After the run-in with the wolves, Raven gave it a few days before returning to the cabin, and she never saw the two guys again. Raven placed the newly bought flowers into pots, hoping to bring a touch of home to her aunt's garden, which needed some work. Her mother had always encouraged her fascination with plants.
"A bit of gardening in this weather?" a male voice asked from behind her. Startled, Raven dropped the flowers and spun around to face the man standing among the poisonous plants.
"Can I help you?" Raven asked, confused. It seemed odd to be planting flowers next to a cabin, and even odder for a stranger to appear out of nowhere and start a conversation.
"Yes, yes, you can," he said, his eyes dark and skin sickly pale; he took a step closer and stopped right in front of her. Raven tightened her grip on the flowerpot, feeling uneasy about his presence.
Raven waited for him to continue, his eyes trailing over her, making her skin crawl. He looked at her like a hunter, sizing up his prey.
"I have been waiting for the right moment to approach you," he said, circling her. Raven kept facing him, not giving him an opening to catch her off guard.
"Do I know you?" she asked, stepping back to put some distance between them. He smirked at her reaction.
"You do; well, you've seen me before, but we haven't been formally introduced," he said, directing his gaze toward the flowers. She watched his every move as he plucked a petal from the plant. "Oddly, the flowers are blooming?" he questioned, but Raven kept quiet as uneasiness filled her.
"I have a question for you," he said, his eyes snapping back to hers.
"What?" she replied, wanting to end the conversation and get away from him.
"How have you been sleeping? If I were you, I could not sleep, but I must say your mother was a sneaky bitch. She hid you well. If I had known she had a daughter, I would have made sure to kill you," he said.
Her body froze at his admission as she realized it.
"It was you at the pier. You have been following me," she said, staring at him as fear spread through her body, but anger, anger for her mother, for he was the one who took her mother.
"Guilty as charged." He held his hands up, admitting with a smile on his face as if her pain made him happy.
She watched as his eyes grew darker as if any soul had left his body. The veins under his eyes became darker when he bared his teeth at her.
"AH!" Raven let out a scream as she swung the flower pot at his head. His face turned to the side as the pot crashed against him, breaking into a million pieces with no damage done to him.
Raven watched helplessly as his head turned back to face her.
"Ouch," he said impassively.
Raven took advantage of this moment to turn around and hurried up the steps of the cabin, but he suddenly grabbed her leg and forcefully caused her body to collide against the steps. Raven turned onto her back. He held onto her feet, dragging her from the steps. Her body met the cold, wet ground as he hunched down next to her.
A sigh came from the man.
"Why?" she asked him.
"They always ask that, but in this case it's different. I am here because there is someone who wants you," he told her, his eyes following the trail of blood on the side of her head.
"He wants you so badly so that you can remove the curse that your family placed on him, and since you are the last living witch of your bloodline, only you can remove it."
Raven's eyes narrowed. "Are you talking about the story of the cursed boy?"
A surprised look spread across his face. "So you know about it then?" He brushed his hand across her cheek, making her shudder under his touch. "It is no story; you are the last living Graverose witch, and he is coming for you, and I can't let him have you."
"No matter, I guess I no longer have any use for you, Raven."
"You need to open your eyes for this, Raven," Iver taunted, gripping her neck tighter. Her eyes snapped open as she glared at him.
"There you are, Raven," he said, smirking at her. Her dark eyes stared back at him.
Lifting his head, he took a deep breath.
"They are coming. One's got to love a wolf, always there to protect the unprotected." His hand reached towards her, brushing her hair across her head before lifting it to his face with red liquid on his fingertips. His mouth opened as his tongue flicked across his fingers, her blood coating his tongue.
She watched him, disgusted. His eyes closed in delight as he savored the taste of her blood. He looked down at her.
"We will meet again, hopefully before he gets you," he said as if he knew their meeting was inevitable.
The howls grew closer.
"Goodbye, Raven."
And like that, he was gone.