My stomach turns and my throat dries out as aunt Scarlet's eyes fall on me standing in the centre of the ballroom floor. "Raven my dear child, can you please join us on stage?" She holds her hand out sheepishly and smiles.
I swallow hard as the lump in my throat gets stuck. But I do as my aunt says and make my way up on stage.
Standing in front of all these prying eyes, my head starts to spin, my heart slams brutally against my chest and my mouth goes horribly dry.
"I am happy and so proud that my niece, Raven will be opening mating season by selecting her mate first." She says with a powerful voice and then turn towards me to give me an appraised nod, but all I'm focused on now is all the staring eyes on me as they follow my every movement. I can't help myself so I scan the crowds and see a few familiar faces.
Mannix, his face paler as mine, the look he's not even trying to hide, looks something in between worry and concern.
Alatar and Michael both with such smug smiles on their faces. I roll my eyes. As if I'm going to choose any of those two" I think to myself. "Oh no, I need to choose one of them.
The pit in my stomach rages like an infuriating volcano and it's making me nauseous. I turn slightly to aunt Scarlet, my voice barely scrapes through as I manage to get a whisper out...
"Aunt...aunt Scarlet?" My voice crackly getting through the loud sounds of my wildly beating heart.
"What's wrong my poor child? You're as pale as a ghost." She gasp out with widen eyes.
"I'm fine just give me 15 minutes okay?"
I want to cry but I don't, gods know how I manage to be this cool and calm on the outside when everything on the inside screams, run, run Raven as quickly as you can and don't look back.
"Are you sure everything is fine Raven?" She whispers back.
"Yes yes...Excuse me."
Is my last words as I take the steps down the stage onto the ballroom floor and push through the crowds on the dance floor, trying desperately to get out of this ballroom.
My chest, shit I can't breathe...I need some air.
Without a second to waste I run outside, and don't stop.
Not until I see what looks like some sort of an entrance way to a private garden. So I take a seat on the cold hard edge of the concrete steps leading up to a beautiful old tree, dropping my face into my hands not knowing if I should scream or cry.
I can't choose any of those two assholes. I'll rather die. The reality hits me like ton of bricks, by marrying anyone of those two my life would sure be a loveless dull one, and by not marrying one of them, my life will end. I'll be dead in both scenarios. So my options is limited if none.
In seconds my head snaps back up to a voice calling out to me, and suddenly that pit in my stomach that I had seconds ago. Yeah the thing raptures, as a cold, dead shiver runs throughout my bones.
"Little Crow."
Blaze says my name like it's meant to live there forever in his gorgeous mouth, his voice conveys authority. The sound emanating from his six foot eight inch stature commands attention. It is unmistakable.
At it's most pronounced it feels like a whip against my dewy skin. Slicing quickly and stinging the shit out of me. At it's most tender it feels like the air created by the wings of mating monarch butterflies.
Followed by his chuckle, the most heartfelt laughter twirls in the air and tickles my nose, but it's easily missed if you're not paying mind. Blaze Morningstar is a man of few words but those spoken, releases potent pollen. "Fuck my life, as if this night couldn't get any worst".
He was, well, is different from all others. He is handsome, his dominating, seductive appearance can easily make him stand out in the crowd. His unfathomable, green eyes that occasionally turns yellow contrast exceptionally with his dark toned face. His eyes as deep and expressive, where you could get lost if you stared long enough. His face always has that faraway look in it, which cannot be described in words.
His smile, which reaches up to his eyes and wrinkles them, liquid-green pools of flashing fire yellows flaunted his modesty and the snarky devil appearance, he carries with pride . Often, in the past there were hints of pain in his sparkling eyes, which would disappear as suddenly as it emerged.
It looks like that never changed, he is still the devil himself.
Fuck he is beautiful. The devil definitely has the kind of face that can stop anyone in their tracks. I guess he must be so use to that by now , the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they look his way, followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze, and his luring weak smile.
"Blaze!" I say in a loud whisper even though I just want to yell at him to scream, I just want him to disappear.
I know I can't believe he still has this effect on me the same effect where I want to drown his smug ass in the nearest shallow fountain, and the same effect on me where I've actually kind of missed him... kind of.
"What are you doing here?" I try to ask calmly but knowing him he's here to bask in my horrible failures of choosing a mate tonight.
He stalks closer. Dressed in a Stuart Hugnes Diamond Edition suit, hands in his pockets.
His black hair gleams blue beneath the Shadow Court moon, though the light doesn't touch his eyes fringed by his dark lashes. They call him "Diablo the Beast", but there could be a Heaven's halo above his head, for as perfect as he looks standing here in front of me tonight.
