Page 89 of White Raven (Nevermore Duet #2)

KATHERINE

Athan shifted beside his mate, recalling the night that he’d told her about. When Poe found him on the rooftop, and never left his side afterwards.

“His soul found its match within you,” Poe said, staring a hole through him.

“There was no reasoning with him. You became his focus. His assignment. It was then that I realized…you would be the sword that struck her down. You already had your hate as the force that would drive her to damn herself. And so, I watched you. I had spies that sat in her very council. I had eyes on you through the bird. I found out about her plans to try to force alignment with werewolves—our natural born enemies. She promised them things she could never give. Experimented with them nearly to extinction with her dream of creating hybrid species strong enough to take me down once she found me, and the coven I’d stolen from her.

I had their loyalty. We even adopted the name.

The Black Bird coven no longer belonged to the self-proclaimed vampire queen.

She failed. And then you …” he smiled wider.

“You were clever enough to find a way out. To separate yourself from her. By that time, I’d taken in a family of my own that were… refugees, if you will.”

“Ryan Sykes. Her family,” Sarah added. He nodded. “Another family that wasn’t yours. Another family you put above your own .”

“I promised you…you would have every answer you sought before leaving. And you will.”

Athan was inclined to follow her annoyed sigh. But the intrigue drove his attention back to the mystery in the wooden chair before them.

“With Ryan in existence, I realized Dahlia had it wrong from the beginning. The hybrids couldn’t be made.

They were to be bred . One of the werewolves who had lived through her experiments…

she agreed to assist me. I didn’t need her to breed.

She already had a daughter. A wolf who was alone. No pack to speak of.”

“Rhaena,” Athan breathed.

“Yes. Ashina told me where I could find her daughter, and as fate would have it…she was in Boston. We made sure that you found your way to the vacant apartment next door. Initially, we planned to strategize a meeting. But…you found her on your own. Every plan we mustered up was brilliantly thwarted by fate alone. She not only became your partner, but also…your lover .”

“Fucking stop it,” Athan spat, his jaw tightening to the point of pain.

“Why? Is it not the truth? It was clear that if we left it alone, things would go better than we’d expected. And so, we did just that. We waited. The bird was never an admirer, and for obvious reasons. He knew she wasn’t like us. But then…”

Sarah leaned forward and took Athan’s hand. They met eyes. “Then there was me,” she smiled softly. “Ready to fuck up all your plans.”

The light to his dark…

It didn’t surprise him that every single time he thought about the first moment he saw her, his breath staggered. Every time he looked at her now , it still did. Poe broke their concentration and continued on.

“I don’t suppose I need to emphasize that part of the story.”

“ That part of the story, is none of your fucking business,” Sarah snapped.

He chuckled, shoving his hands back into his pockets.

“After you sent Dahlia back to the pits of which she came…I found out that…you knew my name. I have to say I’m perplexed.

Not once did I catch word from any of my sources that she’d breathed that name to you.

Not until her last breath. You knew it before . How?”

Athan glanced at his mate, and the smile that Sarah gave her father was nothing short of despicable.

“From my mother .” Poe straightened in his chair.

“When Athan turned me, I was knocking on Death’s door for the second time.

I found myself in what Mama called ‘The Veil’.

She was there. She was with me. I could see her and talk to her.

She told me your name before she disappeared, and I woke up a vampire. ”

“Katherine,” he whispered. Obvious pain struck his face, and his heavy breath exposed his grief. He’d loved her. “So…she is on the other side.”

“Yes. And while I may have found you, I never found her killer. This might sting, and I couldn’t fucking care less…

but I would have rather had his name over yours.

I don’t want to know you. I don’t want a relationship with you.

You will die. You’ll pay for abandoning me.

You’ll pay for what you’ve done to my mate, and you’ll never hurt another person I care about. Our lives aren’t your chessboard.”

Emotion that Athan couldn’t place flickered across Poe’s face, and he stared blankly at his daughter. “Before I address that…let me first explain how you came to be here.”

“Please do,” Athan bit.

“I sent Ryan to keep eyes on you. She was to report back about your whereabouts, confirm that you’d fully turned, and find Decclan Reynolds.

