Chapter 148 — The First Queen

Chapter 148: Chapter 148 — The First Queen

~ Raven ~

Oh, fuck.

Raven could feel her wolf stirring.

At first, it was nothing more than a faint movement somewhere deep inside her, but then Cassian shifted closer, and the creature suddenly surged forward.

Raven’s breath caught.

No.

Not now!

Her wolf wanted him.

It wanted her to reach out, pull him closer, bury her face against his neck and stay there until she could no longer tell where his scent ended and hers began.

Goddess!

Raven pressed her back against the pillows, desperately trying to suppress the feeling before her wolf decided to do something that would embarrass the living hell out of her.

Cassian was still looking at her.

"Raven?"

She immediately yawned.

A long, exaggerated yawn that made her eyes water slightly.

"Well!" she said, stretching her arms above her head before settling back against the pillows. "I suppose that’s that."

Cassian frowned.

"What?"

"The manuscript." She waved a hand dismissively. "There’s nothing we can do about it now, is there? It’s been sitting there for weeks. If someone found it, then..." She shrugged. "Well, there’s no point worrying about it."

Cassian looked at her for another moment.

Then he seemed to realize just how close he was standing.

He cleared his throat, straightened, and moved back to the chair beside her bed.

Raven nearly sagged with relief.

Nearly.

Because the moment he moved away, her wolf gave a miserable little whine.

Oh, shut up!

The creature ignored her.

Raven pulled the blanket over her legs, silently cursing the Moon Goddess for giving her a wolf that had apparently decided she could not survive five minutes without a man breathing down her neck.

Honestly.

Eighteen years of silence, and now this?

She glanced at Cassian.

He had settled into his chair, one arm resting against the armrest as he looked toward the window.

At least he didn’t seem to have noticed anything.

Thank the Goddess for small mercies.

"So," Cassian said.

Raven looked at him.

"What?"

"You were saying something earlier about your dream."

Her relief vanished and Raven stared at him.

"Are you seriously bringing that up again?"

Cassian turned toward her.

"Why wouldn’t I?"

"Because the last time I told you about it, you looked at me like I had lost my damn mind!"

"I didn’t—"

"You were practically reaching for the healer!"

"I wasn’t reaching for anyone."

"Oh, please." Raven folded her arms. "You’re just looking for another excuse to call me loony, aren’t you?"

Cassian smiled.

"Well, while that is certainly enticing, I was actually surprised by what you told me earlier. I hadn’t expected you to—"

He stopped with a raised eyebrow.

Raven was staring at him.

Her mouth had fallen slightly open, and for a moment, she completely forgot what they had been arguing about.

What the hell was that?

Cassian was still smiling.

Not one of those little smirks he liked giving her whenever she made a fool of herself. Not that infuriating expression he wore when he knew something she didn’t.

He was just...

Smiling.

And damn it, he was handsome.

His eyes had softened, and the smile had reached them in a way she hadn’t noticed before. Without his usual guarded expression, he looked so different that Raven found herself staring.

Honestly, the Moon Goddess must have been showing off when she made him.

"Raven?"

She blinked.

Cassian’s smile faded slightly.

"Why the hell are you staring at me with your mouth open?"

Raven snapped her mouth shut.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"I wasn’t staring!"

Cassian raised an eyebrow.

"You weren’t?"

"No!"

He looked at her.

Raven looked away.

Her neck was burning.

"Nothing," she muttered. "It’s nothing. I was just thinking about something."

"Something?"

"Yes, Cassian. Something. People do that sometimes."

His mouth twitched.

Cassian regarded her for another moment before settling back in his chair.

"Well?"

Raven blinked.

"Well, what?"

"Your dream."

"Oh."

Right.

The dream.

Raven cleared her throat and adjusted the blanket around her legs, grateful for the opportunity to talk about something other than the fact that Cassian Blade had apparently developed a new method of turning her brain into mush.

"Right. Where was I?"

"You said you met the Moon Goddess."

"Yes. And you thought I needed a healer."

"Raven."

"Fine, fine!"

She sighed and leaned back against her pillows.

"Alright. So, you remember what I told you about that strange place? The darkness, the little lights everywhere, and that thing that nearly killed me?"

Cassian nodded.

"Well, after the Moon Goddess saved me, I asked her what the hell that thing was."

"And?"

Raven hesitated.

Even now, remembering the creature made her uncomfortable.

She could still recall how helpless she’d felt when its attention settled on her, how the pain had spread through her body until she could barely think.

"Her name was Vaelith," Raven finally said.

Cassian’s expression became serious.

"Vaelith?"

"Yes. Apparently, she’s the Moon Goddess’s sister."

Cassian looked at her.

Raven nodded.

"I know. I had the same reaction."

He said nothing.

"And that’s not even the worst part. According to the Moon Goddess, Vaelith is the reason shadow wolves exist."

Cassian straightened slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Her corruption. That’s what creates them. Or something like that." Raven frowned, trying to remember the exact words Selena had used. "She said the people serving Vaelith carry out most of her work in our world."

"The Moonless Court?"

"Exactly!"

Raven sat forward slightly.

"That’s what I asked her, and she confirmed it. The Moonless Court serves Vaelith, Cassian. All those wolves that attacked us during the Hunt, the corruption, the inverted sigils..."

She stopped and shook her head.

"I knew those bastards were working for someone, but I never imagined it would be the Moon Goddess’s own sister."

Cassian’s brows drew together.

"Did she tell you why they came after you?"

Raven’s expression soured.

"Oh, I asked."

"And?"

"She wouldn’t tell me."

Cassian stared at her with a frown.

Raven threw up her hands.

"It’s like everyone knows something about me except me!"

Cassian watched her.

"What did she say exactly Raven?"

"That Vaelith had become aware of me."

Raven gave him an incredulous look.

"As if that was supposed to make me feel better!"

"Did she explain what Vaelith wanted?"

"Not really. She said Vaelith’s influence was spreading again, and apparently, what happened during the Hunt was only a small part of it."

Cassian’s expression darkened slightly.

Raven looked down at her hands.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

She hadn’t wanted to think about Vaelith again.

The Dreamwalker was already enough of a nightmare, and at least she had managed to hurt him.

But Vaelith?

Raven remembered how easily the creature had begun tearing her apart.

If the Moon Goddess hadn’t intervened...

She swallowed.

"Anyway," she said, forcing herself to continue. "There was something else."

Cassian looked at her.

"What?"

"When that thing first noticed me, she seemed confused."

"Confused?"

"Yes. She called me by another name."

Raven frowned, remembering the strange voice that had filled the darkness.

"At first, I thought she was talking to someone else. Then she looked at me properly and realized I wasn’t the person she thought I was."

"What name?"

"Aelyra."

Cassian stopped.

Raven was about to continue when she noticed the change in his expression.

His eyes had widened.

She blinked.

"What?"

Cassian was staring at her.

"Raven. What did you just say?"

Raven frowned.

"That she called me Aelyra?"

He didn’t answer.

Raven shifted against her pillows.

"Cassian?"

He held up a hand, stopping her before she could continue.

"Raven, that wasn’t just a dream."

She stared at him.

"What?"

Cassian’s expression remained serious.

"If you genuinely have no idea who Aelyra is, then there’s no way you could have known—"

"Known what?"

Cassian stopped.

Raven stared at him, growing increasingly confused.

"Cassian, what the hell are you talking about?"

He looked at her.

"Raven, Aelyra was the first Alpha Queen."