Page 1 of The Raven's Alpha

prologue

Harrison and Elenore Mortlake

Twenty-eight years ago

Elenore’s POV

I wait for my husband, Harrison, to return home from his evening walk. Sometimes I join him for a run, but I’m finding I’m getting too tired to keep up with him. I don’t mind staying home and preparing our supper. I enjoy spending hours pottering around the house and keeping our pup safe.

My husband and I escaped our birth pack a couple of years ago and we’ve since found a permanent residence in Everlong. Our birth pack wasn’t a nice place, especially for an omega like me. They treat omegas as breeders, with no basic human rights or kindness and when my family tried to sell me to one of the older enforcers, I was terrified of what was to become of my life. Until I met Harrison.

As I was being dragged over to the enforcer I was to wed, I managed to shift into my wolf and I ran. I was so scared and that’s when I crashed into the handsome wolf. I was eighteen the day I met my fated mate and he was nineteen, from the moment our eyes met and he lifted a dirty paw to my face, we both felt the instant connection that the goddess blessed us with.

Harrison didn’t know what was happening when we first met, but as my fear flowed through our bond, he knew we had to escape.

We left the Shadowshade pack with nothing, not even our clothes. We ran in our wolf form for days, until we finally felt safeenough. When we settled in Everlong we found a shifter charity to help us and even to this day, I still love to volunteer at the organisation.

Living amongst other shifters and humans was a little strange at first and while we kept our guard up, the community made us feel welcome. After experiencing the limitations of non-neutral democracy, we had to learn how to thrive in a neutral-land area with its own unique rules and regulations. Humans don’t know of our existence, but us shifters live a peaceful life when mixing with them.

The front door slams open and Harrison rushes in, the scent of worry quickly filling the room. When I look at my mate, I find he has something wrapped in his jacket. “Elenore, look what I found in the woods.” I step closer just as Harrison shifts the jacket and inside, I spot a tiny chick.

Jackson, our pup, comes rushing over when he hears the commotion. Since Jackson is only a year old, he hasn’t had his first shift yet, his wet nose sniffs at the chick, whining in obvious distress.

I lightly push my mate and pup towards the sofa in the main room and sit us all down, instantly Jackson curls up next to his papa and coos at the small chick.

“I’m guessing the chick is a shifter, otherwise Jackson wouldn’t be acting like this,” I comment to my mate. “Where did you find him?”

The scent of worry is starting to fade from the air when my mate explains, “I was on my way home from my walk and found the little guy on the ground, buried in a pile of wet leaves. His chirps sounded painful, so I looked in the trees to see if I could spot a nest, but the branches were all empty.”

“It’s unusual for a chick this young to be left alone,” I say.

“I know, darling, but as soon as I scooped him up, I felt a connection, and his cries of distress stopped. I think he should stay here with us, at least until he gets better.”

We need to set up an area for him, I bet he’s cold and now that I’ve had a better look at him, it’s clear he’s malnourished. “You keep him warm and I’ll go see what I can do.”

Eight Years Later

Harrisons POV

I gaze out at the idyllic scene unfolding in our back garden: my mate, Elenore, and our two sons, laughing and playing together under the blazing sun. It’s hard to believe it’s been eight years since I found Darcy, a tiny, abandoned chick, at the base of a tree. We nursed him back to health, and now our little family of four is complete.

I remember the countless hours of hand-feeding Darcy, and Jackson’s unwavering devotion to his new friend, he never wanted to be away from the abandoned chick. Now the boys are the best of friends, more like brothers. Those early days were filled with uncertainty, but they laid the foundation for the strong bond between our sons.

The day Jackson went through his first transformation will always be etched in my memory. And just two days later, Darcy followed suit. Now, they spend their days exploring the woods together, with Darcy often perching on Jackson's back as they race through the trees, in both shifter and human form.

As we don't know the exact date of Darcy's birth, we took him to a specialist in shifter medicine, who estimated he was around two weeks old when we found him. Elenore and I chose a birthday for him, and we celebrate it every year with love and gratitude.

As our sons grew older, we enrolled Jackson in school at four years old, and Darcy followed a year later. Today, I'm filled with an overwhelming sense of pride and gratitude as I look at my family. I vow to protect them with every fibre of my being, knowing that they are my greatest blessings.

10 Years Later

Darcy Mortlake POV

As I soar through the sky, the wind ruffling my feathers and the sun's warm rays on my face, I'm reminded why I've been doing this for years. The rush of freedom, the thrill of weightlessness – it's exhilarating. I've been flying solo for a couple of years now, ever since I learned to shift between my raven form and human body. The sensation of my bones changing, my wings unfolding from my back, and the wind rushing past me is still a thrill every time.

I usually like to show off by doing some tricks, dropping down low before pelting towards the clouds, feeling the wind whipping past me as I bank and turn. But today, since nobody is here to appreciate my awesome moves, I just fly my usual trail, the trees blurring together as I zip past them. The scent of pine and damp earth fills my nostrils, and the sound of other birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind is music to my ears.

I spend hours out in nature, and as cliché as it sounds, it's my happy place. There isn't a single thing I'd rather spend my afternoon doing. I love the feeling of being completely free, untethered from the world below. As I fly, I feel like I can see everything from up here – the curve of the earth, the patchwork of fields and forests, the glittering ribbon of the river.

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