I would exact my revenge on him. I couldn’t deliver Dahlia’s lethal blow, but Reynolds—Reynolds, I would have.

She was too late. He’d left the country, and my choices were to either pursue you…

or pursue the man responsible for my death. I chose you.”

“And what a kind gesture it was,” Sarah added, pursing her lips. “Too little, too late, Pops.”

“Perhaps,” he sighed. “But you were my heir. I’ve come to realize after all these years…

what Reynolds injured in my head. My turning did little to eradicate it.

I no longer run from Death. I would like to find my peace.

All these years. The name of Edgar Allan Poe…

that man is still and will always be…only an insane poet.

Someone history will always remember as an unstable, lowlife, drunk.

I cannot escape the disease that is my mind.

I wish to be freed. I needed to know. Needed to be sure that the only blood I had could lead this coven.

That someone strong enough to stand beside her while she did so…

was beyond reproach.” He slid his eyes to Athan, who squeezed on Sarah’s hand.

“You tested us. The way you tested the wolves. You tested our strength. Our loyalty. A failed experiment turned into the story of a lifetime,” Athan said.

“The story of many lifetimes, Athan Kane. The Black Bird coven will indeed reign. But it will never again belong to Dahlia Van Hausen. It will belong to the two of you. Two people intelligent enough…compassionate enough…and not afflicted with the disease of a tormented mind to lead these people to better. Better than what I’m able to give them.

” He peered over at Sarah, who held his stare with confliction.

“I did not only pass you a crown, little bird. I passed you a key. A key to freedom. An antidote to the disease.”

“The White Raven,” Athan whispered. She turned her head to look at him, and her mouth dropped open.

“Yes…The Queen…and the Savior of our kind.” He slowly stood from his chair, shrugging off his jacket, and stepping back into the moonlight at the window. “A rare…and radiant maiden, who the angels named Lenore.”

“Sarah…Lenore…St. James,” Sarah whispered, staring down at his shadow on the floor. “Sarah saved your life. Gave you immortality. Lenore…was lost to you. You mourned… me? ”

There was a stagnant silence for a few heartbeats, and then he spoke again.

“Portland is a lovely place. Lovely, but…oftentimes a bore. Years ago, I decided to spend a bit of time with the coven in Seattle. They were having rank issues and needed to be reminded of who wore the crown. I remained there for over a year. One evening, there was a jazz event downtown…I grew to really enjoy the music. A lighthearted holiday from the darkness I dwelled in. And so, I went. I dressed myself to blend in. I kept to myself. But…I’ve always had such a weakness for beautiful women. ”

“Mama…” Sarah whispered. His back was turned, but he nodded softly as he continued to stare out the window.

“She was so kind. So spirited . She had such a stunning voice. Her eyes…you have them. They’re captivating. Enchanting, even.”

Athan stared at her, and it felt like Poe was speaking for them . Like he couldn’t find a single thing he said to disagree with. Her heart raced.

“She thieved my heart that night. Made incredible use of my body—my broken soul. It was all I could do to leave her in that hotel room before dawn came for me. The bird stirred me from sleep in just enough time. I took from him a feather…his most handsome. I left it beneath her hand as she slept like one of Heaven’s messengers.

I told myself I’d not seek her again, and for a long while…

I did not. The bird was my eyes. He kept watch over Katherine, and…

I longed for her. So much so that I refused to leave Seattle, although my business within the city was long past finished. ”

“You only slept with her once? ” Sarah asked.

“Yes. Once was all it had taken for my heart to belong to her. Many times, did I consider tasting her blood. Feeding her my own. Having her for myself forever. But…Katherine St. James was too precious a soul for the existence of demons. She was an angel. A beacon of joy, and laughter. She didn’t belong in our world.

” His shoulders sagged, and he hung his head, pressing it against the glass.

“Months later, I realized the impossible…that I had failed her. As I’d failed every other woman in my life.

The bird revealed her swelling belly. Something I helped create, that I wasn’t certain would not take her life. ”

Sarah’s muscles went tight. Her breathing hitched, and Athan reached over, pulling her into his lap. His arms were home. Her solace, and peace. She practically melted into him. Tony sat silent in his chair, a haunted expression on his face.