I woke up flying off my bed, beads of sweat running down my face, my heart pumping out of my chest. I turn to see Blaze is not in bed next to me, but a tall man, handsome, oh very handsome, and very muscular is laying there half naked instead, begging me to come back to bed.
"Come back to bed Raven, I need you next to me." He said, his eyes filled with lust and fire, as his long black hair lay on the bed behind him, his vibrant yellow eyes burning a hole in my chest.
I turned to run out of my room, but very quickly stopped when I realized I was in fact not in my room. But in this dark, smokey place. I looked around, why did this place feel so familiar? Why did I feel like this is where I belonged. I was still standing in the doorway when the man from the bed walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I leaned back into him. It felt like heaven being in his arms.
I turned around looking him in his eyes, and questioned,
"Who are you? Where am I?" He looked at me and laughed.
"Home, Raven my love. You are finally home. With me. I am Arawn your one true destiny." I looked up into his eyes lovingly for a moment lost in them completely, then the smell of sulfur invaded my nose. I turned around and looked out over my new home and saw nothing, but black smoke and fire, everywhere.
I turned back to Arawn, and my senses kicked in. I slowly started to back away from him, screaming,
"NO! I am not supposed to be here, I love Blaze, I need him. Not you!!!" As I turned to run away from him.
"Raven!! Raven, wake up! You're having a nightmare." I faintly heard Blaze screaming for me. The man in the bed reached out and grabbed my arm, telling me not to go. That we would be great together.
Blaze shook and shook me. But I wouldn't wake up, so he did the only thing he could think do to wake me up. He bit me. Hard. I flew out of bed; I was pinned up against the ceiling of my room, breathing hard and sweating bullets. Wide eyed I looked around and saw that I was in my own room and slowly started to sink back to the floor.
Sitting in the corner of my room on the floor, trying to regain my composure, Blaze walked up and wrapped his arms around me, he knew what the dream was, he saw it all in my head. But what he didn't see, what I couldn't bring myself to show him was the handprint burned into my forearm. I pulled my sleeve down, stood up and pushed him back on the bed, kissing him hard. When we were interrupted by Roe, walking into my room, right through all the wards we put up last night.
Wake up love birds, let's get your last training session started. I turned and looked at the clock, it was 4am, even my mother wasn't up at this ungodly hour. I rolled off of Blaze and looked her dead in her eyes.
"Are you completely insane?" I asked her. "My mother is going to hear you. And how did you walk through the wards I placed, exactly?"
Well first can't wake up your mom, it's not possible, she's not even home. I sort of, maybe hexed her into staying away for the next 3 days. And the wards you placed were for noise and to keep people from seeing in, not a protection one, now if you will kindly uncloak Blaze and let's get the day started already."
I just shook my head and muttered something very un-lady like under my breath as she started to walk down the stairs, Roe yelled back,
"I heard that miss thang now get your booty to the basement. I have a surprise for you."
I looked back at Blaze, and we started laughing really hard,
"I need to get changed into something I can move better in than this." I said pointing at my jeans and t shirt from yesterday.
"Well, go on then, I am not going to stop you." Blaze said licking his lips. I turned probably six different shades of red as he eyeballed me waiting for me to strip. So, I said screw it. I grabbed my yoga pants and a t-shirt out of my dresser and pulled off yesterday's outfit, standing in the middle of my room in my black lace bra and panty set. I heard Blaze get up off the bed and start walking toward where I was standing, then I heard a sharp intake of breath, and he was gone.
I spun around and he was just gone. Shrugging my shoulders, I thought well, damn if that doesn't speak volumes about how attractive I am. My heart breaking a little bit as I pulled on some baggy sweats and a tank top, putting my yoga pants and t-shirt back.
And just like that he was back. Fully changed and standing in my doorway. I pushed past him hard and thought to myself, well if you didn't want to see me half naked you could have said so, the fire in belly starting to burn as he reached out grabbing my arm and pushing me up against the wall in the hallway.
"Damn, Raven. I had to get out of that room before I ripped that sexy underwear off you and did ungodly things to you. Besides, I needed to change to. This super speed has its perks ya know." Blushing from head to toe, I reached up and kissed the tip of his nose, and started to turn and walk away when he grabbed me again. But this time he was staring at my arm. Shit, I thought to myself, I was so angry I forgot about Arawn parting gift.
