The Witch's Betrayal (Book 3: The Raven Chronicles

Chapter 1

Lucinda

The cool night air sends chills rippling through my body, and the stench of death accompanies the light breeze. My stomach quivers. Dylan, Cody, and I stand in the shadows outside St. Lucian's Cathedral—the old, spooky gothic home of bloodsucking vampires—and wait for Braeden, my dearest twin brother, to bring us our transportation.

Up until now, I thought him dead. My entire life, I was told a lie. The Alpha of the Dark Raven pack is not my father, though he raised me as his own, and I am not an Alpha's daughter. I'm something else entirely. My mother was a wolf shifter and my father was a vampire.

It's odd to think of Braeden as my twin brother, but I can't deny the uncanny resemblance. His vampiric half is dominant, whereas my wolf shifter half is dominant. I'm sure we have nothing in common other than our looks and parents. But I am curious to know more about him.

I squat and trace old markings in the broken cement walkway with my fingers. "Someone needs to go back to Felix's house and box up the records in the library. If that information gets into the wrong hands, I have a feeling it will be disastrous for everyone."

My chest tightens when I say Felix's name. I clench my fingers and make a tight fist to stop my hand from shaking.

Dylan places his hand on my shoulder. "I agree."

Cody kicks a rock off the pathway. "No, don't worry about it."

I stand and face Cody.

Dylan's eyebrows knit together. "Why not?"

"Felix's dad has a sister, and she has a son. Felix's aunt is the last remaining Noir and will know what to do with the Crescent Noir pack records."

Cody's calmness keeps my heartbeat steady as I process more secrets kept from me. But the growing sense of betrayal gets the better of me, and I growl. "Felix has an aunt and a cousin?"

Cody takes a slow step away from me. "Yes."

"Were you ever planning on telling us?" I ask.

His gaze darts to Dylan.

Dylan steps away from Cody. "Don't look at me, man. You got yourself into this mess."

Cody knits his hands together and takes a deep breath. "Yeah, I was going to tell you. I just hadn't found the right moment."

Dylan slaps Cody on the back and grunts. "Nice save."

I narrow my eyes and tilt my head. "And just how will this aunt and cousin find out that Felix is dead?"

"I'll call her." Cody shrugs, then his forehead creases and he flashes a shy grin. "Can I borrow your phone... little sis?"

I roll my eyes and hand him my phone. Another secret revealed was Cody is my real-life big brother. This is an easier adjustment, though, since I've always thought of him as my big brother anyway.

Cody takes my phone and turns his back to me. I glare at the back of his head, but I calm my breathing and use my acute hearing to eavesdrop.

A woman's voice answers.

Cody peers over his shoulder at me, then walks down the pathway to talk in private.

Right now, I'm grateful for the mindlink—a wolf shifter's ability to communicate internally with others in their pack. The ability helps us talk while we're in wolf form, but sometimes the mindlink is handy to have private conversations when in human form too.

I say to Dylan through the mindlink, "Apparently, my dear half brother doesn't want us to overhear their conversation."

Dylan steps next to me and puts his arm around my shoulders. "Hey, cheer up. Look at it this way, now you have the aunt's phone number."