***A long time ago***
"PLEASE MOMMY, TELL ME THE STORY ONE MORE TIME!" Raven begged her mother as she gripped her mother's hand in her tiny hands, keeping her from leaving the bed.
"I have told you twice now."
"Mommy, but the third time is a charm, please," she begged her mother. Eliza stared down at her daughter, cuddled up in her bed; the necklace was too big for her hung around her neck.
"It was the same nightmare." She questioned her daughter, knowing the nightmares had been plaguing her.
Raven's big blue eyes stared at her mother as she nodded. "Yes," she whispered, playing with the pendant.
"Okay, one more time."
"Just one more time, I promise," she begged her mother.
"There was once a boy born into a world where power was a thing of status; the boy was left not cared for or loved, but he had his friend who became his brother. One day, they were sent to make sure that their place was safe from those who could drain people of blood and make people immortal. His father had hoped that a run-in with one of them would trigger the bloodline, and it did. The immortal beings showed up, attacking the boy and his friend, and their shift was triggered, but his friend was not doing so well. He looked for help, going to those who were healers that everybody went to, asking for their help, but they turned him away, deciding not to help others anymore. The young boy decided to save his friend himself, and he had succeeded, but the same night of his shift he transformed into an immortal one as well. The father heard of the news, shunning his son and his friend who were no longer pure in his eyes. Furious for what his family had done and those choosing to help his family and those who wronged him, he began seeking revenge, making sure that everybody knew of the wrong that was done to them. They were out of control, and the healer witches who turned him down heard of the news of the boy who sought out revenge; they needed to make a plan using their magic to curse the boy, keeping him from continuing on the rampage. The curse had worked; the boy was tamed by the spell, giving relief to others, but it was short-lived. The healer witches went into hiding, wanting to protect their bloodline, and the cursed boy looked for any sign of the healer witches but was unable to find them. The end."
"Mommy, what happened to the cursed boy?" Raven questioned her mother as she twirled the pendant in her tiny fingers.
Brushing her hand through her daughter's hair, Eliza answered, "He continued searching for them, wanting back what had been taken from him."
OVER
Raven rushed into the cabin, going to the far corner where she had placed it. She grabbed the box from the shelf, rummaging through it and finding the book her mother always had with her until it disappeared, but it was in the cabin as if her mother knew she was going to need it. Flipping through the pages, notes were scribbled along with drawings and flowers. When her eyes landed on a drawing of a boy.
"You are coming for me," she breathed, staring at the distorted drawing of him, Dorian Greycrest, unable to make out his face.
***
Whistling filled the air. Raven sat alert, snapping the journal shut and dropping it on the chair. Standing up, Raven walked to the door, spotting them: a pale, dark-eyed man with a huge grin on his face.
"Are you coming out or am I coming in?" Iver called out to Raven, who stared at him, her dark eyes focused on him. As she did not move to come out, he let out a sigh. "I guess I will have to come to you," and, walking towards the girl, he took a step closer.
"If you want to make things difficult, I can always pay a visit to your aunt; you know how I can be."
"Fine." Stepping out of the cabin, she glared at him. Stepping closer to her, he brushed his hand across her cheek, making her shudder under his touch.
"You know that little taste you gave me when we met? You don't know how delicious you were," he said, raven grimaced as an awful smell came from him.
"I have one last question. Where might your ancestors' spellbook be?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," a loud sigh left him as he stared down at her, brushing her hair away from her neck.
Silence followed as he stared at her intently, his gaze focused on her chest. On the chain hanging around her neck.
"No matter, then I think it's time to finish what I started, Raven."
"I thought the one who sent you needed me."
"Oh, he told me dead or alive. If you are dead, then Dorian would not be able to do the spell either way, and he won't find the book."
Gripping her neck, she fell to her knees.
"Go to hell," she gritted out.
"You need to open your eyes for this, Raven," the man taunted, gripping her neck tighter. Her eyes snapped open as she glared at him.
"There you are, Raven," he smirked at her.
Taking a step toward her hunched figure, the wolves emerged from the trees, biting into his skin and throwing him off her. Raven quickly gathered to her feet as they struggled to get a grip on him. Raven took a step closer but was stopped by claws digging into her skin, stumbling away; the one wolf eyed her, taking a threatening step toward her, trying to warn her. She stood frozen; the wolf turned around, following behind the immortal's tracks.
