Acceptance

"But we cannot simply sit and stare at our wounds forever" - Haruki Murakami

Raven's POV

I woke up alone, confused as to where Micah was
And why my chest ached without him beside me
"Micah?" I questioned, sitting up, he was by the window, before he turned and smiled at me
"I was just looking at the weather, well... whatever they call weather out there" he chuckled

I looked him up and down, stood only in his underwear
His hard chest and his big arms...
"Raven?" He questioned, I looked up at him
"Are you listening?" He asked
"I... no" I said honestly

He smiled again, nearing me before sitting on the edge of the bed
"I thought we could go out, let your wolf out again" he suggested
"Will it hurt?" I asked

"I'm not sure, maybe. Like I said before, it's strange to turn so late in life" he said
"When did you turn?" I asked
"14. Hurt like a bitch" he laughed, reminiscing
"Layla always used to question me about it, I won't see what kind of wolf she has now though" he sighed, lying back

"You miss her" I said simply, unsure how to comfort him
"A lot. A sibling is for life isn't it?" He smiled to himself

"I wouldn't know" I shrugged
He looked at me
"You have Sin, even Toby, I know they can be... hard work sometimes, but they're good guys" he said

"I know. I guess I didn't really have a lot of time to get to know them" I said
More Sin than anyone
I had spoke with Alexander, I thought we had come to some sort of understanding
Coming to terms with feeling wanted
Having a father who actually did care about me

But Sin. I never really let him in.
Or Blossom. And deep down she wasn't that bad
"Yeah... death kind of sucks" he chuckled
"Yeah" I mumbled, fumbling with my hands

"Do you want to then? Go out?" He asked
"Sure" I nodded. What else was there to do trapped in here?

•

"This is... crazy" I said
"You can't just... shift?" He asked confused
"No. I don't know how to. It just... came out" I said
It reminded me of when we tried to get Sin's demon out

And the only way I could think of was hurting Blossom, triggering a response
But I couldn't very well hurt Micah and trigger myself
My body physically wouldn't let me hurt him.

He sat down, thinking
"Do I... put myself in danger?" He suggested
"No" I said immediately, earning his eyes
"Just... no" I said
"Something else. Anything else" I said instead

"Come and sit with me" he said
"Why?" I asked, sitting down confused
"I think maybe you need to connect with your wolf, so... let her in to your head, feel what she feels and listen to her, then you can embrace her more" he explained

"Right... okay" I said, sitting for a moment
"How?" I asked, lost
He took my hands in his, setting my skin on fire
"Just look at me, feel me. Listen to what she tells you" he said

Mate

"I don't think I should" I muttered
"Why?" He asked
"Because all she talks about is mating" I grumbled
"Oh" he said, suddenly nervous
Kiss him

Why can't I shift?
Why can't I tap into her when all she does now is run around my head constantly talking about Micah?
"Maybe you're just not connected enough with her" he said
"Yeah... maybe" I sighed

"How do I connect with her though?" I thought aloud
Micah shrugged, looking down at our hands
"I don't know, I've always had my wolf in my head. It's strange to think of having... peace" he chuckled

His laugh was... sweet
"The only way I can suggest making her stronger is to make us stronger. But... well I know that isn't exactly plausible right now" he said awkwardly

I sighed
"Isn't it?" I relented
Sooner or later I know and he knows that we'll have to accept each other
I just couldn't bring myself to make such a commitment
To be completely tied to someone?

When I was so used to being alone
It was a terrifying notion
"I can't reject you... I know you won't reject me" I shrugged

"How do you know that?" He tried to argue, taking his hands from mine, crossing his arms
I looked at him, is he serious?

"Because you practically drool every night I undress in front of you" I said
What seemed to be a blush formed on his cheeks as he looked away from me
"Exactly. You want to reject me? Do it" I dared

"Micah?" I said, trying to catch his eyes
Which I finally did
"Do it" I said

He slowly shook his head, choosing not to speak
"Right. So then... how do we... do this?" I said confused
I didn't know how wolves bonded

How they accepted each other
I was completely clueless in this area. And yet Micah was strolling around clueless in purgatory
And all he was worried about was... me

"Do this" he echoed
"Accept each other" I said in an obvious tone

Micah's POV

My heart all but burst out of my chest at her words
Accept each other
Accept her

Accept her now
I took a breath
"We, we say it. To each other" I said, she still looked lost in those beautiful blue eyes
I couldn't love any other colour more

