Raber Wolf Pack Book One (15 page)

“Marvin. Nice of you to meet with us,” Xavier greets. This is Marvin? Not at all what I pictured. I thought I’d get the stereotypical, television version, but Marvin is nowhere near that. I may be a wolf, but I’ve never met a wizard.

“Yes. Please come in.” He sweeps his arm out, gesturing for us to enter, and Max is right on our heels. The others are placed sporadically around the home and in the woods, all keeping an eye out for my father. Even with the eyes on him saying he’s in his den, Xavier is taking no chances.

“Please, have a seat.” Marvin motions to the modern living room with gray walls and brown furniture. Xavier leads us over to a plush couch, pulling me onto his lap. “So, Xavier, you’ve found your mate, I see.”

“We need your help.” Xavier cuts right to the chase.

“That is what I hear.” He pauses, his eyes on me. “Zara, it is lovely to meet you.”

“Thank you. Same to you,” I respond kindly, and my nerves pick up a bit.

“First, tell me everything, starting at the top.”

Xavier starts speaking and I cringe at some of the things he tells Marvin, but I need to get used to it because at this rate, everyone will know everything eventually. Got to let that go.

Marvin says nothing, just sits there taking it all in. I try to read his thoughts, but I am blocked from them. No doubt he did it before we even got here, not wanting to take any chances. Sucks. Still don’t know if we can trust him, but Xavier obviously does, so I will too.

“I see.” We are quiet for a few moments.

“And?” Xavier says, interrupting the silence.

“Zara, you have a very large aura around you. I saw it when you walked in. Then when you sat on Xavier’s lap, the color grew more intense.” Okay, what does that mean? “I would like some drops of your blood so I can see what is going on here.”

‘Is that okay?’
I ask Xavier in my head.

‘Yes, I fear it’s the only way.’

“All right.”

Marvin pulls out a small vial and a safety pin, setting them on the side table next to us. “I’d like you to prick your index finger and place several drops of blood into the vial.” I do as I’m told with ease, closing the lid to the vial and setting it down on the table exactly as he did.

“I need to get a few things.” Marvin rises and disappears.

“What’s going on?” I whisper to Xavier.

“We’re hopefully going to get some answers to this shit,” he growls.

Marvin returns with a bowl, several other vials, a bag, and a pitcher of what looks like water. He sets everything down on the coffee table in front of us and lays it all out. I have no clue what anything is. It looks like leaves that have been mushed up and different colors of water to me. “Set your blood on the table.”

Marvin gets to work putting this and that inside the bowl, chanting in a language I do not recognize. His hands move around the bowl as he does this. It goes on for what feels like forever, and I can feel Xavier growing tense and impatient.

‘Calm. It’ll be over soon,’
I reassure, and feel the tension leave his body a bit.

Marvin takes the vial of my blood, unscrews the cap and tilts it, allowing the liquid to run out. The drop of blood hits the water and I jump back in Xavier’s arms, pushing him into the couch. Light, bright, white light pours out of the bowl, beaming up so luminous it’s almost blinding. Xavier places me behind him on the couch. There isn’t much room so I’m not quite sure how he accomplished this task.

The light begins to dim, still glowing in the bowl but not as radiant. Marvin’s eyes meet mine. “You are destined for great things.” He stops speaking. What the hell? That’s the same thing my Nana O said when I told her about my powers all that time ago.

“And?” Xavier’s patience lasted way past what he can handle. He’s a man that’s used to getting what he wants, when he wants it, and this is not helping.

Marvin’s hands move around the bowl all weird as he looks into the still-sparkling fluid. “The good is that I can see some. The bad is I do not see it all.”

“What does that mean?” I ask, climbing out from behind Xavier and sitting on his lap.

“First, you have several spells on you. Some that occurred when you were an infant, or a pup as you call yourselves. Do you know of any witches or wizards?” Marvin asks.