Waves washes on the rocks nearby, but the sound isn't lonely, not with this man on the same side of the Bermuda Triangle. Those cartoon hearts clesced into one and burst from my chest. What can I say, after five years, he still makes me feel things, unwanted things, sexual things, it's not good or bad. It's fucking irritating. "I hate him, gods, How.I.Hate.This.Devil".
"Are you going to keep asking the same question every time you see me?" He grins.
"If you're somewhere you're not suppose to be, then yes, I think I will." I bark out, so damn frustrated with this evening.
"You actually enjoy this don't you little crow?"
My head snap up to him with that name he calls me...crow. "What?" I say quickly.
"Making people miserable." The asshole says proudly. "Since you're so good at it, I'm assuming I'm not the only victim."
~~~~Blaze: POV~~~~
Raven Cora, the witch who broke my heart and cursed me five years ago, keeps her calculating eyes on me for a beat, then I watch her walk past me slowly without a second look.
I thought I could do this tonight, but now actually being here, seeing her I'm shit scared I won't be able to control this hunger I have for her.
She has grown to be a pain in my ass, but she's always been some kind of an angel because she somehow shows up at the worst times and she never treated me like the Devil I was. When we dated she treated me like a normal man, in love, she cooked for me even though she's a lousy cook, she was my best friend. My father even the demons always said, I was like a different person when she was around.
We were just in the right place at the right time for each other. We were the same kind of people, had lived through the same terrible supernatural laws, had the same flaws, her being a witch, and well, me being the ruler of hell. We had both been the one begging someone else to love us in our previous relationships.
But that was then this is now, and I have a fucking job to do.
Suddenly grabbing the sides of her dress tightly she walks faster. "Everyone loves me thank you very much!" She huffs out in serious frustration. I smile at her anger towards me. Oh little crow, I knew by me being here, would upset you.
I have to laugh at that thought. She then turns to look at me and her frown deepens.
"Instead of sneaking up on me Blaze, you should've stayed with Chris, you know the woman you cheated on me with!"
"Always the innocent little witch!"
She stares daggers through me. She is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And angry, she's even hotter. A fire burns in her eyes, that same damn fire that I love so fucking much, that same fire I'm going to snuff out and her full lips glistens from all the licking , she can't help herself. I grin at the thought.
I don't want to stop this for anything. I want to lose all my energy on her. In more ways than one, I want her to consume me, ruin me, confine in me, fight me, hate me... I want her to love me!
So deep in though I haven't noticed Raven's closeness as she moves with a subtle anger towards me. She raises her hand and my head jerks to the side with the sting of her palm connecting my cheek.
I stand for a moment stunned.
She hit me! The damn witch slapped me with no emotion whatsoever on her gorgeous face!
In one sudden movement I drop the bottle in my hand and haul her up onto the nearby fountain. I don't know what I'm doing but It's out of my control. And for once I don't have a problem with that.
"Put me down, what the hell do you think you're doing you asshole?"
She meets my eyes not looking away for one second as her body squirms against mine.
I shouldn't be holding her like this. I shouldn't be crossing this line with her. But I have Raven in my arms for the first time in over five years. The more I look at her the more she let's me touch her, the more it drives me crazy.
"You fucked me up for five years!" I breathe out angrily.
"Good...Now put me the fuck down!" She yells back into my face.
~~~~Raven - POV~~~~
Until about ten seconds ago I was angry in a cool reasonable way. All of a sudden I am ready to wrestle Blaze, grab the broken bottle on the grass and slice his jugular. Just a tiny bit, just to make him bleed.
I won't... Because I don't think I'll flourish in Shadow Court jail.
"Are you going to behave little crow?" He asks with that deep voice of his ringing through my very being.
"Fuck you Demon! "I yell back at him.
His grip tightens as he presses me harder against the fountain, hot flushes flashes through my core as his breath Inches closer to my skin.
"Fine, fine I'll be calm." I huff out breathlessly. "Just put me down."
I start to relax as I feel him slowly lowering me back to the ground.
"That's a good girl."
"What were you planning to do anyways? Spank my ass?" I narrow my eyes, although Blaze Morningstar has a way of bringing out the witch in me. He really still does make my knees weak. But I'll never show him just how much his presence effects me.
"Don't give me any ideas now." He responds as his grin deepens.
"God you are so frustrating! "What do you want?" The anger in me returns as I think about how this night has turned out and now even worse, Blaze is sure to want something, I just know it. But what?
"Rumour in the Shadow Realm is you are in some sort of predicament." His lips twitch with the grin he's trying to hide.
