Raven's DarkNess | ✔

Chapter Thirty-One

A/N: Hi guys! I know it's been a while. I hope that you guys remember the story. I wish I could summarise key points but it's one of those books where every detail is crucial so I can't even summarise, unfortunately. If it's not too much to ask then please consider a re-read or type questions in the comment section and I'll be glad to respond! Thank you so much and now, enjoy ❤️💜💓

My whole world went unexpectantly still as Enzo dropped what he was sure was a bomb on me. It was nothing short of that as I stared up into his eyes. I wasted no time in pulling him into my arms. He stiffened as I wrapped my arms around him, the warmth of his skin seeping deeply into me. He was a really warm person.

He didn't hold me but I held him and slowly, Enzo's large weight settled against me.

"Calm down," I whispered into his ear. "It wasn't your fault,"

He nearly buckled against me.

Okay, yes, it was Enzo's fault but he wasn't the only one at fault. He was just the only one that survived and he needed to learn how to live with that. He had to let go of it. He had to learn to move on even though it seemed like the most difficult thing in the world. Even though - despite years passing, he was still obviously very affected by what had happened. Even though it seemed like it would always haunt him, never let go of him.

"I remember waking up in the hospital and everything I knew had changed. Everyone I loved was dead,"

Enzo's weight still settled against me and I delved my fingers into his hair, wanting to reassure him. I wish I could do more than this.

"I crashed the car Aoife and in a single moment, three of the most precious people to me were gone,"

"Three?" I echoed out, confused. "I thought only Ayla and your brother died in the crash?"

Enzo sat up and my shoulder felt his absence as my hands were forced to pull away from him. He sat up straighter and set his palms on his thighs.

"Remember I told you that my mother temporarily bound her life to mine?" I felt goosebumps override my skin as the truth settled deep within my belly. "The spell was meant to be broken the moment I set foot in my pack. For three years, I did go to my pack. So when the accident happened, technically, I was supposed to die but due to my mother's life force and spell, she died in my place,"

Enzo's eyes set deeply against mine and they glistened with sadness, pools of emotions overtaking them as he clenched his jaw. I wanted to reach out to touch him but I was stuck in place. Enzo's emotions were so strong that it was like I could feel them as my own. It was like I was trapped in them as they swirled around me like flurries.

"I wish it ended there. My father was bound to my mother by the mate bond marriage," Enzo choked out and it was on instinct as I flew into Enzo's arms and wrapped myself around him. His head once again rested against my shoulder but he didn't move as his sharp jaw bit into the top of my upper back. He was as still as a leaf. "In one night, I lost four people, Aoife,"

I wish I could tell Enzo I understood him. I wish I could tell him that I understood exactly what he went through because I also faced it. In one night, I also lost three people. I wanted to tell him but when I opened my mouth to speak, nothing was articulated. Only a gush of air from my pained breathing could escape the prison that was inside me. The prison I so desperately wished I could share.

"My father despised me after that and I lived in his hatred for the one year that he was left alive. It was hell,"

The mate bond marriage was a tradition among Alphas and more traditional wolves. It was a special type of marriage whereby the mates or individuals involved literally bound their lives together. It made their bond stronger, everlasting, powerful and deeper than anything imaginable. So everlasting infact that when one died, the other would follow them to death. The second mate who was left alive had only less than a year to live without their mate who died. They couldn't stop it. Inevitably - within a year, they would be dead. It was the price they had to pay for a deeper bond. It made no sense to me why anyone would tie their lives like that but then again, everything related to mates made no sense to me.