The Raven Wolf King: Wolfless novel Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Valeria

Mother cleans the blood from her hands with a towel. “I will NOT let you ruin things for your sister. Am I clear?!”

I’m dazed, staring at the floor, but I can barely see. My face took the brunt of her anger this time.

“Am I clear!” she shouts.

All I can do is slowly nod.

“Now no one will look at you,” she mutters as she finally leaves the room.

Max slowly walks up to me, whimpering. He licks my hand, and I cry.

I… I want it over. I want them gone. Why can’t they just leave me be? No Mother. No Father. No Jade. No Raphael. No Tobias. No one. Just… leave me alone.

I sink back onto the bed and close my eyes. Max’s licks wake me, pulling me into daylight. I can see now. One glance in the mirror makes me wince. It hurts even to move my face. My skin is purple, my lip split. Blood stains the bed where I slept while still bleeding. One of my eyes is so swollen it looks smaller than the other.

I squint, looking closer. “Oh no… my nose.”

It’s crooked. I shut my eyes as tears slip free because I know this is going to hurt. I have to reset it, or it won’t heal right. I know how. I’ve done this before. This isn’t the first time Mother has gone for my face. But never–never–have I been beaten so many times in a single week.

It isn’t fair. Jade will heal in a day. Me? I’ll take longer. Always longer.

I scream as the crack echoes, pain ripping through me when I force my nose back into place.

My eyes fall on the black box from yesterday–the cause of all this. Inside rests a necklace: a thin golden chain, a raven in flight, clutching a dangling purple gem shaped like a tear. Raphael’s gift. I want to be angry, but I’m not. It’s beautiful. More than that, it feels like me. Ravens have always haunted my life, even though I dislike them. He didn’t send this just to send something. He thought about it.

But I can’t keep accepting gifts. I close the box and call Ronan to return it. He wanted to call a doctor after seeing me, but I refused. I insisted he didn’t.

Afterward, I take a long, hot bath, trying to molt the memories of the night as if they were old skin. When I wake again, it’s already late afternoon. I dress, though I don’t know what for. Mother surely expects me to stay locked away.

But I’m done with dresses. I pull on a simple white shirt, tuck it into my jeans, tie my hair back into a ponytail, and lace up white sneakers.

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Despite what Mother wants, I refuse to stay hidden. Max needs to go outside, and no one else even seems to remember he exists. I slip on sunglasses to cover my face as much as possible, then carefully step out with him.

I don’t see any of my family. Truthfully, I don’t even know where they spend most of their days. I’ve never really seen the palace properly. For now, I head to the back. Max runs free, nose to the ground, while I stand watching him, grateful for the quiet.

“I did not get to have a dance with you last night.” A familiar voice speaks from behind. I tilt my head and see Stephan.

I quickly look away. “I suppose too much happened for that to be possible,” I murmur, keeping my face

hidden.

Why do people keep insisting on talking to me?

“Yeah, supposedly a freak of nature kind of thing,” he says, following with a question, “Is this your dog?”

“Yes.”

He kneels down and pats Max, who even rolls around to have his stomach rubbed. What an attention- seeking whore this dog is. Shows his balls to anyone who’ll give him attention.

I get distracted watching Stephan and Max, not realizing Stephan’s eyes are fixed on me. “What happened?” He’s suddenly on his feet, closing the space between us.

“Nothing!” I snap, turning away, only for him to grip my chin, forcing me to face him. His touch is firm, and the weight of his stare makes my pulse race.

“Who did this to you?”

“Stairs. I fell.”

“Bullshit.” He’s blunt.

I pull my face away from his hand. “Max, come.”

“Valeria…”

I turn away, but glance back. He’s still watching me. Who is this man? He acts so concerned, yet I barely

know him.

I circle the palace and find a door that opens into what looks like a parlor. I stop at the threshold, my eyes drawn elsewhere. Raphael emerging from the woods, naked and drenched in sweat. Behind him, other men follow, just as bare.

I stare shamelessly, unable to help myself. I’m not the only one; women nearby have stopped to watch him, too. The problem is, he notices me. And then, with deliberate strides, he starts toward me.

Screw that. I am not talking to him, especially if he’s naked.

