Chapter 149 — What It Means to Be Her Mate

Chapter 149: Chapter 149 — What It Means to Be Her Mate

~ Raven ~

Raven stared at Cassian.

The first Alpha Queen.

She knew the stories. She had read about the woman whose essence returned in different lives, a wolf who could resonate with all four elements and whose mate bonds were unlike anything the Great Houses possessed.

She had simply never known her name.

"Aelyra was the first Alpha Queen?" she asked.

"Aelyra Eirvald," Cassian said. "Most wolves know her by her title, but the Great Houses still teach their children her name."

Raven looked away.

Oh, Goddess.

Vaelith had called her Aelyra.

She had sounded confused at first, but after focusing on Raven more closely, she had realized her mistake.

No, you are not Aelyra.

And yet Selena had told Raven that Vaelith had recognized something in her.

Raven had already asked Selena whether she was connected to Aelyra, but the goddess had refused to give her a straight answer.

Now Cassian had told her who Aelyra was, and Raven was beginning to understand why Selena hadn’t answered.

She didn’t like where this was going.

"No," she muttered.

Cassian’s brows drew together. "No?"

"Don’t look at me like that. I know what you’re thinking."

"Do you?"

"You think I’m the Alpha Queen."

Cassian didn’t answer immediately, which was an answer in itself.

Raven let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Of course you do."

She’d spent years listening to the Blackthorns tell her she was a worthless, wolfless omega. Now she was apparently supposed to believe she carried the essence of the most extraordinary wolf in history.

It was almost funny.

Almost.

Cassian leaned forward in his chair.

"It makes sense now."

Raven looked at him. "What does?"

"A few things I’ve been trying to understand about you."

The way he said it made her narrow her eyes.

"What things?"

"I’ve been looking into the old records."

"About the Alpha Queen?"

"Because of you."

Raven stared at him.

"Excuse me?"

Cassian settled back, apparently having decided there was no point trying to make the admission sound any better.

"I started with your mate bonds."

Raven’s irritation faltered.

Ah.

She glanced at him, then quickly looked away.

Of course.

The twins.

Cassian hadn’t been there when Alaric and Kieran first rejected her, but the entire academy knew what had happened between them by now.

"You were bonded to both Blackthorn heirs," he continued. "That was unusual enough. Then there was what happened between your wolf and mine."

Raven felt her cheeks warm.

She remembered the Hunt rather well, thank you very much.

"And Prymont," Cassian added.

She looked back at him.

"What about Dante?"

Cassian gave her a flat look.

Raven folded her arms.

"Fine. I know."

She wasn’t particularly pleased to have all her embarrassing experiences with the Cardinals gathered into one conversation, but she could see why Cassian had started asking questions.

Raven pressed her lips together.

Four mates.

She remembered that part of the legend rather well.

"I noticed the resemblance when I read about the Alpha Queen," she admitted.

Cassian raised an eyebrow.

"You did?"

"Yes, Cassian. I can read."

"I didn’t say you couldn’t."

"You looked surprised."

"I am surprised you didn’t mention it."

"Because I thought it was ridiculous!"

He waited.

Raven gestured between them.

"Look at me. I spent eighteen years without a wolf. I was a servant at Blackthorn, and half the time I could barely defend myself against the people working in the same kitchen as me. Why would I read about the Alpha Queen and decide that must be me?"

Cassian’s expression softened slightly.

Raven looked away before she could dwell on it.

"And having two mates didn’t exactly turn out to be a blessing," she added.

"No," he said quietly. "I suppose it didn’t."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Raven glanced back at him.

"So that was why you started researching her?"

"It was one reason. What happened during the Hunt gave me another."

Raven couldn’t argue with that, although she still wasn’t ready to accept his conclusion.

Cassian continued. "The more I found, the harder it became to dismiss the possibility, but I couldn’t be certain."

"Until now?"

"Until you told me Vaelith called you Aelyra."

Raven looked down at the blanket covering her legs.

She didn’t like how neatly everything seemed to fit together.

Vaelith had mistaken her for someone she knew. Selena had refused to tell Raven what connection she had to that woman, and now Cassian was sitting beside her bed looking as though he’d finally found an answer.

Except he hadn’t.

Not completely at least.

"Even if you’re right, it doesn’t explain what happened to my wolf," Raven said. "If I’ve been carrying this ancient essence my entire life, why couldn’t I feel her before coming to Valerius?"

"I don’t know."

She glanced up.

Cassian held her gaze.

"I’ve found accounts of the Alpha Queen’s essence returning, but nothing that explains why yours would have remained hidden for so long."

Raven breathed out slowly.

At least he wasn’t going to pretend the old records held every answer.

She had already read that each incarnation was her own person. If Cassian was right, she wouldn’t suddenly become Aelyra or inherit an entirely different life.

She would still be Raven Rivers.

The problem was that being Raven Rivers had become considerably more complicated.

Cassian was watching her with an expression she hadn’t seen on him before. There was something almost relieved about it, as though he’d spent weeks trying to solve a problem and had finally found the missing piece.

Then his brows drew together.

"Why now?" he muttered.

Raven looked at him.

"What?"

He seemed to realize he’d spoken aloud.

"Nothing."

"Cassian."

"Forget it."

She stared at him as he turned his attention toward the window.

Oh, please.

A moment ago, he’d looked rather pleased with himself. Now he seemed irritated, and Raven had a fairly good idea which part of the Alpha Queen legend might be responsible.

Four mates.

She looked at him again.

Was that what he was thinking about?

He already knew about the twins. He’d witnessed enough of her interactions with Dante to have drawn his own conclusions, and he had just spent several minutes explaining that she might be the Alpha Queen.

Perhaps the thought of sharing a mate didn’t appeal to His Royal Grumpiness.

Raven almost smiled.

Then she remembered something far more important.

"Cassian, there’s something that doesn’t make sense."

"What?"

"Vaelith only became aware of me when I ended up in that strange place. So why did the Moonless Court come after me during the Hunt?"

Cassian frowned.

"What are you getting at?"

"They were looking for me before Vaelith even knew I existed." Raven sat forward. "If they weren’t following her orders to find the Alpha Queen, then why the hell did they want me?"

Cassian didn’t answer immediately.

Raven watched him, hoping he might have found something about that in his research.

But he looked just as troubled as she felt.

"I don’t know," he admitted.

Raven leaned back against the pillows, trying to make sense of it.

Vaelith hadn’t recognized her until their encounter in the Between, yet the Moonless Court had already come looking for her during the Hunt.

Someone had known enough about Raven to make her a target before Vaelith even knew who she was.

And whoever that person was, they were still out there.