“My Nana O is something. She’s never come out and said it, but I know she has powers, strong ones.”

He nods. “You have a protection spell on you. It is the longest in your blood. It is to ward off other supernaturals from harming you.” Other supernaturals? But my father…

“Except wolves,” Xavier answers my unspoken question.

“Except wolves. Whoever put this spell on you must have felt that wolves would never harm you.” Yeah fucking right. I needed protection from them most of all. I wiggle on Xavier’s lap, not in a sexual way. I’m just antsy to know what spells are on me.

“The next of your spells happened years later. In the last few years, actually.” My stomach drops. A lot of shit’s happened in the last two years. “One is to bind your powers, but it is very weak as if you have already broken through much of it.” I have? I quirk my brow but say nothing. “You have a couple of strange ones. One is a smell mask and the other is a smell stimulator. Those are very much present.”

“What do those do?” Xavier asks.

“The smell mask looks as if it applies to everyone except Zara’s true mate. The smell stimulator though gives off pulses that Zara is interested in other males. It is very unusual to have these together. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” Marvin says perplexed.

“It makes a shit-ton of a lot of sense. My pack can’t smell our mating bond, therefore making it difficult for Zara. Then today she attracted the wolves in my pack like they were entranced.”

“I see.”

“Can you reverse them or break them or something?” I mean seriously, there has to be a way.

“I can, but there is more.” My body trembles. I don’t want any more. “There is a tracker spell on you. Someone has the ability to track your every move, Zara.” Surprised, shocked, stunned stupid? Yeah, that’s me. I’m being tracked, which means that whoever put the spell on me probably knows that I’m here. Shit.

Xavier hugs me tight. “We are totally covered. Let’s find out what else he has to say.” I nod shakily. “You think her Nana put these on her?”

My inside quivers at the thought. Surely she didn’t do this to me.

“Possibly. They are fairly uncomplicated spells, so anyone could have done it.” Marvin’s hand halts on top of the bowl. “Zara, you have the power to read minds, but you also have another. One that you didn’t state earlier.” The only thing we didn’t talk about was the light and the wind. That has to be it.

“I don’t know what it is and I don’t really know how to describe it,” I reply.

“Sadly, I do not have the answers for this power either. It seems to be something new and different that we haven’t seen before. When did you get it?” Marvin asks.

“Just a few days ago after meeting Xavier.”

“Interesting. And it is not refined right now? You don’t know how to control it?”

“No. I have no idea.”

“And you got this once you met your mate?”

Duh, I want to say, but out of respect, I do not. “Correct.”

“I believe there is more at play here. I’m not sure what it is, but I can tell you what I see.” I hold on to Xavier’s hand like it’s my lifeline and the only thing grounding me. That’s because it is. “There is an upcoming battle. One both of you want no part of, but will fight because you have no choice.” He pauses. “It is imperative that you win this battle, but the future cannot be seen because it all weighs on your victory.”

“I’m assuming the battle is against Zara’s father, which is a given that we will fight to the death. We just don’t know what’s after that,” Xavier says.

Marvin places his hands on the table and finally makes eye contact with us. “That is all it shows. It won’t go any further. Whether you win or lose will determine the future. But even after, I can’t guarantee that I will see.”

“Well, this was a ball-full of fun,” I mumble.

Xavier huffs out a breath. “Bottom line. We gotta kill her father.”

Heavens, this isn’t good. I know we have to battle my father and that is scary enough, but why can’t he see any further? Are we all going to die and that’s why he can’t see?

“That about sums it up,” Marvin comments as if it’s all the same to him.

‘We may not make it past the battle,’
I think to Xavier.

‘We fucking will,’
he insists, oozing confidence. “Fuck!” Xavier scowls. “Can you at least reverse the spells on her so we can get out of here?”

‘Please!’
I yell.

“Please,” he growls and I smile.

