The Alpha's Mother-In-Law's Forbidden Love (The Cresta Chronicles)

Ravyn POV

Even despite their un-romantic surroundings, Ravyn felt Jude's hands caressing her body, claiming her with his touch, as if he were trying to wipe away the nightmare they had both just endured. Maybe it was foolish, but she nestled in his arms. The heaviness in the lab aside, she felt light and free with Jude. 

"I can't believe you fooled me!"

"That was the whole point."

She pulled his hair lightly. "Jude Faolan, you drove me out of my mind. And blocking the bond … I understand now why shifters go crazy when the bond is broken."

"I masked it. But lucky for me, you know me better than anyone," His thumb traced her lips before he placed a soft kiss there. "Even Dane was mostly fooled, and he's known me longer."

She smirked. "Obedience is hardly an Alpha's strength. He should have smelled something right away. I should have, too. But I knew you couldn't be controlled so easily."

Touched, Jude pulled her closer. She loved the way he marked her with the heat of his hands. "I'm not surprised you still believed in me. You never really gave up on Daxius, and you tried to help him when he was in trouble."

He understood her so well. Stubbornly, she'd insisted on helping Daxius. "I did love him once. And I think he's found his own happiness with Marieke. She'll be part of the family, I think … and good has come out of this situation. My distrust and suspicion are gone."

"You care so d*mn much. You see the good in people. That makes you an outstanding Luna and the woman I'm proud to call my mate."

His words sent a thrill through her. "You're proud of me?"

The surge of love and respect through the bond answered her. She was his mate, and she was going to be the queen of the Silverpaws. 

"I swear by the Moon Goddess I'm the luckiest man and wolf alive," he said passionately.

"Even if my quest landed us all in this mess?"

He chuckled darkly. "Not how I'd have preferred to start our life, but on the other hand, exposing Melisande was important. Who knows how much damage she could have done if we hadn't found out her true character?"

"Now who's looking for the good in situations and people?"

He gave her a lazy smile. "Ravyn Rolfe, you bring out the best in me. I love you."

"I love you, too. I never imagined finding you." She smiled ruefully. "I should take my own advice in respecting wise women. Tulaska, Roslynn, and Azandra said that the key to our happiness was in the past, and Eirika … well, we know how she meddled in pushing us together. I was a little too proud to accept their advice."

"Being too proud is also an Alpha trait," he said with affection. 

He was so real and open, at least with her. Even despite his loss and the sorrow over Emer, he was fully alive and full of love. 

She wondered if, despite being Pack Mother for Evenhide and Crimsontail, she was ready for the role of Luna. Best to think about that later, if they wanted to get out of here in one piece. She listened, using her heightened senses through Jude and her witch intuition.

"I don't feel Melisande as strongly," she mused. 

Jude laughed darkly. "Maybe they killed her?"

Ravyn didn't shed any tears at the thought. "Possible, but knowing Dane and Lilia, they also might want to keep her alive and get information out of her."

Jude rubbed his chin. "Daxius and Marieke looked through her things–I don't know what they found. But I do know the information wasn't in her study. This lab might be a more likely place. People who wind up here on that table aren't in a position to go poking around."

Ravyn shuddered at the sight of the cold-looking tables. To think Lilia had been strapped to it, and Jude had. "Want me to melt that into a lump? I can destroy this entire place. It's a chamber of horrors."

A smile played around his lips. "Save your energy, my love. If we destroy the lab, we destroy any dirt on Melisande. Where do we start looking?"

She sighed. "Who would ever have thought you'd keep me in line?"

"I'm thrilled that the calm, cool Ravyn Faolan has such fire in her," he drawled.

Her face softened into a smile.

* * * * *

Jude POV

He could see Ravyn's temper boiling just beneath the surface. This whole affair was definitely personal for his Luna. He admitted he would be perfectly happy to see the table melted into a puddle and the lab destroyed. His wolf wanted to knock over the jars of Melisande's supplies and the unfortunate dead creatures she'd collected to use in her dark arts. However, that would only make a mess.

