Chapter 138 — Is That What You Wanted to Hear?

Chapter 138: Chapter 138 — Is That What You Wanted to Hear?

~ Raven ~

Raven opened her eyes and frowned.

Where the hell was she?

She stood barefoot on a pale, featureless ground that stretched farther than she could see. There were no trees, buildings or paths, and when she looked up, she found no sky above her.

Only white.

Her head felt heavy, and an uncomfortable warmth had settled beneath her skin. She rubbed her forehead, trying to remember how she had gotten here.

She had been in her dormitory. She remembered climbing into bed, pulling the covers over herself and crying until she was too exhausted to keep her eyes open.

Raven turned slowly.

Oh.

The endless white looked horribly familiar.

"Oh, fuck."

She reached inward, searching for her wolf.

Come on. Where are you?

Something stirred faintly beyond her reach. Raven concentrated, trying to follow the familiar presence, but the connection was so blurry that she lost it almost as soon as she found it.

She tried again, her breathing growing quicker.

Nothing.

Her wolf was there. She was certain of it. But she could barely reach her, and Raven knew exactly how dangerous that made this place.

A soft chuckle sounded behind her.

"Well, well. Look who’s finally awake."

Raven turned sharply.

The Dreamwalker stood several paces away, watching her. His features remained indistinct, but she could see the mocking curve of his smile.

She took a step back before catching herself.

She had spent days looking for a way to keep him out. Now he was back, and she could barely reach the one thing that could stop him.

Raven lifted her chin.

"What do you want from me?"

"Oh, I like this."

"Like what?"

"This version of you." His smile turned teasing. "Afraid."

"I’m not afraid of you."

He laughed. "No? Then perhaps you should tell your hands."

Raven glanced down.

Her fingers were trembling.

She curled them into fists and looked back at him. "Are you going to answer my question, or did you come here just to annoy me?"

"Good." He sounded amused. "I was beginning to think I’d frightened you into silence."

Raven said nothing as he approached. She wanted to retreat, but she forced herself to stand still until he stopped a short distance away.

"Tell me something, Raven. What do you know about your parents?"

She blinked.

"What?"

"Your parents. What do you know about them?"

"What the hell do my parents have to do with you?"

"Ah." He smiled. "So that’s a no."

Raven’s jaw tightened. "Why are you asking?"

"Because I recently learned something rather interesting. From the most unlikely source, too." He chuckled. "I must admit, I didn’t see it coming."

"What did you learn?"

"Oh, quite a lot."

"About what?"

"About you, naturally."

Raven shifted her weight, trying to ignore the heat beneath her skin.

"Would you believe the answer was sitting right in front of me all this time? It seems rather obvious now that I think about it."

"What answer?"

He only smiled.

"Would you stop talking in circles?"

"Well, I suppose I should give you something for being such good company."

Raven waited, wary of the amusement in his voice.

"I know who your parents are."

She stared at him.

For a moment, she forgot where she was and why she should be afraid of him.

"You... what?"

"Your parents, Raven. I know who they are."

Her heart began to pound.

"Who are they?"

He said nothing.

Raven stepped toward him. "Tell me."

"Now, why would I do that?"

She stopped. "What?"

"Give away such valuable information simply because you asked?"

"Then why the hell did you bring them up?"

"Because I wanted to see your reaction."

Raven stared at him as he laughed.

She had never known her parents. Asking about them at Blackthorn had been about as useful as asking for a day off, yet this bastard was standing in front of her, claiming he knew exactly who they were.

And he was treating it like a joke.

"Are they alive?" she demanded. "How do you know them?"

"So many questions."

"Answer me!"

He smiled.

Raven wanted to grab him by the collar and shake the answers out of him, but she caught herself before taking another step.

The last time he had entered her mind, her wolf had been the one to drive him out, and she could still remember how helpless she had felt before it came to her aid.

Now, with their connection so faint that she could barely sense its presence, she had no idea what would happen if he decided to hurt her again.

She forced herself to stay where she was, though every part of her wanted to demand another answer. He was enjoying this far too much, and the more questions she asked, the more satisfaction he seemed to take in refusing her.

Raven drew a breath and folded her arms.

"You know what? I don’t believe you."

His head tilted. "Really?"

"I think you’re full of shit. You keep saying you know who my parents are, but you haven’t told me a single thing about them."

"And why should I?"

"Because I think you’re bluffing." Raven held his gaze, refusing to let him see how badly she wanted him to prove her wrong. "You want me to believe you know something? Then give me a reason to."

His smile thinned, but Raven refused to look away.

"Go on. Prove it."

He regarded her silently, giving her nothing.

Raven folded her arms, determined not to let him see how badly she wanted an answer.

"For someone who keeps coming into my head, you don’t seem very good at getting what you want. Last time, you had to run, so what makes you think this time will be any different?"

The Dreamwalker scoffed.

Before Raven could say another word, an excruciating pain tore through her head. She screamed and clutched her temples as her knees buckled, sending her crashing to the ground.

She barely felt the impact. It was as though someone had driven nails deep into her skull and was slowly twisting them, each turn sending another wave of agony behind her eyes.

"AAH!"

She pressed her palms against her temples.

