Chapter 23 A Little Family Reunion

Chapter 23 A Little Family Reunion
REID

On any other day, I might’ve felt bad about the way I spoke to Roxanna.

Today is not that day.

Especially not after she barged into my conversation with Voss, running her mouth about some useless shit I don’t care about. Completely blind to the fact that I was already in a foul mood and had no patience left for drama—hers or anyone else’s.

“Who’s that girl?” Voss asks when I return.

He’s leaning against the wall, smoking with a cigarette between his fingers. His eyes track me as I stop in front of him.

“No one.” I say flatly.

He chuckles, flicking the cigarette to the ground and crushing it beneath his boot. “Doesn’t look like no one to me.” A smirk pulls at his mouth. “You know, if you’re not interested, you could always hand her over to me. She’s hot as hell. I wouldn’t mind getting a few rounds in.”

I ignore the garbage coming out of his mouth and stare at him coldly. “What were you saying before we got interrupted?”

I heard him the first time. I just want to believe I didn’t.

Voss exhales slowly, the joking fading from his face. He shoves his hands deep into his pockets and turns fully toward me. “Look, man. You should meet him. At least hear what he wants…”

That’s all he gets.

In one sharp motion, I grab his collar and slam him hard against the wall. The impact rattles. My jaw locks tight as rage burns through my eyes.

“Did you tell him where I am?” I snarl. “Did you fucking tell him?”

Voss sucks in a breath, clearly stunned. He opens his mouth to say something but that’s the second another voice cuts in behind me.

“You don’t need to treat your friend like that, dear brother.”

Ice runs down my spine.

“A true friend,” the voice continues smoothly, “is one who wants you to fix the bond between you and your family.”

I freeze.

My grip loosens without me realizing it. Voss shoves my hand away and straightens his shirt, stepping back quickly.

“I’ll see you later at the club.” He mutters, already backing off. Then he turns and walks away, fast.

I watch him leave, my jaw clenched so tight it hurts.

Familiar footsteps approach from behind me. 

“Been a while,” the voice says lightly. “Miss me, brother?”

I draw in a long, shaky breath before turning around.

I face him.

Raven.

The same face that’s been a thorn in my side my entire life.

“What do you want?” I ask, cutting straight to it.

He closes the distance between us in slow, unhurried strides, one hand buried causally in his pocket.

It’s been over a year since I last saw him. He’d already been gone from the capital pack long before my banishment. Still, he looks exactly the same.

Messy ash-grey hair falling past his shoulders, a little longer than mine. Eyes the color of burning orange flame; eyes that remind me too much of our mother. A heavy, solid build. The kind all the men in my family share.

He looks so much like a combination of Father and Mother. Unlike me whose resemblance is one-sided; purely Father’s.

“What’s with the hostility?” he asks. “Don’t tell me you’re that unhappy to see me.”

A smirk pulls at his mouth as he stops right in front of me. I’m only an inch taller, but he holds my gaze like height has never mattered between us.

I don’t answer.

I just watch as he circles me slowly, eyes drifting over the school grounds, taking it all in like it’s some kind of joke. Amusement flickers in his dark stare.

“How interesting,” he says lightly. “Seeing you reduced to this.”

He turns back to me, his eyes dragging over me from head to toe.

“A crowned prince,” he continues, voice dripping with mockery, “now a rogue hiding in a weak, pathetic pack.”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

This is why he’s here. Not because he’s concerned or that we’re family. He’s here just to dig under my skin, and provoke me until I snap.

But I know Raven too well to give him that satisfaction.

I shouldn’t even be standing here talking to him. If it weren’t for Voss and his habit of sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong despite my warning not to let Raven know where I was, I wouldn’t be dealing with this bullshit right now.

Voss and I will definitely be having a talk after this.

“Well,” I say calmly, forcing a thin, fake smile, “thanks for checking in on me.”

I shrug. “But I’ve got somewhere important to be. We’ll catch up some other time.”

I turn to leave.

But before I could even get two steps, Raven moves in a blur, using his wolf speed to block my path. His palm slams flat against my chest, stopping me cold.

My nostrils flare as irritation floods my blood.

But I manage to rein it in.

Fighting Raven is like pouring gasoline on fire, and the last thing I need is a public scene. Especially not on university grounds.

“I have a question for you,” he says. The playfulness drains from his face, replaced by something cold.

“A question?” I smirk. “That’s why you came all this way?”

He ignores me.

His hand stays planted on my chest as he leans closer. “What will you do if Father asks you to return to the pack?” he asks quietly. “Will you be shameless enough to accept? After everything you did?”

My jaw tightens.

I hate that he drags me back there every fucking opportunity he gets. Back to that night and those memories that’ll hurt me till I die.

But of course, that’s what Raven does best.

For someone who always felt threatened by my existence and practically celebrated my exile, this isn’t surprising.

“And if I do accept?” I ask, staring straight into his bitter eyes. I enjoy the way it twists something inside him.

His face hardens further.

“Then you’re not fit to be King,” he says coldly. “That means I failed.”

He leans in, his breath hot against my face.

“And I should’ve killed you,” he whispers, “the same night you killed Mother.”