Becoming Raven

Prologue

I know that I'm dreaming but why is my heart beating so much? Why does it feel like it's going to explode out of my chest if I don't stop running?

All I know is that I can't turn around. I am sprinting without knowing. Who is he? The one running behind me? Chasing me? I can't stop running, no matter how much it hurts from taking another step or how my lungs are screaming. I keep running until I am stopped by a dead end. A cliff that separates me from the possibility of death if I were to jump. I turned around, hoping that I managed to outrun him but he's already there - blocking me from escaping. My shallow breaths come into short spurts of air, panicking. I can barely make out the brown hair that was windswept from his face, the face that was far too blurry to make out, but as soon as I hear his voice, I know that I am trapped. Shackled to him.

"You can't hide anymore, Raven, you're one of us. Without us, you won't be able to hide much longer in this world. Come back, please." The stranger begs and for some reason, I feel compelled to stand by his side. I don't want to move, but my body argues otherwise. Reluctantly, I begin to move toward the familiar stranger, stopping a foot away from where he's standing.

Before I can say or do anything, the stranger pulls me into an embrace, why do I let him? I don't even know him. My body moves on its own against my protests, burying my head into his chest as I inhale his scent - pine sap and lavender blooming in the spring with hints of mint. Our bodies fit together like the two last pieces of a puzzle - a puzzle with no picture - and he rests his stubbled chin on top of my head while my fingers work towards the back of his shirt until I am grasping onto it in an urgency that I cannot comprehend alone.

My mind starts to race because for some reason his scent makes it hard for me to think. All I know at that moment is that I need him.

With my head pressed up against his chest, I hear his heart beating rapidly. As I listen to the rhythmic heartbeats I begin to feel a light rubbing sensation against the back of my ear, just under my earlobe. My breath hitches from his soft touch, sighing in pleasure. His warm fingers begin to move through my hair until he's practically massaging my scalp.

My heart stops - my mother used to do the same to me as a child before she... .

This time I regained control. Jumping away from his touch, I remember that this is a stranger. Still, my skin begs for his touch, already addicted for more. Forcing myself to stay in check, I cross my arms over my chest.

This isn't me. This isn't real.

"Who are you?" I ask, tense with raw fear. He tilts his head to the right like a dog would in confusion. Like I should remember who he is when I don't.

"Raven, it's me-" but before he could tell me his name, a voice pulls me out from my dream and the strange man fades into nothing.