Raven (Book One of the Dark Lycans Series)

I ran in wolf form for hours. I was heading southeast towards the forests of Minnesota. Blake's pack, I found out, had its own large territory between the United States, and Canada. It was near Alaska, so it was cold year round. But when you grow up there, it actually felt really warm in the summer, when it hardly snowed at all. Sometimes, it looked almost tropical during the hot months of July and August.

I ran as fast as I could along the Canadian and US border, until I was directly above Minnesota. It took me three days to get there, only stopping when I needed to rest. I rested for an hour at a time, and caught food while running. I stayed in the deep woods, avoiding all contact with humans, or their pets. I reached the Border of Minnesota and Canada, waiting in a thick clump of pine trees. I set down my bag, and shifted into my wolf form that was the size and color of a typical wolf.

My fur was white, with a touch of amber, and gray along my spine and the tip of my tail. I was still fairly large, 6ft from nose to tail tip. And I stood at about 2.5 ft at my shoulder, weighing a healthy 80 pounds. I looked almost exactly like a typical gray wolf from Minnesota. I picked up my bag, and ran through the woods.

I ran quickly, and luckily, managed to make it through the Minnesota border untouched. I could travel at about 50-60 mph in this wolf form. I would much rather run in a faster form, but I was worried about getting caught. Gray wolves were common here, so no one would look at me twice. It took me a few hours to reach my destination in northeastern part of the state.

I arrived at the farm, tired but not exhausted. It sat on a 45 acre plot of land, covered in grass and trees. I easily jumped the electric horse fence. Making my way up to the cottage, I stopped by a clear pond to drink. The small cabin was in the center of the property.

I decided to walk, I didn't want to spook any of the animals. I came into a clearing a few acres in. There were several horses grazing, and not noticing me. I stepped forward planning to go around unnoticed. My plan quickly backfired as I stepped on a twig hidden in the grass. Their heads shot up, one saw me, whinnied and reared on its hind legs.

I dropped my bag and barked savagely at them to make sure they didn't try to attack me. They became very scared and took off running towards the house. I took up my bag and loped behind them. I kept up easily, but taking care to avoid their large hooves.

The cottage came into view, dropping my bag again, and I noticed a large shepherd started running towards me. He was growling and snarling viciously, ordering me to leave his territory. I bared my teeth and snarled menacingly, my fur bristling and my hackles raised.

The once vicious dog, was now a whimpering puppy. It ran back to the house, its tail between its legs. My wolf howled happily at my display of dominance. I picked up my bag, and looked up to see a woman standing there, her arms crossed over her chest. I slowly walked up to her and dropped my bag.

I sat down and she looked at me expectantly with curious green eyes. I huffed in annoyance and shifted into my humam form for the first time in days. She looked at me in surprise.

"Raven? What the hell are you doing scaring all of my animals!" She yelled, her voice laced with humor. I laughed and shrugged.

"You've got a mean dog. But I came because I need your help. Please, Lilliana. For old times sake." I pleaded with her when she started to shake her head. She hesitated, but nodded reluctantly.

"Thank you so much! How are Max and Lisa by the way?" I asked as I took some clothes from my bag and changed.

"They're good. Actually they're here if you want to say hi. You look good by the way." She said pointing to my body.

"Thanks. And I would love to see them, they should be what? Eleven and thirteen now right?" She gestured me to follow her inside. I swung my pack over my shoulder and followed her.

"Lisa is eleven yes, and Max just turned fourteen actually. I don't know if they'll remember you. It has been five years since they saw you." She said comfortingly. I didn't care if they knew who I was, I just wanted to see them. I saved Lilliana's children from a group of rogue wolves.

I only asked for one thing in return, and that was to be able to see them all again. She showed me her farm, so that I knew where to find them. We stayed in contact, and became fairly good friends.

"That's okay, I just want to see them. I found my mate, and I did something that has hurt him." I replied. I followed her into the kitchen where I set my bag down, and sat in a chair. She started to cook something.

"What did you do?" She sounded worried, probably because she knew what my job entailed. She didn't mind though because I saved her children, and that's all she cared about.

"Remember the Alpha's son that I accidentally killed a few years ago?" My voice cracked, and I coughed to cover it up. She nodded slowly.

"A few days ago, my mate said we were going to that pack, and I told him what happened that night. I then found out, the son was his cousin. I did research after his death and found that him and his cousin were very close. That they were like brothers. I didn't realize, that my mate, was that cousin." I swallowed hard, and ignored the tears in my eyes. I refused to let them fall, and looked up at a sad Lilliana. She came over and rubbed my shoulder.

"I am so sorry sweetie. Is that why you came here? Because you couldn't deal with knowing that you killed your mate's family?" I nodded, she kissed my head and pulled me into a hug.

In that moment, I felt like she was my mother, and I her daughter. It was over too soon, but I knew that it was good she pulled away.

"I need your help. I need to find a place to stay, somewhere I can hide from my mate." She nodded quickly and I smiled gratefully.

"You can stay here, and I could really use some help around the farm?" I looked at her surprised. I was definetly not expecting that.

"No, I couldn't do that. I don't want to intrude on anything, or be a bother." I said quickly, shaking my head.

"Please, it would mean a lot to me. And I want my kids to know the girl responsible for saving their lives, and bringing them back to me." She smiled. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay." I replied quietly. She clapped her hands in delight. I laughed at her giddiness. She turned back to the stove and finished cooking what looked like a pasta. I could feel my mouth watering, as Lilliana was a wonderful cook.

"Let's get you to your room, and then we will eat, okay?" I nodded and followed her out of the kitchen and upstairs. With my backpack in one hand, I followed Lilliana past several doors, and to the end of the hall. She opened the door and inside, was a small bedroom. There was a queen sized bed, and a small television on one side. It was cozy, but it didn't feel the same as the bedroom I shared with Blake. I shook my head to get rid of the thought of my mate.

"It's lovely, thank you." She smiled and nodded.

"This is the guest bedroom. There is a bathroom in there." She said pointing to a door inside the room. I nodded and thanked her again. She went back downstairs while I unpacked my stuff. I decided to leave some if my clothes in the bag, in case I needed to leave quickly. I didn't think I would need to, but better be safe than sorry. I took out my brush, toothbrush, curling iron, shampoo, conditioner and body wash. They were the things I had originally packed when I left the Hunters. I set up the stuff in the bathroom, and took a look in the mirror. I was wearing a pair of highwaisted shorts, and a blouse. I ran my brush through my hair, and walked out into the hall.

I came down the stairs to see Lilli talking to a boy and a girl. The boy was dark haired and fairly tall, maybe an inch shorter than me. The girl was blonde, and small. Lilliana stopped talking and looked at me. She smiled, and turned the two children around. I instantly recognized their faces, and smiled.

Both stared at me for a moment, then the boy's eyes widened.

"Raven," he breathed. I felt tears run down my face as I nodded, still smiling. He ran over to me and I held out my arms. I wrapped my arms around him, and he did the same. We had gotten really close in the time I had known him.

"I've missed you so much," he whispered in my ear. I felt wetness on my shoulder and pulled back, to see his eyes full of tears.

"Me too Max." I kissed his forehead, and he hugged me again. I looked over his shoulder, and saw Lisa standing there confused. Max pulled away from me and we both looked at Lisa. I tried to think of a way for her to remember me.

"Lisa, do you remember me?" She shook her head. I thought again, before finally remembering something I used to do with her. And then I did something I have never done for anyone else.

I began to sing.