Ravyn's gentle expression calmed his wolf and sharpened his focus for the work ahead.

He began searching the cabinets while Ravyn moved the jars of specimens with muscles built from years of spellcasting and rearranging crystals, as well as, more recently, wrangling rambunctious grandchildren.

Ravyn grumbled as she set down the jars. "These creatures didn't give their lives just to be used in Melisande's wicked experiments."

"DON'T."

Ravyn blinked. "I'm sorry if–"

He sighed. "I know you understand from being around us so much. We have a deep connection to the natural world. A respect. Even when hunting prey. We respect our prey because they keep us alive."

He'd felt the waste of those creatures' lives. They hadn't died because they posed a threat. Well, maybe some of them. The fire imps could be quite nasty. They hadn't died because someone needed to eat. No. He could smell the odor of death and terror in them.

Ravyn's voice was soft. "Witches do use parts of living creatures in our work. But they're usually dead, and we never just kill them for our purposes."

Soothed, Jude continued his search. 

The cabinets contained scientific equipment and magical items. He searched for a false bottom or hidden compartment but found nothing. Ravyn searched the table, feeling underneath. Nothing.

"Now, if we were Melisande's secrets, where would we be?" Jude mused.

Ravyn snorted. "Someplace that she thinks is too clever for ordinary people to find. Or even witches and shifters."

Jude's eyes opened wide. "That's it!"

"What? I don't understand."

Yes. His wolf was dancing, going crazy, pointing the way to the one spot he'd avoided. No shifter would dare look there–but he would.

He would look in the cabinet where the silver muzzle was kept.

Steeling himself, he opened the cabinet. The odor of silver and sweat hit him strongly, and he held his nose, then looked just to the left of the blasted object. 

An ordinary leather-bound journal, like a lab notebook, sat in the cabinet, tempting him. He pulled it out, then held it up in triumph, his eyes glittering golden. "Aha! Praise the Moon Goddess for nudging me."

Ravyn gave a cry of joy. "Jude, you're a genius!"

He took the journal to the counter and began reading it, turning the cream-colored pages covered in neat, flowing handwriting. Ravyn leaned over his shoulder. "That's Melisande's handwriting," she noted. "But it looks a bit more elegant … hers was always so stark."

Jude grunted. "Ever seen samples of Hades' handwriting?"

Ravyn gasped. "No, but I've seen samples of Cyran's when Hades was influencing him … it looks similar."

Jude's heart sank. They couldn't jump to conclusions, of course. But if Ravyn was sure …

Ravyn read from the book.

"'It's been all I can do to stay away from the land I once called home. I'm used to a strong, powerful body. One that takes what it wants. Even with witch powers, I feel weak in this body. Thank goodness the personality isn't sickly sweet or motherly or nurturing or any of that nonsense. I don't think I could bear it.'"

Jude's fangs sharpened, and he let out a low growl. "I don't want to hear more, but I think I need to."

Ravyn continued, her lip curled in disgust. "'No one around me seems to notice the change. Are these so-called magicians completely blind? Are they really such fools? If so, how could I have been beaten by them before?'"

The words made Jude gnash his teeth. The hatred in them was sickening.

"'I will say this: these witches guard their power with an iron fist. Edna Chalice, Ravyn Rolfe, and the others are in control. They don't know just how much I've changed dear little Lilia's life. Lilia Cresta, the queen of the shifters. She is fierce, if nothing else. Ravyn has no idea of the role the goddess has played in her life, her husband's, and Lilia's. But Daxius is breaking free from his prison. I can feel it. Someday soon, he will escape … I can't let him. No one can know the truth.'"

Jude and Ravyn read on with increasing horror. Their worst suspicions were confirmed.

"Jude," Ravyn gasped. "We have to tell the others right away!"