Beloved

Chapter 4

Alyona pushed open the door and smiled softly as she watched the snowflakes fall in the sky. She held her hand out and bit back a giggle when she felt some land on her nose and fingers. She needed to ground herself to deal with everything and being out in nature did that for her. She stood out in the silence for a few minutes before heading back inside before it got too cold for her.

As she was kneading dough, she felt pressure in her mind. She frowned in confusion then sighed when she realized it was someone trying to come through her mind link. She refused to open the link because she didn't have the energy to deal with that just now. She had to stay on task and that meant kneading the dough in front of her. The pressure came back and she sighed as she stopped kneading to focus on it. The pressure was pretty insistent as it tried to enter again. She closed her eyes and felt around the increasingly annoying pressure, trying to figure who would want to anything to do with her.

Gasping she took a step back and clamped her hand over her mouth as she rushed to the bathroom and threw up. Her stomach was in knots as she laid on the cold floor as she gasped, trying to get her lungs to allow air into them as well as get her body to quit shaking. She couldn't allow that person into her mind, there was no way, no matter how much he tried she couldn't allow it. It would change everything.

She slowly got to her knees then pulled herself up, rinsing out her mouth she headed back to the kitchen and went back to what she was doing. If she just ignored it, it would eventually go away, right? She just had to focus on what was in front of her and it would disappear if she ignored it long enough.

Taking the dough that was ready, she started making the pie crusts in the pans and went about making the pies that she needed to make. Just as she pulled the last pie out of the oven and sat it on the rack to cool, the door opened and she heard the footsteps enter.

Raven closed his eyes and laid his head on the back of the couch as he let out an exhausted sigh later that night. He felt Corey lay his head on his lap and smiled softly as some of his stress slipped away. "It will be okay, Raven," Corey whispered as he intertwined their fingers before settling their hands on his chest. "No matter what you have us."

"Thank you," Raven whispered back as he tried to force his body to relax.

"Глупый Медведь, тебя здесь быть не должно. Glupyy Medved', tebya zdes' byt' ne dolzhno. (Silly Bear, you aren't supposed to be here.)"

"Kitten," Raven whispered as he turned in circles finding himself in a field. Small arms wrapped around his stomach from behind and he touched the small hands with a soft smile. "Kitten."

"Мне это было нужно. Mne eto bylo nuzhno. (I needed this.)" she whispered into his back.

He turned and ran his fingers through her hair, "Где ты, Котенок? Скажи мне, чтобы я мог забрать тебя и отвезти домой. Gde ty, Kotenok? Skazhi mne, chtoby ya mog zabrat' tebya i otvezti domoy. (Where are you, Kitten? Tell me so I can come get you and bring you home.)"

"Я дома, Медведь. Я там, где я принадлежу. YA doma, Medved'. YA tam, gde ya prinadlezhu. (I am home, Bear. I'm where I belong.)" She smiled weakly up at him. "Я говорил тебе, что ты найдешь любовь, и ты нашла. Вот где ты принадлежишь, и я принадлежу здесь. Вы знали это, все именно так, как должно быть. YA govoril tebe, chto ty naydesh' lyubov', i ty nashla. Vot gde ty prinadlezhish', i ya prinadlezhu zdes'. Vy znali eto, vse imenno tak, kak dolzhno byt'. (I told you that you would find love and you did. That is where you belong and I belong here. You knew this, everything is exactly as it is supposed to be.)"

"К черту это, Котенок. Ты должен быть со мной. K chertu eto, Kotenok. Ty dolzhen byt' so mnoy. (Fuck that, Kitten. You are supposed to be with me.)" He growled as he cupped her face gently in his hands. "Скажи мне, где ты сейчас. Skazhi mne, gde ty seychas. (Tell me where you are, now.)"

She smiled weakly up at him, "У меня уже есть. U menya uzhe yest'. (I already have.)" She closed her eyes and for the briefest of seconds her face was littered with bruises and her lip was bloodied but by the time Raven blinked her face was back to being how he always remembered her, lovely and full of light. She sighed softly, "Time to wake up, Raven."

"Kitten?" He asked confused.

She turned her head briefly and kissed his thumb, "Wake up, Raven, your husbands—"

Raven opened his eyes and felt fingers on his temples, "Easy Raven," Silas said as he pulled his hands away. "You may be lightheaded for a few moments."

"She is beautiful, Raven," Corey whispered as Kota pulled his hands away from Silas and Corey. "But did you see?"

Raven growled when he realized that he hadn't imagined it, "She's hurt. I kill them."