The Raven Wolf King: Wolfless novel Chapter 6

Raphael

“Raphael?”

“Mom, did you—what happened?!” I see a woman lying on Mother’s bed.

“This poor girl came out of nowhere,” Mother says. The woman is covered in blood and bruises, so it takes me a few seconds to recognize her. “V-Valeria?”

“You know her?”

I nod slowly and step closer, my expression hardening. “How did she end up here? What happened to her?”

“I think… she was drawn to my singing. The poor girl… this is a child deprived of a mother’s love.” Mother’s expression shifts to pain. The corners of her mouth tremble, and a crease forms across her forehead.

I put my hands on Valeria’s. What the hell happened to her? She was fine half an hour ago. I saw her, watched her… my eyes never left her until I saw her leave.

“The doctor just saw her,” Mother says, “broken ribs and broken bones, but she’ll be okay.”

“How? How did this happen?” I try my best to keep my composure.

“The doctor thinks she fell down the stairs—what are you doing?!”

I reach down to lift Valeria.

“She needs rest, Raphael,” Mother says with a weary complaint.

Valeria’s face twists with pain. I know it isn’t right to move her with broken bones, but Mother cannot care for her. “I’ll let her rest in my room. I’ll take care of her,” I say.

“Now… why would you do that?” Mother mutters.

I watch Valeria’s face relax. Fell down the stairs? That’s exactly what better be what happened. Because I saw everything. I watched her closely all night. I saw her sister spill a drink on her. I watched her mother drag her viciously out of the ball.

I turn back before leaving the room. “Did you eat? That’s what I came to ask you.”

Mother smiles. “I did. I’ll go into repose now.”

I nod. “Rest.”

Mother has these surges of strength just like she did now, but she isn’t well. I’ll take care of her, just as she’s always taken care of me.

I look down at Valeria as I close the door behind me. “Tonight, I’ll take care of you, too...”

Walking through the hall, I can’t keep my eyes off her, just like at the party. I hate it. I hate how I’m feeling. The things I said downstairs… I can’t believe all that shit came out of my mouth. It’s as if I were taken by a spell. It can’t be that the mate bond is still there, can it? I wasn’t myself. I won’t deny that I want her. But I can’t have her.

I glance down at her again. Her once beautiful face is swollen and bruised. The swelling may fade by tomorrow, but the bruises will remain. She’s wolfless, and without that strength, her kind takes longer to heal than ours.

Once in my room, I place her gently on the bed. She’s still wearing her golden dress, the back unzipped. Likely from when the doctor examined her. It’s filthy. I slide the dress off her and toss it on the floor. My eyes can’t help but linger on her body. My fated mate is beautiful. She’s radiant even in her pain. But I did what I had to when I rejected her, and I still stand by it. I agreed to my father’s terms, and I will not be like him. I refuse.

I stare at her, at the wounds marking her body. Did she tumble down every goddamn stair in the castle? I shut my eyes, forcing my anger to settle, and gently pull a blanket over her.

My thoughts are broken by a series of knocks at the door. “Yeah?”

The door opens. “Your father is… asking for you,” Urien says. His face lights up when his eyes land on Valeria. “Ah! So you do know her.”

I get up and stride through the room. “Watch her. Don’t let her get up on her own. She’s hurt.” Urien nods, curiosity still staining his face, but he doesn’t ask anything else. I head downstairs, where the ball is still ongoing, and slide next to Father’s throne, gazing at the crowd.

“What are these rumors about this woman you were seen with earlier today, Raphael?” His eyes don’t waver from the crowd as he speaks.

“Just rumors. Goddess forbid I compliment a woman—the whole castle goes crazy about it. Finn sleeps with half the palace, and no one bats an eye.”

“Finn is known for such things,” he says, “while you’re known to be the unobtainable one. People want what they can’t have.” He turns and looks at me. “How is your mother?”

I want to roll my eyes, but I don’t. “Better, but not well. I’m taking her with me when I leave.”

“You’ll do no such thing, and you’re not leaving anytime soon.”

“She wants to leave, and I still will be your damn puppet.”

“And I don’t give a shit. She’s my mate, and she stays.”

“You have two other mates who’ll keep you company.”

“Your mother is my fated mate. She belongs to me.”

“This is why she despises you,” I say, my voice sharp with anger. “It’s the reason I left in the first place.”

“Let her hate me all she wants. She stays. You’ll know how it feels if you ever find your fated mate.”

I turn to leave with a bitter smile. “I’m not you. I did find her. And I rejected her. I refuse to be like you.”

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