It didn’t help.

The pain came from somewhere inside her skull, beyond anything she could touch. She bent forward, her fingers digging into her scalp as though she could tear whatever was hurting her out of her head.

"STOP!"

Another surge struck.

Raven collapsed onto her side, curling her legs toward her stomach. She tried reaching for her wolf, but the moment she attempted to concentrate, the invisible nails twisted again.

She screamed until her throat burned.

There was no wound she could press against, nothing she could pull out. She couldn’t even think clearly enough to fight him.

Through her blurred vision, she could see his feet.

He hadn’t moved.

"P-please..."

The word escaped before she could stop it.

Raven squeezed her eyes shut, struggling to breathe, but another sharp burst made her cry out.

"Stop it! Please, just stop!"

She would do anything.

If he wanted answers, she would give them. If he wanted her to beg, she would fucking beg. She would promise him whatever he wanted if he would only make the pain stop.

"Fucking stop it!"

The pain vanished.

Raven jerked and lay gasping on the white ground. Her hands remained pressed against her temples, and she was afraid to move them in case the agony returned.

She heard him chuckle.

"Much better."

Raven flinched.

She opened her eyes and found him standing over her, smiling.

"There you are."

She slowly pushed herself onto her elbows. Her arms shook beneath her.

The Dreamwalker crouched in front of her.

"Now, where were we?"

Raven recoiled.

He laughed. "Oh, don’t look at me like that. I haven’t done anything."

She wanted to curse him, but the memory of that pain was too fresh.

He could do it again whenever he wanted.

"Get out," Raven whispered, tears gathering in her eyes.

"What was that?"

She swallowed, struggling to steady her voice. "Get out of my head."

The Dreamwalker rose with an amused chuckle, and Raven looked away before he could see how badly she was shaking. She searched the endless white for a way out, but there was nothing around her, and the uncomfortable heat beneath her skin was growing worse.

She had to get out of here before he decided to hurt her again.

Closing her eyes, she reached inward again, searching past the confusion for her wolf.

Please.

Something stirred.

The connection was faint, but Raven caught hold of it before it could slip away.

There you are.

She concentrated on that familiar presence and pushed against the foreign pressure surrounding her mind.

At first, nothing happened.

Raven gritted her teeth and tried harder.

Something shifted.

Her eyes flew open.

The Dreamwalker’s presence was slipping away from her.

She pushed harder, refusing to give him a chance to regain control.

Suddenly, the resistance weakened.

Raven didn’t understand why forcing him out had become so much easier, but she seized the opportunity.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!"

The white ground split beneath her.

The Dreamwalker disappeared as the dreamscape broke apart, and Raven felt herself falling into darkness.

She jerked awake with a gasp.

Her hands flew to her head, bracing for another surge of pain.

None came.

Raven cautiously opened her eyes.

Her dormitory.

The familiar walls surrounded her, and her blanket had fallen into her lap.

"Raven!"

Someone threw their arms around her.

Raven flinched.

"Hey, it’s me!"

Thalia pulled back enough for Raven to see her face.

"Bloody hell, you scared the shit out of us!"

"What happened?" Raven asked hoarsely.

"That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out. You started screaming, and we couldn’t wake you."

Raven stared at her.

She had been screaming out loud?

Tessa sat beside her and took her hand. "Does your head hurt?"

Raven shook her head, unsure how to explain what had happened.

Thalia brushed a damp strand of hair away from her face.

"You don’t have to tell us right now."

Raven looked at her in surprise.

After everything that had happened, she hadn’t expected Thalia to be the one holding her when she woke up.

"I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me anymore," Raven murmured.

Thalia drew back to look at her. "Raven, you were screaming. We couldn’t wake you."

"I know, but after what happened at the cafeteria..."

"We heard what happened," Tessa said, moving closer. "Those girls set you up. You didn’t know what they were planning."

Raven looked between them, uncertain what to say.

Thalia pulled her back into the embrace. "You scared the shit out of us, you idiot."

Raven let herself lean against her. She had missed this more than she wanted to admit, and hearing Tessa say they knew what had happened made her feel as though the distance between them might finally be closing.

Then Brielle approached the bed.

"Raven, there’s something I need to apologize for."

Raven looked up at her.

"I shouldn’t have used my strength against you. I was angry, but that didn’t give me the right to force you against the bedpost."

Raven’s fingers tightened around the blanket. She still remembered the pressure that had thrown her against it, and hearing Brielle acknowledge what she had done left her unsure how to respond.

"I’m sorry," Brielle continued. "I should have listened to you instead of assuming the worst."

Raven swallowed.

She had wanted Brielle to understand why she was angry, but she hadn’t expected her to apologize so readily.

Thalia’s arm was still around her shoulders, and Tessa hadn’t let go of her hand. With Brielle standing in front of her, apologizing, Raven felt for the first time since the cafeteria incident that she might finally have her friends back.

She drew a breath.

"Brielle, I—"

She stopped.

Brielle was smiling.

Raven frowned. Her roommate hadn’t moved away or said anything else. She was simply standing there, watching Raven with that same smile.

"Brielle?"

Her smile widened.

"Is that what you wanted to hear?"