THE REVERSAL OF
the two smell spells took like two minutes, and once Max and Thor got a whiff, they said they knew instantly that we were mates. Thank the Heavens. The tracker spell was lifted as well. Now maybe all this added crap will end at the den. We have other shit to deal with.

“Clothes off,” Xavier orders once entering the bedroom after discussions with his top men. They all had grim looks on their faces, but the confidence that each one exuded was impressive. It sucks that I can’t change any of it. The difference in the pack was pretty immediate when we stepped through the threshold of the den. They could in fact smell us, and that part warmed my heart.

My wolf growls. She’s kept pretty quiet during the meeting with Marvin, but with this she’s wagging her tail in want. I shouldn’t be turning wet from his command. We have a shit-load to prepare for and this shouldn’t be on this list. But, my body betrays me.

“Xavier, maybe we should…” My words get cut off when he wraps his arm around my waist and flings me onto the bed, where I bounce twice. What is with him and tossing me around?

“Clothes off, now. Need to fuck you.” He rips my shirt from my body and his lips crash hard onto mine. I take what he gives, trying to catch up. He releases me briefly to tear off his shirt and pants, and I wiggle out of mine. My blood pumps hot and my need grows, wetness coats me, and my inner-wolf growls.

I pounce, taking Xavier off guard and shoving him onto the bed, and straddle him. My claws extend, digging into his shoulders, and he snaps his teeth at me. His hardness pulsates between us. I push myself up on my knees and he lifts his hips, impaling me. I scream out at the glorious intrusion. I move up and down, retracting my claws. With every glide, I climb higher and higher.

I close my eyes as I relish the feel and instantly find myself on my back, him blazing on top of me. He shows me no mercy, pounding into my hot flesh. I let out a piercing yell when my release hits and am instantly flipped onto my stomach with Xavier’s hard dick back inside of me, reaching deeper than before. His fingers squeeze my thighs painfully, but it only adds to my pleasure. His thrusts become insistent and the connection between us is unreal. I feel every beat of his heart and it twists its way into mine, binding us deeper and deeper.

“Come with me, babe,” he grunts out. I reach down and run my fingers over my clit, setting myself off the cliff. Xavier follows and I can feel his pleasure deep inside of me. I love every damn minute of it.

We lie next to each other, breathing heavily. When our breathing calms, he pulls me into his arms and rests my head on his chest. I can feel the thump of his heartbeat. His arm snakes around my body, holding me close and tight. My legs thread with his and I rub my hand over his coarse chest hair.

“Tell me about your family.” I don’t know much about him. This whole thing has been one big rollercoaster ride and it’s about time I found out about my mate. It’s common for wolves to know next to nothing about their significant other. It’s actually more uncommon to know about your mate’s history, because we can smell each other at very young ages. We already rule out our pack mates at the first smell.

His fingers wrap around a small piece of my hair and he begins to twirl it. “I grew up here in the Raber Pack. My grandfather was Alpha for a hundred-fifty-three years then died in battle. My father fought for the position and lost.” I gasp. “Yeah. He did, his first time. The second time, he won. So he was Alpha for the next ninety years. He met my mom before he became Alpha, but didn’t start having pups until he was Alpha. But the Heavens decided that I was the only pup he would have. I know my mother was devastated about it, but she had me and my father. She was a wonderful mother.” Was. So she’s gone. Damn, that sucks. “She was the,
have a steak ready for you so you could eat right after you were out running
, kind of mom. Tuck you in at night and read stories.” He looks down. “The whole mother thing.”

“It’s nice you had that,” I whisper, remembering a time when I had that too. It seems like forever a go.

“Yeah. My father was killed by a pack that no is longer in existence. The Lobo Pack. We still to this day do not know why they killed him or how it was actually done. We just know that he went out for a run and never came back. When the link to the wolves snapped closed, we all went searching for him. I was the unfortunate one to find him. Or it could be fortunate, depending on what way you look at it.”