Page 56 of Raven

"You have your classes, I have mine. We both have plans, and I thought ..."

"That you'd just kill our child and not tell me?" I cut in. The very idea of it made my panther howl inside , a primal cry of loss for something that hadn't even happened.

She bit her lip, eyes shimmering with fresh tears. "It's not that simple," she whispered. "You have a life, and I didn't want to ruin it. You can't even tell your mother about me. How is this going to go down?"

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration and fear warring inside me. "Dammit, Tia, this isn't just about you or me anymore. This is our child we're talking about." I took a deep breath, trying to calm. "I know it's scary. Hell, I'm terrified too. But we're in this together. You don't get to make that kind of decision without me."

Tia's shoulders slumped, and the guilt and uncertainty rolled off her. My anger softened, replaced by a fierce protectiveness. I closed the distance between us, gently cupping her face in my hands.

"Listen to me," I said. "I love you. Both of you. Whatever comes next, whatever we have to face—your family, my mother, Society—we face it together. You hear me? Together."

She nodded, leaning into my touch. I pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her as she buried her face in my chest. "You really believe we can do this?" Her voice was muffled against my shirt, but I could hear the mix of hope and fear in her words.

I nodded, my chin brushing the top of her head. "Yes." The word came out firm, more confident than I actually felt, but I needed her to believe it as much as I did. My panther rumbledin agreement, a low vibration in my chest. "We'll go and talk to Malcolm. Ask him for a mating. We'll go there first."

She pulled back a little, her eyes searching mine. "When?"

I didn't hesitate. "Now is as good a time as any."

"Right now? Just like that?"

I cupped her face in my hands, my thumbs gently wiping away the remnants of her tears. "Just like that," I confirmed. "No more waiting, no more letting others decide for us. This is our life, our family. We make the choices now."

TWENTY-FOUR

Malcolm's place was a farmhouse nestled in the heart of Society land, just across the river. We were still within our curfew time, so there was no need to skulk in the shadows. The reason for our visit was unconventional—I didn't have a pack. Normally, this kind of thing would've been handled by my alpha. I'd have approached them, asked for the mating, and it would've been processed through all the proper channels.

Technically, I was teetering on the edge of being a stray, but my mother and I danced on that edge due to the absence of panthers in the area. We had no choice but to fend for ourselves.

Tia and I caught the bus. It crossed the river but fell short of Malcolm's place, branching off and terminating at a roundabout about a mile back. The walk didn't faze us. If anything, we felt safer treading Society land, where the chances of encountering a Human were practically non-existent.

Malcolm's estate loomed at the end of a long, winding driveway. I wasn't certain if the drive belonged to him or if it was simply a lane leading to his property. A farm flanked one side, likely human-owned.

As his house came into view, its windows glowing like warm beacons in the encroaching darkness, Tia suddenly yanked me back. "What if he says no?"

I halted, squeezing her hand reassuringly. My panther was doing backflips, a mixture of anticipation and nerves. "Then we'll figure it out. Malcolm's fair. He'll hear us out." At least, I hoped he would. I cast a glance back along the path, the imposing structure of the house seeming to loom over us.

It struck me then how much this place had been a constant in my life, a surrogate for the pack structure I'd never truly known. Malcolm had always been there for me, a guiding presence in the absence of not just an alpha, but a father too.

"Whatever happens, we're in this together. Remember that," I said.

She nodded, a small smile playing on her lips despite her obvious nervousness. "Together."

We reached the door, and I knocked, my heart thundering in my chest as we stepped back. It didn't take long for the hall light inside to flicker on, followed by the creak of the opening door. Malcolm raised an eyebrow at me, his gaze sweeping across both of us with laser-like intensity. "Is everything okay?" he asked, his voice betraying nothing.

I straightened my shoulders, feigning a confidence I desperately wanted to feel, and met his gaze head-on. "Can we talk to you about something? I know it's late, it's just ... It's really important."

He sized us up for a moment, his eyes flicking between our faces and our clasped hands. Then, with a nod that seemed to carry the weight of the world, he stepped back to let us in.

I'd been in the house before, but every time it struck me how alive it felt. The place breathed with an energy all its own. It was warm, welcoming, and felt like an extension of Malcolm himself. But then, Malcolm had a family—a wife, his son Stephen, and histwo daughters, Gemma and Evie. Walking in, you could almost feel their presence lingering in the air. This was a family home, and it pulsed with life and love.

It was Gemma we saw first. She was a little younger than me, emerging from the kitchen in just a tank top and shorts, her feet bare against the worn wooden floors. She smiled when she spotted us, curiosity radiating off her in waves.

"Hey, everything okay?" she asked, her voice light but her eyes searching.

I nodded, trying to keep my voice steady. "Yeah. I just need to chat with your father." I didn't mean to be dismissive, but she didn't take it that way.

Malcolm turned to his daughter. "Tell your mother I have someone in the office and I'll be back in a moment. She's in her shed." With that, he ushered us into his room.

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