Ahh what the hell, I don't have to sugar coat shit. Nothing can help my already strained situation.
"You heard wrong! I'm fucked Blaze. You also probably heard I need to choose a mate tonight?" Gods everybody must have heard by now?
I run a hand over my face pacing up and down.
Blaze observes me carefully, and then...
"You asked me why I'm here..."Well, I'm here to help you."
I snap my eyes back to him as he glares at me with that stupid dangerous grin. And the way he looks at me makes me feel a rush of sudden dread in my empty stomach.
"But it comes with a price." He casually says.
"Oh, this will be good. So the devil wants to make a deal? Go on, I'm listening."
Crossing my arms over my chest I cock an eyebrow. It's a stare off. Both of us too proud and stupid to walk away from this and both of us still feeling the brunt of five years ago, I'm sure. "If the Devil wants to play, I'll fucking play."
"I'll help you with your shit show little crow, but you need to remove this curse you gave me five years ago."
"No!" I say too quickly.
"Just hear me out!"
OH the Devil is getting mad, he sure as fuck doesn't like the word 'no', especially when it's said with the same anger matching his own.
"I.Said.No!" I say again. "You deserve that curse and I'm not taking it back!"
And knowing him he's going to loose his shit soon, so I continue before he interrupts me.
"That is what you wanted right? To be the big bad monster! Shit I shouldn't have said that, but it's out in the open now.
He looks at me with no emotion showing on his facial features, pathetic. I should've known he's only here to make my life a living hell.
Not entertaining this asshole any longer I make my way past him, again. And as soon as I'm a few feet away with my back to him, he rasp out.
"Bullshit!"
"Is that what you think?"
He grabs my wrist and spins me around, I didn't even hear him stalking me from behind then he grasps my face moving his hands to the curves of my cheeks.
"Don't think I'll not destroy you after our history." His hot breath falls onto my lips. "I'm not the one with the memory problem. "You think I'm happy? You think this is what I want?"
My chest heaves up and down and my heart starts to beat viciously in my chest. With him standing so close, I'm afraid it's drumming so hard, so loud, Blaze can hearing it too.
"I'm miserable Raven" His nose skims my bottom lip gently and I blink a few times. "And to finally see you after all these years and to see you like this. I don't even recognize you!"
I swallow hard, fuck him, I know what he's trying to do.
"You never even gave me a chance!" I say angrily.
I want him to take his hand of my cheek and I want him to take a step back, but he doesn't, he only matches my rage but in a cool collected way still raising his voice though. "How the hell could I have known that Raven, when you don't fucking talk to me, you never in five years once spoken to me!"
"Shouting at me won't persuade me to talk to you!" I yell back.
"His lower lip trails temptingly along my ear bone. "Then talk to me little crow, talk to me now" He whispers dangerously.
I'm silent feeling the energy between us shift, like a serpent circling back on itself, swallowing itself whole. Anger, hate, and passion feeding off one another.
"I.. I'm dying Blaze." I whisper back to him. My head falls slightly as I try and fight the all consuming tears that's threatening to fall.
"What?' He breathes out with a concerning tone.
I take a few steps back struggling to meet his gaze, so I keep focussing on the ground.
"If I don't choose a mate tonight and start the mating process I'm not going to live past two years."
"Oh my little crow."
"I'm sorry Blaze, I need to go...."
I turn and as I'm just about to walk away he stops me in my tracks.
"Choose me Raven. "Choose me as your mate."
Is he out of his damn mind? "What?" I snort, turning around to meet his gaze.
"Why on human earth would I ever choose you Blaze? I hate you!"
"The feeling is mutual sweetheart, but supernatural laws is forcing me to also choose a mate tonight."
I burst out laughing.
"Seriously Raven?" He threateningly retorts.
"What are you trying to do here Blaze? Because in all the ways this plays out in my mind, it all ends up horribly wrong. For you, for me... This is not going to work!"
"As far as I know you are more desperate than what I am, if you take me as your mate it will keep the Shadow Court's Rulers of magic off our backs for a while." He takes a second before he continues. "I see no other way unless you already have a mate in mind."
Shit, this does sound tempting, it could actually work, I don't have to choose Michael or Alatar. So anything at this point just to get me out of this mess sounds amazing. I think long and hard.
"Okay Demon I'm in" I say with a smile.
His grin deepens to the extend that it's making me regret this already.
" Really, just like that?"
I swallow my concern nonetheless. "I am desperate here Blaze, you have not seen the terrible suiters they paired me up with."
"If we do this you need to remove this damn curse!"
I look at him for one long, hard moment narrowing my eyes.
"Fine! You win! If we pull this off I'll remove the stupid curse!"