Broken bond

Chapter 8

Raven

The boys and I make it to a clearing and all of them lounge on the ground while I keep standing up and bask in the warmth of the sunlight that is seeping through the trees. The boys stare at me with soft smiles on their lips and I return it.

I've missed this. I've missed being able to stare into their eyes and not give a fuck about anything or anyone else. It's amazing to look into their comforting gazes once again but. . .there's a problem. One pair of eyes are missing. Frankie's. Frankie's sweet and innocent forest green eyes aren't staring back at me.

"Hey, sissy, are you all right?" Thomas asks, staring at me with worry along with the others.

"I'm fine, just tired," I reply as I rub my eyes to get rid of the tears starting to form, making it look like I'm wiping away sleep.

"Why are you lying to them? They're your best friends; they're basically family. They'll understand," Gale comments in a sorrowful tone.

"I know they'll understand but. . .I can't bring myself to talk about Frankie. I can't. It brings back too many memories."

Painful memories.

***

* Trigger warning *

I keep crying as I cut long and stinging lines into my flesh. The razor blade I stole from my "father" is nice and sharp. Perfect for penetrating skin.

My wrist stings and blood is all over the bathroom floor. I continue crying because this isn't fucking helping. Bleeding all over the fucking floor isn't taking away the pain in my heart. I want to fucking die!

I suddenly hear the doorknob jiggle and I wrap my arms around my head, bracing myself for the beating I'm going to receive once my "father" sees the mess I've made.

"Raven?" I look up and my eyes widen when I see a eight year old Frankie staring at me. His eyes are wide, fear and confusion swirling in his green-coloured orbs.

What the fuck have I done? I'm doing all this fucked up shit in front of a child! I'm about to try and comfort him when fat tears start pooling down his tiny face and my heart clenches with guilt.

"I'm sorry," he cries.

My heart unclenches and I'm filled with confusion. Why is he apologising? He is not the reason for my pain. He suddenly engulfs me in a tight hug and I'm shocked. My eyes widen as I look down at Frankie while he cries into my shirt. Blood is staining his small frame but he doesn't seem to care.

"Don't hurt yourself. Please, Ravy. I'm sorry."

I cry once more as I hold him close to me and snuggle my nose in his soft black locks,"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault, sweetie."

I'm a fucking piece of shit. I've made a child cry for something he didn't do. I'm a horrible person. I feel small hands cup my cheeks and place a sweet tiny kiss on my nose. This makes me stare into the little boy's eyes. I always kiss his nose to make him feel better and now he's doing the same to me. My heart swells at this.

"I love you."

I smile as I hold Frankie closer to me,"I love you too."

***

My head is bowed as I silently cry at the memory. Frankie was too young to understand what I was doing and luckily he never had to experience what I went through but he still comforted me. He still made me feel needed. I feel arms go around me and I smile slightly. The boys have all stood up to give me a big group hug. They really are the greatest friends a girl could have.

* * *

After a while, we walked back to the pack house and I am greeted by two steel grey eyes glaring at me. My cognac brown eyes glare right back as I turn to face my best friends, who smile warmly at me.

"Please come back anytime," I say with a sincere tone.

They all nod, each in their own style. Thomas nods his head excitedly, Harry nods with his head bobbing in a funny way and Sam simply nods like a normal person.

"I'm going to miss these idiots," Gale whines.

"Me too but Mr. Asshole will never allow them to stay," I reply.

"Never," Cal links in my head while I roll my eyes at his words.

Just as the boys are about to leave, Sam stops in his tracks and stares directly into the woods. I'm about to ask him what's wrong when Julie walks out from the direction Sam was looking at. Sam's eyes widen as he bolts over to her. His arms wrap possessively around her waist and he grabs the back of her neck. I'm frozen in shock since Sam has never shown this kind of confidence before. He slams his lips onto Julie's in a passionate kiss, his hand holding her head in place. Julie's eyes widen in astonishment but soon she's kissing him back with the same amount of passion. They're practically devouring the other's face off.

They both pull away and stare lovingly at each other,"Mate," they both mumble as they start kissing again.

Julie wraps her legs around Sam's waist and he begins to walk inside the pack house. Not one of them pulls away while this happens. I smile with joy while Harry and Thomas cheer him on. Sam finally found his mate.

I look at Cal who is now grimacing at me. It wasn't because of me though, it was because of the situation. And I was smirking smugly in victory. With Sam finding his mate, he'll have to be let into the pack. And since Harry and Thomas are with Sam, their automatically allowed in as well.

"Guess I have no choice but to make these rogues a part of the pack," he practically grits out between clenched teeth.

I just smirk at him, knowing he has no other choice. This seems to anger him even more but I brush him off as I turned to the two cheering idiots and say,"Let me show you to your rooms."

Cal

Once I am in my office, I immediately begin to throw my desk chair around. I'd have to get a new one but for now, I don't give a shit. I absolutely hate rogues and now I have four living in my house. It's actually pains me as I think about the situation I find myself in and I hate it.

"I don't understand what the big deal is? It's just a tiny group of rogues. They're not too much trouble."

"They're not the problem. The problem is that infuriating mate of mine. She's so smug about her minuscule victory and it pisses me off!" I yell at Clyde in anger as I throw my office chair one last time before collapsing on my couch.

"You just called her your mate," Clyde mocks but I just growl in anger and annoyance.

Out of that whole little rant, he just heard that?

I block him out in anger just as a knock sounds at the door. A honey scent invades my nose with a hint of something else that I can't put my finger on. It's a sweet earthy scent though and I instantly know who it belongs too.

"Come in, Raven."

I see her walk in and she stares at me with a smile. I would have been angry but this wasn't a taunting smile or a smug smirk, this was a normal and genuinely sweet smile. It's odd to see that kind of smile on her face yet it seems so natural on her at the same time.

"Look, this is going to be very weird but I wanted to say thank you," she says, getting straight to the point. I give her a confused look and she decides to rephrase her words,"I know you are not too fond of rogues but this makes the boys very happy, especially Sam so thank you."

My heart does a strange pitter-patter dance as I stare at her face. It feels pleasant but I brush it off when I realise that Raven is the cause. She just nods, giving me her acknowledgment before closing the office door and leaving me alone with my thoughts. Just when I thought I had that stubborn woman figured out she does something like this. She's unpredictable.

But is that a good thing or a bad thing?