The Raven Wolf King: Wolfless novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Raphael

“FIND HIM! If anyone lets this fucker get away, I’ll have your head!” Father and I are in the medical room. where the doctors have taken Mother into surgery, but it’s me shouting at our men.

“How could this happen?! How did anyone get inside her Room?! Where’s the fucking Guard? Get him! Bring him to me!”

Dad sits with his hands covering his face. I’ve never seen him like this. He’s always composed, no matter the challenge.

But during the meeting, he suddenly began to grunt, uneasy. He could feel something was wrong, though

he didn’t know what. I’m sure he was sensing Mother’s distress.

I pace back and forth. “When are they telling us how she’s doing?! Goddammit!”

This is why I want to take her. She’s not safe here.

Tobias and Finn arrive.

“What happened?” Finn asks.

“Someone tried to kill my Mother,” I spit out.

“How? Who?”

“Yeah, I wonder who, too?” I glare at Tobias.

“What the fuck are you insinuating?” Tobias shouts.

“This happened before! And I’m sure your Mother was the one who plotted the first time!”

Back when I was fourteen, someone attempted to kill my Mother. I could never find proof, but I’m sure it was his Mother. She’s a bitch and conniving as they come.

“Fuck you and your damn suspicions. You can’t prove that because my Mother never had anything to do

with it!”

Finn gets in between us but faces me. “Raphael, no one here had anything to do with this. This has to be the enemy. What better way to fuck up a King than to aim for his fated mate?” He motions to Dad, who is completely out of it. Finn crosses his arms, putting a thumb under his chin. “I’ve never seen him like this.”

“I know,” I say.

Antonio and Emmet walk in with the Guard who was supposed to be watching the Royal Wing. Finn holds me back, preventing me from wringing the man’s neck. “Fucking talk! What the hell happened?!”

The man swings his head from left to right. “I don’t know! No one but the girl came through!”

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“Girl? What girl?” Tobias asks.

“All I know is that she’s the daughter of one of the Generals.”

“So it was she who did it?” Finn asks.

“No,” I quickly say.

The Guard shakes his head. “No. The girl came to see Lady Alma. The Assassin was already in the Room.”

“HOW?!” I shout.

The man’s fingers twist together as his words stumble out. “I–I- I don’t know.”

“Who is this girl?” Tobias asks.

I don’t want to tell them. I don’t want to bring attention to her.

“Raphael, you know her?” Finn presses.

I bite my lip as I mutter, “One of Alpha Albert’s daughters.”

“Jade!” Emmet shouts.

“No.”

He takes a deep breath. “Valeria then?”

Fuck.

“Valeria,” Tobias mutters, looking deep in thought.

My Father rises, drawing a deep breath as though snapping out of his stupor. “Enough. Take the Guard to my office.” He storms into the medical hall, the door crashing against the wall as it swings open. “I need answers! How is my mate?!” he roars.

One of the doctors rushes from the room where my Mother was taken. “My King, she’s in surgery. She was stabbed in the back and one of her lungs was punctured. It was a silver dagger, so we need to stop the bleeding and close the wound. As you know, internal organs take longer to heal on their own-”

“Get it over with!” Father shouts, “I know she’s alive, I can feel it, but will she be okay?!”

He’s definitely back to himself.

“We won’t know yet. Her vitals are stable, and if surgery goes smoothly, she’ll be able to recover.”

Father isn’t having it. “I’m holding you personally responsible. Make sure she IS okay.”

“Y–yes, my King.”

Dorian arrives with Guards, dragging a body.

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“What is this?” I ask. The dead man wears the Royal Butler’s uniform. He has a knife stuck between his

chin and neck.

“This is the man who tried to kill Lady Alma,” Dorian says. “When we caught up to him, he killed himself.”

Father grabs the dead man by his shirt and pulls him up. He smells him and then throws him to the ground. “How the fuck did he get in our Pack?! He stinks like a fucking Rogue!” he growls. Composing himself, he looks up, taking a deep breath. “Tobias, manage this. I need to be here. Deal with the Guard and find out what he knows.”

Tobias nods, but I’m not having it.

“Him?! Like hell!” I shout. “His nose will be nowhere near this shit! I don’t fucking trust him!”

“If you think I had something to do with this, you’re fucking delusional,” Tobias says.

Father puts a hand on my chest. “Enough! Raphael! You need to stay out of it. You won’t be any help in the state you’re in right now.”

I slide a hand through my hair, scuffing it.

“Go rest. I’ll let you know when your Mother is out of surgery.”

I turn and walk down the hall, gnashing my teeth. My Mother, the one who means the world to me… this can’t be happening. I need more answers. I’ll have to get them from her. My little mate.

***

Valeria

“He can’t keep me here like this,” I argue.

“What the Prince says goes,” Urien replies.

I’ve been arguing with him for the last few minutes after being in this Room alone for so long.

“And when will he be back? My parents are probably looking for me by now.” A lie. They wouldn’t even notice me missing.

“Don’t know.” That’s all he says.

I grunt, stepping back and closing the door.