"I, Micah Ambrose, accept you, Raven Lawrence as my mate" I said
It felt so good to finally say it
To tell her and show her how much I desperately want her
How much I need her

How much I ached to hold her
"Right... uh. I, Raven Lawrence, accept you... Micah Ambrose as my mate" she said unsure
I smiled
We were bonded. Not in the ways that cemented us but it was a step further
It was hope

Hope that she would like me just as much as I like her
As much as I adore her

"Is something supposed to happen?" She asked
"No, but it will bind us stronger than before, you'll hear my wolf a lot clearer now. We'll only be fully bonded when we... when we mark each other" I explained

She nodded, seemingly thinking to herself
"Raven" I said, she looked up
Those beautiful blues making me nervous

"Why didn't you... kill me? I mean... your mom doesn't seem to like me at all. You're a demon too, you could probably deal with my death a lot better than I ever could with yours" I said nervously

"Micah" she sighed
"I don't know... I just... I like to look at things logically. Not emotionally" she shrugged
"And from a logical standpoint, killing you would do more damage to me than if I just kept you around" she said

My heart stung slightly
"Kept me around" I echoed
"I mean... I don't know. Alive. With me I guess" she mumbled

"I'm not planning to take over your entire life you know" I chuckled
"Mates still have space, their own lives... they just... protect each other too, love each other" he explained

"Love?" She laughed
"I don't think we're anywhere near love pup" she laughed
Pup?
Who's she calling pup?

Stop it
Show her! Show her how much of a fucking pup we are!
I tried to calm my head. And my wolf
He was so fucking aggressive when she made comments like that
He wanted us to dominate her
And yet I loved how she dominated every room. Every person she met

She was a fucking storm
She wasn't to be messed with.

"What?" She asked, as I hadn't said anything

"Nothing, you're just really pretty" I said
She looked away from me.
It gave me confidence, knowing I actually affected her in the same way she affected me
But was it the same?

She could have me on my knees to her if she asked it
If she demanded it
I'd do anything for her
She's my mate. I'd have clipped my wings off as soon as the guard told me to

Because that's what mates were
We were meant to be
We were paired because somewhere... somehow, we fit together. Perfectly.

"You try and flatter me too much" she said, standing up
"Because I don't think many people flatter you at home" I said honestly
"Oh, you think I'm not attractive enough?" She asked
"That's not what I said" I argued, pulling her back to me as I also stood up
"I just don't think anyone has appreciated you the way you deserve" I said

She stared at me. Seemingly speechless
"Micah..."
"Yes?" I asked

She hesitated, before she took a step back, snapping out of our moment
"I had plenty of attention thank you very much" she said determined, walking back to the house

"Oh yeah? Like who?" I asked, entertaining her
"Loads of demons" she brushed off
"Any as cute as me?" I asked, catching up to her
She rolled her eyes
"Way more handsome" she threw back

"Oh really?" I laughed
"What? You must have had attention at your... pack" she said casually
Ah. So she wanted to know about me
"No, None" I said

Which was partially a lie
I had a few girls over the years that were interested in me
None I was interested back in
I knew my mate was out there somewhere
And just look at her

Gorgeous. Smart, talented.
Fiery
"Liar" she said over her shoulder
"I'm not" I stood strong
"I know when you're lying" she said
"How?"

"Because you have that cockiness in your voice" she determined, stopping as she turned to me
I stopped quickly, near to crashing into her
"When you tell the truth, you're nervous, embarrassed, your cheeks turn red and you look at me like that" she said, pointing to my face

"Like what?" I asked, caught off guard
"Like a lovesick puppy" she smiled, thinking she won
"Fine" I said, stepping forward, causing her to step back, her back hitting the cottage door
"I had a bit of attention. But I never looked any ones way, ever. You know why?" I asked, putting my arm up beside her

She just looked up at me, lost
"Because I knew you were out there somewhere, and I knew no girl in the entire world could even compare to you" I admitted, leaning close

"To me" she repeated quietly, looking back and forth between my eyes
I nodded
"Nobody is like you Raven. Nobody at all" I said quietly

She was quiet. Too quiet that I was scared I overstepped a line
But then her hands grasped my neck and her lips crashed against mine
Only flooding all my senses with her

With her sweet scent
Her soft hair
Her plump lips
Her dainty little fucking hands holding onto me
She was a dream

A complete and utter dream I never wanted to wake up from.

Vote and Comment
Thoughts???

•