Chapter 1 BOOK ONE: Chapter 0001
•RAVEN•
"A long time ago—" My mother paused and coughed. I placed a damp cloth on her forehead to ease her fever. "Werewolves and vampires lived together in harmony until Vesper brought calamity between the two communities. He wanted to be in control of the sun and moon, but for punishment, he received a curse of immortality. To roam around the earth endlessly, losing everything and everyone he loved."
"But Mom, how is it a curse when he gets to live forever?" I asked, leaning closer to her on the small bed. "I would be happy if I lived forever."
"What joy would that be when you watch everyone you love grow old and die, Raven?" she asked, placing her shaky hand on mine. "There are rumors that Vesper is still trying to find someone who will break the curse, so he will die."
"Oh," I sighed. "How old is he now, Mom?"
"Three thousand years old," she answered, coughing. It always broke my heart when she did. Her coughs were dry, and sometimes her mucus came out with bloodstains.
"It's okay, Mom. You can tell me the entire story tomorrow again," I said as I patted her chest, trying to ease her pain. "You should rest."
"Thank you, sweetheart." She leaned her head and kissed my forehead.
Though we were in the housekeeper's room, I felt better knowing she was right there with me.
"I love you, Raven, I always will," she muttered. "Don't forget that."
"I love you too, Mama."
And I slept again that night, with my hand around her waist, praying to the moon that my father's heart would finally soften and take her to the hospital.
I usually woke up around 5 a.m. when I heard the housekeepers cleaning the hallway.
I went to the bathroom and prepared a bucket of warm water to wash and massage my mother's swollen feet.
But that morning, she didn't wake up like she usually did when she heard me running the water in the geyser in the bathroom.
She was still sleeping when I walked back to the bedroom. I placed the bucket next to the bed and dumped the towel inside before I placed it on her feet.
I expected her to groan or scold me for waking her up, but she didn't. I sat on the stool and massaged her feet while humming the song she liked.
"Mom, do you think Dad will take you to the hospital this time?" I sighed, getting up from the chair and leaning toward her. "We've been good for the past four days and haven't caused trouble for him. Surely he has forgiven us now."
She didn't respond.
"It's okay, Mom. I will speak to him as his daughter," I continued as I sat beside her. "He might listen to me this time and help you."
I froze when I placed my hand on top of hers and realized it was cold. She didn't even move. For a moment, everything was still, and my heartbeat slowed.
I tilted her head and screamed when I saw her eyes wide open with dried blood on the corners and on her nose.
My heart raced, and I felt the walls closing in on me. I was ten years old and understood very well what had happened to her.
"Miss Raven," Alora's voice came from the door. "What's wrong?" She closed the door behind her and leaned toward me.
I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. My tongue was tied to the roof of my mouth. My throat tightened and burned when I tried to say something to her.
"What's the noise about?" My father's voice boomed as he entered the room. I tilted my head and watched as he walked in with a woman by his side.
"It's Mrs. Hale, sir," Alora said as she turned and looked at them as they walked in. "I'm sorry, but she's—" Alora paused and looked at me, probably trying to protect me from hearing something I already knew.
"You can say it in front of her," my father frowned. "Raven is a grown woman now. She even has the nerve to challenge me. She thinks she can tell me how I should spend my money."
"What crime did I commit by asking you to save my mother?" I sobbed, turning fully to him. "She was in the last stage of stomach cancer because she saved you, Papa. Have you forgotten?" A tear rolled down my cheek.
"What do you know, brat?" he sneered. "You're only ten and know nothing about your mother and me. She deserved this."
My stomach dropped. How could she have deserved to die when she donated her kidney to him two years ago, though they strictly told her the risks, but still went ahead with the procedure because she wanted to save my father?
She would be alive if that procedure never happened, and my father found another donor.
"Why didn't you save her, Papa?" I cried. "Wasn't she your wife?"
"You're a stupid child," he sneered as he leaned closer and slapped me in the face. I landed with a loud thud on the floor.
Alora knelt beside me and wrapped her arms around me, comforting me.
"I will call 911 for her body to be taken to the mortuary," the woman beside my father said. "Don't worry, darling, I will handle the funeral plans."
"Oh, Valerie," my father's voice softened. "You're so kind. I am a lucky man to have a woman like you by my side."
"Don't worry about it, love," she giggled as I leaned back from Alora and looked at them. "And oh, sweet little Raven," she said as she stepped forward. "You and I will get along just fine. From henceforth, I will be your new mother."
"You will never be my mother," I hissed.
"She's an ungrateful, spoiled brat," my father commented. "Don't mind her."
"Well, she should be locked up in the basement so she would think about her choice of words," Valerie scoffed. "Arthur, come and take her away!" She commanded our security guard, who instantly walked in and grabbed me with one swift move.
"Father, please!" I begged, crying. "I am your daughter. Why are you treating me like this?"
"My daughter is the one Valerie is carrying," he replied. "You're nothing but a burden, Raven."
"She will be there for two days until her mother's funeral is over," Valerie said as Arthur stopped at the door and turned to her. "If anyone opens the door for her before I give the instruction, they will lose their jobs. I hope I'm clear."
"Yes, ma'am," Arthur and Alora said in unison before Arthur took me to the basement and locked me there.
