Free Raven's Rose (Charity Series Book 3) by DeAnna Kinney

back to you, kitten—always. I promise.” He kissed her one last time and disappeared from sight.

     
     
     
     
     
     
                                    Chapter Sixteen
     
     
    Raven’s mind was a blur as he faded in and out of consciousness. He wasn’t aware of where he was, or how long he had been there. All he knew for sure was that he was injured and his strength was gone, and unless he fed, it wouldn’t return. He thought he heard someone calling his name somewhere in the cloudiness of his mind. He tried to focus on the voice, listening with the feeble strength he had left. Slowly, it became clearer.
                  Sophia!
                  He snapped to, trying to jump up but was unable to move. Not only was his strength truly gone, but he was wrapped tightly with chains covering his complete upper torso. He struggled, but it was no use.
                  “Get these chains off me!” he barked, only to be answered with laughter. Now that he was awake, he could see where he was. It was his old home—his mansion. The same one he brought Charity to many months ago. “Where is Sophia?” he demanded through clenched teeth.
                  “I can’t believe you chose another bride. Was I not good enough?”
                  He recognized the whine right away. It was Cassie, his old bride. Well, they were not truly married. Not like him and Sophia. His voice was strained. “Cassie, I need to feed. Please, help me.”
    “I am sorry love, but you left me. You chose those nasty werewolves over me.” She was whining in full force now, her long blonde hair flowing all around her. “You chose that human girl, Charity, over all of us. And now you married one of them. Did you think I would not find out? I have been looking for you for a while now. I saw your wedding picture in that stupid little town paper. How could you?” She slapped him then. His head flipped back and snapped, making a loud crack. She gasped. “Oh, love. I am so sorry. I did not mean to hurt my love.” She knelt down by his head and cradled him. Suddenly, Raven’s head snapped up, and he sank his teeth deep into her neck, sucking with urgency. She screamed. He knew he wouldn’t have long, and he was right. Three vampires rushed in and threw him across the room. He smacked hard against the back wall, knocking pictures down on top of him.
                  “I cannot believe you did that!” she screamed, pressing her hand to her wound. “Now I will take it out on your new little bride!”
                  “No!” he tried to yell, but she was already gone.
                  Raven tried to get to his feet, but he was so weak he couldn’t even get to his knees. He didn’t have enough time to get the blood he needed to heal. That is probably why they were keeping him from Sophia. If he were to feed from her rich werewolf blood, he would heal very quickly.
    He attempted to crawl across the floor. He had only moved less than a foot when the door swung open wide.
    “Well, I see you are trying to escape, but I do not think we need to worry.” Griffin’s voice was smug. “I have a proposition for you, my brother.” He turned to Randolph. “Bring the girl in.” He reached down to Raven, pulling him to his knees. “Here is the deal, Brother. You can denounce these werewolf friends of yours and ask for forgiveness for your betrayal. If you do this, we will take you back into the coven once again. You will then help us with the location of your former wolf pack and together we will slaughter every last one of them.”
    Raven glared up at him with such hatred that he never thought he could have for his own brother. “I will never help you kill them!”
    Griffin ignored him. “Or you will be staked outside during the daylight hours where you will slowly dry up to a giant prune. I will make your bride watch, of course. She