Sisters By Chance - The Dawn (Book Two)

Pull Yourself Together

Raven's POV

Cold concrete hits my knees as my legs give way from under me. The searing pain from my skin breaking makes me scream out into the night, and I curl into a ball, hugging myself. I can't contain my wailing as I cry from heartbreak. I regret leaving. Why'd I done that?

I want him so much it hurts. I have dreamed of him for weeks, wanted him since I saw him, and I just fled, left him.

I hear a voice as if underwater, but I can't locate it. A soft hand stroked my hair from my face before cupping my face and caressing my cheeks. However, I can't focus my eyes on who it is. I'm not sure where I am, and I don't care. Muffled voices murmur to one another, words I can't hear or don't understand. Strong arms lift me, but all I can think of is Tim's hands on my hips, his lips on my neck, his fingers - entering me - caressing me - pleasuring me. And I whimper from the loss.

Warmth enfolds me. I'm placed on something soft while small hands grip mine tightly.

'Raven, pull yourself together!' The stern voice of Goldielocks tells me through my sobs.

'I-I-I ca-can't.' I stutter as I gasp for air. The vise is gripping tightly around my heart.

'Yes, you can! You need to breathe!' She forces me to look at her while taking deep breaths through her nose, holding my hands and expecting me to follow her lead. 'That's it, darling! In through your nose, out through your mouth.' She coaches while breathing with me. My heart rate slowly comes down. My tense muscles ease up, soothing my trembling.

'Good girl!' Golielock whispers, still holding my gaze. 'Breathe!'

I attempt to smile at her for her kindness but burst out in new tears, throwing myself into her arms. She wraps me up, holding me close and caressing my back. Sofia whispers against me as she cradles me. She's so soft, so warm, so gentle.

'Sweetheart,' She hums as she keeps patting my back, letting me cry my heart out. I cry for me, for Tim, Thor, Lucas, my mother, and my entire existence. I pour it all out against her shoulder until my tears dry up, and all I can do is snivel. She holds me until I pull back and manage to smile at her.

'Do you wanna talk about it?'

I shake my head. I don't think I could find the words. How do I explain running from what Lucas vowed to help me find?

'Well, I know you're not physically hurt. So I expect it's a matter of the heart?' Goldilocks holds my hands, caressing them with her fingers as she speaks. 'And whenever you're ready, I'll listen!'

I'm baffled, staring at her. Why would she?

Her eyes cloud over, and a warm smile spreads over her face. Wolfie-boy comes with two mugs, putting them on the coffee table.

'Hot chocolate cures most hardships!' She smiled as she thanked and dismissed him gently before turning her attention back to me.

'Does Harry know you're here?'

'Er... no,' I answer her, my voice horsed from crying. 'I didn't even know I was.'

'You didn't? How did you get here?'

'I transferred myself, I was in a hurry, so I guess I got lost!'

'You can do that? I thought you got split if not focusing?'

'We could be,' I admit. 'I don't know why I'm not. Or how come I ended up here!'

'Well, I'm glad you came. You seem like you could use a friend! Harry is a good one, but men don't always understand everything happening in a woman's mind. It's too complex for them!' She winks, making me giggle. A grumbling lets me know her mate and partner are eavesdropping on the conversation. But she seems unfazed.

'They're not meant to get it. It keeps them on their toes!' She tells me while handing me a mug. I sip the warm liquid and moan as it rolls down my throat. It settles in my belly, spreading a heavy warmth throughout my body.

'Yeah, heaven in a mug!' Golielock hum.

'Liquid comfort!' I confirm.

'Bliss!'

We keep drinking in silence. The sweet warmth makes me feel a whole lot better. I didn't know I was freezing until I came here.

'I really love this house, by the way!' I tell her looking around.

'Yeah, me too! It's Jacob's. Lucas and I moved in so we could be together!'

'That's right. Jacob, that's his name. I'll learn it eventually!' I smile at her before we fall silent again.

'You really are perfect, aren't you?' I state, making her burst out in laughter. 'Oh, hell no! Far from it! But we all need a friend now and then. And you don't seem to have many. No offense!'

'Non taken! It's hard to have friends when hiding from a cult that wants to kill you!' I shrug.

'I guess! I thought I had been brought into a cult when I woke up at the pack hospital!' She giggles. 'I jumped out a window in my hospital garment and ran. Jacob found me taking a nap in the woods! Didn't you, babe?' She yells the last part towards the kitchen.

'I did. You're a crazy woman!' Jacob groans as he comes into view.

She throws him a kiss before pointing back toward the kitchen. He walks off as a scolded dog, making me laugh.

'He's cute!'

