Page 54 of Raven

"Raven McCullough?" the man said. He was about ten years older than me, sporting blonde hair and a thick beard. Leather jacket, jeans, and boots. He wasn't as tall as me, but over six foot at least. Bright green eyes, and I could see, and feel the panther within him. One of Tia's brothers.

"Can I help you?" I asked, keeping my voice level despite the adrenaline surging through me.

"Not really. I'm here to talk, and you're here to listen." He tried to step into my flat, using his large presence to naturally push me back, but I didn't move. The space between us closed to almost nothing, but I wasn't stepping back, and I wasn't letting him in. This was a game. Me moving back would be submission against his proclaimed dominance, and I was not having that. This was my home, and I didn't care if he was Tia's brother, father, or the alpha of her pack. He was not coming in and not pushing me around.

He let out a soft growl and smirked. This was just a play on positions. I swear, did everyone have to play the who-has-the-biggest-dick game? My panther wanted to come out and play, though.

"What is it that you want to talk about? I have somewhere to be." I gritted out.

He exhaled, his breath hot with barely contained rage. "I'm here to tell you to keep the fuck away from my sister. You andher." He wagged a finger at me, raising his brow and shaking his head. "Is not fucking happening."

My panther stirred within me, a low growl rumbling in my chest. He didn't give a shit what this man said. "I think Tia and I are both old enough to decide what we do or don't want," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "It's not for you to say."

Her brother took a step back then, folding his arms over his chest. It wasn't submission; it was a predator sizing up its prey. His eyes raked over me, cold and calculating. "As her brother, it is very much for me to say. You are to stay away from her. I won't ask this more than once. In fact, I'm not even asking you, I'm telling you. You. Stay. Away."

I opened my mouth to argue, but he raised a hand, silencing me with a look that could freeze hell itself. "Whatever you want to say, it doesn't matter. You're lucky it's just me here and not the rest of us, because believe me, there was a fight for us to come here and talk to you today. I told them I'd come and talk some sense into you. So, if you know what's good for you, you'll walk away from Tia, and forget you ever knew her. Do you understand me?"

My blood boiled, and before I could stop myself, I snarled, "Are the bruises on Tia's neck also you guys talking sense into her?"

His eyes narrowed to slits, a muscle twitching in his jaw. I was pushing him, dancing on the edge of a knife, but I didn't care. Tia and I could take this guy on. Even if he was stronger and higher up the ladder than I was, I wasn't afraid. Fear had no place here.

"That is family business," he growled.

"I'm not going to walk away from her," I said, standing my ground. My panther paced beneath my skin, itching for a fight. "She has to tell me that herself. Not some bully who happens to be related to her."

His top lip peeled back in a snarl, revealing teeth that seemed too sharp for a human mouth. "You think because you got her pregnant, you have a say in this?" Something must have flashed across my face, because his expression shifted to one of smug satisfaction. "Oh, yeah. She told us. No secrets in our house."

The words hit me, but I refused to back down. "I have a right to be in my child's life," I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.

"Then you have the right to know that Tia is already pinned down to be mated to someone else," he snarled, his words like ice down my spine. "She's only here for her studies and nothing else. Any fling she has, is just that, a fling. She knows this." His eyes glittered with malice. "She has someone back home, and when she's finished with her studies and she graduates, home is where she's coming back to. And you and her, all of this ..." He flicked his wrist dismissively, as if swatting away an annoying fly. "It'll just be something she did one year. And I don't give a shit if you're going to start proclaiming that she's carrying your child. You will not be the father. She has a mate, and he will do what is needed for the child. That child is nothing to you."

I ground my jaw, the taste of fury bitter on my tongue. My eyes bored into his, unflinching. "That is my child she's carrying," I growled, each word a challenge.

"No, it is Tia's," he spat, moving towards me again. This time, he meant it as a show of dominance. And no, I did not move back. Not an inch. Because I was not backing down. "You will stay away from her. I don't know what you two think you have going on, but?—"

"And what does Tia think of all this?" I cut in. "Does she even get a say in what she wants?"

That smirk again, oily and smug. "Tia does as she's told. This is not up for debate. So, get all the stupid ideas and plans out of your head." He tapped me on the forehead with that, and Iclenched my fists, every muscle in my body coiled tight, ready to snap. "You walk away."

"And if I don't?"

His eyes flared, a predatory gleam lighting them from within. I felt the excitement coming off him. It was excitement, big and bold, and it wanted me to fight. That's what he wanted. He wanted a fight, and he wanted me to attack, because this man standing in front of me was a bully. I wasn't giving him that kind of satisfaction.

"Then I'm not so sure I'll be so accommodating," he purred, the threat clear in every syllable. "You stay away."

TWENTY-THREE

I was meant to go out and look for my mother, head to the underground to see if she was there, but Tia's brother had totally thrown me. When he left, I shut the door to the flat and just stood there, frozen. My blood pumped through my body like liquid fire, scorching every single vein. I clenched my fists so tight my knuckles turned white, nails biting into my palms.

"Mated ..." The word tasted bitter.

No. I didn't believe it, and my panther sure as hell didn't either. Tia would have said something, she'd have told me ... wouldn't she? But maybe she wouldn't. How the fuck was I meant to put this into any kind of logic?

I heaved in a ragged breath, my chest tight with anxiety. She'd just be finishing her class now. I had to ask her what the hell this was all about, had to see the truth in her eyes.

I stalked back to my room, snatching up my smaller bag with the joggers in it and strapped it across my body. It was Wednesday, which meant Tia was in her stats class, way over on the west part of campus. Might as well have been on the fucking moon. It'd take a good twenty minutes just to get across campus on foot, and I didn't have it in me to wait. Every second felt like an eternity.

I burst out of my building, the cool air doing nothing to calm the inferno raging inside me. My feet carried me to the woodland area of the nearby park almost on autopilot. I didn't even think about it, just let my panther take control. I shifted there, my bones cracking and reforming as fur rippled across my skin. If I hadn't let him out voluntarily, I think he'd have forced the shift anyway. He was as desperate for answers as I was.

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