Enchanter

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Raven let out a loud, squawking laugh. "I can't be your mate. I'm a bird. We don't have any mates. I mean, I was turned into a human because of that guy," she cackled as she pointed to Anton with her thumb. "Sorry, bro, I can't be your mate."

"But we are," Robin insisted. He reached out to grab hold of her hand, but the moment she felt the sparks from his fingers, she jumped back into the wall and held her fingers up in a cross in front of his face.

"Don't do that," she warned.

"Raven," Anton slowly said, "I think he might be right. There had to be a reason why our paths crossed and why I felt the need to turn you into a human rather than send those hunters away. Everything happens for a reason."

There was no reason to argue with that logic. From the moment she met Anton, she felt an instant connection to be by his side. She remained loyal to him for reasons she never knew nor understood, reasons that meant more than just being thankful for saving his life.

And there was the instant obligation she felt to remain with Aaric's path rather than leave for Ash Fire. Joining them seemed to make sense, a perfect fit for both herself and Anton. Right from the get go, she trusted them explicitly. Never did she imagine, though, that it was due to having a soulmate of her own. A wolf at that. But ravens were attracted to wolves, and it only seemed fitting that if she were to have a soulmate, it would be with a werewolf.

Robin crossed his arms over his chest, staring at her from under his eyelashes. Immense joy consumed him, happiness that was impossible to imagine. There was so much he was looking forward to doing now that he had a mate, though there was a lot he worried about. The fact he would never be able to impregnate her worried him, but that was only a side effect to his greatest fear. He could only hope she wouldn't reject him over it.

Able to sense the discomfort radiating off her mate, Raven stared at the gentlemen in the door with pointed eyes. "Can you please let us have a moment alone? We seem to need to talk some things out."

She, too, was worried for many reasons. Rejection would not hit her as hard as a wolf would suffer if he were to kick her out after her confession, but she was more worried about how it would affect Anton and the pack. She refused to be away from her master, and she planned to remain by his side, even if it wound up being painful for Robin.

Once Aaric and Anton left the room, Raven clasped her hands in front of her face. "So, there's something you should know about me."

"Me too," Robin nodded.

"You can go first."

"Well, I happen to be transgender. I recently underwent surgery, actually," he began, explaining the logistics of his surgery to her. She listened intently, wanting to know and understand every word he spoke as she knew it meant a lot for him to tell her in the first place. He trusted her, and she believed it was more than just because they were mates.

"I'm sorry if you wanted pups," he sighed, dropping his head and staring at his shoes. "I know that must suck."

"No, not at all," she assured. Placing her hand over his, she smiled nervously. "I actually can't have kids either."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She pointed down at her lap. "I don't have any parts. Like...none." Leaning in close, she smirked. "I have never peed before in my life. I can only use the bathroom when I'm in bird form, which is why I was outside in the first place."

"Oh..." he said, not sure how else to respond to that.

"But...that also means we can't mate, and I know that's an important thing for you werewolves, so do you and I need to transform into our animal forms so your wolf can pound into my bird, or-"

"No, no," he quickly interrupted. "That won't be a problem. If you would allow me to mark you and love you, then that will be enough for me as well. I happen to be asexual, and I'm not the biggest fan of the idea of having sex. But I would like to have a relationship with you, if you would be kind enough to accept me as your mate."

"Well, it's a good thing you got a mate who has never cared or thought about sex in her life," Raven beamed. "You are quite privileged."

Robin laughed, through his head back as he let out a hearty chuckle. Raven's smile softened as she stared at him, admitting to herself that she found him to be quite handsome. His hair was a light, sandy blond with full locks that she could happily run her fingers through. His eyes were honey gold, sweet and delicious. His jaw was curved and pointed at the chin with smooth skin below the sandy stubble on his chin. He was skinny yet toned, and he was as short as she was. But holding onto his hand, feeling his tight grip, she knew he quite powerful. It was no wonder he administered the title of Beta.

As he leaned in, ready to finally kiss his mate after dreaming about it for so long, Raven leaned in as well. But her eyes caught a glimpse of the clock on his bedside table. She let out a gasp as she pushed him away. "It's almost been seventy-two hours."

"What does time have to do with anything?"

"My master needs me," she whispered as she ran out of the room, Robin quick to follow.

"I'm sorry, your master?"

"Anton. He is the one who turned me into a human, and I have been his loyal companion for several years now. And he needs to know it's almost been seventy-two hours." Bursting into Anton's room, finding the two seated on the bed, she exclaimed, "Grab the dagger. It's almost time to summon Bleeding Rosebud."

"Wait, what is happening here?" Robin questioned.

"Where have you been? Living underground?" she scoffed.

"Yes."

Jerking her head at her mate, she grabbed his shoulder and began to laugh. "Oh, yeah. I forgot."

As they made their way to the garden outside, Raven and Anton began to explain to Robin the logistics of the latching situation of him and Azalea. While Robin was confused, he understood the gist of it all. As Beta, he felt the need to be there for the summoning.

"Look," Anton whispered as he held Robin back. They watched the others walk over to the roses, but Robin kept his attention solely on his mate's master. "I have known Raven for four years now, and she is incredibly special to me."

"Is this going to be that speech about how if I hurt her, you'll kill me?"

"No, this is a warning. She can go from being calm and sophisticated to a laughing hyena to a lethal killing machine in seconds. She's quick on her feet, but she doesn't know a lot about the world today. Promise me you'll continue to teach her the right way, help her understand what she lacks in knowledge.

"When I saw her being attacked, I knew right away that she was destined for great things. It just so happened that she was destined to be your mate as well, and I need to know that you will never take advantage of her or hurt her because she is not fully human," Anton explained. "She literally has a bird brain."

"I don't know her that well, but I like what I know so far. She's incredibly loyal to you, and she seems to have a kind heart. I'm honored to have her for a mate. You must understand, I have been hurt before, and I don't want to set either of us up for disappointment," Robin replied.

"She either likes people right away or finds them to be an enemy. If she's been kind to you already, I can tell she'll feel the mate bond in no time."

"Alpha, it's time," Rue stated.

Anton nodded at him, and Robin watched him walk toward the group. Raven's face remained stoic as she watched him, but when her eyes turned to glance at him, she smiled lovingly and waved a small wave towards him. He felt blessed to have her as his mate.