'No, Lucas is cute. Jacob is sweet!' She whispers so quietly I can barely hear it. Her eyes shine from mischief when we hear new growls from the kitchen. The sound sent chills down my back, spreading goosebumps over my arms and legs. Does she feel it too?

'Was it hard?'

'What?'

'Accepting them?'

'I was scared in the beginning.' She admitted. 'I didn't know this existed before I met them. But I felt drawn to them. And they were relentless in trying to persuade me, so I gave in to the bond rather quickly, to be honest. I needed them. I needed something because I was all alone in the world. And now, I love them with all I am, and they give me everything. Everything I want, and need, even things I didn't know I needed or wanted. They are my world, and I can't imagen a life without them!'

Her face holds a dreamy look as she talks about them with devotion and certainty. Behind her smile, I see a shimmer of sadness. I remember her story: She's as lonely as me. No family, no home. She didn't choose to leave her life.

'It sounds wonderful,' I whimper.

'You found him, didn't you?' She asks gravely, grasping for my hand. I turn to look at her. Her face is earnest as she looks into my eyes, holding my gaze.

'He found me weeks ago. I didn't know until tonight!'

'So that's it, he didn't claim you?' She asks while squeezing my hand.

'I don't know!' I sigh. 'I guess. He didn't have to be mean, sending mixed signals. Can they want different things or people? The wolf and the man?'

'Well, yes! Aurelia wanted you dead from the moment she saw you. I have never felt that need!' She states. 'However, we have never been in conflict regarding our feeling for our mates. We desire them more than air!'

That word, desire, he used it as he sucked my skin. My body tingled at the thought, and my finger trembled, forcing me to grip tightly around the mug.

'Then why didn't he claim me?' I sob like a child, throwing myself back at her shoulder again.

'You didn't ask?'

The anger flares in my chest and voice just thinking of it.

'I didn't have to. I'm a witch! Of course, he didn't claim me!' I whisper and sob all at once.

'Don't be daft! That's not it! Your awesome, and if he doesn't know that, we'll beat his ass so he'll learn!'

'You don't even know me!' I murmur into her shoulder.

'I know you helped save River and Olivia. I know you saved Tim's life. You offered to help go against your own kind to help my sister, the Alphas mate, and our Luna. So I know you're brave, kind, and committed. I also know; you have a sassy mouth and mind. So I don't get why you're sitting here crying over some boy not coming to you. If you want him - take him. Make him yours!'

She states so matter-of-factly that I'm stunned. Me!

'Oh, nothing clever to say?' She smirks, making me groan.

'Why can't it be easy?'

'Oh, sweetheart! Nothing worth fighting for is!'

'That's so klisché!'

'But it's true, though!'

Goldilocks men decided enough's enough and made us pause our conversation. Lucas showed me the bathroom, allowing me to clean up before dinner. This room is as stunning as the rest I've seen. The round mirror over the sink has a frame of exposed lightbulbs charing a soft yellow light over every spotless surface. My face is pink and swollen from crying - I look nothing like myself. My knees are dirty and smudged from dry blood. It stings as I bend them to pull my socks off. The water runs warmed before I stick my legs inside, scrubbing and rinsing them off.

The kitchen goes silent as I step inside. Sofia, Lucas, and Jacob were already seated by the table. Sofia sits at the short end, one man on each side looking adorable. She's leaning on Lucas's shoulder while Jacob kisses her knuckles and wrist opposite him. And I can't stop the words from jumping out.

'Why are you three always so f*****g beautiful. It's sickening!'

'We can't help it!' Sofia smiles against Lucas's neck. 'We're meant to be this way!'

I take the chair beside Lucas. He looks at me, handing me some mashed potatoes. His nose twitches as his eyes turn to slits. He studies me quietly before turning to Sofia, then Jacob.

Lucas raised his eyebrows before looking back at me. I'm silently shoving food in my mouth, waiting for him to say something, to ask questions.

'Do you want me to beat him up for you? Because I'm not letting the mother of my child do it!'

'You're not beating up a member!' Jacob snorts. I stick my tongue out, stabbing my plate, unable to look up at them.

'You don't even know who he is!'

'Oh, we do. His scent is all over you!' Jacob growls. 'I have known him since we were kids. I'd recognize it anywhere, even mixed with yours.'

I gasp like a fish, snapping my eyes to look at him. Then Sofia.

'You know?'

She blushes as she smiles sheepishly.

'Well, yeah! I forced him to tell me when he said he knew.'

Fuck my life!

*

*

*

Tim's POV

She had forgiven me, and Thor was happy as a lovesick pup. Every day we waited for a glimpse of her. Then we noticed her walking to the woods alone and followed, only to keep an eye on her. A beautiful girl alone in the woods. I'm not sure what or how she's thinking.

