Broken bond

Chapter 9

The children giggle at his silly tone as they nod, some even saying 'yes' or 'okay'. Harry chuckles as he takes a seat on a nearby chair and watches me with interest. I shake my head at his weirdness before facing the little ones who are also giving me expectant looks. I take in a deep breath before breathing out as I begin.

"A gentle breeze from Hushabye Mountain, softly blows over Lullaby Bay. It fills the sails of boats that are waiting, waiting to sail your worries away. It isn't far to Hushabye Mountain and your boat waits down by the quay. The winds of night so softly are sighing. Soon they will fly your troubles to sea." I continue to sing the song, keeping my voice soft and gentle. I've always had a gentle singing voice and, if I'm allowed to be so bold, I have a nice singing voice too.

"So close your eyes on Hushabye Mountain. Wave goodbye to cares of the day. And watch your boat from Hushabye Mountain, sail far away from Lullaby Bay."

Once the song is done, I see that all the little ones are fast asleep and they look so adorable.

How cute!

"You and children. I swear they're the only things you love more than us," Harry speaks up, his voice in a soft whisper as to not wake the children.

I smile slightly as I've always been fond of children. My heart has a special place for them. If someone were to hurt me I would fight back. But, if someone hurt a child, you better believe murder was a strong possibility.

But, then again, there was always one child that was closer to my heart than anyone else but. . .no, let's not go there. Not now.

"They're cute," I give as my reply to Harry's statement and he just chuckles at my answer.

"They're all tuckered out but can you blame them? You're voice is so beautiful."

I roll my eyes at that comment as I playfully slap his arm but I freeze when another voice is heard,"I'll admit, her voice is lovely to hear."

I turn my head in the direction of the voice, which comes from the door and I see Cal. His impassive face does not fit the compliment he just gave me so my emotions on it are slightly conflicted. On the one hand, I kind of admire him for actually giving me a compliment. It's the nicest thing he's said to me since I've been here. On the other hand, his stupid fucking face makes it seem like he never said anything to begin with. I swear he ruins everything with that blank page of face.

"How about blushing like a love-struck fool?" Gale sarcastically jokes.

"How about you shut the fuck up?" I reply, not in the mood for her nonsense.

I make my face just as emotionless as Cal's as I reply,"Wow, a real compliment. Thanks for that, I guess."

I see Cal squint his eyes as he looks at me curiously. I'm about to question his strange - and rude - behaviour when he asks,"Are you blushing?"

My eyes widen slightly as I can feel an almost non-existent warmth on my cheeks.

"No," I scoff and barge out of the room as if I'm disgusted by his question.

"Yes," Gale drawls out, finding this whole situation very amusing.

Meanwhile, I'm heading back to me and Cal's room with only one thought on my mind. Why am I fucking blushing?

Cal

"The meeting is finally over!" Brian exclaims, raising his hands up in the air as a large grin spreads across his lips.

"I'm just happy we're home. I'm exhausted," I state as we enter the house.

Once Brian closes the door, Sam walks past us while he carries Julie. She has her legs wrapped around his lean waist and her arms wrapped around his neck while they kiss each other passionately. They stop once they see us and focus their attention in our direction.

"Welcome back, Alpha. Welcome back, Brian," they quickly greet before locking lips once again and disappearing upstairs, towards their room.

"I bet you and the Luna do that a lot in the privacy of your bedroom, huh?" Brian teases as he nudges me with his elbow.

I just force smile and nod as I walk off. I need to go for a run; my nerves are all over the place. This whole week has made me a stress-filled mess! Annoying rogues, a stubborn and foul-mouthed mate and a whole week of putting up with her bullshit. I shake my head as I continue to head towards the back door but I'm stopped in my tracks by a melodic voice.

"It isn't far to Hushabye Mountain and your boat waits down by the quay. The winds of night so softly are sighing. Soon they will fly your troubles to sea."

I'm captivated by the beautiful voice as I walk closer to the room that it is coming from. Who could that be? It's not a pack mom because I've heard all of them sing and none of them sound like that. It's not Julie because she's upstairs with her mate. Who could it be?

"I don't know who it is but I'm in love with that angelic voice," Clyde states.

I peek my head inside the room and my breath hitches in my throat as I see the source of the melodic voice. It's Raven! She finishes her song and then proceeds to talk to Harry but I'm still in a state of awe. She has such a beautiful voice.

"It's almost as beautiful as her?"

"Never. She may have a lovely singing voice but she is far from lovely."

"At least compliment her voice," he pleads in an exasperated tone.

I roll my eyes at his words as I hear Harry say,"They're all tuckered out but can you blame them? Your voice is so beautiful."

If this will keep Clyde off my back for a few hours then I'll gladly compliment this horrid woman.

"I'll admit, her voice is lovely to hear."

Raven turns to look at me, shocked by my words, before plastering on an blank expression. She says something to me - most likely a sarcastic comment - but I zone out as I notice her cheeks tinting a slight shade of pink.

I squint at her cheeks before asking,"Are you blushing?"

She seems surprised by my words before scoffing out an answer,"No."

She then stomps out of the room and heads towards our room. I look at Harry for some guidance but he just shrugs. Was she blushing or is it just a weird coincidence? Probably but what if she was blushing? No way, it will be a cold day in hell when the stubborn and proud Raven Woods blushes, especially from my words.