I am trying so hard to paint this guy out to be some kind of villain, someone that wasn't deserving of my brother, and all he's done is be nothing but nice. I must look like a toddler in his eyes, a child who doesn't want to share the things they love with others in fear of it being snatched away from them.

This is so embarrassing...

"I don't get you at all. All alpha's are supposed to be condescending assholes and yet here you are like an angel sent from the goddess herself, it makes it hard for a guy to hate you" I said, hoping my apology somehow shows its way in that poorly worded sentence.

If he didn't get that I was trying to apologize then whatever.

Yulin's laughter followed my childish sentence and I just let it slide, I deserved it after all for throwing a tantrum.

"You remind me a lot of my younger sister so let's just boil it down to having the right amount of patience" Yulin said.

Suddenly, a thump and the sound of glass breaking was heard. Yulin was gone before I could even process what was going on and by the time I rushed out there, I saw the two crouched on the ground.

"Are you okay? What happened?" I exclaimed as I ran to Mika.

"I'm fine. I tripped on your Bop It and the rest speaks for itself" Mika said as he pointed to the shattered glass, likely from the vase we used to keep around since I would sometimes receive flowers from some of the ladies in town.

Curse you, stupid Bop It, your ass is trash for hurting Mika.

Without thinking, I went to gather some of the glass of the floor.

"No, Raven the glass!" Mika said but it was too late as I'd already got knicked by some glass. It didn't hurt that much and the cut wasn't nothing a few licks couldn't heal so I just shrugged it off and continued on.

"Would you stop it? I didn't raise a reckless fool" Mika said as he slapped my hands and taking the hint, I dropped the glass.

Yulin and Mika got up to search for a first aid kit and when they came back, I knew their search was a fail.

"Damn it, I thought we had at least one first aid kit around here" Mika said as he shook his head.

"Eh, it's okay. I'll just go to the infirmary when we get back" I said as I licked some of the blood that trickled from my wound.

"Uh..." Mika looked like he wanted to say something but Yulin just shook his head to Mika who in turn just pressed his lips together.

What's that all about? Ah, whatever, I'm over this whole day.

The drive back seemed quite than the one there, perhaps because I was no longer dreading being in Yulin's presence and once we made it back to the pack house, I parted with the two and headed for the infirmary.

Once I'd gotten past the meeting rooms, I stopped in my tracks as a scent suddenly attacked me. The same one from earlier that reminded me of a hospital room, it made my heart thump in my chest and my wolf began to go bonkers again.

This is it, this is what's making my wolf lose his mind. Walking closer and closer, it was like I was being lured by the scent that guided me and I impatiently thrust open the door that was hiding the answers to all my unrest.

Oh no, he's hot.

Gorgeous emerald eyes met my fiery amber ones, a beautiful shade I was sure I'd never seen before in my life that left me wondering who in the world did he inherit them from. His chestnut brown hair sat neatly on his head, a strand though straying from the rest as it laid against his tanned cheek and the urge to tuck it back in place suddenly came over me.

Oh fuck, oh shit, oh crap.

Oh great, now we're really stuck here.

"What brings you in?" the monotone voice was followed by what I imagined to be the sound of glass shattering, dragging me back into reality as I stared like a dumb fish.

Huh.

Is he...unable to smell my scent or something? What the hell is up with that dense reaction? Here I am, my heart racing a million miles per second, yet this guy looks unfazed.

"You're seriously not going to say anything?" I asked, knowing damn well that this guy knew who I was and yet he made no moves to change his attitude.

"...I asked you a question" He said in response.

Aw man, this guy's head isn't screwed on right. Is the moon goddess playing a trick on me right now? Is that human from that prank show gonna pop out on me?

This has got to be the most depressing first mate meeting ever, I'm sure if it.

"Well since you seem to not care that your mate is bleeding out, I guess I'll handle it myself" I said as I shoved my hand in the air to show proof of my wound to him before moving to the cabinets to find a damn bandage.

After a while of unsuccessful searching, I heard a sigh and some shuffling before words were spoken.

"Come sit. You can't do it with one hand" my mate said as he gestured to the seat in front of him and I seriously debated on whether or not I wanted to even be within the general vicinity of this man.

"Would you like to continue bleeding out? Or are you going to let me treat it for you?" He questioned upon seeing my less than responsive actions.

"You don't have to make it seem like a hassle" I said as I plopped down into the seat and held my hand out to him.

My mate made no moves to respond but his gentle touch only confused me further. Those so called sparks ignited the moment our hands met and I noticed that my mate flinched momentarily, a reluctant look crossing his face before continuing with his movements.

Why is he acting so weird?

My thoughts suddenly trailed back to earlier, when Mika and Yulin seemed to act like they knew something that I didn't.

Those jerks...