We learned a lot by observing her. She's a stunning woman, committed and stubborn. But we also learned she's lonely and has a foul mouth when angry. Thor couldn't take it when tears rolled down her cheeks. He was adamant about comforting her and reviled himself. He loved the way she called him handsome. The words caressed his soul in a way nothing else could. It made us both bubbly inside as if walking on air. We could have listened to her voice all day, felt her fingers com through our fur, scratching us and sending pleasure chills through our spine. She has no wolf. But Thor doesn't mind as long as he has her.

Walking home with her on our back was a pleasure on its own. Thor hummed a tune in our head the entire way, putting word to his primal feelings; she likes us! She wants us! She's mine, mine, mine. He purred it to her, letting the vibrations travel through her body, making her breathing jagged and her scent amplified in the evening air. Her arousal was so thick in the air that we could have cut it with a knife. We forced her back against a tree trunk, letting her know she was ours. Her breathing became shallow while her heart hammered in her chest. Thor couldn't resist teasing her. He stalked towards her and blew air against her thighs before pressing his snout between them, sniffing the heaven we both wanted. Goosebumps spread all over her, and she let out a heavy sigh.

'Perv!' she moans through the darkness, making Thor laugh and rubbing his nose against her dripping s*x. She grabbed my fur, trying to hold us against her core, making him growl against her.

'Don't you growl at me! You did this!' She groaned, her words hitching in her throat as his tongue licked the inside of her thigh. I felt her tremble and grab him tighter, almost pulling his hair out. She's not holding back, and I love it.

Memories are all I have as I'm on the ground. Memories of Raven's skin under my fingertips, soft as silk. The perfect mixture of cold and warm at the same time, while her scent was the most alluring I had ever felt. Thor nearly lost his s**t as she pulled her fingertips over my chest. He wanted to take her on the forest floor: mate her, mark her, make her ours for eternity. He went wild as she guided my hand, allowing me to touch her at her most intimate part. Her sweet sounds echoed and bounced between trees, telling me she wanted more.

Then it all went wrong.

She thought it was him, learned it was me, and it all changed. I knew I'd hurt her feelings, but she's no wolf. She couldn't have felt the bond, the pull. And she had forgiven me, had she not?

But she's right. She isn't mine, and it's my fault - I didn't claim her, and that's on me. I should have.

Raven should have been mine from the day I saw her. I messed up.

I can't tear my eyes from where she stood minutes ago. The sweet raspberry scent lingers in the air, on the ground, and over my skin and fingers. My fingers are still damp from her nectar gushing over my hand as her orgasm ripped through her, rolling through her body in waves and squeezing my fingers firmly. Thor whimpers and howls sadly in my head. He misses her already, craving her touch as his lungs crave air. The wailing in my head escapes past my lips. We howl out our loss in the night, pouring all our emotions into the darkness. We stay on the ground, unwilling to move and risking losing her scent as well as I lost her physical presence. I can't stop the thoughts of her loneliness. She told me about her mother offering her as a sacrifice, the nights huddling alone in a tent. And then I abandoned her by not claiming her. I f****d up! Thor grows weak in my mind - he doesn't even nod. It's as if he's gone.

And I am alone.

*

'Hey, wake up!' A hand roughly shoves my shoulder. I'm still on the damp ground, consumed by my regrets. Helpless like a child in the dark.

'Why are you here? Did you black out again?'

'Leave me.' I grumble, not looking up at Kayden as he pulls my arm, and I jerk it back from him.

He breathes deeply, smelling me, and growl.

'Where is she? What did you do?'

'I didn't claim her, and now she hates me!' I whimper with my face pressed against the soft ground. I hear him sigh hard and take a seat beside me.

'I can't believe I'm doing this. Your f*****g naked!' He grumbles.

'You need to pull your s**t together. Raven doesn't hate you. She wouldn't have drenched you in her juices if she did. Now, stop being an i***t and go to her. If you don't claim her, someone else will. I can promise you that. She's special!'

His words hit me like a sucker punch to my gut, making me gasp for air.

'Did you hear me? She's f*****g special, and she's yours. The Goddess paired you up with a breathtaking witch, and you're sobbing on the ground. Why the f**k didn't you claim her in the first place?' He rants.

'I don't know!' I groan.

'Then you don't deserve her, reject her, and let someone who wants her take her!' The hunger in his voice makes my skin crawl. I'm not giving her to someone else. She's not mine, but she should be! The world goes dark as I throw myself at him. My hand is around his throat as I push him to the ground, pinning him under me as I roar, 'NEVER!'

The hissing sound of him laughing make me bristle.

'Good!' He wheezes. 'That's good! Then get your naked ass off me and go get her, Tiger!'