Holocaust - Rachel M Raithby Page 0,1

fate.

Chapter 1

A seemingly endless winter.

As brittle and cold as Maura’s heart.

Ice and steel.

Unforgiving and unmoving.

Long dark nights.

Forever alone.

Lost in darkness.

But with the thawing of winter.

Saw the first small cracks in her armor.

Vulnerability, weakness, hope.

Spring bloomed.

As delicate as the first flower.

And turmoil blossomed within her soul.

APRIL

She’d always known this day was coming; how could she not think it was? Love. Love had no boundaries or rules. It did as it pleased but she at least thought she’d have more time.

For the past month, she’d been having these dreams, these nightmares. He’d found her, her panther. Just like she always knew he would.

Of course, Lincoln hadn’t really found her…yet. It was only a matter of time. She was his mate and as the first sign of light bloomed, so did the irrevocable bond between them. She may have shut off her heart, closed down all feelings, her humanity, yet it had always been there, below the surface, waiting, watching for its chance to be free.

Whether she was Maura or Lexia, she wasn’t sure. The one thing she was certain of, however, was the small, almost invisible sign of light inside of her. The light tortured her, put both her, and her panther at risk. With the light came emotions, and with emotions, came guilt. He couldn’t find her. If she was going to survive, she had to be Maura. She’d done too much; the guilt was too much.

“Maura, get up. We have a raid.” Over the weeks, the amount of raids she’d been on decreased, with most of South Dakota now shifter free.

Sighing, she sat up and looked at Derrick. He watched her from her doorway; he was the only person who dared enter her room. The other hunters feared her, as they feared death.

“Are you planning on standing there while I dress?”

He grinned a smile he only showed to her. “I’m avoiding your mother. She’s on a warpath this morning. A pack of wolves have being causing havoc.”

So much for South Dakota being shifter free.

Getting out of bed, Lexia padded over to her wardrobe. The problem was a few weeks ago she had not cared if he watched. She hadn’t cared about much, but since Lexia clawed her way to the surface, she cared, and Derrick knew she cared.

That’s why he does it.

It wasn’t as if he watched her in a sexual way. He watched her for a reaction; that was what Derrick did; he watched and prodded, just waiting for some kind of emotion. But she never gave him anything; well, tried not to. Derrick wanted to save her. Only he didn’t realize she was beyond saving; only death would save her now.

“So is that what we are sorting today?”

“No, can’t seem to get a location on them. We always get there too late.” She turned her back to him, smiling; she’d never had much love for wolf shifters, but this pack, she’d love to meet.

Meet and kill.

Giving herself a mental shake, she pushed the thought away. This was the other problem she was having; she felt like she was split in two: good and evil. Two people living within one body.

Derrick still hadn’t moved. His gaze fixed firmly on her, waiting for that little sign she was cracking. Turning away from him, she dropped her robe, and dressed quickly.

Black leather, that was all she wore. She yearned for color and would kill for a red dress, just something that screamed, I’m alive. Look at me.

Walking into the bathroom, she asked, “So what’s the job today then?”

He followed her. “Lex, what are you doing?”

Lex, Lexia, Lexi, how I miss my name.

“Derrick, what makes you believe I won’t kill you?” she snapped, needing some distance. “Why do you believe you can walk freely around my space as if it’s yours?”

Stepping into her space, his usually dead eyes held emotion. “Because,” his finger brushed her cheek, “you have always been Lexia, no matter how many times you call yourself Maura. I see you, Lexi.”

Lexi…

She sucked in a breath. The memory the name brought brushed her mind. Sandy fur covered with a hundred dark eyes. Green. Green eyes as beautiful and wild as the forest she used to run in.

Caden…

A loud bang erupted in the room as Derrick slammed to the floor. The emotion in his eyes whooshed out with his breath when his back and head hit the hard surface. Against his throat rested the sharp heel of Maura’s black boots.

“Do not grow complacent with my tolerance of you, Derrick. One word.