"What happened!!!" Blaze boomed, his fangs starting to descend and his eyes flashing red. The heat radiating out of him was intense and he started growling. It was a low growl at first, but it got louder and louder. Then, just as he was reaching out for me, Darius ran up the stairs pushing Blaze hard into the wall holding him there.
"Run Raven!" Darius screamed at me. "He is going into a blood rage; he won't even be aware of his surroundings, and you may get hurt." I took off down to the basement where Roe started throwing up protection spells, she walked up to me and began to speak but looked down and saw my arm. She looked up at my face, with a puzzled look and then she grabbed my arm, the one Arawn burned and held her hand over the top of it, muttering a healing spell over and over. But the mark wouldn't budge. She tried four or five different spells, but nothing was making that mark go away. All the spells did was make it tingle. It was a strange sensation.
"Darius, we have a problem!" Roe whispered. I wonder why she said it so quiet he was 2 floors above us and there was no way he heard that. But a few seconds later, Darius and a much more relaxed, Blaze walked into the basement. Blaze came right up to me wrapping his arm around me, nuzzled my neck and apologized. I just shook my head and told him there was no need. Darius then proceeded to grab my arm and inspect it. He looked back and Roe and agreed that we did in fact have a problem.
"How did you hear her? She barely spoke above a whisper. "And what do you mean a problem?" I asked.
"Well," Roe said slowly, trying to figure out how to say what she was about too.
"Oh, um, ok. So, Darius can hear me because he is my soul mark. And as for the..."
"Wait a minute, you can't just glaze over that. You two are mated? But he's so much older than you are?" I said.
"Hey, now! I am only 7 months older than her, thank you!" Darius said.
I looked from Roe to Darius and back again. I have so many questions, I thought. But Blaze beat me to it.
"Um, so, I thought only elementals had soul marks?" He stated.
"Well, no. All witches, warlocks, vampires, and werewolves have soul marks. Many centuries ago, you were only fated to your own breed. Witches to warlocks, vampires to vampires, you get my point. But then the demons decided that they wanted some power themselves and started stealing other's mates. Which is when the gods above decided that there would be only four all powerful witches. The made the elementals female so their mates could be vampires and werewolves, so they were a stronger force. So, now all witches and other supernatural beings have one fated mate. You can reject your fated mate, but it will cause severe pain and anguish. Especially if they get the luck of a second chance mate. The only mates that can't reject their mates are the Elementals. Their mates are chosen for their overall strength and power." Darius explained.
I must have looked like a deer in the headlights as I was trying to absorb this new information. How many, witches, warlocks, vampires and other supes were there in the world. Odd. I never noticed before they must be amazing at shielding their true nature.
"Anyway, you were saying?" I said, motioning for Roe to continue.
"Yea, anyway. The mark on your arm, where did it come from?" Roe questioned.
"I had a dream, well more like a nightmare about Arawn, last night we were in his bed together in hell and well, the details are not important. But as I ran screaming away, he grabbed my arm, and I woke up with this." I said looking at Blaze who just nodded his head.
"In your dream, were you intimate?" Darius asked me.
"Not that it's any of your business, but no we weren't." I was shocked that he would ask me such an intrusive question. I mean it was just a dream.
He looked at Blaze to see if I was being honest, Blaze nodded his head that I was telling the truth. Darius started pacing up and down the little hall that leads to the bathroom, muttering something under his breath, for what seemed like forever. Before he looked at Roe and said,
"We need to call her." Roe looked at him and whipped out her phone.
"Call who? And why? What does this mean? Oh my god am I dying? You guys are seriously freaking me out?" I said, in a panic. I think he poisoned me, and I was dying. I started crying. When out of nowhere, this ball of light appeared in the middle of the room, followed by another one, then another. A small popping noise, followed by a bright flash and three people were standing in my basement.
It took me a minute for my eyes to adjust but the second they did I saw who these people were. And it was a huge shock to me. Standing in front of me were Addison's mother Grace, Nina's father Lincoln and Gabi's grandmother Tessa. What the fuck? How did I not know they were witches or supes. Or whatever, but what I really didn't expect was to hear the voice that came from behind me.
"So, we have an issue, don't we? Now, what have you done RJ?" I spun instantly on my heel and stood there mouth hanging open, eyes bulging out of my head because right there, right in front of me, standing not three feet from me was my mother!!