***
The wolves watched the immortal leap from the cliff, landing on the ground safely as he headed in the direction of the new girl's house.
"He is going back in that direction; what does he want from her?"
"I don't care; we have to stop him from going there."
The wolves' paws pounded against the wet ground, the smell of death floating through the air as their eyes zeroed in on the brown-headed figure moving at an inhuman speed. The dark brown wolf jumped through the air, cutting the figure off its body and hitting the ground as the wolf pinned it down.
"You finally caught me."
The massive black wolf leaped through the air, its large jaw biting into him and dragging him away. The black wolf's figure became harder to see as it disappeared into the darkness between the trees.
"We should make sure it won't return," the light-brown wolf spoke through the link. The dark-brown wolf faced him, "We don't intervene in his business."
"But what if it is?" the light brown wolf began.
"We are not needed; let's head back. He will take care of it," the dark brown wolf said sternly, walking ahead; the rest of the wolves watched as their alpha walked off, not sparing another glance in the direction the massive black wolf went. Not questioning the order given, they quickly followed behind their alpha.
The deadly red eyes stared at the man in front of them.
"You have come a long way, Iver," Dorian said.
A sharp pain went through his head.
"You are struggling with headaches and visions, aren't you?" Iver questioned the hybrid in front of him. A laugh escaped him. "You are not the only one; I know of a girl who has been struggling with the same thing, you know. The funny thing about her is that she seems so familiar: dark raven hair, piercing blue eyes; you know. It's a tragedy that it has taken you so long to find her," he just stared at him.
Swiftly, Iver's head fell to the ground. Piling his body on the wood, Dorian dropped the match as the body burned.
***
Thunder cracked across the sky. Smoke rose from above the tall green trees.
"It's done," the dark brown wolf spoke through the link, turning around and climbing across the mountain; the immortal was no longer a worry or a threat to the town.
***
Raven waited for any news of the outcome of what had transpired the night before, but nothing was reported; no bodies were found, and no injured animals were found.
Raven stepped into the shop; a few customers sat in the small cafe. But it was mostly empty, only the woman and guy sitting out of the eye's view. "Raven?" a voice called out, heads snapping towards a woman and a guy minding their business. "Do I know you?" she questioned respectfully.
"You don't," the woman smiled. "I am Maura, and this is a friend of mine, Joel. We are much like you," the tea stirred by itself.
"You're a witch," she whispered. "Yeah," Maura told her.
"Excuse me for a minute," Maura left her outside; heading inside, Raven walked to the plants. Her cup was still in her hands for the tea Maura had given her. Her gaze drifted to the plants. They were dead.
"They have not been giving you water," she said, brushing her hands over the dead plant. Raven smiled, watching the plant slowly begin to blossom. I took a sip of the freshly brewed tea.
"Raven! Joel is waiting inside for you; he has something for you to help you," Maura told her, motioning for her to enter. Drinking the last sip from the cup, Raven entered the shop. Spotting Joel waiting with a box. Holding the box towards her. "This will help you."
"Help me with what?" she questioned skeptically.
"I know much about graverose witches, one that you have bad headaches and hallucinations about Dorian," Joel told her.
"You know about Dorian Greycrest?" "Yeah, we do; our ancestors were there to witness him," she told him distastefully."
Taking the box from his hands, "I must go, but it's nice to meet you both," Raven said.
"We're here for you if you need it, and Raven, it was nice to meet you." He called out to her.
Raven grabbed her bag, leaving the shop feeling strange about the interaction she had had. She felt eyes following her as she left the store.
***
Maura stared at the figure as the air shifted, turning in the direction that Dorian stepped through the doorway.
"Come sit, have some tea, and we can discuss this," plucking leaves from the plant, she motioned to the table.
Dorian studied her for a second; grabbing the cup in his hand, he took a sip before placing the cup down, the awful taste lingering in his mouth.
"Not one for tea."
"Not one for much," he told her, staring at her intently like he knew something that she did not.
"You won't, by any chance, know who would have spread the word that I was looking for the Graverose, would you?" Gulping, she shook her head. "No, no, I don't."
"Well, if you ever come across someone, could you please give them a message from me?" Nodding her head. "Tell them," he leaned down next to her and whispered into her ear the rest of the message. Turning around, Dorian left Maura staring as Joel watched the interaction.