Page 65 of Raven

I pushed my mother against the wall, her battered body reeking of pain and silver. The scent made my stomach churn. "Whatever this shit is, your quarrel's with me, arseholes." My voice came out as a snarl, my panther rising to the surface, ready to tear them apart.

Tia's brother's face twisted into a sneer that made my blood run cold. "Oh, we know exactly who our quarrel is with." But his eyes were locked onto my mother—a predator sizing up wounded prey.

"So you bring humans here to fight your battles?" I spat, disgust and rage warring inside me.

My mother's hand gripped my arm, her fingers digging in painfully. "They're not humans." The words felt like lead between us, and suddenly the air felt too thick to breathe.

I let the thread of my ability drop into the ground and snake out towards them. Their signature pulsed, hotter and more alivethan any human—we were surrounded by shifters, and we were in deep, deep shit.

TWENTY-EIGHT

"You all need to get the fuck back," My mother's voice came out as a low guttural growl, her panther clawing for the surface. She trembled against me, a mix of fear and fury radiating from her.

My own cat roared inside, desperate to break free and paint the walls with their blood. The air crackled with the promise of violence, and the wrongness coming from our flat mixed with what was out there with us, creating a pure cocktail of nightmare fuel.

My mother lurched forward. I wasn't sure what she was doing—going for Tia's brother?—but before she could take another step, our flat door flung open. The scents, all thick and so very much shifter, wafted out as the two other "humans" I'd argued with stood in our entryway.

My body betrayed me, frozen in place like a fucking statue. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. My mind and panther needed to slot all this into place, because apparently, we'd been doing some kind of puzzle, and I had no idea what the picture was supposed to be.

They grabbed my mother, their meaty hands clamping down on her already battered body. The sound of her pained gasp cut through me.

"Let her the fuck go," I roared, my voice raw and feral. I lunged for my mother, desperation fueling every move. But before I could reach her, iron-like arms yanked me back with brutal force. I thrashed and snarled, my panther howling for blood, but the grip was unyielding. I could have taken these all on if they'd been human, but not a single one of them was. They were shifters. Their scents so thick now. I had no idea how they'd even managed to cover that up.

They hauled us into our flat, and the two that had my mother dragged her into our lounge and shoved her down into the already waiting dining chair. The room had been rearranged, a man now sitting on our sofa, radiating an aura of cold authority.

"What the hell are you doing?" I spat, my eyes darting between them, searching for any weakness, any chance to break free. "Leave her alone."

My mother wasn't looking at me. She was fixated on the man sitting on the sofa, a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth. The sight of it made my vision go red, fury and terror battling for dominance in my chest.

Things started to slot into place. Little things. I didn't mean to say them out loud, but they came out, my voice raw with disbelief. "You masked your scents to get to me?"

The man in the leather jacket clapped mockingly, his disdainful applause cutting through the tension-filled air. "Give the boy a fucking medal."

"You need to let him go," my mother said, her voice trembling but determined. "Let him go and we'll talk."

"Mum—“ I started, but she cut me off.

"Quiet, Raven," she snapped, shooting me a glare that silenced me instantly. "Let him go."

The man on the sofa rose, towering over everyone. His thick dark hair framed a face in a way that sent chills through my body, a sort of twisted recognition I couldn't place. "But it isRaven I'm here for," he said, his gaze raking over me like I was a prize. He straightened his shirt and cuffs, then smoothed down his tie before removing it. Green eyes met mine, eerily familiar. Then back to my mother. “What an awful thing for you it must have been to have to look at that face every day."

"He is nothing like you," my mother spat, her words dripping with venom.

The man lunged. One moment he was standing looking at me, and the next, he slammed the back of his hand across my mother's face and leant over her, his arms braced at either side, his face just inches away. If she wasn't being held down by one of the Spy Glass fuckers, she'd have got up. But he had his hands down on her shoulders, pushing her into the chair.

"You took him from me," the man growled, his voice low and dangerous. "Did you honestly think I'd never find you? Did you really believe that--"

She kicked at him, slipping down into the chair and flinging her leg out with all her might. Her arms went for him, clawing desperately. I bucked against the ones holding me, trying to get to her, but they had me tight. "Mum ..."

The man grabbed my mother by the throat, shoving her back. The chair flew out from under her, and she crashed into the kitchen cabinets. He lifted her from the floor, holding her up by her throat.

I twisted in the hold of the two shifters, dropping down. I was bigger than they were. Not by much, but even at seventeen, I was built. Genetics saw to that, I'm sure. I spun on them, pushing at one, swinging for the other. My fist connected with one of them and I managed to get myself free. I went for the man with my mother. That was the only thing in my sights right then, and the only fucking thing I wanted, because he sure as hell didn't get to touch her like that. He didn't get to...

I dropped to the floor. Not me, but my panther. He dropped instantly, submitting to all the emotions he filled me with. "No ..."

"Enough," the man said, his voice resonating with a power I'd never felt before.

I could hardly lift my head. I was down on all fours and the world seemed tilted. Almost like I wasn't part of my own body. I swear, I could see his ability shimmering out around the room--vines of power that snuck into every single corner that reached for me, and my panther answered to it, bowing down to the higher animal.

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