Prince or not, he can’t do this. He can’t keep me locked up like this. I walk to the window and stare out. I suppose… it is a serious matter. Someone tried to kill the King’s fated mate.

I press my cheeks against the glass, soaking in the warmth of the sun, closing my eyes. Such a beautiful day to be trapped inside.

The Room carries Raphael’s scent, faint but unmistakable. Then suddenly it floods stronger,

overwhelming.

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I open my eyes. His reflection stares back at me from the window. I jolt, nearly gasping, and spin to face him. I hadn’t even heard him enter. The real question is, how long has he been there, watching me?

“You’re back,” I say.

He doesn’t look well. He walks to the table in the corner of the Room, grabs a chair, and slides it in front of the bed, where he sits and then points to the edge of the bed. “Sit.”

The man means business, I can tell that much. Slowly, I approach him. He watches my every move.

“Sit, Valeria,” he says.

My name on his lips sends a shiver through me. I love the way it sounds when he says it–like it belongs to him.

Leisurely, I take my seat in front of him. He slides closer until our knees meet, then spreads his legs and leans back, fingers intertwined. My knees are now between his. “Tell me what happened. From the moment you left the meeting,” he says.

I take a deep breath. “I came across the Royal Wing when I was walking back to my Room. I remembered your Mother and decided I wanted to thank her properly for what she did, taking care of me in my… most vulnerable moment.” My hands begin to rub against each other. “The Guard allowed me and followed me to her room. When I got there and knocked, the door opened and I saw her, bleeding. A man was in there with a knife. He was about to stab her, and I… I just… without even realizing it, I was tackling him.”

He sits motionless. Not a single twitch. I continue. “The Guard, he jumped in, and I was able to help your Mother out of the Room. And then the man escaped.” Still as a statue, he remains silent. I swear, I feel like I’m speaking to myself at this point. “Is the Assassin still in the Castle? Have they not found him yet?”

“He’s dead. Killed himself.” Not a single wavering word there. Straight to the point with no sympathy, but

I feel relieved hearing this.

“And your Mother?” I ask.

“Currently in surgery. The silver dagger pierced one of her lungs. Anything else you remember?”

Oh no. “Will she be okay?”

“We don’t know yet. Anything else that you remember?”

“No. That’s all. Can I… go now?”

“No,” he says plainly.

“Why?”

“Because my Father will want to speak with you, and because I said so.”

“So what am I supposed to do? Sit here and look at your face the rest of the day?”

He leans forward, elbows resting on his knees. “Are you always this outspoken?”

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I don’t answer. I lean back, trying to put space between us, though he has me cornered. “Most women would love to be locked up in here with me,” he mutters.

The words I’m not most women rise in my throat, but they feel too cliché. Still, they’re true. “I don’t care,” I say instead.

“You don’t care? Then why are you trembling?”

“I-” My hand tightens, betraying me. “-am not.”

And then, in a blur, I’m on the bed, staring up at him, looming over me. He kneels, slowly lowering himself

closer.

“What are you doing?” I mutter.

He leans his head on my neck, and his whole body relaxes. “I can’t lose her,” he whispers. “Not my

mother. She’s all I have.”

My heart pounds inside my chest. The vulnerability in his voice almost breaks me. A man so cold, so stoic, yet now undone.

He draws a deep breath, but it stutters on the way out. The sound makes me ache for him.

I whisper, “You can let your Guard down, Raphael. It’s okay.” I lift my hand and caress his head. I swear the man melts. His body has no tension at all anymore. “I understand how it feels to be alone, so I won’t leave you now,” I whisper.

His hand lifts to cover mine. He squeezes gently, as if to say this is exactly what he needs.

We lie in silence, listening to our breathing. It isn’t sexual or romantic–just two people finding comfort in each other’s presence. I’ve never felt this with anyone. Since childhood, I’ve only ever soothed myself. I never had anyone. This here is what I always wanted in a mate.

And though the urge to sink into self–pity over what he did tugs at me, right now it isn’t about me. I don’t hate him for it. I’m angry, yes, but I don’t know what he’s endured, or why he did what he did. He said he had a reason, and I refused to hear it.

But I can’t. Whatever his reason, I have to think of myself first.

I continue to caress his hair. I feel like he might have fallen asleep on me.

“Raphael?” I whisper, barely audible.

“Hm?” He hums.

My heart flutters hearing his gruff voice in my ear, but a knock interrupts, making him grunt. “Damn it.” Taking a deep, heavy breath, he lifts up, parking his face right over mine, his nose almost touching mine. He looks into my eyes, and his lips part, inhaling. He licks his lips and slowly lowers them to mine. I should push him away. I should want to stop this, but I can’t seem to react. I feel his lips graze mine, barely touching.

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Chapter A

“Raphael!” Urien knocks with urgency.

Raphael closes his eyes, draws in a breath, and lifts himself from me.

“What?” he snaps as he reaches the door and pulls it open.

“The King wishes to see her,” Urien says.

The King?

Raphael sighs and nods, turning to me. “Come.”

The King!