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I rush inside. The parlor has a few people, but no one I know, thankfully. I hurry through the doors and find myself in a hall. At first, I think I’m lost, but then I see it leads to the foyer, with the grand stairs and the doors to the ballroom.

People are still cleaning up from yesterday, and new windows are being put in. I run up the stairs just as more guests enter through the front door. Another family has arrived. At the top, I almost choke when I see Emmet. But Jade isn’t with him.

“Hey, what happened to you? Are you okay?” he asks.

I exhale slowly. I know I’ll be hearing this from everyone.

Then, suddenly, his attention shifts. I recognize the look on his face. I’ve seen it before. He rushes down the stairs, eyes locked on one of the new arrivals.

A girl. Brown curls, big hazel eyes, a modest flowery dress.

When she sees him, her expression mirrors his, shock.

“Do you… know each other?” the girl’s father asks.

“Mate,” Emmet whispers.

I cover my mouth, trying not to gasp.

Fated mates.

Emmet steps closer, takes her hand, and bends to kiss it. By the way he’s acting, Jade is finished. Good. I hate her for what she did last night.

Not wanting to be caught, I rush through the hall, laughter spilling out of me. But the thought hits hard- this will probably be blamed on me. And if not, it’ll still be taken out on me.

Something strange catches my eye, making me forget everything else. Grimm and a few servants hurry into the tapestry room. Grimm glances around, nervous, as if making sure no one sees.

I narrow my eyes and follow, easing the door open. Then I see it, Grimm pulls aside one of the heavy tapestries, revealing a hidden passage.

I gasp, and every head snaps toward me. Grimm’s eyes widen, the servants freeze, and for a heartbeat,

the room is silent.

“Valeria!” Grimm exclaims.

“What are you doing?” I ask. “There are secret rooms?”

They all stand in line with guilty expressions, holding boxes with what look to be snacks and drinks.

Grimm grunts. “Damn.”

I jab an accusing finger at him. “Uh–huh! You’re up to something and I caught you!”

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“We… were just going to go relax at our… secret hiding spot,” he says.

“Grimm! Don’t tell her,” one of the girls says.

He waves at her. “It’s fine, Elsie. She’s cool.”

“Hiding spot?” I ask.

“Yeah! It’s pretty cool,” Elsie says. “An old abandoned tower.”

“Ooh! Can I join?”

He steps closer, a smile tugging at his lips. “Sure, but what the hell happened to your face?”

“Ugh! Nothing!”

Max and I trail them through the dark halls until we reach a narrow opening. Steep stairs twist into a spiral, and we climb.

At the top, we step into a circular room framed with wooden planks and tall, grimy windows. The tower looks like it was never really finished on the inside and was used as a storage room, but is now forgotten. Crates and old boxes are stacked in corners. Sofas and chairs hide beneath dusty blankets, left to decay.

“Nice, huh?” Grimm asks.

“Yeah. I’d love a place like this at home where I could hide from everyone.”

“Well, if you can keep it a secret, then you’re always welcome here.”

One of the girls pets Max, and he melts instantly, rolling over to show his belly.

I turn to the window. Towers rise everywhere, and from here I can see the back of the castle, looming and vast. Two of the pack houses are completely visible from here.

“Seriously, what happened to you?” Grimm asks.

I don’t want to talk about it, so I change the subject. “I heard that you found your fated mate?”

He winces. “Yeah…”

I nod. “Mine rejected me,” I tell him.

He looks surprised. “Mine did too.”

“We’re wolfless. I guess it was bound to happen. But fuck ‘em. We don’t need them.”

He smiles, relaxing and leaning against the wall. “Yeah. I think I hate her at this point. She rejected me again last night.”

“You haven’t accepted it?”

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“No. I’m dreading what I’ll be feeling.”

I give a slow, understanding nod. “Yeah. It broke me at first. I spent weeks in bed wanting to just stop existing. And I didn’t even know the guy. It feels like… a part of you is shattered into tiny little pieces. It’s not fun.”

He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes, and lower his chin in acknowledgment.

“So last night, it was weird, wasn’t it? Ravens crashing the party. Do you think… it was the Raven Wolf King?” I laugh.

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