Raven's DarkNess | ✔

Chapter Twenty Two

Yet, I understood her. Coming from a pack where I had all the freedom in the world to a place where I can't even get a push-up bra, I'm so thankful the moon wasn't so cruel to me as to put me in this place from the start.

"Aoife sorry to be so bold but I need to ask you a question!"

I didn't respond but she continued.

"Has your lips ever been kissed before?" My fingers found my lips instantly as her brown eyes once again looked at me with sincere curiosity, a true deer in headlights.

"Not that I remember, Willow," I replied with a lie. Sweetie, my lips have been more than kissed. I could write a book for you. "And most definitely not by your cousin brother, Enzo if you're thinking that!"

Willow shook her head instantly as if the mere thought disgusted her. "Of course not! Enzo would never do that!"

The strength of that statement bugged me deeply. Enzo was not a tree! He could be swayed! He could be moved! He could be broken! He had to be, my fucking freedom depended on it!

"Well, I have been kissed! Once, under a peach tree and it was the most beautiful thing I ever felt!" She suddenly grabbed her shawl and squeezed it her large eyes now moving from mine and focusing on the shawl. "It was electrifying and I want that feeling again,"

Then find your mate, sweetie. It's not that hard. Especially where you're from, apparently.

"But you know what happened to me after that boy kissed me under the tree?" Suddenly, her eyes snapped up to mine, a rawness haunting the very edges of her irises as her pupils constricted. "I came home and Enzo's father saw me. The minute he did, he smelt the boy on me and knew that I'd been kissing," she shut her eyes and I watched her shiver. "I learnt the hard way that breaking the rules in this pack was equivalent to begging for death. We should wait for our mates or wait for the Elders to match us with a chosen mate but taking matters into our own hands is not a privilege I could ever afford not only because I'm from here but because this darn family adopted me and I need to uphold their honour!"

Willow's tears began to flow again but she wiped them as quickly as they ran down her chubby cheeks. I couldn't bring myself to ask her what Enzo's father had done to her. How he had punished her. The look of her made me understand that the girl was traumatised by whatever had happened.

"I don't want to find my mate, Aoife. I pray to the moon that if he's from this pack then he should never find me because I want to leave this pack and the last thing I need is to be forced to stay because of a mate," Her eyes squinted with newfound determination. "I want to help you because you're the only hope I have of ever leaving here alive,"

"I...I-" This time, I was the one who stammered because by the way Willow looked straight into my eyes, the firmness of them showed no hint of a lie and neither did the body language.

"I know you don't trust me and I understand why but you should,"

I didn't respond. Instead, I just watched the girl. She was once again clutching to that shawl. I wanted to pull it off of her.

"Why should I?" I finally asked after a long drawn out silence.

"Because I know you like Enzo and no one else would ever help you get to him. I can and I'll offer you some information to show my loyalty to you," I raised an eyebrow in response. "There are many secrets to this pack. There's also a mind link and language that's the essence of who we are but what if I told you that it was possible for you to temporarily block anyone from using the link, thereby leaving them defenceless for at least a few hours?"

My head tilted to the side and Willow smiled. Her smile was so victorious. At that moment, the brunette realised that she had gotten me. She had piqued my interest. My eyes now held a newfound hunger.